Happy Homebirth

Show Notes: Happy Homebirth hit 10,000 downloads! It's time to celebrate. What do you want to see? A Facebook group? Merchandise? Send an e-mail to [email protected] with your suggestions. Imagine your ideal birth. Where are you? Who is with you? In what position are you laboring? Listen in to hear Katelyn's most recent birth. Her experience was "magical," as she was surrounded with exactly the right people in exactly the right time. Katelyn set up her birthing space very intentionally and set her mind to the exact kind of labor she wanted to experience. She and Thomas share their labor story, as well as a hilarious postpartum experience that occurred. Katelyn's labor march: Katelyn's birth video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2DSJQYpxCc8MHVyeWxfa0xhb3FiVVhkT3ctenZpQmhiWm8w/view?usp=sharing Sponsorship: Deepest Thank You to Our Sponsor! Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.comhttps://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Help out the show: Leave a review on iTunes for a chance to be the reviewer of the week-- you'll be sent a Happy Homebirth sticker if selected! Take a screenshot listening to this episode and add it to your Instagram stories tagging @happyhomebirthpodcast. We'll add you to ours and give you a shout out!

Deepest Thank You to Our Sponsor! Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Show Notes: Rachael is a mother of 3: Her oldest is 10, she has a 4-year-old son, and a 1.5 year-old babe In 2009, when pregnant with her first, she decided to have a birth center birth. We discuss how uncommon this choice was at that time, at least in the area she was living. She had two friends who had had hospital births without any interventions. When she asked them about their decisions, she began seeing the benefits of an intervention-free birth and thought it might be something she’d like to do. Rachael admits that another big aspect of choosing an out-of-hospital birth was the fact that she wouldn’t be allowed to eat in the hospital. The more she learned, the more she began to feel rebellious! We discuss the fact that childbirth education courses can truly help shift your perspective of what your body can tolerate (in regards to pain) during labor, and what you can do to relax and enjoy the experience. “It was as much like therapy as it was a [prenatal] appointment” Rachael finds it very interesting how different each one of her birthing experiences were. With her first, she had prodromal labor for a week and a half Rachael kept feeling like she needed to poop- so she had her husband run grab her an enema from the store. She laid down on the couch while she waited, and after about 3 minutes, she heard a sound that sounded like a shot going off. Initially, she thought her colon had exploded! And then she realized it “worse”—her water had broken! She expected that she still had several weeks to go before having her baby, so this was quite a shock. She called her midwife, who said she would check back in with her once contractions began. About 30 minutes later, her midwife called back and asked her if she’d like to begin heading to the birth center so she could be assessed (she also recognized that traffic would be getting difficult soon, as rush hour approached). 12 hours after he water broke, her baby was born. Rachael discusses how all of the things she thought she’d want in labor were NOT what she wanted. The opposite was true, too! She did not imagine wanting to labor on the toilet, but it worked for her during labor. When Rachael laid down, she would vomit- she was grateful that she learned about how sphincters work during her childbirth education class, so she wasn’t shocked or scared by this reaction. “I didn’t panic… until I hit transition, which is I guess when everyone panics!!” “I looked like I’d been pulled behind a speedboat for about 6 hours when Lilah was born, but I felt SO good!” “Don’t be so afraid of birth—don’t let somebody else handle it because it scares you. Learn what you can about it so that you can make informed decisions.” Between her first and second child, Rachael had been divorced, and she was now in her late 30’s. She did not think that she would have more children. Her next pregnancy was a surprise—“No one was planning that!” She was grateful that her partner was completely supportive and on board with having a birth outside of the hospital. Rachael feels that her second baby’s birth was even more straight forward. He was born en caul! The day before labor, she didn’t feel good and decided to stay home instead of going out to dinner with a friend. Rachael talks about how in her mind, she did not want her daughter to miss school because she was having a baby (She’s not sure why that was a big deal to her, now!). She didn’t go into labor until 1 am on a Saturday, so she thinks she must have mentally willed that to happen! “I didn’t want to wake up the midwife before 5am—I thought that was rude.” Rachael remembers feeling more “with it” during her second birth. Her son was born around 9 am, and they were back home by lunch time With her last birth, CeCe, Rachael was 40 years old: “That’s not what I had planned for this year!” Once again, Rachael had prodromal labor. Her husband’s mother came into town a week before the baby was due- she was hoping that she’d be around once the baby came. Rachael made dinner, then decided to go get in the bed, as contractions (she was confident they were prodromal) were making her uncomfortable. Rachael contacts her midwife, who tells her that she’s heading out for a birth that’s in quite a distant location. She asks how Rachael is doing, and Rachael tells her not to worry, she feels like she has plenty of time. Thank goodness—the other baby was born in quite a hurry, and the midwife (who was acting as a second for that birth) was called and told not to even worry about coming out because everything was taken care of. In the meantime, Rachael’s daughter began getting sick. She got up to go check on her-- “When I stood up, I had that ‘Oh no, what have I done’ contraction!” She went to the bathroom and saw that she’d lost her mucous plug. “Okay great, well we have to go now!” So

Generously Sponsored By: Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Show Notes: Anne is a mother of 6 children who range in age from 25 to 3 She has been a doula/labor support person for 25 years (before the term really even existed!) In 1999, Anne trained formally as a doula. She trained a second time with another organization the following year, and found that the two organizations had rather opposite methods and beliefs. One was very medical, the other was almost medically antagonistic. Anne felt she was lacking training from both organizations, so she set out to do something about it. She and a group of women started a business called Maternity Wise, and she’s been training doulas since 2004. With her first birth, Anne had a doctor who she says was more like a midwife than a typical doctor. At the end of her labor, she did use some narcotic pain relief at the end of her labor (though her doctor did discourage it), which she attributes to having a more difficult pushing phase. Anne mentions how it made her feel drunk and slow- unable to move the way she wanted to. Once the narcotics wore off, Anne was able to push more successfully and baby came out quickly at that point. “What I’ve learned throughout the course of my births is that I’m one of those moms who does a lot of early work.” Her births are fast, but she does a lot of laboring off and on in the weeks beforehand. “I do a lot of laboring off and on during the weeks beforehand… and that sort of thing makes everybody nutty!” With her second child, she was actually put on bedrest several weeks beforehand. She had both of these babies 2 weeks before her due date, and both were over 8 lbs! As soon as they took her off bedrest, she went into labor. When she went to the hospital, the nurse checked her and her water broke. The nurse left, saying that she had quite a ways to go. As soon as she left, Anne begins feeling the “poop pressure” The nurse ran back in, lifted the blanket, and caught Anne’s baby as he came “shooting out”! All in all, her second labor was 55 minutes long. Between her second and third birth, her amazing doctor stopped practicing. She was referred to an OB who she very much liked, but in 1999, doctors were now working in groups, so she was not necessarily going to be attended by her own doctor. At 37 weeks Anne went in because she was experiencing potential labor. After being there for several hours and having everything die down, she wanted to go home. The doctor said, “Let me just check you one more time and we’ll go from there.” What she didn’t know is that the doctor had an amniohook in his hand, and he broke her water without her permission. After the baby was born, Anne felt he looked far too small and young. She’d been studying for quite some time at this point, so upon assessment, she felt confident that he was not 3 weeks early, but closer to 5 weeks early. “I think of all these moms whose due dates could be miscalculated- and how they induce and how they hurry things up and how they have these itty bitty babies who are just not ready.” In 2002, Anne decided to have her first homebirth (baby #4). With this baby, she went 3 days past 40 weeks- much further than she’d ever previously gone! Anne’s sister in law came to stay with her because her husband was working an hour away, and they knew that might be too far to make the birth! Of course, her baby waited until the day her sister in law left to be born! She began feeling slight contractions, but they very suddenly made a turn and got very strong. She called her midwife, who said she was on her way, but was 45 minutes away. She had been in the tub, but got out because she was uncomfortable. As she got up, her body started pushing. She walked to the bed, and with the next contraction, her baby was born. Anne’s husband caught her, juggled her around a bit, and put her on Anne’s chest. The baby took a good breath, but then went limp, which very much scared Anne at the time. Anne mentions that as a toddler, this daughter would faint if she were surprised or scared… she now thinks that’s what happened at her birth! This daughter that she had alone- Ruth- is very shy. On the other hand, her next daughter is the life of the party. And for this birth, Anne needed all of her people there! She had plenty of women around her, as well as her husband, and her kids were in the other room “eatin’ triscuits”. Her midwife was about 10 minutes out, and her water had yet to break. With the next contraction, she felt a big, warm gush. This contraction was particularly difficult. She assumed her water had broken, but when she opened her eyes, she saw that everyone around her looked concerned. She looked down and realized that this was not water, but blood. One of her friends, who is a lay midwife, was with her and supporting her. She prayed over Anne, then looked at her and said, “You need to push the baby ou

Show Notes: Sarah is the co-host of the Doing it at Home Podcast She is a balance lifestyle coach who works with mothers in integrating their identities, purpose, confidence and sexuality She is wife to her husband Matthew and Mom to her daughter Mya Orgasmic Mama is the name of Sarah’s online membership program that she’s recently launched for moms to have a place to explore conversations regarding sexuality Daily life before having a homebirth: “What the hell were we doing? We didn’t know how much time we had, really!” They were both working for a small marketing agency in Atlanta and had very flexible schedules. Sarah shifted out of the agency and began working as a personal trainer. She was then working with clients remotely related to lifestyle and balance They found out they were pregnant the same week that Matthew decided he was also going to be leaving his job and starting his own consulting business. So much life change at once! Getting pregnant: “We decided we wanted to conceive, and we got pregnant two seconds later.” When she first found out she was pregnant, Sarah and Matthew went to see her OB. She’d only seen him for yearly exams since moving to Atlanta, so truly they’d only met twice. She was keen on having birth with as little intervention as possible: not being attached to anything, access to water and ice, to eat and drink etc. As they began establishing a relationship with her OB, they realized that her desires were not going to be met by this care provider and hospital Sarah was watching the DVD series: Happy, Healthy Child and it began opening and expanding her mind about birth and parenting. She was connected with a homebirth group that was about 15 minutes from her house. Matthew was a big part of the process, which was a big differentiator between the midwives and the hospital experience- it was an experience they were having together. They were both pregnant together. Sarah and Matthew both like sharing the fact that they did not immediately click into place that they would 100% have a homebirth. At first, Sarah was the one encouraging the idea while Matthew was more uncertain, and at one point, the tables turned and Matthew was for the homebirth while Sarah was unsure. Finally, around 18-19 weeks, the two synced in opinion and decided they were going to go for it! At that time, Sarah was looking for resources to connect with mothers who were deciding to have a similar birthing situation. As she and Matthew looked around, they really couldn’t find many resources. In comes the entrepreneurial spirit: They decided to launch the Doing it at Home Podcast. Several weeks after launching the show (after Mya was born), women began coming out of the woodwork wanting to share their own birth stories. Sarah acknowledges that her pregnancy was beautiful and she thoroughly enjoyed it. “Those midwife appointments were just amazing—Matthew came to every single one.” Sarah and Matthew stacked up quite a large birth team, which worked for them. There were a total of 10 people in her bedroom when Mya was born—Mya not included! Sarah wanted to make sure that Matthew had someone available for him during labor. She wanted to make sure that he was supported and cared for just as she was. Sarah’s Birth: They were a day shy of 41 weeks “Is this the last day that I’m going to be pregnant? The last shower that I’m going to take pregnant?” Sarah was doing all kinds of lunges and movements to try to get Mya to move down, as she was not yet engaged. They went to an outside concert in September in Atlanta: The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performing John Williams music (Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Star Wars) As they walked back to the car from the concert, Sarah noticed that she was feeling very uncomfortable. When they got home between 10-11, Sarah couldn’t get comfortable in bed, so she went to the bath tub. By 1am-2am, they called Sarah’s midwife. That period of time was incredibly beautiful and magical for Sarah and Matthew. Matthew reminded her, “Be grateful for this experience.” That affirmation really resonated with Sarah and was something that she carried with her through the labor. Matthew was so fascinated with all of the gear that the midwife brought to the birth: the oxygen tank, the medications for too much bleeding postpartum, etc.. The birth pool was blown up and Sarah got in, spending about 90% of active labor in the water. Sarah discusses how the feelings of labor have such a unique quality: the intensity and the perhaps pain are with such purpose Sarah’s total labor was about 12 hours Her midwives encouraged Sarah to use the restroom- while she was sitting on the toilet, she remembers looking up into Matthew’s eyes and saying, “This really hurts.” Which to her, was more of a feeling of “what if I can’t do this” and because she was so emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. She felt like pushing was an amazing experience for her because up until that point, she felt like she had been

