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Show Notes:

[1:41] Our Reviewer of the Week is Nahycnil, and she said, "This podcast and birth course helped me overcome the anxiety I had after my first birth that was filled with interventions. With all the information this podcast offers and the birth course, I was empowered and was able to have an unmedicated amazing birth experience with my second! So grateful for the My Essential Birth course and the pregnancy and birth made easy podcast. I’m obsessed with all things pregnancy and postpartum now!"

[2:44] Today's topic is definitely a hot topic. I try not to avoid these kinds of things, but I also want to come to you with really good information. We will be talking about vaccines. Know that I do my very best to give very unbiased both side information, and I know my job is done or I've done it well, if you have no idea which way I lean. The goal here is to help you know how to educate yourself. These kinds of decisions are so important for us to make on our own, and...

Show Notes:

[1:47] You are enough, and I hope that, yes, you know that. When we're going through the things that we go through to become mothers, when we're dealing with infertility, when we are growing a baby, when we are in the throes of our postpartum weeks, do we believe that we are enough?

[2:44] You are a mother. You are strong, capable, intuitive, knowledgeable, creative, and smart. You have everything that you could possibly need to be able to navigate this journey of motherhood. You absolutely do.

[3:38] You deserve respect from your birth partner, respect from the support of people around you, respect from your birth team. I want you to take that in for a second and look at yourself, look at your sweet spirit, and understand you deserve that respect. It is so important that you are treated in such a way that is respected and loved and cared for and heard. You deserve to be involved with your medical decisions.

[7:28] Good decisions are based off of good...

Show Notes:

[1:41] Our Reviewer of the Week is Graciebird97, and she said: "I have been listening to this podcast for close to a year now and have become so passionate about educating myself and others on pregnancy and birth! My husband and I have been married for a year and a half & plan to start a family within the next few years. Stephanie, your podcast has made me feel prepared & empowered for when that time comes. I can’t wait to start our family & I will definitely be taking the birth course. I have been sharing this podcast with anyone and everyone who will listen! THANK YOU!"

[2:14] Our guest this week is Kim Perry, who is a CPT, specializing in prenatal and postnatal fitness for new & expecting moms. When she was pregnant with her first daughter, she struggled to find workouts that were effective, safe and fun . . . so she created her own! Now she is a mom to 3 girls and pregnant with a baby boy! She helps thousands of women around the...

Show Notes:

[2:04] Our Reviewer of the Week, ERees307, said: "This podcast was my best resource during pregnancy! I just had my first baby and before the birth I listened to every episode of this podcast! My birth preferences went out the door when my babe was diagnosed with fetal growth restriction, and I was scheduled to be induced early. This podcast gave me the strength and knowledge to stay positive and continue forward to have the most amazing natural(ish) hospital birth. Now I have a beautiful baby girl who is as healthy as can be at 1 week old. Thank you!"

[3:01] We have a birth story fromKatelynn Monty, who lives in Michigan with her husband and son, who was born October 2022.

[3:26] Katelynn shares her overall pregnancy experience and how she knew she was pregnant before she had missed her period.

[8:41] She went to a Midwife group and tried to meet as many midwives as possible. Once she found a midwife she loved, she tried to schedule all her appointments with...

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. They are...

[1:17] Our Reviewer of the Week, kompatrit, said "So grateful for this podcast for making my unmedicated birth possible! Found this podcast at 4 weeks pregnant with an unexpected baby! I’m only 21 and had ZERO knowledge of anything birth or baby related and was so in the dark. This podcast has provided me with so much confidence and knowledge, I’m now 32 weeks and planning for an unmedicated hospital birth! Thank you so much for all your podcast and the birth course!"

[2:07] I want to talk to you about pain management options during labor because this is kind of one of those things that is out there and we kind of sort of talk about it or kind of think about it, but maybe we don't understand fully what's involved.

[3:02] What are your options? When it comes to pain management, there are things you can do that are administered in a hospital setting, and there are things you can do that are more natural coping techniques. 

[3:45] The most common pain management...

Show Notes:

[2:14] Our Reviewer of the Week, N.Schmidt4, said: "LOVE LOVE LOVE this podcast. I found this podcast later on in my pregnancy but so glad I did. We moved to a new state where we didn’t know a single person half way through my pregnancy. I was terrified know that I was going to be laboring without my momma there to support me and encourage me like she did with my other babies and had to count on my husband who while amazing in other areas was not so amazing in the lab our and delivery room. I was about 34 weeks pregnant with baby number 4 when I stumbled across this podcast while desperately looking for encouragement and tips to get me through the labor and delivery process on my upcoming birth."

[4:36] Our birth story today comes from Autumn and James Cosgrove, who are My Essential Birth graduates. Autumn describes herself as an avid podcast listener. They had their daughter, Reagan, in November 2022. 

[5:22] Autumn's overall experience was pretty...

Show Notes:

[1:32] Our Reviewer of the Week, Lulu2394, said, "As I was pregnant with my second kiddo, I started to routinely listen to this podcast. I wanted a natural birth SO bad as my first one wasn’t. I hired a doula, read natural child birth books and was glued to this podcast. On 1/19/23, I naturally delivered my sweet baby boy and have NEVER felt so great. I felt like going into this birth I knew what my options were. The MOST important thing I learned from this podcast was deep breathing, meditation. Stephanie you suggested practicing it every night and so I did. I truly feel that’s was got me through each contraction in a manageable way. Thank you!"

[2:49] Our guest this week is Dr. Casey Baker. She is a chiropractor who spends her days in practice supporting women through pregnancy and motherhood, while also working with their little ones. She opened Crescent Health Collective, a holistic collaborative clinic in her hometown of Barrie, Ontario, to...

Show Notes:

[2:14] Our Reviewer of the Week is NAHYCNIL, and she says: "So grateful for this podcast for making my unmedicated birth possible. I first heard of the My Essential Birth Podcast through someone's TikTok post and started listening to it on my commute to work around the end of second trimester/start of third trimester. It was going to be my first birth, and I knew I wanted to do it unmedicated if possible, but I had no idea what to do to prepare myself. I listened to all of the episodes that mentioned unmedicated births, and it gave me hope that not only could it be possible, but it can be a positive experience as well. I got the unmedicated birth that I wanted, and my daughter was born exactly on her due date. I absolutely love sharing my birth experience with others. Thank you, Stephanie, for your wonderful podcast."

[4:33] What is a breech baby? Early on in pregnancy, your baby has the room to flip, turn around, spin around, and somersault in your belly. Around...

Show Notes:

[2:22] Our Reviewer of the Week, ereese307, says, "Game Changer for a first birth! This podcast was my best pregnancy resource during pregnancy! I just had my first baby and before the birth, I listened to every episode of this podcast! My birth preferences went out the door when my baby was diagnosed with fetal growth restriction, and I was scheduled to be induced early. This podcast gave me the strength and knowledge to stay positive and continue forward to have the most amazing, natural-ish hospital birth. Now, I have a beautiful baby girl who is as healthy as can be at one week old."

[3:08] Mackenzie is a Labor and Delivery and Postpartum nurse. She's been working night shift for 7 years caring for new and experienced parents. During that time, she also became a mom to two little boys. After giving birth & navigating postpartum herself, she saw a need for more accessible, non judgmental, non-biased birth and postpartum education. She...