Happy Homebirth

Latest Episodes:

Ep 218: Surprise Pregnancy Brings Healing to Old Traumas with Amanda Lopez Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

When you found out you were pregnant, what emotions ran through your brain? Excitement? Thrill? Joy? Or did you experience fear, shame, or a resurgence of old traumas? This week, we're speaking to Amanda Lopez. A mama to 3 children, two of whom were born to her while Amanda was still a teenager. We'll be discussing Amanda's experiences as a teen mother, and how her most recent homebirth brought incredible healing to her previous perceptions of pregnancy and birth. I have a free gift for you! The Achieve Your Empowered Homebirth Mini Course. If you're looking pull back the curtain and see what it means to truly prepare for your homebirth experience and motherhood as a whole, THIS is the resource for you. Get your hands on it, and learn more about my approach inside of The Homebirth Collective, by sending me a DM in Instagram @happyhomebirthpodcast with the word homebirth. JUST the word homebirth. All one word. No emojis. No exclamations. It's very sensitive, seriously. But that'll send the course right to you. OR, click the link in the show notes to have it sent to your email! Episode Roundup: What an emotional, incredible episode. I cannot get over Amanda's strength, and I know that will certainly pour into this episode round up.

I am so blown away by how Amanda used her experience of becoming pregnant at 14, having a baby at 15 to propel her forward in her aspirations. At a time when she felt so alone and was struggling so deeply, she still saw the worth of her child and knew that she was worth the struggle and toil. She turned something so difficult into something so triumphant, even graduating from high school with a 4.0 GPA.
When Amanda became pregnant for the second time as a teen, she felt so much pain and confusion, and yet... she looked at her other daughter and knew that this baby was going to be a blessing. I am so overwhelmed at the beauty of Amanda's choices to celebrate life. And what seemed so tragic at the time, having two daughters as a teen herself, turned into the beautiful blessings of her daughters. As Amanda and her mother discussed, sometimes the things that seem so difficult at the time are, in retrospect, the things that save us. Praise God for his provision for Amanda in terms of her ability to raise her babies, and in the loving support, yet firm boundaries that her parents set out for her in the process.
And finally, when Amanda became pregnant with her third child... DESPITE the fact that she is a fully grown adult woman and certainly capable of taking care of another baby, one of the first things that happened when she sat looking at the pregnancy test was a rush of old traumas... of feeling down on herself because this pregnancy was "unexpected". But what I loved about this story was the fact that Amanda now so clearly sees... this pregnancy, along with her two other pregnancies... they weren't unexpected. They were known, they were seen, and they were expected by the Creator. Amanda was able to triumphantly and confidently give birth to her third baby, safely in her own home. She was able to reclaim motherhood with a new sense of power and confidence, and I am so thrilled that Amanda's children are able to see what a strong, loving, beautiful mother they have-- one who will lay it all down for them.

Related Links:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

Ep 217: Michelle’s Very Similar, Very Different Births! Feb 13, 2023

Show notes

Two births: One at home and one in the hospital-- the exact same situation arises in both scenarios-- do you think they'll be handled the same or differently? This week, we're speaking with Michelle, owner of Alma Aesthetics, wife and mother of two precious children. Michelle and her husband experienced both hospital and homebirth, and we'll hear how similar some events were in both births. We'll also hear how they were handled in each setting. I have a free gift for you! The Achieve Your Empowered Homebirth Mini Course. If you're looking pull back the curtain and see what it means to truly prepare for your homebirth experience and motherhood as a whole, THIS is the resource for you. Get your hands on it, and learn more about my approach inside of The Homebirth Collective, by sending me a DM in instagram @happyhomebirthpodcast with the word homebirth. JUST the word homebirth. All one word. No emojis. No exclamations. It's very sensitive, seriously. But that'll send the course right to you. OR, click the link in the show notes to have it sent to your email! If you're interested in helping your family, friends, and even creating a career with fascial work-- There are still seats available for the Greenville Craniosacral Fascial Therapy training coming up! The dates for the foundation class is March 15-17, and the infant class is March 18-20th. Craniosacral Fascial Therapists are in HIGH DEMAND, I can tell you that. If you'd like to know more, check out episode 175 of the podcast: The Gillespie Approach: How Craniosacral Fascial Therapy Can Optimize Health for Your Infant. Episode Roundup:

The best way to make a in informed decision is by.... gaining information. We can so easily believe that we know what something is or something is like based on... minimal understanding. This is common when it comes to homebirth! The immediate feeling is, "What!? That's dangerous!!" Until we realize that... oh, actually... insert facts here. Michelle and her husband decided to go straight to the source. They saw a midwife, asked all of the questions, and suddenly... they have the information they need to make a confident decision and be on the same page. And next,
The energy surrounding birth is so important. When in the hospital, Michelle's daughter was quickly removed from her, almost intubated... there was massive commotion and upheaval. This left Michelle feeling shocked and traumatized... and then mere minutes later she's being pushed out of the room and everyone's acting like life is back to normal. How are we supposed to internalize this? Let's compare that to her experience with her son. Her midwife slowly helped her untangle the baby's cord, he was placed immediately with his mother, and then a gentle breath was given to help stimulate him. No trauma. No drama. No upheaval-- Just a calm, loving, supportive energy that encourages the physiological process of birth and bonding. What a difference this makes. Michelle was able to re-enter motherhood feeling more confident, more capable, and more like the mother she was designed to be. How incredible.

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

Ep 216: Made for This Birth with Mary Haseltine Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

Do you know-- that you were made for this birth? This week, we're speaking to my friend and birth colleague Mary Haseltine. Mary is a doula, author, and birth educator for 10 years; She has had seven full term babies - 5 born at home, 2 in the hospital and one home miscarriage; Her births include had 2 precipitous births, 1 vaginal breech, 4 babies in water, 1 unintentionally unassisted, 1 home birth with a doctor and 3 different midwives for the others. She has experienced it ALL. Before we jump in, I wanted to let you know that my free resource, the Achieve Your Empowered Homebirth mini course if officially open and available to you! The easiest way to get it? DM me on instagram with the word homebirth-- all one word-- and the mini-course will be sent right to you. We're breaking down what it means to truly prepare for birth. What is it that you REALLY need? Is it all about learning to 'cope' in labor? Spoiler alert, it's not. You can also grab access by clicking the link in the show notes! Episode Roundup.

Mary and I are in total agreement of this: Birth is meant to be one of the most spiritually transformative experiences of a woman's life and the process of pregnancy and birth is meant to prepare her for the work of motherhood. This isn't just a physical experience, it's so much more. Which...is why I put SO much emphasis on recognizing what it means to truly prepare for this event!
No matter how many babies you have, each birth is incredibly precious, unique, challenging, transformative and as Mary insinuated-- maybe a little addicting, especially if you love listening to beautiful birth stories!!
And finally, I just love the way that Mary uses her calling from the Lord to support others. God has given her SO many different experiences, what a blessing that she can be so relatable to her clients, no matter how it all unfolds.

Resources:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

instagram.com/madeforthisbirth/ madeforthisbirth

Ep 215: An Unpredictable Homebirth with Miriam Kleynerman Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

Which birth story was your birth like? Did you hear an experience that was similar to yours as you prepared, or was your experience totally different from anything you'd imagined? This week, we're speaking to Miriam. Miriam is a first time mama to a 9 month old baby girl, Noah Ivy, a social impact consultant and Brooklyn transplant turned aspiring homesteader. Once she decided on homebirth, she prepared thoroughly, listening to audiobooks and podcasts, reading stories... and yet... we'll hear how her birth differed from all she had expected. Episode Roundup

Making difficult decisions in your pregnancy and birth feels... not fun. Setting up boundaries, especially for those of us who feel a need to please others, feels difficult, sometimes even wrong. But here's the thing... it's not wrong. In fact, it's necessary. Miriam began setting boundaries where she needed to at the end of her pregnancy, and continues to do so postpartum. This is one of the key aspects of fully owning our role as a mother. Are we willing to forsake all others for our nuclear family? Truly? It's not easy, but it's what we've been called to do, and when we live our lives this way, I believe we will find more satisfaction in our role.
I wanted to mention the fact that Miriam's birth was really different from what she'd expected. 6 hours, nonstop back labor, and a nuchal arm wrapped in an umbilical cord.... this wasn't on a previous podcast episode. But I think the amazing thing about preparing for birth holistically is our ability to look back at our experience with pride. She worked incredibly hard through her labor. She brought her baby from womb to world.... this experience couldn't have been predicted, but it's certainly not any less amazing or valid than any other birth experience. It's incredible. If we can see birth with this sense of open-mindedness, we can appreciate our experience, however unexpected it may be.
And finally, isn't it amazing that because Miriam was at home, she didn't get disturbed once her magical golden hour was up. That didn't mean "free rein! anything goes!" No, she was still left to snuggle with her newborn, as she was finally returning from the difficult experience of giving birth. Sometimes it may take us a while to come around, especially after an intense birth like Miriam's. To think that if she would have been elsewhere, she may have been completely interrupted once she was beginning to truly bond is heartbreaking.

https://www.startingsunday.co/post/the-first-40-days-can-make-or-break-your-postpartum-healing Resources:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

Ep 214: Managing Gestational Diabetes and Achieving Homebirth with Cassidy Lilly Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

Is Gestational Diabetes a birth-ruiner, or is there more to the picture than just a label? This week, we're speaking to Cassidy Lilly, a mother to 3 babies, born 3 very different ways. Today we'll hear Cassidy's story of cesarean, then medicated vbac, and finally an incredible homebirth. We'll learn about how she was diagnosed with GD in her third pregnancy, and how she chose to manage that experience. As you'll hear in Cassidy's story, the way that we enter motherhood can truly play a role in how we navigate the experience of being a mother as a whole. You'll hear how Cassidy's confidence and connection soared once she was truly ushered into motherhood the way she was designed to. And that's what I want for you. Whether it's your first or fifth, inside of the Homebirth Collective, I help homebirth mothers achieve the empowering birthing experience of their dreams by deprogramming the mainstream mistrust of birth, reconnecting with their intuitive feminine wisdom, and relaxing into the birthing process. All within the loving arms of an unbelievably aligned community. Are you ready to truly experience birth as the God-given rite of passage it was designed to be? Resources:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

Ep 213: First Time Peaceful Homebirth as a First Time Foster Mom with Alexis Meisenholder Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

Change can be tough. How do we integrate the arrival of our new baby? Moreover, how do we integrate the arrival of our new baby mere weeks after the arrival of our foster child and a move into a new home? This week, we're speaking to Alexis. A foster-turning adoptive mother to a 7-year-old daughter, and homebirth bio mom to a 1 year old baby boy. Alexis and her family experienced so. much. change. during her pregnancy, and leading up to her birth, and yet you will love the attitude and perspective with which she holds all of this as we hear her journey. Episode Roundup:

Alexis found confidence in herself as she navigate pregnancy and motherhood, and so much of this was because she was in control of her care. She wasn't being told what to do or forced or coerced. Alexis was surrounded by midwives who truly cared for her and wanted her to be in charge of her experience. What a massive difference this makes in terms of how we feel about ourselves as mothers. What a beautiful gift of an experience to know that we've got the stuff we need to be who we were designed to be.
Alexis said that, overarching, she sees how God's timing was so perfect in her story, despite the fact that she certainly couldn't see that or even fully feel that during the process at times. Isn't it so humbling to realize that our perspective just isn't as big as that of our Creator's? What feels like pain, a struggle, something incredibly difficult or even wrong from where we're standing.... that can be used, too. Alexis celebrates the fact that in His timing, she gained two beautiful children-- two children she wouldn't trade for the world. How amazing.

