What is Hypnobirthing?

We dive into this in today’s episode with our guest Kristy Rodriguez, prenatal yoga instructor and coach and the host of the Pure Nurture podcast. 

We talk about some of the details of hypnobirthing and the myths and common questions that come up around it. 

So if you’ve ever thought about using it, you’re going to want to listen! AND be sure you check out the Pure Nurture podcast to hear Kristy interview us!

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How many of us feel a sense of failure after a birth experience?

We’re clear that it’s far too many. In fact, one is too many.

We’re grateful for stories like this who can help with the healing and rescripting. Our guest, Kara Lambert, shares her birth journey. After her cesarean birth with her son Theo, as she puts it, “I felt like I failed.”

Great resources like ICAN helped Kara in her process of planning for a future VBAC. She and her husband Russ started with an OBGYN with their second pregnancy. But then a pandemic hit. Well, “what is we home birth?” they thought. 

They connected with a badass midwife, and utilized parallel care (seeing both a doctor and their midwife).

Kara describes her home birth as mostly “lazy.” The significance in highlighting that centers around the normalcy of the experience, and how it was able to be peaceful despite lots of opportunities to have not been that way. And then we get to hear how baby Chiara entered the world.

This birth story includes: acupuncture and moxibustion, midwives’ brew, the peanut ball (not a snack, despite what Matthew thought!) and a storm

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Do you think the time of COVID-19 has brought more conversation around home birth?

It sure seems like it, with many families seeking to birth out of hospital. Whether that’s because of the hospital policies or just not desiring to be in the hospital environment for birth.

In today’s birth story, Kristin Humbard shares her journey with us. After a hospital birth with her first baby which left her with some traumatic memories, it took her a few years to want to become pregnant again.

When she did become pregnant again, she and her husband Ben planned for another hospital birth, but with a midwifery practice. Then COVID-19 hit, and Kristen didn’t want to birth in a hospital again. A friend of hers suggested she listen to the Doing It At Home podcast (ahhh we know them!), and eventually at 28 weeks, Kristin switched to a home birth plan. So while COVID was the impetus, Kristin gained support and confidence along the way.

This birth includes (but is not limited to!): going into labor at 40 weeks and 6 days, being in her calm and focused zone and listening to her body to let it do its thing, as well as having siblings present for the post birth experience. Listen in to learn more!

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Can you approach birth from both a statistics and research-driven mind as well as with an intention to connect more deeply spiritually?

YES!

And our birth story today is an example of that. Ashton Parker shares her home birth journey with us. First with a good hospital birth for her first child, which included 5 hours of pushing. Then considered another hospital birth for her second child, but after some research and statistics, landed on home birth. 

Ashton also shares how listening to DIAH was such great birth prep (which overwhelms us with joy!). She and her husband Sean felt prepared and supported, with an experienced birth team backing them. 

Ashton’s home birth took place on Christmas Day, which made it feel like a big party. 

This is a great episode for those who like to do a lot of research and learn a lot about the birthing process and statistics. And at the same time, for those who see birth as an opportunity to draw closer to God (whatever that practice looks like for you). 

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What is home birth?

Depending on who you are, that might be a simple or really complex question. 

In today’s episode - a special one as it is our 300th episode (we are really excited about it!), and we recorded it live in our Facebook group - Doing It At Home Birth Group. So make sure you’re in there to catch future recordings like this.

We give a little home birth 101 session here. Going over some basic questions and thoughts when it comes to choosing home birth. 

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Do babies always show up on their due date (we prefer calling it a "guess date")?

We know, in fact, that it’s actually less likely for a baby to arrive on their due date. However, it can happen! For today’s guest, Maranda Bower, a mama and postpartum bliss coach, her fourth baby, Sophie, arrived on her original due date. This is our second time chatting with Maranda. In our first conversation back in episode 181, she shared details of her first 3 home births and the very recent discovery that she was pregnant with her fourth. So now we get to hear that birth story.

And with Halloween coming up, you’ll love this - Maranda’s birth involves a black cat and a full moon! 

The total time from the moment of realizing labor was beginning to baby’s arrival was 55 minutes. The midwife didn’t even arrive on time. So we get to join in on the emotional roller coaster that it was.

Plus, Maranda shares her expertise and tips for the postpartum period and the intense transformation that occurs. How its possible to release overwhelm.

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How can shoulder dystocia be addressed in a home birth?

This was a very relevant question for our guest Amber Reed as she prepared for her second birth. Given that her first daughter, born in the hospital, had shoulder dystocia, this was something that Amber considered and discussed with her midwife. 

Her first birth in the hospital had traumatic elements to it, including her first daughter having a broken clavicle. This history, paired with a diagnosis of a platypelloid pelvis (this is where the pelvic inlet is narrow and shaped more like a kidney), led Amber and her husband Austin to research and prepare for a different experience that left Amber feeling more empowered.

Amber experienced close to a month of prodromal labor. She shares how chiropractic care helped her, her mantra of “I can!” during the birth process, as well her tips and favorite resources. 

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What’s the recipe for a magical birth experience?

It likely looks different for all of us. However, we might incorporate similar mindsets, approaches, preparation and resources.

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Genevieve and Michael Howland of Mama Natural, the #1 parenting brand online and a source of education and empowerment for natural pregnancy and birth.

Genevieve and Michael share the home birth story of their daughter Faith. After 2 birthing center births with their first two children, they explored whether or not they’d be good candidates for home birth. There were a few factors that went into this consideration: their second birth was very fast (they barely made it to the birthing center in time for baby’s arrival!), Genevieve was healthy and low-risk and would have likely had more intervention with a hospital route given that she was 42-years-old at the time, plus the convenience and sacred space of being at home.

We’ll save the rest of the birth details for you to listen to in the episode. And you can watch a video of the birth on the Mama Natural website (link is below!).

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Original description from Having It A.L.L.:

How is the state of your relationship? How about your partnership?

I never used to look at the two as separate. The "relationship" included everything -- the romance, the intimacy, the day-to-day life dynamics, the household management.

But for me, as my primary relationship has matured and as new things like marriage and kids have entered the picture, I now see that there's a distinction between the relationship (influenced more by the heart) and the partnership (influenced more by the mind).

In today's special episode I invite my amazing wife Sarah in on this conversation, and together we talk about the difference between relationship and partnership, how ours has evolved over the years, and how we navigate breakdowns in each area.

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Can birth be euphoric?

Answer: yes. Absolutely yes.

Welcome our guest Luca S to the podcast. Luca had some birth work experience as a doula before becoming pregnant herself.

When she and her husband Neil were expecting their first child, Luca stayed open to the birth experience and what it might look like - meaning, she wasn’t 100% set on a home birth from the beginning. 

Her story involves true love with her midwife pair, attending a birth while pregnant, having the support of her natural home birthing mama, gaining the support of her GP doctor parent-in-laws, a joyful birth that mostly involved slow dancing with her husband and jogging up and down an embankment, baby arriving intact in the caul, and the midwife arriving in the nick of time (20 mins before the baby!). Overall, she described the birth as pain free and often pleasurable. Listen in to hear more!

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