The Golden Hour Birth Podcast

Send a text Carly from Philly joins us on the podcast today! Carly found out she was pregnant around 8 weeks with her first while she was finishing up Grad School & her student teaching. When she went to the hospital to have her first baby she waited in a wheelchair in the hall until being told what to do next in triage and finally was sent up to delivery. She pushed for 3 hours and was told t...

Send a text We put together a few of our favorite resources to share with our listeners today! Check a few of them out below! Listen to the show for the rest! Business of Being Born- documentary on Amazon at the time of writing this. Read the description here. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth- book found at most bookstores. Amazon link here . Safe Sleep Group on Facebook found here . Moms on Cal...

Send a text Georgia & her husband, VJ, met in college and married in November 2019. They had plans to travel for a bit but after the world shut down 4 months after their wedding, they decided to start a family. She took a test one morning, threw it away, and came home later to find the slightest positive. She sent VJ out for more tests to confirm - they were having a baby!  Pregnancy was posit...

Send a text Amy from Montana shares her pregnancy and birth stories from her three sons. She was a Med Surg nurse to Labor & Delivery nurse, and now a Massage Therapist, primarily focusing on Prenatal and Cranial-Sacral work on babies, and a childbirth educator. Amy became pregnant with her first baby at the age of 23 (10 years ago). She had no idea what pregnancy and childbirth were like, but...

Send a text Body image is a hard topic for nearly everyone. 20-40% of women struggle with body image, and 10-30% of men. These statistics rise with pregnancy. More than 40% of women say there is some sort of dissatisfaction with their appearance during or after pregnancy. Liz and Natalie share their own experience with body image before, during, and after pregnancy in their mini episode this week,...

Send a text Part two of Katie's Birth Stories. On this episode, Katie tells us about her third “grand finale” pregnancy and baby. She had just gone through a termination for medical reasons, a second trimester loss, a pandemic, on top of her best friend’s diagnosis with terminal cancer. She again battled with high blood pressure readings and had to stay a week in the hospital and then have bi...

Send a text Katie from Long Island shares her journey to motherhood this week! Katie and her husband decided to start a family and quickly got pregnant after she believed it would be a longer road as it was for her mother. Her daughter Harper was born via emergency c-section after being diagnosed with preeclampsia. For her second birth, she hoped for a VBAC and hired a doula, and had her second c...

Send a text Join Natalie and Liz as they discuss their experiences with postpartum anxiety in this mini episode! Postpartum anxiety is not as talked about as postpartum depression but is very common. It is estimated that 1 in 5 women has postpartum anxiety. Symptoms of postpartum anxiety are constant or near-constant worry, feelings of dread about things you fear will happen, sleep disruption, rac...

Send a text *CONTENT WARNING* : This episode includes discussions of Perinatal Anxiety and Mood Disorders, including scary  intrusive thoughts and thoughts of suicide. Jenn and her husband were married in 2018, and knew they wanted to start a family soon after. In 2020, they became pregnant and were very excited to embark on this journey of parenthood together! While going through a pretty easy pr...

Send a text Alissa joins us for Part 2 of her birth story, with her second son. At five months postpartum, her friend suspected she was pregnant. After much hesitation due to her periods being off track since having her first child, she took a pregnancy test and it was positive! She was shocked due to her infertility issues with her first but couldn’t imagine her life without her second pregnancy...

Send a text Alissa shares her first birth story of her son, born in November 2019. Her partner and her decided to stop taking any precautions after their May 2018 wedding. She believed she would come home with a honeymoon baby, but that did not happen. Being the planner she is, she quickly turned to tracking her cycle with 7 months of negative pregnancy tests. She took her concerns to her OBGYN an...

Send a text Join us for a bonus episode where we chat with Eleni after the show about some of the struggles of motherhood, bodily functions, the love of parenthood, not comparing babies or self, and more! Our mission is to provide a safe space for mamas to share their stories, struggles, and triumphs, and that looks differently for everyone! Connect with Eleni here and connect with her dog walking...

