S18 E4: (3/7) [Karissa + Seanna] My Jaw Was on the Floor

[0] Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to something was wrong early and ad -free right now.

[1] Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.

[2] I'm Dan Tversky.

[3] In 2011, something strange began to happen at a high school in upstate New York.

[4] A mystery illness, bizarre symptoms, and spreading fast.

[5] What's the answer?

[6] And what do you do if they tell you it's all in your head?

[7] Hysterical.

[8] A new podcast from Wondry and Pineapple Street Studios.

[9] Binge all episodes of hysterical early and ad -free on Wondery Plus.

[10] Something Was Wrong is intended for mature audiences.

[11] It discusses topics that can be upsetting and triggering, such as emotional, physical, and sexual violence, suicide, child abuse, and murder.

[12] Content warnings for each episode are at the top of episode notes.

[13] And confidential and free resources for survivors can be found linked in our episode notes, as well as on our website, something was wrong .com slash resources.

[14] Some survivor names have been changed for anonymity purposes.

[15] Testimony shared by guests on the show is their own and does not necessarily reflect the views of myself, something was wrong, broken cycle media, or wondering.

[16] The podcast and any linked materials should not be construed as medical advice, nor is any of the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

[17] Thank you so much for listening.

[18] You think you know me, you don't know me well.

[19] Please note, today's episode includes descriptions of fraudulent stillbirth and an audio recording of Caitlin Braun faking contractions, which may be upsetting.

[20] Please take extra care when listening.

[21] As always, the full content warning for this episode can be found at the top of the episode notes.

[22] Thank you.

[23] When I found out about everything, I had gone into our conversation and screenshoted something because at this point, I don't care if she knows I'm screenshoting stuff.

[24] I hadn't told her anything.

[25] I found out, I went in and screenshoted something, and she immediately deleted me from Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, everything.

[26] So she knew I knew in that moment.

[27] And I didn't even say anything to her.

[28] So now I don't have any access to anything in our chat.

[29] I spent hours going through these TikTok videos, trying to figure out what the hell is happening and messaging my friend and my sister, sending each other videos back and forth that we found.

[30] There were dozens and dozens of videos.

[31] And this was the peak of this going viral.

[32] More and more videos are coming out and more information is being shared, I'm in shock.

[33] As much as I could never predict that this is what was happening, I was not surprised in the sense that this was something she was capable of doing.

[34] To me, that wasn't surprising.

[35] I spent the next week consumed with this.

[36] It was all I was talking about, all I was thinking about.

[37] I was constantly on TikTok watching these videos and seeing them, as they came out, I was consumed with it.

[38] It was really hard to watch these women tell their stories, specifically the ones that were in person, because I know how persuasive Caitlin can be.

[39] I know how she pulls those triggers in people.

[40] Looking back, now I see it all clearly, and she knows exactly what to say, what types of topics to touch on, to make people feel bad for her and to make people want to help her because that's what she did to me. And now to see her do it to all these women who are just trying to do their jobs and are just trying to help people through difficult situations, the fact that most of them did it for free, when typically that would be a service that you would charge for, because of how much she pulled on their heartstrings and made them feel bad for her because of trauma she's been through.

[41] Some of them were in person.

[42] She had to have studied what a labor looks like, what a stillbirth labor looks like.

[43] These women know what labor looks like, and they didn't think anything of it.

[44] It was so realistic.

[45] She is on all fours with her pants off, laboring while these women help her through it and they're rubbing her back and talking her through it.

[46] It's important to mention that doulas are not medical professionals.

[47] I feel like on TikTok, a lot of people were like, how stupid do you have to be to like fall for this?

[48] And on their defense, especially if they can't talk about it, they aren't medical professionals.

[49] They don't check cervix.

[50] They don't check baby's heartbeats or anything.

[51] They're there.

[52] Emotional support to walk somebody through labor as an extra cheerleader, basically.

[53] And as much as they know what they're doing and they know birth, I feel like there's just been a lot of slack on doulas on the internet, like, well, if they're that stupid to fall for a fake labor, then they deserve it.

[54] I've seen stuff like that, and I think that's totally uncalled for.

[55] These are just people trying to give support to women going through labor.

[56] But it's so unbelievable.

[57] She would say to some of them that this was a pregnancy from assault.

[58] She would say to some of them that it was a stillbirth, all of these things.

[59] And then she would also target queer doulas and say that she's a newly out of the closet woman and she's exploring that side of herself.

