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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...

The partner's point of view can be kind of a mystery and I've had a lot of women asking me what their partner should know and do. Well, you're welcome...and I'm sorry. This week I brought my dear husband on the show and I truly hope you get something good out of it as we laugh our way through pregnancy, birth, marriage, love, and parenting. We talk about what it was like to support me during a cesarean birth, a medicated VBAC, and an unmedicated VBAC. He even talks about postpartum depression, for the partner, and his best recommendations for how to handle it. True story, I did not know he went through this until he mentioned it on the podcast. Plus, we take time to let him answer your questions that we collected before the show.

Show Notes

4:02 - We discuss communication and a little bit of our background into becoming pregnant with our first baby.

5:32 - Our birth prep with our first baby was the best we knew to do at the time. We talk about how that wasn't maybe the best thing...

This is probably the thing moms are most curious about as they approach their due date! When do I head into the hospital? When do I call the midwife at the birth center? How will I know it's really time? Whether you are birthing medicated or unmedicated, we have some excellent tips for you to know when it's time to get into the car and head to your birthplace, as well as when it's just fine to labor at home for a while. Of course, much of this will depend on your vision for your birth so we walk you through what the ideal birth looks like for you in order to pinpoint that right time.

Show Notes

3:20 - What happens if my water breaks? What if you want to stay at home? How do you know when you need to head in?

11:13 - What to look for so you know it's the right time to head in (depending on your goals for birth.) If you're wondering what contractions feel like and when to pay attention, we talk about that here.

20:12 - First-time moms, listen up. These are the magic numbers we...

If you ask around, chances are you're going to find some moms who have had an episiotomy and it may leave you wondering if you will need one too. Don't worry! We've got you covered. In case you're wondering what an episiotomy is, it's a cut made with scissors into your perineal area to make more room for baby's grand entrance into the world. There's some debate about if it's really necessary or not and what the benefits and risks are to mother and baby. Plus, we're going to tell you everything you need to know to avoid one altogether!

Show Notes

3:55 - In case you need to know what an episiotomy is and also the different ways they are performed, we get into all of that here. You're welcome.

6:58 - There are benefits to staying in-tact or not having an episiotomy for both mother and baby. On the other side, there are things that can be much more difficult when an episiotomy is performed, and it doesn't just have to do with the birth.

13:53 - There are certainly some risks involved...

We know you get to hear ALLLL of the craziest birth stories while you're pregnant and you're probably wondering, "How do I make sure my birth isn't like THAT?" Well, today we're answering your questions about what causes a longer or shorter labor and what you can do to have some control over it!

Show Notes

3:46 - The pros and cons to longer or shorter births. You may think you want a faster birth, but do you? You may want to really work through a nice long labor, but do you?

10:40 - If you're wondering what could contribute to things that make for a longer labor, listen in here.

26:59 - All of the things that will contribute to a shorter labor.

39:34 - The number one reason listed on medical documents for cesarean birth.

We often get comments like, "I'm so sad I just found your podcast/birth course, I only have a few weeks until I give birth." To which we say, GREAT! That means you still have time to do tons of prep work. In case you're wondering about the very most important things you can do when you have just a few weeks to prepare, we break it down and give you our best advice! Make sure to have a pen and paper ready for this episode because it's jam-packed with all the pregnancy and birth prep goodness you can handle.