Show Notes: Currently 38 weeks pregnant Have had quite a successful pregnancy-- this one has gone by much faster (probably because I've been chasing my toddler) Planning to have my daughter at the birth. We've prepared by having her watch birth videos and even listening to/watching the video of me pushing with her This pregnancy I: continued strength training throughout- I feel it made a huge difference for me I did start eating more poorly during February/March, so I did the Whole30 with my husband and daughter as a reset in April and felt much better I got sick with a stomach bug around 34 weeks- I don't wish that on anyone! So awful to be sick and that pregnant. I worried momentarily I'd accidentally push the baby out while puking. I had a blessingway ceremony this past weekend. Surrounded by amazing midwives and birth workers who love me. We: ate, had a bead ceremony, a fear-releasing ceremony, made an affirmation banner, and prayed over me If you had a Blessingway, what did you do? Please send me songs to add to my playlist- feel free to send them via your instagram stories, tagging @happyhomebirthpodcast

Show Notes: Mia and her fiancé have been together for 7 years and have two precious sons together. She comes for a naturally minded family- some of her aunts had had homebirths. However, she was not very educated on the subject. She planned for a hospital birth and had a pretty good experience. She later experienced a friend’s homebirth (about 8 months after her own hospital birth) and realized that’s what she would want to do with any subsequent children. Mia found out that she was pregnant with her second son right after her first son turned one. When she found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted her friend’s midwife to act as her own midwife. Interestingly enough, both Mia and the midwife did not make it in time for the actual birth of Mia’s friend’s child! However, Mia loved how the midwife interacted with her during the home visit and immediately postpartum enough to know that homebirth was the way she wanted to go. “It made me more aware that homebirth isn’t a scary thing.” Mia admits that she procrastinated a bit with her prenatal care- she began going to prenatals at 20 weeks. One way that Mia educated herself was by joining several homebirth and natural birth Facebook groups. Every afternoon when she would scroll through her feed, she would gain more insight into the choice she was making. With her first birth, her water broke before labor began. Once she went in, Mia mentions how many steps there were before she was actually able to focus on her labor: She had to get checked in through labor, assigned a room, they had to bring a birthing tub in in pieces, her water line was broken in her room so she had to wait for maintenance—Because of this the hours seemed to pass by like minutes. “Looking back at it now, the hours passed by like minutes.” After laboring for 3-4 hours in the tub, Mia was checked and found to be 9 ½ centimeters. After a few more contractions, she was ready to push. Mia says that pushing was the time that things became more uncomfortable. She was on her back, bright lights shining directly on her, nurses and doctors hustling and bustling, etc. Mia felt that the discomfort of the situation slowed her labor dramatically. She ended up pushing for 3 hours, and when her baby finally came, he was tangled up in his cord. Mia wishes she had been able to push in a better position, thinking that could have helped her situation dramatically. With her second child, Mia had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks. She woke up at 3 am one morning with contractions that were different from what she’d been experiencing. Her fiancé works nights, so unfortunately this was right when he was coming to bed. She remembers having to tell him, “Hey, you can’t go to sleep- I’m having contractions!” They decided to wake up and straighten up the house a little bit. After, Mia decided that it might be a good idea to eat a little something and begin timing her contractions. She was contracting every 5 minutes and they were lasting about 30 seconds. However, because they were consistent for an hour, she decided to call her midwife and let her know what was going on. Her midwife agreed that she was in labor, but recommended that she try to go to sleep for a bit. Mia took her advice and after about an hour of trying, she was able to fall asleep and stay asleep for 4 hours. She woke up and had a normal day. Mia was even able to get a small nap in when her son did later. Once she awoke, she decided it would be best to head to the grocery store to get a big haul of groceries so she wouldn’t have to leave her house any time soon! She remembers her son running away from her in the store. As she chased him, she began having a contraction and though people must think she was crazy! “I think that I was so busy trying to relax that day that I didn’t nourish my body the way that I should” Mia stayed in touch with her midwife throughout the day. At 7:30 pm, Mia’s mother arrived at her house. Around that time, Mia called her midwife and asked her to begin heading her way. Her midwife said, “Well, you’re still talking through your contractions. I’ll call you back in about half an hour to reevaluate.” About 15 minutes later her midwife received another call—this time from Mia’s mom—telling her she couldn’t talk through contractions anymore! Mia says that she had a perfect birth team. Her aunt, who has had homebirths, and her mom, played a huge role in her first labor, so she knew they would be important in her second birth, too. Her two cousins came, and even Mia’s little sister, who is 6 wanted to be a part of the special day. Mia had a photographer, and of course her midwife, as well as a second midwife and an assistant. Her fiancé was there taking care of her, too! Everyone was at her house by 9pm. “And really what helped me most through contractions this time was listening to worship music and just trying to sing through them, which I loved.” Mia’s midwife kept asking her to go pee, but Mia was unable to e

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 research on her part to come to the decision and know for certain she wanted to give birth at home. As a registered nurse, she did have some negative reactions from coworkers and friends about her decision. “I think that labor is best left untouched.” Leah’s fiancé was very uncomfortable with the idea of a homebirth. Early on, she asked him to visit several care providers, and he quickly disagreed, saying she needed to give birth in the hospital like every other “normal” mom! Not wanting to argue, Leah began seeing an OB. She continued with this care provider up until week 26, when she began feeling very uncomfortable with the idea that she was now going to be having a hospital birth. She decided to set up a quiet little meeting with a local midwife without involving her fiancé until afterwards. She immediately felt connected with this midwife and said, “This is it. I know that whatever my birth story is going to be, you are going to be a part of it.” Leah continued to see both her OB and her midwife up until week 36, where she completely transferred care over to her midwife. Though she liked her OB, Leah began feeling pushed to do things she didn’t want to do, including a 3rd trimester ultrasound and weekly cervical checks after 35 weeks. She felt that her prenatals were far more in depth with her midwife; they discussed issues like nutrition, which never happened with her OB- not because she didn’t care, but simply because there was just not enough time. In fact, her OB was so busy, that she had a patient due every single day of the month that Leah was due. She had warned Leah that she would likely not be the person delivering her baby anyway. Leah’s midwife was able to discern that her baby was posterior, and explained how that had the potential to complicate, or at least prolong, labor. She recommended chiropractic care and yoga to help get baby in a more optimal position. She appreciated how much more hands-on her care was with her midwife. The OB pushed for a 3rd trimester ultrasound to see baby’s position, but her midwife already knew baby’s position by consistent belly palpation. “I felt like she was almost a sister or a mom to me, as well as a care provider.” Leah decided to work up until the day that she gave birth. She was healthy and her baby was healthy, so she decided to continue. During her 39th week, she got up on a Friday to go to work and noticed some bloody show. She let her midwife know, and asked her what that meant in relation to when labor would start. Her midwife responded that it could be any time between the next 24 hours and week! Leah went to work and worked the full 12 hour shift. She was on her feet all day, and by the time she got home, she was feeling crampy and “not good,” but she hadn’t realized at that point that she was on the cusp of labor. Leah tried to go to sleep early, but couldn’t sleep. Although she was feeling crampy, she thought that maybe she was just experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. At about 3:30 in the morning, the discomfort was feeling less tolerable. She thought that maybe she should start timing them to see if they were actually contractions. At this point, she was having contractions every five minutes. At 4:30, she called her best friend who lives hours away and let her know that she thought today was going to be the day, so get in the car and head her way whenever she was up and ready. At 5, Leah called her midwife and let her know what she was feeling. An hour later, she called her midwife back and let her know that she was still consistently contracting. At 8:30, Leah’s midwife arrived. Leah says, “I remember walking to the door and saying, ‘Hey…I feel like crap.’” Her midwife checked her and said, “Strong work, girl! You’re a 6!” Leah was very happy to know that her contractions were doing something! Leah’s midwife had an assistant with her, who also acted similar to a doula during the experience. In the late afternoon/evening, she was checked again and was at 9cm with her bag of waters still intact. Her midwife gave her the option of continuing with labor uninterrupted or breaking her water. Leah decided to wait and see and did not want her water broken at that time. She labored on for another hour and began feeling exhausted. At that point, she decided to have her water broken. She as laboring on the bed at this time, but her midwife told her she should try to decide where she wanted to be when they had the baby since they were getting close. She labored for about 26 hours total, but only spent about 45 minutes in the pool. She decided she wanted t

Thank you to our sponsor!: Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Show Notes: Madeline Murray is a CPM working in Atlanta, Georgia. She is part of a 3-midwife practice called Modern Midwifery She had her first child this past year, and remembers people telling her that having a baby would make her a better midwife. Though she’s not sure if she agrees, she definitely thinks being a midwife made her a terrible pregnant lady! Madeline was born at home in 1982 (her mother had her first baby at home in 1977). When she was growing up, homebirth was the norm for her How she got into midwifery: Her job was coming to a close as a nanny, and she witnessed her sister-in-law’s victorious VBAC She went to Midwife’s College of Utah for her didactic training She attended births in Haiti and the Philippines, then finished her training in Oregon at a birth center Madeline explains “Believe in Midwifery” She discusses how difficult it was to be living in Oregon and not be able to experience anything outside of an hour away from the birth center. She was feeling suffocated from being on call all the time, but felt she wasn’t allowed to say anything about it. “I was either going to quit or figure out a way that I could get a little time off.” “I knew that I wanted to be a midwife, I knew that I was going to be a great midwife, but I also knew that I couldn’t do it in the system that is set up right now.” Madeline developed a schedule for the midwives and midwifery students that showed how each of them could receive time off while still providing continuity of care for their clients. She presented this at a staff meeting. The midwives told her that it would work, but that’s not what “midwifery is”. Madeline discusses the physical toll that on-call workers take by that type of lifestyle. “I could be both things: I could be a good midwife and someone who wanted to have a life, too.” “The midwives model of care is the answer to so many of themajor problems with the birth culture in The United States” “To make midwifery sustainable, midwives need to have regularly scheduled time off call.” Madeline discusses how she feels like if mothers knew and understood what that on-call lifestyle was like, they would be just as happy to have this system as midwives. She mentions that one incredibly depressing statistic is that the average career time of a midwife is a mere 7 years. She also brings up a fabulous point: how one midwife for one client in and of itself is still somewhat isolating. The ability to have several women pouring into each client is an incredible benefit and truly more in the sisterhood vein that midwifery was intended to be! Contact Madeline!: believeinmidwifery.com com/believeinmidwifery [email protected] Episode Roundup: 1. It’s okay to want to be a midwife or birth worker but have a life outside of that, too! Your family is important, and you need to be able to be there for them. 2. In order to provide more services to more mothers and to prevent burnout and short careers, we need to find a way to make midwifery more sustainable. 3. For mothers, seeing several midwives gives the benefit of seeing several different women, perhaps with different styles of mothering or in different phases of motherhood and life. I know this left a huge impact on me, and I’m so grateful that I was exposed to a few strong mothers/care providers before entering into motherhood myself.

Thank You, Sponsors! Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Dreckman Family Chiropractic http://www.familychiropracticinsimpsonvillesc.com/ 864-757-9901 Show Notes: Kendra is a mom of 4: a 6 year old, 4 year old, 2 year old, and 1 month old Before becoming a mother, she was a vet tech. After the birth of her first child, Kendra entered the world of birth photography and has not looked back! She and her husband, who were high school sweethearts, have always seen eye to eye on birth: He has supported her in all of her birthing decisions. At the age of 19, Kendra’s doctors informed her that she would likely never become pregnant; she had chronic lyme disease, as well as what they thought was PCOS. Shortly after marriage, Kendra had a miscarriage. Although very disappointed, in a way they felt positive that she even conceived at all. After speaking with several doctors, they decided to begin trying to get pregnant (they hadn’t been, previously). After a year, Kendra became pregnant with her daughter. She had what she refers to as a very “by the book” pregnancy and birth with her first daughter. Kendra says she didn’t think to research much. She was told that she had borderline gestational diabetes, and her OB wanted to induce her at 39 weeks for fear that the baby would be “too big.” At about 3 cm, the nurse told Kendra that she looked uncomfortable, so she’d send the anesthesiologist her way. Kendra was nervous about the epidural, and now recognizes that she ended up having a panic attack due to the lack of feeling in her legs. Her daughter came out at just over 6 pounds, so NOT TOO BIG!, but she was a healthy girl, so Kendra and her husband did not think much of the experience. After the birth, Kendra said to her mom, “Gosh, I wish there could have been someone here like a wedding photographer to take pictures of the birth.” The nurse then told Kendra that that’s actually something people do! It was through her clients that she began realizing that she could have her next baby differently. “I started researching and realizing how I wanted to do it different if we had another baby” A month after her realization, she was pregnant with her second child! At 37 weeks, her OB told her they needed to go ahead and have her little boy- there were complications with the placenta. Kendra did receive Pitocin for an induction, but did not use any pain medication for his birth. She says it was the most exhilarating thing she’d ever done. “It was the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done.” She hired a doula for her second birth. Kendra says, “My husband was my number 1 support. I wanted the doula for him to be able to support me.” Her doula was amazing at helping them weigh each choice that came up. “With birth, you really have to know your choices… and what you want for your birth.” Kendra thought she was done having children, but then became pregnant with her third! She switched care providers this time in hopes of not being induced. She was able to get exactly what she wanted, and had a completely natural childbirth at the hospital. Baby weight in at 5 pounds and some change. Compared to the Pitocin contractions, Kendra couldn’t believe how well she was able to cope with the unmedicated contractions. She compares the difference, saying that with Pitocin she felt like she was out of control, but with no Pitocin, she knew a contraction was coming and felt she could ride the wave. Kendra’s third baby was over 9 pounds! Once again, after their 3rd baby, Kendra and her husband decided they were done having children….. Then…. She photographed her first homebirth! “Then I photographed my first homebirth, and I was just amazed.” Kendra said she had never felt more safe for a mother than at the homebirth, and she has what she refers to as a “duh moment,” where she thought, “This is how it is supposed to be… in the comfort of your own home surrounded by people that you love and trust.” She said that if they were ever crazy enough to have a 4th baby, they’d have a homebirth… and then she got pregnant. Kendra interviewed the same midwives that she had worked with at her first homebirth and loved them. She decided to hire them, and that was that! Kendra talks of how it was quite a switch to go from birth photographer to client. As a photographer, she speaks of how it’s all about going unnoticed. To then have prenatals and care be centered around her was quite a different experience. Kendra loved how her prenatals were in a living room type office instead of a cold, clinical exam room. She loved that her kids had a place off to the side where they could play with hot wheels and baby dolls. It made all of the appointments so much comfortable than what she’d experienced before. After the first appointment, Kendra’s daughter told her that she wanted to be with her at the birth. Her daughter was always asking questions and involved in the prenat

We Love You, Sponsors! The Mama Needs Box mamaneedsbox.com mamaneedspodcast.com instagram.com/mamaneedsbox Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: www.myhappyhomebirth.com/glowingmamacourse (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) instagram.com/stephsibbiofitness April and Aleena are sisters, Aleena is the oldest, so she gets to go first! Aleena has 4 children and a loving husband. Her kiddos are 13, 11, and a pair of boy/girl twins who are 9. Her family has moved a round a bit, but they now live in the Boise, Idaho area—7 minutes away from her sister, April! April has 4 kids with a babe on the way—She has 3 little girls: 7, 5, 4, and a 2 year old boy. These two sisters own the company Dear Darby, which was created about 1.5 years ago. April has been a doula for almost 7 years, and Aleena has been for about 2. April had mentioned how much she would love to create a functional/beautiful labor gown. After attending her first doula birth in the hospital, Aleena completely agreed and knew they had to make this product happen. April had be having homebirths, and felt that there was nothing on the market for mothers that was functional for that setting, either. Typically sports bras and a skirt or pants are the go-to, beyond the typical birthday suit! The gowns they saw on the market were often replicas of hospital gowns, just in pretty colors. Their product has finally launched (about a month ago)! “Women are too important and birth is too important for you not to show up as your best self” This is what inspired these sisters to create a luxury labor gown for all birth settings. Backing it up, we go into more detail about Aleena and April’s personal stories. Aleena’s last pregnancy was a twin pregnancy, and as she says, “It was a doozy!” Her first two births were with a midwife in the hospital. When she moved to Las Vegas, she found out that at that time, Las Vegas did not allow midwives in the hospital. She had to go through 3 OBs to find one who was even willing to consider doing a vaginal twin birth. Aleena tells a really neat story of her mom having a premonition that she would have twins—and she didn’t find out until her 20 week ultrasound that they were actually twins. “They put the ultrasound machine on my belly, and I see two babies. So I said, ‘Oh, is that an echo?’ And the lady said, ‘Oh, you didn’t know you’re having twins?!” During the birth, Baby A came out head first, and Baby B ended up being breech. Luckily Aleena was able to have the vaginal birth that she desired! Because Aleena had an amazing unmedicated birth, all of her sisters decided to follow suit. By the time April was beginning to have children, she was very comfortable with the idea of an unmedicated birth. With her first birth, April planned to have a hospital birth. However, around 28 weeks, she started considering other options. The midwifery practice she was with was rather large, and she felt that she had to keep explaining herself and her goals again and again to new people. “I wanted whoever was up in my business to be my best friend!” She decided to change to a birth center, and loved her experience. Later, she realized that the only part she didn’t like about the birthing experience was getting in the car and driving to another location. For that reason, she decided to have her next babies at home! It was actually Aleena’s birth that April witnessed that gave her the “birthworker bug” (at the age of 21!) Aleena has been a doula and childbirth educator for 2.5 years now. She owned a health and nutrition store for about 7 years prior to that. She’s always been an entrepreneur at heart, even in childhood when she’d sell snow cones and McDonald’s toys in the neighborhood! When April mentioned the idea of creating birthing gowns, Aleena though, “Oh, that’s a business! We can do that!” And set off contacting manufacturers. “If we change their clothes and change their mindsets, they will show up how they want to show up.” April and Aleena discuss the community aspect of Dear Darby and how they are hoping to influence birth for so many. “Women need women… especially in birth, and just in life.” instagram.com/dear_darby www.deardarby.com Sizes range from small-3x Facebook Group: The Darby Clan Episode Roundup: Changing what you wear can be a very powerful way to change your perspective- empower, give autonomy, Women need women- There is such a sisterhood to be had when we allow ourselves to become close with mothers around us- of varying ages and stages!

Check Out These Sponsors! The Mama Needs Box mamaneedsbox.com mamaneedspodcast.com instagram.com/mamaneedsbox Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: www.myhappyhomebirth.com/glowingmamacourse (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) instagram.com/stephsibbiofitness Show Notes: Carrissa is a mother of 6 children: 5 girls and 1 boy. She always knew that she wanted a big family: Carrissa has 4 siblings herself, and her husband was an only child- both were very on board with a large family! I met Carrissa through a group in which she has been an admin of for over 9 years- Homebirth and Waterbirth. Carrissa explains the group and its purpose: A place for mothers interested in homebirth and waterbirth to come and feel connected and supported. When she became pregnant with her first child, Carrissa began thinking that she wanted to have her baby in the most natural way possible. Her husband was not quite comfortable with the idea of a midwife at that time and preferred they use the hospital. Carrissa decided that was okay and went along with a planned hospital birth. Unfortunately, while in labor, Carrissa had a very negative reaction to a medication given to her. On top of that, her water was broken very early- she was about 4 cm dilated at the time. She continued to labor, though and at close to 9 cm, she asked for medication to ease the discomfort. They gave Carrissa Fentanly through her IV, and immediately she felt a shift in her body. Baby move back up the birth canal, and her cervix actually began to close- she went from 9 cm dilated to 7. Carrissa went unconscious for a moment, and the nursing staff had to wake her back up. Her baby’s heartbeat went from 144 beats per minute down to 77, and she was in distress. They tried to get Carrissa up onto hands and knees, while several doctors and lots of nurses rushed her to the OR. They put Carrissa under general anesthesia, and when she awoke, she realized her baby had been born about 4 hours prior. Everyone had been able to hold her and snuggle her before Carrissa. Carrissa says she felt heartbroken—she felt as though she had given her baby a bad birth experience. Of course, now she recognizes that the situation was not ideal- she had a doctor who was not very supportive, and a lackluster nursing staff. She mentions that that hospital has come quite a long way since that time, and they’ve done quite a bit to improve (this was 13 years ago). With her second daughter (11), Carrissa was adamant that they would have a homebirth this time. The birth went so much better, though she discusses how once again at 9 cm, she stalled. She attributed this to the fact that that’s as far as her body had gone with labor the last time, so her body still had to do the hard work of figuring out how to have a baby this go ‘round. Baby was born safe and sound, and Carrissa mentions how much better her postpartum experience was with this baby- she did not have to contend with the drugs and medication that she had to be on with her first birth, which kept her feeling foggy and as though time was slipping from her. Carrissa’s third birth (another homebirth) was her shortest. She was putting her two daughters to bed one night when her midwife called and said, “Hey! It’s a full moon tonight, so I just wanted to call and check up on you- full moons tend to put moms into labor.” Carrissa laughed and told her that she was actually about to call—that she was getting into the shower and thought she might be in labor. Her midwife came over and checked her, and told her that her waters were bulging and she was very dilated- she’d be having a baby soon! The pushing phase was rather difficult, but overall the birth was short and lovely. Carrissa’s next pregnancy was 6 years later- it was a surprise! She decided to have that birth in the hospital- it was financially a better option at that time, and her midwife was no longer practicing. She mentions that she also wasn’t in the best place mentally and emotionally at that time, so the decision to go to the hospital made Carrissa feel the most comfortable. For that birth, she had been in prodromal labor off and on for several weeks. In fact, she’d gone to the hospital several times thinking it was certainly the real deal. Luckily, they did not admit her at any point. Several days after Thanksgiving, Carrissa and her sister were making ornaments for their children to hang- She was clearly in labor. Everyone around her kept say, “Let’s get you to the hospital,” but Carrissa was not ready to go- fearing it would be another false alarm. All of Carrissa’s children came at 39 weeks and 6 days… except for this baby! She was 40 weeks and 2 days at this point, and she was convinced that this baby was just not coming! “’Im going to be the first woman in history to be pregnant forever’… I was convinced of that!” Finally, af