[60] And all of these little things make people feel that type of connection.

[61] To watch her do that, it made me nauseous.

[62] I couldn't imagine.

[63] And then it is such a close and intimate thing to watch someone labor or hear someone labor even.

[64] That in and of itself is so intimate.

[65] To make that type of connection with these women, all for your personal gain of this attention or whatever it is, it makes me nauseous.

[66] One of the saddest elements about the doulas being scammed to me is that some of these women had experienced child loss or stillbirth themselves, which anyone can understand is absolutely gutting, horrific and so, so triggering.

[67] They're putting themselves through trauma again to assist someone, to be there for someone, and then to learn its deceit.

[68] Awful.

[69] I still can't even wrap my head around it.

[70] It's unbelievable.

[71] The amount of commitment to that it would take from her to do all of what she's done.

[72] And she's doing all of this shit while doing all the shit she was doing to you.

[73] God knows what else she was up to.

[74] And she had a job at some points.

[75] I just don't understand.

[76] Was this just nonstop?

[77] June 22 to the arrest, that's all post you and Emma's relationship, correct?

[78] Yes.

[79] All the while that she's going in and out of the hospital, the amount of time that this woman was spending not only going to these appointments, having these bizarre false labors and deliveries, but then she's also chatting up and finding new doulas to con and going to work and then going to the hospital and then texting you, hey, do you want to hang out for coffee?

[80] I know, like, where does she find the time?

[81] I also saw another TikTok from the doulas saying she was lining up doulas before she was even finished with the first one.

[82] So like before she finished with one, she was already messaging another back to back to back to back.

[83] Part of me does think it's a weird fetish kink.

[84] It's got to be to some extent because what else are you getting out of this?

[85] Whatever it is, the impact that it has had is extremely harmful.

[86] A week or so after these TikToks really started to go viral, she was arrested.

[87] The Bramford woman who has been charged what police are calling doula fraud.

[88] Police alleged 24 -year -old Caitlin Braun of Bramford reached out to at least a half -dozen doulas across Ontario for false pregnancies and stillbirths.

[89] Braun claimed to be 32 weeks with child that had no heartbeat and a sexual assault victim.

[90] Braun was arrested by Ontario police on Monday and is facing more.

[91] more than 30 charges relating to requesting the assistance of registered doulas for false pregnancies and stillbirth.

[92] Dula Ashley Palmer connected with Caitlin Brown in January to provide services.

[93] Palmer said she started to question Braun's story when the Penticton Regional Hospital said there was nobody registered by that name.

[94] This is when Palmer said Braun finally admitted that she was in Ontario and then she finally says, I'm not experiencing a stillbirth currently.

[95] Palmer shared her story to warn other doulas of what happened, hoping no one else will be impacted.

[96] Doolas who say there were victims to Braun watch the proceedings unfold online and some in the courthouse.

[97] One doula says they feel comforted that Braun wasn't released.

[98] Brantford police say between June 2022 and February 23, Brun allegedly misled numerous doulas for false pregnancies and stillbirths.

[99] None of these allegations have been proven in court.

[100] Police releasing bronze identity as it's believed there could be more victims.

[101] I'm Dan Tversky.

[102] In 2011, something strange began to happen at the high school in Leroy, New York.

[103] I was like at my locker and she came up to me and she was like stuttering super bad.

[104] I'm like, stop fucking around.

[105] She's like, I can't.

[106] A mystery illness, bizarre symptoms and spreading fast.

[107] It's like doubling and tripling and it's all these girls.

[108] With a diagnosis, the state tried to keep on the down low.

[109] Everybody thought I was holding something back.

[110] Well, you were holding something back.

[111] Intentionally.

[112] Yeah, well, yeah.

[113] No, it's hysteria.

[114] It's all in your head.

[115] It's not physical.

[116] Oh, my gosh, you're exaggerating.

[117] Is this the largest mass hysteria since the witches of Salem?

[118] Or is it something else entirely?

[119] Something's wrong here.

[120] Something's not right.

[121] Leroy was the new date line and everyone was trying to solve the murder.

[122] A new limited series from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios.

[123] Hysterical.

[124] Follow Hysterical on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[125] You can binge all episodes of Hibon.

[126] hysterical early and ad -free right now by joining Wondry Plus.

[127] She struck him with her motor vehicle.

[128] She had been under the influence and she left him there.

[129] In January 2022, local woman Karen Reed was implicated in the mysterious death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O 'Keefe.

[130] It was alleged that after an innocent night out for drinks with friends, Karen and John got into a lover's quarrel en route to the next location.

[131] What happens next?

[132] Depends on who you ask.

[133] Was it a crime of passion?

[134] If you believe the prosecution, it's because the evidence was so compelling.

[135] This was clearly an intentional act.

[136] And his cause of death was blunt force trauma with hypothermia.

[137] Or a corrupt police cover -up.

[138] If you believe the defense theory, however, this was all a cover -up to prevent one of their own from going down.

[139] Everyone had an opinion.

[140] And after the 10 -week trial, the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.

[141] To end in a mistrial, it's just a confirmation of just how complicated this case is.

[142] Law and crime presents the most in -depth analysis to date of the sensational case in Karen.

[143] You can listen to Karen exclusively with Wondry Plus.

[144] Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

[145] I think that's when it really hit me that all of the red flags I had been having for the last year.

[146] It wasn't me being judgey or rude to her.

[147] It wasn't me being a bad friend.

[148] I had every right in raising red flags.

[149] And I think I kept rushing them off because she is someone who can be easily judged in society.

[150] I was trying to not be that person.

[151] And so I was letting a lot of red flags just go unnoticed.

[152] Now seeing all of this, I was like, oh, You were completely justified in thinking she was lying and feeling like things weren't right.

[153] It was validating while also being terrifying because I'm like, I let her in my home, I let her in my space.

[154] I was dog sitting for friends of mine over the summer and I had her stay in my house and watch peaches, my cat.

[155] To think about that, that gives me chills because I'm like, what did she do in my house?

[156] I just hate thinking about it, but it was a little bit validating.

[157] That is a weird duality.

[158] This makes sense to me, and it's validating.

[159] It's making all of my pieces fit together, while also being so unbelievably disgusting and traumatic and just awful.

[160] What is going through your head when you hear about the arrests?

[161] Absolute shock.

[162] My jaw was on the floor for like three weeks straight.

[163] Because as unbelievable as it was, everything was making sense.

[164] After that, obviously, everyone was trying to make sense of it.

[165] That's when Emma and I kind of reconnected to because we were both like, what the fuck?

[166] We connected and it was like, Caitlin's been arrested.

[167] She was distraught.

[168] She was embarrassed because she was so close to her.

[169] and Caitlin went to all of Emma's family things.

[170] They were best friends.

[171] And as much as mine and Emma's breakup resulted in Caitlin and Emma no longer being friends, that was still like a big part of her life.

[172] And I think because Caitlin and Emma hadn't been in contact for the last year, Emma was missing a lot of the pieces that I did have.

[173] They had not been speaking.

[174] So she didn't see all of the.

[175] of the things that I had been seeing over the last year, she was quite shaken up about it, rightfully so.

[176] We've been talking back and forth since then trying to like piece our own things together.

[177] We haven't seen each other at all.

[178] We've just been messaging over Instagram DMs, but I filled her in on as much as I could telling her how I've taken her to and from the hospital for a million different things.

[179] Emma did get a taste of that.

[180] in the beginning with the nosebleeds and stuff.

[181] Emma and I would take Caitlin to the hospital when she was having these nosebleeds, but I was like, oh no, it's gotten way worse.

[182] The reasons have been more severe.

[183] I did touch on the assault incident that happened in September, and I said, this hasn't been confirmed or denied, so I still don't know whether this actually happened or not, but this happened.

[184] And it is, it's hard to believe it after.

[185] everything else came out.

[186] We were both just in shock.

[187] All of my friends and my sister and everybody, they knew that Caitlin and I were, quote, friends, but they also knew that I was her friend.

[188] She was not mine.

[189] I did not lean on her in any type of way.

[190] I didn't have that emotional connection with her.

[191] Our friendship was more of a mentorship.

[192] I felt like she needed.

[193] somebody and I, for the most part, was capable of being that for her.

[194] And as much as there were moments where it was very draining and very taxing on me, I didn't attach to her the same way that I would any of my other friends.

[195] I definitely kept that emotional distance between us.

[196] I think that made the result of everything easier to process because I wasn't grieving a friendship on top of everything else.

[197] It was more so coming to terms with this was somebody I associated myself with on some level.

[198] And that was hard to process and just the fact that maybe I contributed to it or let things slide where maybe I could have called them out.

[199] You do kind of feel some sort of responsibility, not that I could have predicted any of this to be happening, but there is a part of me that I think because she wasn't my friend, that I could have called her out on more things.

