Podcast appearances and mentions of sarah buckley

5 years ago I had radically been changed by the experience of a redemptive and healing homebirth and I knew that my story would help others. I also knew that others had stories to share that needed to be heard. A huge part of my preparation was listening to positive stories so I wanted to created a platform where Jesus followers could come and hear birth stories full of miracles, answered prayers and fill them with hope that if it can happen for one woman it can happen for her too!   I have had some amazing guests on from Dr. Sarah Buckley, Dr Stu, Abbie Halberstadt, Hannah Crews, Chelsi Jo, Bethany Beal and over 100 other amazing women who shared their birth story with us. This has been quite the journey and I can't wait to see where the next 5 years brings us.   In today's episode I'm going to go over the TOP 5 episodes and pull the lessons I've learned out of them!   Top 5: #5 Ep 52//She Produces Life with Bethany Beal #4 Ep 168//First Time Mom Homebirth Story | This was All I knew with Olivia White #3 Ep 68//Maternal Physiological Changes that Lead to a Functional Labor Experience and the Importance of Nutrition with Dr. Sarah Thompson #2 69 The Medical System: Helping or Harming Women with Dr. Stu  Fischbein, MD #1 70 Bailey's Birth Story- Becoming Empowered and Confident About Your Birth   Connect with Aly: IG- @peacefulhomebirth Join the "Coping with Contractions" Training March 11th at 1pm CST-

Dr Sarah Buckley is trained as a GP/family physician and has further qualifications in GP-obstetrics and family planning. She is the mother of four adult children, all born at home, and lives in Brisbane, Australia. She is the author of “Gentle birth, Gentle mothering, and Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing  Dr Buckley has been writing and lecturing on pregnancy, birth and parenting since 1997 and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, where her research is focused on oxytocin in labour and birth and the impacts of interventions. Dr Buckley's work critiques current practices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting from the widest possible perspectives, including scientific, anthropological, cross-cultural, psychological, and personal.  Today Sarah talks to us extensively about the hormone of oxytocin during labour, breastfeeding and parenting. Our talk reminded me of the intricacies of mother nature's blueprint, and just how well she has set us up for birth and parenting. It left me wondering - when we interfere with birth - at what cost? She encourages us to be fully informed in our decision-making; to listen to our hearts and our intuition; and to claim our rightful role as the real experts in our bodies and our children. This episode is dense in detail, and yet left me feeling in awe of the human journey of reproduction. Learn more about Sarah   Links: Transform Parenting website Transform Your Birth Today Better Birth: Mini Gift Free resource: Medical Necessity vs Choice  

Show Notes:   In today's episode on ultrasound safety, we discuss some hard truths of actual studies that are publicly available looking at ultrasound safety in pregnancy.   Inside this episode you will learn: - What ultrasound is - How ultrasounds are done - Why ultrasounds are done - What studies into ultrasound safety show   Here are the links mentioned in the episode:   Ultrasound Scans - Cause for Concern by Dr. Sarah Buckley - Great article by Sarah Buckley on Ultrasound - sarahbuckley.com/ultrasound-scans-cause-for-concern/   50 Human Studies in utero, Conducted in Modern China Indicate Extreme Risk for Prenatal Ultrasound: A New Bibliography by Jim West - https://amzn.to/40njEKA   More articles under the “Ultrasound Information” heading of my website at https://go.yourbirthgodsway.com/resources     Helpful Links: — BIBLE STUDY - FREE Bible Study Course - How To Be Sure Of Your Salvation - https://the-ruffled-mango-school.teachable.com/p/how-to-be-sure-of-your-salvation   — CHRISTIAN CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION - Sign up HERE for the Your Birth, God's Way Online Christian Childbirth Course! This is a COMPLETE childbirth education course with a God-led foundation taught by a certified nurse-midwife with over 20 years of experience in all sides of the maternity world! - https://go.yourbirthgodsway.com/cec   — HOME BIRTH PREP - Having a home birth and need help getting prepared?  Sign up HERE for the Home Birth Prep Course. — homebirthprep.com   -- COACHING - Sign up for your PERSONALIZED Pregnancy Coaching Midwife & Me Power Hour HERE  — https://go.yourbirthgodsway.com/powerhour These consults can include: birth plan consultation, past birth processing, second opinions, breastfeeding consultation, and so much more!  Think of it as a special, one-hour appointment with a midwife to discuss whatever your concerns may be without any bias of practice policy or insurance policy influencing recommendations.   — GET HEALTHY - Sign up here to be the first to know about the new Women's Wellness Program coming from Lori SOON! https://go.yourbirthgodsway.com/yourhealth   — MERCH - Get Christian pregnancy and birth merch HERE - https://go.yourbirthgodsway.com/store   — RESOURCES & LINKS - All of Lori's Recommended Resources HERE - https://go.yourbirthgodsway.com/resources   Sign up for email updates Here   Be heard! Take My Quick SURVEY to give input on future episodes you want to hear -- https://bit.ly/yourbirthsurvey   Got questions?  Email lori@yourbirthgodsway.com     Social Media Links: Follow Your Birth, God's Way on Instagram! @yourbirth_godsway Follow the Your Birth, God's Way Facebook Page! facebook.com/lorimorriscnm Join Our Exclusive Online Birth Community -- facebook.com/groups/yourbirthgodsway   Learn more about Lori and the podcast at go.yourbirthgodsway.com!   DISCLAIMER:  Remember that though I am a midwife, I am not YOUR midwife.  Nothing in this podcast shall; be construed as medical advice.  Listening to this podcast does not mean that we have entered into a patient-care provider relationship. While I strive to provide the most accurate information I can, content is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate.  You must do your research and consult other reputable sources, including your provider, to make the best decision for your own care.  Talk with your own care provider before putting any information here into practice.  Weigh all risks and benefits for yourself knowing that no outcome can be guaranteed.  I do not know the specific details about your situation and thus I am not responsible for the outcomes of your choices.    Some links may be affiliate links which provide me a small commission when you purchase through them.  This does not cost you anything at all and it allows me to continue providing you with the content you love.

In this episode of the Fiercely Fueled Podcast, the Coach Pia welcomes Sarah Buckley, an experienced powerlifter, lifting coach, and mobility coach. Listen in as Sarah discusses the limitations of traditional strength training and the necessity of training mobility to prevent performance plateaus and injuries. She also shares insights into the roles of connective tissue and spinal segmentation in lifting and speaks about the importance of integrating mobility work into regular training sessions to create a balanced and adaptable body, foster better strength gains, and reduce the risk of injury. The conversation concludes with practical advice for new lifters on mastering the fundamental skills for long-term success in powerlifting.     Connect with Our Guest   Sarah Buckley on Instagram @persistfitnesstraining and @sbucklivfts Website https://persistfitnesstraining.com/     Links and Resources:  Get our free pre & post-training meals guide https://guide.fiercelyfueled.com/podcast  Follow Fiercely Fueled Nutrition:    Instagram: @fiercelyfuelednutrition https://www.instagram.com/fiercelyfuelednutrition/    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fiercelyfueled    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7sAH26zWzvrI-73I1J3icA

When Nathalie got married in her 20s, she and her husband were set on a life without children. They had met in an ashram in India, studying Vedanta philosophy, and were of the view that parenthood was a distraction from the spiritual path. But some years into their marriage, Nathalie developed a growing, undeniable urge to become a Mother. With her biological clock ticking, and a marriage where needs were no longer aligned, Nathalie and her husband separated. He returned to NZ, and she went on a wild journey of self discovery, delving into the more feminine aspects of her nature, and doing her all to call in the man who would father her children. As I talk to Nathalie today, her boy Sage, now 7 weeks old, is being cared for by his Dad, Ivan, in their LA apartment. She shares with me about the challenges she faced, and preparations she undertook, to achieve a positive and rewarding birth experience. Find out how her childless ex-husband came to be the one who enthusiastically encouraged Nathalie to explore home birth, and suggested that she contact me for guidance around achieving that. It's quite the story! Also discussed in this episode: * Breast reduction surgery and its impact on milk production * Donor milk, low supply, supplemental nursing system, triple feeding * Home birth obstetrician * Fears of going post-dates. ‘The labor salad' & castor oil smoothie * Chinese medicine - Nathalie is an acupuncturist * Denial/suppression of feminine aspects of self - healing the guilt and shame of being a woman * Dr Sarah Buckley's work * Bed-sharing * Positive impacts of home birth on postpartum Nathalie worked with me (Carla) via both my 1:1 and Group Soulful Birth (holistic birth and postpartum preparation) options. For more information on these, head to this webpage: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/birthprep Check out Nathalie's work here: https://nathalievitality.com/

In this episode, we sit down with the remarkable Dr. Sarah Buckley to explore the fascinating world of oxytocin and syntocinon. Join us as we dive into the mechanics of oxytocin and how the body naturally releases hormones for labour and birth. Dr. Buckley discusses the history of synthetic oxytocin (syntocinon) and its integration into the maternity system, as well as the impacts of syntocinon, including the hormonal gaps that can arise with various interventions.We also chat about one of Dr. Buckley's recent papers, which investigates whether syntocinon crosses into the placenta and compares oxytocin levels between physiological and induced labour. Whether you're a parent, healthcare professional, or simply curious about the birthing process, this episode provides valuable insights into the critical role of hormones in childbirth. Links: Dr Sarah Buckley's WebsiteInstagram Research papers Maternal and newborn plasma oxytocin levels in response to maternal synthetic oxytocin administration during labour, birth and postpartumSupport the show@homebirthstoriesaustralia Support the show by buying us a coffee! Please be advised that this podcast may contain explicit language. Listener discretion is advised.The information, statistics, and research presented in this podcast are for informational purposes only and are not intended to constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice. All information discussed can be found online and is provided in the links in the show notes. It is always recommended to conduct your own research and make informed decisions. We advise you to discuss any topics or concerns with your healthcare provider. While we strive to incorporate the most up-to-date research in our episodes, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information discussed on the show.

Sarah is back! Hanna and Sarah are joined by Carina and Kim from the Nebraska Recycling Council to talk about recycling and other waste reduction practices. We learn about how recycling works broadly, how recycling and waste reduction help our communities and our environment, and what we can strive for as individuals. For more in-depth show notes visit Bloom Box: Growing Deeper at: https://plantnebraska.org/podcastSend us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail.Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and InstagramFollow us @growingwithbloombox on PinterestLearn more about Bloom Box: https://plantnebraska.org/bloom-boxLearn more about the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum: https://plantnebraska.org

Send us a textIn the very first episode of Season 5 I am speaking to the Queen of Hormones - Dr Sarah Buckley. I have been so excited to bring this incredible conversation to you - as I recorded it way back in April. Sarah shares with us her knowledge about hormones in general, but in particular the role of Oxytocin. She has also gained lots of new information whilst doing her PHD - including some interesting findings on how synthetic oxytocin can actually support the body by doing what Sarah calls 'filling a hormonal gap'. Please share this episode far and wide so that not only pregnant women and their partners gain the benefit, but also anyone who supports pregnancy.Sarah is the author of the best selling book "Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering'You can find Dr Sarah Buckley on her website - https://sarahbuckley.comFollow her on instagram @drsarahjbuckleyIf you love the podcast and would like to support it, then please use the link to 'buy me a coffee' - https://bmc.link/sallyannberesfordIf you would like to buy a copy of either of the books that accompany this podcast please go to your online bookseller or visit Amazon:-Labour of Love - The Ultimate Guide to Being a Birth Partner - click here:-https://bit.ly/LabourofloveThe Art of Giving Birth - Five Key Physiological Principles - https://amzn.to/3EGh9dfPregnancy Journal for 'The Art of Giving Birth' - Black and White version https://amzn.to/3CvJXmOPregnancy Journal for 'The Art of Giving Birth'- Colour version https://amzn.to/3GknbPFYou can find all my classes and courses on my website - www.sallyannberesford.co.uk Follow me on Instagram @theultimatebirthpartner Book a 1-2-1 session with Sallyann - https://linktr.ee/SallyannBeresford Please remember that the information shared with you in this episode is solely based on my own personal experiences as a doula and the private opinions of my guests, based on their own experiences. Any recommendations made may not be suitable for ...

Send us a textIn this episode I am back by giving you a quick idea about what is to come next week when season 5 kicks off with my special guest Dr Sarah Buckley. I am excited to move forward this season with a deep dive into topics that will really support you when preparing for birth and parenting. Set your clocks - timers - watches and make sure you have subscribed to to podcast in order to get a notification of when the episode goes live - because it is a really incredible one!!If you love the podcast and would like to support it, then please use the link to 'buy me a coffee' - https://bmc.link/sallyannberesfordIf you would like to buy a copy of either of the books that accompany this podcast please go to your online bookseller or visit Amazon:-Labour of Love - The Ultimate Guide to Being a Birth Partner - click here:-https://bit.ly/LabourofloveThe Art of Giving Birth - Five Key Physiological Principles - https://amzn.to/3EGh9dfPregnancy Journal for 'The Art of Giving Birth' - Black and White version https://amzn.to/3CvJXmOPregnancy Journal for 'The Art of Giving Birth'- Colour version https://amzn.to/3GknbPFYou can find all my classes and courses on my website - www.sallyannberesford.co.uk Follow me on Instagram @theultimatebirthpartner Book a 1-2-1 session with Sallyann - https://linktr.ee/SallyannBeresford Please remember that the information shared with you in this episode is solely based on my own personal experiences as a doula and the private opinions of my guests, based on their own experiences. Any recommendations made may not be suitable for ...

