Doing It At Home: Our Home Birth Podcast

In today's episode we're reading a truly amazing listener email from Brianna. Now, Brianna is a totally badass mama (which you'll hear in the episode). She had planned to birth her daughter in a birth pool at a birthing center, but after pushing for literally the entire night with no real horizon in sight, they decided to transfer her to a hospital, and that's where the story really picks up! Brianna connected with us on Instagram (which you can do ⁠@diahpodcast⁠), and emailed me a detailed account of her amazing birth story. I read and re-read her story because it was just too inspiring. As you'll hear, Brianna is a really courageous and strong woman who was determined to bring her baby into the world.   Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we have another home birth story for you! This time we're talking with soon-to-be mom Jennifer Sanchez. Jennifer lives a vegan lifestyle and so we were super curious about how that has played into her pregnancy and home birth planning. Jennifer was a lot of fun to talk to and we're excited to have her on the Doing It At Home Podcast. Jennifer is currently 6 months pregnant and planning for her first child. Her passion is about “helping others to live healthier, more compassionate and eco-friendly lives through the power of making plant-powered choices.” This has also influenced her process of choosing home birth. After making the shift into self-improvement and personal development about 7 years ago, she's been more focused on being informed and doing research when it comes to life decisions. She watched the Business of Being Born (like a lot of our home birth moms...Ricki Lake if you're out there, we want to talk with you!), and thought, “this is what it's supposed to be like, this is motherhood.” She reached out online for home birth resources and came across the Well Rounded Momma, a source of support and information for her throughout the pregnancy. Jennifer is taking care of herself through meditation, taking time to bond with baby, prenatal yoga and releasing any fear-based thinking that's going to create unnecessary anxiety around birth. Wishing her and her partner Jose all the loving, peaceful vibes for welcoming their baby in the next few months. Stay tuned! Links From Our Episode: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/veganconsultant/⁠ ⁠http://www.wellroundedmomma.com/⁠ ⁠http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/⁠ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Matthew and I talk about 8 specific things I did before and during my pregnancy, which helped me remain strong, focused, powerful and centered during our home birth. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're talking with Charlotte Knee -- a brand spanking new mom, hailing all the way from Ireland, who welcomed her little bundle of joy in a home birth. In this episode we get to hear some perspective on home birth in Ireland! Charlotte was kind enough to chat with us while her 6-week old baby daughter Iza hung out in the background. We understand the life of fresh parenthood, and we know time is one of the most precious things at this state. So we consider it an honor that she spent some of it with us to share her awesome story. Charlotte's story is an example of how we continue to stay fascinated with birth in general, especially home birth. Because it's so different everywhere you go. Living in the states, you just tend to hear about the variations in laws and practices from state to state. But there's a whole big world out there! Charlotte has never been a big fan of hospitals. And get this - she was born at home! So continuing the tradition, she hired a private midwife and she and her husband Max planned for their home birth. Another cool part of Charlotte's life - she and her husband live in a shared house. So community is very important to her, and has played a big part in her journey of pregnancy and motherhood. We learned all kinds of new stuff from her - like using a tens unit and laughing gas during labor. We're totally inspired by Charlotte's style. And you need to check the show notes on the website because she and her family are pretty adorable! Links From The Episode: Ina May Books Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we're answering a listener email. This one comes to us from Hannah who is looking for feedback on how she can amicably part ways with her OBGYN.  Matthew and I LOVE our listener emails. Seriously, they energize us and inspire us to keep bringing you all awesome content. On the days when we're feeling under the weather (like Matthew is in this episode - notice the deep, raspy voice) and sleep deprived, we remember your questions and beautiful words of affirmation. They remind us of our mission - to create empowering conversation around home birth and to inspire other moms and families to choose the birth plan that resonates most with them after understanding their options. Enter a great listener email from Hannah. Hannah and her husband were going the hospital birth route, until the details and stipulations around the birthing plan didn't jive with them. On top of that, they're exploring how to have the conversation with their general doctor on moving forward with care for baby after birth. You see, their doctor doesn't support home birth. So how should they move forward? Should they continue to work with the doctor in hopes she'll be comfortable with treating baby, despite not being on board with home birth? Or do they even worry about it, given all the other things going on? Matthew and I read our response to them and share our feedback. We also give some clear action items for how Hannah and her husband can proceed with their plan from a space of love and understanding. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we chat with mom-to-be Katie about her journey to home birth, and the days ahead. At 39 weeks pregnant, she's prepped and ready for birth day! And this episode has a surprise special guest - Katie's husband Chris! He joins us for the call, a first for the show. We were super excited to hear from him and get his perspective on the whole process. Both were heavily influenced by The Business of Being Born, and knew they wanted to have labor and birth be on their own terms. A self-described “birth nerd,” Katie loves to dive into researcher mode. Their pregnancy was no exception. They searched their options for a local midwife and never looked back. Katie and Chris feel like old friends to us. The conversation was effortless, fun, light and empowering. They set a great example for doing what feels best to them and creating a loving, welcoming space for baby to enter into. We can't wait to chat with them once baby is earthside! Links From The Episode: ⁠The Business Of Being Born⁠ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're talking with Megan Kibling as she shares her empowering home birth story with us. Megan is mom to 6-year-old Aurelia and 19-month-old Leonardo Iztali from Denver, Colorado. We connected with Megan via another DIAH mom, Marissa (whom we interviewed a few weeks before). Megan had sent a banner to Marissa to decorate her home in preparation for home birth. The same banner has made its way to other mamas since then, and Megan plans to continue to send it to friends as they want it. Besides supporting other women in their home birth journeys, Megan has an amazing story of her own. After having a great experience with her first birth in a birthing center, she felt inspired to move into home birth for the next time around. She says she felt empowered and knew a home birth was the next step. In between Aurelia and Leonardo, Megan experienced a miscarriage at 10 weeks. Megan shares openly on the fear and guilt that crept in during that time, and how she embarked on a journey of forgiveness, back to grace, comfort and love. By the time she was pregnant with Leonardo, Megan felt in full trust of her body, her baby and herself. She listened to the flow and went the whole pregnancy and birth almost completely unassisted. She did yoga, meditated, read, watched home births, created affirmations and playlists -- all to create the sacred space for her birth. Megan is a total inspiration. This episode has a lot of great quotes and mantras to pull from. My favorite? “PURE MAGIC!” Links From The Episode: Sacred Living Movement - ⁠http://www.sacredlivingmovement.com/⁠ Indie Birth - ⁠https://www.indiebirth.com/⁠ Peaceful Birth Project - ⁠http://thepeacefulbirthproject.org/⁠ Ina May Gaskin - ⁠http://inamay.com/⁠ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're talking with Christina Benton - birth photographer, birth and postpartum doula, mom and wife. Christina shares her beautiful home birth and hospital birth stories, from behind the lens, and she shares why moms and families should highly consider hiring a photographer for their homebirth.  