Birth As We Know It ™️-Birth Stories and Experiences

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, I interview registered labor and delivery nurse Kelly Hof. Kelly has over 10 years of experience in this field and speaks on the programs she has created to close the gap between the care that is taking place, and the care that is needed in the hospital setting when people give birth. We also talk largely about the differences in how providers who work i...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, my husband Kumar speaks on our children's three very different birth experiences. He gives his take on our traumatic home birth and how that differed from his thoughts about our birth center birth. He also mentions the pros and cons of how much time you get off postpartum to support your partner after they have given birth.  birthasweknowitpodcast.c...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Martha talks about what it was like to give birth with a language barrier in Japan, the unexpected quickness of her 2nd birth, and how being a birth doula helped her gauge what phase she was in during her third birth, which was also precipitous.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/44 Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only with no inte...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Alexandria talks about how being diagnoses with bipolar disorder at 21 years old impacted her pregnancies. She also unexpectedly experienced postpartum psychosis after her first birth, leading her to intentionally prepare to experience it again after her 2nd birth. She also touches on how experiencing a miscarriage after her first birth caused her to hav...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Ashley shares how being a bigger woman in the Australian healthcare system led to both births ending in a cesarean. For her third pregnancy, she felt safest having an unassisted free birth at home. Throughout the episode, she dives into deep detail as to why she made the decisions she did and how her experiences flourished into a business supporting othe...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Taylor talks about the importance of having a coach guide you through your pregnancy and birth. She touches on how even if things do not go as anticipated, you can still have a positive birth experience due to taking control over the things that matter most.   birthasweknowitpodcast.com/41 Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes onl...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Tabitha talks about the importance of intentionally surrounding yourself with specific people during your birth, what it was like for her to deal with her son’s emergency airlift transfer to Seattle Children’s Hospital, and what her personal struggles were with postpartum depression. birthasweknowitpodcast.com/40   Disclaimer: This podcast is intended fo...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Whitney shares her three very different birth stories, how the obstetric violence she experienced during her first pregnancy and labor impacted her 2 subsequent births, and how she struggled with postpartum depression, especially after her mother’s suicide soon after the birth of her second child.    birthasweknowitpodcast.com/39   Disclaimer: This podca...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Athena shares her journey of pregnancy, labor and birth. She also shares her struggles of getting the much needed support for her postpartum depression and anxiety, and how it inspired her to create a bolg and podcast for others to have a resource when they are going through postpartum mood and anxiety disorders.    birthasweknowitpodcast.com/38 Disclaim...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Sarah Elizabeth talks about the importance of trusting your body, having self-confidence and always speaking up for yourself to ensure your needs are met and honored throughout your pregnancy, labor and birth. She also emphasized the importance of doing your own research and reaching out to your support network.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/37 Disclaimer:...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Taylor talks about how the language barrier she experienced impacted how she was cared for during her pregnancy and birth in France, how after giving birth the first time around changed her expectations for her subsequent births, in addition to touching on some of the physical struggle and the advocating she had to do with breastfeeding, especially the f...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Masey talks about her emotions when she found out she was pregnant unexpectedly, what it was like choosing her provider and birthing location, in addition to sharing in-depth details about her mentality while giving birth and how she was dealing with postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/35   Disclaimer: This podcast is i...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, I interview Kyle about her two very different birth experiences. She talks about how a birth plan can change after working so hard and how exhaustion can impact your ability to think straight and advocate for yourself. She also goes into detail about her extremely traumatic cesarean birth that was followed by a redemption HBAC! birthasweknowitpodcast.com...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Ms. Jennie Joseph about her journey into midwifery, in addition to her own personal experiences with endometriosis, giving birth as a midwife, and postpartum depression. We also discuss the impacts of the healthcare system in the U.S. on black birthing families.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/33 Disclaimer: This po...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, I had to opportunity to interview Mauri about the birth of her son Elio. She talks about the adventure of getting from Widbee Island to her hospital in North Seattle during labor and the importance of postpartum preparation.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/32 Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only with no intention of giving or re...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, I had the opportunity to interview mero sathi, mero Didi, Sujana Gurung. Sajana talks about the concerns of placenta and vasa pervia during her pregnancy. She also speaks about what it was like to have the unexpected experience of labor prior to her scheduled cesarean.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/31 Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational pu...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Ruqayyah talks about how supporting her older sister during her labor when she was just 16 years old, impacted her decision to have homebirths with her future children. She also talks about how the support team you choose makes a difference in your birth outcomes.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/30   Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purpo...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, I interview an old classmate from the Midwives College of Utah named Rebecca! She is a full-blown midwife now and it's amazing! She speaks about how her labor process was not as expected since it was the same day she was taking the NARM. She also talks about her massive postpartum hemorrhage and how that impacted her ability to connect with her son...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, I had the amazing honor of interviewing both Krista, the intended parent, and Katie, the gestational carrier, for baby Arcadia. Krista and Katie talk about what led them both separately to surrogacy and how and when they met each other in that process. They also talk about how postpartum has been for each of them individually since Krista induced lactati...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Erika gets into all the details about the infertility journey her family had to take, her experiences with extreme postpartum anxiety, and the importance of advocacy and representation in the birth space.   birthasweknowitpodcast.com/27 Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only with no intention of giving or replacing any medical...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Darriean goes into detail about how different her two birth experiences were. She dives deep into how hard it was for her to decide to have a scheduled cesarean section because she was hoping it would be her redemption birth from a shoulder dystocia with her first.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/26 Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purpos...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Muna dives deep into what steps she took when deciding to take the Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) route to become a provider in the birth space. She also speaks on the importance of having a seamless collaboration between in and out-of-hospital birth providers.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/25 Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes on...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, I have the privilege of interviewing my step-mom about the births of my younger siblings Daniel & Ana. She goes into detail about what it was like dealing with pregnancy symptoms at the young age of 18, how the symptoms changed between pregnancies, how the energy of your support people impact your labor and what it was like to name my little sister s...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Sam gives us his perspective on the birth of his son Soren. He talks about what it was like to find out his wife Monae was pregnant on their honeymoon, how it felt watching her labor from the sidelines, what it felt like for his son to be born directly into his hands as he caught him as he was born, and he gives his input on the best way for partners to...

Send Kiona a Text Message! In this episode, Anissa dives deep into all 4 of her pregnancies. She talks about the hard decisions that were made when getting an abortion, the emotional rollercoaster of having a miscarriage after an abortion, and the challenges she experienced with preterm birth, a cervical cerclage, and much more.  birthasweknowitpodcast.com/22   Disclaimer: This podcast is intended...