[200] It's hard to believe that something like this could happen, period, let alone to me. It feels unbelievable.

[201] It feels a bit like a movie.

[202] There has been information that I have found out since all of this that kind of makes sense with other things that I didn't have answers to before.

[203] Her name is actually flagged at the Brantford Hospital because of things she has done, which is why her and I never went to the Brantford Hospital and always went elsewhere.

[204] So that's the whole piece that now I'm like, oh, that part makes sense because she would come in claiming that she had been assaulted and this is super gruesome and this is all alleged.

[205] It's just what I've heard from someone but apparently she had been caught in the bathroom with a knife and cutting her vagina so that it looks like she was bleeding from a sexual assault.

[206] I know for sure she had a catheter.

[207] I saw it.

[208] I heard them speak about it.

[209] I saw her in the hospital.

[210] I saw her in the hospital with a nosebleed.

[211] I saw her nose bleeding.

[212] But now I'm thinking like, okay, but are you doing things to yourself to put yourself in the hospital so that you can get the care?

[213] I don't know.

[214] And actually, her friend who came to the Airbnb cottage that we had gotten in the summer had contacted me after she was arrested and filled me in on why that night at the cottage was so weird and awkward.

[215] She told me that the night before the Friday is when Caitlin and I got to the cottage.

[216] And I think the Saturday is when her friend came up.

[217] So the Thursday, Caitlin was with a doula doing this fake laboring thing and her friend went with her and thought that she was pregnant.

[218] I guess it came out that she wasn't pregnant.

[219] Then Caitlin just tried to carry on like nothing happened.

[220] So that's why that night was so uncomfortable and that friend was so distraught all night because she was still trying to make sense of what had happened.

[221] Caitlin told a different story, it seems, to every doula.

[222] From what I remember, this particular incident, Caitlin was laboring and And there were complications and ended up having to go to the hospital.

[223] And cottage friend did not go with her, but was being updated through text all night.

[224] Apparently, Caitlin had lost the baby.

[225] And so then Caitlin told her that she just wanted to get away for the weekend and just heal and relax and whatever.

[226] This friend had been with her for like days.

[227] apparently was laboring for multiple days.

[228] And so this friend went home, saw her family, and tried to debrief and relax, and then Caitlin asked her to come to the cottage.

[229] At this point, I don't know anything, nothing at all.

[230] When she got there, Caitlin was acting completely normal and ready to party, wanting to do drinking games and stuff, and I wasn't into it.

[231] Her other friend was not into it because she's sitting here being like, what the hell is happening?

[232] But can't say anything because Caitlin told her not to tell me. I found that out after she was arrested.

[233] That makes sense now why that whole weekend was so weird.

[234] It's like every story has a million different layers and some of the layers are missing and it's wild.

[235] Scammers are best known for living the high life until they're forced to trade it all in for handcuffs, and an orange jumpsuit once they're finally caught.

[236] I'm Sachi Cole.

[237] And I'm Sarah Haggy.

[238] And we're the host of scam influencers, a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of some of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims and what's left once the facade falls away.

[239] We've covered stories like a Shark Tank certified entrepreneur who left the show with an investment, but soon faced mounting bills, an active lawsuit followed by Larry King, and no real product to push.

[240] He then began to prey on vulnerable women instead, selling the idea of a future together while stealing from them behind their backs.

[241] To the infamous scams of Real Housewives stars like Teresa Judice, what should have proven to be a major downfall only seemed to solidify her place in the Real Housewives Hall of Fame.

[242] Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[243] You can listen to Scamfluencers early and ad -free right now on Wondry Plus.

[244] As far as I know, she's been in jail and has had weekly Zoom.

[245] court hearings where basically nothing is said she was waiting on legal aid like a lawyer for a while last I was able to hear anything was about two months ago there has been no bail hearing she hasn't been able to get a surety somebody to bail her she's just sitting in jail I guess I can't help but think about her mom the conversation that her mom had with emma where it was like, yeah, she does this because it just makes me wonder, what does that mean?

[246] How long has she been doing this?

[247] One of the doulas, I saw this on TikTok, it was one of the ones that was in person.

[248] It was at Caitlin's home and her mom came home.

[249] She came in the room and asked the dula if she was going to be leaving anytime soon.

[250] And the dula was like, well, no, she said something was off with the mom.

[251] And so from my understanding of that is Caitlin's mom knew this was happening and knew that this is what her daughter does.

[252] She makes up lies and doesn't seem to care.

[253] So I can't imagine she would be surprised that this is what has happened as a result.

[254] I don't know.

[255] And obviously, like, I haven't talked to Caitlin's mom at all.

[256] I don't know the behind the scenes details of that.

[257] But from what I can tell her mom knows that this was happening.

[258] Do we know if she has a brother, for real?

[259] It hasn't ever been confirmed, but I'm pretty positive.

[260] The only thing that I've heard from these TikToks of the Doolah speaking is she said to most of them that it was an assault, but she never said it was from her brother.

[261] She said it was from a friend.

[262] I've never heard any of the Doolas say that it was assault from her brother.

[263] How do you make sense of this as you move forward in your life?

[264] I think in the beginning when she was first arrested, like I said, I was consumed with this and going through every single interaction that her and I had, every question I had, even things that I didn't discuss here, like day -to -day things that I just had that sinking feeling that was like, this isn't right, this isn't right, and couldn't figure it out to now have at least some answers to it.

[265] I think that was kind of healing in a really weird way.

[266] I feel like I'm definitely more cautious, I guess.

[267] Obviously, I've not been put in any situations even slightly like this since then.

[268] So I don't know, but I definitely feel like I trust my gut a little more.

[269] I think I'm just trying to remember I was only put in this position because I took time out of my life to care for somebody who needed support.

[270] And I don't think anybody, myself included, can fault myself for being that kind of person.

[271] Does it make me a little more skeptical about doing that in the future?

[272] Yes.

[273] But I think I can rest easy knowing I was just trying to help somebody.

[274] I was just trying to support somebody and they took advantage of that with me and multiple other people and that's on them and she's paying for that now.

[275] It's taken a long time to process and sit with it.

[276] I kind of had to like pick apart every tiny detail and try and make sense of it as best as I could.

[277] And I don't have answers to everything.

[278] I didn't speak to her after I closed things off and obviously not.

[279] since the arrest, not that there was much time in between then.

[280] But I think what helped me process it the most was just being like, I can walk away from this knowing I was just trying to be a good person.

[281] I'm good with that.

[282] I can live with that.

[283] The biggest thing I want myself and everyone listening to take away from this is you don't need to know the details.

[284] you don't need to know why something feels off.

[285] If something feels off, that's reason enough.

[286] I don't want it to be like, don't be nice to people.

[287] This is what you'll get.

[288] That's not the point.

[289] I don't regret anything.

[290] I don't regret being there for somebody who needed support.

[291] I regret allowing them to take advantage of it as much as she did.

[292] And I think had I been, been able to set clearer boundaries and trust my gut in feeling when something was off.

[293] I don't think I could have stopped the situation from happening, but I could have protected myself in it more than I did.

[294] I'll definitely trust my gut more when it comes to feeling uncomfortable with friendships.

[295] I appreciate your time so, so, so much.

[296] My name is Shauna.

[297] I am Adula.

[298] Adula is basically a birth companion, somebody to support you emotionally and physically with information throughout your pregnancy, your birth, and your postpartum.

[299] For the most part, birth doulas, we are in business to support people through this big transition in their lives.

[300] We typically listen to our clients and if the client says this contraction is worse than the last one, then we believe them.

[301] The monitors can only tell us so much.

[302] But we are not medical professionals.

[303] Typically, a lot of people, when they hear about a doula, they think of a midwife.

[304] So they think you should have checked her cervix or something, but doulas don't ever do that.

[305] Midwives would check your cervix, but doulas are non -medical.

[306] So that's the big difference between a doula and a midwife.

[307] A midwife is your medical professional.

[308] In every country, I believe, outside the United States, midwives are.

[309] are a regulated profession and they have to be medically licensed.

[310] Dulas are not.

[311] We are companions.

[312] We are support people in the same way that you can have a friend at your birth to provide emotional support.

[313] You can have a dula at your birth.

[314] It's just that a dula probably has more experience than your friend, probably has more training than your friend.

[315] We're trained in comfort measures to help you cope through contractions and help labor progress.

[316] basically we're just there to be there for you.

[317] I have a degree in music and I tried my hardest to make a career in the music industry for years.

[318] And I finally came to the point where I was like, okay, I am just not making any money in music.

[319] I need a new career.

[320] I was like, well, maybe I could be a doula.

[321] I have been passionate about supporting parents through the transition to parenthood.

[322] I've been passionate about bringing evidence -based information to people through their pregnancies.

