In this episode, I share my insights, thoughts, and experiences with statistics. 

Statistics can be empowering and help you feel confident, but it's not the only thing that matters in your VBAC homebirth. 

It's important to know how statistics can actually be holding your mindset back or making you feel like your goals are dangerous or unattainable. 

As a society, we put a lot of power into numbers and "evidence".  I hope that after listening to this episode you have some new ways of viewing statistics and how to frame them in your mind in a way that is powerful for you. 

Enjoy this episode!

Ashley x

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

In this episode, we meet Dayan mother of two originally from California and lives in Perth, Australia now. 

Here's a run down of Dayan's story: 

GD in first pregnancy, was healthy otherwise, growth scans and induction talk.  Diet controlled allowed to go into spontaneous labour.

Cascade of interventions: breaking waters, syntocinon, labour for 29 hours and c-section.

Dayan felt traumatised after birth and spent 3 years healing, learning about future choices, and trying to calm her nervous system.

Adrenal fatigue from the situation caused her blood sugar levels to rise and she worked with a healer to resolve the diabetes type 2 diagnosis. 

She meditated, went to bed early, moved her body, and regulated herself.

When she was pregnant with her second baby she knew she wanted to do things differently.  She moved back to Perth and contacted 15 midwives.

Only one would support her to homebirth.  She got a doula and was on her way.

She decided to monitor her sugar levels with a continuous glucose monitoring.

She was determined to set herself up for a more positive birth experience.

She noticed that her readings were tracking higher at times she was stressed or worried and found having a baby during the Covid Pandemic to be highly stressful.

She didn't want to birth in a hospital due to her past experience and the restrictions that were in place during the pandemic.

As her blood sugar levels got higher her midwife suggested she be referred into the hospital for diabetes support.  Once Dayan started going to hospital appointments she noticed her levels skyrocketed.  She had to advocate for the things she wanted and felt like every conversation was an anxiety-inducing challenge.

She was being supported with her birth trauma by a psychotherapist who helped her set up a physiological care plan through the hospital which listened to some of her birth plan wishes and triggers she may have.

She felt like it was possible for her to have a positive hospital birth and she felt settled in what was happening.

Eventually, she was told they couldn't support her at her local hospital and referred her onto another hospital. Dayan felt unsettled and out of control.  Just when she thought she was finally getting some traction and feeling okay with a hospital birth.

Dayan went on to have her homebirth in the end, an accidental unassisted birth because her midwife was attending another mama at the time.  She had her doula with her and they called an Ambulance which arrived just before the baby arrived (Dayan didn't even realise they were there).

And she birthed her baby boy on her terms, intuitively. 4.4 kilo of squishy love. 

3 words to describe how you feel after your birth:

Empowered, strong, estactic

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

In this episode I share a few stories on the power of how we use our mindset to shape our lives and our behaviours.  I share some of my own personal stories, along with a story of someone I find inspiring and brave.

It's amazing to see how powerful these changes can be when you become aware of what is possible and how to make these changes.

Did you know the words we choose can impact how we feel in our day to day running of our life - and that picking words that can add doubt, fear or uncertainty can in a way set you up to fail for your homebirth, or your goals?

Here's an example of my breastfeeding journey:  I was proud and excited I was planning to breastfeed.  I knew many people around me before who hadn't and chose to bottle feed (I thought it was a choice most of the time) and I didn't see why I wouldn't breastfeed.

When I announced I was breastfeeding people would often say "if you can" or it's okay if you can't, alot of women have low breast milk etc.  So I adjusted my language to be more reflective of how I would be received - by people who were trying to keep me "safe" and small.

Same as VBAC - trial of labour, and trying for a VBAC etc.  Rather than I am having a vaginal birth, I am having a homebirth - look at how powerful that feels.

You are not leaning into the possibility of not achieving that outcome.  You know there is always a possibility (albeit small) that you won't achieve the goal but how amazing does it feel when we step into that power and don't allow anyone to dim your light.

You can correct people if it's appropriate or just correct your mind and mindset.