This is a first for the Doing It At Home Podcast: an interview with a birth photographer! We were very excited to chat with Christina Benton, a doula and birth photographer. For starters, we didn't have a formal birth photographer. If you've listened to our birth story you know that most of our birth team came equipped with their camera phones, which we are extremely grateful for, however it meant a bunch of lights and phones up in my business at different points in time, and the pictures themselves are scattered in their composition and quality. We weren't really aware of birth photography and its value until after the experience. So chatting with Christina was as much for us and it is for our listeners, quite frankly. Because we were taking our own notes for the future! Christina is a birth and postpartum doula and over the last 8 months she has extended her birth work into the realm of photography. The first thing that struck us about Christina's images is just how real and raw they are. They capture the sacredness and beauty of the births in such an authentic way. Christina shares with us her journey into birth work, some stories of some memorable births that she has photographed and advice for how to research and select your birth photographer. We asked Christina why someone should hire a birth photographer, what's the value in it? Her response, “Because every woman deserves to see herself like that - the moment you meet your baby for the first time.” If you're unsure or considering hiring a birth photographer, this is an episode to bookmark. Links From The Episode: Christina's website Christina's Instagram BirthPhotographers.com Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're commenting on a blog article that Matthew found in Romper, called ”7 Things That Happen After You Give Birth At Home.” The article covers everything from what happens with the mess, to baby's first checkup, to bonding with your new baby. This was such a great article, simple and informative, that it inspired us to do this episode! So Angela Johnson, if you're out there and see this, thank you for writing the article and spreading the awareness. (We'd love to have you on the show by the way!) A lot of times when we're planning for a big event, like say...birth, we're not always focused on what happens afterwards. And it makes sense because birth can have a lot of moving parts to it. Especially with home birth, there's a lot of planning and preparation that comes into play. So this episode goes through a lot of the likely scenarios and traits of home birth that you can expect to experience once the main festivities (launching a baby out of your body and into the world) have concluded. Some things you might be wondering: What about clean up? Can I eat? What happens to baby? What about the birth certificate? Well wonder no more, because we cover it! This is a great episode to help you get on the same page with your partner, midwife and/or doula and any birth team members. All of this information is designed to help you feel more relaxed once baby comes, so that all you have to do is soak up all the delicious new baby smells and snuggles! Links From The Episode: The article that inspired this episode "7 Things That Happen After You Give Birth At Home" Angels Johnson's author profile Is this breast milk still good? (freshness tool) Episode 14: Is Home Birth Messy? Episode 9: Star Wars, Kiddie Pools, and Hypnobabies: Our Home Birth Story Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're talking with Tammy Williams. Tammy is a 38 year old first time mom who chose to have her baby at home. She is an amazing momma who approached her home birth without fear, and had a magic experience. If Tammy could, she would shout from every rooftop about how awesome her home birth experience was and how every woman can give birth without fear. Since finding every rooftop would take some time, having her on our “podcast rooftop” will suffice for now. Unsure of whether or not she'd be able to get pregnant, Tammy had a surprise first pregnancy at 38. In a circumstance where many women might find themselves fearful and worried about the risks, Tammy powered up and she and her partner David decided on home birth after a close friend who was also pregnant at the same time shared her intentions of having a home birth. Overwhelmed with emotion in an amazing way, Tammy sought out empowering information and resources with the support of her midwives that she selected from a nearby birthing center. Tammy is a powerful example of knowing her body and trusting the inner voice. To her, home birth is such an important opportunity to strengthen all aspect of your life from your relationship to your partner to how you raise your children. And through the course of her journey, she has actually inspired, influenced and encouraged other women and families in their home birth experiences as a resource and friend. “I truly believe that by sharing these stories we can educate women about the importance of birthing without fear and helping to change the stigma around home birth,” says Tammy. Links From The Episode: The Business of Being Born Tree of Life birthing center Your Pregnancy Week by Week Ina May's Guide to Childbirth Hypnobirthing - Mongan Method Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we're talking with Danielle Turk-Bly, two time mom with a third on the way. Danielle is a self described "crunchy mom" (#represent) and we have an amazing conversation on this episode. We talk about all kinds of things from the birth planning to cloth diapering and homeschooling, running while pregnant, facing your fear demons around birth, placenta previa and how that has been impacting her current pregnancy, having a community of like-minded people to support you, cultivating your voice for what you want, and intimacy with your partner during pregnancy. Danielle's first birth was in a birthing center. When it came time to plan for the second pregnancy, she and her husband Ryan made the shift to home birth. Despite Ryan being a little bit more conservative than Danielle, he was fully on board and in support of the decision. Danielle doesn't revel in “going against the grain” or defying anyone else's way of going about things. She just simply does what resonates most with her. I really appreciate that perspective, because often times you think that home birth is the choice as a result of a defiance or rebellion against something. Danielle's example is a powerful one in just being proactive and true to yourself. And heads up - Danielle has thought about doing a podcast of her own. This is something we totally support and will definitely update you on when she decides to jump into that venture! Links From The Episode: Danielle's blog Danielle's Instagram Danielle's Facebook Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bite-sized episode, I share some realness with you. This week has been tough for me. At any point, I've felt frustrated, tired, stressed, over-extended, low, and a bunch of other adjectives you use when everything feels difficult. I didn't take time for myself and had myself convinced that I wasn't doing enough - that I wasn't feeling productive enough. Bottom line: this was my ego playing some huge mind tricks. So for any mama out there, future and present, who has felt this way. This is for you. I talk about how I got into the dark place and what I did to get out of it. Take advantage of the opportunities to remind yourself how awesome you are - especially for pregnancy and birth planning. Experience your joy! Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're talking to Sara-Beth Reuter about her inspiring journey to home birth.  