In this episode, I sit down with my friend Morgan as she shares her full journey into motherhood, from an unplanned pregnancy and unexpected gender disappointment, to a hospital birth that left her doubting her body, to a redemptive home birth with her daughter, Evelyn, that changed everything.

This one is for every mother who has ever left a birth feeling like she failed.

You didn’t.

Your body already knew.

What she reached for:

• Earthley Postpartum Tincture

  Used to support postpartum recovery, including emotional shifts, cramping, and overall healing.

• Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

  Morgan’s most recommended book for birth preparation. Her tip: start with Part 2 to understand the physiology of birth and how to work with your body.

• The Refining: A Mother’s Journal

  A guided heirloom journal designed to help mothers process, reflect, and document both the messy and meaningful moments of becoming.

• Morgan’s Favorite Things to Have for Mastitis

  After experiencing mastitis multiple times postpartum, Morgan developed an at-home approach that helped her manage symptoms early. We’ve put together a complete guide with everything she shared.

  
  

Morgan and Kristin are not medical professionals. These are tools that worked for her experience. Always consult your care provider if symptoms worsen or you need additional support.

What happens when your entire labor lasts just two hours?

In this first episode of BirthNotes, Morgann, a mom of five, shares the story of her second birth, the arrival of her daughter Dillan eight years ago, during a precipitous labor that moved faster than anyone expected. What began as a planned hospital birth quickly turned into an unexpected home birth, reminding us just how powerful and instinctual the birthing body can be.

As both Morgann’s doula and her grade-school best friend, this story is especially meaningful to me. Together we talk about what it means to trust your body when there isn’t time to overthink, how the fetal ejection reflex can take over, and why birth can sometimes look loud, primal, emotional, and completely different than what we imagine.

This episode is a reminder that birth doesn't have to look perfect to be powerful. Sometimes it looks like deep breathing, unexpected laughter, primal sounds, and complete surrender to the moment.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What a precipitous (fast) birth is

• Morgann’s unexpected home birth after planning a hospital delivery

• Trusting your body during intense labor

• The fetal ejection reflex

• Why it’s normal to be loud, primal, and fully in the experience

• The importance of having a flexible birth plan

Resources Morgann loved + tools mentioned in this episode:

• J Breathing technique – Morgann’s favorite breathing method for staying grounded during intense contractions

• Horse lips breathing – a simple lip flutter technique often used in labor to help release tension

• The Guided Mother’s Journal – a prompted journal to help you reflect on and document your motherhood journey

• Apply to be a BirthNotes guest – share your own birth story on a future episode

• BirthNotes reflections on Substack – deeper written reflections on the themes from each episode 

Want the written reflection from this episode?

Instead of a traditional transcript, I share a written companion reflection for each episode on my Substack, where I explore the deeper themes from these birth stories and the emotional transformation that often follows birth.

Every birth changes a woman. Every story deserves to be heard.

Welcome to BirthNotes, a podcast where women share their real birth stories. The raw, the emotional, the unexpected, and the deeply transformative moments that shape the journey into motherhood.

After years of supporting women through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum as a birth and postpartum doula, I saw how every birth carries more than just a medical outcome. Each story holds growth, fear, strength, and transformation in ways we don't always talk about.

This podcast is a space for honest conversations about birth in all forms. Hospital births, home births, smooth experiences, complicated ones, and everything in between. Because while every story is different, the emotional journey often connects us in powerful ways.

If you love birth stories in their most real, messy, and transformative form, you're in the right place. And if you have a birth story you'd like to share, you can apply to be a guest here.

New episodes coming soon.