[323] When it occurred to me to do this, I was like, why am I not already doing this?

[324] I had a friend act as my dola for my birth.

[325] I can't express how much of a difference her presence made.

[326] She didn't even really do any hands -on stuff, but just having her there and knowing that there was somebody there who was experienced in birth, who I had a connection with, made a huge difference to me. So that was a big inspiration for me as well, just to want to be there for people.

[327] Caitlin first reached out to me on Instagram.

[328] I had a very new profile because I had only just started my Dula journey.

[329] And part of my training, they had said to start getting an online presence.

[330] So I started an Instagram page.

[331] I maybe had like nine posts or something like that, maybe less.

[332] And I got a DM from Caitlin Braun saying, do you ever serve anyone or support anyone outside the London area?

[333] Asked where she was.

[334] She said Brantford.

[335] And I looked it up and Brantford was about an hour away.

[336] I was really excited.

[337] This was my first client and I said, yeah, you know what?

[338] I'll drive an hour.

[339] That's not a problem.

[340] I happened to be out of town at a family function when she messaged me so of course I told all my family and they were all really excited for me I said well I'm out of town until Sunday so as long as you don't go into labor before Monday then I can support you she had told me that her due date was on the Monday I believe the 22nd of August 2022 she just said that she found out that she was pregnant really late in her pregnancy so that's why she was looking for support really late.

[341] She had told me at some point after that that she had had bad experiences with the doulas in her area.

[342] That's why she was looking outside her area.

[343] She told me that her pregnancy was the result of sexual assaults.

[344] I got home from my family function on the 21st of August.

[345] It just so happened that I went to the emergency room with another, with a postpartum client on the Sunday night.

[346] So on Monday, I was already sleep deprived.

[347] She texted me on the Monday, the 22nd of August, saying that she was in labor.

[348] And I said to her, do you want me to come?

[349] Because she kind of indicated that she was freaking out a little bit.

[350] She said, I want to remember the exact wording because it was so manipulative.

[351] She said, I want to say yes, but I know you're probably busy.

[352] And I was like, oh my God, this poor girl thinks she's a burden to everybody.

[353] I said, okay, well, I'm going to come.

[354] Looking back, I realized now that that was her way of making me make the decision rather than her asking me to come.

[355] She was manipulating me into choosing to come.

[356] I went to her house.

[357] I started driving.

[358] Weirdly enough, the universe, I think, was trying to tell me something because there was a car on fire on the side of the road.

[359] I also drove through this freak rainstorm.

[360] I couldn't see 20 feet in front of my car.

[361] Cars were pulling over to the side of the road, but I was like, this woman needs me. I got to get there.

[362] I cannot pull over.

[363] And then I also almost ran out of gas, so I had to pull over and get some gas.

[364] I really feel like the universe was trying to tell me something, and I ignored it.

[365] I get to her house.

[366] It was not honestly clear to me whether or not she was pregnant from looking at her.

[367] I had this weird feeling that this was fake, and I can't explain it before anything even happened.

[368] From the first Instagram DM, I just had a feeling.

[369] I was really hoping that when I got there, she was going to have a clear baby bump, and she did not.

[370] But people carry differently, so you don't really know.

[371] You can't really tell from looking at somebody sometimes.

[372] we just start doing labor stuff she's having contractions we start timing them she had told me that they were like eight minutes apart now typically a doula wouldn't go that early but because she had been indicating that she was starting to freak out and she had told me that she didn't have anybody to support her she was all alone i had said that i would go early so we start timing contractions we start doing a lot of movement we say motion is lotion in labor so the more you move the faster your baby comes out basically we were doing all kinds of movement as having her do lunges and something called curb walking where you put one foot up on a curb and one foot down and you go kind of up and down and up and down with each step and what that does is help open the pelvis to allow the baby to descend through your pelvis she took her shirt off almost immediately i wouldn't say it's out of line it didn't phase me at the time.

[373] If I go to work and I don't see a boob, it's a weird day.

[374] You know, there's a lot of nudity involved in what I do.

[375] However, I consent to that under certain circumstances, right?

[376] Under the circumstance that you are in labor, there is a certain amount of nudity that is expected in labor, which is usually fine, but in this case, I definitely feel like my consent was gained through false pretences, if that makes sense.

[377] To validate what you're saying, you cannot consent when you are being frauded by someone.

[378] And that's the difference here.

[379] You are consenting to this behavior under the understanding that this woman is in labor and needing emotional support.