Sara-Beth is a great example of courage and determination. After her doctor told her that she would not be able to deliver naturally and would need a c-section because of the size of her baby, she and her husband Matthew decided to get another opinion on the matter. They reached out to Matthew's grandmother, an experienced midwife, and explored their options. Already not too keen on hospitals and clear that she wanted a natural birth, at 19 years old and 31 weeks pregnant, Sara-Beth switched over to the midwifery model of care and planned for a home birth with the help of Matthew's grandmother. Sara-Beth has a solid sense of confidence in her body's ability to do what it's meant to do, and it comes across when she talks about the rest of her pregnancy and her birth. Sarah-Beth believes that “labor is not a sickness,” and is all about putting empowering information out there to support women in having a home birth if that's what they want for themselves and their families. We're so grateful to her for sharing her time with us, especially with 2-month old baby Silas in the picture. We understand how valuable time is for a new mama! Links From The Episode: Miami Maternity Center Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're talking all about having sex after baby. Yes, this is the much anticipated followup to our episode about sex while pregnant (link below). Postpartum sex can be tricky, and for us it involved patience, compassion and creativity. But now, both Matthew and I can say without a doubt, that we're having the BEST SEX OF OUR RELATIONSHIP, and that's after pushing out a kid! If you've listened to the Doing It At Home podcast for a while, you've probably gathered that Matthew and I value transparency a whole lot. It's important for us to be as candid, raw and real as possible - because the greatest breakthroughs we've had as a couple and as individuals have been made possible by others showing the example of bold and authentic living. It's for this reason that we share parts of our experience of home birth and beyond - because if it helps and empowers anyone like others did for us, then we feel in our purpose and mission. So that's why we include talking about our sex life in the show's topics. We covered sex while pregnant in episode 6. And now that we're on the other side, we figured it was worth taking time to talk about postpartum sex. Sex after giving birth is a whole other dimension of a sexual relationship - or at least it has been for us. It has brought its own set of unique opportunities and challenges. For one thing, after some minor tearing during Maya's home birth, I had some fears around how my vagina would heal and whether or not I'd ever be able to make love the way we used to (forget the possibility of expanding our repertoire or level of intimacy). I judged myself when I thought about the timeframe of when we'd return to having sex. When I asked other women how long they waited, I catalogued the responses and started comparing myself. And when we did have sex for the first time after giving birth, I was a little disheartened and frustrated. It was pretty painful. So here I was back to the time I lost my virginity and thought, “Why would anyone ever want to have sex?! This is the worst thing ever. I can't believe people do this and like it!” I saw what I thought would be a long road of recovery up ahead. Not to mention I was getting used to my new body - everything leaking and in a different position from where it was a year ago. I am blessed to have an amazingly patient partner in Matthew. Over the course of postpartum recovery we worked together to communicate clearly and connect intimately. It's been a process of opening up, drawing upon the trust and surrender process of giving birth, and allowing that to carry over into our sexual relationship. It's taken time, conversations, and some deep breathing...but now we're at a place where the sex is juicier than it ever was! How is that possible? Listen to this episode and find out! Links From The Episode: DIAH Episode 6 - Sex While Pregnant: The Ins, The Outs, The Reach Arounds Orgasmic Meditation (aka OMing) Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part two of our conversation with Christie Andersen, our first-time mom planning her home birth while her husband Ryan had been stationed in Korea throughout the whole pregnancy. And a lot has changed since our last conversation! For one, we had a baby! Little Charlotte has since stepped on the scene, and we get to hear all about her grand entrance. Christie shares Ryan's homecoming, anxiety around whether or not she'd actually go into labor while he was home, and how she dealt with the pressure of all the calls and texts inquiring as to baby's arrival. We get to hear the whole process, as it's still fresh in her mind (Charlotte is just 2 weeks old now! They welcomed their baby girl into the world from the comfort of their home along with Christie's mother, a close friend, a midwife, a doula and 2 midwife assistants (quite the full house, which we can relate to!). One of my favorite takeaways from Christie's story is “be open, go with the flow.” It sounds simple, but it's incredibly profound and relevant when it comes to birthing babies. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're talking with Christie Andersen about her upcoming home birth. Christie was pregnant at the time of our recording, just days away from giving birth. We were incredibly excited that Christie wanted to share her homebirth story with us and let us into her experience as a soon-to-be-mom. On top of all of that magic, Christie was excitedly awaiting the return of her husband, who was on active duty and heading back home that very evening. This is a great story because it's ongoing. Christie Andersen is pregnant - in fact just a couple of days away from her due date at the time of this interview. So this is our first “before and after” style interview where we're talking to a mom who is actively planning and preparing for her home birth (her first!). Then in a couple of weeks, once mom and baby are a little bit settled, we're going to do another interview to recount the actual birth and compare thoughts and feelings for both before and after birth. Christie's husband Ryan was deployed right after they found out they were pregnant. Christie originally intended for a hospital birth but decided to make the switch around 20 weeks, in a bold move to follow her heart and trust her body. Even though he's been thousand of miles away for the entire pregnancy, Ryan has been fully supportive of Christie in her process of transitioning to home birth planning and was traveling home for the birth at the exact moment we were chatting with Christie on the phone for our interview. So already Christie's story is an amazing one - planning a home birth and also representing the community of women and families who experience pregnancies and births often without spouses or other family present because of active military duty. We're so honored to share her journey and excited to bring you the rest in part 2 sometime soon! Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we're talking to two-time mom Melissa Thormahlen, about the home birth of her son Tyler. Melissa's home birth story is a beautiful example of trust and surrender to the process of childbirth. Melissa Thormahlen knows how to give me “all the feels.” I knew her story would impact many when her first email to me about her birth story had me tearing up. She experienced most of her birthing experience at home with her first baby Emeline, before transferring to a hospital and having a beautiful birth. For Tyler, baby number 2, she knew she wanted to go for a home birth again because she trusted her body and her amazing birth team. In Tyler's birth story, Melissa explains the trust and surrender to the process. She also took time to be close and intimate with her husband, Paul in the time before active labor. When baby Tyler was born in the bathtub after a strong surge that took everyone by surprise she exclaimed, “I DID IT!” We even get to hear from baby Tyler as he chimes in a couple of times. We love when the babies make little appearances, they're the reason we've come together to chat after all! Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything is energy - this is a principle that Matthew and I became aware of a few years ago and since then have used it to guide our lives. How we create and nurture our relationships, our businesses and how we make decisions in our lives have all been influenced. And especially our home birth journey. Essentially when it comes to planning your home birth, it serves you well to drop judgements and be at peace with what is. It's also a great idea to think about the energy you have around you during your pregnancy and birth. This includes (but is not limited to) to physical environments you place yourself in, the people you hang around, the information, entertainment and food you ingest, and even down to the thoughts and emotions you have. Pregnancy can be a particularly vulnerable time, so it's important to be mindful of what you allow to enter your own energy field. One way to think about it is to evaluate your ART form. In other words, your ACTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS and THOUGHTS. How is the energy of all of these things playing a part in your home birth experience? Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Links: Our new "Doing It At Home" book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098GVJ9KL?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoKeBfEZ143sWU7V9I5Gdg DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe  Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we have another home birth story for you, this time from Megan Henebstreit. Megan Hebenstreit is a straight shooter - she's very real and super clear about her decision to go with home birth and how she experienced it. She's also known from a younger age that she was interested in home birth - something Matthew and I haven't heard very often in our conversations with women and families. So that's really exciting and inspiring! One of the biggest things you get from Megan when you hear her birth stories is that birth has been so empowering for her. You also get to hear the difference in experience with her two births. One was relatively quiet, and in the other she thought her body was going to explode! Just goes to show how no birth story is the same, even for the same woman. Megan's honest story covers all manners of things many who choose home birth encounter like: resistance from family, conversations around the female body and its ability to know what it's doing, and the physical experiences of a challenging pregnancy that make birth seem like “a breeze.” Megan lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Ian and her two daughters, Amelia and Macy. Links From The Episode: Megan's Instagram The Business of Being Born Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you get your space ready for your home birth? In this episode we're talking about ways in which you can prepare the physical space (i.e. your home) for your home birth. For our home birth, Matthew and I were very intentional in wanting to create a peaceful, comfortable, relaxing space to welcome Maya into the world. We were also gifted with incredibly fabulous things like a home cleaning and a “homebirth space setting” ceremony, which really helped create the most amazing environment for birth. So in this episode we share with you all the things that worked for us and some ideas to help make your home birth space as magical as it can be. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we're talking to Anne Margolis - Certified and Licensed Home Birth Midwife, Licensed OB/GYN nurse practitioner, practicing prenatal yogi, home birth expert and creator of HomeSweetHomeBirth.com. Anne believes in a healthy woman's innate ability to give birth normally, naturally and with pleasure despite the challenges. She is devoted to protecting undisturbed physiological labor and birth, and, after our conversation, you'll see that she is a wealth of knowledge and resources! It's really exciting when things you put out into the Universe come together. That's how I feel about this episode. I had been following Anne Margolis of Home Sweet Home Birth for a while. I love the work she does and her influence of empowering women around holistic birth. With over 21 years of experience as a home birth midwife, more certifications than I have fingers, knowledge in all things pregnancy, birth and postpartum, and not to mention an Instagram following of over 47,000 people, it's safe to say that Anne is a leader in the space of home birth. I knew we had to have her on the show. When we finally connected, it's so easy to see how Anne has touched so many lives. I could sit and listen to her talk for hours. Anne has 4 children: 2 born in a hospital and 2 born at home (in that order). She brings the perspective of not only giving birth in a hospital, but also working in one as an obstetric nurse - an experience which oddly enough created a lot of fear for her around giving birth. When she made the switch to midwifery and eventually opened up her own home birth practice, she describes it like “coming home.” Anne is brilliant, personable and funny. This interview is chock-full of great quotes, tidbits of information and morsels on resources for you all to take advantage of. I say listen to this one with a notepad and pen. Listen, pause and re-listen. It's a great one! Links From The Episode: Anne's website: HomeSweetHomeBirth.com Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're giving you some powerful affirmations to help you prepare for your pregnancy and home birth. We have 2 affirmations for moms and 2 for dads. We've talked a lot about affirmations on the show at different points in time - a little bit in our story and then in the stories of other moms, so we thought we'd create some of our own for you beautiful listeners! I thought it would be fun to have some for both pregnancy and the birthing process. And not just for mamas - for the dads too! This episode is a little shorter, but all the more sweeter. We both share our affirmations and a little bit on why we chose them and how they can contribute to a powerful and peaceful mindset and experience of your home birth. We hope these affirmations serve you well or even inspire you to come up with your own! Here are the affirmations for you to copy and use or share with others:   For Pregnancy Sarah: I am fully connected to my body and my baby's needs Matthew: I anticipate our upcoming birth with joy and peace in my heart. It will unfold exactly as it should.   For Birth Sarah: I am powerful, peaceful and fully supported as I give birth. Matthew: I am strong. I am capable. I am intuitive. I am compassionate. I am patient. I am a parent. Links From The Episode: The blog post Matthew drew inspiration for his affirmations from: Birth Affirmations for Expectant Dads and Partners Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we're talking with Marissa Olivera, a mom of 2 from Utica, NY, with both a hospital birth story and home birth story. Marissa experienced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) with her first pregnancy. That, along with some early signs of labor made for a hospital birth that included a lot of intervention and fear. The way she sees it, baby Maxwell just wasn't ready yet. She planned for a home birth again with baby number two, Miles. With positive reinforcement from resources like Ina May Gaskin and Birth Without Fear, Marissa went into her second birth tuned in to her intuition and gut feeling (and we're not just talking about the contractions!). Marissa's candor and detail with her birth stories compels you to listen and engage. She's a great example of how to plan the birth you're intending to create - like finding midwives even when you're far away from a big city with more options. We even get a little cameo from surprise guest Maxwell! Links From The Episode: Marissa's blogpost on her home birth Birth Without Fear Ina May Gaskin Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we're giving you nine questions to ask yourself to decide whether home birth might be an option for you and your family. This podcast is all about providing resources, stories and empowering around the home birth conversation. We personally chose homebirth to welcome our daughter into the world, but we realize that home birth is not the best option for some families. There are so many factors to take into consideration when making your birth plans. Our number one priority with this show is to help you ask the questions, have access to the resources, and find the information to help you make the best decision for you. This episode was inspired by an article on Fit Pregnancy called "3 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Giving Birth At Home". I read that article and immediately felt there were more things to ask, and felt inspired to record this episode.  These are the 9 questions covered in today's podcast:  How is your health: physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc.? What's the most important thing for you to experience during birth? (is home birth a way to have this happen) Who would you be working with? Midwife, doula, etc. What does your partner, husband, etc think? Are you prepared to go “no drugs”? Costs - insurance vs. out of pocket What's the backup plan? What are your fears around birth? How much do you trust your body and the process? Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we talk to mom Lindsay Bonnar about her home birth story. Lindsay planned a home birth for her first baby, but circumstances required a transfer to a birth center. Now pregnant with her second, Lindsay and her husband are planning a home birth again for the second round.  Lindsay is another beautiful face of home birth, sharing her plans for home birth with her daughter that eventually shifted into a transfer to a birthing center. Now pregnant with baby number two, Lindsay is planning another home birth, a decision that we are totally inspired by and know others will be as well. For Lindsay, birth was the most spiritual experience of her life. And she talks about trusting herself and her body in such a way - it's an amazing example to women everywhere to empower themselves to choose in alignment with what's best for them. Another aspect of Lindsay's story that really resonated with me and Matthew was the role of her husband Kevin and how awesomely he showed up for the birth experience. Dads and birth partners, take notes from this one! You can learn more about Lindsay and the resources mentioned in the show below. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode I'm sharing my postpartum story. I get into the nitty gritty details of the very first postpartum stages after my home birth. I also talk about what I experienced with postnatal visits with my midwives, healing a perineal tear, breastfeeding, diastasis recti (aka ab separation), postpartum sex and more! Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're talking with Maria Mengel about her 2 birth stories. Maria's first daughter was born at a birthing center with a midwife, and her second was an unassisted home birth (also known as "freebirth"). In this episode Maria gets honest about her two birth experiences and shares some of the things she learned during the process. Maria reached out to us after listening to the show and felt inspired to share her experience of home birth. We love stories like these - full of candor, vulnerability and humor. Maria has the experience and perspective of giving birth in a birthing center as well as at home, so we were really excited to sit down and pick her brain about it all. We learn about the birthing center experience and why Maria was certain on the drive home with her new daughter that she'd never do it like that again. We also hear about the process of home birth, and what can happen when your waters break and you don't go into labor that day...or even the next day! Birth was such a transformational experience for Maria that it ignited a passion that would shift her career. She became a doula and now owns a business dedicated to birth work which includes placenta encapsulation and childbirth education. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we talk about 6 comments and questions that you absolutely don't want to say to a home birth mom or family! We heard these things as we prepared for our home birth and can say from experience that they are not helpful at all. Some things are better left unsaid, and that applies to commentary on someone's decision to have a home birth. In this episode we share 6 big statement/topics to avoid when you're talking to a mom who's planning a homebirth. While they may be well-intentioned, these are the things that don't help the process. And if you are a home birth mom, we talk about ways to address these comments and how you can deflect them like Neo with those slow motion bullets in the Matrix. Let's leave the fear and judgement out of it. Because we all know birth could use less of that. So steer away from these 6 things, please. And if you must comment then simply tell the mom how much of a badass she is! (that'll win you some brownie points) Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing our work to bring real and honest stories of home birth to you, we sat down with Debbie Schneider, CPM extraordinaire. Debbie is actually our midwife! She delivered Maya, and has become a very important part of our lives. We've known we wanted to interview Debbie since we started the podcast. She's an amazing and wise source of information and support of all things home birth. Her story in becoming a midwife is an inspiring one, deciding to shift into her life's passion at 44. Now 18 years later and some 700 births attended, Debbie talks about “normalizing birth again,” that is, putting it back in the hands of mothers and families to choose the birth plan that aligns best with them. We could've talked with Debbie all day, but for the sake of time, we kept it to about an hour. And you won't want to miss one minute of it. You'll get some of the history of home birth, obstetrics' attempts to “make birth more efficient,” and the differences in the experiences of home and the typical hospital birth. Here are some of the resources Debbie mentions in the episode: The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth Ina May Gaskin Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities DawningLife Midwifery Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we're talking with mom of 4 Jenny DiPietro, who has had multiple home births, a home birth turned hospital transfer, a water birth at home, and who performs placenta encapsulation for families. We get into a lot in this one!  Oh yeah, and we're also entering a new phase of the podcast! In addition to our episodes that feature Matthew and me discussing some topic related to home birth, we're publishing our conversations with moms and families who have experienced home birth along with professionals and thought leaders on the subject. First to kick off this endeavor is our chat with Jenny DiPietro. Jenny is a mom of 4, who has experienced both home and hospital birth. In our talk, we cover things like: The details of her births What went into her decision-making process to choose home birth Her work as a Placenta Encapsulation Specialist The importance of education in the pregnancy and birthing journey  We're very excited to bring other stories and perspectives of homebirth to you. Enjoy!  For more on Jenny and her work, you can check her out on her website here. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we address the question, “Is home birth messy?” It's a great question that I know crossed my mind once or twice during pregnancy, because let's be honest, many depictions of birth insinuate that it can require lots of cleanup. But here's the truth on mess during a homebirth: yes there are parts of it that can be messy (as I'm sure you can imagine fluids can go everywhere), but you do not have to make a mess while giving birth at home. I repeat, you do NOT have to walk away from your home birth with your house looking like a crime scene. With the right supplies, preparation, and team, you can have a completely comfortable, mess free home birth. I guarantee it! Listen as we share tips to keep your home birth as mess free as possible, give you a list of the things you'll want to have on hand and set up before hand to ensure your birth is as pleasant as possible.  Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode was inspired by a listener email. Leonie, listening all the way in Australia, reached out to share her birth story. She had planned for a minimal intervention birth in a midwife led public hospital program (way to go Australis!) but things didn't go exactly as anticipated. Her email was amazing - raw, honest and transparent - and at the end she had a few questions for me about home birth, my connection to Maya, and more. So when we received this email we knew we wanted to record an episode with our response. Here are the questions we cover in this episode: Sarah how did you feel after Maya was born? Did you feel an instant connection? Can you go into this time a bit for us? How do you feel now weeks down the track, looking back? Do you look back with any regrets, and trauma, and worries? How do you feel overall about the home birth concept, how did it fit into your dream/vision? Is there anything you would change? Is there anything your would recommend? Leonie, and every mom and family out there with similar stories and questions, this one is for you! Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lot goes into creating a badass and powerful team. You want a team that works together and has synergy. You want individual members who can hold their own yet contribute to the totality of the group. You want to be able to trust everyone's competence and commitment to the overall goal. These teams win championships, seal the deals, and set the example for all other teams. Now when it comes to choosing your team for your home birth, how do you go about creating the ultimate, most awesome group of people to support you in such an amazing, magical experience? That's exactly what Matthew and I talk about in this episode. Maybe you haven't even thought about having a birth team and this is a new concept for you. We're here to help give some context around it. We share our experience of selecting the members of our home birth team - our thought process in how we chose them and why, the vision we had in mind for the people who would be involved, the roles they played and how they contributed to the whole experience. It takes a village to raise a child, so why not recruit the best team possible to usher him/her into the world? Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I invite you into a precious and intimate moment. You see, during the early parts of birthing time (labor), we placed a recorder in the room - to capture the experience and be able to listen back to it later on. While I was moving through my birthing waves (contractions) in the bathtub, Matthew tended to me by bringing me water and snacks along with affirming me and contacting our midwife with updates. I would later find out that during one of the times Matthew left the room, he took the recorder with him. And he would then record one of the most amazing pieces of audio I've ever listened to. A few days later, he shared the recording with me. And now I'm sharing it with all of you, along with my response to it. Why am I choosing to let you in on this? Because I think it's important to hear about the magic of this experience. Because by sharing this, it creates the opportunity for its impact to be magnified by anyone who might hear it and be influenced. I want women and their partners to feel empowered and inspired to create their own magical and intimate moments - in birth and beyond. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I had always heard pregnancy can be a vulnerable time. You're dealing with a lot of changes - physically and emotionally. Not to mention, the more pregnant you become, the more obvious your circumstance is to anyone who lays eyes on you. And for some reason, actually lots of reasons - there's something about a big, beautiful belly that attracts a lot of attention. There comes a time when you can't walk through the grocery store without being approached with a question or comment on your pregnancy. It's kinda like a weird form of celebrity. And while some of it is sweet and affirming, others make for an uncomfortable encounter. Like the unsolicited advice and opinions. I actually had a woman in a restaurant apologize to me when I told her I was having a girl. Oh, and then there are those who take it a step further and feel compelled to touch your belly. Yep, that happened. So how do you respond to these people who test your patience and tempt you to kick them in the shins? For me, it involved a lot of deep, intentional breathing. Listen to more of our story on traversing the challenges of unsolicited comments and advice on pregnancy and birth from the strangers of the world. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is it, folks! The episode you've all been waiting for….our birth story! Matthew and I sit down (in bed, as always) with our first guest - less than a week old baby Maya. She lies quietly (for the most part, you might hear some coos and little grunts in the background at times) on Matthew's chest while we recount the story of our home birth, while it's still fresh in our minds. We take you from the beginning of the birthing waves (contractions) when they started late Saturday night, all the way to delivery. It just so happens that the night it all started was a special date night, and one that we're sure to remember forever. I purchased tickets to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performing music by the famous composer John Williams earlier in the year as a Father's Day present for Matthew. Its date being a precarious one (close to our due date), we weren't sure if we'd end up going. Turns out that Maya must've known, and was waiting for us to have this special time together before her arrival. It would be a couple of hours and attempts to sleep the discomfort off that I would realize I was in active labor. I spent this time in our bathtub, listening to Hypnobabies while Matthew sat with me, made me a PB&J and kept me hydrated. Over the next few hours our birth team, which included a midwife and 2 apprentices, as well as 5 close family members, arrived and assumed their roles of supporting myself and Matthew. I labored for the majority of the time in the giant kiddie blow up pool and eventually delivered on what the midwives refer to as the “birthing stool.” I won't give all the fun details away. You'll hear all of that in the episode. But let's just say it was intense, intimate, spiritual and magical. The whole event was 12 hours total, exactly the amount of time I envisioned when I mentally planned the birth experience. There were a lot of tears, a fair amount of blood, some laughs and so much love. So join us from our bedroom - where we made our baby, birthed her and are now hanging out with her and talking about the whole darn thing. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We are not a culture that waits for anything, nor are we believers in normal birth; waiting for a baby can feel like insanity.” This is a powerful quote from an article that had a profound impact on Matthew and me. The article is about the “in between” stage of the last days of pregnancy before moving into birth, a period that the author of the article calls zwischen (pulling from the German word for “between” - fitting huh?). You can find the article here: https://www.mothering.com/threads/the-last-days-of-pregnancy-a-place-of-in-between.1619798/ In this episode, Matthew and I talk about our own experience with the “between,” being that we are technically past our “due date.” We share how this is a beautiful time to practice patience, surrender, and enjoy the moments that we have together before moving into the roles of parents for the first time. We also acknowledge, however, that it can seem excruciating - like you're walking around waiting for a timer to go off that you really have no control or knowledge of its plans. We share some examples of things and situations that have helped us stay patient and present, as well as things that have driven us a little nutty. All in preparation for our magical home birth and days to follow it. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're talking about our top 10 list for prepping for our home birth. We found that these were the things that helped us throughout pregnancy - from the mental prepping to physical activity to some natural products and even spiritual and energetic exercises. We've been very keen on having the most powerful and peaceful home birth experience possible. And we know for that to happen, it requires some conscious and proactive action on our part. So here's a quick recap of the 10 (in no particular order of importance) for you: Working with midwives. Not just working with {amazing} midwives - but having hour-long prenatal appointments with them every time we met (which was a huge contrast from the hour-plus we would spend at the OBGYN - to physically meet with the doctor for an average of about 8 minutes). Chiropractic care. This came recommended by the midwives and boy am I glad I did it. It started as a habit of prenatal care for me, but ended up into a family affair and was something Matthew and I did together each week. Yoga. Tons of pregnant women sign the praises of prenatal yoga. It's mind, body, spirit alignment. And an awesome space to practice your breathing! Exercise. Beyond yoga, I “worked out” about twice a week, supplementing jogging (which I did up until 36 weeks pregnant), walking and other stuff to stay active. Pool. This is something I did not do enough. But swimming in a pool was such a glorious thing. I highly recommend it. Natural products. Here are some links to a few we mention in this episode: Slippery Elm -  https://www.thayers.com/product-category/slippery-elm-lozenges/Earth Mama Angel Baby Organics - http://earthmamaangelbaby.com/ Witch Hazel Pads - https://www.thayers.com/shop-thayers/premium-witch-hazel/thayers-original-witch-hazel-astringent-pads/ Nutrition. My biggest realization here was that I'm not actually eating for 2. Instead I kept to what I knew worked for me. Meditation. Specifically Hypnobabies childbirth hypnosis classes. I did the self guided route and have loved it. https://www.hypnobabies.com/ A supportive community. It truly takes a village to raise a child - and that process starts in pregnancy. Matthew and I have been so blessed with amazing, loving people to help us prepare for this epic journey of birth and parenthood. Working on yourself! I took as best advantage as I could have this time to think about the person and mother I want to be - who I want to model for baby Maya and how that's going to play a part in every other aspect of my life as well. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's talk about sex, BABY! Not just the kind that makes the babies, but the kind you continue doing while the bun is in the oven. There's plenty of topics around pregnancy that receive just the surface level of attention paid to them in the blogs, books, and classes. Sex was the big thing for me that I experienced ambiguity around. Everything I saw depicted one of two extremes - you either want it all the time or the thought it makes you more nauseated than morning sickness. My main takeaway was “no more missionary” and just do whatever works for you. I won't knock the advice of doing what is most comfortable for you - it's great even. I was just hungry for more -- like what was stuff that popped up for other women and couples in the bedroom? What were the fears that could be broken down during this time, new paradigms that could be formed and stronger, more intimate bonds that could be forged in the scene of sexual intimacy while pregnant? Naturally, Matthew and I decided to sit down and talk about it. So not only do you get to hear about my perspective on our sexual relationship traveling through pregnancy, but you get the male's point-of-view as well. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're expecting, it's very common to hear the question, “Where are you delivering?” If not that specifically, people generally ask about your doctor or your doctor visits. Whether it's close friends and family or total strangers, most will insert some sort of advice or personal experience to whatever birth plan it is you've chosen. It can be even more interesting when you share that your birth plan involves a home birth. Queue awkward silences, uncomfortable jokes and even sometimes downright judgement. That's what we're talking about in this episode: what we're calling the “pushbacks.” They are the often well-intentioned but poorly executed gestures and words to share varying degrees of care and concern for yours and your baby's well-being. But it's great because it gives you a chance to exercise patience and understanding. It might even help you confirm why you're considering or chose home birth. Matthew and I have grown to love the pushbacks, and we share some examples of ones we received. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order The FamilyAlbum app: Share your family's precious moments with your loved ones + get 11 free photo prints delivered each month CLICK HERE. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember the horrible films you'd watch in sex ed classes featuring a scary, screaming, bloody mess of a woman giving birth in total agony (probably because she had sex before marriage and was birthing the baby out of wedlock - I went to Catholic school so I'm convinced those videos were purely to warn off pre-marital sex rather than educate on the miracle of childbirth)? Well until becoming pregnant myself, these were the only visual references I had for a birthing experience. Throughout the pregnancy, I've made it a point to watch more empowering examples of birth play out. Our awesome midwives have a full library of home birth videos from women and families they've worked with, and they lend them out to current patients to check out for themselves. I dove right in, like an athlete studying film of other amazing athletes in the game. I watched for different home birth setups, styles of laboring, support from birthing partners and family members, and all the other elements I could use to envision my own home birth experience. Watching all of the videos brought up new ideas and contexts like what I previously thought birth had to look like and how it could be with intentional planning. More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many pregnancy and birth resource focus on the mother or the baby, for reasons that are quite obvious. But there's typically another partner involved who is feeling all sorts of things, but isn't always asked or encouraged to share and express the roller coaster of thoughts, fears, hopes, beliefs that they're experiencing. I wanted to change that in today's episode, and so I interviewed my husband Matthew on his experience of going through pregnancy with me, how he initially felt about a home birth, and how he managed his fears and emotions of finally settling on an out-of-hospital birth. It's an amazingly open and honest conversation about all of the things that came up for him through this journey. Matthew, as always, is honest and transparent, and that brings an amazingly refreshing perspective to the conversation of pregnancy and home birth. This episode was inspired by an article I read in Pathways To Family Wellness magazine. The article is titled “A Father's Perspective: The Journey From Hospital To Home”. I highly recommend you check out Pathways magazine for a holistic and conscious resource on pregnancy, birth, parenthood and families. It's amazing! More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we began our pregnancy adventure, home birth was pretty far from our mind. We kicked things off the traditional way: going to see an OBGYN at a great hospital that would usher our baby into the world the way that 98% of families in the US do it. But three months later we parted ways with our OBGYN, partnered up with a midwife group working out of their home, and began our home birth journey. The two of us flip flopped on who was more fearful and enthusiastic about the idea. Neither of us had seen a home birth, we didn't know much about them, and (until we started asking around) we didn't know anyone who had even done one. But our decision to have baby Maya in our home ended up being the absolute best decision we could have ever made for our family (and I can say that with full resoluteness, because 5 days ago we welcomed Maya into the world! But we'll get into that in a future episode). In this episode you'll hear our full story on how we went from traditional hospital birth with an OBGYN, to a shiny new birthing center with all the bells and whistles, to having our daughter in our very own bedroom. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We're doing it at home!” That's the response my husband and I gave when people asked us about our birth plans. 3 months into our pregnancy we decided to ditch the traditional hospital birth with an OBGYN, for a birth that aligned more with the experience we wanted to create for ourselves and our little one. Home birth suited us well, and we dove in. But not without fears, judgements, conversations, decisions, research, planning, and everything else you can imagine. This podcast is about our home birth journey. The purpose of this show is simple: To provide empowering conversation around home birth. What we're setting out to do with the podcast is to create the space for a conscious, loving, raw dialogue around home birth, by sharing our own personal experience and through storytelling, conversations and interviews that give women and families an empowering resource so that they can make the birthing decision that is the best for them. Listen to the episode to learn more about our story, why we started the show, what you can expect from the show, and how you can be a part of the show (and our journey) as well! Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here we are, folks. This is the final new episode that we'll be putting out for Doing It At Home. It's been a magical 8 years. We sat down to share some of our thoughts, memories and takeaways with you all. Thank you for supporting this space, whether you've listened to every single episode or this is your first time tuning in, we're grateful that you've been along for the journey. Much Love, Sarah and Matthew Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What influences your birth choices? It's helpful to look at this, to see what matters to you when it comes to birth, and how you can create a birth environment and culture around you that supports you best. Today we're chatting with Martina Cifiello about her birth journey. From a hospital birth with her first child to a birth center with her second to a home birth with her third, Martina walks us through the factors that inspired the changes and evolutions of her births along the way.  Martina shares how supportive and helpful her husband Simone has been over the years as well, taking a team approach to everything. And fun fact: Martina used the same midwife for her home birth that we had for our home birth, Debbie Schneider of Dawning Life Midwifery. So cool to have that connection! Things we talk about in this episode: hospital birth, birth center, water birth, Bradley Method, pelvic floor health, birth during COVID, family-centered birth Links From The Episode: Martina's Bradley Method teacher page: http://www.bradleybirth.com/martinacifiello Martina's PT page: https://benchmark.urpt.com/locations/marietta-east-cobb/ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marissa is a mom of 2 from Utica, NY, with both a hospital and home birth story.  Marissa experienced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) with her first pregnancy. That, along with some early signs of labor made for a hospital birth that included a lot of intervention and fear. The way she sees it, baby Maxwell just wasn't ready yet.  She planned for a home birth again with baby number two, Miles. With positive reinforcement from resources like Ina May Gaskin and Birth Without Fear, Marissa went into her second birth tuned in to her intuition and gut feeling (and we're not just talking about the contractions!). Marissa's candor and detail with her birth stories compels you to listen and engage. She's a great example of how to plan the birth you're intending to create - like finding midwives even when you're far away from a big city with more options. We even get a little cameo from surprise guest Maxwell! Links From The Episode: Marissa's blogpost on her home birth - http://myeggiscracked.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-story-of-miles.html Birth Without Fear - http://birthwithoutfearblog.com/ Ina May Gaskin - http://inamay.com/ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When asked a question by a care provider, do you have to respond right away? Most of us don't know or realize that we have choice. And especially when it's not an emergency, we can take time to process and decide what we want to do and even refuse what doesn't work for us.  This is a powerful message from our guests in today's episode, who experienced this firsthand during the birth of their son while in the hospital after transferring from their home birth plan. And it's a special treat because we got to speak with both mom and dad, Bekah and Jesse Carroll.  Bekah's journey to home birth actually started when she was back in high school and did a speech on birth interventions. That, plus her mom is a doula. And Jesse comes from a family where his 3 siblings were born at home. So it made sense to them to plan for a home birth for their son Benji.  After 36 hours of labor and being only 5 cm dilated, the team made the decision to transfer. This was a smooth transition thanks to a bridge program, a way to make home birth transfers easier for families and care providers, with her hospital.  So listen in to hear the beautiful story, and why Jesse thinks his wife is such a badass! Links From The Episode: Bekah's Resources: https://www.gatewayperinatalresources.com/ https://www.choicemattersmidwifecollective.com/ The Womb Room in Milwaukee - https://www.wombroommke.com/ Aurora Sinai Medical Center - https://www.aurorahealthcare.org/locations/hospital/aurora-sinai-medical-center Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where will you hear about home birth story details, the difference between modern and traditional midwifery, what to do when you are inspired to enter birth work and the connection of birth with sexuality and spirituality? This episode of the podcast, that's where! Today we're joined by Blyss Young, LM CPM. Blyss is a home birth midwife, teacher, circle facilitator, energy healer, reiki practitioner, mother, yoga teacher, entrepreneur, breathwork facilitator, placenta encapsulator and natural living consultant. Through her guidance and love centered approach she has supported thousands of families to birth in the ways they feel the most empowered. She is a firm believer in intuition, the sacred and rituals. At the heart of all of her work is a deeply rooted belief in the brilliant design of the universe and our integral part in all of it.  You've also probably heard Blyss alongside Dr. Stu Fischbein on their podcast “Birthing Instincts.” We get into so many powerful topics in this episode. Blyss shares her history into birth work, details of her own births, elements of midwifery and advice for current and future birth workers, plus connecting with your sexuality in the birth journey.  Links From The Episode: Blyss's Website: https://www.birthingblyss.com/ Byss's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birthingblyss/ Birthing Instincts Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/birthing-instincts/id1552816683 The Innate Journey: https://www.theinnatejourney.com/ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can you utilize the power and intention of prayer for your birth? Regardless of your faith, setting intentions for your birth experience can be a big part of preparation for the experience. Today's guest, Josephine Breen, weaves her faith into her birth story of her daughter Myriam. Josephine was born at home, and always remembers her mother being positive and open around the topic of birth. Then at 12 years old, Josephine got to witness the birth of her sister.  Josephine walks us through her pregnancy and birth, including a lot of the curve balls thrown in along the way.  Things we talk about in this episode: military family, being born at home yourself and then choosing home birth to have your children, education for your birth partner, preeclampsia, membrane sweeps, power of prayer, long labor without a lot of sleep, cervical lip, fetal ejection reflex, having community to support you, letting go when labor gets hard Links From The Episode: Josephine's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magdalenarobes/ Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler: https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-Your-Fertility-Anniversary/dp/0062326031 Fertile Ground by Laura S. Jansson: https://www.amazon.com/Fertile-Ground-Pilgrimage-through-Pregnancy/dp/1944967605 Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin: https://www.amazon.com/Ina-Mays-Guide-Childbirth-Gaskin/dp/0553381156 Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg: https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Baby-Whisperer-Connect-Communicate/dp/0345479092 Evidence Based Birth: evidencebasedbirth.com Aviva Romm: avivaromm.com  Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melissa Thormahlen knows how to give me “all the feels.” I knew her story would impact many when her first email to me about her birth story had me tearing up. She experienced most of her birthing experience at home with her first baby Emeline, before transferring to a hospital and having a beautiful birth.  For Tyler, baby number 2, she knew she wanted to go for a home birth again because she trusted her body and her amazing birth team.  In Tyler's birth story, Melissa explains the trust and surrender to the process. She also took time to be close and intimate with her husband, Paul in the time before active labor. When baby Tyler was born in the bathtub after a strong surge that took everyone by surprise she exclaimed, “I DID IT!” We even get to hear from baby Tyler as he chimes in a couple of times. We love when the babies make little appearances, they're the reason we've come together to chat after all! Links From The Episode: Ina May Gaskin - http://inamay.com/ Business Of Being Born - http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH Website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: www.diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices