Happy Homebirth

By Katelyn FuscoHealth & Fitness Parenting Kids & Family Sexuality

Favorites
98
Followers
Typical duration
61 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

Happy Homebirth episodes

April 14, 2025Ep 270: First Time Homebirther and Hospice Nurse Shares Paralles of Welcoming Life and Concluding It
We love talking about homebirth here, right? I mean, it’s kind of our thing. But what about the other end of the life spectrum. What about death?

This week, we are speaking with Mariah Lassiter, a a Hospice Registered Nurse who had her first baby at home.. As she has supported patients in her career, Mariah has begun to recognize how many similarities there are in the birthing and dying processes, and how both do not have to be viewed as scary, and in fact can be beautiful. We’ll hear her incredible birth story with her first child, and then dive into what she’s learned in her time as a hospice nurse.

Episode roundup
Let’s start by connecting with our educational tidbit: Not all first births are long! If you’re experiencing the intensity that Mariah described, do not be afraid to reach out to your midwife. Part of her job is checking on you, so don’t worry about “calling her too early.” If you’re worried, her support can be extremely helpful.
Intuition is everything. Mariah felt that she needed to give birth at home throughout her pregnancy, and with the quickness of her birth, the reality of that truth became very clear. Listen to your intuition. If you feel like you don’t have intuition or don’t know how to tap into it, pregnancy is the most perfect time to tap in. Turn off your phone, turn off your screens, heck, turn off this podcast and focus inward. You’ll be surprised at how much you can learn and feel.
Finally, our bodies know how to be born, they know how to give birth, and they know how to die. It’s really quite freeing to see the similarities in these experiences, and to trust that they were created this way with purpose. If you’re looking for an amazing, grounding, life-altering perspective on dying, I cannot recommend the book Imagine Heaven enough. Wow. I read this book on Near Death Experiences last year, and the amount of peace and beauty that it brought to my life was just incredible and unexpected. You are beautifully designed and deeply loved.

Links

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth
1 hr 2 min
April 14, 2025Ep 269: A (Re)Introduction: My Story and What’s Next with Happy Homebirth
In this episode we'll discuss
My origin story
How Happy Homebirth was created
Why I stepped back from the podcast and business in Jan 24
Why we're back, and most importantly, where we are going!

Links
Jamie Winship 4 Part Series (Part 1): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jamie-donna-winship-podcast/id1845880674?i=1000741926271

Bob Hamp Freedom Series
Imagine Heaven Book

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth
51 min
August 26, 2024 Ep 268: Emotional and Physical Healing From a Hospital Transport, and a Healing Second Birth with Michelle Varela
When things go unexpectedly during your first birth, how do you plan for a second birth with the hope and expectation that they'll go better?

This week, we are speaking with Michelle Varela. Michelle is one of those rare and amazing women who knew that she wanted to give birth at home from a very young age. So when her first birth took an unexpected turn, it was confusing and disappointing, and there were certainly questions as to how things would be handled next time.

Episode Roundup:

The importance of our care providers. They make a huge difference. How things unfold does depend greatly on that.
But the second thing that's on my mind is just how incredible the body is, how beautifully designed it was and is, how beautifully designed it is to heal itself. While Michelle struggled with a 4th degree tear during her 1st birthing experience, she did not let that come in her way in terms of her second birth experience, and thank goodness that she didn't even know that other people might say, oh, that's too dangerous. She just did what she knew was best for her body, and what ended up happening was a beautiful birth with zero tearing.
Our bodies are so incredible. They're so incredible at healing. They're so resilient. So if you have found yourself in a place where you've given birth before and it didn't go the way that you wanted, desired, expected, or planned, Know this. Your body is resilient.
Your mind is resilient. Your heart is resilient, and next time it can be different just like it was for Michelle.
Last thing before I jump off, I did wanna share that Michelle's husband actually works with mothers postpartum. He helps with things like diastasis recti, pelvic floor dysfunction, and just overall achieving of physical goals.
Instagram: @codylanecollins

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

51 min
August 19, 2024 Ep 267: Letting God Be Big in Your Birth with Rachel Petersen
We want a healthy baby and a healthy mama, right? But is it okay to ask for more than that? What if we have specific ideas and hopes and dreams for our birth? Is it okay to pray about that? Is it okay to ask the Lord for more?
This week, we are speaking to my friend Rachel Petersen. Now Rachel did just that. She had desires and she let the Lord know about them. So we're going to learn what that looked like and see how it unfolded for her in her birth experience.
Now, just a little bit more information on Rachel. She is certified through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and the Herbal Academy. She specializes in women's hormones, cycle sinking, fertility, the fertility awareness method and prenatal and postpartum nutrition. So she's somebody that you're going to want to check out. She's on Instagram @nourish.thegood