Dr.Sarah Buckley is a New-Zealand-trained GP/family physician with qualifications in GP-obstetrics and family planning. She is the mother of four home-born children, and currently combines motherhood with her work as a writer on pregnancy, birth, and parenting. Sarah's work critiques current practices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting from the widest possible perspectives, She encourages us to be fully informed in our decision-making; to listen to our hearts and our intuition; and to claim our rightful role as the real experts in our bodies and our children. Her bestselling book⁠ Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices,⁠ Sarah has presented workshops and conferences in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the UK, the US and Canada, lecturing to midwives, nurses, physicians, obstetricians, doulas, and childbirth educators as well as mothers and fathers. So sit back and enjoy the wise words, we could have listened to Sarah for hours… To find out more about Dr.Sarah Buckley and all her research and about her books please see the following  ⁠https://sarahbuckley.com⁠ To read the latest research by Sarah: ⁠https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/health/maternity/hormonal-physiology-of-childbearing.html⁠ Sarah has suggested for up to date research and topics following her blog ⁠https://sarahbuckley.com/category/blog/⁠ To book into one of my Online or Face-to-Face Hypnobirthing Courses OR to book a Birth Debrief session visit ⁠www.belly2birth.com.au

Dr Sarah Buckley, academic and author of the best selling book ‘Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, joins Mel on the podcast to discuss how the brain works during labour and it's interaction with the body. We speak about how to optimise brain function in labour in order to optimise birth physiology. Sarah is an invited speaker to the Convergence of Rebellious Midwives Conference happening in Sydney, Australia in August 2024. Click here to see more about this event and buy tickets For more about Sarah: Website: www.sarahbuckley.com FB: @DrSarahBuckley IG: @SarahJBuckley Twitter: @Sarahjbuckley To get on the mailing list for the podcast and to access the resource folders for each episode, visit www.melaniethemidwife.com Premium podcast members Hub Being a premium podcast member gives you access to the transcript and additional resources for each episode AND the 'ask Mel a question' button so you can submit questions for the monthly 'Ask me anything' episode. Only available in the premium podcast members hub Find out all the details here You can find out more about Mel @melaniethemidwife Disclaimer: The information and resources provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice. Instead, all information provided is intended for education, with it's application intended for discussion between yourself and your care provider and/or workplace if you are a health professional. The Great Birth Rebellion podcast reserves the right to suppl ement, edit, change, delete any information at any time. Whilst we have tried to maintain accuracy and completeness of information, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or currency of the information. The podcast accepts no liability for any loss, damage or unfavourable outcomes howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on the content. This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical c

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In this episode of The Fiercely Fueled Podcast, Coach Pia hosts a deep dive into the world of powerlifting with two renowned athletes, Sarah Buckley and Laura Phelps-Stackhouse. The conversation spans the personal journeys of Sarah and Laura, from their initial steps into powerlifting to reaching pinnacle achievements within the sport. Sarah, known for her incredible journey through five weight classes and Laura, recognized for her strength and significant contributions as a coach, share the nuances of training methodologies, particularly the conjugate system, and the mental and physical challenges they've navigated. They explore themes of emotional resilience, the importance of appropriate mentorship, the evolving landscape of female powerlifting, and the significant impact of the Cincinnati Women's Pro Am event on the sport.  Connect with Our Guests   SaraBuckly on Instagram @persistfitnesstraining https://www.instagram.com/persistfitnesstraining  Laura Phelps-Stackhouse's website  https://www.queenbeepower.com/  Links and Resources:  Get our free pre & post-training meals guide https://guide.fiercelyfueled.com/podcast  Follow Fiercely Fueled Nutrition:    Instagram: @fiercelyfuelednutrition https://www.instagram.com/fiercelyfuelednutrition/    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fiercelyfueled    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7sAH26zWzvrI-73I1J3icA

During labor, you want contractions that are longer, stronger, and closer together. But why? Dr. Sarah Buckley and Adriana take a deep dive into the amazing and fascinating hormonal dance that happens during the birthing process, and how interventions such as synthetic oxytocin or an epidural can lead to a cascade of interventions that negatively impact the process for both the birthing person and their baby. They also talk about ways to support the physiology of birth (regardless of what path it takes) in order to help fill any ‘hormonal gaps' that may occur.Sponsor offers - TIME SENSITIVE! NEEDED - Get 20% off at ThisIsNeeded.com with code BIRTHFULHONEYLOVE - Get 20% off at HoneyLove.com/Birthful JENNI KAYNE - Get 15% off at JenniKayne.com/Birthful with code BIRTHFUL15ONESKIN - Get 15% off at https://www.OneSkin.co/ with code BIRTHFULFAMILYALBUM APP - Download the app for free, wherever you get your apps! MY LIFE IN A BOOK - Get 10% off at MyLifeInABook.com with code BIRTHFULAQUATRU - Get 20% off at AquaTru.com with code BIRTHFULGet the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links listed on its show notes page.  If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on Your Baby, The Mammal and our episode on How to Avoid a "Cascade of Interventions".You can connect with Sarah on Facebook at drsarahbuckley. You can connect with us on Instagram at @BirthfulPodcast and email us at podcast@Birthful.com. If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana's Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.Our Sponsors:* Check out mylifeinabook.com and use code BIRTHFUL at checkout for 10% off. Create an unforgettable gift for your mom this Mother's Day.* Visit HomeThreads.com/BIRTHFUL today and get a 15% off code for your first order!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/birthful/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Episode 28 is shared by Madi a first time mum that trusted her body and birth so much that she freebirthed with her first baby. Madi discusses her decision to freebirth as a first time mum, her initial fears, and what helped her overcome and work with her fears. This is a great example of trusting your self, your body and trusting your intuition. Links: The Authentic Birthkeeper https://www.instagram.com/the_authentic_birthkeeper/Freebirth Society Course https://www.freebirthsociety.com/Dr Sarah Buckley https://sarahbuckley.com/Jane Hardwick Collins https://janehardwickecollings.com/Postnatal Depletion https://kinfertility.com.au/blog/postnatal-depletionCHAPTERS01:24Madi's Decision to Free Birth03:07Overcoming Fears and Making the Decision04:00Gaining Support from Madi's Husband04:27Deepening the Desire for Free Birth06:18The Impact of Contraception on Birth Choices07:14Challenging Stereotypes about Free Birth08:12Addressing Fears and Concerns09:11Working through Fears of Death09:39Educating Herself on Birth10:35Informal Birth Education11:33The Impact of Birth Stories and Conversations12:29The Long Process of Learning and Unlearning13:27Connecting with the Spirit Baby14:25Trusting Instincts and Avoiding Regret15:21The Black and White View of Birth Choices16:17Negative Experiences with the Hospital System21:03Reactions from Family and Friends23:29The Ripple Effects of Free Birth in the Community25:22Positive and Negative Responses to Free Birth27:16Engaging with the Hospital System29:04Pregnancy and Job Loss32:16Resting and Preparing for Birth35:09Preparing Partner for Birth37:27Early Signs of Labor39:23Laboring at Home46:56Pushing Phase51:15Crowning and Birth56:51Birthing the Placenta01:04:04Postpartum ExperienceSupport the show

Grab a cuppa and relax with this beautiful and powerful episode with my dear sister and friend Emma who is 6 weeks postpartum with her son Tobias, she shares her powerful out of system birth with Companion and Doula care. In this episode we did not get to touch on the fact first half of pregnancy with her son Tobias being breech but Emma shares all the ways she traveled with regulated midwives in the system and then a month to the birth switched gears and found her Companion Claire and the beautiful birth dance she did to bring her son earth side! May you feel the blessings in this episode. Emma is a mama to two beautiful miracle babies. She is a recovering alcoholic/drug addict, went to school for culinary management and realized that teaching children was her calling, so then graduated from humber College with an ECE diploma. She worked in daycares and then landed a job with the TDSB (Toronto district school board) and realized that the system was not where she felt aligned and decided to open up a nature school Nature Nook for her daughter, Maeve, and other free spirited children to be able to freely learn and grow and become critical thinkers in a world that has lost that skill.  Book Gentle Birth Gentle Parenting  Dr. Sarah Buckley  https://www.amazon.ca/Gentle-Birth-Mothering-Childbirth-Parenting/dp/1587613220/ref=asc_df_1587613220?nodl=1&tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292908100746&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17155401064724375306&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9104700&hvtargid=pla-464044666443&psc=1&mcid=8f0215f44ff734b881db214897db4ecb&dplnkId=5ca8271d-2f6e-4014-b53f-1d4caa1ba4b5 Sasha Padron doula - Sasha.padron@gmail.com  Claire Gallagher Companion birthbythedoulaway@gmail.com Kate Surette- Bowen Practitioner  kate@templebody.ca Emma :Essential oils consult & Nature Nook  Email : naturenookacademy@gmail.com Nature Nook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/630240981960152

In this episode we had the absolute privilege of speaking with Maha Al Musa.Maha is first and foremost a mother to three beautiful children (now 27, 24 and 15) a doula, birth mentor, international educator and the founder of EmbodyBirth and Bellydance For Birth® since 1997. She has released two award-winning resources—a world first book on Bellydance for birth, entitled Dance of the Womb, endorsed by Sheila Kitzinger, Dr. Michel Odent, Dr. Sarah Buckley and NACE (Aust.) and a follow on video series voted by about.com readers choice award for Best Pregnancy Fitness Product. She was presented with the One World Birth Hero National Award in 2011.Maha has been a keynote speaker at many birth conferences worldwide including the Shandong Midwifery Conference China, Human Rights In Childbirth Conference India and Birth Keepers Summit USA.She also offers her online wise conscious birth preparation program and her highly acclaimed EmbodyBirth teacher training certification as well as other powerful resources.All of Maha's teachings are supported by the Universal truth that birth is a sacred portal that has the potential to raise human consciousness and that every woman and baby has the freedom to choose and the right to be supported and born into the hands and arms of Love.Want to connect with Maha?Website: www.mahaalmusa.comInstagram: @embodybirthinternational

In today's episode we speak with Dr. Sarah Buckley on the science of natural and undisturbed birth. Dr. Sarah Buckley is the author of the best selling book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, the author the report Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing (January 2015), and all around natural childbirth expert.  We are honored and grateful to have Dr. Sarah Buckley join us on the Doing It At Home Podcast for many reasons. To start, her book "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices" was a huge influence on us during our pregnancy. Sarah (our Sarah...Sarah Bivens that is) started reading Dr. Buckley's book while we were still planning for a birth with an OBGYN in a hospital. We learned about Dr. Buckley from her appearances in a DVD series called "Happy Healthy Child" (another resource we highly recommend and link to in the show notes.) Dr. Buckley's extensive research and evidence based information on pregnancy and birth, along with her own accounts of her 4 home births left quite the impression on us. It got the wheels turning and prompted us to think about the elements we wanted in our birth. Overtime we found that the best way to experience all of that would be at home. So we're very grateful to Dr. Buckley and the work that she does, because it's like she's been a part of our journey. Dr. Buckley integrates what would seem like differing philosophies at first glance: in the mindset of a medical background, training, practice and care, and natural, holistic, unassisted, physiological birth. Dr. Buckley talks about physiological birth as the type of birth that's in alignment with how the body is designed to work. And low tech models of care support this process. Home birth is an ideal situation to allow for this. We also talk about the core requirements for birth and what a woman needs to feel private, safe and unobserved. And if you didn't know or fully understand the hormonal cocktail that a woman experienced in natural birth, you will by the end of this episode. Want to know what ecstatic birth is? Listen to this episode. One of the key takeaways here is the potential to reclaim power in the experience of birth. That with a healing birth, we can heal the earth! Links From The Episode: SarahBuckley.com Sarah Buckley on Facebook HappyHealthyChild.com Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices by Sarah Buckley Hormonal Physiology Of Childbearing (report) Pain In Labor (ebook) Ecstatic Birth (ebook) 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

(Rebroadcast) You hear about physiological birth but do you really KNOW what it is that makes birth physiological? Have you ever wondered, "How does the baby know when to be born?" "How can I have a pain-free and peaceful birth?" "How do I bond with my baby?" Well friends... it all comes down to the hormonal cascade. Dr. Sarah has done a lot of research and really has dived into what physiological birth is an how to facilitate it. After having 4 home births herself and years of research she comes on the show to share her expertise and knowledge about hormones in labor and birth. About Dr. Sarah Buckley: Sarah Buckley is trained as a GP/family physician with qualifications in GP-obstetrics and family planning. She is the mother of four home-born children and lives in Brisbane, Australia, where she is a PhD candidate as well as writing and lecturing on pregnancy, birth, and parenting.  Dr Buckley's work critiques current practices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting from the widest possible perspectives, including scientific, anthropological, cross-cultural, psychological, and personal. She encourages us to be fully informed in our decision-making; to listen to our hearts and our intuition; and to claim our rightful role as the real experts in our bodies and our children. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland,, where her research is focused on oxytocin in labour and birth and the impacts of interventions. See her professional, peer-reviewed publications as part of her PhD here Her bestselling book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices, published by Celestial Arts/PenguinRandomHouse (US, 2009), builds on her acclaimed first edition, published in Australia as Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: The Wisdom and Science of Gentle Choices in Pregnancy, Birth, and Parenting (One Moon Press, Brisbane, 2005, available as ebook here ). Dr Buckley has an ongoing interest in the hormones of labour and birth, and this has culminated in her groundbreaking report Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing (2015 Childbirth Connection, a program of the National Partnership for Women and Families). This report, available for free online,  has been described as “…one of the most revolutionary and influential publications on maternity and newborn care ever issued.”   Grab your free homebirth checklist: bit.ly/homebirthessentials      Join Our FB Community: Facebook.com/groups/peacefulhomebirth

In this episode of The Fiercely Fueled Podcast, host Joni Voss has a conversation with Sarah Buckley, powerlifter, and owner of Persist Fitness. The duo discusses Sarah's involvement in the sport of powerlifting, and how she has managed to juggle her professional career, personal life, and health whilst pursuing her ambitious goal to make a professional total in five different weight classes. Sarah provides an insight into the physical, mental, and emotional challenges she has faced, how she manages her training regime, and the significance of having a support system. She also talks about the importance of nutrition and shares her past struggle with disordered eating. Moreover, Sarah discusses the lessons she's learned through her journey and shares her advice for new lifters. Connect with Sarah:  Instagram https://www.instagram.com/persistfitnesstraining/  Persist Fitness website https://persistfitnesstraining.com/  Links and Resources:  Get our free pre & post-training meals guide https://guide.fiercelyfueled.com/podcast  Follow Fiercely Fueled Nutrition:    Instagram: @fiercelyfuelednutrition https://www.instagram.com/fiercelyfuelednutrition/    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fiercelyfueled    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7sAH26zWzvrI-73I1J3icA  

Sarah Buckley is a food photographer and blogger who finds inspiration in crafting, art, and plants.During our conversation, Sarah describes her career transition from nursing to food blogging, explaining the initial sense of loss and later fulfillment her move brought her.Sarah admits that re-training took the time and effort equivalent to a bachelor's degree. But what she's learned along the way about keyword research, SEO, and writing for Google has paved the way to her success.Sarah describes her superpower as the ability to persevere in her work even when success isn't immediately apparent. She credits her supportive EFM community with encouraging her to keep pursuing her dream in the face of challenges. BIOSarah Buckley, a sleep researcher, made a career adjustment due to frequent relocations and growing family responsibilities. As a result, she decided to become a stay-at-home mother and use this time to explore her passions, including cooking, gardening, photography, and writing. Her dedication led her to create Frolic & Fare, a successful blog that focuses on wild food, foraging, and edible flowers. This experience taught her that it's possible to create your own dream job, and she hopes to inspire others to follow their passions.Keep up with Sarah's delicious recipes and beautiful photos on her website or follow her on Instagram.Website: https://frolicandfare.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frolicandfare/

In this episode, I speak with Julz and she shared with me her story of a beautiful, supported rural HBAC. It took Julz over 12 months to conceive her first baby, and while she was going through that journey she was working in a corporate job. It was fairly normalised to book in with an OBGYN during pregnancy for care. She didn't put much consideration into birth, as a first time mother, like so many first time mothers she was more interested in the pram and organising baby things. Julz was at the park with her partner swinging on a swing when her waters broke. She ended up going into hospital that night to start an induction process the next morning, although labour started on it's own. Labour was pretty intense for Julz, and she didn't have any mindset support like breathwork, positive affirmations, deep breathing or meditation to help her work through this in a positive way. She was given Fentanyl to help with the pain Intravenously. She was mostly sitting on the bed, trying to work through the pain while being supported with the Fentanyl. After coached pushing for three hours the OBGYN called it that she needed to go off to surgery, and her first baby was born via surgical birth. When she was pregnant with her next baby she had planned to have a VBAC and went back to the same hospital as where she had her first baby. She also had a subchorionic hematoma and some bleeding. More information on subchorionic hematoma: A subchorionic hematoma (also called subchorionic hemorrhage or subchorionic bleeding) is when blood forms between the wall of your uterus and the chorionic membrane during pregnancy. The chorionic membrane is the outermost layer separating your baby's amniotic sac from the wall of your uterus. It can be associated with vaginal bleeding during pregnancy. A subchorionic hematoma can shrink in size and resolve on its own without treatment. In some cases, your healthcare provider will recommend a plan for follow-up after assessing the hematoma. It rarely causes serious health complications. Her younger child also got slapped cheek during the early part of her pregnancy which can cause infant anemia which would require a transfusion into the fetus before birth. Although, it only impact 1% and 5% of women who have the infection. During a scan the man doing the scan told Julz she would need to speak to her OBGYN because he was the "boss" of what she could do in her pregnancy and boss which didn't sit right for Julz. She was speaking to a friend who had an incredible homebirth experience and she talked to her about her last birth and asked her what happened to her birth. She started listening to Rhea Dempsey on podcasts and her book Birth with Confidence and Dr Sarah Buckley and her incredible work. Julz started to understand the importance of hormones and functional, physiological pain that Rhea talks about. This planted the seed of homebirth, although she didn't believe this would be an option for her. She called over 10 different private midwives who would send her in different directions, in different forums. She called a midwife to just let her know that she felt she was too far away and after a conversation with this midwife she felt really connected and safe with that midwife. She asked her what happened in her last birth, which was a game changer for Julz. No one had ever really asked her about that birth. Julz formed a beautiful, supportive relationship with her midwife that made her feel seen, safe and supported and she went on to have a sacred birth at home the way she had wanted. You can listen to this gorgeous story to hear all the juicy details. More from Ashley Insta: ⁠⁠@ashleylwinning⁠⁠ Join the waitlist for my Group Mentoring Program ⁠- click here Join our VBAC Homebirth Support ⁠Group here ⁠ Get access to the FREE Workshop: Get better support for your homebirth Get Homebirth resources sent to your inbox - Click here

In this eye-opening episode, Monica is joined by Dr. Sarah Buckley, a renowned GP and academic researcher specializing in oxytocin and maternal care. Together, they dive deep into the fascinating world of childbirth, sharing Sarah’s expertise on the physiological and emotional aspects of labor and birth, making for an essential listen for expectant mothers, their partners, and those supporting them. Sarah sheds light on the biological transformation of women’s bodies in pregnancy and birth. She emphasizes the importance of creating a safe, secure, and unobserved environment during labor to allow the birthing process to unfold. She points to the necessity of understanding that any interventions can create hormonal gaps in the essential feedback loop of hormones that are registered by the mother’s relationship between the brain and her womb and her ability to then bond with her baby, nurse, and more. Throughout their conversation, you’ll learn about the influence of oxytocin, specifically in labor, and how women can make an informed choice about their birth experiences only when they know and have the proper information. Sarah explains the hormonal gaps that can be created by interventions like epidural use, and c-sections and speaks to how women can close these gaps with knowledge. This episode challenges the current intervention-heavy focus in modern maternity care and encourages understanding alternative methods like home births, midwifery care, and doulas and why these might be important to consider. Topics discussed: The role of oxytocin in childbirth The importance of safety, privacy, and unobserved conditions in labor How the hormonal gap affects mothering Integrating feminine needs in the birthing process Entities mentioned: Dr. Sarah Buckley Personal birthing experiences Home births Midwifery care Doulas Epidurals Caesareans Oxytocin Special Guest: Dr. Sarah Buckely.

This week we soak in the tub with Elena Stonaker, a long-time collaborator and multi-disciplinary artist whose artwork you may recognize from many of our Secular Sabbath environments, such as our giant green snake and larger-than-life mushrooms. Elena is a full-time ethereal artist, living in her whimsical inner landscape. A lot of her art is born out of her bedroom. In this episode, Elena and I reminisce on the earliest moments of our personal friendship through exploring an unconventional way of socializing that has come to define us both, and a live drawing class that would be imbued into the framework of Secular Sabbath.Elena was inspired to host a live drawing class in her home after taking a figure drawing class in art school and painting on (her friend) Sarah Buckley's body. Hosting a loosely-led class in the landscape of her soft sculptures was a way for Elena to hold space for others to be creative, while simultaneously and perhaps unintentionally, creating an unprecedented way for others to relax and hang out in Los Angeles.Art and creativity ooze throughout Elena's life, whether it is in the business or personal realm. Elena shares about the benefits and learning opportunities that exist in being a self-employed full-time artist. An example she describes is a commission from a friend - the opportunity to create a cat couch soft sculpture. She has learned from these experiences how to navigate expressing her own creative impetus, while collaborating with someone else's vision and what they want as an end product. She compares commissions to giving birth to a child. And the metaphor sticks in our minds.Coming from the lineage of creative resourceful parents, Elena was encouraged to explore an artistic life. Elena remembers a distinct adolescent moment when her surprise birthday party became a core memory, where her ethereal homelife clashed with her traditional assimilated school life. This led her into a melting pot of life in the inner and outer world coming together. Through working with beads in her art, Elena creates a meditative process which she describes as sowing prayers which originates from Southern American indigenous cultures. Beads became a staple in her art because she sees them as something small; when in a collective multitude, beads create something magnificent. Elena strives to portray a childlike space to experience feelings. From her “Big Mama” to our Secular Sabbath snake and green mushrooms, Elena creates a place for community to be held. Listen now to take a glance into Elena's ethereal inner landscape! To join Secular Sabbath membership, you can find us at secular-sabbath.com/membership. Joining grants you access to our Inner Circle community of sensory-exploring like-minded people, where you can gather with us locally in LA for monthly meet-up experiences, and pop-up events around the globe, and partake in our exclusive ambient online community. Ready to dive into the dialogue deeper? Join us on our Discord channel.See what we get up to at @secularsabbath.

During labor, you want contractions that are longer, stronger, and closer together. But why? Dr. Sarah Buckley and Adriana take a deep dive into the amazing and fascinating hormonal dance that happens during the birthing process, and how interventions such as synthetic oxytocin or an epidural can lead to a cascade of interventions that negatively impact the process for both the birthing person and their baby. They also talk about ways to support the physiology of birth (regardless of what path it takes) in order to help fill any ‘hormonal gaps' that may occur.Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links listed on its show notes page.  If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on Your Baby, The Mammal, and our episode on Epidurals and breastfeeding.You can connect with Sarah on Facebook at drsarahbuckley. You can connect with us on Instagram at @BirthfulPodcast and email us at podcast@Birthful.com. If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign-up for Adriana's Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course.Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.Our Sponsors:* Visit HomeThreads.com/BIRTHFUL today and get a 15% off code for your first order!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/birthful/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Na Cailleacha - Sarah Buckley - Poetry Celebrating International Women's Day - First Cut Film Festival - Fiachra Garvey

Infant sleep is one of the most polarizing topics in the baby community, and in true MOTR fashion, we do not hold back.We break down all the sleep myths including how you can't “train” your baby to sleep and bed-sharing leads to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (it is actually protective against it!). Yes we're biased, however don't just take it from us; we cite our sources who are the actual experts in this field including James McKenna Ph.D. of “Safe Infant Sleep” and Dr. Sarah Buckley of “Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering.”We explore the perceived “risks” the predatory infant sleep industry wants you to believe and share the myriad benefits (for mom and baby) of bed-sharing, and if that's not your cup of tea, co-sleeping. For sleep deprived moms, we discuss our favorite creative ways to catch up on sleep that do not involve sleep training your baby, watching the clock or letting your baby "cry it out". Oh, and we answer a couple of interesting questions our listeners submitted- we've got your backs! We recognize infant sleep is not a one-size-fits-all approach for every family, however it's also not as black and white as putting your baby in a crib “drowsy but awake”. You can view our resources here.If you have a question or would like to work with us 1:1, please book with us here.For discounts across our favorite products and services, check out our affiliate links/codes.If you're feeling philanthropic, please consider making a financial donation— even $5 goes a long way in helping us reach a wider audience to help other moms and soon-to-be moms think more critically and have the courage to mother against the mainstream. We're currently just a couple of moms bootstrapping our podcast; your support means everything. Thank you! We appreciate you subscribing and tuning in! Feel free to leave us a rating and written review if you enjoyed today's episode. See you next time.

