The 9 Months Podcast

In this episode we hear from both birthing partners, Melanie & Tobias sharing the births of their two little ones, Aurora & Indigo. Melanie & Tobias are Swedish, but have been on the road for a few years and they birthed in Bali, Indonesia and Orba, Spain. When they found out they were expecting Aurora, they decided to seek out Ibu Robin Lim a renowned midwife in Bali, to support them through the process of becoming parents for the first time. They share their home birth in Bali, the experience of birthing in a country and language that’s not their native and staying in for a month after birth.

Melanie & Tobias had Lotus Births with both of their kids, which means that the placenta stays attached to the baby until it naturally falls off. They also practiced Elimination Communication, which is when the baby goes diaper free and parent and child learn to communicate through signs when it is time to go.

Their second home birth, with Indigo, took place in Spain, and they share how it was trying to navigate planning for a birth during the pandemic and finding the proper support and the best place for them to birth.

We also discuss how important it is for both birthing partners to be equally involved in the process of creating, growing and birthing a human and how there are so many ways for the non-birthing parent to help and support the one who is giving birth.

If you would like to reach out to Melanie & Tobias, or if you’d like to see their births, you can find them as Love Conscious Family on the following channels:

YouTube

Instagram

Instagram (Swedish Version)

You can also send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll forward everything to them from there.

Visit The 9 Months Podcast directory for more stories or if you'd like to share your story with me on the podcast, you can find all the details here.

Follow me on Instagram @9monthspodcast.

In this episode we hear Jana share the births of her two little ones, Valentýnka and Tomášek. Jana is a personal trainer and she was just 23 years old when she got pregnant the first time. We talk about the changes in the body and still being able to stay active up until birth and the importance of working with our breath in labour. With her daughter, she got induced with a sweep at 40+5 and gave birth with the support of midwives in a hospital in Plzeň where her parents live. She got to come home to her mom’s house for the immediate postpartum and we talk about the importance of having good and proper support during that delicate time.

Jana’s second pregnancy was planned, and she found out she was expecting her son in the fall of 2020, just after Czech Republic went into the longest lockdown because of the pandemic. She shares that it was actually a really nice space to be pregnant in, working a bit more from home and being able to rest more when she needed. Jana also studied hypnobirthing in preparation for this birth and prepared herself more with yoga and breathwork to support her wish for a natural birth.

This time Jana was in Prague, and chose to give birth at Apolinář Maternity Hospital. She had a quick labour, only about 2 hours and she gave birth to her son with the full support of lovely midwives on a late June morning. Jana shares how it was different being home with two little ones instead of just one and we talk about how it can be very difficult if we have an infant who isn’t sleeping for longer stretches of time.

Jana really recommends reading about Hypnobirthing and listen to other parent’s Birth Stories to prepare and inform yourself for birth.

If you would like to reach out to Jana you can send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll forward everything to her from there.

Visit The 9 Months Podcast directory for more stories or if you'd like to share your story with me on the podcast, you can find all the details here.

Follow me on Instagram @9monthspodcast.

In this episode we hear Mandalei share the birth of her son River in Dublin, Ireland. Mandalei tells us about her Womb Healing Journey and what she went through to both physically and emotionally heal herself to make space for a new partner and baby in her life. In her mid-30’s she found out that she had fibroids and she shares what she medically went through as well as emotionally to heal from that experience. She really wanted to become a mother, but as she didn’t have a partner in her life she decided to freeze her eggs and had even chosen her sperm donor when things took a different turn, and she ended up meeting her partner David.

They conceived very quickly naturally without trying and we talk about what it was like finding out that they were expecting so soon in their relationship. We talk about not being attached to the pregnancy in the beginning and how it grew stronger towards the end. We talk about the importance of having the right emotional support and making a birth wish and how we can get comfortable in it not being at all what we wished for.

River was born during the very first couple of months of the world being in lockdown for Covid-19 and we talk about how that impacted their choices for birth support were available. After going through many hours of on top of each other, very strong contractions but without dilating, Mandalei had a light epidural to help her get some rest. She had oxytocin and a few other inventions before they realised that River was in distress and in the end he was delivered via C-Section. They later found out that the reason the contractions were so strong without dilation was because River was presenting posterior, or OPF which means that there wasn’t enough pressure on the cervix to dilate properly and he got stuck.

We also talk about the 4th trimester, healing postpartum and a very interesting South/Central American ritual called Closing the Bones Ceremony.

Mandalei really recommends Christiane Northup’s Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom to anyone going through a similar journey of looking to heal themselves from the inside and out.

If you would like to reach out to Mandalei you can find her on Instagram @mandalei.medicine or you can send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll forward everything to her from there.

Visit The 9 Months Podcast directory for more stories or if you'd like to share your story with me on the podcast, you can find all the details here.

Follow me on Instagram @9monthspodcast.

In this episode we hear Irina share the birth of her daughter Charlotte in Berlin, Germany. Irina suffered from uterine myomas before pregnancy and she shares how that affected her and her partners journey to becoming pregnant in the first place.

From the beginning when she found out she was pregnant her doctor recommended a planned c-section because of her pre exciting condition and she spent her pregnancy planning for that. Irina had an active pregnancy and we talk about the benefits of staying active before, during and after pregnancy to support the body through labour and birth.

In the end she had a very positive experience with wonderful doctors and nurses during the c-section and after. We also talk a little bit about maternity leave, financials, choosing the right kindergarten and what it looks like in Germany where Irina lives.

Thank you Irina for sharing your beautiful story with us!

If you would like to reach out to Irina you can find her on Facebook at Irina Klose or send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll forward everything to her from there.

Visit The 9 Months Podcast directory for more stories or if you'd like to share your story with me on the podcast, you can find all the details here.

Follow me on Instagram @9monthspodcast.

In this episode we hear Chantelle sharing the birth of her son Oliver in April 2020. Chantelle is originally from Canada and her partner Jan is Czech. She shares her quite easy way into getting pregnant and a more anxious first trimester, having fears about miscarriage and how she managed to find support through that time.

While having a great second trimester, full of energy and being amazed at what her body could do she planned for a hospital birth, but as the due date came closer the world entered into a pandemic and she reconsidered and began planning for a home birth. They had everything set up with the midwife and just before the birth, the hospitals started allowing a partner to be present during birth and labour again so they again reconsidered and went back to the hospital birth plan. Chantelle had a long labour and was eventually offered an epidural which was a great choice for her. After that she shares many steps of intervention with us, waters broken, pitocin, the baby got distressed and Chantelles heart-rate dropped and she went into shock. She was rushed in for an emergency c-section and lost consciousness herself and was given CPR. Chantelle very generously shares a very overwhelming situation with us in combination with there being an unknown pandemic going on in the world around her.

Out of her experiences her project Mothergood.cz was born where she provides a safe space of postpartum healing, sharing and exercises for parents in Prague. Through her own journey to parenthood she has created a place for support for other parents around her and if you are in the city, you should definitely check out all the wonderful things she has going on over at Mothergood.

If you would like to reach out to Chantelle you can either check out the links above or send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll forward everything to her from there.

Visit The 9 Months Podcast directory for more stories or if you'd like to share your story with me on the podcast, you can find all the details here.

Follow me on Instagram @9monthspodcast

In this episode we hear Louise, who is Danish and lives in the Czech Republic, sharing the births of her two little girls Julia and Selma. She shares her journey of making the decision to become a parent in her mid-30’s and what it looked like for her and her husband Pavel to navigate the system once they found out they were having their first baby. Louise shares the difference in the care from her home country and how hard it can be to navigate a system that is unfamiliar while trying to ask the right questions. She shares how she found her midwife and hospital and how she was induced at 41+3 and Julia was born 3 days later in Rakovnik Hospital after an episiotomy and great support from the people around her.

When Louise got pregnant with Selma, she was in her late 30’s and had the standard testing done which came out with positive markers for Trisomy21 or Down’s Syndrome. We hear how she managed to navigate the difficult questions that arise and further testing and the unknown surrounding her pregnancy. In week 21 she finally got some good news and we talk about how Ina May Gaskins Guide to Childbirth was a great book to read in preparation for her second birth. She went into labour at 41 weeks on her own and after a fast labour Selma was born into the water. Louise shares how different her two labours and births went and how both of them were empowering experiences in their own way.

In this episode we hear Alisa sharing her journey to parenthood with her baby Aveline. Alisas pregnancy was a surprise both for her and her now boyfriend Pierre and she tells us the story of how they met and conceived and decided to spend their lives together. The pregnancy was event free and Alisa shares how she implemented her yoga practice while her belly was growing. Towards the end of the pregnancy Alisa experienced some symptoms like extreme itching and other signs that something wasn’t really right but she thought it was part of pregnancy. After Aveline was born without intervention in Kralovske Vinohrady Hospital in Prague Alisa realized that something wasn’t quite right. She visited her doctor and after a short while got diagnosed with cancer. She talks us through this whole journey with grace and confidence and as we speak she is on the other side of her strong chemotherapy and looking forward to spending her time with her daughter and boyfriend. Alisa’s story is one of strenght and joy and courage and it is her wish that it might help someone else listening in one day.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful journey with me Alisa!

If you would like to reach out to Alisa you can find her on Instagram @missindigo and you can also always send me an email at [email protected] .

Visit The 9MonthsPodcast.com episode list for more stories or if you'd like to share your story with me on the podcast, you can find all the details there..

Follow me on Instagram @9monthspodcast

In this episode we hear Alex sharing the birth of her five little ones. Alex is a birth photographer and she’s sharing her journey towards stepping fully into being a birth worker while having her babies. We talk about all things birth, like choosing your OB, following your gut-feeling, induction, c-sections and how important it is to try to create your own safe space to feel empowered though our birth experiences. Alex is very passionate about lifting up the fact that every birth is beautiful, no matter how our babies come into this world which I find such an important discussion to have.

Alex also shares her 4th birth with her son Clark who was born sleeping at 22 weeks gestation and how that experience shaped her and her family. She started Captures for Clark which provides birth story and postpartum bereavement services free of charge to families who are facing similar prognoses that they faced with Clark: ‘saying happy birth day and goodbye all at the same time’. She also shares how it was like going into her last pregnancy with Teddy after experiencing a loss.

Listen in for a wonderful story, thank you Alex for sharing!

If you would like to reach out to Alex or see her beautiful photography, you can visit her instagram @alexandriamooneyphotography or go to her website AlexandriaMooneyPhotography.com

You can also follow me on instagram @9monthspodcast.

In this episode Anna shares the birth of her two little ones, Ted and Martha, with us. Anna is a Hypnobirthing teacher based in East London and she shares her journey of becoming pregnant the first time and ‘going with the flow’ towards her first birth experience. She was induced at 40+1 and had an assisted birth and an episiotomy as well as experienced a postpartum haemorrhage. In between her two births she discovered Hypnobirthing and did a course which dramatically changed her view of birth and she was able to use the tools from the birth education for a more empowering experience the second time around.

Anna also shares her journey to becoming a certified Hypnobirthing teacher herself and we talk about the benefits of keeping yourself informed about your body and your choices so we can have a birth experience that’s not traumatizing.

Anna really recommends taking yourself through any kind of evidence based birth course to prepare you for labour, birth & postpartum and to set yourself up with breastfeeding support before giving birth, should you need it postpartum.

If you’d like to reach out to Anna or take an online/in person course with her you can find her on Instagram @hackneyhypnobirthing or you can send me an e-mail at [email protected].

Visit The 9 Months Podcast episode list for more stories or if you'd like to share your story with me on the podcast, you can find all the details there.

Follow me on Instagram @9monthspodcast

Carly shares her three birth stories with us with her three girls, Hazel, Olive & Juniper. Hazel and Olive were born in Texas in a birth centre and Carly shares how it was like to navigate the health care system and looking for a provider. Olive was a frank breech baby and Carly shares her journey towards trying to find support for a vaginal delivery and she managed to find a team of midwives who delivered Olive.

The whole family then moved to the Czech Republic and Carly shares her journey through pregnancy while moving continents and trying to find care and support not only in a new country, but also through a pandemic. They had a home birth with Juniper and we discuss how it is finding support for a home birth in Prague and we both try to respect and protect the people that support the home birth system here as it isn’t fully legal yet for midwives to attend home births. Hopefully one day I’ll get to go in and edit this text to the contrary. If you have any questions about home birth in CZ you can reach out to either me or Carly and we’ll try to guide you the best we can.

*The stories on this podcast are personal experiences and should never be interpreted as medical advice. Always seek out a birth professionals expertise before making any medical decisions. The 9 Months Podcast is in no way advocating for a specific kind of birth, but on the contrary, we believe that all births are beautiful, just as they are.