Thank you to our sponsors: Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: www.myhappyhomebirth.com/glowingmamacourse (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Show Notes: “Holistic Hilda” is a health coach and podcast coach in the D.C. area. She has 4 young adult children, and a husband who is an athletic director Hilda’s own birth story: Hilda was born with a birth defect- a hole in her heart (because her mother was exposed to German Measles while pregnant). At 9, she had surgery to repair her heart. As a child, she had to be very careful. After her surgery, she was ready to live life to the fullest! This, she believes is what spurred her on to living such an active, healthy lifestyle. When Hilda became pregnant, although there were not as many resources regarding natural childbirth at the time (late 80’s-early 90’s), she did find The Bradley Method, which was everything she hoped it would be. She learned about avoiding the cascade of interventions Hilda self-describes her body type as being small in stature. She found out later that when she walked into the hospital, her doctor thought, “She’s definitely going to have a cesarean.” Hilda proved her wrong! Hilda had a friend who was working as her doula. She was there to support Hilda and her husband, and remind them of their plans of how they wanted to give birth. Baby #1 weighed 9 pounds, 15 ounces! Although Hilda has learned a great deal more about nutrition and holistic health since her childbearing years, she was still eating a relatively healthy diet and was certainly keeping active. “For all the moms out there, don’t ‘should’ on yourself. All we can do is move forward from this point in time.” I mention that the Weston A. Price Foundation focuses a great deal on eating a diet for growing healthy babies and nursing, but they also focus a great deal on pre-conception. I ask Hilda to explain what this looks like, and what we can be doing to encourage health, no matter what stage we are in: Hilda reminds mothers that if they have been on birth control for preventing pregnancies, we cannot immediately expect our bodies to become pregnant once we go off. There’s a time of rebalancing and releasing the hormones that have been given. “Detox”- shed little by little the things you can that you know aren’t favorable. “Your body needs to have the signal that you’re in abundance, and you’re able to bear.” Don’t have a scarcity mentality, which means avoid “dieting”. “Let your body know, ‘we’ve got what we need to produce a healthy baby’”. Detox your environment- get rid of air fresheners, perfumes, perhaps over-the-counter creams, and chemicals you can’t pronounce—these things are getting into your body through your skin, and they’re being absorbed by all of your cells. Take on and embrace: healthy foods. Nutrient-dense foods—a great example of which is liver. Take on and embrace: your intuition. Trust that your body knows what it needs, and don’t live in a place of fear. Consider, what is your emotional and spiritual state to have a baby? Hilda emphasizes the importance of giving your baby a peaceful environment to grow in—so work on the anger and anxiety beforehand! “I just feel like I was burning the candle at all ends- not just both ends! And it was to my detriment.” So go ahead and make those peaceful changes before conception. Take self-care seriously! Hilda discusses the work of Dr. Weston A. Price (whom the foundation is named after), and how his travels showed that all of these strong, healthy cultures had very specific pre-conception protocols and rituals. The mother and father would eat special diets of highly nutrient dense foods, like fish eggs. Finding good sources for these types of food is critical. The Weston A. Price foundation actually has an incredible resource for this through local chapter leaders. Find your local chapter leader and learn where to source the best food in your area! https://www.westonaprice.org/category/get-involved/local-chapters/ Hilda’s births: With her first, she focused on relaxing her jaw. She had her husband quote scripture- 1 verse- over and over. The nurses even commented afterward that it was like her husband was giving her drugs whenever he would do that for her! Hilda did struggle with some amount of preterm labor. In fact, with her 3rd birth, her doctor informed her that she needed to go on bedrest. For a fitness person like Hilda, this was rough news. Hilda talks about the benefits of not being so dogmatic in our beliefs about exactly how everything is supposed to go. She gives an example of a friend who planned a homebirth, but then ended up having to go into the hospital. Of course, this woman was disappointed not to have the homebirth she was expecting, but was grateful for the necessary care she received. On a lighter note of this- Hilda and I talk

Thank you to our sponsors: Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: www.myhappyhomebirth.com/glowingmamacourse (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Show Notes: Sarah and her husband have been together for 10 years now, and have lived all over the world. She has two children: Manning and Alex Sarah’s first birth was in a birth center setting. As a child and teen, she never had exposure to out-of-hospital birth. However, her mother did refuse epidurals, chose to breastfeed (in the 80’s- when breastfeeding was going through quite an uncommon spell). Sarah and her husband had their eyes opened to the idea of natural childbirth outside of the hospital. “Birth is a natural, healthy process. There’s no need for it to take place in a hospital.” Of course, hospitals can be a fine place to give birth- and especially important for emergencies, but Sarah certainly sees the benefit of the out-of-hospital experience. Her first birth, which took place in Alaska, was attended by a number of Certified Nurse Midwives, as well as Certified Professional Midwives. Sarah’s first birth was long- 36 hours from her first contraction until baby was born. Sarah’s friend attended her birth as her very first doula training birth, and now she is a very successful midwife! Sarah’s midwife, after quite a while, called her directing midwife to check and see if all was well, or if they needed to transport. The head midwife came and assessed the situation, saying that all was well and a transport was not necessary. The setup of this birth center is incredible: Being able to call other providers to come help and support, even though her original midwife did stay all the way until the very end. Sarah and Katelyn discuss the “what if’s” of had she gone into the hospital at the time she went to the birth center, she very possibly could have ended up with a c-section. Sarah’s second child, Alex, was quite a surprise! Sarah began searching for options in Mississippi, where midwifery is not regulated. Certified Nurse Midwives are unable to practice outside of the hospital at all. Luckily, Sarah was able to locate a CPM in the lower part of the state of Mississippi. At least at that time, she was the only CPM that Sarah could find who resided in Mississippi. “She had not only a level of training, but also a level of accountability that I appreciated.” -Sarah on selecting a CPM This midwife does not take on many clients, and even more difficultly, she lived 3 hours away from Sarah. Upon agreement of working as her care provider, her midwife required Sarah have an OB backup care provider who would be able and willing to take care of her in a hospital should any situation arise. Having an OB backup made Sarah feel even more comfortable with the process, and it helped space her visits out, especially towards the end. She was able to see her OB for some of the prenatals as they got closer together, allowing her not to have to drive the 6 hour round trip drive bi-weekly and weekly. Her OB would not officially condone her blessing for Sarah having a homebirth, but she did not try to strong-arm her into the hospital setting, which was quite a relief for Sarah. Sarah and Katelyn touch on the accountability of a CPM and how these care providers are held to a certain standard based on their credential- no matter what their state regulations may be. This allows for consistency and trust between midwife and clients. Before committing to using a midwife, Sarah toured the local hospital first and met with an OB practice. The pamphlet that they gave her stated two things that made her very uncomfortable: 1. Patients could not eat or drink during labor (this would not be feasible if she had another long labor like last time) and 2. Photography was not allowed during the birthing process. This made Sarah feel very unhappy and uncertain, especially because some of her most precious photos she has are directly during and after the birth of her first child. She sent a picture of the pamphlet to her husband without mentioning her concerns, and he immediately responded saying that was not going to work for them! When it came to estimating her due date, there was a small level of uncertainty on Sarah’s end, though she felt fairly confident about her dates. She measured along with her dates, too. However, when she had an ultrasound, the results said that she was actually about 2 weeks further along than expected. Based on Sarah’s calculated due date, Alex came 2 weeks early, though based on the ultrasound estimation, he came right at 40 weeks. As labor approached, Sarah did not notice much different in her level of activity. However, when she looks back, she realizes, “I did actually clean out my car and my husband’s truck and install the baby seat!” Alex was born very quickly. She went to bed on Sunday

Thank You, Sponsors! Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: www.myhappyhomebirth.com/glowingmamacourse (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Body Works Physical Therapy http://bodyworks-physicaltherapy.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/MamaBodyWorks Email: [email protected]: (864) 757-2440 Dreckman Family Chiropractic http://www.familychiropracticinsimpsonvillesc.com/ 864-757-9901 Show Notes: Carrie is a Licensed CPM working in the upstate of South Carolina Her first two children were born traditionally in the hospital. After the birth of her first child, she realized she loved all things related to birth. This was in 1997, so before the ease of internet access. She learned about becoming a doula, and decided to take a DONA Certified doula training course. Soon after the birth of her second child, she found an ad in a local parenting magazine for a midwife who was looking for midwifery students. She contacted the midwife, who invited her to dinner. This midwife explained to Carrie exactly what her job entailed, and Carrie was shocked. “People actually do that? They give birth at home? And pay you? That seems so strange to me!” This midwife invited Carrie to a birth, where a precious mother allowed Carrie into her birthing space. Carrie remembers vividly how amazing the experience was. “It almost like time stood still when that baby was born.” She mentions how the mother’s thoughts and feelings were taken into consideration, as was the father’s… how this was their experience and it mattered to the midwife that they were respected. Having only worked in the hospital previously, Carrie was overwhelmed with the beauty of this way of giving birth. At that time, in the hospital, there was no such thing as “the golden hour” or “the magic hour,” and babies were typically very quickly and unceremoniously removed from their mothers. Carrie explains her route to midwifery, though schooling has changed since she studied. At that time, she had do a self-study course led by a licensed midwife, complete a certain number of prenatal exams, births, and newborn exams, and once everything was satisfied, she was approved to sit for the NARM exam, which is similar to a nursing exam. Now, Carrie is on the other end. Not only is she a midwife, but she is a preceptor. Carrie takes on apprentices and teaches them about midwifery from top to bottom. “Sometimes it’s still amazing to me that I am a midwife.” Carrie discusses how amazing it is to be able to teach others- to watch them replay and sort out births and process how it all works is very worth it for her. We now compare the similarities and differences of midwifery vs. a typical ob/gyn Carrie shares how all of the same testing is offered: ultrasounds (whether early ultrasound, 20-week anatomy scan, 35 week weight and position scan), gestational diabetes screening, and group b strep. All of these are offered, but more options exist. Carrie also believes strongly in informed consent. A mother is given all of the information and asked to consider it and do research on her own if she feels uncertain. Should she decide to forgo certain tests, Carrie supports her clients in it, knowing that they are owning their own decisions. When it comes to the differences between midwifery and OB/GYN care, Carrie mentions how with midwifery, the experience tends to be much more one-on-one, without any middlemen. For example, when she experienced OB care, typically the nurse did the bulk of the work, with the doctor coming in to speak for a few minutes. With a midwife, the prenatals are 45 minutes to an hour, and flexible at that. The midwife is the one checking vitals, listening to baby, palpating the belly (feeling where baby is in the belly—moms love getting to know their baby this one and what kind of position he/she is in), and taking a urine sample. Carrie discusses how a large part of the prenatal is made of “teachable moments,” where nutrition is discussed, growth spurts, and information pertinent to that mom’s particular place in the pregnancy journey. She talks about how it’s somewhat astounding to her how many of her second and third time mothers who are having their first homebirth will often say, “wow, nobody ever told me that…”, which Carrie finds rather disappointing, as she feels the information she gives is all very relevant—information mothers should be given. “If you give them the tools they need to have a better feeling pregnancy, they’ll use them!” Beyond having longer prenatals, Carrie’s clients have access to her 24/7. Of course she asks that they not call her at 11pm to ask what comes in her birth kit, but she does say, “if you’re worried about something- if something is keeping you awake at night- just call me.” We next jump into the common misconceptions of homebirth. Carrie mention

