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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...

 This week we're breaking down everything you need to know to prepare yourself physically and mentally for an induction without an epidural. I cannot stress the importance of going into labor with the mindset of possibly having an induction and preparing yourself for that outcome. I'll also discuss all things Pitocin: what it is, what it does, and how it can affect you, your baby, and labor. By getting your body and mind ready before you even go into labor, you can achieve an unmedicated birth despite being induced.

Show Notes:

[1:16] Our reviewer of the week, iheartdonuts, started listening to the podcast to prepare for her "dream birth." She wanted to be as informed as possible and be prepared to advocate for herself and her daughter. She said, "The evidence based info is exactly what you need to dig deeper and do even more research for yourself and your baby. It'll make you feel more prepared for whatever comes your way in your birth story."

Listening,...

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...

I have had so many questions recently about testing positive for Group B Strep or GBS and the number one concern is, "Will this ruin the birth that I want?" I'm here to break down what GBS is, how it affects pregnancy and labor, ways that you can decrease your chances of testing positive, what happens if you choose to use antibiotics, and also options other than antibiotics should you test positive.

If you're a mom that is wanting to stay at home as long as possible before heading to your birth place, but if you test positive you definitely want the antibiotics, I talk about all of your options AND I want to encourage you right now that being GBS+ does NOT ruin any kind of birth you are aiming for! If you're reading along and have no idea what I'm talking about, that's ok and I know you're not alone.

When a mom tests positive for GBS she can choose to have or not have antibiotics during labor. Antibiotics are strongly encouraged by providers. Should you choose to have them, your...

This week I had the pleasure of having  incredible home birth midwife, Angie, LM, CPM,  join me on the podcast. Angie, from the Long Beach, CA area, gives us some insight into what the process of taking care of a mother during pregnancy and birth is like as a home birth midwife. We also went a little deeper into birthing during a pandemic as well as the importance of informed consent. Informed consent is so important to her and I know when you take a listen you will understand why and feel empowered to stand up for yourself.

It's true that when you birth at home you will be birthing unmedicated but it doesn't mean your midwife won't come prepared with life-saving medications, tools, knowledge, and skills to keep you and your baby safe. With so many misconceptions when it comes to home births, including the legitimacy and safety of the practice, Angie gives us the facts that can help tackle those misconceptions and may even have you looking up a local home birth midwife...

I can't wait for you to listen to this inspiring birth story with Anne, a My Essential Birth Course mama, who takes us through her journey from conception, pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum. It is a perfect story about what it's really like to walk through everything pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for the very first time. Her and her husband did an excellent job preparing and supporting each other. I hope you will find something special and learn tons, for both you and your partner as you listen. Enjoy!!

Show Notes

3:24 Anne tells us a little bit about herself and her husband, a bit of their history and what conception was like for them. 

5:10 Anne gives us some inside on what pregnancy was like for her. She talks about the different feelings she experienced every trimester and the changes she felt along the way. I also ask Anne about her provider experience, how she found her provider and what solidified her choice. We continue of conversation about her provider and...

Birth stories are a window into the powerful work we do as women to get our babies earthside and Eryn's story is no exception. She was a student of mine when she was preparing for her very first birth. Her and her husband worked hard together to prepare for this task of birth ahead of them and when they came back to share their story, after they had their sweet baby, I was amazed at the details of the birth as well as how her and her husband handled it. There is so much strength that comes from listening to other strong women walk through one of the most trying and rewarding things we are blessed to be able to do in this life.

Stick with this episode until the end because not only does she tell a story of her first birth, which while challenging, ultimately led her to the career path she has today, but she also tells of the drastic and beautiful difference between her first and second birth. I hope you will listen, learn, and love this episode.

Show Notes

5:00 - Eryn tells us where...

With winter here to stay for a bit, we wanted to give you some tips and basic guidelines for how to stay healthy and low-risk as well as what you can do if you end up getting sick while you're pregnant! Pregnancy is a common time for mothers to find more natural and holistic means of preventing and treating ailments. 

Nutrition During Pregnancy

 Why should you care about nutrition during pregnancy? Because pregnant women who are healthy and low risk have more birthing options available to them. Things like: birthing in water, the ability to let your body & baby determine when to go into labor, and freedom of movement.

So how do you have a healthy pregnancy? A lot of that is determined by what you eat! And, just a quick note, being underweight or overweight doesn’t mean you can’t have a great pregnancy and birth. You may gain more weight if you started your pregnancy underweight, or you may lose weight or gain less if you started pregnancy a bit...

This is a two-part series that serves two purposes. 1. If you are on the fence about where to have your baby, hopefully, these episodes will help you envision where you see yourself birthing & help you make that decision. 2. If you already know where you are giving birth, these episodes will reaffirm that choice. 

If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that between the 2 of us, we have given birth almost every way. In hospital unmedicated, cesarean, in hospital with an epidural, at a birth center, and a homebirth. So we’ll be drawing on that and our experience supporting women in all these settings & scenarios.

BIG REASONS WE THINK OUT OF HOSPITAL BIRTH IS BETTER

1. Anyone you want can be there! Yes, even during COVID.
2. It's easier to physically relax during birth. When you're in your own home or a place that feels home-like, your body will naturally relax more easily. Given that relaxation is the key to dilation, expect labor to progress...

• At what point in my pregnancy should I take a birth class?
• What kind of birth course is best for me? 
• What should a birth course cover?
• Do I really need one if I plan on getting an epidural?

But before we answer those great questions, will you indulge us for a minute? We've gotta get this off our chest first...

The truth of the matter is that when it comes to birth, you don't know what you don't know. And if you're reading this post or listening to the podcast, you're likely the kind of person who wants to be in-the-know! That's awesome because our entire goal is to empower you & give you the skills, confidence, and knowledge necessary before your birth.

Speaking from very personal experience, failing to prepare can often lead to a poor experience, regrets, and then (hopefully!) a fierce determination to make things better the next time! We want to find you and help you before that next time!

Birth is a natural event, but when we moved birth...