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Show Notes:

Educating yourself about birth and knowing your options opens you up to so many more choices when it comes to the birth experience you want! Marin's birth story shows the importance of not only educating yourself, but also on staying firm with your choices and decisions on what is best for you and your baby. 

[1:11] Our reviewer of the week, Vandp13, says: “Best podcast AND host! I am just entering the 3rd trimester of my 3rd pregnancy, and I am a self proclaimed birth and breastfeeding nut. I found this podcast when I was about 10 weeks pregnant, and I have been binging ever since - some episodes I even listen to 5+ times! She is so good at giving pregnant mamas all their options and empowering them to advocate for themselves! I reached out to Stephanie on Instagram, and she replied so quickly and didn’t give me a ‘one size fits all’ answer. She asked me questions so she could answer me specifically, which I thought was amazing! I...

Show Notes:

[1:11:] Our reviewer of the week, Leliz86, says: “Still in preconception here! ‍ I stumbled upon this podcast when I started searching for meaningful and educational podcasts that fit my hopes and dreams for my first time pregnancy at 36! I love the content - I feel so informed and empowered to make all the decisions, prepare myself to be my healthiest for me and my baby! I absolutely love that there’s even episodes that help new dads! I can’t wait to sign up for the birth course and love that they cover pregnancy, some preconception health, and birth stories! Determined to listen to every single episode - Thank you for all that you do! 

We love when we're able to hear from both mama and birth partner about the birth experience! Justina and Kace Knowles share about the unmedicated birth of their son in a hospital and how their faith, communication, and the birth course prepared them.

[2:30] Justina and Kace Knowles introduce...

Show Notes:

[1:11] Our reviewer of the week is Madi Mackley, and she said: “I started listening to the podcast as soon as I found out I was pregnant. My goal was to give birth at the hospital with a walking epidural, and I was hoping to be induced. After listening to every episode and learning every unbiased aspect of birth, my perspective changed, and I had an unmedicated birth at a birth center at 41 weeks and 1 day! I owe it all to this podcast and the My Essential Birth course for achieving the birth I wanted! :) Just found out baby number 2 is on the way and it’s time to start listening to every episode again!

We’ve had Madi on our podcast before, and she shared her birth story! You can listen to it here! Thank you to all of those who love listening to the podcast and who have left a review!

While it's so important to be prepared for birth, labor, and delivery, at the end of the day, you need to get out of your own way! You can do all the things, but your...

Show Notes:

[1:17] Our Reviewer of the Week, Celina Souffrant, said: “I started listening to this podcast about two weeks ago. I’m 34 weeks into my pregnancy, and it has been so helpful. The highlights for me are definitely the birth stories because it makes birth so much more relatable. In particular, I loved Sally’s recent birth story. Her tips, exuberant faith and infectious energy really transformed my perception of what a natural birth can look like. Please keep up the good work!”

I can’t get enough birth stories! This week’s particular birth story has a special place in my heart! I’m so excited to have Lorelei and her husband, Jason, here with me on the podcast.

One of my favorite parts of what I do is getting to be a part of and hearing the incredible birth stories in the My Essential Birth community. Lorelei shares about how she did not see birth as a beautiful experience but something she had to get through to get to the baby....

Show Notes:

[1:12] Our reviewer of the week is Hailey987416, and she said, “These ladies give you ALL the details - tips and tricks, the real truth about everything! So grateful! I am living abroad in Germany for my first birth and I am so happy my sister-in-law told me about you two! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

I’m excited you’re here! I have another amazing woman on with me today so if you’re looking for more tips and trips, I hope you’ll get that out of today’s episode!

[1:42] I want to tell you how Courtney and I connected! She reached out to me about the GBS podcast episode because she saw some discrepancies and had evidence to back it up! I loved how passionate she is about what she does and how much she cares about women. I responded to her email and asked her to be on the podcast!

[3:32] I ask Courtney to introduce herself. ‍ She emphasized that we’re all here for the same reason, which is to get evidenced-based...