Episode 16's Amazing Sponsors: Mom After God's Own Heart https://momaftergodsownheart.com/ https://www.etsy.com/shop/MomAfterGodsOwnHeart https://www.facebook.com/MomAfterGodsOwnHeart/ https://www.instagram.com/momaftergodsownheartshop/ Be sure to check out the Giveaway going on this week! Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Body Works Physical Therapy http://bodyworks-physicaltherapy.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/MamaBodyWorks Email: [email protected]: (864) 757-2440 Show Notes: Megan lives in Texas with her husband and 5 children. She homeschools, and is so grateful to have her in-laws in the same neighborhood, and her parents just 30 minutes away. For her first birth, Megan decided to have a birth center birth. This came about in quite an interesting way: during college, she was required to volunteer a certain amount of time. She decided to work at a crisis pregnancy center. The volunteer coordinator there happened to be a midwife. She had a good friend at the time who was having children with that midwife, and she saw how amazing her friend’s experiences were. Several years later, Megan was married, and she and her husband became pregnant on their honeymoon (isn’t that the cutest?!). Megan and her husband decided they should consider all of their options. They first toured a local hospital. Later, they went to the birth center of the midwife Megan knew at Family Birth Services. The birth center is a renovated historic home. “I just felt heard. I felt encouraged. I felt supported.” This is how Megan felt immediately at the birth center. She and her husband came prepared with lots of questions, all of which were comfortably answered by her midwife and the staff. “I did not feel like a number. I felt like a person with valid questions, and they did not rush me.” Megan read several books to prepare for birth: Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, and Supernatural Birth With her first child, she had been praying throughout the pregnancy for a short delivery. At 38 weeks, she called her midwife and told her she was experiencing contractions. Her midwife talked her through everything, and the contractions dissipated. At 39 weeks, Megan began feeling contractions again. She laid on the couch, and they still would not subside. Her husband began saying, “Hm, I think we should get in the car and head to the birth center,” knowing that the center was a 45-minute drive away. On the drive to the birth center, Megan’s husband had his mother pull the car over so that he could drive and get them there faster (don’t worry, he’s a police officer!). The 45-minute drive turned into closer to a 30-minute drive. By the time they arrived, Megan was quite uncomfortable. Once she got into the center, she had her midwives check her. At this point, she was dilated 3cm. This was at 7pm. At 9pm, her midwife, who was in the area, stopped by the birth center to check on her. Knowing that Megan is a first time mom, the midwife said, “Oh, I’ll probably have time to go home and take a shower and gather my things, but let me just check you.” At 9pm, Megan was already dilated to 9cm! “I just followed my body. I felt like I was being pulled through birth.” Megan mentions that when she wasn’t fighting the contractions, all went well. She did experience moments of pain, however, and she later realized they were the times that she began fighting the feelings and tensing up. She recalls how it was very related to the pitch of her voice getting higher and higher. After her first birth, Megan stated that she never wanted to have to go through laboring in a car again. That was the major reason that she switched to giving birth at home. “I just thought, ‘if I don’t have to go anywhere, why go anywhere? Why not just be in my own place?’” With Megan’s second child, beyond the fact that she really didn’t want to labor in the car, she loved the idea of the coziness of giving birth in her own home. Another deciding factor for having a homebirth instead was that she now had a toddler to contend with. Her in-laws were planning to take the toddler down the road to their house as she gave birth to her son. Unlike her siblings, Daniella took her sweet time coming out. At 40 weeks and 6 days, Megan finally felt what she thought were true contractions. She downloaded an MP3 called Childbirth In the Glory and listened to it as her husband and family members still slept. Her plan was that once labor truly began, she would have her in-laws come pick up her 3 boys. Her daughter, who is 10, wanted to stay home and witness the birth. Unlike all of her other births, which took 4-6 hours, Daniella’s birth was 12-14 hours long. Megan’s midwife Bethany texted her and told her to try the Spinning Babies’ Abdominal Lift and Tuck. She decided to walk outside with her 3-year-old and get some fresh air. Megan remembers leaning against her chicken coop performing abdo

We are so grateful for this week's sponsors: Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Body Works Physical Therapy http://bodyworks-physicaltherapy.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/MamaBodyWorks Email: [email protected]: (864) 757-2440 Show Notes Jenny has been running Nourished Kitchen for over 11 years now- what started as a small hobby has blossomed into a vibrant community of people committed to traditional ways of preparing food. She is the mother of two children, ages 13 and 2. She and her husband have been together for almost 20 years now. Jenny had been struggling with poor health in a number of ways, which is how she stumbled upon her traditionally-rooted diet. She was suffering from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Thyroid Disease, hormonal imbalances and infertility. She was told in her early 20’s that she’d likely be unable to become pregnant on her own. Jenny began working with an endocrinologist, who recommended that she shift her diet. Jenny thought she’d been eating well: low fat vegetarian foods, lots of soy-based products, etc. She decided, however, to take the endocrinologist’s advice and shifted her diet. Within 3 months, she became pregnant with her first child. When her son was about 9-10 months old, Jenny came across the work of the Weston A. Price Foundation. This was in 2007, when butter was still considered an unhealthy food by many, nobody was talking about bone broth or kombucha, etc. “I’m so pleased to see how these traditional foods have become mainstream.” What are traditional foods? The foods that your great-great-great grandparents were eating. The foods that came before the industrial revolution. Before the processes of mono-cropping and the introduction of heavy agricultural chemical use. Examples of traditional foods include: sauerkraut, long-simmered broths, sourdough bread During Jenny’s first pregnancy, she was so concerned with her health issues that she decided to use an OBGYN. She remembers feeling that her voice was lost in the dynamic of Doctor/Patient instead of Doctor/”Client”. By her second pregnancy, she had been adhering to a traditional diet for a decade. She consumed plenty of fresh and fermented vegetables, stews made with grass-fed bison, pastured eggs, fresh oysters (rich in zinc) “I wanted the safety to be able to give birth at home. I wanted the autonomy to make decisions, and I wanted to be able to work with a practitioner who truly listened to me.” Jenny mentions how when she worked with a homebirth midwife, she felt it was a more collaborative approach. The midwife listened to her, and when it came to health, she took a more proactive approach. During their long prenatal sessions, nutrition and movement were at the forefront of discussion. “Instead of waiting for problems related to pregnancy to arise, we made sure I was in optimal health throughout the pregnancy.” As a survivor of sexual assault, Jenny discusses how negatively the hospital experience was for her: Her birth plan was thrown out the moment she walked into the hospital. She was checked and prodded without consent, people were in and out of the room… all very strong issues for someone with previous traumas. “The homebirth experience that I did have was an incredibly healing experience.” Luckily, her midwife’s proactive approach allowed Jenny to work through much of the trauma. “It wasn’t just about giving birth to a healthy baby, it was about becoming a mother again.” “With homebirth, it’s a much more organic, holistic, respectful experience.” “We talk about these due dates like they’re set in stone… when the reality is you kind of have a ‘due season’.” With Jenny’s first birth, she was pressured into having an induction. With her second, her midwife reassured her that as long as everything looked healthy, she would be willing to wait for Jenny’s body to go into labor naturally. After a week, Jenny went in for a biophysical profile, which came back saying all was healthy and well. She continued these every few days until finally around 42 weeks, her body was ready to have her baby. At 42 weeks, Jenny remembers having contractions that at the time, she thought nothing of… she’d been having them for weeks. She mentioned to her son that her back was feeling very uncomfortable, and he told her she should call the midwife. Jenny laughed it off. Later she went upstairs and realized that these contractions were getting more powerful. She called her midwife, who said to give her a call in an hour after she timed some. By the end of the hour, Jenny found herself in full blown transition. In fact, her son was born with in 45 minutes of her arrival. She remembers reading about the Fetal Ejection Reflex and thinking how odd it would be not to “have to push,” but rather that her body would actually do it. But there she found herself, in the tub, 3 contractions of her body doing the pushing, and ba

Please check out our sponsors! Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Body Works Physical Therapy http://bodyworks-physicaltherapy.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/MamaBodyWorks Email: [email protected] Phone: (864) 757-2440

