Happy Homebirth

How do we encourage optimal growth of our bodies and the bodies of our babies in pregnancy and birth? What are the foundational pieces to this?   This week we're speaking with Margaret Barry. After a history of restrictive dieting and over-exercising, Margaret decided to seek out a better understanding of physiology that goes beyond the unsustainable diets and quick fixes commonly promoted in the...

How can we lean into the primal nature of birth and experience it as the full right of passage that it was designed to be?   Today we're speaking with Karey, a stay-at-home, soon to be homeschooling mom of three. In this episode, we'll uncover the work that Karey did, particularly between her second and third birth, that led to a deeper understanding of the transformative power that birth holds fo...

When birth goes well in all of the physical ways, does that necessarily mean that it carried the emotional depth you desired?   This week we're speaking with Cortney Steffensmeier.   Cortney is the mother of 3 littles who ignited her passion for breastfeeding and maternal postpartum support. After working for nearly 10 years in western medicine, Cortney received a deeper calling to stay home with...

Surrendering to Physiological Birth and Motherhood with Jessica Livengood   What does it mean to surrender to your birth experience? To surrender to motherhood?   This week's episode, we'll be speaking to my friend and Homebirth Collective student Jessica about her experiences with surrender in birth and motherhood. This conversation is so deep and SO useful- I know you're going to gain amazing in...

What happens when you live and breathe homebirth, but you can't quite visualize how you want your birth to unfold.   Today I (Katelyn) am sitting down with my husband Thomas to share the birth story of our precious son, Thomas Jr.     For our previous birth stories: Lillian's Birth Janie's Birth     This Week's Sponsors: Araza Beauty: Code HOMEBIRTH for 15% off Informed Pregnancy+   Join The Homeb...

Making Birth Choices From a Place of Empowerment with Leigh Anne McGiff   How do we respond to the unexpected? We know we can't control all of the circumstances of life, but what do we do when we're faced with new choices that must be made?   This week, we're speaking to my friend and Homebirth Collective student, Leigh Anne. Leigh Anne will be sharing about her two birth experiences and how she a...

How did your birth location make you feel during your birthing experience-- confined and imprisoned, or totally set free?   This week, we're speaking to Esmeralda, a mother to 3 children, doula and homebirth shop owner. We'll hear how Esmeralda went from a confined hospital experience to absolute freedom in her homebirths.   If you're looking to prepare for your homebirth and motherhood, and you f...

The wait is almost over, are you ready for the Fall2023 season of Happy Homebirth? Join me from your favorite podcast platform on September4 for our first brand new episode and mark your calendars for September 18, when my husband and I will be sitting down to tell all about our most recent birth experience.  It is completely unlike our previous experiences, and you don't want to miss it. What do...

The wait is almost over, are you ready for the Fall2023 season of Happy Homebirth? Join me from your favorite podcast platform on September4 for our first brand new episode and mark your calendars for September 18, when my husband and I will be sitting down to tell all about our most recent birth experience.  It is completely unlike our previous experiences, and you don't want to miss it.   What t...

Let’s say you’re a birth expert- you’ve been working with pregnant mothers for years, and you’re finally having the homebirth of your dreams.  Is firm education enough, or will there possibly be unexpected tests in the emotional and mental aspects of birth? This week we’re speaking with the marvelous  Dr. Courtney Kahla .  Dr. Courtney is a nervous system centered chiropractor specializing in fami...

Have you ever been disqualified from something?  Maybe you were in a swim meet and your feet touched the bottom of the pool.  Maybe your scholarship essay was too short and you were taken out of the running…. But have you ever been considered disqualified in your birthing location?   This week we’re speaking with an incredible woman, Ginny Yurtich, founder of  1000 hours outside Jih, and mother of...

What surprised you most about your homebirth?  Was it… the way you vocalized during your surges?  Or maybe it was how incredibly accomplished you felt afterward?  Or… was it the number of babies that you gave birth to?   This week we’re speaking to Elizabeth Parsons, who really brought the surprise factor to her fourth birth and first homebirth.    Episode Roundup: Can you imagine that experience?...

Today's guest: Dr Rachel Reed is a midwife, academic, author, and international speaker who focuses on childbirth physiology, midwifery practice, and women's rights (and rites). She has provided midwifery care for many women and has attended births in a wide range of settings and circumstances. Rachel is the author of the award-winning blog MidwifeThinking and the co-host of The Midwives' Cauldron...

Show Notes:   Christine and Andrew started their pregnancy journey traditionally with OB care.  However, as the pregnancy progressed, they began feeling more and more frustrated about the fact that appointments were fast and shallow.  There was not in-depth preparation for childbirth, and they felt there must be something missing. The couple decided to begin their own research, which led them to s...

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...

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 lig...

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...

Show Notes: Leah is a registered nurse engaged to a UFC fighter, Brandon Davis. They have just grown their family with a new baby! She had a homebirth with her first baby. When asked how she decided to have a homebirth, she said she’s always been fascinated with it, but she doesn’t have any friends or family members who had had homebirths previously.  That being the case, it took a large amount of...

Pain-free childbirth is a myth.... right?   Laura is a mother of 3, and she and her husband were newly married when they became unexpectedly pregnant.  They had recently moved, and found themselves moving back into Laura's parents' house as they got their finances in order.    Because she had never spent time around babies, Laura took a nannying job for a newborn during her pregnancy.  When he nap...

First births: You don't know what's going on with your body, they're long, and mothers enter them feeling uncertain and needing reassurance.... right?   This week we're speaking to Sara, who lives in Travelers Rest, South Carolina with her husband Rob, their first child and son, Charlie, and their two big all american mutts, Captain and Bucky. Sara and her husband Rob strive to live a gospel-cente...

What does your posture communicate to yourself, your baby, and the world? Perhaps it seems unimportant or insignificant, but as you'll learn today-- there is SO much to the way in which we hold ourselves.   This week we're speaking with my incredible friend, coach and mentor Paris Latka. Paris is the founder of her business IAM Health, which stands for Intelligent Alignment Movement Health.  It is...

Motherhood-- It has a way of bringing up the things that we thought were stored deep, deep down... it pulls 'em right to the surface. How can we find freedom in motherhood, be the most loving version of ourselves and heal our families at the same time?   This week, we're speaking with my dear friend Naomi Reyes. Naomi is the creator of Finding Freedom Collective where she leads Mothers to transfor...

What does it mean to be truly informed regarding your pregnancy and birth?   This week, we're speaking with Dr. Elliot Berlin, who is an award-winning prenatal chiropractor, childbirth educator, labor support bodyworker, and co-founder of Berlin Wellness Group in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Berlin graduated Summa Cum Laude from Life University of Chiropractic in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Atlanta...

Tongue and lip ties... are they a nothing-burger, all-important, or perhaps misunderstood?   This week we're speaking with Michale Chatam, the clinical mystic, Dr. Molly of Living Adjusted and Natalie Healy, IBCLC. This conversation was recorded... a YEAR ago... and was somehow lost... I have searched for it so many times and couldn't find it, and suddenly, I found it... and I can't help but think...

When you have fast, uncomplicated births, does the location really even matter at that point?   This week, we're speaking with Lauralee Kirkland, a mother to 3 babies earthside and one in heaven. We'll hear how Lauralee's decision-making has changed with each new birth, and how she's been able to step into both labor and motherhood more confidently each time.   Before we jump in, I'm going to give...