Episode Roundup:

The first one being that Rachel shows us how it's okay to make your requests known to God. In fact, he tells us to, specifically, make your requests known to God and he will answer. Now, does it always look like the answer that Rachel received?
No, not necessarily. However, he does work all things for good. So even when the outcomes don't look the way we had expected, even when they look completely different from how we expected them to look, we know that we have a loving father who does care for us and, like Rachel said, He is aware of us.
He sees us. So whether your birth turns out as spectacularly as Rachel's does, or whether it turns out differently than expected, let God be big in it. Look for Him, He's there. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, He is there. So let's look back and see, where was He? Where was He in my experience?

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth
55 min
August 12, 2024 Ep 266: Finding the Stubborn Root Cause to Your Child’s Mystery Ailments Through The Gillespie Approach

2024 Trainings
Greenville, SC
Gillespie Approach-Craniosacral Fascial Therapy

Previous Episode:

Ep 175: The Gillespie Approach: How Craniosacral Fascial Therapy Can Optimize Health for Your Infant

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth
49 min
August 05, 2024 Ep 265: Striking the Balance Between Success in Business and Motherhood with Kyleigh Banks
Birthworker.com/happyhomebirth

Previous Episodes with Kyleight:
Ep 98: Kyleigh’s Out-of-the-Box Homebirth Preparation
Ep 258: How To Turn Your Passion For Birth Into A Full-time Career As A Doula with Kyleigh Banks

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth
40 min
January 01, 2024 Ep 264:The Opposite Of A Traumatic Birth with Regina Lowenfield
Once you've experienced a traumatic birth, the best you can hope for from that point on is just-- a birth without trauma, right? It's best to just play it safe- not to push the envelope....?

Regina has been married to her husband Miles for 11 years and mother to their 3 children. Currently the Lowenfields live in Southern Indiana where they are building an events venue on their 75 acres. Today we'll hear how Regina and Miles experienced trauma, tried to cope, and then went big with their most recent birth experience.

Before we jump in, I want to share an important update with you all. The release of this episode coincides exactly with the 5 year anniversary of this podcast. I am just so thrilled to look back over the last 5 years and to celebrate the 264 episodes that have been shared in that time.

I also want to let you know that I am now going to be going on hiatus with the podcast. I am so excited to focus my energy on a few projects that the Lord has been drawing me into over the last year, and most importantly to spend every waking moment soaking up the beauty of my three little ones. I'm not sure if anyone's told you, but holy moly time goes FAST and one day you wake up and your oldest is seven years old and you wonder what the heck happened.

So in the meantime, know this: I am still honored to provide you with the deepest homebirth childbirth education through The Homebirth Collective or Happy Homebirth Academy, both of which are self-paced and accessible in the show notes, at myhappyhomebirth.com, or through my instagram bio.

I'm not going to be checking in on instagram or facebook often, so if you need anything, the best way to reach me is at [email protected].

If this podcast has meant something to you, would you take a moment now to leave a review? It would mean so much to me.

Episode Roundup:

If you've experienced a traumatic birth in the past, don't feel that you have to settle for 'not traumatic'. The opposite of a traumatic birth is not merely 'not traumatic', but it's ecstatic, and that's something that you can prepare for, pray for, and quit often attain.

Alright, my friends. What an honor this has been. I look forward to coming back in the future with more beautiful stories, but in the meantime, I am praying for all of you. That you'll enjoy your pregnancies, your births, your babies, your children. That you'll feel the love of the Lord covering you like a blanket, realizing that it's somehow even deeper and stronger than that insane love we feel for our babies. I'll see you back here next time.

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)
1 hr 24 min
December 28, 2023Ep 263: VBA3C?! You’re Not High Risk Until You’re High Risk with Jan DeAngelo
You can't have a homebirth after 3 c sections, pre-eclampsia and being a "geriatric pregnancy", can you?

This week, we're speaking with Jan DeAngelo, 43 year old mother of 4 babies who changed EVERYTHING in between her third and fourth births. We'll hear how she took control of her care and her family's wellbeing, and gave birth with confidence to her most recent little one.

Episode Roundup
You're not high risk until you're high risk- Jan's midwife said this, and I find it such a beautiful way to approach each pregnancy individually. She wasn't focusing on the past, but looking at Jan and her pregnancy NOW. Instead of forcing fear and uncertainty onto her client, she trusted her abilities as a care provider, yes, but more importantly-- she trusted Jan's ability to give birth.
Your mindset plays such a role in your birth. As we shared, in the past, Jan's doctors pathologized her pregnancy and birth up and down, and Jan accepted what they had to say. Because of this, she saw herself as high risk- as a disaster waiting to happen. This totally changed for her fourth birth, when she realized that she was designed to give birth. She changed her mindset and recognized that her body and her baby were not pathologies. She was able to approach this pregnancy and birth with excited anticipation, along with the knowledge that she could and would do things differently.
Let's end with this-- it can be different this time. Maybe you've had a cesarean or several, maybe you've had preeclampsia or gestational diabetes or any number of "pathologies" in the past. Remember that this experience doesn't have to be the same as last time. Give yourself space to imagine something different. Visualize it, feel it. Find support who feels it, too. Of course, consider your own risk tolerance, but know that however events do unfold, you can experience your birth from a perspective of being the authority.
FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)
59 min
December 25, 2023Ep 262: The Body-Mind-Birth Connection with Errika Horner
Which is more important in birth preparation and birth itself? The body--or the mind?
This week we're speaking with Errika Horner, a stay-at-home mom of 2 girls and blogger in her spare time, sharing healthy recipes and intentional homemaking inspiration on her website: thehomeintent.com.

Episode Roundup
As Errika's story demonstrated, it is possible to have a positive birth experience in the hospital, if that’s the option you feel you need this time around, keep this at front of mind, as it can be extremely encouraging to hear those positive examples.
Errika acknowledges that yes, her body was made for birthing, but it was her mind that made the difference between her two experiences. Errika had a much better understanding of what her body was doing in labor, and she visualized it all, even talking to her body during contractions. Errika feels that's what really made the second experience smoother and quicker.
And finally, you don't have to learn every single possible coping technique. In fact, having just a few specific strategies planned to use during the birth can help, so that you know exactly how to prepare and focus.
FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)
54 min
December 19, 2023Ep 261: A Beautiful Shoulder Dystocia? With Coco Brown
When you imagine a beautiful homebirth, what comes to mind? Everything unfolds perfectly, or nearly perfectly, right?

This week, we're speaking with Coco Brown. Coco is a mother, currently navigating the labyrinth that is postpartum using ancestral knowledge and intuition to guide her. She is a maternal health and nourishment advocate sharing her intimate journey through home birth, postpartum, intuitive motherhood and well being through her online presence in hopes to deeply connect women and mothers around the world.

Our story with Coco will challenge the idea that beauty is equivalent to a perfectly smooth birthing experience. As the title suggests, there will be discussion of a shoulder dystocia, so of course please consider this as you listen. However, I do want to share that Coco is a wonderful storyteller and she shares her experience both gently and realistically... and spoiler alert, but all went well in the end.

Episode Roundup:
Imagination. Many of you know that I view the world through a biblical lens, and something that's been on my mind for the last few months, and that relates in such a special way to this episode, is the idea of the imagination. Just like Coco shared how she took time to deeply envision her birth experience, and so much of it happened in the way that she'd put thought to. Lately, I've been reflecting on how The Lord uses our imagination for our good and His glory. We were given this ability to imagine-- to see things in our mind-- and it is such a gift. We're called to renew our minds and spirits and to think on whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—using our imagination to renew the mind and think on these things in our day to day life is the stuff of miracles. Use your imagination! Think on your pure, excellent, praiseworthy birth, mama.
Next, I want to focus on how, between her first pregnancy and birth and her most recent, Coco learned to lean into her intuition and to truly listen to it. This is what led her to choose to give birth in her own home, and to choose a midwife who truly embodied what that word is supposed to mean-- someone who trusts, believes in physiological birth, and who is there to wisely step in when the time is right. As Coco told this part of the birth story, I pictured these three women, with Coco as the spearhead, along with her two midwives flanking either side. Supporting her, keeping her safe, but always recognizing Coco's lead. That's what this relationship is all about.
And finally, a word on integration. Coco's journey from first pregnancy through her most recent birth has been full of ups and downs. Triumph and troubles. And labor is a microcosm of this very experience. I loved her labor depiction. "I am an ocean." Oceans are many things. Mighty, flowing, majestic, serene, cataclysmic, and tranquil. What a wonderful analogy for the process of integration. Taking all of the aspects of her journey thus far-- breaking them down and then building them back up together. Letting it all wash over her in waves. And like waves, the integration of an experience ebbs and flows. It's not all at once. But this ability to take our experience and pull it into our being-- absorbing the meaning and allowing it to transform us-- that is an abundant gift to ourselves and our families alike.
FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)
1 hr 27 min

About Happy Homebirth

From the publisher's feed

The Happy Homebirth podcast is your source for positive natural childbirth stories, and your community of support, education and encouragement in all things homebirth and motherhood.