In today's episode we meet Katherine and she shares her five birth stories. Katherine’s first cesarean was scheduled due to breech presentation, but when the cesarean was actually performed it was discovered that baby was no longer breech. During Katherine’s next two pregnancies she planned for a VBAC and VBA2C, but ended up scheduling her second cesarean because of the hospital and her third cesarean due to no longer feeling comfortable pursuing a VBA2C. Katherine’s next birth was a VBA3C in th...
Apr 01, 2023•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 44
In today's episode we meet Alicia, who is a mother of two. Alicia was raised not to fear birth and always knew that she wanted to have a home birth, but when her baby flipped breech right before her estimated due date, Alicia’s home birth plans turned into a cesarean. She went on to plan another home birth with her second baby and had a redemptive HBAC. Join us as Alicia shares her birth stories, the emotional toll that planning a home birth and then having a cesarean can have, why she chose to ...
Mar 11, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 43
In today's episode we meet Coffee, who is a CRNA and mother to five children. Coffee’s first birth was a cesarean after being drug through the cascade of interventions, followed by a scheduled repeat cesarean. When she was pregnant with her third child, the OB she was seeing was unable to support a VBA2C but gave her a recommendation for a local home birth midwife. Coffee then went on to have three HBA2Cs with her next three children. Join us as Coffee shares her birth stories and how her belief...
Feb 24, 2023•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 42
In today's episode we meet Brittany, who is a homeschooling mom of eight. Brittany’s first two births were cesareans, followed by an unmedicated hospital VBA2C with a 10lb 2oz baby. With her fourth pregnancy, Brittany had another cesarean at 32 weeks with a special scar, followed by an HBA3C with an unlicensed midwife and three UBA3Cs, one of which was with a 11lb 4oz baby. Join us as Brittany shares her birth stories, her varying postpartum experiences, how she navigated planning for a VBAC wit...
Jan 24, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 41
In today's episode we meet Morgan, who is a traditional midwife and mother of five. Morgan’s first birth was a cesarean after she experienced the typical cascade of interventions in the hospital, and her second birth was a hospital VBAC that left her feeling like there was still something missing. Morgan then went on to have 3 unassisted births, each of which were vastly different. Join us as Morgan shares her birth stories, how her varying birth experiences led her to stand up for herself and n...
Jul 02, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 40
In today's episode we meet Ashton, who shares her four birth stories. Ashton’s first baby was born via cesarean at 37 weeks due to her doctor estimating that he would be a big baby. Her next two births were hospital VBACs, followed by an HBAC with her fourth baby who was over 10 pounds. Join us as Ashton shares her birth stories, how she involved her children, specifically her son, in her home birth, and how traveling down the rabbit hole of researching physiological birth can lead to lifestyle ...
Jun 22, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 39
In today's episode we meet Reba, who shares her four birth stories, as well as her experiences with stillbirth and an ectopic pregnancy which resulted in losing an ovary and a fallopian tube. Join us as Reba shares her birth stories, the trauma she has endured, how it has shaped her into who she is and has influenced the decisions she makes for herself and her children, including her choice to birth unassisted after a cesarean twice. We also discuss if there is a true necessity for an induction ...
Jun 13, 2022•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 38
In today's episode we meet Lily, who is a mother of three. Her first birth ended in a cesarean after her water broke and the hospital wanted to speed up the labor process, which resulted in interventions that caused her son distress. Lily’s second birth was a hospital VBAC, followed by an HBAC for her third. Join us as Lily shares her birth stories, how she made the switch to plan a home birth in the middle of her third pregnancy, and the things that she has learned about how her body likes to g...
Jun 09, 2022•41 min•Ep. 37
In today's episode we meet Melanie, who is a mother of two. Melanie experienced the cascade of interventions after an induction for being “overdue” with her first pregnancy, and after her birth trauma and a difficult postpartum time, beginning with her son spending some time in the NICU, she immediately knew that she wanted something different the next time. For her next pregnancy, Melanie went on to plan an HBAC and gave birth to her baby at home. Join us as Melanie shares her birth stories, ho...
Jun 06, 2022•36 min•Ep. 36
In today's episode we meet Courtney, who has had a wide variety of birthing experiences. Courtney had a cesarean with her first baby after going through the cascade of interventions that started with an induction for a suspected “big baby,” and then had a hospital VBAC, a birth center VBAC and an HBAC. Join us as Courtney shares her birth stories, as well as her experience with having a miscarriage and her family’s journey in fostering and adopting. We also discuss feeling dehumanized and like y...