Thank you, wonderful sponsors! Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: https://glowing-mama-courses.thinkific.com/ (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Body Works Physical Therapy http://bodyworks-physicaltherapy.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/MamaBodyWorks Email: [email protected] Phone: (864) 757-2440 Show Notes: -Stephanie is a fitness and nutrition coach for new and expecting moms. -She’s been working in the industry for almost a decade now. - Stephanie began doing this work almost by “accident”… one of her clients became pregnant, so she realized she needed to learn more about pregnancy in relation to fitness. She was a natural at it, and the mother, who had several pregnant friends, asked if she would do a group class. -Through this experience, her career was born. -When it came to preparing her own body for a successful labor and delivery, Stephanie said the things she considered were: -Nurturing her body with proper fluids, eating an anti-inflammatory diet, and making sure she was getting all of the nutrients she needed -She said it was important to make sure that she was not in any pain, because when you’re in pain, the last thing you want to do is get up and do a workout. -“It’s important to work specifically for what you want to accomplish” -She mentions that for labor, our legs need lots of stamina, we need mobility in our hips, and we need overall strength and endurance. -“Labor is a big interval session, right? You get a contraction, you get some time off. And then repeat!” -“If you can work out in a way that almost simulates labor, then you’re in a good place when it’s actually time.” -Stephanie saw a pelvic floor physiologist, a chiropractor and an osteopath during her pregnancy. “I kept repeating through labor… I can’t believe THIS is how we get people into the world… I can’t believe this is how we populate the planet!” -Stephanie mentions again how important whole, natural foods were in her prenatal preparation. She made sure to eat all of the colors of the rainbow, and if she had a craving for something unhealthy, she would try to recreate it in a healthy way. -She also mentions how important supplementation was during pregnancy: A link to her guide for prenatal supplements is mentioned below. Stephanie’s Birth Story: -She feels it went pretty much as smoothly as it could be. She wants to note that there was no ego about this- she did not want a homebirth at the risk of her health or her baby’s healthy. -She was only 38 weeks and 3 days… “My husband said he knew I was in labor because the bathroom was cleaned!” -The next morning, around 6 am, she felt some contractions and intuitively knew she was in labor. Stephanie had not had any Braxton Hicks, but she felt confident that these were early labor contractions. -She remembered her midwife saying try to get some sleep during labor, so she tried. By about 7:30, she was ready to get out of bed. She headed for the bath, but became overheated and got out. -At this point her step sons were awake, so she let them know that she was pretty sure she was in labor, so not to worry if she bent over and moaned or had to work through contractions a bit. -A while later, Stephanie called her doula to tell her that although the timing of the contractions was still all over the place, she was experiencing more and more pain. Her doula suggested that she come over to work on some acupressure points to potentially get contractions more consistent. -Stephanie’s mother was also on the way over- Stephanie made a “game time decision” to let her mom come to the birth. -She discusses how beneficial her decision to hire a doula was for her birth experience. Having someone there to help her determine what needed to be done at what time was invaluable. -Stephanie mentions how vague the timeline is when in labor. She doesn’t know exactly when her doula came, when she got in the tub, etc. She does know, however, that her entire labor was 16 hours, 6 of those being classified as “active labor”. - “By the time I was at the pushing phase, my legs felt like Bambi legs.” Stephanie says she was unable to sit down or lie down throughout her labor, so her legs felt incredibly weak towards the end. She mentions how grateful she was that she had trained for this exactly, because she can’t imagine how anyone could do this without muscular endurance in their legs! -Stephanie says that the great thing about deciding to have an unmedicated birth was that she could feel everything. When her midwife told her to keep pushing, Stephanie responded “I’m done pushing for the moment” because she knew what her body was telling her to do. -She mentions how there were those moments of defeat-like feelings when she would push and feel baby’s head come closer, and then retreat. But in retrospect, she thinks of

As always, thank you SO MUCH to our sponsors! Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: https://glowing-mama-courses.thinkific.com/ (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Show Notes: -Kerry is the founder and creator of Hypnobabies, which was created in 2001. -She created the program after having her own two births. At that time, she was a Bradley Instructor. -Both of her babies were posterior (“sunny side up”) which caused for labors that she describes as extremely painful. She felt that the Bradley Method was wonderful for teaching about labor, but did not help her cope well enough with the pain. -After 26 hours of pain, she had an epidural, which she says helped her become a more understanding childbirth educator- she could certainly understand the need/desire for a mother to have an epidural. - During her second birth, her sister saw her in agony and said, “It should never have to be this hard.” -Kerry set forth to find a way to make childbirth easier for women. -She soon saw a tv program about a doctor who was using hypnosis for his patients, and how their birthings were going much better. -Kerry went to a training for this. She then attended births using this method, and the women were all still clearly in pain. -She decided there was something else that she needed to find. She became a Certified Hypnotherapist, and took several specialty courses. One of which was Gerald Kein’s “Painless Childbirth” program. -She transformed Kein’s information with his excited permission, into a childbirth education program. -“The goal of Hypnobabies is to have the easiest, most comfortable birthing possible” by using deep, somnambulistic hypnosis. -Hypnobabies is considered “medical grade” hypnosis. This type of hypnosis is used for patients who are allergic to anesthesia. They use this type of hypnosis when having surgery. What Makes Hypnobabies Different?! - Kerry’s philosophy is that if you are learning childbirth hypnosis, you need to learn your childbirth education at the same place. This ensures that the hypnosis and education support a mother’s mindset and belief that she can in fact have an easy, joyful birth experience. The Hypnobabies program covers all aspects of childbirth education: nutrition, how a mother can help keep herself low-risk, the stages of labor, how to use hypnosis throughout those stages, hypnosis for pregnancy, selecting a compatible care provider and birthing place, questions to ask care providers, information about doulas and midwives, natural comfort measures for pregnancy, risk/benefit analysis for interventions, creating a birth plan, informed consent, optimal fetal positioning, anatomy and physiology of late pregnancy & birthing, avoiding induction and cesarean, benefits of delayed cord clamping, birth partner preparation, and even a birthing rehearsal. -Hypnobabies even provides information about new mothers and babies: how to take care of the new mother and baby, etc. -Hypnobabies provides a “change of plans” script: This allows mom to stay in hypnosis, even though something might be changing from the original birth plan. -Eyes Open Childbirth Hypnosis- this is unique to Hypnobabies. Moms learn to walk and talk an change positions all without losing focus in hypnosis. -Hypnobabies Birth Visualization Track: Mom goes through a mental birth rehearsal (the way they want it to be) as she listens to this track. Practicing whatever they want to do or accomplish helps on the actual day of labor… the repetition programs your subconscious mind to produce the birth you want. It’s practically a blueprint for the birthing. -Joyful Pregnancy Affirmations Track: They really do change the state of mind of the mother during her pregnancy. -Kerry mentions that birth often times progresses more quickly than expected with the Hypnobabies mother. This is why the program comes with a Quick Reference Booklet. More than other times, a mother might seem completely calm and relaxed when she is actually very close to having her baby. -Many women have told Kerry that they chose to have a homebirth after taking Hypnobabies because they had the confidence of knowing they could give birth peacefully without the use of medication. -She discusses the fact that Hypnobabies acknowledges how every mother knows what she needs. The program is there to give information, and to allow the mother to feel confident in whatever choices she decides are best for her and her family. -Kerry mentions that sometimes, for whatever reason, a mom might do all of the practicing, but then not follow through during her birth. She reminds moms that to get the full effect, it’s important to use the cues, listen to the tracks, or have their birth partner read the scripts during the actual birthing time. -“Peace” is the most powerful hypnoanesthesia cue. Moms Wanting to L

Special Thank You to Our Sponsors: Stephanie Sibbio’s Glowing Mama To Be Course: https://glowing-mama-courses.thinkific.com/ (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 About Our Guest: Suzzie Vehrs is a birth advocate and lover. After her first birth left her broken and in need of deep healing, she knew she had to do things differently the next time around. Her HBAC birth was the BEST experience of her life. Suzzie is determined to inspire mothers to use pregnancy and birth as a time to explore their creative powers, sink deep into feeling wonderful and creating an experience that truly serves both mother and baby. If you want to find your birthing and mama power you must read her book Divine Birth and check out her article on the surprising ways prenatal yoga helps you birth like a goddess, even if you're terrified of labor. https://moregigglingmoments.com/divine-birth-book/ https://moregigglingmoments.com/2018/12/29/4-surprising-ways-prenatal-yoga-will-help-prepare-you-to-birth-like-a-goddess-even-if-youre-terrified-of-labor/ Show Notes -Suzzie’s first birth was an emergency c section, where she felt she had no control -She spent the next few years in therapy, doing her best to process what had happened to her and overcome her birth trauma. -For her second birth, which was several years later, she decided to research local midwives -After finding a midwife that she considered a perfect fit, she was finally able to feel excited about the prospect of her second birth. -Suzzie feels that her second birth was incredibly healing and was able to deeply curb the pain and sense of loss she felt in relation to her first birth. -She gave birth in the water, and her midwife directed her baby’s body towards her. Suzzie picked up her baby and patted her back. Hazel cried for a few moments, the nestled comfortably into Suzzie’s arms, safe and sound. -“We just had this moment of total peace, serenity, calmness and happiness… and she was here. In my arms.” -As mentioned previously, Suzzie’s first birth was not quite as peaceful. She mentions that when she told them her plan to give birth naturally, they were not very supportive of the idea. Looking back, she realizes this was a sign of the care to come. - Her water broke before contractions began, and she was essentially put on a “clock” by her doctor. -She labored through the night, and then in the morning when she was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable, she went to the hospital. -The admitting nurse asked the typical intake questions, and when she found out that Suzzie’s water had broken the night before, she responded by saying, “Your water broke 12 hours ago? You could have killed your baby.” -These harsh words, unsurprisingly, put Suzzie into a place of shock and fear, and her labor stalled. “My labor just stopped.” -They put Suzzie on Pitocin, and she did not feel that she was able to cope with the pain of the contractions. Looking back, she says that she did was not as aware of as many coping mechanisms as she was with her second birth. -“They whisked her away, and my husband away with her. Which, I’m glad he got to go, but that left me alone.” -Suzzie was so dehydrated that she felt she might die from it, and in the meantime, nobody in the operating room would give her a straight answer about whether or not her baby was okay. -Once they finished surgery, Suzzie was taken to another room, where she waited for several hours alone and in the dark without knowing what had happened to her baby. -Suzzie mentions that her decision to have a homebirth after cesarean was made once she saw that the research pointed to uterine rupture not necessarily being caused by having a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), but by the use of Pitocin. -She knew that she would have to have a homebirth, as birth centers in her area are not regulated to perform VBACs. -She mentions how comforting it was to be under the care of someone who cared about her in a holistic way: Not just, are you breathing? Do you have a pulse? Does the baby have a pulse?” -Out of her trauma came healing. Suzzie has since authored the book “Divine Birth: A Collection of Wisdom + Coloring Pages to Inspire and Empower the Pregnant Mother” -“Pregnancy and birth is really a chance for us as women to explore our creative powers and to step into our womanhood.” -“I am worthy to have experiences that not only serve me, but are the best for me and my baby.” -Suzzie mentions that her bravery was shown more powerfully in her traumatic hospital birth where she had to cope with all of the difficulties that followed. In comparison, the homebirth was easy. -“At some point in your journey, someone will ask you, ‘How did you know you could do it?’ and you will answer, ‘Because I looked within.’” -“When you make decisions that are lined up with the answers inside of

