Yes, we know you don't know what a hearthmother is. But let your curiosity about it hook you in to give this episode a listen. 

The concept of hearthmother is a very personal one for Lauren, one which the Lord has been fleshing out over the years and has grown to include a model of sorts for finding your way into wholeness and health in virtually any area of life, but for our purposes here, in regards to pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.  

This episode is long and may require a couple of listening sessions to finish up, but it's RICH and we couldn't imagine shortening it. 

ALSO: Be sure to grab Lauren's ebook gift with a visual and write-up about The Way of the Hearthmother as well as a template for care providers to use this model in their own practice. You might even want to download it before you begin listening, so that you can follow along.  

Read in this episode:
"Hearthmother Calls" by Katlyn R.H. Hudgins; The Pretentious Toad

From Katlyn:

From Lauren:

Email [email protected] to set up a midwifery consult

From Brooke:

- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox

- a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)

- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)

- a FB community

Brittany has five babies before the one whose story she tells in this episode, but this 6th baby was her first home birth. 

And it also included some rather unusual elements. You'll love hearing about how she and her team navigated the unusual sorts of curve balls that occurred in this labor and the role that prayer played in it. 

This story was recorded in the context of  Virtual Sister Circle call -- a bi-weekly community and mentoring call that's part of Brooke's Embrace Birth Journey --- and is now being shared here on the podcast with Brittany's permission. 

Be prepared to flinch with sympathy and then to have your jaw hit the floor... well, those were two the reactions that came up for ME as I heard her story.

Email us any time at [email protected]

Mentioned in this episode:  

Embrace Birth Journey Courses/Membership 

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Cervical dilation, the 5-1-1 rule, stages of labor.

We've become rather obsessed with finding ways to describe the "pattern" of "normal" labor and assessing its progress. But what if the methods listed above are lacking and possibly even misleading us into conclusions (and interventions) that do us a great disservice?

In this episode -- which piggy-backs off Sharon's birth story in episode 9 -- we explore alternative ways of understanding and "assessing" the flow of labor. We think you'll find this new perspective refreshing and freeing.

Mentioned in this episode:

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Ok, if you're a Christian planning a natural birth, you've probably heard the descriptor of "pain-free" tacked to the front of the word birth. Sounds good, right? Who wouldn't want that?

Lauren and Brooke have both had what could be called pain-free births and yet they don't really care that much. Why? Because God's purposes for His daughters in childbirth so greatly surpass the physical sensations or lack there-of that whether or not there is pain is really more of an after-thought.

Join us as we explore the theology of pain, the "curse" on Eve in the garden, why pain-free births end up happening (or not), redemptive suffering, expecting the goodness of God in birth, and what a better focus and goal might be instead of pain avoidance. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Meet Sarah - mama of two, holistic dietician, and amateur crocheter -- as she shares with us her birth stories on today's episode. 

She shares how her primary birth goals shifted from Safety&Survival to Peace&Power and what a difference that shift made.

What struck me most about my conversation with Sarah is how eloquently she weaves deep truths and profound insights into her telling of her stories. She encountered God in some really poignant ways in her second birth, and I know you'll me encouraged by every detail of it.

As always, the choices, beliefs and opinions of the mamas sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller herself and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or recommended choices of Lauren and/or Brooke.

Get your Holy Wild Birth STICKER.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode: 

Connect with Sarah on IG

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Type "Natural induction methods" into the Google search bar and you'll find loads of information about DIY things to try at home to make labor start. Ask your midwife and she'll probably have a few more tricks up her sleeve to offer up should you so desire/need. 

But...

Join Lauren and Brooke for a conversation about all of that and more.

Get your Holy Wild Woman Sticker here.

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Lauren and I got to sit down and hear our mutual friend, Angee (a traditional birth attendant and mama to 6) share a deep dive retelling of the birth of her son Killian. It was a quick birth full of happy surprises and loads of redemption.

If you're curious about how a traditional birth attendant navigates her OWN birth, this one will be a fun one for you. 

She also shares meaningful insights about marriage healing and postpartum rest.

As with all birth stories shared on this podcast, the choices, beliefs, and opinions of the mamas sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller herself and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or recommended choices of Lauren and/or Brooke.

Connect with Angee:

SHOW NOTES “FOOTER”

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

When it comes to making birth plans, safety is often a top-of-mind concern. This leads into the concept of understanding and weighing risks, real or perceived, and looking around for strategies, protocols and practitioners who we feel will minimize risk and ensure saftey. But what if, like my flock of chickens locked up too long in a small chicken run, the parameters we put into place to protect ourselves and our babies end up costing us something(s) even more valuable?

Tune into this episode to unpack the myths of safety and risk, in which a real-life metaphor from Brooke's experience of chicken keeping ends up being a helpful framework. (Who would have thought?!)

Resources mentioned in this episode:

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

After years of infertility, Jalina was led through healing and went on to have 4 sons, though not without significant losses in between. While her first 3 sons were all born in hospitals (albeit barely, in the case of #3!), she always felt she was missing out on something, and that the thing she really needed had nothing to do with the hospital. When she found herself pregnant with her 4th, it didn't make sense to go to the hospital again... but the leap from there to free birth wasn't an easy or light decsion. All the same, God led her and her husband to that plan, and with Brooke in their corner as a virtual birth keeper, they had a totally unassisted birth between dinner and bedtime on an ordinary weekday night.

Please note: the personal choices and beliefs of the mothers sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller and are not necessarily advised by nor reflect the beliefs of Lauren and/or Brooke.

Look up Jalina for Doula Support and Birth Photography in Upstate NY/Vermont:

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From Brooke: