In this episode, we’re diving into a powerful, honest, and faith-filled conversation with a mama in her season of pre-conception for baby #3—reflecting on two completely different pregnancy and birth journeys that ultimately led her back to the same place: deep trust.

Grace shares how motherhood wasn’t always something she long dreamed about—but when it came into her life, it became her greatest sense of purpose.

Her first pregnancy was filled with awe and constant reminders of the miracle of life… but also fear. What began with a terrifying misdiagnosis of an interstitial ectopic pregnancy ended with an atypical HELLP Syndrome diagnosis, leading to a long and emotional 3–4 day induction prior to 37 weeks—and ultimately, a vaginal delivery that required deep surrender.

Her second journey brought a completely different energy—more peace, more connection, and more trust in her body. This time, she experienced a full-term, 40+2 vaginal birth, feeling empowered and supported throughout.

In this episode, we talk about:

    •    Navigating pregnancies that don’t go as planned

    •    Building trust with your body through uncertainty

    •    Holding space for both fear and empowerment in birth

    •    Faith, surrender, and trusting God’s timing

    •    Nourishing yourself through every season of motherhood

Grace also opens up about how becoming a mother became an unexpected space for healing—helping her work through years of body image struggles, disordered eating, and cycles of control, and instead learning to honor and trust her body.

And a full-circle moment you won’t believe:

Grace and her husband were both surprise babies… born on the same day, in the same hospital in Roseville, just hours apart—but didn’t meet until 25 years later 🤍

Oh—and despite a 3 lb and 3 inch difference between her babies, both births came down to just a few powerful pushes.

This episode is your reminder that:

✨ You don’t have to have it all planned for it to be exactly right

✨ Your body is wise

✨ And sometimes, the most unexpected paths lead you straight into your purpose

In this episode, we sit down with Michelle Cañete, a mom of three and doula, who shares her powerful journey through three very different — and increasingly fast — birth experiences.

From a first birth filled with anxiety, lack of preparation, and feeling overwhelmed… to two precipitous labors that moved faster than anyone expected — Michelle walks us through what it actually feels like when your body takes over.

We talk about:

What it’s like going into birth unprepared — and how that shaped everything after

The intensity and unpredictability of precipitous labor

Transition happening in the car (yes… really)

That “I have to poop” moment and what it actually means

The mental shift from fear → trust in your body

How experience can completely transform your birth perspective

Michelle’s second and third births happened in just a matter of hours — with pushing phases lasting only minutes — and her stories are a reminder that birth doesn’t always follow the “expected” timeline.

This episode is raw, fast-paced (just like her births), and full of those “wait… WHAT just happened?!” moments.

Whether you’re a first-time mom or preparing for another baby, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about birth, intuition, and how quickly things can change.

⸻

Takeaways:

Your first birth does not define your future births

Preparation and education can completely shift your experience

Fast labor is real — and can be intense, empowering, and a little chaotic

Your body knows what it’s doing, even when it feels overwhelming

⸻

Connect with Michelle:

Instagram: @_doulamichelle

In this episode of Girly Pop Birth Talks, we’re sitting down with Olivia Geller—birth doula, mom to a toddler, and newly pregnant with baby #2. Olivia shares her first birth experience and how it shaped the way she sees birth, motherhood, and the work she does today.

Her story is a beautiful reminder that positive, uncomplicated hospital births exist—and they matter.

What we talk about:

•  Being newly pregnant (around 6 weeks!) and navigating early pregnancy 
•  Life as a mom to a 2-year-old while entering a new season 
•  Her first birth: an unmedicated, low-risk hospital birth at Kaiser Roseville 
•  A 13-hour labor that felt “fast and easy-ish” 
•  What made her feel safe, supported, and confident during her birth 
•  Reflecting on a birth she genuinely loved 
•  How her birth experience influenced her path into becoming a doula 
•  Supporting families now as both a mom and a birth worker 

Why this episode matters:
We hear so many intense or complicated birth stories—but this one is a breath of fresh air. Olivia’s experience shows that birth can be calm, empowering, and even joyful. And sometimes, one positive experience is all it takes to change the direction of your life.

If you’re pregnant, planning your birth, or just craving a grounded, encouraging story—this one’s for you.

🎧 Streaming on YouTube, Apple Podcasts & Spotify
 💗 New episodes every Thursday

At 26, Allie is a single mom of two boys, a business owner, and in school to become a labor and delivery nurse and her story is one that will stay with you.

In this episode, Allie shares what it looked like to do it anyway…

through three pregnancies, two births, and seasons that would have broken most.

