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Show Notes:

[1:30] Our Reviewer of the Week, AAL3!, says "I can’t recommend enough!!!  Your episodes always make me feel more calm about everything pregnancy related! I asked questions on Instagram and you made another episode about it to answer my questions. Thank you for always catering to the women you serve and ensuring we are informed about what is happening during pregnancy birth and postpartum. I always recommend your podcasts and the three exercises! I did the three exercises and had a fast labor and only pushed for 12 minutes with my first baby. Baby number 2 is due in July and hoping for a similar experience. Thank you again!"

[2:23] Disclaimer for this Episode: 

This episode with Dr. Stu is not what I imagined when I wrote the outline, and we began our conversation. I had lots of questions about home birth, VBAC, twins, and breech babies. As well as experiences in these settings with Dr. Stu being an OB who attended home births. I think it is so fascinating and such a ...

Show Notes:

[1:52] Our Reviewer of the Week, kayceejanaej, said, "As a first time mom I found the podcast and started binging everything Steph had to offer. I felt so prepared throughout pregnancy, labor and delivery because of her tools and recommendations. I ultimately chose to do an unmedicated birth in a low intervention labor room with an OB who followed my birth map and respected my decisions. I wouldn’t change a thing about my pregnancy, labor or delivery because of the knowledge I gained and autonomy I had throughout! I send this podcast to all of my friends when they find out they’re pregnant!"

[2:42] This is one of those topics I feel is really important to dive into! I don't know what is happening in the birth world, but you mamas are going through it. I feel like providers are just throwing it at you every direction and more and more moms seem to be just led down a path that they're not totally in love with when it's all said and done. So if you are here and you are...

Show Notes:

[2:10] Our Reviewer of the Week, Cristina Trouy, "As a first time mom, I did so much research before we tried to conceive because I wanted to determine what kind of birth would be best for me and I wanted to prepare as best I could for pregnancy. Coming across Stephanie’s podcast was the biggest blessing! It was exactly what I needed to make an educated decision regarding what was best for me and my baby. After listening to her extensive knowledge on everything birth related, I decided that a home birth was what I wanted! I love how Stephanie takes you through the whole process of birth all the way up to what to expect postpartum. Because of this podcast, I knew how to advocate for myself, how to select a midwife, how to prepare my mind and body for birth, how to stay healthy during pregnancy…I could go on and on. She discusses almost everything you could ever need to know about birth. Because of the confidence I gained through the information in this podcast, I was ...

Show Notes:

[1:21] Our Reviewer of the Week, Chellexoxo9, said: "As a mom whose endured 6 previous back to back miscarriages, listening and being informed on pregnancy and labor is preparing me for our THRIVING baby we are about to welcome to the world in September. I’m so blessed to listen to these stories and information I need."

[2:07] Our guest is Nurse Sydney! A Canadian Labor & Delivery Nurse from Toronto. She shares educational and entertaining content about pregnancy, delivery, postpartum, and newborn care. She loves supporting women and giving them tools to advocate for themselves and their newborns. Sydney talks about how getting to see babies being brought into this world and seeing women being so powerful and strong throughout is so special. She's seen thousands of births at this point and every single time it is still special. 

[6:25] What do you pack in a hospital bag from a L&D nurse perspective? Sydney says to check with your hospital or birthing center (wherever ...

Show Notes:

[2:06] Our Reviewer of the Week, Leeamandamay184 says: “I’ve never written a podcast review before, and I BINGE podcasts all day. This has been so helpful in creating a birth plan and know what to expect! As a first time mom, I only know what [horror] stories I’ve been told by others and from all the research I’ve done. I feel much more prepared now and will most likely be purchasing the class from myessentialbirth.com!”

[3:08] Today’s episode is about 7 of the most common interventions women may come up against in a hospital birth setting. I think we can all agree that most moms want to have the best possible birth experience, right? If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you probably want a low intervention birth. Sometimes interventions are necessary, but often times they are not. However, there are things that you can do to avoid them.

[3:51] 1. Triage 

[9:22] 2. Changing into your hospital gown

[12:02] 3. Hooking you up to IVs as soon as you're a...

