Doing It At Home - The Home Birth Podcast

How do we cope with the parts of our birth that didn’t go the way we envisioned? In today’s episode we chat with Cadyn about her birth experience. She and her husband planned a home birth, because (in her words) of “how special we consider our home and surrounding space to be, and that this was where it seemed that magical portal of birth was meant to open.” After a long labor, Cadyn transferred t...

What’s your best home birth advice? That is the question we put out to our community. We’re sharing some of those responses in this episode. From exploring your options to looking at fears. Plans, logistics, finances. We cover a lot of the spectrum. Plus we share some of our current best advice when it comes to home birth. Special thank you to our community members Beth, Rachel, Natasha, Cassandra...

Can we remove the word “failure” from birth, please?  K, thanks! But really though. Today’s episode is a great reminder that there are no failures in birth. Our guest, Lisa Van Der Giessen shares her birth story of her daughter Mackenzie. Lisa was interested in a holistic approach to her pregnancy and birth. She went online and found a Facebook group of moms that helped her find her midwife. It wa...

What is Hypnobirthing? We dive into this in today’s episode with our guest Kristy Rodriguez, prenatal yoga instructor and coach and the host of the Pure Nurture podcast.  We talk about some of the details of hypnobirthing and the myths and common questions that come up around it.  So if you’ve ever thought about using it, you’re going to want to listen! AND be sure you check out the Pure Nurture p...

How many of us feel a sense of failure after a birth experience? We’re clear that it’s far too many. In fact, one is too many. We’re grateful for stories like this who can help with the healing and rescripting. Our guest, Kara Lambert, shares her birth journey. After her cesarean birth with her son Theo, as she puts it, “I felt like I failed.” Great resources like ICAN helped Kara in her process o...

Do you think the time of COVID-19 has brought more conversation around home birth? It sure seems like it, with many families seeking to birth out of hospital. Whether that’s because of the hospital policies or just not desiring to be in the hospital environment for birth. In today’s birth story, Kristin Humbard shares her journey with us. After a hospital birth with her first baby which left her w...

Can you approach birth from both a statistics and research-driven mind as well as with an intention to connect more deeply spiritually? YES! And our birth story today is an example of that. Ashton Parker shares her home birth journey with us. First with a good hospital birth for her first child, which included 5 hours of pushing. Then considered another hospital birth for her second child, but aft...

What is home birth? Depending on who you are, that might be a simple or really complex question.  In today’s episode - a special one as it is our 300th episode (we are really excited about it!), and we recorded it live in our Facebook group - Doing It At Home Birth Group. So make sure you’re in there to catch future recordings like this. We give a little home birth 101 session here. Going over som...

Do babies always show up on their due date (we prefer calling it a "guess date")? We know, in fact, that it’s actually less likely for a baby to arrive on their due date. However, it can happen! For today’s guest, Maranda Bower, a mama and postpartum bliss coach, her fourth baby, Sophie, arrived on her original due date. This is our second time chatting with Maranda. In our first conversation back...

How can shoulder dystocia be addressed in a home birth? This was a very relevant question for our guest Amber Reed as she prepared for her second birth. Given that her first daughter, born in the hospital, had shoulder dystocia, this was something that Amber considered and discussed with her midwife.  Her first birth in the hospital had traumatic elements to it, including her first daughter having...

What’s the recipe for a magical birth experience? It likely looks different for all of us. However, we might incorporate similar mindsets, approaches, preparation and resources. Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Genevieve and Michael Howland of Mama Natural, the #1 parenting brand online and a source of education and empowerment for natural pregnancy and birth. Genevieve and Michael shar...

Original description from Having It A.L.L.: How is the state of your relationship? How about your partnership? I never used to look at the two as separate. The "relationship" included everything -- the romance, the intimacy, the day-to-day life dynamics, the household management. But for me, as my primary relationship has matured and as new things like marriage and kids have entered the picture, I...

Can birth be euphoric? Answer: yes. Absolutely yes. Welcome our guest Luca S to the podcast. Luca had some birth work experience as a doula before becoming pregnant herself. When she and her husband Neil were expecting their first child, Luca stayed open to the birth experience and what it might look like - meaning, she wasn’t 100% set on a home birth from the beginning.  Her story involves true l...