We talk about:

    • Becoming a young single mom and carrying the weight of it all

    • Her first birth: a 23-hour labor, an unforgettable moment catching her own baby, and the aftermath no one prepares you for

    • Postpartum complications, including a severe kidney infection and a third-degree tear

    • The physical and emotional toll of healing while still showing up for her babies

    • Her second birth and how it differed

    • Building a business and pursuing nursing in the middle of motherhood

    • The quiet strength, resilience, and softness it takes to keep going

This episode is for the moms who didn’t have it easy…

who carried more than they should have had to…

and who showed up anyway.

Allie’s story is powerful, honest, and deeply human and a reminder that strength doesn’t always look loud… sometimes it looks like surviving, healing, and continuing forward.

We’re joined by Sarah Vidal, a 29-year-old mama of two, who approached her birth in a completely intentional way—making it her full-time job to study birth.

During her pregnancy, she immersed herself in the work of Ina May Gaskin and other birth education, reshaping her mindset and building deep trust in her body.

She chose to birth at the California Birth Center, where her labor unfolded over 10.5 hours, including 3 hours of pushing—an experience that pushed her to her edge and showed her just how capable she is.

And what’s even more powerful… she’s choosing that same path again.

In this episode, we talk about:

•  What it looks like to fully prepare for birth mentally and emotionally
•  How studying birth transformed her experience 
•  Why she chose the California Birth Center—and why she’d choose it again 
•  Navigating a long and intense pushing phase 
•  The role of mindset, environment, and support in birth 
•  Trusting your body in a deep, embodied way 

This story is grounded, inspiring, and such a reminder that when you prepare with intention and trust your body—you can create an experience that feels truly aligned.

Go listen to Episode 34 🎙✨
 Streaming everywhere—YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

In this episode, we sit down with Jamie Garrison—a birth and postpartum doula, homesteader, and mama of four—who shares her powerful journey from high-risk pregnancies to a full-circle homebirth.

Jamie opens up about becoming a mom at 19 and navigating multiple medically complex pregnancies, including inductions for hypertension and preeclampsia, a premature birth at 34 weeks, and the heartbreak of miscarriage. Through each experience, her perspective on birth, motherhood, and support continued to evolve.

We also dive into her NICU experience—what it felt like to have a baby in the NICU, the emotional highs and lows, navigating uncertainty, and how that season shaped the way she now shows up for families as a doula. She shares what support actually looks like in those moments, what she wishes more people understood, and how deeply those early days can impact a mother’s healing.

A big part of this conversation centers around postpartum mental health—how it showed up for her, what it looked like behind the scenes, and the importance of being supported, seen, and cared for in the fourth trimester. We talk about the weight many moms carry silently, and how community and intentional support can change everything.

We talk about:

What it’s like to walk through repeated high-risk pregnancies

Inductions and navigating medical decision-making

Experiencing preeclampsia and early delivery

The emotional reality of having a baby in the NICU

Postpartum mental health and navigating the fourth trimester

Holding space for loss while continuing to grow your family

How her mindset around birth shifted over time

Choosing a homebirth after hospital experiences

How her personal journey led her into birth and postpartum doula work

What kind of support actually matters most to moms in vulnerable seasons

Jamie’s story is honest, layered, and deeply grounding. This episode is for anyone who has experienced medical complexities, NICU time, postpartum struggles, loss, or is simply learning to trust themselves again

🤍 You’re not behind. You’re becoming.

🎧 Streaming on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, & Spotify

In this episode, Becca and Arielle sit down with Abi Dawson for a real, honest, and empowering conversation about choosing a free-standing birth center as a first-time mom—and how that decision shaped her entire birth experience.

Abi shares her journey of:
 ✨ Navigating four pregnancies, including two early miscarriages
✨ Becoming a first-time mom and choosing a birth center for her first delivery
✨ Experiencing a breech baby that flipped, leading to an incredible, redemptive birth
✨ Now raising her 16-month-old while 35 weeks pregnant with baby #2

Abi walks us through what it actually looked like to choose a birth center—the fears, the decision-making, the support, and why it ended up being such a powerful experience for her.

Now, as Abi Dawson prepares for her second baby, she’s planning a home birth, bringing everything she learned from her first birth into this next chapter.

This episode is such a beautiful reminder of:
 💭 How to confidently choose the birth setting that aligns with you
 💭 The strength it takes to walk through loss and still step into motherhood
 💭 What a birth center experience really looks like
 💭 How your first birth can shape your future birth decisions

Abi Dawson keeps it open, honest, and truly “nothing off limits”—and we know so many of you will feel seen in her story.