Ashley joins us today from Australia sharing her three birth stories and how she learned to truly trust herself. Driven out of the hospital due to discrimination and not being able to find support from home birth midwives, Ashley decided to go for a free birth. With a special scar, two previous Cesarean surgeries, a big baby, a high BMI, and a history of gestational diabetes, Ashley accepted all of the risks and was able to reap the beautiful benefits of undisturbed home delivery. Ashley shares with us her journey to acceptance when things didn't go the way she planned, but also how to persevere through to fight for the story she wanted. She now hosts The VBAC Homebirth Stories podcast and is a Homebirth/Freebirth Mindset Coach inspiring other women to have the courage to take back control of their birth stories!Additional LinksAshley's InstagramThe VBAC Homebirth Stories podcastHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode DetailsFull TranscriptMeagan: Hello, hello. Welcome to The VBAC Link. This is Meagan Heaton and we have Ashley here with you. Can I just tell you? She is amazing and you're going to want to listen to this episode 5 million times and then when you're done listening to it 5 million times, you're going to want to check out her Instagram and watch her videos 5 million more times because she is amazing and such a wealth of knowledge. We reached out and said, “Hey, we want to share your story on the podcast. We think it's going to be an amazing episode.” I don't think. I know it's going to be an amazing episode. Review of the WeekBefore we do that, I'm going to get a review per usual and remind you that if you would like to leave a review, we are on Google and Apple Podcasts. You can email us. Shoot us a message on Instagram. We love to add your reviews to the queue and read them on the podcast. This specific review is from Ana Neves and it says, “I've been preparing for my VBAC ever since my C-section, and listening to the stories in this podcast has not only taught and informed me all about the different options, but also inspired me. I know that when the time comes, I will be prepared and feel the power of the great and courageous people who shared their stories here.” Oh, I love that. “The great and courageous people.” Oh, I love that. I love that so much. Thank you so much for sharing your review and like I said, if you have a review to share and you want us to know how you feel about the podcast and all of these great and courageous people, please leave us a review. Ashley's StoriesMeagan: Okay, Ashley. I am so excited that you are here. It's been interesting from now in recording, we've had Australian people on the podcast a lot. It warms my heart and makes me so happy and makes me feel like I probably need to go to Australia now because one, I am obsessed with all of the knowledge you guys have on birth and I actually really like the way that birth is in Australia in a lot of ways. But I am just so honored to have you here with us. Ashley: Thank you. I am so excited to be here. That was such a beautiful, warm welcome so thank you very much for having me. Meagan: Yes, oh my gosh. I'm serious. I just love listening to you too. I just love your guys' accents. My Utah accent is pretty lame, but yeah. So let's turn the time over to you. I am so excited because I feel like I've heard little things, but I'm excited to just hear it right now with you. Go ahead. Ashley: Okay. So let's start from the first babe then. Basically, I went into that one expecting that I was going to have a vaginal birth because my mum had vaginal births, and all of the women before me did too. My mum had me in 7 hours. I was the first baby. My sister is two, so mum said, “If you have medication, you're weak. You've just got to suck it up.” So I had this, “If she could do it, I can do it.” I had this, “I'll have the epidural if I need it” sort of vibe. A lot of my friends had babies before me. They had children when they were 17-18. By the time I had mine, I was 28. I was newly married and I had watched all of my friends. They told me all of their birth stories and things. They had all had vaginal births. I thought that Cesarean birth was really for celebrities basically because when I was in high school, it was Posh Spice who was having this C-section and things like that. It was a trendy thing to do. It wasn't something that normal people did. It was an expensive thing that rich people did. Meagan: Like in Brazil. That's how it's viewed in Brazil. You are high-class if you have Cesareans. Ashley: Yeah. I mean, I went to the GP before I got pregnant and checked on my levels to make sure. I have always had a high BMI, so the doctor said to me, “The only thing I recommend is that you lose some weight because you might struggle to conceive,” so I went in knowing that there may be a hardship there. Some of the women in my workplace at the time had multiple miscarriages. My mother-in-law had 7 before my husband, so I went in with that kind of, “We'll see what happens, but it could take a while.” So I conceived within the first month of trying so that was a shock, but also so exciting. Super exciting. It was a month before my wedding, so I got sick just after my wedding for my honeymoon and all of the fun games and after that, I was just like a sloth dying because I got HG. I got HG and it was just 20 weeks of basically a challenge. Meagan: Yeah, miserable. Ashley: It was hard. I was so excited to be a mom. I couldn't wait from the time I conceived to birth the baby and have the baby in my arms. That's all I wanted. I went to the hospital and there was a bit of a mix-up between when I went to the GP and had the GTT, the test for gestational diabetes. The doctor told me that I didn't have it. I went to a hospital because that's what they do. You go to a GP and they just send you to the local public hospital and that's the one that you are allowed to go to, but they didn't really discuss any of the other avenues like private, or midwives, or homebirths or anything like that. So I went excitedly to my first appointment. I waited for over an hour and I saw some random gyno-obstetrician and they said to me, “You've got gestational diabetes so you'll be seeing us.” I was like, “No I don't. I don't have gestational diabetes.” “Yes you do,” she said and I burst out crying. It was this big thing. Basically, the difference was if I had birthed or if I had gone to the hospital in Brisbane which is the next suburb over, I wouldn't have had gestational diabetes but in the hospital that I went to, they were up with the times with the lower numbers because that was cycling at the moment. It was 2014. I had gestational diabetes and that meant that I had so many more appointments. It meant that I was only with obstetricians. It meant that I had to go to nutrition or a dietician. It was just so many appointments. It was out of control. From a very early stage, I was told, “You're going to be induced and you're going to be on insulin.” As soon as I was diagnosed, I was told, “You're going to be on medication.” Meagan: No talking about it. Ashley: “Yeah, let's see how this unravels and we're not going to start you on the pill, we're just going to go straight to insulin for you,” so it was kind of like they had already decided my fate. I was really excited to have an induction. It meant that I got a date for my baby and I was going to have my baby early. When I spoke to the other ladies in the GD who were getting induced, the lady said to me, “It's all good. I was induced and I had my baby in 5 hours.” I was like, “Awesome. Awesome.” I don't know what number baby that was for her because when it comes to induction, I know now that it really matters whether it's your second or if you've had a vaginal birth before, then an induction probably isn't going to land you with a C-section. I ended up getting my date, coming into hospital, and having no discussion. I kept asking, “Can we have a birth discussion?” It was always, “Next week. Next week. Next week.” There was no discussion about what happens at birth or really what to expect or any niceties or anything. It always felt quite cold. It was like the people didn't even want to be there, the junior obstetricians, it was like they were doing their time so to speak. It just wasn't a pleasant experience. I was expecting my first baby and I just felt like another number. Meagan: Yeah. It wasn't warm and fuzzy at all. That's for sure. Ashley: No. I just felt like it didn't feel right. It just felt really not nice. Meagan: Yeah, impersonal. Ashley: Yeah, exactly. I basically went in for my induction and my husband came in with me. That was a couple of days of having gels and people putting their fingers up and continued monitoring and just very uncomfortable. I found after they had done all of that process that my cervix was right shut up. It wouldn't open up. They said, “Okay. We are going to try and put the balloon in there.” That was the most excruciating pain. Meagan: Especially when you're not dilated. Ashley: It was excruciating and I was in so much pain. The doctor and midwife made out that I was making a big fuss because I was responding that it was painful, so they gave me a lot of gas and I was pretty much tripping out. It was really trippy. Meagan: Like nitrous oxide?Ashley: Yeah. I just felt like if this is how painful it is to put this thing in, how painful is labor going to be? How am I going to handle that if I've just been through two days of this? I think that I had a cannula in my hand as well because I couldn't really go to the bathroom without assistance from my husband. It was really getting uncomfortable. I had something up inside me. Meagan: Or poking you or something all of the time. Ashley: Yeah, exactly. So another night in the hospital we slept and then they said, “If it doesn't open and it doesn't drop out by the morning, then we'll talk about it.” I wasn't allowed to eat. I had to fast. Meagan: That's going to serve your body well. Ashley: I know. It's really cool. It's like they give you so much amazing care in the hospital to set you up for this amazing birth, and I woke up and it was still in there and nothing had changed. I felt really defeated and I felt like my body was broken like there was something wrong with me. Nobody had ever discussed or told me that there is a high failure rate to this or that this procedure can fail or that you may not be a great candidate for this procedure. Meagan: Or more time. More time can make you a different candidate statistically and raise your BISHOP score. Ashley: Yeah, they obviously did the BISHOP score and they would have seen that I wasn't a good candidate for this. They would have known that when they did all of these things to me. Now I see that as my body is so amazing that you tried to do all of this stuff to my body and my body was like, “Hell no.” Meagan: Nope. I'm keeping this baby in. Ashley: Clam shut, yeah. The junior doctor came in and she said, “Look. We recommend that you come in tomorrow for more monitoring. Go home and come back on Monday and we'll start the process again.” I was like, “What do you mean you're going to start the process again? This was really torturous.” I said, “What's the difference between a day or two? My body's not going to respond any differently. Can I just come back in two weeks?” I'm 38 weeks at this point and I'm like, “I'm not even 40 weeks. Can I come back in 2 weeks when I'm in labor?” Meagan: And a first-time mom.Ashley: Yeah, because my mom had me and my sisters right on 40 weeks, so I'm just expecting the same. She said, “No. You can't.” I was like, “Oh, okay.” She said, “No, you can't do that.” I said, “Okay.” She said, “You know what? We're just about to have an obstetrician meeting, so I'll go in there and I'll ask the consultants what they think and I'll come back with a plan.” “Okay,” I said because she also did talk about my option of being a Cesarean on the Monday and I said to her, “Look. I'm going to be honest with you. There's no way in hell that you're going to get me to come in for elective surgery. It's just not going to happen. I never wanted to birth like that and I don't want to.” She came back and she said– they obviously spoke about what I had said and they made for me later a plan to push me in the way they thought that I was going to bend the most, so they said, “Look. We've bumped all of the surgeries for the day and we're going to book you in as priority because we feel like you should be having this baby now.” I was kind of like, “Okay.” So they were bumping all of these surgeries. There were people sitting out in the waiting room waiting to have their babies, but they were going to bump me to have my baby first. I had my sister in the room who was a surgery nurse who had been pushing me to have surgery the whole time because she was traumatized. I'd been fighting her the way through like, “No. I don't want to do that. I want to have a vaginal birth.” I was so exhausted and my husband only had 5 days off of work, so he had to return in a couple of days. I had my in-laws at my house babysitting my dog and I was promised a baby. I feel like at that point, I was just like, “Okay, well if that's what you think, then okay. I'll do it.” I signed this 3-page waiver form by the way, which I was really scared of. I was like–Meagan: What am I doing? What am I signing?Ashley: My sister is getting me prepared. She just finished a shift from working upstairs in nursing and she organized for herself to get in there, so it was going to be my husband and her. They never allowed a third person, but because she worked there and knew people, she was able to weasel in. She's getting me ready like a good nurse. She's so excited. She gets to be a part of it and I'm just recording a video of, “If I die, tell my baby I love my baby.” I am so petrified. I've got video and photos and I just look at the photo and it's like me trying to look excited, but actually, I'm like, “Holy crap. This is really scary and I don't want to do this.” Meagan: Why is everybody so excited and I'm terrified? And why is no one talking to me about this? Ashley: Because I'm giving up control. They're not getting the knife, but I am. It's really scary if you've never had surgery. It's not something that we do every day and it's not something that I had ever gone through before. So off I go into surgery and it's really good that my sister was there because she got to take a lot of photos and she got to be a part of it. Meagan: That would bring some comfort maybe. Ashley: Yeah, I felt like they would step up a bit as well because they knew that it was one of their own in there and I was one of their own. She took a lot of photos and things like that, but when they were doing the spinal, no one can be in the room. I just remember feeling so petrified and shaking and looking into this big man's eyes who was holding me and thinking, “You look like a nice man. Keep me safe.” This midwife came around and she was like, “You look like a deer in headlights” because it was like all of these lights shining down at me. I'm in this crazy room with surgery stuff. I'm really scared. I'm petrified, but I went through the whole process and the obstetrician and everyone, it was Christmastime. It was early Christmas. It was December 5th and they were all having their Christmas party that night, so they were all very happy talking about the Christmas party. “You're going to the Christmas party? I'm going to the Christmas party.” I thought, “Well, they're not fast. They're not stressed. They're very happy. They're starting their day. I'm the first one. They're excited about the Christmas party.” It didn't feel very personal. I definitely didn't feel included in the process. They were just talking among colleagues. Meagan: I can so relate. So relate. Ashley: It's horrible. Meagan: Yeah. They were talking about the snow outside and how depressing it was because the one just gotten back from Hawaii. He was like, “Oh, I came back to snow.” I was like, “I'm right here. Can we talk about my baby? Can we talk about me?” Ashley: Yeah, it's very impersonal. I mean, it's one thing at the dentist to be chatting it up. I don't mind it at the dentist if they're chatting or something, or the orthodontist or something, but yes. I thought, “At least they're calm.” The baby was born in no time and then announced, “It's a baby girl.” I just thought, “Oh, can I go to sleep now? I'm not really interested in this. I'm very time. I'm shaking. This is not a great experience.” I just turned around and said, “Can I go to sleep? I don't want to hold the baby.” It's uncomfortable anyways, but I can't really hold the baby. I'm shaking. I've never really had that many drugs in my system before and off to recovery we go basically. That's a new experience as well. Yeah, it wasn't a great postpartum experience in the hospital. It was quite a negative experience with the night midwives, so I was really excited to get out. I left a day early because I just did not want to have to put up with the night staff. My husband wasn't allowed to stay. Meagan: Oh, why? Ashley: So in our hospital in the public system, some of them have got 4 or 5 to a room, so I was in a 4 or 5 to a room. They don't allow husbands to stay. I couldn't get out of bed. Meagan: I didn't know that. That's like old school.Ashley: It is old school. A lot of them are getting upgraded now because obviously, it's better to have your own room and stuff, but that's where I was lumped. No one wants to birth there because no one wants to share a room, but if you're in the catchment, that's where you get stuck unless you go private. So he got booted out at 10:00 at night, and then I was left with this witch of a midwife who every time my baby cried, she was like, “Oh, look. You're just going to have to sleep with the baby on your belly because I can't be coming back here to get the baby all of the time.” I was like, “But it's not guidelines. I'm not allowed to sleep with my baby with my chest. I can't sleep and it's stressing me out.” In my head, I'm saying those things, but yeah. It was horrific. The next morning, my husband came and I was letting loose at him. I was like, “Why weren't you here? The baby and I haven't slept.” I was so stressed. I mean, think about it. Being awake for 3 days, having been in the hospital for a long time, and then having gone and had major surgery, you're left on your own with this baby with barely any support. No one telling you what to do, trying to breastfeed with your nipples getting ripped by the way. Meagan: Pretty much abandoning you. Pretty much. Ashley: Basically. So the second night, I stayed and sorted that out, then I went home the next day. I did have a bit of a thing with the midwife. She was on again, so I ran down to the bathing room and I hid from her because– okay. One thing you should know about me is that I am a highly sensitive person, so something that someone might say to someone may not affect them as much as it would affect me. Meagan: It triggers you. Ashley: It really upsets me and being in a vulnerable position, I need someone who's gentle, nurturing, and loving. So I ran away and I hid in the bathing room with my baby. I was trying to work out why she was crying. I had fed her. I swaddled her. I changed her. I was really trying to work it out. She could hear the baby screaming and obviously thought that I was not looking after my baby. I said, “Look, I'm just trying to figure out what's happening here.” She's like, “You just need to hold her.” I was like, “No, I just need to figure out what's happening because I've got to go home with this baby and work this out.” She's like, “Why don't I take the baby and I'll look after the baby so you can get some sleep?” I'm like, “No. That's not happening.” I was so against this woman. She was like, “Here's your medication. Take your medication. I've been looking for you,” and then she sent another colleague down to come and check on me and try to convince me to give the baby up. But what I discovered by sticking to my guns and doing what I felt was intuitively right for me was that my baby was pulling her arms out of the swaddle and that was waking her up. So I put her in a little zip-up and from then on, she slept through the night. My husband came the next morning right on the dot. I had a shower. Baby was sleeping. He's like, “Where's the baby?” I'm like, “She's sleeping,” feeling like a million dollars. “I've got this. I've got this and we're checking out today.”Meagan: Yep. Get me out of here. Ashley: I went home and we struggled with breastfeeding. I got some really bad advice from one of the nurses that came to my house so I felt like a double failure. By 6 months time, I was mixed feeding to just formula feeding and I felt like a real failure. I let her down. I hadn't birthed her the way– I didn't feel like I birthed with, “When I had my baby,” or “When my baby was born.” I didn't say “When I birthed,” because I didn't feel a part of the experience. It happened to me. It wasn't inclusive to me. I just felt completely excluded. So I knew when I was going to have my second, I was having a VBAC for sure because I knew there was a thing possible. I knew about VBACs and I said to my GP, “What's the timeframe between babies?” She said, “24 months between birth and birth.” That was the thing then or whatever. I said, “Fine. I'm having 24 months.” I literally started trying within 24 months, whatever it was, 15, or whatever. I fell pregnant the second time. I was having a VBAC and I think I joined the VBAC group in Australia. I started learning all of the stuff, becoming informed and advocating. I knew that this time I wasn't having an induction because that's what caused me a C-section. I knew that I wanted to try to avoid GDM because that's what I thought was the lead-up for the induction rush. I didn't realize that my weight was obviously pushing against me so much. I didn't understand the reasons why or some of the discrimination that happened in the hospital at that point. I did the early GTT test and I passed that. I was like, “Yes. Maybe this is going to be different.” I'm going to show them. I'm educated. I know what I want. I'm informed. I'm also a people pleaser so I'm trying to get them on board with me. I'm trying to get them to agree with my decision. I'm trying to get them to be a part of my team and cheer me on and get excited.I'm just kind of getting met with obstetricians who were like, “VBAC is great and it's the best way to birth your baby.” I'm like, “Yes. This is amazing.” Meagan: You're like, “Thank you. This is what I want to hear.” Ashley: “But not for you.” I'm like, “What? Not for me?” “Well, for you, we recommend a planned Cesarean.” “Okay.” They never really spoke in plain language or explained it to me. It was only through digging and digging and digging and asking and asking and asking that I was finally able to get some answers. I essentially ended up getting gestational diabetes at 20 weeks, so then I wasn't allowed to see midwives because I had asked to see midwives and they said, “If you get GD, we won't release you.”Meagan: It disqualified you. Ashley: It disqualified me from seeing midwives. I said, “Look, you're a surgeon. Can I just see you if I need surgery?” The thing with GD is that there is a GD counselor and somebody that you report to outside of them, so why do I need to see you because you're not a GD expert or specialist? I actually see somebody. Why is a midwife not capable of looking after me? It doesn't make any sense. They're just trying to pull in all of the patients to keep their bellies full and make sure they've got jobs. I was gutted. I was absolutely gutted. I only failed by .1 on one of the tests and I wish I had known back then that I could have redone it and I probably would have passed it. It was really disappointing and I was like, “Oh, goodness me.” So I was diet-controlled through that time. I say diet-controlled because that's the readings that I gave them. I wasn't really diet-controlled but I was being a bit of a rebel because I was getting the same numbers as I was with my first baby and I was on insulin with her and insulin didn't do much. I thought, “Well, what's the difference going to be if they're the same numbers? She came out healthy and had no sugar problems or anything.” I kind of started to think, “Is this GD thing a bit overrated? If I was in a different hospital or a different country—”Meagan: I was going to say if you went somewhere else like last time, would it have been different or would it actually have been GD as well? Ashley: If I had gone somewhere different and I knew this because I was part of the GD community and I had friends that were birthing in Brisbane who were even having to keep below higher numbers than me. They had much higher numbers than me, so I thought, “You're with a private obstetrician and you're getting different information than me,” so I started to clue on that. And then also, when I was doing my readings on my fingers, I would get a different reading on this one to this one, so I started questioning, “If this one's .5 difference to this one, how accurate is this measuring?”Meagan: Yeah, interesting. Very interesting. Ashley: So it was very scary for me to do that because nobody's doing that and every time you're going there, they're like, “Dead baby. There was a woman who had gestational diabetes and her baby died.” And I was like–Meagan: You hear these and you're like, “What?” Ashley: I was like, “How did she die? How did the baby die?” They said, “Oh, we can't disclose that information. You're telling a room full of women with gestational diabetes that a baby died and the mum had gestational diabetes. She could have been hit by a car for all we know and you're using it to fearmonger us, but you're not willing to tell us how the baby died. It could have been negligence on the hospital's part. It may not have been GD related at all.” Meagan: Yeah, she just had it. Ashley: She just had it, so I found that quite disgusting and all of those things started to really add up. The more that I saw in the VBAC community, the more that I saw this was happening around Australia, the more I was determined to advocate and fight which is really hard for a highly sensitive person, but I got a student-midwife. I got the head midwife to come to my appointments. I had a student-doula who was a dear friend of mine and I started to grow a team around me. I refused to see one of the doctors at one point and wanted to speak to the best, most amazing doctor in the hospital, so the midwives set me up with the nicest obstetrician who still didn't support me to have a vaginal birth, but he was nicer to deal with. I mean, I had some crazy conversations with some of the obstetricians during that time. One of them was a junior and she said to me because I didn't want to have continuous monitoring. I just wanted to have the doppler. She said, “You know what my boss says? He says that if you don't have continuous monitoring, then you're basically free birthing in the hospital.” I looked at her and I was like, “You're crazy.” At this point, free birth to me was crazy and she was telling me that because I'm in a hospital and if I'm not doing that, then I'm free birthing. And I thought, “But I'm getting checked with a doppler by a midwife. I'm with obstetricians.” That is absolutely insane, but it goes to show the kind of mentality and the thought process that goes through the fact that they don't know how to be with women. They don't know how to observe and watch a woman. Now, my mindset is the complete opposite way. I see things in a different light than how they would see. They rely on machines whereas they don't rely on that connection. I'm the type of person that relies on human-to-human connection and I've listened to people and I love stories. That's how we learn. We don't learn about humans by watching machines. I started to learn about the inaccuracies of their machines and some of the equipment that they were using. It made no sense to me to have continuous monitoring when I knew that one obstetrician would send me to surgery for the reading whereas another one with maybe more experience who may be older and more chilled would be like, “Yeah, that's nothing.” If the results are at that rate, then that's not beneficial to me because then I'm putting my fate on whether I get a choppy-choppy obstetrician or a chilled, relaxed one on the day. So that was kind of my thinking. I didn't do growth scans this time. I didn't see the point in me having a growth scan to tell me that I was having a big baby. My first was 3.7 at 39 weeks. I knew this one was going to be 4 kilos and I said, “Look, I'm happy to birth a 4.5-kilo baby out of my vagina,” which is almost 10 pounds for your listeners and they just wanted to do Cesareans on 4-kilo babies as well as inductions. It was always about induction and I found out the reason why they wanted to do induction. They wanted to manage me. They weren't a tertiary hospital, one of the bigger ones, and so I found out that the junior obstetricians wouldn't be comfortable doing or maybe confident or capable of doing an emergency Cesarean on someone of my size, so I said, “That's fine. Just send me to that hospital or that hospital. Let's just do this. If it's a staffing issue, I don't want to stretch it out.” They just laughed at me. It can't be a big deal then, can it? If they're not willing to send me to a different hospital. We had so many conversations and it was anxiety-inducing. I would cry on the way to the hospital. I would cry on the way home. I'd have to get my fight on and I even had a conversation with an obstetrician that said to me, “We'll fight about that later.” I said, “That's exactly right though isn't it? It's a fight, the fight.” Meagan: Yeah, we'll fight about that later. That right there. Ashley: He goes, “Oh, I didn't mean fight. I don't mean fight.” I go, “Yeah, but no. You do.” Meagan: But you just said that. Ashley: But you do. Meagan: You're like, “Yeah, I can tell that you're not agreeing with me and you're telling me that if I want something else, I'm going to have to fight with you.” Ashley: And so I'm hearing about this informed consent and I'm like, “Informed consent.” I'm fixated on what would get them to be on my side. I've learned about informed consent. They legally have to support me, right? But that is just the fast in my opinion, in my experience, they wouldn't know what informed consent or working with a woman, it just blows my mind. I didn't realize that at the time, but there were a lot of conversations that were happening about my weight. “You're not going to be able to. It's harder for bigger women like you.” I would leave conversations thinking, “I'm not going to be able to birth my baby out of my vagina because I'm big.” Meagan: They were shaming you. Ashley: Yeah, basically I was told by an obstetrician that, “She's not a fatist, but—.” I was like, “I've never heard someone say ‘I'm not a fatist.'” I don't even know what that means. I had some really interesting conversations because I was asking questions and I was asking questions because I was asking so many questions. Every time I went to an appointment, the obstetrician would say to me, “Ah, I see you're having a repeat Cesarean,” and that would spike adrenaline. Read my book. Read my book. You would know that I'm having a VBAC and then, “Oh, well do you know the risks of VBAC?” Yes, I do. “Oh, you really do know the risks, but we still recommend that you have a repeat Cesarean,” and I would have to go through that every single time. Meagan: So discouraging. Ashley: It was a nightmare. By 36-37 weeks, I had received a phone call and they said, I could feel the smugness and a smile through the phone, “Oh, we're not willing to take the risk. You're going to have to go to a different hospital.” I was just horrified. I was so scared. I've just been kicked out of hospital because nothing has changed with me.”Meagan: But because