What do you look for in a doula? How do you know what doula is right for you? Our guest Samantha McClellan is a birth doula and a mom. In addition to sharing some great tips and questions for families to ask when it comes to finding a doula and that gaps that a doula helps fill in terms of care, Samantha shares the details of her home birth story. After an uncomplicated hospital birth with her fir...

How long was your conception journey(s)?  Asking for a friend. But no, not really though. I’m asking for me. For us. We’re sharing in the spirit of vulnerability and transparency - we’ve been “open to conceive” for 6 months now. And it has had its ups and downs. Breakdowns and breakthroughs.  There we sat in our rockers one day, sipping coffee, talking about how we’ve been feeling and where we go...

What does it mean when baby is breech? It depends. There are different kinds, and it can unfold in various ways. However, any breech position is a variation of normal. This is important to note for today’s episode. We’re chatting with Vanessa Young as she shares the birth story of her son Leo.  Vanessa aimed for a home birth for her 3rd, but went to a birth center in order to work with her friend...

Did we ever imagine ourselves hosting a home birth podcast for 4 years? Answer: no. We didn’t even know what home birth really was when we first got pregnant. And yet now here we find ourselves: almost 300 episodes in. The podcast and our daughter Maya are 4 years old! So join us while we celebrate and reflect on our birth experience, some of our favorite things about doing the show, and we thank...

What’s your priority when it comes to your birth plan? The answer to that will help guide you in circumstances when there are big changes going on. Like COVID-19 for example. We’ve heard a number of situations where families shifted their birth plan from a hospital to home in light of the hospital conditions and policies. Our guest today is Julie Sawaya, mother to her 7-week-old daughter Leni. She...

Do you believe pleasure is your birthright? If you don’t - what if you did? And if you do - how can you magnify that? Today’s episode is a conversation with our friend Debra Pascali-Bonaro, creator of the famous documentary “Orgasmic Birth.”  This interview, which is really like a masterclass, walks us through Debra’s 9-step process of PLEASURES, ways to create better sex and intimacy.  We talk ab...

What is the difference between sex and intimacy? How does this play out in your relationship and how you feel about your own sex and intimacy both before and after kids? Back by popular demand: a sexpisode! We’ve talked about sex quite a few times on the podcast. But it’s been a while. So here we are.  And this conversation took a lot of turns that we didn’t expect, and we share a lot of our own p...

How do you create the pregnancy and birth experience you desire? First thing - let’s acknowledge that YOU ARE a powerful creator who is capable of doing this. Looking at your “whys,” reflecting on what matters to you and getting intentional about the process makes a huge impact as well. Our guests today are Erica James-Strayhorn and Anthony Strayhorn. We’ve known Erica and Anthony for over 7 years...

Do you like to be left alone during birth? Or if you haven’t given birth yet, have you thought about whether or not you might want people around you, or prefer to be undisturbed? For our guest today Jillian Anderson, she was by herself for the majority of both of her birth experiences. Her partner Aaron was always close by in case he was needed. But Jillian knew what worked for her. That stems bac...

How can an experience like birth have such a mix of thoughts and emotions around it? It’s so complex and yet so simple. There’s such a vastness to it and the unique quality of each experience can make it difficult to summarize. This is why each story is so important and why we love sharing as many as we can with you. Today we’re speaking with Ashley McGuirk, and she tells us the birth story of her...

What is intuitive birthing? It can look different for each of us. But the general philosophy of allowing for the process to be what it is for you in your own unique way is a beautiful concept that comes up in our interview today. Katherine Ward shares her home birth story of her daughter Remi with us. Katherine started her doula training at 18-years-old. Through this experience she determined that...

What’s one of the biggest challenges of choosing a home birth? A common response to this is feeling like you have to explain and justify your choice to others, whether that be friends, family, loved ones or total strangers. This pops up in our interview with Sera Billings, mama to Addy. For Sera, home birth was always a completely normal thing. She herself was born at home. Her mother, in fact, ha...