💗 Whether you’re:

• A first-time mom exploring your birth options
• Considering a birth center vs. hospital vs. home birth
• Navigating pregnancy after loss
• Or just love hearing real, relatable birth stories

This episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now on Girly Pop Birth Talks — streaming everywhere!

In this episode of Girly Pop Birth Talks, Arielle and Becca sit down with Jenna Smith, a registered dietitian, mama of two, and currently expecting her third baby.

Jenna shares the stories of her two positive hospital birth experiences and what it has been like preparing to welcome baby number three. From navigating pregnancy while raising little ones to trusting her body through each birth, Jenna reflects on the powerful and emotional journey of motherhood.

While her first two pregnancies came quickly, this time around Jenna and her husband spent a year and a half trying to conceive before becoming pregnant with their third baby. She opens up about the emotional side of that wait and what it felt like to finally see that positive test again.

Together, Arielle, Becca, and Jenna talk about the beauty of positive hospital birth experiences, the evolution of motherhood from baby one to baby three, and the strength women carry through every stage of growing their families.

This episode is a reminder that birth can be empowering, supported, and deeply meaningful — and that every mother’s story deserves to be shared.

In This Episode We Talk About

• Jenna’s two positive hospital birth experiences

• Preparing for baby #3

• Parenting a 6-year-old and 3.5-year-old while pregnant

• The emotional journey of trying to conceive

• How birth experiences shape motherhood

• Trusting your body through pregnancy and birth

🎧 Listen to Girly Pop Birth Talks wherever you stream podcasts.

New episodes drop every Thursday.

In this episode of Girly Pop Birth Talks, we sit down with Haley Palos, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who specializes in perinatal mental health, supporting first responders, high-profile individuals, and those navigating people-pleasing patterns.

Haley shares the deeply personal birth story that ultimately reshaped her life and professional path.

Her son’s birth in 2020 began with intense back labor from the very start, contractions coming quickly every two minutes while dilation lagged behind. After 20 hours of labor, an epidural, and her water being broken by her doctor, Haley’s baby—who was sunny side up needed to be delivered with vacuum assistance after experiencing heart rate decelerations.

Following the birth, her baby required immediate care while Haley was stitched, and the postpartum experience continued with the discovery of a tongue tie, launching her into the complex and emotional realities of early motherhood.

Through this journey paired with the isolation and limited resources many families experienced during the 2020 pandemic Haley’s perspective on birth, postpartum care, and maternal mental health shifted profoundly.

Today, Haley uses both her professional expertise and lived experience to support families navigating the emotional layers of pregnancy, birth, miscarriage, and the postpartum transition.

In this conversation we talk about:

✨ The emotional reality of long and difficult labors

✨ Sunny-side-up babies and back labor

✨ Birth interventions and processing birth experiences

✨ The mental health impact of early postpartum challenges

✨ Navigating miscarriage conversations with compassion

✨ Why perinatal mental health support matters now more than ever

Haley reminds us that birth stories don’t just shape babies they shape mothers too.

Guest: Haley Palos, LMFT

Perinatal Mental Health Therapist

Instagram: @palospractice

In this episode of Girly Pop Birth Talks, we sit down with Kaleem Joy, LM, CPM the one and only, a legacy midwife whose wisdom, courage, and calling have touched generations of births.

With decades devoted to mothers, babies, and families, Kaleem shares the defining moments that shaped her path into midwifery from early experiences in highly medicalized birth rooms to the profound transformation she experienced witnessing connected, family-centered births.

We talk about what birth looked like decades ago, how the system has evolved, and what still needs reclaiming today. Kaleem reflects on the instinct that guides birth workers, the emotional realities of infertility and loss, and the importance of mentorship and legacy in this work.

In this episode, we explore:

✨ How one moment in a hospital room sparked a lifelong calling
✨ What birth culture used to look like and why that history matters
✨ The power of instinct, connection, and honoring the mother-baby bond
✨ Kaleem’s personal journey through infertility, miscarriage, and motherhood
✨ Why legacy birth workers matter and how their wisdom shapes the future

🌿 Learn From Kaleem

If you’re expecting, preparing for birth, or simply want education rooted in experience and intuition, Kaleem offers childbirth education through her program Natural Childbirth 101.

Her courses support families through pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum with education designed to build confidence, empowerment, and connection.

You can learn more at:
www.naturalchildbirth101.com

Kaleem’s story reminds us that birth work isn’t just a profession — it’s a calling carried across generations.

🎧 Tune in for a conversation about devotion, calling, and what it really means to live a life in birth.