Are you overwhelmed with what to ask your provider, midwife, or hospital regarding what you want for your birth experience? Well, listen in! I walk you through what questions to ask, give background information behind those questions, and encourage you to educate and empower yourself to stand up for the birth you want.

Show Notes:

[1:11] Lulu2394, our reviewer of the week, says, “THE best podcast for birth preparation! I highly recommend this podcast to anyone expecting, and I highly recommend the course as well.” She felt empowered by the podcast and birth course to switch her provider at 32 weeks, and she was able to have the home birth she wanted. Her midwife and doula were impressed with the information she knew and how prepared she was for birth. All thanks to my Essential Birth!  

We love hearing stories about how the podcast empowers our listeners to make such important decisions for their birth experience. We promise the My Essential Birth Course...

Sally shares her unmedicated, hospital birth experience despite dealing with family loss the same week she went into labor. She talks about the goodness of God and how her experience of giving birth has brought her and her husband closer than ever before. We also talk about a few small things to have with you during labor that will help you keep your energy up, keep you hydrated, and distract you from the pain of contractions. I hope this episode speaks to your heart the way it spoke to mine!

Show Notes:

[1:11] Our reviewer of the week is KylieDilulo, and she says, “Best birthing preparation podcast! This is hands down my favorite birthing podcast!” She recently gave birth to a 9 lb 4 oz boy in a birthing center. She credits her "absolutely perfect and amazing in every way" birth to all of her preparation and the My Essential Birth podcast. She knew she always wanted an unmedicated birth, and this podcast gave her the tools and knowledge to...

If there is one thing I have learned as a life lesson that is also 100% applicable to all things birth, it's that every single challenge can be an incredible learning lesson and this holds true for what happened while women were pregnant and birthing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Challenges like pulling birth partners out of the birth rooms (unacceptable btw), moving healthy, low-risk moms to out of hospital births (the challenge is in the unexpected), mental health, women being pushed to their limits. They were all so daunting and so difficult.

But...

Tune into this episode because the other side of those challenges are so beautiful. Birth partners figured out what they need to know and how to support these moms - because what if they could get in but the doula wasn't allowed?, women realized how strong they were and that their bodies were made for birth when they moved their care out of hospital, women found their voices and started asking questions about policy and...

When it comes to giving birth, most people picture it going down in a hospital room. This is absolutely an option and there are more! That’s what we’re setting out to discuss this week on the Pregnancy and Birth Made Easy podcast. Join us as we go over the different locations where you can have your baby, the pros and the cons, and share evidence-based information as well as real-life experiences in order to help you decide what will be the very best place for YOUR birth.

Show Notes:

 1:14 - Reviewer of the week!

 2:30 - The question I hear the most, "What are my options for where I give birth?" this episode dives into all of them...minus the forest... 

3:24 - A little love note to the new moms and dads that have come to my classes, I love watching those lightbulbs come on as you dream up your birth map.

5:07 - I am devoted to keeping my content evidence-based and non biased. You have the ultimate choice in everything you decide for your...

1:27 - Today's guest is Taylor, a new mom, and student of My Essential Birth.

2:15 - Taylor shares that this is the first baby in her family. She loved being pregnant, although the first trimester symptoms were rough but later got better.

4:15 - Signs like persistent tiredness, and delay in her monthly flow made Taylor suspect that she was pregnant, and she took a test to confirm it.

6:11 - During her pregnancy, Taylor had a very strong craving for watermelons. She also had to struggle with significant discomfort in her legs especially at night. Her chiropractor helped with this but the symptoms completely disappeared after delivery. 99% of the solutions to pregnancy-related symptoms are to just have your baby.

8:36 - While having some doubts when she initially found out she was pregnant, Taylor highlights that she got a lot of encouragement from her husband to go ahead. She had started seeing a doctor for the first 20 weeks and observed the Doctors often did not spend the time to get...