Ways you can use language in a powerful way (not a disempowering way):

I am having a VBAC Homebirth

I can handle the pain of labour

I am able to vaginally birth my baby

I am breastfeeding

I am a good mother

I will be the best version of myself

I am always improving to be the best version of myself

Remember not to change your language to suit other people, their opinions or expectations.  Be mindful of who your audience is and surround yourself with positive and supportive people.

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

I have started a health kick and have been watching some interesting shows and documentaries lately.  One of the shows I was watching was all about the power of the mind and how powerful the placebo effect can be. 

I'd heard about this before and have been aware of this for a while so I wanted to think about this and how it relates to us in pregnancy and homebirth. 

So I'm sharing more information on what is the placebo effect, why it's so powerful and why you should be mindful about how you use your mind in preparation for your VBAC Homebirth. 

I hope you enjoy this episode!

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

It's my birthing day and I will be happy if I want to!! 

Our VBAC homebirth baby is turning two - what a milestone for us to celebrate!

I share some of the challenges I went through to have my hbac and some of the amazing things I have gained by going through that journey. 

In many ways I feel fully free.  Free to be my true self as much as I can each and every day. 

The more I step closer towards my goals and visions the closer I am aligned to myself and my hearts calling.  From years and years of suppression and being small in fear of being too much for people - too selfish - to confident - too much of a woman. 

Join me in today of celebration of this experience that touched my life, my family's life and the lives of hundreds of women - we are in this together!! 

Enjoy this episode, 

Ashley x  

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

This week I'm coming up to my two-year freebirth after two surgical birth anniversary and I am celebrating in a big way!!

I thought I would take a bit of a trip down memory lane and share some of the tools that I've used and that I used with my clients to really tap into that self-confidence and harness self-belief that is needed to feel ready to homebirth a baby out of your vagina! 

And don't we all want to feel a bit more confident in ourselves and our choices?

You might want to grab a pen and paper because I ask you to have a think about a few things and write them down.  Trust me you don't want to miss this step!! (It's an important one). 

Share with me what you have learned on my Instagram with me and let me know if you have any questions - I'd love to hear from you!

Ashley x 

Enjoy this episode!

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

Join us for Part two of Sarah's hom story! 

In Sarah's words, this is a bit of her story - Part 2 of Sarah's Story

I knew I didn't want to have this baby in hospital. The idea was just something I couldn't get my head around. So we planned a homebirth after two  caesarean's at my sister's house as we live 2.5 hours away from a decent hospital.

This pregnancy tested me in a lot of ways. I had "irritable uterus" from 36 weeks and days of stop start labour leading up to his birth, most likely due to his presentation and some stressors with my teenage children.

By the time I reached transition I'd been awake 24 hours and was not recognising transition as it was, so it was really a massive challenge being absolutely spent. I'd announced I was exhausted, I couldn't go on any longer. 

My contractions had been all over the place and I just didn't think I was anywhere near having him. My midwife suggested I get into bed and just try to rest as much as possible, it felt last resort. I immediately started shaking all over, it was awful. 

I thought, this is adrenaline, but I didn't know it was also a sign of transition. Within 2 contractions in bed my waters released with massive force. I couldn't move back to the birthing room where our pool was set up, I was just  physically unable to move  and within 30 minutes of primal roaring loud enough to probably wake the whole neighbourhood, my body had taken over. I had no control, there was no breathing this baby out! With every ounce of me, he was here. It was mind blowing how fast everything changed. 

I literally felt like I was a cow in the paddock birthing a calf, it felt all kinds of weird .

It wasn't peaceful, for me it wasn't calm, but we did it.

I had no tearing. No blood loss at all. We are both in amazing shape.

And best of all, my postpartum has been worth every cent.  So in love

Resources mentioned in the podcast:

Rhea Dempsey's crisis of confidence. 

@rheadempseybirth (on Insta) 

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

In this episode, we meet Sarah, the mother of now four babies. 