[380] That's what you consented to.

[381] That is not the story.

[382] I just think it's important to highlight for all listeners.

[383] If you are frauded in any way, if someone is lying to you about who they are to get your yes, that's not consent.

[384] That is coercive behavior and it's emotional manipulation.

[385] When she was having these contractions, it's really hard to explain what a person looks like when they're in a contraction.

[386] But she was moaning.

[387] And again, that's something that we encourage low moans to get through a contraction.

[388] high -pitched screams or something like that, tightens everything up, low moans, loosens everything.

[389] So we love to encourage a low moan.

[390] She was doing that.

[391] I have a friggin' voice recording of her baking a contraction.

[392] I'm wondering how much physical touches involved in this?

[393] So there's massages involved.

[394] In my dula bag, I have a bottle of avocado oil that I specifically used for massages.

[395] I was doing that, massaging her back, massaging her arms, and doing counterpressure, which is basically pressure on the lower back, which can relieve some of the pain from contractions.

[396] We did something called a double hip squeeze, which again opens the pelvis.

[397] We did lots of physical touch so much.

[398] If we were in her room, her shirt was off.

[399] And she had a nursing bra on, like a breastfeeding bra that you unhook to feed your baby, which is very common, actually.

[400] I wore them all through my pregnancy because they're more comfortable.

[401] And also because you grow during pregnancy and your regular bras don't fit.

[402] So you get new ones and you get nursing bras because that makes most sense.

[403] She had baby stuff all over her room.

[404] She had a rock and play type, not a bassinet, but like a sleeper type thing.

[405] She had breast pads.

[406] She had diapers.

[407] She had clothes for the baby.

[408] She had washclots for the baby.

[409] She had all kinds of stuff all over her room.

[410] She even had a breast pump that she got out at one point, which, again, is not atypical for labor because nipple stimulation can help contractions stay regular or can help increase contractions even.

[411] We often advise using a breast pump if you want to bring on labor or if you want to regulate your labor.

[412] We spent two and a half days laboring.

[413] I got there on Monday at 7 p .m. and around 10 o 'clock, she said, something is leaking out of me. I told her that was probably her water.

[414] She agreed.

[415] She went to the bathroom.

[416] She said, yeah, it was a lot of fluid.

[417] And so we figured it was probably her water breaking.

[418] And at that point, I start an internal timer because the longer your water has been broken, the more likely you are to get an infection.

[419] There's some evidence that you can wait, but there's also, hospital policy would be that she would have to come in within a few hours of her water breaking.

[420] So I start talking to her about going to the hospital.

[421] After like 12 hours or something, I was like, okay, you've got to call the hospital and ask their advice because I can't really advise you on this, but I'm starting to get worried.

[422] So she goes into the other room and calls the hospital.

[423] And I can hear her talking to them.

[424] And she comes back out and she says, the hospital said I can stay home.

[425] That happened a few times because I kept telling her that she had to call the hospital and she kept going into a different room to call them and coming back and saying they told me I can stay home.

[426] She said at one point, they said she could stay home because if she goes in, they're going to give her potocin, which is true.

[427] And if they put her on potosin, she's going to want an epidural and there's an epidural shortage.

[428] Now there was an epidural shortage at the time.

[429] that still didn't make a lot of sense because she didn't want an epidural and also she needs to have her baby at some point so that advice just didn't make any sense.

[430] Now I have a mentor who has been to over 700 births.

[431] She's been doing this for almost as long as I've been alive.

[432] She starts getting antsy about this because she's like, the hospital is not going to say that to her.

[433] She was like, I'm flabbergasted that this hospital would even consider saying that to her because they want to cover their asses, basically, and they want people to come in as soon as possible after their water breaks.

[434] I have in my contract that after 24 hours of continuous support, I'm entitled to a break.

[435] So I took a break around 7 o 'clock on Tuesday.

[436] I laid down in my car.

[437] I didn't sleep, but I was texting a couple of doulas that I know, asking for the their advice.

[438] The complicated part of this is that her contractions were never really consistent spacing apart.

[439] So they would be like five minutes apart and then 10 minutes apart.

[440] And that is not typical of a regular labor, but it's not out of the ordinary for someone who's going through trauma.

[441] Our bodies have basically a reflex, if you will.

[442] The more adrenaline that is in your body, the less oxytocin, and oxytocin is what triggers contraction.

[443] So if you have a lot of adrenaline in your body, contractions are going to stop because you do not feel safe, and so you need to get somewhere safe so that you can have your baby.

[444] And that's sort of an evolutionary thing that our bodies do to protect us.

[445] The fact that she is a trauma survivor and the fact that she is getting triggered by her contractions, it's not completely out of the ordinary for her contractions to be really inconsistent.

[446] That being said, the timing of the contractions themselves were very, very close.

[447] Contractions are supposed to be about a minute long and hers were like a minute in three seconds, a minute in five seconds, a minute in two seconds.

[448] They were so consistently the same length, despite them being widely variable in their spacing apart.

[449] When you first got there, they were about eight minutes apart.

[450] So at this point, she's having minute -long contractions a few minutes apart, would you say?

[451] Yeah.

[452] You've already been there 12 hours?

[453] 24 hours.

[454] And is that typical?

[455] No. Typically, if you are laboring with someone in their home before they go to the hospital, you would only be there for like six hours max, because labor doesn't usually take that long by the time they're at a point where they feel like they need the dula.

[456] Things are already progressing and on their way.

[457] And then you move to the hospital as things get closer together.

[458] This was not typical whatsoever.

[459] But again, it was a trauma response, I thought.

[460] And her adrenaline was going.

[461] And so her contractions were not leveling out.

[462] This whole time, I'm trying to convince her to go to the hospital.

[463] And she's going into the different room, calling them, and coming back and saying that they told her to stay home.

[464] I was really sleep deprived.

[465] I remember sitting on her desk chair leading on her bed and falling asleep in the middle of one of her contractions and waking up to her having another one.

[466] And I was like, oh my God, I think I fell asleep.

[467] And she was like, no, it's totally okay.

[468] Don't worry about it.

[469] That's how sleep deprived I was.

[470] Tuesday to Wednesday, we do the same thing.

[471] So at this point, it's been, 48 hours and it's coming up on 48 hours since her water broke and my mentor is like this is insane the hospital is not telling her this there's no way the hospital is telling her to stay home at this point so on wednesday i take another break and i called the hospital and i said i'm a new dula i have this client she thinks her water broke on monday the nurse at the hospital was like she needs to come in and I was like she says that she's been calling you guys and that you've been telling her to stay home and she was like I don't know who would say that to her but if her water broke on Monday she needs to come in and I was like okay thank you very much I will do my best I go back to her house by the way her mom was there so her mom would go to work and then she would come home and hang out in her bedroom basically she would pop into Caitlin's bedroom where we were and just like have a conversation.

[472] So how are things going?

[473] Are you feeling like you need to go in soon?

[474] Or she kept asking me if I was going to go home and I was like, why are you asking me that?

[475] That's such a weird thing to ask.

[476] Caitlin's sister was supposed to be getting married that Friday and she did get married that Friday.

[477] Leading up to that, Caitlin was with me. Her mom came into the room at one point and they talked about how, oh, it'll be so lovely to have a baby at a wedding.

[478] Everyone's going to be so surprised.

[479] And her mom said to show me the dress that she had for the baby and how well it went with the dress that Caitlin was going to wear.

[480] And so she showed me the dress, held it up to the dress she was going to wear.

[481] And they looked really lovely together.

[482] What the hell?

[483] Oh, my God.

[484] Why would you enable this kind of being?

[485] in any capacity.

[486] I know.

[487] But were they fucking getting out of this?

[488] Next time, on something was wrong.

[489] So they put the fetal heart rate monitor on her and the contraction monitor on her.

[490] She has a contraction on the monitor and I can see it.

[491] And then they find a fetal heart rate.

[492] And it's a perfect field heart rate.

[493] I'm sorry, what?

[494] Yeah, I know, right?

[495] A contraction.

[496] Somebody tagged me in a post on Facebook in a post on a Dula group with Caitlin's name.

[497] And my colleague said, is this the person you supported?

[498] I just messaged the original poster because I was like, I need to talk to you.

[499] I said, I can tell you for absolute certain.

[500] She cannot be 37 weeks.

[501] In August, I saw an ultrasound that had no baby, and I heard an OB tell her that there was no pregnancy.

[502] So she is absolutely lying to you.

[503] Do not support her.

[504] Thank you so much for listening.

[505] Until next time, stay safe, friends.

[506] Something Was Wrong is a broken cycle media production.

[507] Created and hosted by me, Tiffany Reese.

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[509] Our theme song was composed by Gladrags.

[510] Check out their album, Wonder Under.

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