HUGE thank you to our sponsors! Hatched at Home-Midwife Carrie LaChapelle: www.hatchedathome.com https://www.facebook.com/MidwifeCarrieLachapelleLMCPM/ 864-907-6363 Stephanie Sibbio's Glowing Mama To Be Course: https://glowing-mama-courses.thinkific.com/ (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Mama Moon Birth Photography: www.mamamoonbirthstories.com Instagram: mamamoon.birthphotography What motivates you to share your story? In Rebecca's case, she knew that she couldn't be the only one who struggled to conceive. She and her husband tried to become pregnant for several years before putting away the idea and beginning to consider adoption. To say that they were surprised several months later when Rebecca became pregnant would be an understatement. In this episode, Rebecca reveals her struggle, her faith, and her eventual success. She shares her story to provide comfort to those who, like her, have experienced deep hurt over infertility. Show Notes -Rebecca and her husband were married in 2013 -Because they were 34 and 35, they both thought it would be possible that they could struggle with becoming pregnant, so they began trying soon after their marriage. -Rebecca discusses the incredible discomfort after getting off her birth control- she likens it to going through withdrawals. Her body was acting as though it was pregnant when she knew she was not. -She discusses the grief and pain she felt as all of the newlywed couples around her so easily go pregnant, while she and her husband struggled and received the news that IVF was going to be their best option. -Rebecca says she learned that she had to trust the Lord, and he took her to a place where in December of 2015, she remembers realize her self-worth was not tied up in motherhood, her career, or even womanhood. Rather, her self-worth was completely tied up in God. -She remembers making a facebook post on December 12, 2015 stating that she had peace and had come to terms with her journey…. And exactly one year from that date, December 12, 2016 Rebecca gave birth to her first son. -At that point (Dec 2015), they had decided that they were going to stop trying and pursue adoption. -In April of 2016 Rebecca returned from a conference feeling rather “crummy.” She assumed she had picked some type of bug up on the trip. Her nursing coworkers begged her to take a pregnancy test. She finally did, and it was positive! -“I choose to speak about the infertility, because so many women feel like they’re alone, and feel like they’re the only one walking this path…. And they’re not.” -Rebecca was seeing an OB at the time, but decided to switch to a homebirth midwife. She connected very deeply with her midwife and had an amazing prenatal experience -Labor, however did not go according to plan: She went into labor around 10:00 on a Friday night. By 3:00 am, everything had stopped. Contractions were completely gone. This lasted all day Saturday and into Sunday afternoon. She did everything she could to get labor to progress: Walking, birthing ball, position changes… nothing would get contractions to come back consistently. -On Sunday afternoon, Rebecca decided she needed to get out of the house and walk (in the freezing cold!!). -By 11:30pm on Sunday night, Rebecca was at 8 cm. After hitting 8 cm, she once again would not progress. -By 9:00 am, Rebecca’s midwife mentioned to her that it might be time to head to the hospital to receive some rest with an epidural, and Rebecca agreed. -She went to the hospital, received the epidural, was able to sleep for several hours, and then was able to push her baby out by 6:00 that evening. -With her second child, she found out that she was pregnant in a very interesting way! After having a fall through a step in her house, she began taking Motrin for the pain. A few days in, she had the random thought, “Maybe I shouldn’t be taking this Motrin… Maybe I should take a pregnancy test.” No other symptoms, yet the test came back positive! - For their second birth, Rebecca’s mother came over in the morning to pick up her 2-year-old, as she keeps him while Rebecca works. -At 7:30 am Rebecca was having small contractions that were irregular and not very timeable. This continued until about 2:00 pm. -At 2:00 contractions quickly began to become consistent, longer, stronger and closer together. -With things suddenly moving so quickly, Rebecca was worried her midwife might not make it! When she heard her midwife’s voice in the house, she was completely relieved and ready. -Within 10 minutes, Rebecca had the baby! -She had no tearing, no complications, and Donovan was wide awake and crying when he was born. -“I was on such a high after it was all over—that I had done it—completely at home, completely unmedicated.” -Her second birth was 11 hours, start to finish. -When describing the emotions after she gave birth, Rebecca says, “it was both powerful and euphoric all at the same time.” -Rebecca and her midwife laugh abo

HUGE thank you to our sponsors! Stephanie Sibbio's Glowing Mama To Be Course: https://glowing-mama-courses.thinkific.com/ (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Mama Moon Birth Photography: www.mamamoonbirthstories.com Instagram: mamamoon.birthphotography Warning: This episode contains topics that may be uncomfortable or difficult to hear as a pregnant mother. Please be sure that you are emotionally prepared to discuss: maternal depletion, postpartum depression, nursing difficulties (inverted nipples) and cervical prolapse. -Kelley has had 5 homebirths within a very short amount of time. -Her first 3 births were in Connecticut, and she moved south weeks before her 4th child's birth. -Her midwife left for France, and she was attended by another midwife that she did not know well, though the birth went well. -For her 5th birth, Kelley found a midwife that felt like her best friend. She loved the experience, though she did not expect to be pregnant so soon. -Kelley struggled with difficulty accepting her 5th pregnancy and not being able to feel bonded to her baby throughout the pregnancy. She had hoped that her final baby would be a girl, but she learned early on that she would be having her 4th boy. -Luckily, Kelley's mother was able to be in town for her birth (she and her mom are incredibly close, and Kelley feels like her mom can read her mind during labor). -With her 5th birth, she had a birth entourage: Lots of friends, her husband, her mom, a doula, her midwife and apprentices. She felt very loved and supported, and she was finally able to have the water birth she had always hoped for. -Once the baby was born, she put him on her chest. When she looked him over, she realized... HE was a GIRL! -Kelley was so thrilled and shocked that her final baby was the girl she had hoped for. She sent her mom shopping for girl clothes the next morning! -Postpartum, Kelley struggled with inverted nipples. She encourages women not to give up if they experience similar struggles. She says that if you can make it through the first 6 weeks, you'll be able to make it through anything else! -12 hours after giving birth, Kelley realized she had a cervical prolapse. She has been incredibly involved in pelvic floor physical therapy since that time. -It took 12 weeks of bedrest to recover from her cervical prolapse, 6 of which she spent in Connecticut with her parents' help. -Kelley recommends that anyone who has postpartum health issues to seek help and guidance. -19 months later, Kelley is still nursing her little girl and continuing on her journey to recovery. She is enjoying this new stage of life... not being pregnant!

HUGE thank you to our sponsors! Stephanie Sibbio's Glowing Mama To Be Course: https://glowing-mama-courses.thinkific.com/ (15% off with the code: happyhomebirth15 ) Instagram: stephsibbiofitness Mama Moon Birth Photography: www.mamamoonbirthstories.com Instagram: mamamoon.birthphotography Molly stepped into the doula world 3 years ago, after caring for her mother at her end of life. Molly realized that caretaking was something she was drawn to, and realized becoming a doula would be a way to continue this role. -She quit her tech job and opened up her own business, Doulamee LLC. -Molly teaches childbirth education, both in person and virtually online. -She has also founded a client portal, giving a safe community for those giving birth to come and bounce ideas off of each other, as well as molly -She brings up the “Marathon analogy” (Katelyn is a huge fan of this!): Not preparing for childbirth is like not preparing for a marathon. You could do the marathon either way, but if you don’t prepare, it’s going to take longer, feel more uncomfortable, you might have to walk some or even hitch a ride, etc. If you prepare, your muscles know what they’re doing, you aren’t surprised, and you can get the job done faster and with greater ease. -She focuses on bringing the birthing partner into the fold of birth by having their job be to stimulate birth hormones and get the birthing mother in the correct frame of mind. -Molly discusses the difference between a doula and a midwife, and why having a doula, even when giving birth at home, is very useful for the family. -She goes in depth about what constitutes a good birth plan, especially at home. Molly mentions how important it is to have a good, positive space prepared at home. -She discusses preparing for any potential changes in the plan: the unpredictability of birth, and how to bring the home to the hospital if that were necessary. -Molly discusses the use of the rebozo in a number of ways - She details her postpartum doula work: How they debrief from the birth and help process, supporting parents in the initial transition, going over newborn care, having a meal prepared when they get home, etc. - She discusses the importance of a postpartum plan: who is coming by when, how long they’re staying, what food you’ll be eating, etc. -Molly’s recommendations: Take a childbirth education course (it doesn’t have to be at a hospital), read Penny Simpkin’s The Birth Partner, look into Rachel Yellin for any type of hypnosis-based childbirth, work on visualization, and prepare for your “marathon” with nutrition, appropriate attire, and body work. -Contact Molly and keep up with her! www.doulamee.com Instagram: doulamee Facebook: Doulamee LLC facebook group

Listen in to this bonus episode to hear how my (Katelyn's) pregnancy is progressing. Somehow I'm already halfway to the finish line, and I don't know where the weeks went!

Samantha's Surprise Breech Homebirth Samantha has had two hospital births (one medicated induction, one natural), one homebirth, and one birth center birth. At the beginning of her third pregnancy, she researched midwives and decided giving birth in her own space was right up her alley. Her husband was completely supportive. She interviewed with one midwife and knew in her gut that this was the right fit. She felt complete trust. Experienced “White Coat Syndrome” previously, but her blood pressure was always perfect with her midwife. She feels that that shows just how comfortable she was with her care provider. When Sam went into labor, things progressed very quickly. When her midwife heard her have a contraction over the phone, she got in the car and headed her way immediately.The midwife stayed on the phone with Sam for the entire car ride, as Sam was nervous that she’d have the baby without her. The midwife got into the room, and after Sam had one contraction, the midwife thought something was strange, so she checked Sam. “I don’t want you to freak out, but the baby is breech.” In South Carolina, breech births are not within the guidelines of having a homebirth, so the midwife did call EMS. The baby was safely born at home. Samantha’s husband told EMS they were not going to transfer to the hospital, as the baby was fine. The fact that her midwife stayed for hours after the birth meant the world to Samantha Samantha shares how a sheriff showed up saying, “I don’t really need to be here, but I heard a baby was being born and I wanted to come!” Katelyn recalls how two men were trying to put a stretcher in Sam’s room, and she remembered wondering to herself, “What are they even trying to do that?” With her last child, Sam gave birth at a hospital birth center. The prenatal experience was more similar to her experience with the OB, though she still liked the experience. She was worried that she would not make it to the birth center during labor, as it takes about an hour to get to the birth center from her home. Sam ended up using the birth center because of the complications of insurance. When she reached the birth center, her blood pressure was high, and the midwife wanted to transfer her to the hospital. However, she was progressing so quickly, she did not know whether or not they’d actually make it, so she was able to stay at the birth center. Katelyn mentions how the opening of the hospital-based birth center has been really great for the community, as it’s a great in-between zone for those who are not quite comfortable giving birth at home, but do not necessarily want a hospital birth, either. Sam recommends finding a midwife that takes the time to get to know you and is willing to build a relationship. Thank you to our sponsor, Mama Moon Birth Photography! www.mamamoonbirthstories.com Here is a sample of Ashlie's beautiful work: https://vimeo.com/302639176

I could have titled this birth story 1,000 different ways, but Harry Potter Homebirth? I know that had to catch your attention! Show Notes For their first child, Ryan wanted to be in/near a hospital. They were living in Louisville, Kentucky. Christina went past her due date, but was not induced. She had a 45 hour labor with baby #1, Eowyn. Ryan fell asleep in the triage bed! Christina became a doula after having an incredibly supportive team and lovely birth. They had their second child, William, in a free-standing birth center. Liam was born at 41 weeks, 3 days Her out-of-hospital midwife advised an herbal induction. She later realized her first baby was posterior, causing the long labor. Christina went under the care of a chiropractor for baby #2, and she used spinning babies techniques to help position her baby better. Labor #2 was 6 hours, compared to 45hours with the first, and the baby was 10 lbs, 6 oz! Remembers thinking, "This was even better than the hospital!" Ryan and Christina took Hypnobabies with baby #3. Ryan says, "I was literally eating barbeque and drinking beer while Christina was laboring in the tub"... much more comfortable than the triage bed! Their 3rd baby, Patrick, was 41 weeks, 3 days. Prodromal labor started 6 weeks before, so Christina was very tired when she went into labor Pursued an herbal induction again, which was gentle and effective She used acupuncture to help with the prodromal labor Christina got the urge to push after 2-3 hours of labor, but was confused because she didn't feel like she'd been through transition/transformation. Something felt off, so she asked her midwife to check her. The midwife said that she still had a bit of a cervical lip, and recommended that Christina try to avoid pushing for a bit. What she tactfully did not mention, was that Christina was actually only 4 cm dilated. Christina flipped to her back, and for 30 minutes she had to breathe through her pushing contractions. She says it was the most difficult part of her labor. Music and singing helped her cope during the no-pushing phase. They had theological discussions during labor about whether or not Mary had a midwife! Christina remembers thinking, "I can't do this anymore." She started singing "Jesus Loves Me," with her husband and midwife, and feels that that intimate moment truly depicts the beauty of homebirth. She then needed to change positions. She got out of the pool, stood up, and suddenly had to pee. She didn't want her daughter to see her peeing on the floor! She got on the bed, and her pushing contractions doubled. She HAD to push. Her water broke forcefully, and baby's head was immediately crowning. Patrick was the largest baby her midwife had caught, at 10 lbs, 9 ounces and 23 inches long. It was only 45 minutes total between Christina being 4 cm and holding her baby. They had opened the window in the bathroom earlier, and it turns out the neighbors heard the baby being born. Christina had a 5 lb placenta After her shower, the midwives came in her room wearing Hogwarts robes and witch hats. She did not tear with her 10+ lb babies, which she attributes to self-directed pushing. Ryan guarded the 6-week postpartum experience, and it changed her postpartum so much for the better.