I won't do what they want me to do and I'm being stern in following my heart. Ashley: Yeah, because I won't submit. I've told you from day one what I'm going to do, but I suppose the rate of success with that tactic is probably 99%, I'm probably the 1% of women who actually says, “No. I actually will not fall for your trickery.”Meagan: Yeah, okay fine. I'll leave. Ashley: I was so determined, so then I went to a different hospital and it was a newer hospital. They had birthing pools. I was hopeful that I might get in a birthing pool. You get your own room in the postpartum. I was excited. They had informed consent signs. The receptionists weren't fighting each other. This first one that I went to was pretty rough down there. They were lovely and polite. I thought, “Oh, this feels nice. Maybe I'm going to have a different response,” and I did. I saw an amazing midwife on entry. She was like, “If they're not going to allow you to do this, you advocate and you can make a complaint. That's disgusting how you were treated.” I thought, “Oh, wow. This is the best thing.” I saw an obstetrician. They were supportive. They wanted to do some of the same things, but they respected me. I felt like I was seen as a human. They would ask me questions and they would go and ask a consultant and the consultant would agree with me. I was like, “Wow, I am ticking boxes here.” I made some compromises because I was vulnerable. I did a growth scan and they found out that baby was about 4 kilos. Meagan: Like you already guessed. Ashley: I knew that at 39 weeks. I said, “That's fine.” “Oh, we recommend induction.” I said, “Yeah, I know you do. I'm not doing it.” That's what caused me the C-section last time. I'm not doing it. We went through the study at 39 weeks. I said, “That doesn't apply to me. It doesn't apply to me. I'm not in that study. It doesn't mean anything to me.” I don't know how you can have a study saying that it's going to work better on someone at 39-41 because you're not doing the same people. You're not doing induction on someone at 39 weeks and then going, “Hey, let's try it again at 41 or whatever it is.” You're doing different people. I don't want to know about it. I don't care about it. They said, “Okay, well I'll talk to the consultant. We'll look at the scan,” and then she came back and said, “Yep, you're fine. There's no fat on the shoulders, so yep. That's fine.” But if I hadn't said that, I would have been booked in for an induction, right? I would have just said, “Let's go, yep.” I sat there on the weekend with my husband shaking like a leaf again having to advocate for myself. It isn't an easy thing to do. Every time I have to raise my voice, I'm putting adrenaline into my body. I'm not raising like screaming, but I'm having to raise my voice. My baby would have been under attack the whole pregnancy essentially. I eventually get to the due date. A week before my due date– it was a couple of days before my due date– my midwife turns to me at the last appointment. She was training in the hospital last time, so I was really grateful that she was willing to come with me and support me even though she wasn't going to get her book signed off for this birth. And on that appointment, she said to me, “Look, my daughter's booked a holiday for me, so I'm going away on your due date. Are you going to have this baby soon now?” I was like, “Oh my goodness. You've just fought with me the whole time and now you've turned into them trying to get me to have my baby before my due date because it suits you.” Yes. I was heartbroken and I was so angry. I decided then and there I was not going to invite her into my birth space even if it was sooner because she had betrayed me on every level. I went into that appointment and the obstetrician didn't recommend it, she said, “Do you want to do a cervical stretch?” A sweep and I said, “No, I don't.” I turned to the midwife and said, “What do you think?” She was like, “Yeah, why not?” Of course, she said that because it gets the baby out quicker. So again, you've got to be careful about who you're with because if you're relying on people who've got a different agenda, you've got to take their advice or their opinion with a grain of salt. But I was a little bit interested myself. I'd never had a stretch or a sweep like that before. I was a bit interested. I was worried that I was going to go over due dates and I was willing to wait for 40+10 and I was getting a bit stressed like, “Oh, what if it goes longer?” You start to freak out at that point. There's a bit of pressure and with what I'd been through, I had the stretch and sweep. She said, “You're 3 centimeters and you're stretchy.” I was like, “Wow. Wow. Last time, they couldn't even– I was closed up.” Meagan: Get a Foley in. Ashley: Yeah. So I was so excited. I started to get some niggles and lose some mucus and a bit of blood and things like that. Two days later, I went into labor. She said to me, “If it does nothing in the next couple of days, then the baby wasn't ready to come. If it happens, then the baby was always going to come,” sort of thing. Now, obviously, what's the point in doing them if the baby is going to come and it does nothing but disturb? I mean, my complete mindset changed and flipped. But yeah, I went into straight labor. I was so excited and so proud of myself. I'm in labor this time. I never knew if my body was broken after all of the fearmongering and talk. I was just so proud of myself. It was exciting. I had adrenaline pumping through me. I was shaking with fear and excitement. I was going to wait the whole day to go in. I was going to essentially go to hospital when my baby's head was coming out. As soon as I went into labor, I was like, “Yeah. I think I should go to the hospital.” I was adamant the whole time I wasn't going in until I was ready to push and as soon as I was in labor, I was like, “Yep. Okay, it's time.” Meagan: Let's go. It's exciting. You're like, “Okay, let's go have this baby.” Ashley: Yeah, and it was fast and hard. When I go into labor, it's not any prelabor, it's just that this is on. I dilate pretty quickly. When I got to the hospital, I was 5 centimeters. They were really surprised at how I was doing because I was quite calm and quiet. They were like, “Oh.” I got eventually into the birthing suite. My doula came and set up the room really pretty. I went into the shower and had a midwife assigned to us. She just sat down and read my birth plan and was happy with everything. She wouldn't let me in the birthing pool of course because I was over 100 kilos even though they've got a hoist for bigger people if they need to. They're just not comfortable with bigger people in the birthing pool. I just did my thing and I said, “I don't any doctors to come in. I don't want anyone annoying me or harassing me.” And I just labored for a few hours until I felt like there were some waters or something I could smell and feel. The midwife said, “Do you want me to check you?” I said, “Yeah. Yeah, we'll see if the waters have gone.” She said, “Yeah, the waters have gone and yeah, this is a little fore bag so would you like me to break that?” I said, “Well, if you think so, okay.” At this point, my education had gone to the point of getting past the induction. If I had gotten into spontaneous labor and I saw a midwife because everything was raving about midwives, I'm going to be fine. This baby's going to come out of my vagina okay. I didn't know anything about birth really. I just knew what not to do. I'm probably not going to have an epidural, but I'm open to it. You shouldn't break the waters, but I don't really understand why. But I wasn't having my waters broken. I was just having a little bit of my waters broken. And then came the tsunami and it was my entire waters. It was all over the bed and it was all warm. I was like, “What is happening?” She had either–Meagan: So your bag never really did break until then. Ashley: No, yeah. Yeah. Yes. And there's some other information. She's like, “Oh, we'll put the screw on the baby's head.Meagan: The FSC, fetal scalp electrode? Ashley: We call it the clip. Meagan: A clip. Ashley: Yeah, some call it the screw. I call it the screw. It's a little clip and it barely hurts. That was one of my compromises from not having continuous monitoring. I said, “If I have that, then I can be mobile.” That was the compromise and negotiation. Then, I found myself locked to a machine by the way because it wasn't mobile at this point. Then as soon as I got off the bed, there was a decel, so I was back on the bed. I was in excruciating pain at this point. I come out of my nest in the shower where I was able to breathe through everything and I was standing upright. Now there was a bit of fear happening because there was a decel that she didn't recover from quickly enough, so then the obstetricians and everyone had to come in. They were kind of like, “Oh, C-section,” talking about it already. I said, “No. I don't want to talk about it. The baby's fine. Just let me do my thing.” “Okay, okay,” and then they hounded me to get a catheter in my arm even though I didn't want one. I said, “No, I don't want one.” It's really painful and I don't want it. She said, “Oh, come on. We'll just get one in.” I said, “Okay, fine. Just do it then. Just leave me alone.” So she put it in and I'm walking around with this thing coming out of my vagina, this thing in my hand and I'm out of the zone and really finding it hard to get back into how I was feeling. Meagan: Your space. Ashley: Yeah, my space. I must have been in there for an hour or two, maybe a bit longer. By this point, they've told me that I'm 10 centimeters on one side, 8 centimeters on the other and there were a couple more decels and maybe one more and they were saying things to me that I don't understand. They were like, “You've got an anterior lip. It's swollen. You're 10 centimeters on this side and 8 centimeters on that side. Your baby's asynclitic. Your baby's up high.” They're looking at me and I'm like, “I don't know.” Meagan: You don't know what any of that means. Ashley: I'm 10 centimeters. The baby is going to come out right any minute. I'm just like, “Is the baby's going to come out soon?” I was starting to feel some pushy pains as well, so my body was pushing a little bit too and then I think I went back into the shower and I called in my husband because he was a weak link and I knew he would do what I said. I was like, “I want an epidural.” And the epidural was there within 10 minutes. I knew that would happen. They wanted me to have an epidural on arrival because of my said. I went to the anesthesiologist appointment and they looked at my back and said, “No, you've got a fine back.” What they're worried about with bigger people is that there can be fat over the spine. I said, “Okay, well I've got a fine back,” which I thought would be fine because I never had any problems with the C-section. They said, “But we still recommend an epidural on arrival.” I was like, “Okay. Well, at least I understand why.” The thing is that I'm trying to get information from them so I can make informed choices, so if it's in my best interest, then I will say yes and I will do it. But if it's in the best interest of you to make your life easier, then I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to put myself or my baby at risk to make your life easier. I understood that an emergency C-section was a higher risk than a planned C-section. I understood that induction was a higher risk. I knew all of the before things and the choices. What I got stuck with is I didn't understand physiological birth. I hadn't done any research on that. So they were talking to me gobbledygook, all of these things were happening. I just never thought that this could happen. I never ever thought this would happen to me. My mom had me in 7 hours. What is happening? What are these things that are happening? Now I'm on the bed. I'm stuck on the bed because I've chosen to have an epidural and now I've negotiated because we have had a couple of decels. I've negotiated for myself what I think is a pretty sweet deal which I realize is actually a really bad deal of vaginal examinations every hour. The normal standard practice is about every 4 hours and I'm like, “Okay. How about if we just check every hour and see if there is any progress?” They're like, “Yeah, that sounds great.” Every hour, they come into me and they're saying, “No change. Baby's up high. No change. We recommend C-section. These are the risks if you wait.” They were talking to me about the risks that would happen in a Cesarean, not about the risks that would happen in a vaginal birth if I wait. So it was very biased. I was like, “Okay, so what happens if I wait to have a vaginal birth?” They were like, “Well, we just recommend a Cesarean.” I feel like I'm in a room stuck with the enemy. I said to my doula, “I don't trust them. I feel like they know what they're talking about, but I don't know any different either.” My doula was a student doula and it's not like I came in there with a midwife who is on my team. I'm looking at the midwife and I'm like, “Are you going to help me?” I'm realizing that she's team obstetrician. I mean, I've never met her before. She was just working there. I'm thinking, “This is not what was sold to me in the VBAC group if I see a midwife. Midwives are amazing, blah blah blah blah.” What I actually missed was that independent midwives that are not working in hospital have more free reign are the midwives that everyone's raving about. I'm thinking it's just random midwives, any midwives are awesome. And not every midwife's awesome because you've got different personalities. You've got different experiences. You've got different passions and every person is different just like you can find an amazing obstetrician. You can find an amazing personal trainer, but they're not going to suit everybody or everyone's needs. And they have a bias against different people based on color, based on gender, based on size, based on the way that you look. If they can identify with you, they are going to be more attached to the story and fight and advocate a bit more. If they're not really into you, they're going to be like, “Oh well. I'm not going to lose my job over this,” sort of thing. I've learned all of these things since. Eventually, after about 6 hours, I had another decel. I think I had about 3 in total. It wasn't a huge amount. Meagan: Yeah, and how low were they? Do you remember? Ashley: I don't remember. The problem was that she wasn't coming back as quickly as they would have liked. Meagan: Prolonged. Ashley: Yeah, it was prolonged. I also didn't know at the time that the epidural also slowed down my contractions too. I only know this from getting the hospital notes which is quite common with epidurals as well. Eventually, I just said, “Okay, fine. I'm fine. I'll go.” After the last one, it felt like my baby was at risk. If someone is coming to you every hour saying, “This is the risk. We recommend that,” eventually, you just give up. I think I had been in labor for a total of 12 hours at that point. The first labor I had ever had and off I went. As I was going out, the midwife said to me, “It's okay. I had a home birth planned, but I ended up in a Cesarean. You'll be okay.” I was like, “See? You never would have been on my team because you hadn't even had a vaginal birth yourself.” I looked at her and I was like, “That was the worst thing you could have ever said to me at that point.” I was like, “Just because you had one and you're okay with it doesn't mean that I'm okay with it.” It was the worst thing. She obviously thought it was really supportive, but I felt so betrayed. So off I went and I had my surgery. Everything started to go downhill. My husband got rushed out of the surgery with my baby and you could just feel that it was intense. I said to my husband, “I love you. Look after the baby. I think I'm either going to lose my uterus or I'm going to die.” Meagan: Were you hemorrhaging? Ashley: Basically, the story that they tell me, I'm not sure if I believe it, but even if it is true, it is what it is at the end of the day. One of the risks that they were worried about is when a baby descends too much, there's a– you know this yourself– there's always a risk of a special scar happening because there's more risk of a tear or them having to cut more. So that's what they were informing me about the whole time. They knew about the risk and they were trying to stop– Meagan: But they kept saying that baby was high, right? Ashley: They told me that baby was high. They said that when the baby came out, she flung her arm up and ripped it down to my cervix. Meagan: Oh, okay. Ashley: Now, how does that happen when a baby is up high? If she's up high, how is she ripping down to my cervix? Now I think about that. How does that happen? Because my cervix was fully dilated. Meagan: Yeah, except on that one side. Did it ever finish? That swelling, that edema, did it go down? Ashley: Not that I know of. What they told me was nothing had changed positioning in that. Then when I looked at the notes when I got the notes, he laid out, “I saw that the positioning had changed.” She had come down a station, but they never communicated that to me. I have a feeling that she was probably down a bit further than they had put because, on the paperwork, they also said I was only 7 centimeters. There was no mention of an anterior lip, so they fudged the papers a little bit and weren't honest. I mean, if you're going to make a few little changes, then obviously, there's a reason for that. It obviously looks better on paper. Meagan: That's what happens all of the time. The patient will hear one thing, then on the op reports, it's a little different. So we always encourage you to get your op reports. It's sometimes hard to read but get your op reports. Ashley: It is hard to read. You know, they put it on the board too here in Australia what you are and at what time, so the information is there for me to look at the whole time while I'm in labor, so it's not that one person just said it, it's literally on the board for you to see. I was quite upset when I saw some of the notes. I went through the notes. I've been through them multiple times now and I was just trying to learn. I was Googling, “What does this mean and what does that mean?” because I don't know the medical jargon. I'm learning all of the things and I'm looking at Spinning Babies. I'm looking at everything and trying to learn after the fact, but essentially what had happened was apparently, she had flung around there, tore my uterus down to the cervix and then they needed to call in a specialized team to come in and resolve that problem that they had created. The surgery went on for a number of hours and it was a very challenging surgery. I wanted to crawl out of my body essentially because I had been laying there for so long. It was just a horrible experience. I was reunited with my baby. She was born at 6:30. I was reunited with them at about 12:00 at night, so I had been in labor from 4:00 in the morning and then I was breastfeeding her because my husband advocated for her to be breastfed. So that meant that she had her sugars checked. They were fine, so they were happy for her to wait for me. I was really, really glad that my husband advocated for me. I was so tired when I got out of surgery and I was back in this hot room. I was sweating profusely. There was no aircon. Some of the rooms, even though it was new, didn't have aircon. I ended up in a room with no aircon and it was so hot. I had to have a midwife stay with me and do observations every 15 minutes to check me. I didn't end up in the ICU, but I lost 3.1 liters of blood. I had blood transfusions in the surgery, all of the stuff in the surgery to keep me awake, and all of that. I really wanted to go under, but they wouldn't put me under because I had been eating. It wasn't a great experience and I came out very traumatized from that experience. I ended up having PTSD with flashbacks. I was crying for months. I felt broken. They told me to never have a vaginal birth again, and that I could have two more babies so that was amazing. I was like, “Well, you must have done a good job if you think I could have two more,” but they must be born Cesarean. I was like, “Okay, no problems.” I was so grateful to be alive after that experience. I was trying to make sense of what had happened. The next few years, that was my mission to try to make sense because I've gone from a space of you're not allowed to have a vaginal birth to what happened, trying to understand what happened, and then planning our future because we wanted four children total. So I almost never had any more children. For 6-12 months, I was done. I was never going to go through that again. I was a broken person. I was really struggling, but I trained as a postpartum doula and I started to want to help women in breastfeeding and the things that I knew that I could support because I ended up breastfeeding that baby for 12 months and I felt like a success at that regard. I learned a lot about breastfeeding. I wanted to share my voice and help women, but I wasn't well enough to help women in the birth space because I felt like a failure. I was trying to learn and I wanted to be in a space where I felt safe. This was trauma and challenges were happening and this was me being able to help people and make a positive out of a negative essentially. And then I found you guys. I found your podcast and I was like, “This is amazing,” because you were the first place that was promoting VBAC after two Cesareans. Back then, nobody was having VBAC after two Cesareans let alone multiple now that we see happening. I think a lot of it has to do with your podcast because when you hear women's stories and you hear the statistics and you can actually hear other women doing it, that was the start of me getting hope and realizing that there was another way. Meagan: Oh, that just gave me the chills. Ashley: Thank you so much for your podcast. Meagan: I have a sweater on right now, but literally it just went up my arm. Ashley: Awesome. It is really nice to know that if I didn't come across your podcast, I probably wouldn't have taken that next step, so it is life-changing to hear other women's stories and have that resource. The fact that you guys had the stats and everything, I was very much in the stats trying to move through special scars. I eventually had gone onto Special Scars, Special Hope. Meagan: Such a good group. Ashley: Yeah, so amazing and started to connect with other women who were having worse scars than me. They were birthing on classical scars. I was like, holy moly. I think it was ACOG or maybe RANZ of New Zealand and Australia. They said it was okay to labor on a scar like mine because I had a vertical scar down to my cervix. That's the low-risk special scar. I was like, “If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.” Look at these people saying that. All of the obstetricians that I had spoken to because I had a meeting with an obstetrician. I had met with so many midwives who knew about the system. They said to me, “Look. They are going to be petrified of you coming to the system.” It was really good to get that feedback and from my own experience, they wouldn't allow me to have a VBAC let alone a VBAC after two Cesareans with a special scar and high BMI. I started to really try to uncover, so I met with an obstetrician from that hospital and she basically said to me, “Look, you're a square peg trying to fit in a round hole or a round peg in a square hole.” I looked at her. I didn't understand that. I had never that and I have never been referred to as that kind of person. I quite like doing what normal people do. I was looking at her. I'm like, “What are you talking about?” She just said to me, “Basically, I ended up with this surgery because the surgery who was working had decided that because of my weight, that that was all that I was capable of or that was the path that I was going through.” That was really the first time that I've felt like my weight has actually held me back or I've been discriminated against. When I look back at the fact of how I was treated and the conversations I was having, it was obvious that it was happening the whole way through, I just was so naive to it that it was happening in my face and I didn't even realize it because the thing is that I understand that being of high weight can put you at risk for all of these things. I'm looking at it from their point of view, but I'm not actually sometimes looking at it from Ashley's point of view. I understand their concern and I understood all of the medical stuff because I had listened to them. I had asked questions. I had read their policies for obese people. I understood that it was discrimination. I didn't understand it at the time. I didn't understand that they probably weren't seeing me as a human as maybe they would have if I was a skinny version of myself. We probably would have had a different conversation. They probably would have been cheering me on and holding my hand and saying, “You're an amazing VBAC candidate. We support you. We probably still want to do all of these things to you, but we're not going to kick you out of hospital.” That's the difference when I hear women's stories. Oh, she's allowed to get in the water bath and she's allowed to have a beautiful birth. She doesn't have to bend over backward and do a cartwheel and it's because she looks a certain way or she was really lucky because she got an obstetrician that was amazing. There are all of these things that have to line up. That's what has propelled me on my journey to find home birth as an option. Meagan: Home birth, home birth. So you talked about stats. You were on this mission of stats, so you went out and you found the stats about VBAC after multiple Cesareans, two Cesareans, special scars, found some stuff, said, “Okay, this seems acceptable,” and then you started a home birth. Based off of your own research, for you, you felt completely comfortable starting this journey. Ashley: No, I didn't. Meagan: Okay. Ashley: I didn't. I mean, I had to work through the fears with the stats and I was comfortable with home birth and the idea of home birth. I understood that home birth was as safe as birthing in a hospital and I understood that if I was birthing with a midwife I would have a medical person with me. Now, the next challenge that came for me was that I couldn't find a home birth midwife who would support me. I feel like I leveled up. I was leveling up the whole time. It was like, now you've got a VBA2C. Now you've got a special scar. Let's work through this. What do I feel comfortable with? What am I willing to take on? Okay, okay. That's doable. That's doable. I can work through that. What's the next thing? Oh yeah, the next thing is this. Okay, what am I going to do with that? A home birth. Okay, a home birth feels like a safe option. I can do this. I can do that. I can do that. Okay, that's going to be the best thing for me. I'm not going to go back to hospital. Meagan: I love that you said that. I can do this. I'm comfortable with this. You kind of have to go through that with anything. In life in general, but especially with this birth, you went through it and you were like, “Okay, yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Okay. Now, here I am.” Ashley: Yeah and I was seeing a psychologist at the time for all of the things to help me lose weight actually. My GP, I wanted to lose weight. I've been overweight my whole life. I wanted to lose weight. I went to a nutritionist and she was like, “You know everything. I think it's emotional.” I've got childhood stuff going on. I worked with him and I said, “The way that I feel about the hospital system, is this right?” He's normalizing my experience for me and saying, “You're perfectly normal.” I'm trying to say, “Am I having a trauma response here? I don't want to go into a home birth because I'm having a trauma response,” because the obstetrician said to me, one of them, she's like– she wasn't the best obstetrician for the debrief. She said to me, “You've got a risk of special scar, a 7% rupture rate.” I said, “That's a little bit different from what I found in Special Scars, Special Hope where they are looking at women.” I said, “Have you got any statistics?” She's like, “No.” I'm like, “So how can I trust that what you're saying is correct then?”Meagan: Well then, where'd you get 7%?Ashley: Exactly. She's like, “Look, if you find any doctor who's willing to support you, then they're not the doctor for you. I'm telling you what is the safest thing for you.” I was challenging her because at this point, I'm angry. I'm so done. I'm so done. I've just been through hell because of you people and I want to get information. I don't want to hear your judgments. She said to me, “If you find a doctor, then basically they're not right. They're doing the wrong thing.” I said, “So you're the best doctor in the whole world? You know everything right? You're the best and you know the best then? So if I find another doctor who says yes then they're wrong and you're right, that's what you're saying?” She was just looking at me. She was like, “I just feel like what you're going to do is you're going to keep looking until you're going to find someone and then you're going to put yourself at risk.”I'm like, “That is exactly what I'm going to do.” Meagan: You're like, “Well, I'm glad you feel that way.” Ashley: I should have sent her a postcard after my free birth and said, “I freebirthed. Thank you for driving me to this.” It is amazing the conversations you have when you really do have conversations. You can see where they're coming from and how very different their views are. Some of the fears and worries that they have are not about you and your baby. They are about themselves and their career, but the information I didn't know about her was that she was actually the head of obstetrics and she just lost her title and her job. She'd been bumped down. The reason why I went to her was because she supported breech birth in hospital and she was very vaginal friendly. She did support me. She was the consultant I saw on the paperwork that supported me to have a vaginal birth, but in the timeframe of me organizing to meet up with her, the information that I didn't know that I found out later was that she lost her job because she had supported somebody to have a breech and there was a poor outcome that the parents accepted, but somebody else had basically complained about. The only thing is that breech is so risky they say even though it's not. She's one of the radical obstetricians so she had been punished and so she was coming from a space of where she was. It's really important to know that information. You never know where they are in their career or how they are feeling, so she might have been really bitter at the time and negative and feeling like there was doom and gloom in the world. It was really shameful when I was speaking to my doula friends and they were like, “Oh really? She was so amazing.” I'm like, “Yeah, well maybe she is amazing but not for people like me. Maybe she supports this person because they've got a thin body and because of me, she's like, ‘No. I wouldn't touch you with a 10-foot pole,'” because it's too risky for her and for her job also. They are up against it as well in the system and that's something I have learned. My next mission was that I needed to find a midwife who was going to bat for me, not somebody who was going to be worried about losing their career because they come after the midwives too that are home birthing. So I had gone to the free birth podcast as well and I was listening to their stories. I was like, “They're a bit out there for me. I'm not brave enough to do that. That's a bit radical.” Eventually, my husband was the one that talked me into a free birth when we couldn't have a midwife to support me. It