In Sarah's words, this is a bit of her story - Part 1 of Sarah's Story

2nd Baby, 15 years ago, was a cascade of interventions starting with a "just going to do a stretch and sweep during a check-up", and diagnosed GBS so being at the hospital far too early. 

36 hours of labour and "failed to progress", some meconium in the waters, an iffy ctg, resulting in a cesarean which something went badly wrong in,  my uterus tore and I literally almost died. Postpartum was rough, I had a blood transfusion 4 days later.

3rd Baby, 11 years ago I was surprised KEMH offered a VBAC. Exactly 40 weeks I woke with some mild contractions around 7 mins apart. I got up and had some tea and toast and with contractions 5 mins apart we made the 1.5-hour journey to the hospital during which they slowed so much we almost turned around. 

As I got to KEMH my waters broke and she was born around 4 hours later. I had some major pain in between contractions during that birth to the point once she was born I couldn't hold her. This extreme pain continued til I was finally listened to a couple of days later and readmitted to ICU with no real information given to me. I had some kind of infection and was treated like shit in the hospital during this time.

We were finished having babies til we found ourselves pregnant again by complete chance, and sadly lost that baby. My heart was so lost, I felt incomplete. On the 13th month after that loss, we finally fell pregnant again.

I knew I didn't want to have this baby in the hospital. The idea was just something I couldn't get my head around. So we planned a homebirth at my sister's house as we live 2.5 hours away from a decent hospital.

There is so much more to this story than Sarah share's I love how honest and raw Sarah is in sharing her stories and thoughts. 

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

In this episode, I talk about the "pushing stage". 

I have lately been noticing in women's birth stories that ended in C-Section that what keeps popping up is the pushing stage in a hospital setting and reaching 10 cm only to end up in a surgical birth because the baby isn't born within a certain time frame. 

I'm going to share with you some of my insights about what you can expect when you get to full dilation, and whether or not you even need to know how dilated you are (the answer is no, you don't need to know that, and neither does your care provider). 

One of the biggest birth myths that I found myself believing for many years was that once you reach 10 cms your baby is born within a couple of hours.  This is when in the movies you will see Dr's telling women to push with their legs in stirrups and the women red in the fast, screaming in pain trying to force a baby out -essentially because the Dr has told her "it's time". 

What if the Dr's are completely wrong when it comes to how babies are born out of women's vaginas. 

What if coached pushing does much more damage to a woman and puts her at higher risk of a c-section?

What if it puts a woman at higher risk of vaginally tearing? 

I'm going to unpack all of this and share more about physiological birth.  Especially FER - fetal ejection reflex. 

Have a listen to this episode, I'm sure it will be one to remember. 

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x

In this episode, I share a bit of my experience being a high BMI woman birthing in the system, and at home having my VBA2C freebirth.

There is a lot of shame and guilt in our society aimed at bigger bodies. With magazine covers, movies & fashion focusing heavily on looking at certain way and size.

Often when bigger women are put in magazines people come out in fury stating that it is offensive, or unhealthy to show a bigger body - that it is going to somehow make everyone turn obese magically.

Yet - severely underweight people's bodies are constantly being shown and often promoted as "healthy" when in fact they are often not.  Double standards in our society.

When it comes to birthing in a system that discriminates against bigger bodies with some health care providers treating bigger women less compassionately - you can read more in this study here - https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2393-13-19?fbclid=IwAR0UjMKil9LISmQxvFfz7WgsKXTkrtJ1DEse-4WRuRO2xk7SZ6wb_38lfpg

I share a bit about my journey with a bigger body, talking about conceiving and birthing with a bigger body and how I was treated.

I've learned to love my body and have some acceptance and plenty of love for my body. She created three healthy babies.  What an amazing body.

Come and listen to this episode to learn more about the journey I've been through and why I decided to show the world my birth photos (when I was super worried about my doulas seeing me naked, to begin with).

MORE FROM ASHLEY:

Get access to this free Homebirth Workshop here!

Find out more on how I can support you + you can have me as your guide + biggest supporter - Click here!

Join our VBAC Homebirth Support Group here 

Insta: @ashleylwinning

Ashley x