May 30, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 35
In today's episode we meet Rachael, who is a mother of two. Rachael had a scheduled cesarean at 36 weeks during her first pregnancy due to placenta previa. This left her with a difficult postpartum period due to baby being early. Before the scheduled cesarean even took place, Rachael knew that she would be pursuing a VBAC during her next pregnancy. When she got pregnant she planned an HBAC and gave birth to her next baby at home. Join us as Rachael shares her birth stories, how alone and anxious...
May 26, 2022•26 min•Ep. 34
In today's episode we meet Jaimie, who is a mother of four, as well as a doula and lactation consultant. Jaimie had a cesarean after her first baby flipped breech between 38 and 39 weeks. After being led to believe that she would have a “gentle cesarean” but none of her preferences actually being honored, she knew she wanted something different the next time. Jaimie then went on to have a hospital VBAC with a 9lb baby and 2 HBACs, both of which were with 10lb babies. Join us as Jaimie shares her...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 33
In today's episode we meet Jen, who is a mother of two. Jen had a cesarean with her first child after a long labor and very little support in the hospital. Feeling dehumanized and traumatized by her experience, she began to look into other options and hired a home birth midwife as soon as she realized that she was pregnant with her second child. Jen then went on to give birth to her 10lb pound baby at home. Join us as Jen shares her birth stories, the feeling she experienced during and after her...
May 19, 2022•51 min•Ep. 32
In today's episode we meet Megan. Despite Megan’s desire for a natural birth, her journey to motherhood began with an ectopic pregnancy and the discovery of autoimmune issues which left her feeling shaken and like maybe home birth wasn’t for her after all. When she got pregnant again, Megan sought out care from the OB who had performed the surgery for her ectopic pregnancy and ended up having a cesarean due to breech presentation. Immediately after her cesarean, Megan knew that she definitely wa...
May 16, 2022•41 min•Ep. 31
In today's episode we meet Kara, who is a mother of two. At the end of Kara’s first pregnancy, she was told to go in for an induction while her blood pressure was normal rather than waiting for it to get high again, despite only having had one high blood pressure reading several weeks beforehand. What her provider had said would be a “gentle induction” quickly cascaded into a cesarean. When Kara became pregnant again, her hospital VBAC plans turned into HBAC plans when covid hospital restriction...
May 02, 2022•55 min•Ep. 30
In today's episode we meet Callie, who is a mother of four and a holistic doula, lactation specialist, placenta encapsulator and un-schooler. Callie had a cesarean with her first baby after being put on a clock at the hospital. She was then scared into a scheduled repeat cesarean with her second after a third trimester ultrasound showed that her baby was “too big.” During her third pregnancy, Callie planned for a hospital VBAC, but then experienced a bait-and-switch from her provider and fired t...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 29
In today's episode we meet Kori, who is a mother of two and currently lives on the island of Maui. Kori is a wealth of knowledge and has her own platform, podcast and online course where she teaches women how to restore their metabolism, vitality and food freedom of their youth. Kori’s first pregnancy ended in a cesarean due to her son being transverse when her water broke. She had been receiving prenatal care at a birth center in Florida, and had a poor experience when they needed to transfer t...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 28
In today's episode we meet Kelli, who is a mother of two. Kelli’s first birth ended in a cesarean after it was discovered that her baby was breech when she arrived at the hospital in labor. When she became pregnant with her second baby, Kelli discovered that this baby was also breech, but she knew that she didn’t want to have another cesarean. At 39 weeks, just 3 days shy of going into labor, Kelli solidified the support of a home birth midwife and gave birth to her breech baby in the comfort of...
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 27
In today's episode we meet Stephanie, who is a mother of three and a physical therapist. Stephanie had a cesarean with her first baby due to a sudden and severe onset of preeclampsia, which was followed by a 3 week NICU stay for her baby and an emotionally difficult postpartum recovery. With her next pregnancy, Stephanie hired the same midwifery group, but ended up being transferred to the on-call OB during labor when none of the midwives showed up for her. Despite having a VBAC, this was follow...
Mar 28, 2022•33 min•Ep. 26
In today's episode we meet Dr. Sarah, who is a chiropractor and birth educator, and she shares her three birth stories. After her first pregnancy ended in a missed miscarriage, Dr. Sarah stayed with the same OBGYN group for her next pregnancy after undergoing IUI to become pregnant. Despite a voice in her head saying to just stay home, Dr. Sarah went into the hospital and had a cesarean for no reason other than falling into a cascade of interventions and her birth not following the hospital’s ti...