Resources:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

Ep 212: From Mothering Struggle to Success with Blythe Hoerr Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

What was it like-- finding out that you and your spouse were pregnant with your first child? Were you thrilled, shocked... utterly horrified? This week, we're speaking to Blythe, and incredible mother to two precious boys. We're going to hear how Blythe's entrance into motherhood- beginning at the knowledge of her pregnancy was tumultuous and difficult, and yet she experienced so much healing.... and then was able to go on to have an absolutely joyous second pregnancy. I do want to share that Blythe is so wonderfully open about her experiences with us, and I feel that this can be so encouraging, especially to those of you who have found yourself in a similar frame of mind as Blythe in your pregnancy. Maybe you even feel that way now. At the same time, I do always like to give a good heads up when content may be difficult, and this is the case with the first part of today's story. Blythe will share of her perinatal depression along with her postpartum mood disorders, including the hallucinations she experienced. But, as I said, this is a story of hope and redemption, and there is so much beauty to follow. As always, please decide for yourself what you feel comfortable taking in in terms of stories, but I'm thrilled to be able to share hope with so many mothers who can relate. Episode Roundup:

How amazing was it to hear the way that Blythe's mother's choices regarding birth set her and her brothers up for success? They grew up not feeling fearful about birth, but believing it to be a normal, beautiful event. This is what you're doing for your children right now as you make this decision to. embrace pregnancy and labor as it was physiologically designed to be. How incredible.
Blythe struggled. Truly, truly struggled. From conception through the first three years, she had a long, dark road to walk. It included symptoms of psychosis, anxiety and depression, and it was just heavy. If you've been there or if you're there now, I want you to know that you're no less worthy of a human because you're struggling. There can be such grief and shame added from ourselves, which simply compounds the pain. Instead, I would love to share about one of many avenues we can consider to heal. I believe that so much healing can take place when we focus on the nervous system. This can look like many different things, but tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique is one of my favorite ways, and it's got the research to back that it truly works. There are so many incredible practitioners out there, but I have a package that has be created specifically for my listeners and students by two amazing women, Greta Zukoff and Naomi Reyes. Greta has worked with me over the last year healing my relationship with myself, with my childhood, with the deepest parts of my core.... and Naomi specializes in working with pregnant and postpartum mothers. She deals with these exact issues. If you are struggling and you know that you're tired of struggling, just how Blythe began to feel, let's begin to heal. The link to contact them and sign up is available in my bio. I would love for you to take advantage of it.
Finally, I want to end with the incredible joy that came with healing for Blythe and her family. Not only was she able to reconnect with Gibson in such a powerful way, but she was also able to experience a pregnancy and birth that were truly marked by joy. And Gibson was able to see and feel that, too. What a gift and what a beautiful reconciliation. If you've experienced a pregnancy or postpartum that reminds you of Blythe... I want you to focus in on that. It does NOT mean that you won't experience joy in the future. Blythe surely did, and how beautifully healing is that.

Resources:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

Ep 211: Becoming the Decision-Maker of Your Birth Experience with Courtney Paba Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

What does it mean to have a ‘good’ homebirth? What does it look like, and how does it feel? This week, we are speaking with Courtney Paba. I’m so honored to be interviewing Courtney, who was the very first of my students in The Homebirth Collective. Since then, we’ve had many more, including one just yesterday to ring in the New Year! I am overjoyed to be able to make such deep connections and watch the members of these cohorts form such lasting relationships. Episode Roundup:

let’s start where we began: What does it mean to have a ‘good’ homebirth? What does it look like, and how does it feel? Do you have to breathe your baby out and be super quiet? Absolutely not. Remember- the way that a birth unfolds, whether it’s loud, quiet, “breathy” or “screamy” it can all be empowering. Or disempowering. So what makes the difference?
The decision-maker is what makes the difference. Who was in control? Who held the authority? Truly, the decisions that are made and the exact outcomes matter far less if we recognize that we are in the driver’s seat and our decisions are respected.
and finally- you are so strong. Your body is so strong and capable. And at the same time, I see so much beauty in the reliance on something more. On the crying out to the lord and acknowledging that we can’t do this without him. He takes us the rest of the way.

