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Show Notes:

[1:59] The Reviewer of the Week is 13021310241026717, and she says, "I just found this podcast at 16 weeks pregnant and wish I would have found it sooner! These women are doing incredible work by educating and providing women a resource to learn. Love their opinions and outlooks on birth with their honest experiences. The BEST podcast on pregnancy and birth!"

[2:36] Our guest this week is Jamie Peterson, who lives in Minnesota with her husband Erik and her daughter Noa who just turned 1 in March. 

[3:15] Jamie's pregnancy experience was pretty standard with nothing super wild or crazy. She hated being pregnant. She was not one of those women who are like, "Oh my gosh, this is the best!" There were a lot of changes that people tell you about, but she wasn't actually ready for like: things she couldn't eat, her jeans didn't fit her anymore, and the extreme fatigue at the beginning. 

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[2:02] Our Reviewer of the Week is basejumping-abbeygbaby, and she said, "Stephanie (along with Courtney in early episodes) does an amazing job of laying out all of the options a birthing momma has before, during, and after pregnancy. She provides awesome information on how to choose a provider, what questions to ask, what different types of providers have to offer, pros and cons of all the different locations you can plan to give birth, how a doula can help, what is “normal” and how to know when medical interventions may truly be needed, and so much more! I listened to this entire podcast from the beginning when I found out I was expecting. I am now holding my beautiful 3-month old daughter as I write this, and I remain inspired and incredibly thankful to have this podcast as a resource. I felt empowered in the decisions that I made throughout my pregnancy, and I was able to have the home birth that I dreamed of!"

What an incredible story. Thank you so...

Show Notes:

[2:12] Our Reviewer of the Week is CoraTheFloralPreserver, and she says: “I love love love this podcast so much. My husband and I are not trying yet (hopefully soon!), but I stumbled upon this podcast trying to stay awake on a drive one night and I was immediately hooked! Stephanie (& Courtney for those older episodes) does such a good job of giving all sides to any scenario, decision, or piece of advice & truly makes learning about my body & birth so fun & exciting! I know I will end up listening to all the episodes twice— once now & again when we are pregnant!”

Please follow along! Even if you are not pregnant yet, this is the best place or one of my favorite places that you can come and listen and learn and be prepared for even getting ready to be pregnant. So thank you for leaving that review.

I polled you guys a few weeks ago about what topics you want to hear about, and prodromal labor came up several times. Let’s get...

Show Notes:

[2:08] Our Reviewer of the Week is aculls334, and she said "When I first became pregnant, labor seemed scary, intimidating, and there was so much I didn’t know. After stumbling upon this podcast, I feel confident in my knowledge and in my body! I have learned SO much and I love the approach they take of explaining pros and cons to many different aspects of birth. There are episodes on topics for just about anything pregnancy and delivery related, so I am always finding something new that sparks my interest. I am 27 weeks pregnant and hoping for an unmedicated hospital birth. This podcast has actually got me EXCITED to give birth and I am so grateful to have found it!!!" Thank you so much for your review!

[3:43] - Jake & Danielle Winter are parents to three IVF (in vitro fertilization) babies, a four-year old girl and almost two year old boys. They live in Southern California, and Danielle is part of the My Essential Birth Team. ‍

[4:51] Danielle...

 Show Notes:

[2:11] - Our Reviewer of the Week is hellotrb, and she says "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 and 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!"

Thank you for your sweet review, and I love when you guys put this stuff into action. Congratulations on your baby. That's really exciting!

[3:01] Our guest this week is Sleep & Well-Being Expert, Taylor Kulik! When it comes to baby sleep, I think it's exciting to know what's...

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We're celebrating our 200th Episode for My Essential Birth! To celebrate, Stephanie King, the host of the Pregnancy & Birth Made Easy Podcast and creator of the My Essential Birth Course AND My Essential Postpartum Course, will be sharing her birth stories (one Cesarean, one VBAC, and one home birth!) and how it impacted her to become a doula! You won't want to miss this celebration episode! 

"When it was time to have my third baby, we were moving from overseas back to the States, and the area in which we were moving had one hospital. When I called and said, Hey, this is my experience and I'm ready for another VBAC, they said, 'Nope, plan for another cesarean. We don't care that you've had a VBAC.' And I was like, no, no, no, no. I have worked too hard, too long. I know the risks and the benefits of what I am trying to do. Like that's not happening."

[1:28] - It's HERE! The My Essential Birth Postpartum Course is HERE! Whether you're pregnant, just...

Show Notes:

Our reviewer of the Week NSITT95, says: "I  found this podcast when I was about 12 week’s pregnant and binged so many episodes. This podcast gave me the enough information that I was able to recall advice and birth stories, and feel confident to listen to my body while having contractions at 33 weeks pregnant and realizing this was it. My baby was ready to meet me earth-side and wanted celebrate Mother’s Day with me. I’ve only read birth plans with my husband over short conversations, no details. I was able to get through labor with confidence because I was able to remember the stages of labor. This podcast is a MUST HAVE!!! I’m so thankful I found this podcast and that you put so much effort into giving great information, advice and making everything about pregnancy and labor relatable. I give so much credit to my confidence to this podcast. Thank you so much for changing my life and helping me welcome my sweet baby girl into this world."

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[1:11] Our Reviewer of the Week, debbielovedan, says “So thankful I found this podcast! I’m in a first time pregnancy in my 30’s, and I saw someone else mention this podcast a few weeks ago. Well, I’ve been binging it every day since. I even make my husband listen when we’re both in the car. I feel empowered when I go to my OB appointments and ask the questions. My husband and I signed up for the birth course last night, and I’m so excited to get started. Thank you for helping me feel confident in my first pregnancy!”

Thank you so much. What an excellent review! I love it.

[2:05] This week’s episode is a birth story from Valerrie Craig. She is a first time mom and has a 15 month old now. She is a life coach and a healer with Reiki and lives in San Diego. 

[3:30] Valerrie walks us through her pregnancy journey, which was overall very easy. She lives with her mother and grandmother who were jealous of her easy...

Show Notes:

[1:11] Our Reviewer of the Week is HannahBelle02, and she says, “Hi my name is Hannah and I’m currently 26 weeks pregnant and found this podcast back when me and my husband first started trying. All of the information in this podcast is easy to digest and non bias. I love hearing about all of my options for birth and learning about all the ways my partner can support me throughout. We recently began taking the My Essential Birth course and we are feeling confident and educated as we get closer to our due date. Absolutely recommend to anybody looking for ways to feel more prepared and in control of your birth no matter what that looks like for you!”

I absolutely love when I hear you guys say that you felt “confident and prepared” when it came to your birth! Whether that be medicated or unmedicated, if you have all the knowledge and information, you can make a decision that is right for you!

[2:28] Today’s topic is about preeclampsia....

Show Notes

[1:11] Our Reviewer of the Week is ashking223, and she says “I found this podcast at six weeks pregnant while bedridden due to my HG pregnancy. This has been the most helpful podcast with so much amazing information in every episode. I want to let every mom-to-be know about it. I'm 27 weeks now!”

[1:51] My guest is Gigi Vincent, a postpartum doula, newborn care specialist, and host of the Ready for Baby podcast located in Orange County, CA. She is committed to shifting the disparity between the amount of focus most families place on birth versus preparing for the fourth trimester.  She is a strong advocate of preparing for postpartum by investing in maternal support instead of fancy baby equipment. Gigi empowers families so that once your baby arrives, they can focus on resting and bonding, instead of researching or stressing. Knowing there isn’t one right way to have and raise a tiny human, Gigi works with parents as they find their way to thrive...