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Show Notes:

[1:39] Our Reviewer of the Week is s_frye, and she said, "I have listened to this podcast during my first and second pregnancies. The second time around, I also purchased the My Essential Birth course to prepare for a “natural” delivery in a hospital setting and hired a doula. I was more prepared the second time. The podcast is wonderful and is packed full of information. However, I would recommend investing in the birth course as it gives a comprehensive, organized and sequential overview of the L&D process and how to prepare. Thank you, Stephanie and team for your amazing work to support and empower pregnant women!"

[2:38] If you are listening, and you are in your third trimester, this is 100% for you! You're going to want to write down and keep track of these tips for when you are a little bit closer, and they are things that you can certainly start doing right now as well!

[3:15] #1: The Three Free Pregnancy Exercises! They are simple....

Show Notes:

[1:56] Our Reviewer of the Week, LMPfromMI, said: "I wanted to reach out and personally thank you for all of the work that you put into your web course and podcast. I listened to your podcast every day throughout my recent pregnancy and I know that it made a significant difference in my pregnancy and labor. I am a first time mama and got to have the home birth of my dreams next to my husband, mom (and doula) and midwife. Throughout my first trimester, I was so anxious about labor and delivery and was so uneducated in all aspects of birth. Thanks to your podcast, not only was I empowered to have my baby at home, but it was unmedicated too! And despite complications and almost needing to transfer to hospital, I had so much peace and confidence throughout every contraction. My whole labor was only 9 hours, with pushing for just over one hour. My midwife said if baby hadn’t been in a posterior position, she would have missed my birth! I know not everyone...

Show Notes:

[1:34] Our Reviewer of the Week, Kaiti Klucas, says: "1 million stars!  I am 17 weeks pregnant with my first and this podcast is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for. It’s so hard to know what to trust and which ones are worth your time but as soon as I listened to the first episode I KNEW this is what I’ve been looking for. The first one I listened to was one about Unmedicated Birth, and it made me SO EXCITED. I already feel more empowered and ready to ask the right questions and figure out what’s best for me after one 50 minute episode! I look forward to my walks and down time 100x more now specifically because of this podcast. THANK YOU!!!"

[2:42] This week's episode is all about VBAC. You can birth your baby vaginally if you have had a prior cesarean, and I want to tell you why. So if you know anything about me, this is near and dear to my heart because I am a VBAC momma. Stephanie recaps her different birth experiences...

Show Notes:

[2:00] Our Reviewer of the Week, FrankiesFrolics, "Very informative and something for every mama. Lots of content given on various subjects within birthing. Non-bias and give both sides to certain scenarios to help you make decisions that suite you and the birthing needs best. Great Listen!"

[2:42] Our guest this week is David Arrell, an Executive Coach, Consultant, and the Author of Welcome To Fatherhood, which  is passion project for supporting today’s Fathers as they strive to balance their higher aspirations of genuine self expression with those of parenting and partnership. David’s Coaching programs encourage the development of deeper personal authenticity while also building stronger relationships, helping his clients thrive in today’s complex landscape of overlapping career, partnership, and parenting challenges. His Welcome To Fatherhood work is specifically designed to help new and expectant Dads better...

Show Notes:

[1:49] Our Reviewer of the Week, Jacalyn Kru, said: "Excellent Information!!! I had a at-home breach birth with my first (only 6 hr), and I was expecting some of the normal “pushing” feelings everyone talks about and was a little confused and very exhausted by the end. Everything worked out and the midwife was extremely skilled - and our baby was born safely into our home. It was very reassuring and empowering (again) to listed more of the technical details of how the breach birth works. Thank you for sharing all of the information you do!! Keep up the great work!"

02:34 - Today's topic

04:38 - How do they come up with due dates?

08:53 - Early induction?

09:58 - What if you don't know the date of your last missed period?

11:33 - Why are due dates important?

12:40 - How long is pregnancy really?

16:28 - It's just an estimate

19:59 - Why are doctors concerned about going past that due date?

24:58 - Why you should have a provider you love and trust

To...

