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Show Notes:

[1:27] Our Reviewer of the Week, Care_bear_21, said: "I am so thankful for this podcast. I am 26 weeks pregnant with my first and I have been listening to this podcast for the majority of my pregnancy and I love it. I used to think that if I ever got pregnant I would definitely want to have a Cesarean birth because the thought of having my baby vaginally absolutely terrified me. Well not anymore. I look forward to trying my absolute best to have not just a vaginal birth, but an unmedicated vaginal birth. And that is all thanks to this podcast. I feel so much more confident and educated about birth that I actually look forward to it now. I always look forward to that time of day where I can just turn on the podcast and just listen to these ladies talk. I’m not even halfway done with the podcast but I’m already sad just thinking about once I’ll be caught up and won’t have anything to listen to daily. Thank you so much for this podcast."

[2:55] Our birth story today is fr...

Show Notes:

[2:02] Our Review of the Week is Katie, who says, "I had felt so defeated after having a traumatic vaginal birth full of interventions and a painful C-section with my 2nd. With my 3rd, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to even try for a VBAC as I had no confidence in my own ability to birth my baby. Then…. as if by divine intervention, I found this podcast during that 3rd pregnancy. It changed everything for me. I went from feeling like birth happened to me twice to going on to have two more babies via beautiful and redemptive VBACs (last one completely unmedicated). Stephanie does a great job informing mothers on their options and potential hiccups in the pregnancy and birthing process so listeners can make the best decision for themselves and their babies. This podcast and the birth course are a must for any woman. My husband was also grateful for the easily digestible information from both the podcast and course. I am forever thankful and still listen to the podcast weekly."

Show Notes:

00:00 - Episode preview 

00:48 - Intro 

01:49 - About Elizabeth 

03:39 - Elizabeth's first birth story 

07:54 - Conceiving 

09:48 - Desires for pregnancy #2 

15:30 - What it felt like to be pregnant a second time 

17:30 - Things that came up during pregnancy 

21:40 - Elizabeth's birth team 

24:25 - Knowing your doula vs not knowing 

25:54 - Pregnancy prep 

31:30 - Birth story 

34:08 - When did Elizabeth know for certain it was time? 

38:17 - Contraction to birth 

"I feel like I can understand a little bit of women who say contractions are not necessarily painful because it is about how you approach it. This contraction cannot be stronger than me because it is me."

42:12 - When did Elizabeth decide to go into the hospital? 

48:46 - Back labor and her doula 

56:16 - How close were her contractions before her epidural? 

58:06 - After her epidural 

66:11 - Previous pregnancy 

68:57 - What is a C-section birth like? 

76:33 - Birth plan essentials 

"Birt...

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 son who was conceived with donor sperm...

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 pregnancy. Everything was coming back normal, but she decided to take a ...

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 desk and looked at a bunch of recor...

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 getting married, and Alisha started listening to the ...

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 OB. Her first birth ...

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 because they allowed the freedom of movement, but ...

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 a home birth and found them with a Google search.

[5:43]...