Show Notes:

[1:37] Your birth partner plays a pretty crucial role when it comes to your pregnancy and birth. Obviously, they helped you get there. 😉 They definitely need to be a part of the process. There's nothing that's going to bring you guys closer than the process of being pregnant and giving birth together.

[3:15] #1. Be an active participant all the way! Once you start learning, you're actually going to be getting excited about the information. Dads need to understand the process just as well as moms because at a point during her labor, she might not be able to verbalize the things that she needs to be done during the process.Dad should know very well, what she desires, but also know her so that you feel comfortable and stand as that rock advocating for her. Dads need to understand how the body works, what tests are coming up, how to speak with providers, what questions you bring, etc. 

You have to tell your birth partner your birth preferences, and he has to be invested i...

Show Notes:

[1:30] Our Reviewer of the Week, Amelia R. P., said: "My baby is eight months now she is beautiful thriving and wonderful!! Had a water birth can’t recommend them enough!! We had to deal with a tongue tie but as soon as that was cared for my baby was nursing well!!! Please try to get a dentist on who does those procedures it makes the biggest difference in the world!!!!!"

[2:20] Our guest is a MEB student and mama, Whitni, who jokes that if she could do pregnancy as a full time as a job, she would! She adored her pregnancy. She now has a sweet, almost one year old baby boy named, Hudson. At the time this episode was recorded, Whitni was 20 weeks pregnant with her second baby boy. She lives in the panhandle of Florida. 

[3:41] Whitni shares about her pregnancy experience. She had regular cycles and knew the day after her missed period that she was pregnant. Since they had just moved, she Googled a provider and went with who looked nice. (This was before she found the M...

Show Notes:

[1:40] Our Reviewer of the Week, caroline0523, said: "Best Birth Podcast! I am obsessed with this podcast! During my pregnancy I listened to every episode and I felt so much more educated on birth and prepared for it. Would recommend to any pregnant mom!"

[1:59] Our guest this week is Dr. Rixa Freeze, she has a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. Her doctoral studies focused on the history of healthcare and medicine with specialization in pregnancy, childbirth, and maternity care. Her dissertation examined why women in North America choose unassisted home births. Her current research interests include human rights in childbirth, autonomy and informed consent, and vaginal breech birth. She recently published the article “Breech Birth at Home: Outcomes of 60 Breech and 109 Cephalic Planned Home and Birth Center Births” with BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. Dr. Freeze is the founder and president of Breech Without Borders, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to bree...

Show Notes:

[1:33] Our Reviewer of the Week, HeidiAbhy, said "I can’t recommend enough!!! Binge listener here! Third time mom prepping for my natural birth (March/April due window!) after my first two births didn’t quite go as expected. I love the unbiased and extremely informative conversations, and have been going back to listen to all the labor prep episodes as baby time nears! I especially like the early episode about what to do when you’re sick of being pregnant…haha! Thanks for all you do."

[2:13] Our guest is Natalie Diaz, founder of Twiniversity, the world’s leading resource and support network for multiple birth families! She is the Pied Piper of twin families around the globe. Nat’s become a global influencer for this small niche community. Natalie is the world’s #1 twin parenting and twin gear expert, serving as a twin consultant for top brands and worldwide recognized foundations. Natalie is also a Certified Lactation Counselor and a Child Passenger Safety Technician.

Show Notes:

[1:19] Our Reviewer of the Week, c-gerber, said "I found your podcast half way through my first pregnancy, and ended up buying your course soon after I listened to many of the birthing stories. I ended up having my first born daughter after only 7 hours of labour with no pain medication! It was an intense but amazing experience that I was able to have control of the whole situation. This course helped me take control of my first birth and allowed me to go into my labour confidently. My doctor was blown away at how fast I had my first child and my nurse was also amazed! I told them about this course I took and my nurse wanted to know what it was called so she could tell other woman about it after witnessing my birth!!!"

[2:25] This week, we're switching it up a bit and talking about postpartum boundaries. Postpartum is really a time for mom to be healing, for that bonding to happen between mom, baby, and birth partner. It's kind of this like sacred space and time, wheth...