Do you have faith in your body to give birth?

Today’s episode dives into this topic. Brandi Jack joins us and shares details of her 4 birth stories, each powerful and unique.

From her first birth in a hospital to 3 home births, Brandi gives us an authentic and heart-centered storytelling.

Also note that we talk about the experiences of multiple miscarriages and an unhealthy marriage dynamic in Brandi’s previous relationship that impacted parts of the pregnancy and birth experiences.

From Brandi:

“I thought I was doing everything right before my first baby. I had the recommended OB, I did the hospital birth classes, I read the WTE book and I thought I knew everything I needed to know. But just like the first pancake in a batch, my first labor and delivery didn't turn out at all how I hoped. An unnecessary induction, no real understanding of what to expect and an episiotomy I didn't consent to quickly led to an experience that was nothing like I had imagined.”

Links From The Episode:

• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth: https://amzn.to/3CrrEQg

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Is birth something to be managed?

No. Birth is intelligent divine design come to life. 

Today’s episode encompasses this idea.

We welcome back Katie McCormick to the podcast for the 3rd time, talking about her 3rd home birth - an unassisted home birth.

Katie walks us through her wild pregnancy and the intentions she set for her birthing space.

Plus how her husband Ryan was involved and how she had her other 2 children present at the birth.

Things we talk about in this episode:

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“Does that count as a home birth?”

That is the question Marissa found herself asking after her planned home birth shifted to a non-emergency hospital transfer towards the end of her labor. 

Marissa walks us through her process of choosing home birth, which happened before conceiving, navigating feedback and opinions from friends and family and then setting intentions for the birth space and including her husband Stephen in the experience. 

Some highlights:

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Ever wanted to know more about the history of Doing It At Home or some of the behind-the-scenes life of running the show? 

In this bonus episode, we’re sharing the interview we did on the Birthing Outside the Box podcast with Jani and Dr. V. Last week we shared an episode (no. 394) where we interviewed them. So this week we thought it’d be fun to share the conversation where the roles were reversed and we got to be the interviewees.

What’s cool about it is we take off our “host hats” and we just have a powerful, candid conversation about our journey into DIAH, plus details of our 2-year “open to conceive” journey and how we found out we were pregnant, as well as thoughts on things we all observe in the birth world.

Check out our interview with Jani and Dr. V as well as their podcast and birth education with Birthing Outside the Box!

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What does it look like to follow your instinct when it comes to birth?

Today we’re chatting with Lindsay Robinson about the details of her second and third home births. Lindsay joined us back in 2018 to share her first home birth story.

Now we’re talking about her desire to have a freebirth for her second, but she really loved her midwives and was still open to having them there for the birth. Spoiler alert: the midwife arrived after the birth!

And then details from her third birth, where her midwife was present. 

There are a lot of great details and themes throughout this conversation. To name just a few:

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What are some of the main contributors to stress and anxiety around pregnancy and birth?

What are the main contributors to having peace and joy around your pregnancy and birth experience? 

Today we address both of these angles to birth with our friends Jani and Dr. V from Birthing Outside the Box. Jani and Dr. V are a dynamic duo of a doula and a chiropractor who are passionate about empowering and educating parents around pregnancy and birth. Along with hosting the Birthing Outside the Box podcast, they lead an in-person birthing course for their community in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This is a very robust conversation all about birth. From unrealistic and sensationalized depictions of birth and the programming and language we receive around birth, to the attempts to control it. Plus what it looks like to birth in the system.

We also cover what you can do to set yourself up for success like finding community and utilizing resources.

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Today we’re chatting with Emily Freimuth about her 3 births and how they are connected with each other. 

Emily was always fascinated by birth. After her first in a hospital, she was inspired to have a home birth for her second and third. 

We talk about some of the big differences amongst the 3 births.

Plus Emily is a doula/birth keeper and placenta encapsulation specialist, so that ties into her experience and story as well

Other topics we get into:

From Emily:

“I have had 3 births. My first at the local hospital with the midwife team, I had a super awesome water birth that got me hooked on birth! I then had both my boys at home with the same midwife team! I definitely learned things about myself through each birth! I’m also the “crazy” lady that loves labor and I wish I could do it all the time haha”

Links From The Episode:

• Emily’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amethystmoondoula/

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How do you create the pregnancy and birth experience you desire?

First thing - let’s acknowledge that YOU ARE a powerful creator who is capable of doing this. Looking at your “whys,” reflecting on what matters to you and getting intentional about the process makes a huge impact as well.

Our guests today are Erica James-Strayhorn and Anthony Strayhorn. We’ve known Erica and Anthony for over 7 years now and in that time they’ve become family. Well folks...they’re pregnant! And they’re planning a home birth. Needless to say we’re beyond thrilled for them. It was a no-brainer to have them on the show.  

So they came over and the four of us chatted in our office/recording studio to talk about their journey. From moving through a miscarriage earlier in the year to advocating how Erica would like to be communicated with regarding her care (asking to not be referred to ask “geriatric” or “high-risk” because she’s 36) to finding the midwife that resonated with them to envisioning birthing time, we cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. 

So enjoy part 1, because we will most certainly be having a followup conversation after baby arrives in December!

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How does meditation improve pregnancy outcomes?

Today’s episode is a powerful conversation with Nathalie Walton, CEO/Co-Founder of Expectful. Expectful is a meditation and mental health app for before, during and after pregnancy. We’ve been friends with the folks over at Expectful for a few years now, and we’re very excited to team up for this episode to bring important topics to light.

Nathalie shares some of her personal journey of her pregnancy in 2019 and the stress that came with being high risk for preterm labor. After finding Expectful and using it herself, Nathalie found that her tests stabilized and her practices of mindfulness, breathwork and fitness supported her in making it to full term. 

We also discuss the science behind meditation and its benefits during pregnancy and postpartum, and how Expectful has created multiple avenues for incorporating mindfulness, meditation, community and support within their platform. From courses in Hypnobirthing to addressing mom guilt, fitness events and classes and lactation support. Plus an extensive library of meditations that can walk you through every day of your pregnancy journey. There are also meditations focusing on preconception, postpartum and loss. 

You can download the Expectful app for a free week trial. And - we have a special offer for DIAH listeners. When you use the code DIAH25OFF on Expectful’s website (https://expectful.com/), you’ll get 25% off your annual membership. 

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Welcome back to another Baby Bivens 2, aka BB2 aka Baby Jo, update episode!

This week we’re covering weeks 11-14 of the pregnancy.

Some highlights: 

Lots of great links to check out in the show notes for this episode!

Links:

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