We are back baby!!! After my mat leave hiatus, it's only fitting that my first ep back features the story of how I manifested my dream home birth, all the way down to the amount of hours. Shocking, I know!In this positive birth story episode, you'll hear about:how it all went down...from the beginning to end!the steps I took to mentally prepare for labourwhat helped me manifest the labour of my dreamsLinks:Podcast ft. Dr. Sarah Buckley re: birth hormones: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6vM37HpWm4rnNGtI7IJEWu?si=IbXV9K4DQUiCWG3lhwusWAVancouver Doula: https://insighttimer.com/sharonmundy/guided-meditations/birth-affirmations-2Positive Birth Affirmations: https://insighttimer.com/sharonmundy/guided-meditations/birth-affirmations-2 JOIN BOOK BADDIES FOR FREE NOW! https://view.flodesk.com/pages/638ddf7e08af91d6ddfdfa3a 

What would you do to get the birth you want? Change plans at 33 weeks, talk to different providers, get your partner on board? These are all themes of today's story with Kseniya Gadh. Her first birth was a bad experience in the hospital. For her second birth, she switched to a home birth plan around 33 weeks, even with circumstances like gestational diabetes and previous preeclampsia. Kseniya is an example of pushing for the birth you want, despite odds being against you. Things we talk about in this episode: Gestational Diabetes Preeclampsia Switching care providers Craniosacral therapy Challenges with the birth pool Links From The Episode: Happy Belly Pregnancy program: https://happybellypregnancy.com/ Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Dr. Sarah Buckley: https://amzn.to/3sEPQIZ Business of Being Born: https://www.thebusinessof.life/   Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order or DIAH100 for $100 off a Complete Plan   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: https://diahpodcast.com/merch Give Back to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9

