Happy Homebirth

When did you begin experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions? And… What did they feel like?   Sponsor This episode is sponsored by Happy Homebirth Academy!  The premier childbirth education program for homebirth mothers seeking a peaceful, empowering, mindful homebirth.  www.myhappyhomebirth.com/hha is where you can find all of the details.    Today’s guest, Meagan Brown had quite an intense go with...

The Podcast Application is Live (through June 7th)!  Click Here to Apply! This episode is sponsored by Happy Homebirth Academy , the premier childbirth education program for homebirth mothers looking to have a peaceful, empowering birthing experience. Take a screenshot of you listening to this episode and share it on your instagram stories! Ta @happyhomebirthpodcast and use the hashtags #givebirth...

This Episode was Brought to you by: Happy Homebirth Academy   The Premier Childbirth Education Program for Homebirth Mothers   Do you really need to prepare for birth?   Show Notes: Amanda's plan with her first child was a beautiful birth center birth The first 20 weeks of her pregnancy were full of sickness—  She even partially dislocated her shoulder after throwing up once. After laboring for qu...

Did you know that you could be so intimately aware of what's going on in your labor that you could be the one to reach down and catch your own baby?   I sure didn't with my first daughter, and there's absolutely no way I would have been able to take the death grip off of my husband to do any such thing.   But Emily... Emily planned and prepared for a mindful homebirth, and her goal was to catch he...

How do you picture your birth?   I this weeks episode, we learn how Amy Lutz, a founding member of Happy Homebirth Academy prepared for her first homebirth.     With a combination of books, positive stories, and Happy Homebirth Academy, Amy went into her birthing time feeling confident and at ease (even with her husband having a virus at the very same time)!   If you are interested in having a min...

By your fourth birth, there’s no way you’re trying anything new, right?   Hey there Happy Homebirthers, and welcome to episode 71 of the Happy Homebirth Podcast, where we’ll be speaking with Kerrie, who went from a string of 3 inducted hospital births to an intervention-free homebirth.   Before we jump in, I’ve got news!  Happy Homebirth Academy is set to launch in just a few short weeks!  Tell al...

Homebirth… on a school bus?  If you think that’s the wildest part of this upcoming episode, buckle up, baby.  My guest, Caroline Campbell is a homebirth mother of two, and both of her experiences were intense to say the least.  I always like to be up front when episodes contain difficult topics, and this one contains quite an emergent situation during her first birth.  Be prepared for that, but kn...

Oxytocin- it’s a powerful drug!   In this episode, listen to hear how Bess, a mother of 3, experienced more and more oxytocin and bonding with each birth.  From a medicated hospital birth, to an unmedicated hospital birth (where the baby was still whisked away quickly), to an intimate birth center setting… it becomes quite clear that the less we intervene with physiological birth, the more room we...

There's a first time for everything.  Sometimes midwives miss births, sometimes they *almost* miss births, and sometimes....  Well, you'll have to listen in to hear the odd in-between!   Important Updates:   Happy Homebirth Academy is almost ready to launch!  In the meantime, check out my free mini-course, and join the facebook pop-up group!   myhappyhomebirth.com/essentials facebook.com/groups/ha...

Pregnancy and postpartum.  Many of us strive to maintain a healthy diet during these pivotal times, but what does a healthy diet look like?  Should we stick to the guidelines?   Enter Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE.  Lily is an expert on all things nutrition pertaining to the pregnant mother.  She is the author of two books: Real Food for Gestational Diabetes, and Real Food for Pregnancy.     Lily sheds l...

Birth is an intertwining of souls, and the community a mother surrounds herself with can make all the difference.    Show Notes:  Mandy didn’t know about homebirth, but she did know that she wanted a doula. Her doula introduced her to the childbirth method. Mandy’s water broke dramatically in bed with her first child. Even after 10 hours, she was only about 2 cm.  She went on Pitocin for about 2 h...

Loss.  A painful subject, but a subject so near to so many women.  With statistics showing that 1 in 4 women experience miscarriage, I feel it’s incredibly important to process these types of events.  I want to be completely transparent about the content of this episode, as I understand that even the mere mention of miscarriage and infant loss can bring a mother and father to their knees with a wa...

Have you ever been on a drive and say 15 minutes in you think to yourself, “Woah, how did I get here?  You realize you’ve lost your way and you need to turn it around and go back to the start.    In this week’s episode, we’ll be taking a look at the past, the history of midwifery and women’s care as it pertains specifically to the United States, and delving into some of the reasons that compared t...

If you were a medical professional, do you think you’d be more comfortable giving birth in the hospital?   Meagan and her husband, both medical professionals had their first baby outside of the hospital, and their second baby at home.  Unlike many moms who decide to give birth outside of the hospital before or between hospitals, Meagan was actually introduced to the idea during her pregnancy—and i...

How did you know you were ready to become a parent?    Desirea did not want children—until the moment she held her first baby in her arms.   When she and her husband got married, she told him that she did not want children.  He did not want children any time soon, but he did state that he always had seen himself as a dad.  They decided they would wait 5 years and reevaluate.   5 years came quickly...

How do you make strong, powerful decisions…and stand by them?   Dr. Kayla and her husband Anthony, before even beginning to try to conceive, felt they had been called to have a freebirth or unassisted childbirth.  Of course, this group is a tiny percent within the tiny percent of moms who give birth at home within the tiny percent of moms who give birth out of hospital.  So… about as niche as you...

I’ve got a secret for you.  Your uterus is unaware of the 5-1-1 rule.      This week’s episode features the birth stories of Heather, who has given birth to both of her babies at home.  Her first experience of labor was with a posterior baby, and posterior babies are notorious for funky labor patterns.   Her second baby, though not posterior, also gave quite a different pattern.    I love these st...

Beautiful One Midwifery   “But what if something goes wrong?” Perhaps the most often question asked when a homebirth mother reveals her plans to her loved ones.  Sure, having a homebirth sounds like a good idea if everything goes right—but when it doesn’t?  What then? Today’s episode is going to cover this topic and several more with two incredible midwives.  Tiffany and Kelly are the midwifery pa...

  In a culture where we are taught to trust our doctors, what happens when that trust comes into question?  Where do you turn, and what do you do?  In this week’s episode, we’ll be hearing from Casey, a mother of 4.  8 years ago when she had her first baby, her faith was comfortable in the typical medical model.  After a physically traumatic first birth and a highly encouraged scheduled c-section...

When it comes to finding your way to your homebirth midwife, was this an easy or difficult path for you? After 2 hospital births, Krista knew she was ready to take birth home.  The issue, however, was finding a care provider.  In Western PA, midwives are publicly prosecuted for attending homebirths.  CPMs and traditional midwives alike are underground.  Krista mentions she felt like she was callin...

Gather round, mama and papa bears.  This week's episode is in celebration of our adorable, precocious 3-year-old, Janie.  We'll be listening to Thomas's perspective of our pregnancy, birth and postpartum, and some of his favorite Janie-isms.     Special thank you to Thomas for being willing to come back on the podcast.  I love doing shows (and life in general) with you!

For those of you who have had more than one birth, I’m curious to know…. How have you changed between experiences?  Have you experienced small, subtle changes over time, or has your world view vastly pivoted?    Today’s guest, Kameren Moore, also goes by The Woke RN.  Kameren had her first baby 14 years ago, and at that time was very comfortable with the medical establishment and felt that she was...

Do you bring a beginner’s mind to your births?  What do I even mean by that? I look forward to Amber’s stories today specifically for this reason.  Even with 5 births, Amber learned that each baby will be born in his or her own unique way.  Learning to let go of all of the assumptions of what birth is or is not is a great way to enter labor.  Recognizing that this is a new birth, a new baby, a new...

Liberated birth.  What a powerful phrase.  What does it bring to mind to you?  For me, I think of a woman who has decided to take full ownership of her birthing experience.  A woman who is completely in—no matter where or how she’s decided to give birth.  A woman who has taken the time to educate herself on the intricacies of birth.  I’d love for you to ponder this idea of liberated birth as we sp...