Mar 24, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 25
In today's episode we meet Dana and she shares her three birth stories. During her first pregnancy, Dana was given a membrane sweep without her consent at 41 weeks and her water broke later in the evening. After immediately going into the hospital, Dana’s labor was augmented with pitocin, she got an epidural, and when she spiked a fever the OB on call suggested a cesarean. With her next pregnancy, Dana stayed with the same OB/midwife practice and had an unmedicated labor where she fully dilated ...
Mar 14, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 24
In today's episode we continue our conversation with Susan as she shares the last five of her nine birth stories. Susan had her babies between the years of 1973-1989 and is now 71 years old. Her last five births all took place at home, with three of them being unassisted, and one of the babies weighing in at just under 13 pounds. Join us as Susan shares her last five birth stories. We also discuss how routine prenatal testing had increased by the time of Susan's last pregnancy, how giving birth ...
Mar 10, 2022•47 min•Ep. 23
In today's episode we meet Susan who shares the first four of her nine birth stories. Susan had her babies between the years of 1973-1989 and is now 71 years old. Her first birth ended in a cesarean after her water broke, labor didn't immediately start, and the hospital's induction timeline ran out. After that birth, Susan was told that she could never have a baby vaginally, but she went on to have two hospital VBACs, one of which was to a 11 pound baby, and an HBAC with a 10 pound baby. Join us...
Mar 08, 2022•57 min•Ep. 22
In today's episode we meet Alicia, who is a former RN, and she shares her five birth stories. During her first pregnancy, Alicia shares that she just went through the motions, saw an OB and had a 32 hour Pitocin induction that included many interventions. When she held her daughter after birth, she felt disconnected and immediately knew that this is not how birth was supposed to be. Almost 7 years later, Alicia had an unmedicated hospital birth with a midwife, but this time she immediately knew ...
Feb 21, 2022•49 min•Ep. 21
In today's episode we meet Brittany. After Brittany's first pregnancy ended in a missed miscarriage and she experienced poor care from the hospital, she knew that she wanted something different during her future pregnancies. Brittany chose to receive care from midwives at a birth center during her next pregnancy, but they dropped her from their care when she went past 42 weeks. Brittany was then left without a care provider and eventually had a cesarean at 43 weeks after some intense coercion an...
Feb 14, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 20
In today's episode we continue our conversation with Amanda, who is a mother of four and an advocate for pregnant and birthing women. After having an HBAC for her second birth, Amanda knew that was exactly what she wanted again for her third and fourth births. After all of her experiences, Amanda knew that she had to share everything she had learned, which led her to create her own Facebook group and begin coaching women. Join us as Amanda shares her second and third HBAC stories, which both end...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 19
In today's episode we meet Amanda, who is a mother of four and an advocate for pregnant and birthing women. Amanda wanted a natural birth with her first child, but was pressured into an unnecessary cesarean by her provider. Knowing that she didn’t want to experience that type of coercion and manipulation again, Amanda advocated for herself and switched providers multiple times leading up to her next birth, which was an HBAC. Join us as Amanda shares her birth stories, how she dealt with the cons...
Oct 04, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 18
In today's episode we meet Christina, who is a mother of two. Christina planned a home birth during her first pregnancy, but when labor lasted 6 days, she made the decision to transfer to the hospital. After requesting an epidural in hopes of getting some much needed rest, Christina went on to labor for 12 more hours and then had a cesarean. Christina knew that she did not want to have another cesarean or hospital birth, and once again made the decision to have a home birth when she became pregn...
Sep 27, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 17
In today's episode we meet Adva, who is a mother of two. Adva had a cesarean with her first child after he turned breech during labor, and the birth center that she had planned to give birth at transferred her care to the hospital. During Adva’s second pregnancy, she sought out care from the same midwifery group but was told that she could not have a VBAC at the birth center. Adva then planned to give birth at a hospital in case there was an emergency that occurred during labor, but decided to s...
Sep 20, 2021•37 min•Ep. 16
In today's episode we meet Katie, who is a mother of two. Katie had a cesarean with her first child after her waters ruptured prematurely, and she shares how during that labor she lost track of trusting her body. Katie immediately knew that she wanted something different for her next pregnancy and birth, and she sought out a home birth midwife. With her second pregnancy, Katie's waters once again ruptured prematurely, and she knew that there was a lesson to be learned. Katie goes on to share her...
May 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 15