10.11: Kate Ellis, artistic director of Crash Ensemble, talks through their 25th anniversary celebrations, involving a new album, [REACTIONS], an installation, and a couple of shows at the NCH (more info below). Plus we talk about Kate's journey to this point, how a tap on the shoulder as she was walking down Grafton Street changed everything for her. We hear three Crash tracks from [REACTIONS]: One Day, This is the Space Between Your Hand and Mine, and Stone or Rot. New music section 53.29: Moesha - Drag https://youtu.be/FbdfnLpV8aI 58.27: Sarah Buckley - Dream Catching https://sarahbuckleymusic.bandcamp.com/ More information on Crash Ensemble's 25th anniversary celebrations: [REACTIONS] limited edition double album release and film screenings Amidst the onset of the global pandemic, Crash Ensemble commissioned 17 Irish and international composers from a range of musical backgrounds to write new works for duos within the group. Building on existing collaborative partnerships and cultivating and nurturing new relationships, composers were invited to create a musical response to their experiences, the current state and their thoughts for the future. The [REACTIONS] composers are: Amy Rooney, Anna Mieke, Anna Murray, Anselm McDonnell, Bébhinn McDonnell, Bekah Simms, David Fennessy, Deirdre Gribbin, Diamanda Dramm, Éna Brennan, Jonathan Nangle, Rachael Lavelle, Rose Connolly, Seán Ó'Dálaigh, Sebastian Adams, Siobhán Cleary, and Stephen Shannon. Each composer documented their creative process with text and imagery, offering a fly on the wall view of the composers' studio spaces, visual imagery and text journaling during the creative process. The duos were recorded and will now be presented in a limited-edition double album release [REACTIONS], coming November 25th. Audio visual material was combined with these recordings to make an accompanying film by Crash's resident filmmaker, Laura Sheeran, which will be screened at The Irish Film Institute, Wednesday 30th November 2022. Performances at The National Concert Hall The 25th year anniversary programme culminates with two special concerts and a cutting-edge installation at the National Concert Hall (NCH). The first celebratory concert, Crash 25! Charged Disruption, on Saturday 3rd December (The Studio) sees the acclaimed ensemble, with conductor Ryan McAdams, perform Donnacha Dennehy's magnetic, soulful and influential work Grá agas Bás with vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird. In the second part of the concert Artist in Residence Diamanda La Berge Dramm and writer Neva Elliot present Crashed, drawing on the unique energy of the players of the group, through the use of their voices and instruments. For the second birthday concert, Crash 25! Living Perspectives, on Sunday 4th December (The Studio) the ensemble's programme comprises Australian composer Liza Lim's Extinction Events and Dawn Chorus and Barry O'Halpin's experimental work Wingform, which takes advantage of Crash's unique ability to cover a breadth of musical ground: winding melodies, mechanical rhythms, rapid lines and hypnotic drones. The previous week, from Thursday 24th November to Sunday 27th November, The Studio space in the National Concert Hall hosts Crash 25! Wingform Installation. The installation is the work of video artist and filmmaker Jack Phelan who created a work responding to the visual themes of Irish composer, Barry O'Halpin's Wingform - a four movement work for solo guitar and ensemble. Using a simple set of shapes, materials and layout, the installation aims to evoke the essence of the ensemble. Tickets for Crash 25! Charged Disruption (3rd December) and Crash 25! Living Perspectives (4th December): €18 are available from nch.ie

The amount of value, wisdom, and information provided in this interview is truly out of this world.Today, we have the incredible Dr. Sarah Buckley, a family physician with obstetric training and a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland,, where her research is focused on oxytocin and the autonomic nervous system in labor and birth.We go deep into the current research on oxytocin as it relates to labor, birth, attachment, motherhood, and well beyond. We also discuss the hormonal gaps that result from interventions, and how we can improve outcomes across the board.****For more juicy tips, information, and links you absolutely want to check out, go to https://postpartumu.com/postpartum-university-podcast-ep82/ for more!

Today I'm giving you the DL on homebirth. I'm going deep in this episode to chat about why I chose homebirth, its benefits, and so much more! My labour with Leo was truly amazing, and I want to share with women so they can feel empowered in their choices around birthToday's Lessons Include:

What is a doula, and why is it essential to have one? In this episode, Debra shares her insights on the role of doulas in childbirth. When we look back historically, it is apparent that female companions during birth, now known as “doulas” were a significant part of the calm, connection and safety for birthing people. Doulas supported others prenatally, and during labor, birth and postpartum. .  Research shows  that  a doula plays an active role in helping to shorten labor, decrease cesarean births  and makes birth easier and more satisfying for both mother and baby. Doulas have many benefits for a woman during labor and postpartum, but there are not enough of them in the birthing space. Listen in as Debra discusses how doulas are the missing link in maternity care, and how they can help amplify the voice of the birthing people  facilitating informed decision making.  In this episode: Doulas offer emotional and physical support during labor and postpartum. Continuous support during labor is beneficial for both mother and baby. Doulas are a valuable resource for pregnant women and new parents. They offer support, information and companionship to birthing people. There are many benefits to having a doula during childbirth and postpartum, but not enough doulas are available in the space. Although the medical model can provide benefits, without careful planning, birth often becomes more of a “medical emergency” or “procedure” instead of the honoring of the emotional, physical and spiritual process that birth holds.  Listen to episode 4 with Dr. Sarah Buckley to learn about childbirth hormones! Doulas add to the privacy and comfort of childbirth. They make a difference in the outcomes for the birthing woman and her partner. Visit https://www.dona.org/ for a guide on understanding the roles of a doula and how to find one. Doulas are a missing link in maternity care, and as states and employers see the benefits for MotherBaby-Family, they are beginning to include these services in their benefits.  Doulas are recommended as a  part of global initiatives to provide Safe and Respectful Care such as the www.icichildbirth.org  Have you had a doula at birth? Tell us about your journey @orgasmicbirth! Interested in becoming a doula? Visit our website at https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/dona-birth-doula-training/ and  download our free guide to becoming a doula at https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/become-a-doula/    Key Takeaways: Emotional support equals physical wellbeing There is no risk in hiring a doula - it should be highly considered Having a doula can help reduce fear, provide comfort and increases satisfaction in childbirth  Fear in labor will slow or stop labor Doulas add to the privacy and the connection with your partner Having a doula amplifies your voice to ensure you are heard and respected Collaboration for birth is best for all - doulas add care   Tweetable Quotes: "With the transition to a medical model and hospitals, there have been benefits, but also much has been lost, including the roles, skills, and wisdom of support and companionship in birth and postpartum." - Debra Pascali Bonaro   "Fear in  labor is designed to slow or stop labor, so it will be longer and harder if the laboring woman does not feel private, safe, and unobserved." - Debra Pascali Bonaro   "Consider having a doula with the knowledge of comfort measures to help you make informed decisions by facilitating communication between you, your doctor, midwife, nurse, and care team. They'll help you to amplify your voice to ensure you're heard and respected and can benefit you, your partner, and your birth." - Debra Pascali Bonaro Connect with Debra! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debra.pascalibonaro  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/orgasmicbirth/  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-pascali-bonaro-1093471/  Visit https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/ for more information on how to have fulfilling and enjoyable births and check out Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret, the film creating buzz around the world!   Orgasmic Birth Podcast: Pleasure in pregnancy, birth and parenting. I believe pleasure is our birthright - from our sexuality, birth, parenting and beyond, we can find pleasure when we create space for joy and intimacy in our lives. Join me to have deep conversations about breaking the taboos of Sexuality + Motherhood/Parenthood.  Listen to leading experts in sexuality, healing and childbirth as well as stories from new parents, doulas, doctors, midwives and nurses. We will discuss how to positively prepare for childbirth and parenting by expanding love and intimacy in your life. 

How significant is the role of oxytocin in our bodies during labor and after birth? Dr. Sarah Buckley joined us in Episode 4 to talk about the hormones of Love, Sex and Childbirth. Today, Dr. Buckley is back to get in-depth on the roles of hormones when interventions are needed and on how to fill the hormonal gap in labor and after birth. Today is essential information to help you make informed decisions about induction and understand the differences between natural and synthetic oxytocin.  Dr. Sarah Buckley is trained as a GP (family physician) with qualifications in GP obstetrics. She has been writing and lecturing to childbirth professionals and parents since 1997 and is the author of the internationally best-selling book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering. Sarah has a special interest in the hormones of physiological labor and birth and the impacts of interventions. In 2015 she completed an extensive report on this topic, Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing, published with Childbirth Connection (US). She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland, researching oxytocin in labor and birth and the impacts of maternity-care interventions. She has co-authored several papers on oxytocin in labor, birth, and breastfeeding. Sarah is also the mother of four children, all born at home and now in their teenage years and beyond. She lives on the semi-rural outskirts of Brisbane. In this episode: Hormones of labor and birth include oxytocin, which is responsible for contractions, pain relief, stress reduction, and reward and pleasure activation. Oxytocin is released in the brain during labor and breastfeeding, and it helps reduce stress, and switch on dopamine receptors. Interventions in childbirth can create hormonal gaps that impact sexual arousal, orgasm, and breastfeeding. Having a birth companion, such as a midwife or doula, can help birthing moms feel safer and more secure. Low doses of oxytocin infusions do not increase the mother's oxytocin levels much above what she would naturally produce in labor. When doses get high, synthetic oxytocin could counteract the calming and natural pain relief, causing stress for the mother. Hypoxia (low oxygen levels for the baby) is inevitable during labor and babies have evolved mechanisms to protect themselves. Synthetic oxytocin can cause strong contractions to be closer together and compromise the baby's ability to cope. The physiological onset of labor is a complex process that is influenced by many different factors, including hormones. If labor is induced, the mother's readiness is not as high and she may need to use more stimulating methods to induce labor. Epidurals can interfere with the hormones that are necessary for the onset of labor, leading to a slower or even stop in the process. Skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding are important ways to fill in the gap.   Key Takeaways: Oxytocin, the well-known hormone of labor and birth, is susceptible to hormonal gaps A private and safe space is needed to release oxytocin Being in an unfamiliar place can make labor slow down Labor is designed to overall be a positive experience Be wary of synthetic oxytocin as it may disrupt hormonal balance When the mother is not ready to induce labor, stimulating methods are needed The hormonal gap needs to be filled after birth to help the mother and baby reconnect   Tweetable Quotes:   “Labor is designed to overall be a positive experience.” - Dr. Sarah Buckley   “Both skin-to-skin contact and suckling is the magic ingredient for the hour after birth, it's going to help both mother and baby to release oxytocin and reconnect.” - Dr. Sarah Buckley   There are signals that pass between mother and baby that they are ready for labor, they are coordinated. Preparation for labor includes a dramatic increase in oxytocin receptors in the uterus. The mother's uterus becomes very sensitive to oxytocin in the lead up to labor so in her natural physiologic onset she doesn't need to produce much oxytocin to trigger contractions   but when being induced it's a different scenario you don't have that peak readiness    Connect with Dr. Sarah Buckley!   Website: https://sarahbuckley.com/  Connect with Debra!   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debra.pascalibonaro  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orgasmicbirth/  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-pascali-bonaro-1093471/  Visit https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/ for more information on how to have fulfilling and enjoyable births. Check out the film Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret, the film creating buzz around the world! Orgasmic Birth Podcast: Pleasure in pregnancy, birth, and parenting. I believe pleasure is our birthright - from our sexuality, birth, parenting, and beyond, we can find pleasure when we create space for joy and intimacy in our lives. Join me to have deep conversations about breaking the taboos of Sexuality + Motherhood/Parenthood.    Listen to leading experts in sexuality, healing, and childbirth as well as stories from new parents, doulas, doctors, midwives, and nurses. We will discuss how to positively prepare for childbirth and parenting by expanding love and intimacy in your life. 