Resources:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

Ep 210: Opting Out of the Hospital and into Homebirth with Jamie Murphy Dec 26, 2022

Show notes

What do you consider a normal pregnancy and birth? And how does your idea of normal stand up to the routine birth procedures we find in the industrial-medical complex? Same? Different? And today we're speaking with Jamie Murphy. Jamie is a fertility awareness educator with a passion for body literacy and menstrual activism. Through her work, Jamie teaches others to understand their menstrual cycle and use this knowledge to either avoid or achieve pregnancy. Following a medically managed first pregnancy and hospital birth, Jamie realized her experience was common but not normal. This prompted her to seek out a more traditional model of care for her second pregnancy and led to the first home birth in her family in generations. You are going to love this encouraging episode, and everything about Jamie. She shares tons of wisdom in Instagram, so we've got her handle linked in the show notes. Outro Wow, what an incredible and thought-provoking episode. As we head into this week's episode roundup, I've got a few thoughts

Common does not equal normal. Unfortunately, the cascade of interventions offered--forced-- at the hospital under the guise of safety are anything but and so disempowering to the mothers who realize... wait a minute, I didn't need that.... And the vast majority of the time, that's absolutely the case.
Jamie realized that this second time around, she was ready to get into the deep work of preparation. As her husband stated, homebirth is a lot of work! And the truth is-- yeah! Taking responsibility after generations of handing over responsibility means that we have to do a lot of additional work. But you know what's so cool? Because Jamie and her husband bared the brunt of the hard work.... their daughters WON'T have to work so hard. They'll grow up in a family that understands and appreciates birth as a natural, beautiful process, and they'll likely feel far more confident and prepared without having to do nearly as much work to ready themselves for birth. What a gift.
And finally, your body is amazing. Jamie's body is amazing. It knew exactly what it needed to do to get her daughter unstuck, and despite being tangled up in the cords, she was birth just fine and just beautifully. I love Jamie's beautiful perspective of how her birth was perfect-- rescue breaths and long-holding placenta and all. The beauty of birth is in the variations, and the fact that our bodies are capable of handling them.

Be sure to check out Jamie's work at @followingmybody. Resources:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

Ep 209: I Wanted to be the BEST Mother. Here’s How Homebirth Prep Helped! Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

𝗜 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿… 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱!
So often we get lured into this trap of an idea: you can prepare for Birth, but you can’t really prepare for motherhood. It just happens.
‼️SPOILER ALERT‼️ They’re intimately linked.
The problem? Traditional childbirth classes:
➡️ focus on simply avoiding pain. So… if we experience pain… what? Did we fail?
➡️ ignore the fact that childbirth is a rite of passage, and it’s sacred. They focus on just getting through, not appreciating and *gasp* enjoying it.
➡️leave us unprepared for the new version of us we’ll be meeting on the other side. If the whole time we’re just learning to relax (which, relaxation is good!), we aren’t focusing on the aspects that will build confidence in ourselves in birth AND motherhood for the long haul: tapping back into our intuition, setting boundaries (and why we need to!)… what our actual thoughts and opinions even are about birth! Kind of… a big chunk of info.
If you’re anything like me, your desire is to be the absolute best mother that you can be. Here’s the deal. We become that mother when we’re prepared to meet that mother.
When you learn to connect to your primal mother, to soothe and regulate your nervous system, to take charge of your decision making… you better believe you become a force to be reckoned with both in birth and motherhood. And isn’t that what we truly want? To step into these experiences feeling confident and prepared for whatever awaits us?
If this is you, I highly encourage you to apply for our next cohort of the Homebirth Collective, running Jan 2- March 24. It’s not childbirth education- it’s so much more. Perfect timing for mamas who will be about 12-28 weeks pregnant at the beginning of Jan!
The link to apply is in my bio, or send me a DM for more info. ✨

Resources:

FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth

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