Christina is a mom of 4 who wanted a peaceful home birth from the beginning. Her first (midwife attended home birth) attempt ended up in a transfer due to a "hemorrhage" (probably didnt need to transfer after all) Second birth was an automatic c-section for having a low lying placenta. Then, for her third and fourth, she took matters into her own hands and had wild pregnancies and freebirths. Ahhhh finally!
Michelle is a canadian mama of 4 who had 3 hospital births before she finally decided to have a home birth. With each of Michelle's births she felt an increasing sense that there was more to Birth than what she was experiencing. It wasn't until she was nearing the end of her fourth pregnancy that she really committed to having a home birth. She had started living a more wholistic, healthy life style and was learning about how incredible our bodies are and that we are designed to heal, be well an...
We had the honor of being interviewed by Sarah & Matthew Bivens on the Doing it at Home Podcast. It was such a great conversation, we hope you enjoy!
In this episode we welcome back, Chelsea, from episode 9. She shares the similarities between her two home births and what she learned from the first that she took into the second. Make sure you go back and listen to episode 9 incase you haven't yet!
We had the great honor of interviewing Sarah and Matthew Bivens from the Doing it at Home podcast. Our conversation was filled with topics like birth, life, business, philosophy and more! Everything from their own home birth story to the evolution of their podcast and how it turned into a business and also their "open to conceive" journey. They are very candid on their podcast but we hope you will listen and get to know them even better, enjoy!
Courtney had been listening to our podcast, and when she realized she lived so close to our office she became a chiropractic patient and also took our birth class to prepare for her home birth. She had previously had two hard hospital births before having a quick, blissful home birth with her third.
On top of being a wife and mom of two, Solange is an active member of the military, birth doula, crossfit coach and works for a non profit. Her first attempt at a home birth ended in a transfer, largely due to a lack of support. She took full responsibility for her second pregancy and birth and had a beautiful, redemptive freebirth.
Kristin, a fellow Chiropractor and one of Dr. V’s best friends shares her experiences surrounding miscarriages and home birth. Kristin and her husband Sam’s decision to birth at home was solidified after a traumatic miscarriage in the hospital. She walks us through some difficult yet beautiful moments all leading up to the moment she meets her baby boy, Milo.
Cayla, who's a patient of Dr. V's, explains how her scoliosis might have played a part in her long, on again off again 9 day labor. She was supported by her family and an amazing birth team as she gave birth to her baby in the birth pool.
Winnie is a first time mom who is Dr. V's Chiropractic patient and a BOTB birth class graduate! Winnie shares in great detail how the birth of her son Titan unfolded. It started with "the midwives brew" and ended with a big, beautiful baby boy being born on the bed.
Elisha, the woman behind @bringinguptheburns, joins us and shares her four daughters' birth stories - two of them in a birth center and two of them at home. For her first birth she was under the care of a "medwife" and vowed to never go that route again. Her second birth was a wonderful experience but still chose to birth her next two at home. Elisha also enlightens us with what kind of inner work she did to prepare for birth.
A Raleigh local joins us "in studio" to disscuss the births of her three boys. One hospital, one birth center and one at home - all of which were uncomplicated. Her most recent baby was born in 1 hour, at home.
BOTB hosts disscuss Jani's most recent freebirth, which did include some community support from women she cherishes. They each shared their perspectives and reminisced over the night Gabie was born. Jani shares the struggles she experienced postpartum, including breastfeeding and having covid.
Brittany's first birth was a long one in the hospital. She endured verbal abuse from the hospital staff and was told she needed an emergency c-section - although when baby was born he had perfect apgar scores, which made her question the care she had received. For her second baby, another very long birth process, she advocated for herself and had a VBAC in the hospital. For her third baby she chose not only a home birth, but a freebirth. She educated herself well, and was confident that she and ...
Jeanne is a birth doula who attended many hospital births before going on to have 4 home births herself. For her first three babies she used a midwife who she had chosen before even getting pregnant and for her last she chose to freebirth. Jeanne shares that while pregnant with her fourth, her mother was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately passed away shortly after giving birth. Her last baby shares her moms birthday - what a gift!
Amanda had the shock of a lifetime when she unexpectedly found out she was pregnant. Being a nurse she chose to birth at a local hospital because that felt most comfortable for her. She did decide to switch OB’s at 30 weeks due to the lack of care. Her now husband was a railroad engineer and for him to be present they opted to be induced a day before her due date. Although all of her births were less than 8 hours she felt this birth was intense, full of verbal insults and threats. She felt traum...
Dr. Emily was still a chiropractic student when she became pregnant. She explored a birth center but ended up choosing a home (on campus) birth with a midwife who she really connected with. She walks us through the beautiful (and sometimes challenging) moments of her birth and postpartum. Dr. Emily's practice, Chiro One, is located in Eauclaire, Wisconsin.
Alyssa so beautifully shared about her pregnancy loss that she chose to experience at home at 12 weeks gestation. This birth happened in between a not so ideal birth center birth with a "medwife" and a very quick family birth at home. We were so honored to have had Alyssa on the podcast to share this very intimate and beautiful story.
Amber had planned on having a natural hospital birth for her first baby but that unfortunately ended in a traumatic c-section. She had to seek out therapy for a year just to be able to talk about her son's birth. When she became pregnant with her second she knew she would be doing things completely different. She had the most redemptive, healing Free Birth. We also discuss what obstetrical violence looks like, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.
Katelynn is a first time mom who decided to free birth at home. She experienced several different variations including her water breaking at 36.5 weeks and passing out multiple times after her daughter was born.
In this episode we get a glimpse of what it is like to birth in Germany. Women's pregnancy and postpartum care is greatly different from what it is like here in the U.S. Aleksandra opted for a birth center for her first but ended up giving birth in the hospital. Her second was a fast home birth. She talks about how important her mindset was for getting pregnant the second time and how managing her stress and seeking help from a therapist was what allowed her to become pregnant.
Shannon is fellow NC mom of six. Her first four hospital births were very traumatic which is what lead her to chose home birth for her most recent two. She thought home birth was "illegal" in NC so she opted for unassisted/freebirths.
Dr. Rebecca is a classmate of Dr. V's from Chiropractic school and she shares about all of the extensive work, both mentally and physically, that she did to prepare for her home birth. She had a fairly long birth process with a 4 hour pushing phase before welcoming her son earth side.
In this episode we interview another member of our MaxLiving family. We cover her four birth stories, a traumatic home birth experience, people you invite into your birth space, the innate power of the human body and much much more. This episode is packed with wisdom for all women, whether you're having your first baby or fifth.
What an amazing conversation we had with Karen, who is the woman behind the very popular Instagram account Pain Free Birth. She has had 3 pain free home births and shares her birth stories as well as how she did it. Karen now teaches other women how to use their minds to achieve a pain free birth.
Shelby is a first time mom who started her prenatal care in the medical system but switched gears and decided to birth at home after having one too many cold, sterile and impersonal appointments. Not to mention she wasn't about to give birth in a mask.
Sara had an extremely traumatic first birth in the hospital. She was given an episiotomy and her baby was vaccinated, both without her consent. Her second birth was also an unpleasant hospital experience. Her third and fourth births were both at home (but in different countries) attended by an amazing midwife @angelamidwife. Sara's UK midwife came to the US to attend her last home birth!
Lindsey shares with us how the birth of her first born was traumatic but didn't realize it until she "went down the rabbit hole" when her son was 8 months old. She learned that what she experienced was unnecessary and violated her as a woman. She decided to take back her power and went on to have a wild pregnancy (no medical care) and freebirth (no midwife) for her next baby.
For Jena's first baby she decided to birth at a midwife center. It came very close to resulting in a hospital transfer, but with Jena's determination and support from her husband, her son was born without transfer. Her second and third were both born at home very quickly, simply and perfect. Jena also shares with us how she decided not to receive the RhoGam shot despite having a negative blood type.
Emily was diagnosed with Hashimotos and was told she would never be able to have kids. She didn't accept this as her future and sought out a second opinion from a more holistic doctor. She quickly became pregnant and decided to birth at home with a midwife.
