Wining over Motherhood Alexandra Paez-Ferreira

Last time we learn about Mari's birth story and breastfeeding journey. In part 2 of our conversation we talk about how the experience enlightened the way to find her inner warrior to advocate for herself and other mothers about respected childbirth during her second pregnancy and the birth of of her 2nd child.
---- Things to remember from this episode----
When talking to your doctor about your labor and delivery plans remember BRAIN: B. Benefits R. Risk A. Alternative I.    N. Negotiate
For more information about VBAC you can visit ICAN-International Cesarean Awareness Network: is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve maternal-child health by reducing preventable cesareans through education, supporting cesarean recovery, and advocating for vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). https://www.ican-online.org/; Free online support group every 3rd Tuesday of the Month via Zoom from 7 PM to 9 PM ET. For more information email northern.nj@ican-online.org
****Guest Profile****
Mari Vega was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  A successful HR professional, Latina mother of a four years-old daughter and a one year-old son. She is currently raising her first-generation family in New Jersey. Founder of Mari Vega Motherhood, a successful coaching platform where she provides coaching and support for breastfeeding and VBAC mothers.
She recently co-authored a “Diamond Mind- How to Gain Clarity and Strength Through the Pressure of Life’s Obstacles”. A collection of essays written by ten empowered females who share their own stories of struggle and how they were able to transform them into clarity and strength.  From personal devastations to professional resistance to individual awakenings and more, these women have walked through fire and emerged even stronger and with more perseverance on the other side. If you're ready to step through the pressures of life and design the future of your dreams, Diamond Mind will show you the way. Follow Mari on Instagram @mari_vega and go listen to her podcast: Vida De Madre con Mari Vega available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Anchor, Breaker, Google Podcast, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Radio Public

I’m so excited to share the first part of two episodes of my conversation with Mari Vega as we sat down with our favorite wines, we talked about how an unplanned and traumatic birth experience shaped her to be the resilient and empowered woman she is today who is helping mothers to reclaim their power in motherhood. 
Resilience is defined as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress and Empowerment is defined as “the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights according to the Oxford Dictionary. But empowerment can also have many different meanings to different people—depending on their experiences, circumstances, hopes, and dreams. 
Mari embodies both words. I met Mari back in my last year of college and became good friends throughout and kept in touch through the years after. Mari was part of my support system when I was having trouble breastfeeding my twins and she was so natural at coaching me through the process that I knew she was about to find her calling. I sat down for a late-night conversation that was meant to be about breastfeeding and how her breastfeeding journey helped her establish her successful coaching business. Instead it turned into a conversation of how an unplanned and traumatic c-section birth experience and difficult breastfeeding journey gave her the tools to be the fierce motherhood advocate she is today. We talked about how she found her voice and advocated for herself during her second pregnancy and learned to navigate a complicated health system that is used to decide for the patient. A dangerous practice that has had fatal consequences for mothers in the United States especially for mothers of color with black women being three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white-women according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  This is the first part of our conversation.

****Guest Profile**** 
Mari Vega was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. A successful HR professional, Latina mother of a four years-old daughter and a one year-old son. She is currently raising her first-generation family in New Jersey. 
Founder of Mari Vega Motherhood, a successful coaching platform where she provides coaching and support for breastfeeding and VBAC mothers. 
She recently co-authored “Diamond Mind- How to Gain Clarity and Strength Through the Pressure of Life’s Obstacles”. A collection of essays written by ten empowered females who share their own stories of struggle and how they were able to transform them into clarity and strength. From personal devastation to professional resistance to individual awakenings and more, these women have walked through fire and emerged even stronger and with more perseverance on the other side. If you're ready to step through the pressures of life and design the future of your dreams, Diamond Mind will show you the way. 
Follow Mari on Instagram @mari_vega and go listen to her podcast: Vida De Madre con Mari Vega available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Anchor, Breaker, Google Podcast and other podcast platforms.

How Cuarto Trimestre and Wining Over Motherhood were born. A little bit about my motherhood journey.  Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @cuarto_trimestreprj. If you would like to participate as a guest in the podcast you can email me at: cuartotrimestreprj@gmail.com or message me through the anchor app. 

Organizations mentioned in this podcast that provides resources and advocate for funding and change to healthcare accessibility for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD's):  

@postpartumsupportinternational  

@2020_mom  

@momcongress  

@selenidotorg. 

@thebluedotprj