Show Notes:

[2:31] Our Reviewer of the Week, NatKhernandez, says, "This podcast has been one of the few that have brought me some peace and overall knowledge without scaring me about pregnancy. I love the positive birth stories and the educational ones like rhogam, hemorrhages, etc. thank you and I will be joining the course for next baby!"

[2:52] Our guest today is Maren Rider, a mom of two and pregnant with her third baby and also a My Essential Birth student! She'll be sharing the birth story about her second baby!

[4:37] Maren's experience with pregnancy overall went smoothly. She had a bit of nausea, but it cleared up around 10-11 weeks. She definitely noticed that the relaxin kicked in quickly so she had some issues with her hips and threw out her back a couple times when she was in the first trimester. Maren was pregnant with what is called Irish twins, which is when a baby is born within 12 months or less of their sibling. 

...

Show Notes:

[1:30] Our Reviewer of the Week, AAL3!, says "I can’t recommend enough!!!  Your episodes always make me feel more calm about everything pregnancy related! I asked questions on Instagram and you made another episode about it to answer my questions. Thank you for always catering to the women you serve and ensuring we are informed about what is happening during pregnancy birth and postpartum. I always recommend your podcasts and the three exercises! I did the three exercises and had a fast labor and only pushed for 12 minutes with my first baby. Baby number 2 is due in July and hoping for a similar experience. Thank you again!"

[2:23] Disclaimer for this Episode: 

This episode with Dr. Stu is not what I imagined when I wrote the outline, and we began our conversation. I had lots of questions about home birth, VBAC, twins, and breech babies. As well as experiences in these settings with Dr. Stu being an OB who attended home births. I think it is so...

Show Notes:

[1:52] Our Reviewer of the Week, kayceejanaej, said, "As a first time mom I found the podcast and started binging everything Steph had to offer. I felt so prepared throughout pregnancy, labor and delivery because of her tools and recommendations. I ultimately chose to do an unmedicated birth in a low intervention labor room with an OB who followed my birth map and respected my decisions. I wouldn’t change a thing about my pregnancy, labor or delivery because of the knowledge I gained and autonomy I had throughout! I send this podcast to all of my friends when they find out they’re pregnant!"

[2:42] This is one of those topics I feel is really important to dive into! I don't know what is happening in the birth world, but you mamas are going through it. I feel like providers are just throwing it at you every direction and more and more moms seem to be just led down a path that they're not totally in love with when it's all said...

Show Notes:

[2:10] Our Reviewer of the Week, Cristina Trouy, "As a first time mom, I did so much research before we tried to conceive because I wanted to determine what kind of birth would be best for me and I wanted to prepare as best I could for pregnancy. Coming across Stephanie’s podcast was the biggest blessing! It was exactly what I needed to make an educated decision regarding what was best for me and my baby. After listening to her extensive knowledge on everything birth related, I decided that a home birth was what I wanted! I love how Stephanie takes you through the whole process of birth all the way up to what to expect postpartum. Because of this podcast, I knew how to advocate for myself, how to select a midwife, how to prepare my mind and body for birth, how to stay healthy during pregnancy…I could go on and on. She discusses almost everything you could ever need to know about birth. Because of the confidence I gained through the information in...

Show Notes:

[1:21] Our Reviewer of the Week, Chellexoxo9, said: "As a mom whose endured 6 previous back to back miscarriages, listening and being informed on pregnancy and labor is preparing me for our THRIVING baby we are about to welcome to the world in September. I’m so blessed to listen to these stories and information I need."

[2:07] Our guest is Nurse Sydney! A Canadian Labor & Delivery Nurse from Toronto. She shares educational and entertaining content about pregnancy, delivery, postpartum, and newborn care. She loves supporting women and giving them tools to advocate for themselves and their newborns. Sydney talks about how getting to see babies being brought into this world and seeing women being so powerful and strong throughout is so special. She's seen thousands of births at this point and every single time it is still special. 

[6:25] What do you pack in a hospital bag from a L&D nurse perspective? Sydney...