Send a text Eleni shares her birth story of her beautiful boy Walter “Wally”! Eleni shares her process of having a gut feeling that she was pregnant and taking a test while she was running her dog walking business. It was a very welcomed surprise by herself, her boyfriend, and their families! Pregnancy was positive overall besides one intense day of very sensitive nipples that made her cry, but ot...

Send a text We continue our chat with Emma Ginder in this episode about her journey to becoming a midwife. She shares how her passion for supporting birthing people and their partners transpires through her doula and midwifery care. While she is more active in the actual birth, she knows her years of doula work runs deep and helps her continue to stay passionate, empathetic, and supportive during...

Send a text This week we chat with Emma Ginder, a local doula in the area and Natalie's own doula for her first son! Emma is one of the most compassionate and knowledgeable doulas we have met. Emma opens up to us about her journey to becoming a doula, and how her motherhood journey has been impacted and influenced by being a doula. We dive deep into the state of the U.S. health system and how...

Send a text Alissa Alter aka “The Amy Poehler of vaginas” shares the second half of her story. Alissa suffered from a 4th degree tear (an extensive tear that goes from the vagina to the rectum). She had an extremely tough postpartum not only physically but emotionally and mentally as well. She was very disappointed in the lack of support and education on how to handle her recovery. Due to her prev...

Send a text Alissa Alter aka “The Amy Poehler of vaginas” joins us this episode to tell us all about her birth and journey to working as a women's health expert and motherhood advocate, with a side of humor. This is part 1 of 2. Alissa found herself stuck in a bad marriage and an unfulfilling career when she decided she was done suffering in silence. She began learning more and more about wom...

Send a text Karley joins Liz and Natalie today to share her stories of her two births and navigating life with a medically-complex child. Karley and her husband knew they wanted to have children while they were young. Karleys first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage while she was living away from family and friends finding it difficult to navigate. Her second pregnancy was filled with anxiety but pr...

Send a text Kelli joins us this week to share her story of her two cesarean births. She had an unexpected and difficult first pregnancy that culminated with an unplanned cesarean birth. Kelli was induced but did not progress. After being told about her narrow pelvic inlet and how difficult a vaginal birth would be, a c-section was offered. Kelli felt helpless during her surgery and was left alone...

Send a text On today's episode our guest Brie shares her birth story of her 10 month old son, Dax! Brie believed she was always going to be fun Aunt B and never believed children were in the cards for her. In early 2021, after experiencing some menopause signs, Brie made an appointment with her OBGYN for what she kept hearing as her “confirmation appointment”. By the end of her appointment, s...

Send a text On this episode of the Golden Hour Birth Podcast, we welcome an Atlanta mom of 2, Christina! Christina and her husband got married 9 years ago and essentially created a trip list before trying for a baby. After a fairly easy pregnancy, Christina was met with a difficult postpartum. She struggled with setting boundaries and hosted family immediately after coming home from the hospital....

Send a text Erin shares her story of her three pregnancies and births. Erin had pretty easy pregnancies after suffering a miscarriage first. She loved being pregnant with all three boys! Her first pregnancy was a hospital induction that went smoothly although pushing proved difficult. Her second birth was quicker with knowing how to push this time around. Her third pregnancy was in the midst of th...

Send a text Hannah joins us to share the story of her second birth which was wildly different from her first. Hannah had a fairly easy pregnancy again except that she was GBS positive with a suspected penicillin allergy. After advocating for herself, she finally found an allergist to help her. She was all set for another birth at the Birth Center when she went into labor early. She thought it was...

Send a text Katie shares her journey to motherhood while navigating anxiety and depression during her pregnancy and postpartum. Physically, she had a positive pregnancy with some round ligament pain and swelling. Katie struggled mentally with anxiety during pregnancy. She was nervous to speak up about it but her husband supported her throughout the pregnancy. Her induction went smoothly and shortl...

Send a text Hannah had a smooth pregnancy besides nausea during the first trimester and restless leg syndrome in the third. She switched providers midway after learning that her OB wouldn't accept birth plans. She switched care to a midwifery team at a birthing center. She experienced prodromal labor for a few weeks before her real labor started. She labored at home for a bit then headed to t...