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Show Notes:

[2:16] Our Reviewer of the Week is Kentest, and she said, "I was planning on winging it for my first birth but I am so thankful I didn’t. I came across this podcast by chance early on in my first pregnancy and couldn’t stop listening and absorbing everything these ladies had to offer. Even though my options are slightly different being in Australia, I am so grateful to have these birthing tools and knowledge. I manage to have a beautiful unmedicated hospital water birth for my first despite having to face challenges including active contractions during early labour. I couldn’t have done it without listening to you Stephanie. I am currently pregnant with my second due near the end of August and have tuned back in to prepare myself again. Definitely hoping to go unmedicated and know that my body has done it once and can do it again."

[3:20] We have a birth story for you! Melissa Kidd is a single mother by choice, with a 10-month-old...

Show Notes:

[2:00] Our Reviewer of the Week, Neenah66, said: "I listened to this podcast through my first pregnancy (and went back to listen to every podcast ever made). I also bought their birth class, my essential birth! Labor and birth went even better than planned. I owe it all to Stephanie! It’s great to be back listening as I grow baby #2!"

[2:49] Our birth story today is from Savanna Davis! She and her fiance, CJ, welcomed their first baby girl in January of 2023. She actually came on New Year's day, which was unplanned, but exciting. They are from Cleveland, and her fiance owns a flooring company, and Savanna is in grad school right now, which is a whole challenge in itself.

[3:40] Savanna's pregnancy was not planned. She did not know right away. She was feeling awful, and she was worried because autoimmune diseases run in her family. She went to the doctor, and they actually didn't even test her for...

Show Notes:

[2:24] Our Reviewer of the Week is DoctorChiro, and she says, "As a pediatric and prenatal Doctor of Chiropractic and pregnant for the first time, this has been such a fun podcast to listen to! I work within the birth world and I’m still learning new things during each episode. Planning my first natural birth in a birthing center in October, and excited to have found a podcast that aligns with my views!"

[3:14] This week's birth story is coming from Taylor Ward in London, Ontario. She is the proud mama of a daughter, Lucy. Taylor listened to the podcast during her pregnancy and is also a My Essential Birth Course graduate! She is thankful for the full circle moment of now getting to share Lucy's birth story!

[3:56] Taylor enjoyed being pregnant and was thinking about all the emotions and feelings she had when she found out. She prayed for sign that she was pregnant because it was still too early to test. She said she sat down at her...

Show Notes:

[2:22] Our Reviewer of the Week, kristenmanske, said: "First, can I say if you are here, send to a friend. This podcast could not be more amazing! I just had my second baby, my VBAC baby successfully with an induction I did not want but was needed due to preeclampsia. I felt so knowledgeable throughout the entire process. At one point during transition I said, “I feel like I’m going to throw up” once out of the contraction I looked at my doula with so much joy and said “Ahhh! I feel like I’m going to throw up” because of my knowledge from this podcast I knew I was in transition at that point in my labor. I can’t thank you enough for what you do for mamas! You are amazing!!!"

[4:03] We have Alisha and Brady Williams joining us for the podcast this week. I love when moms AND dads come on the podcast and share what they experienced through the birth with mom. Their son is a year old now. They got pregnant shortly after...

Show Notes:

[2:09] Our Reviewer of the Week, lakakrndus, said, "I loved all of the positive birth stories! I love all the information Stephanie gives and she helped me make informed decisions for my own birth. I was able to become confident and have the unmedicated birth I dreamed of. The weeks before I listened to all of the birth stories over and over to help me dispel some of my fears." Thank you so much for leaving that review, and I'm excited because today I have another birth story for you. So if you are somebody that follows along and you love these birth stories, get ready for another one.

[2:36] Our guest is Lisa Thrower, a mama of two girls. They enjoy camping, gardening, experimenting with new sourdough recipes!

[3:40] Lisa walks us through her pregnancy experience. She had morning sickness during the first trimester. With her second birth, she had gestational diabetes and had to manage her diabetes. 

[5:00] She had a group of midwives versus an...

Show Notes:

[2:18] This week's Reviewer of the Week is klsid86, and she said: "The Best Birth Podcast! I’ve listened to hundreds if not thousands of hours of birth podcasts in the past 5 years. I’m pregnant with my second and a self-confessed birth nerd. I only recently found this podcast, and I have to say it’s quickly become my favorite. A great mix of information and humor. I appreciate every episode!"

[3:08] - Mark and Laura Rowdon have been married for four and a half years and have been living in Japan for the past year. They currently serve as missionaries working at an English conversation school. They had first son two months ago so the birth story is fresh in their minds! They started taking the My Essential Birth Course halfway through the pregnancy.

[4:58] Laura had a smooth pregnancy experience overall. Because they were in Japan, things were just different culturally, and Laura wanted to give birth at a birth center...

Show Notes:

[2:02] Our Reviewer of the Week, dipetro, said "I listened to this podcast through my first pregnancy (and went back to listen to every podcast ever made). I also bought their birth class, My Essential Birth! Labor and birth went even better than planned. I owe it all to Stephanie! It’s great to be back listening as I grow baby #2!"

[2:45] Our guest this week is Allie Robinson, a My Essential Birth Student and stay-at-home mama who married her high school sweetheart. They have been together for 11 years and have two beautiful children, a three-year old daughter and one-year old son. 

[3:06] Allie shares her pregnancy experience which was pretty textbook. She found out at the 20-week ultrasound that her son was breech. She started doing the spinning babies and seeing a Webster-certified chiropractor to turn him, and he flipped by 37 weeks. 

[5:07] Allie met with a group of midwives because she knew she wanted...

Show Notes:

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:

[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 Amelia R.P. and she says, "I am pregnant and thriving! First time Mama! I know I wanted a natural birth, a birth center or a home birth but that was just because that’s how I was raised. My sister had done it too, I figured I should probably look into it and see what I wanted for myself and this was able to remind me why they did it and why I was considering it as well! Thanks for all the different views and ways of having babies had no clue there was such a variety of ways to do everything!!!!! Six weeks away from the due date, and my husband and I have such joy and praise God for every bit of the journey so far!"

2:00 - Our guest is Amanda Warnsholz, a first time mama and nurse, from Michigan. Her husband is a PA, and her daughter, Willow, is just over a year old.

3:08 - Amanda's medical background played a role in how she chose to birth. One of her coworkers helped her find her OB, but she knew she wanted to...