Dr. Sarah Buckley really need no introduction but for those of you who are yet to come across her work, she is a New Zealand-trained family physician with additional qualifications in obstetrics and family planning. She is the mother of four home-born children, and currently combines motherhood with her work as a writer on pregnancy, birth and parenting. Her book, Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering has played a huge role in my life and today we really just touch the surface of Sarah's work, exploring oxytocin and just how importance our hormone physiology is during labour. This is an incredible episode that takes a deep dive into birth as a neuro-psycho-social event and allows us to consider how this can continue to motherhood and beyond.  Head to https://www.stephlowe.com/podcasts/381 for show notes, episode transcripts and more.

Hormones play a huge part in our bodies and because of this, one of the things we can do is make sure in the early stages of labor, women are as comfortable as possible.   How do we ensure that our hormones help to facilitate successful labor and birth?   Dr. Sarah Buckley talks about the changes that occur in the brain during labor and birth, how hormones play a role, and how oxytocin levels are highest near the end of labor.Dr. Sarah Buckley is trained as a GP (family physician) with qualifications in GP obstetrics. She has been writing and lecturing to childbirth professionals and parents since 1997 and is the author of the internationally best-selling book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering. Sarah has a special interest in the hormones of physiological labor and birth and the impacts of interventions. In 2015 she completed an extensive report on this topic, Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing, published with Childbirth Connection (US). She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland, researching oxytocin in labor and birth and the impacts of maternity-care interventions. She has co-authored several papers on oxytocin in labor, birth, and breastfeeding. Sarah is also the mother of four children, all born at home and now in their teenage years and beyond. She lives on the semi-rural outskirts of Brisbane. In this episode: Sarah talks about her unexpectedly fast home birth, which she describes in further detail in her book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering. The foundation of hormonal physiology is that first, it's designed for us to conduct successful birth. We're perfectly designed for a successful labor and birth. Sarah explains that oxytocin is responsible for inducing labor, increasing the sensitivity of the uterus to contract, and causing an "ecstatic" and "orgasmic" feeling. Labor is a process that involves many preparations, including the mother's body being maximally sensitive to oxytocin in her uterus, babies also having peak oxytocin levels, and the whole process of oxytocin being magical.  Hugs, touches, and sexual activity can help to get labor started and help women get into an adequate state of readiness. Oxytocin has a pain-relieving and calming effect on the body.   Key Takeaways: The presence of oxytocin during the labor process contributes to the magical feeling Doulas can help by ensuring good oxytocin flow Sexual activities can promote the release of your own oxytocin Tweetable Quotes: “The hormonal processes of labor and birth are actually designed to change our brains.” - Sarah Buckley   “The foundation of hormonal physiology is that it's designed to be successful. Birth has evolved to be successful.” - Sarah Buckley    Connect with Sarah:  Website: https://sarahbuckley.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-j-buckley-51ab1316/?originalSubdomain=au    Connect with Debra!   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debra.pascalibonaro Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orgasmicbirth/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-pascali-bonaro-1093471/ Visit https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/ for more information on how to have fulfilling and enjoyable births. Check out the film Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret, the film creating buzz around the World!   Orgasmic Birth Podcast: Pleasure in pregnancy, birth, and parenting. I believe pleasure is our birthright - from our sexuality, birth, parenting, and beyond, we can find pleasure when we create space for joy and intimacy in our lives. Join me to have deep conversations about breaking the taboos of Sexuality + Motherhood/Parenthood.    Listen to leading experts in sexuality, healing, and childbirth as well as stories from new parents, doulas, doctors, midwives, and nurses. We will discuss how to positively prepare for childbirth and parenting by expanding love and intimacy in your life. 

S3 EP69: Today's episode features the undisturbed homebirth of Luca. After hearing Dr Sarah Buckley's episode on PBA, Alex knew she needed to work on the fears and limiting beliefs she had around birth. Diving deep into physiological birth, she slowly entered the birth portal feeling empowered by the knowledge she gained and primed for her journey to the stars to collect her baby. Alex details the work she put in and how, once in labour, she was able to go so deeply within that those present in her birth space hadn't noticed she had effortlessly birthed her son. Show links: Instagram: @al3xandra_louise Midwives: Flinders MGP Doula: @sonjanewtondoula Birth Education: Birth Blueprint, Calm Birth Course Books: Ina May Gaskin, Rhea Dempsey Birth video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z5tXeIGmKg created by @thededicateddoula

How fragile are you? Tune in to this episode to learn about what it means to gain true strength and be anti-fragile. Sarah Buckley and Andrew Kassen, owners of Prevail Strength x Movement, discuss their mission to create a community of like minded people who seek more abundant living through greater strength and better movement. Sarah and Andrew share their own personal experience with strength training and how they embody this in their everyday lives. From becoming a professional Powerlifter to practicing Parkour, these two are full of knowledge and wisdom that we can all benefit from. Prevail Website Follow Prevail on Instagram Follow Evie on Instagram Holistically Restored Website Holistically Restored YouTube

Sarah Buckley who is a yoga teacher & mindset coach. She helps women to stop feeling stuck through mindset and movement so they gain confidence in uncovering their potential and live their best lives. We had the pleasure of talking all things from health & strength training to mindset to spiritual growth with Sarah. We are excited to share this episode with you all!  

In today's episode, I sat down with Oceana Hazut, a woman and a mother walking the path least traveled, as most would say! Oceana has spent the majority of her life learning about natural women's medicine, rituals and traditions of the womb, and healing ancestral lineages. She had always felt a deep calling to become a birth worker, and once she transitioned into motherhood herself, she began pursuing her work as a Holistic Childbirth educator. In this episode we dive into her motherhood journey, her birth story, the work she does with mothers, ancestral birthing and what that really means, as well as the natural hormonal physiology of birth - a topic which is extremely fascinating - and so much more! Oceana is a woman that walks the talk, and holds so much experiential wisdom. Having her on the podcast was such an honor, and I am so grateful to share this episode with you today! Enjoy! You can connect with Oceana on: Instagram: @Sacred.Earth.Motherhood Resources Oceana mentioned: - Dr. Sarah Buckley: https://sarahbuckley.com/ - Dr. Rachel Reed: https://midwifethinking.com/ - The Midwives Cauldron Podcast: https://themidwivescauldron.buzzsprout.com/ - Evidence based birth: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thank you for being here, I am so grateful for you! With love & light, V Make sure to subscribe and leave a review if you are enjoying the podcast! Connect with us: @mamamindfulco www.mamamindfulco.com

Martina is a Mum of 3 crazy, fun, loving and uber cheeky kids! She is a midwife, runs Calmbirth courses, and has just completed her IBCLC certification. She offers her full spectrum services through her business, Hey Baby! Birth & Breastfeeding Support. In this episode Martina shares the stories of her three beautiful homebirths and her breastfeeding journey through her baby raising years. She brings a unique perspective through her expertise in all things birth and breastfeeding!   Martina recommends: Birth with Confidence by Rhea Dempsey. Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah Buckley. Give Birth like a Feminist by Milli Hill. The Midwives Cauldron podcast The Aware Parenting Podcast And this Episode of Rockstar Birth Magazine with Sarah Buckley: https://podtail.com/da/podcast/rockstar-birth-radio/ep02-dr-sarah-buckley-undisturbed-birth/   You can find Martina on instagram here.   Support Keep Birth Wild on Patreon here.

3 Steps To Change Your Life >> www.livemyhappyhealth.com  Instagram: @Amanda_Chils_Therapist Your intuition is built through connection to your body, and you connect to your body through movement and mindfulness. If you want to manifest your potential and really live IN your life, then you need a connection to your body. Once you create a relationship with your body, you break through mental barriers and hit your goals. Sarah coaches women to take aligned action using mindset, mindfulness and movement.

Janelle and her husband are farmers, growing avocados, beef cattle and a market garden. She is religious and after many years of feeling that she may not want children, she left the decision to start a family to God, and conceived not long after. In this episode she shares the story of her pregnancy and birth with her son. Janelle's birth was overall a positive and life changing experience. Her favourite books she would recommend for expecting parents are Sarah Buckley's Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering and Rhea Dempsey's Birth With Confidence.

In today's episode, I chatted with Sarah Buckley. Sarah is a mindset coach and yoga teacher that specializes in helping women (especially moms) find their voice, stop feeling stuck and get in touch with what they REALLY want.  If you feel stuck in a routine or like you're just going through the motions, and ready to feel JOY, this episode is for YOU! Connect with Sarah on IG: https://www.instagram.com/_sarahbuckley/  Sarah's website: https://alternativemoves.com It's Good Enough, Mama Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/441323883888006 Connect with ME on IG: https://www.instagram.com/saraolszewski/ https://www.saraolszewski.com     

Host Megan Fairhall is back to talk us through how she has implemented Dr Zainab's top tips into her day-to-day life. The Live to Smile podcast is all about promoting small, actionable steps towards wellness.  In episode 4, dentistry specialist Megan discusses breaking away from social media stereotypes, filling her cup first, and what to look out for if you are concerned about enamel erosion. Skin expert Sarah Buckley also drops in to dispel some of the myths about skin management. In this hour, she talks about everything from managing your skin over 30, which products promote cell turnover, and keeping sebum under control. This episode covers:The effectiveness of Dr Zainab's top tipsDo you really need lip fillers?Skin over 30 Pressure for perfectionismSebum controlHow to promote cell turnover Buy products mentioned: http://bit.ly/livetosmilepodLinks and references at: https://www.livetosmile.co.uk/podcast/Connect with Megan: https://www.instagram.com/meganfairhall_/Connect with Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/facepro_clinic/The Live to Smile Podcast is sponsored by Philips. Philips' mission is to make the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation with the goal of improving the lives of 2.5 billion people a year by the year 2030. These are meaningful innovations that help people to be healthy, live well and enjoy life, considering their entire health journey and believing that there is always a way to make life better. 

In this episode, Maha Al Musa, founder and creator of BellydanceBirth® and EmbodyBirthᵀᴹ shares her passion and advocacy for an expansion and reclaiming of what birth can mean, and how we as mothers experience and make meaning of our births. Maha is of Palestinian/Lebanese origin and draws on her cultural, ancestral, and mothering wisdom to teach her signature childbirth education and preparation programs for mothers-to-be and birth professionals. In the episode she shares part of her life story in being kidnapped as a baby and her connection to land and culture severed, and her amazing story of reconnection, right before she became a mother herself. Maha speaks about fear and patriarchy, the divisions that have been created between women when it comes to birth and motherhood, the rites of passage she has experienced through menopause and the powerful and revolutionary connections to be fostered between generations of women. . . . Maha is the author of Dance of the Womb: The Essential Guide to Belly Dance for Pregnancy and Birth book, endorsed by Dr Michel Odent, Sheila Kitzinger, Dr Sarah Buckley and the creator of the follow on BellydanceBirth® Practice Video Series (Dance of the Womb: A Gentle Guide to Belly Dance for Pregnancy and Birth). You can find her on Instagram @maha_al_musa Facebook at - https://www.facebook.com/mahaalmusabirthvisionary Maha's website: mahaalmusa.com Online program: https://sales.mahaalmusa.com/embodybirth Virtual training: https://mahaalmusa.kartra.com/page/virtualtraining

On today's show I have the privilege of interviewing Dr Sarah J. Buckley. Dr Buckley is trained as a GP with qualifications in GP obstetrics and has been writing and lecturing to childbirth professionals and parents since 1997. She is also the author of the international best-selling book "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering" - which is available for purchase on the PBA website. Dr Buckley is well known for her groundbreaking report "Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing", the product of her ongoing interest and research on the hormones of labour and birth. Coming from a long line of GP's, she was influenced by her own experiences working in hospitals and by what she noticed with the birthing women there. Today we chat about her own four beautiful homebirths, diving deep into the hormonal blueprint of labour and birth, what types of things can interrupt that hormonal flow, and how we can fill in these hormonal gaps. Website: www.sarahbuckley.com Instagram: @sarahjbuckley Resources: Hormonal Physiology report: https://sarahbuckley.com/whats-so-great-about-hormonal-physiology/ BUY her book here: https://www.positivebirthaustralia.com/collections/all-products/products/pre-order-for-delivery-from-june-22nd-gentle-birth-gentle-mothering-by-dr-sarah-j-buckley

In this conversation, Dr Sarah Buckley, Ms Karen McClay and Dr Pamela Douglas discuss what you might do to prepare for birth, and what you might expect. In the extraordinary passageway of birth, our mind, body, and spirit embark upon a liminal journey, a heroic journey of great significance in most women's lives. Sarah and Karen draw on their formidable knowledge of the Australian health system and women's birth experiences to help you navigate your own way through, so that you feel confident and empowered. Dr Sarah Buckley is a GP with qualifications in GP-obstetrics and family planning (www.sarahbuckley.com). She is author of the bestselling book http://www.sarahbuckley.com/gentle-birth-gentle-mothering/ (Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices). Sarah has an ongoing interest in the hormones of labour and birth, which culminated in her groundbreaking report http://transform.childbirthconnection.org/reports/physiology/ (Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing )(2015 Childbirth Connection, a program of the National Partnership for Women and Families). She has presented at over 120 workshops and conferences in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the UK, the US and Canada. Sarah is also a PhD candidate at the https://www.uq.edu.au/ (University of Queensland,) where her research is focused on oxytocin and the autonomic nervous system in labour and birth, and the impacts of interventions. Ms Karen McClay is an experienced midwife and the Director of Calmbirth (http://www.calmbirth.com.au/ (www.calmbirth.com.au)). Calmbirth was the first Australian childbirth education program to recognise the interrelationship between mind and body in birth. Calmbirth® uses this mind-body connection to help couples replace fear, stress and anxiety about giving birth with the knowledge and skills to birth their baby calmly, fearlessly, safely and confidently. There are now about 100 registered Calmbirth educators in Australia, New Zealand, and France. Dr Pamela Douglas is a GP-researcher and https://education.possumsonline.com/ (founder of the evidence-based Neuroprotective Developmental Care (or 'Possums') programs) http://www.possumsonline.com/ (www.possumsonline.com), which offer care for new families facing breastfeeding, baby cry-fuss, and sleep challenges. All NDC programs integrate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy strategies, especially adapted by Possums for the perinatal period to support parental emotional well-being. Pam is also author of https://www.amazon.com.au/Discontented-Little-Baby-Book-ebook/dp/B00M6G1ABO (The discontented little baby book: all you need to know about feeds, sleep, and crying).  Support this podcast

Sarah Buckley, a local bikini competitor to the RVA area, joined the AON show this week! In this episode we talk about her experiences with competing, dieting, training, and her pursuit in becoming an IFBB Pro! Keep up with us all on Social! Austin- @apageman Brock- @brockcovington Griffin- @fitgriffin Sarah- @sarahbuckss Shop now-- WWW.GYMFLO.CO