What influences your birth choices?

It’s helpful to look at this, to see what matters to you when it comes to birth, and how you can create a birth environment and culture around you that supports you best.

Today we’re chatting with Martina Cifiello about her birth journey. From a hospital birth with her first child to a birth center with her second to a home birth with her third, Martina walks us through the factors that inspired the changes and evolutions of her births along the way. 

Martina shares how supportive and helpful her husband Simone has been over the years as well, taking a team approach to everything.

And fun fact: Martina used the same midwife for her home birth that we had for our home birth, Debbie Schneider of Dawning Life Midwifery. So cool to have that connection!

Things we talk about in this episode: hospital birth, birth center, water birth, Bradley Method, pelvic floor health, birth during COVID, family-centered birth

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Marissa is a mom of 2 from Utica, NY, with both a hospital and home birth story. 

Marissa experienced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) with her first pregnancy. That, along with some early signs of labor made for a hospital birth that included a lot of intervention and fear. The way she sees it, baby Maxwell just wasn’t ready yet. 

She planned for a home birth again with baby number two, Miles. With positive reinforcement from resources like Ina May Gaskin and Birth Without Fear, Marissa went into her second birth tuned in to her intuition and gut feeling (and we’re not just talking about the contractions!).

Marissa’s candor and detail with her birth stories compels you to listen and engage. She’s a great example of how to plan the birth you’re intending to create - like finding midwives even when you’re far away from a big city with more options.

We even get a little cameo from surprise guest Maxwell!

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When asked a question by a care provider, do you have to respond right away?

Most of us don’t know or realize that we have choice. And especially when it’s not an emergency, we can take time to process and decide what we want to do and even refuse what doesn’t work for us. 

This is a powerful message from our guests in today’s episode, who experienced this firsthand during the birth of their son while in the hospital after transferring from their home birth plan. And it’s a special treat because we got to speak with both mom and dad, Bekah and Jesse Carroll. 

Bekah’s journey to home birth actually started when she was back in high school and did a speech on birth interventions. That, plus her mom is a doula. And Jesse comes from a family where his 3 siblings were born at home. So it made sense to them to plan for a home birth for their son Benji. 

After 36 hours of labor and being only 5 cm dilated, the team made the decision to transfer. This was a smooth transition thanks to a bridge program, a way to make home birth transfers easier for families and care providers, with her hospital. 

So listen in to hear the beautiful story, and why Jesse thinks his wife is such a badass!

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Where will you hear about home birth story details, the difference between modern and traditional midwifery, what to do when you are inspired to enter birth work and the connection of birth with sexuality and spirituality?

This episode of the podcast, that's where!

Today we’re joined by Blyss Young, LM CPM. Blyss is a home birth midwife, teacher, circle facilitator, energy healer, reiki practitioner, mother, yoga teacher, entrepreneur, breathwork facilitator, placenta encapsulator and natural living consultant.

Through her guidance and love centered approach she has supported thousands of families to birth in the ways they feel the most empowered. She is a firm believer in intuition, the sacred and rituals. At the heart of all of her work is a deeply rooted belief in the brilliant design of the universe and our integral part in all of it. 

You’ve also probably heard Blyss alongside Dr. Stu Fischbein on their podcast “Birthing Instincts.”

We get into so many powerful topics in this episode. Blyss shares her history into birth work, details of her own births, elements of midwifery and advice for current and future birth workers, plus connecting with your sexuality in the birth journey. 

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How can you utilize the power and intention of prayer for your birth?

Regardless of your faith, setting intentions for your birth experience can be a big part of preparation for the experience.

Today’s guest, Josephine Breen, weaves her faith into her birth story of her daughter Myriam. Josephine was born at home, and always remembers her mother being positive and open around the topic of birth. Then at 12 years old, Josephine got to witness the birth of her sister. 

Josephine walks us through her pregnancy and birth, including a lot of the curve balls thrown in along the way. 

Things we talk about in this episode: military family, being born at home yourself and then choosing home birth to have your children, education for your birth partner, preeclampsia, membrane sweeps, power of prayer, long labor without a lot of sleep, cervical lip, fetal ejection reflex, having community to support you, letting go when labor gets hard

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Melissa Thormahlen knows how to give me “all the feels.” I knew her story would impact many when her first email to me about her birth story had me tearing up.

She experienced most of her birthing experience at home with her first baby Emeline, before transferring to a hospital and having a beautiful birth. 

For Tyler, baby number 2, she knew she wanted to go for a home birth again because she trusted her body and her amazing birth team. 

In Tyler’s birth story, Melissa explains the trust and surrender to the process. She also took time to be close and intimate with her husband, Paul in the time before active labor.

When baby Tyler was born in the bathtub after a strong surge that took everyone by surprise she exclaimed, “I DID IT!”

We even get to hear from baby Tyler as he chimes in a couple of times. We love when the babies make little appearances, they’re the reason we’ve come together to chat after all!

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“Is my body able to give birth?”

This is one of the questions that Christina Winsnes asked herself as she prepared for the home birth of her second child, after an unplanned cesarean birth with her first child Emma.

With the support of her husband Yeti and the rest of her team, Christina took time during her second pregnancy to deal with fears and concerns. Also to come to a place of peace and acceptance that a non-vaginal birth was not a failure.

She walks us through this process and then the birth of her son Daniel, and how it differed from her time in the hospital. 

This is a beautiful story for any mama who is planning an HBAC or is working on building the trust with your body. 

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How does the experience of one birth influence the plans for births that follow?

Today we chat with Emilee Petrill, and we pack a lot into a sub-hour conversation. Emilee has experienced a hospital birth with her first son Corbyn, a birthing center for her son Penn and finally a home birth for her son Moxy. She walks us through the processes and decisions around each of those experiences. 

Then we get into the details of her home birth, and why she’s thinking about a free/unassisted birth for a future baby. 

Bonus topics in this conversation include Emilee’s experience with consuming her placenta and why she’s a big advocate for it, the 10,000+ oz of breast milk she has donated and how the Doing It At Home podcast and community has impacted her body image and sex life!

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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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We’re entering a new phase of the podcast! 

In addition to our episodes that feature Matthew and me discussing some topic related to home birth, we’re publishing our conversations with moms and families who have experienced home birth along with professionals and thought leaders on the subject. 

First to kick off this endeavor is our chat with Jenny DiPietro. Jenny is a mom of 4, who has experienced both home and hospital birth.

In our talk, we cover things like:

We’re very excited to bring other stories and perspectives of home birth to you. Enjoy!

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• http://www.goldenheartbaby.com/

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