Happy Homebirth

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...

Why?     Do you feel clear on the reasons you've chosen the path of homebirth.... or natural childbirth in general?     Join me today as we speak with Brooke Collier of Sister Birth and discuss her amazing guide "7 Mistakes Many Mamas Make When Planning Their Natural Birth...And How to Avoid Them".    Show Notes: Brooke is a mother to 4 children, all of whom were born at home She has worn many hat...

Hey.  You.  You reading this.  You pregnant mama.  Guess who is charge of your birth.   Go on, guess.   If you answered with anything besides "me," I want you to rethink your answer.   Today's episode with Juliana discusses so many important aspects of pregnancy, birth and postpartum.  One of the biggest takeaways comes in the form of the discussion Juliana had with her midwife about what decision...

Show Notes: Madeline Murray, CPM and wonderwoman behind Believe in Midwifery has put her heart and soul into her new course, Believe in Midwifery's Guide to Sustainable Practice. This episode discusses: how the course came about who the course is for what it entails what it isn't and more information on where you'll be seeing Madeline in the upcoming months Here is the link to go purchase your cou...

I want to start out with a phrase I hear from a lot of mothers.  “Oh, I had a really long labor.”  And in my experience, a “really long labor can be anything from 9-48 hours, depending on the mother.”  I consider my first birth to have been obnoxiously long.  I went into early labor on a Thursday night and didn’t have my daughter until 2am on Saturday morning.  Whew.  Long one.  Madeline, however...

Episode 47: Elizabeth Wolfrey   What do you do when you realize you’re unhappy with the care you’re receiving prenatally?   Elizabeth found herself in this position, for the second time, during her second pregnancy.  Fortunately, she had learned much since her first experience, and she was unwilling to stand by as the positive birth she desired slipped away.    Elizabeth, like so many other courag...

“I want to have a homebirth with my second, but I’d feel safer giving birth in the hospital with my first baby.”   I hear this from so many moms.  And I get it!  With so much propaganda and misinformation regarding the safety of homebirth, I certainly see why so many moms feel this is the best option.   And for many, it really is!  They’ll feel more comfortable and just as empowered at the hospita...

Show Notes:   Preparation for childbirth:  Did you take it seriously?  Now, don’t get me wrong.  This certainly does not look the same for everyone.  For many, it’s a formal class.  For others, however, it can be as simple as a grounding mantra.   “This is the birth that I wanted.”  Alla remembers reciting these 7 words to herself each time she would feel any sense of nervousness over her upcoming...

  Show Notes: Births are like snowflakes.  Individual, unique, and often wet.  But we’ll focus on the first two.  Jessica’s 3 birth stories are hyper-unique and unexpected… and you’re going to love them! From a game time decision to have a homebirth with her first (seriously-she was in labor) to a shocking position of baby number two, to a much heavier baby #3… Jessica’s birth stories vary dramati...

  Show Notes:   Hillary Talbott Roland is the co-creator of the Art of Acupuncture in St. Petersburg, FL and the author of Fertile Minds Radio. She is a wholistic fertility specialist, board certified in Traditional Chinese Medicine and reproductive medicine. She utilizes the modalities of Traditional Chinese Medicine; acupuncture, herbalism & meditation as well as coaching and functional medicine...

Show Notes:    Picture this:  You’re pregnant for the second, third, or maybe fifth time.  What do you do?  I mean, you’ve done this before.  You certainly know all there is to know, right?   This week’s guest, Elizabeth Bauer, takes education seriously, and just because she’s done something once doesn’t mean she isn’t going to learn and prepare even more for the next go ‘round.   Elizabeth takes...

Show Notes:   Under what circumstances would you decide to give birth at home?  In the hospital?   Today’s episode explores this idea, as we delve into Rhiannon’s birth stories.  Rhiannon experienced two lackluster hospital births, one of which was very aggressive in nature.    It was at this point that she decided to learn more about birth.  After finding out she was pregnant with her third, Rhia...

Have you ever considered what it would be like to give birth as intimately as possible?  This certainly may look different for different people.  For example—for me, giving birth as intimately as possible meant having just my husband and best friend/apprentice in the room with me for the majority of my labor, with the rest of my birth team filing in at the very end.  For Shayla and others, this me...

    Show Notes:   For those of you who have experienced it—was postpartum anything like you thought it would be?  In fact—did you even spend much time considering it before your first birth?   I’ll be the first to say that with my first child, I didn’t pay nearly enough attention to postpartum. Sure, I considered breastfeeding… but I expected this to be the one potentially difficult aspect of new...

Do you ever consider the similarities and differences of homebirth, and birth in general, around the globe?  Episode 37 gives a glimpse into the maternity care of women in Ireland by following Emer’s journey from hospital to homebirth.    Emer is a fitness-loving mother of 3 located on the western coast of Ireland.  She owns a women’s gym where she works with women in all stages of life, with a sp...

  Did you decide to have a homebirth with your first baby, or did this decision take place later down the line?  For mamas pregnant with your first, do you ever find yourself thinking, "Perhaps I'll have a homebirth... with my second..."?  As a doula, Alexa experienced a number of births before becoming pregnant.  This experience pushed her towards the open arms of her homebirth midwives.  She kne...

Is there anything more transformative than birth?  Than being reborn as a mother for the first, second, or sixth time?  For so many, birth is a catalyst into the next phase of life- not only on the maternal front, but also on the passion and career front. This is exactly what happened to Stefanie.  After experiencing her own birth with midwives, she was set on fire with a passion for women and bab...

Brought to you today by my wonderful, amazing, charming, and highly skilled husband who drove around for an hour today to find Wi-Fi and upload this. He is the real deal. #Blessed #MyHero #WhoShotJFK?

I LOVE working out, and I especially loved it during my most recent pregnancy.  Something about focusing on my health while growing my new babe was incredibly empowering.  What about you?  Did you feel energized and ready to work out during pregnancy?     Now that I'm postpartum, I'm biding my time until I can return to working out.  The first few weeks post-pregnancy are a sacred time of rest, so...

What do you do when labor stalls?   Somewhat of a wonky question, as the body is generally far more intelligent than we give it credit.  However, there are times when our mind and body are just not connecting and we need help figuring out how to progress.  Enter Jasmin-Mom boss and entrepreneur.  Jasmin, who herself was born at home, never even considered the idea of homebirth until she became pre...