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Show Notes:

[1:56] Our Reviewer of the Week, LMPfromMI, said: "I wanted to reach out and personally thank you for all of the work that you put into your web course and podcast. I listened to your podcast every day throughout my recent pregnancy and I know that it made a significant difference in my pregnancy and labor. I am a first time mama and got to have the home birth of my dreams next to my husband, mom (and doula) and midwife. Throughout my first trimester, I was so anxious about labor and delivery and was so uneducated in all aspects of birth. Thanks to your podcast, not only was I empowered to have my baby at home, but it was unmedicated too! And despite complications and almost needing to transfer to hospital, I had so much peace and confidence throughout every contraction. My whole labor was only 9 hours, with pushing for just over one hour. My midwife said if baby hadn’t been in a posterior position, she would have missed my birth! I know not everyone...

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...

[1:17] Our Reviewer of the Week, kompatrit, said "So grateful for this podcast for making my unmedicated birth possible! Found this podcast at 4 weeks pregnant with an unexpected baby! I’m only 21 and had ZERO knowledge of anything birth or baby related and was so in the dark. This podcast has provided me with so much confidence and knowledge, I’m now 32 weeks and planning for an unmedicated hospital birth! Thank you so much for all your podcast and the birth course!"

[2:07] I want to talk to you about pain management options during labor because this is kind of one of those things that is out there and we kind of sort of talk about it or kind of think about it, but maybe we don't understand fully what's involved.

[3:02] What are your options? When it comes to pain management, there are things you can do that are administered in a hospital setting, and there are things you can do that are more natural coping techniques. 

[3:45] The most common pain management...

Show Notes:

Sometimes a negative experience can be the catalyst we need to make a change in our lives. Courtney Hart talks about how her first birth experience changed her life, how she prepared her mind and body for her second birth, and how our podcast made all the difference!

[1:11] The Reviewer of the Week is Andrea.mn and she says, “I love listening to this. She has such a great soothing but energetic voice to listen to and I love all of her knowledge she shares, as well as the birth stories we get to hear! Thanks for what you do!”

Today’s episode is a birth story with one of our previous interviewees! We interviewed Courtney Hart: a Labor & Delivery nurse and certified breastfeeding counselor who works in the Labor Delivery Recovery Postpartum (LDRP) unit at the hospital.

[1:54] I have Courtney Hart reintroduce herself. She is a Labor & Delivery nurse and certified breastfeeding counselor. She has come back to share her positive birth story and...

Women are being forced into unnecessary inductions which makes me pose the question, do women’s bodies need to be forced into labor as much as they are being right now, and if there is a medically-necessary reason for this, how can we make it an excellent experience? In this episode I want to discuss what would constitute some medical reasons for inductions AND what you can do when an induction becomes necessary. This is something I get asked quite a bit. Once you do have a medical reason for induction, how does that change the birth plan? What do you need to know? I want you to have all of the best evidence-based information that will help you ask good questions, get all the information, and ultimately be able to make the decision that is best AND feels best for you. 

Show Notes

4:48 - I talk about the number one reason women are typically encouraged to get an induction. I discuss how moms should be approached by their provider & when this conversation should occur....