Hailey Mugica Show Notes: Website: myhappyhomebirth.com Contact Katelyn: [email protected] Follow: instagram.com/happyhomebirthpodcast Donate: https://www.patreon.com/happyhomebirth Hailey's first two births were traditional hospital medicated births Her sister planned to have a homebirth for her first baby, which Hailey thought was crazy, but then she watched The Business of Being Born, read some of Ina May's Books and decided she wanted a homebirth, too! She says that the prenatal experience between her OB and Midwife were not even comparable. Her midwife came to her for home visits, discussed nutrition and exercise, and diagnosed anemia, which Hailey feels confident she had during her first two pregnancies and was missed. She feels she received far more detail and attention from her midwife. She remembered Ina May's words of "you're going to get huge" during her labor, and it was very helpful. Hailey was 41+ weeks and worried she would not be able to have her homebirth because she wasn't seeming like she would be going into labor soon. She decided to pump, and after 20 minutes, she was having contractions that were 45 seconds long and less than 2 minutes apart. Hailey saw a chiropractor the day before labor began, and she attributes her fast birth to that. Before the adjustment, she could feel that her baby was ill-positioned in her right hip, and then labor began the next day. Her birth went so smoothly, and she felt incredible about her decision to have a homebirth. Hailey felt incredibly supported by her midwife postpartum: On day 5 her midwife came back and set up an herbal bath for Hailey and her baby and even took photos for them. With her medicated births, she felt like something that had happened to her. With her homebirth, she felt like she was covering from something that she did. Hailey's mom took her other two sons out for dinner, and when they returned, the baby was already born. Katelyn and Hailey discuss the benefits of not finding out the gender before the birth: You get double the presents, and people buy you good gifts from your registry because "nobody wants to buy a gray onesie." Hailey's recommendation for a mom considering homebirth: It's not a flippant decision. Do your research, and as long as you have a solid 'why' behind your decision, you can do anything. She and her husband opted not to tell anyone who they thought might not support a homebirth. Instagram: @theintentionalessentials or @haileymugica

Anne Margolis, CNM, LM, MSN, BSN, RN (Biography) Anne Margolis is a Licensed Certified Nurse Midwife, Licensed Femme! Teacher, Certified Clarity Breathwork Practitioner, Yoga Teacher and practitioner. She is a 3rd generation guide to mommas birthing babies in her family. Anne has helped thousands of families in her 20+ year midwifery practice and has personally ushered the births of over 1000 healthy babies into the world. She has also guided countless human beings to heal from emotional pain, inner stress and trauma, tap into their strength and power, live fully and vibrantly, and reclaim their radiance, joyfulness, calm and overall sense of well-being. Through her online childbirth course 'Love Your Birth', her online and in-person midwifery for pregnancy and postpartum support consultations, her birth professional mentoring, her holistic gynecology, Clairty Breathwork and Femme! experience offerings she infuses wisdom, compassion, inspiration, and joy into the entire process of women’s health care from teen aged years to menopause, as well as into facilitating incredible healing and wellness for both men and women of all ages. She also provides consulting to help you publish and launch your book! Anne is a two times number one national and international best selling author of 'Natural Birth Secrets: An Insiders Guide How To Give Birth Holistically, Healthfully and Safely, and Love the Experience', and also 'Trauma Release Formula: The Revolutionary Step by Step Program for Eliminating Effects of Childhood Abuse, Trauma, Emotional Pain and Crippling Inner Stress, to Living in Joy without Drugs or Therapy.' Anne’s work, insights and advice have been seen on TV shows and movies including 4 episodes of 'A Baby Story' on TLC Discovery Channel, and the award winning feature documentary, 'Orgasmic Birth' and 'The Human Longevity Project.' She has been interviewed for multiple local, national and international radio programs, shows and podcasts. Anne has also been a featured speaker and expert panelist at distinguished events for Weil-Cornell School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, RCC State University of New York School of Nursing, and Birthnet Association of Childbirth Professionals and Hudson Valley Birth Network to name a few. Anne's Clarity Breathwork and Femme! healing movement workshops have been hosted at several yoga studios and wellness centers, including the conscious, high vibration and transformational community at The Assemblage in NYC. Anne is a proud founding member of The Health and Wellness Business Association, which was created to promote initiatives that support better collaboration, interaction and ethical business practices within the health and wellness business community. She has midwifed mommas and babies for over two decades, and guides individuals to birth themselves as healthy and whole human beings capable of immense joy and inner peace. Her clients describe her as “passionate, sensitive, big hearted, and a playful ball of light.” When she’s not helping mommas around the world you can find her doing yoga (anywhere and everywhere), dancing, taking or facilitating powerful growth and healing workshops, traveling, enjoying family time and watching comedy. Show Notes: -Developed fear of birth while working as a labor and delivery nurse -Birth was treated as a potential lawsuit- she witnessed many cesarean births -Had a traumatic birth of her own -Later learned about midwifery, and began schooling to become a midwife. -Had another baby at home, which was incredibly healing -In midwifery, relationships are built with the mother throughout the prenatal care, with longer appointments to gain trust and understanding -Many times when a partner is uncomfortable with homebirth or midwifery, it is often because of misconceptions. Midwives are trained medical professionals who can administer life-saving drugs, and know life saving techniques like neonatal resuscitation and CPR. -The postpartum period is incredibly important, and Anne explains her recommendations for creating a community of help and support during pregnancy. -Anne’s Website: www.homesweethomebirth.com Instagram: @homesweethomebirth Facebook: facebook.com/homesweethomebirth Contact Katelyn! Interview: [email protected] Instagram: @happyhomebirthpodcast Support the show: patreon.com/happyhomebirth

-Neely and her husband Garrett have 2 sons, Howie and Cole -Decided to have homebirths after watching the film “The Business of Being Born” -She selected her midwife after a friend had a wonderful experience with her -Neely did not use a doula for her first birth, but decided to take Hypnobabies for her childbirth education, then used a Hypnobabies certified doula during her second homebirth. - For her first birth, she took a Bradley-based childbirth education class. -She attributes her successful labors to the fact that she practiced yoga throughout her pregnancies, saw the chiropractor, ate dates at the end, and generally did all she could to prepare. -With her first birth, she had early-labor type contractions from 36 weeks on, but felt she would likely give birth a week or two after her due date. -She went into labor several days before her due date, with contractions that seemed similar to what she’d been experiencing before. She got in the shower to relax, but suddenly felt she needed to poop. -After about 30 minutes of being awake, she wakes up her husband, still feeling sure she has a long way to go, but just wants him to let the midwife know what’s going on. -The midwife asks how far apart the contractions are: 1-2 minutes apart, lasting a minute each time! -Once the midwife hears her have a contraction, she lets Garrett know that she might not make it based on how far along Neely seems to be. She tells him what to do if she doesn’t make it. -She became overwhelmed with the urge to take her clothes off, but at the same time was saying to herself, “This can’t be right. Why do I want to take my clothes off so early in the process? I thought that happened towards transition!” -Immediately after having her baby, she stood to her feet and said, “Hey Baby,” which her husband says was incredible to watch. -Because the labor was so quick, Neely did experience symptoms of shock. -She felt that she had failed what her vision for her birth was—It was so different from what she was expecting, she felt she never had time to get on top of the contractions. -With her second labor, Neely felt confident that she would go past her due date. She had no prodromal labor with this baby like she did with her first. -In the middle of the night (39 weeks, 5 days), she begins having contractions. She calls her husband, who is in the other room, on his phone. He responds back via a text message with a ‘?’ …..He then comes into the room! -He calls the midwife, she asks how far apart contractions are. They were a minute apart and a minute long… practically no break! -She felt far more in control with her contractions during this birth. She was riding the waves instead of being pulled under. -She did not feel pushing as being nearly intense with this birth; rather, she felt she was breathing her baby down. -With the head partially out, she began to feel the fear that she would tear. Suddenly, her contractions paused. It was the longest break she’d had since labor had begun. -Her body gave her a break, allowing her baby’s head to stretch the perineum naturally. -Neely’s water broke, followed by the baby’s full head, and then the whoosh of the rest of his body. -She was able to feel that she was a part of her labor and in more control, not as helpless feeling as her first labor. -Garrett was able to catch the baby, and immediately exclaimed that it was a boy. -Neely’s biggest recommendation for labor is to prepare. Take a childbirth class and truly learn to relax and release. Want to interview? [email protected] Instagram: @happyhomebirthpodcast Support the show: patreon.com/happyhomebirth

In this episode, I share my personal birth story. It's a solo-sode, so if you'd like to hear an interview, head on to the next show featuring Neely's story. -I had attended a Spinning Babies workshop days before going into labor that discussed shoulder dystocia... and became somewhat convinced that my baby would have a dystocia -I wanted my birth to be a party, so I had my midwives arrive in their pajamas and robes. -My uterus decided it wanted no audience, and my contractions were very unproductive -I finally got into the birth pool, which basically stopped my contractions -The next morning I went to my chiropractor, who tried to get my baby (Janie) in a better position.... I experienced "cartractions" the entire 40 minute ride to and fro -I took a nap with my husband from 3pm-6pm -At 6 I decided to go crazy on the birth ball to get the baby out (finally entered active labor) -Went through transition in my garden tub full of cold water, that I kept accidentally draining -Finally moved to the birth pool, where I went from 8 1/2 cm to crowning in a few short minutes -I had a "short term lotus birth," where we kept the placenta attached until it was born -We had a cord burning ceremony -We then got in bed, ate eggs and toast, drank mimosas and celebrated our new little one! Follow me on instagram: @happyhomebirthpodcast e-mail me to be interviewed: [email protected] Support the show and make my life: patreon.com/happyhomebirth

Finally, finally, finally! Several months in the making, the pilot episode (don't get too excited, it's just an introduction) is up and running! Happy Homebirth launches on January 1, 2019 with several episodes in the arsenal waiting to be released. Today's episode will let you, the listeners, know exactly who I am and what my vision is for this podcast. Support. Encouragement. Education. This is a community dedicated to homebirth mothers (or others who are naturally-minded) to come together, celebrate their victories and encourage one another in the process.