049: HOME BIRTH STORY - The 11 Pound Home Birth Baby with Natalie Bancroft and Laura Fifield

What’s it like giving birth outside of your native country? It’d be understandable to have fears and/or reservations around birthing in a different country. But what if it could be normal, uncomplicated, supported and without fear? Our guest today is Amy Brown. Amy traveled from Chicago, Illinois to Peru in 2011 to work as a teacher, and hasn’t left since. After meeting her now husband Marco, she has since set up life in Lima. And she has given birth to her two children: daughter, Leah and son, Christopher in a birthing center in the city.  Amy walks us through her journey of desiring natural births without intervention, to selecting the birthing center (run by a German doctor now living in Peru), working with a doula from England (yes, quite the international birth!) and preparing for the birth experience with Marco. We talk about some of the birthing options and trends in her area, where cesarean rates are particularly high.  Then we get to hear details from both of her births, which took place in the Casa Pakarii birth center: This story includes: international birth experience, husband being active participant in birth process, different birth options in Lima, Peru, placenta ceremony (el pago a la tierra), water birth Links: Amy’s Blog: http://www.wawasinperu.com/ Casa Pakarii Birth Center: https://pakarii.com/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/diahpodcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1904721379788084/?ref=bookmarks Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Mama Natural: https://www.mamanatural.com/ Leave us a review: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/doing-it-at-home-216448 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Maalis 202154min

How are you connecting with your body during your pregnancy and birth prep? Today we’re joined by Lindsey K. Mathews, Founder and CEO of BIRTHFIT, prenatal and postpartum programs for mind and body, as well as seminars and education for users of the program and coaches for the organization.  Lindsey walks us through the inspiration and history of BIRTHFIT as well as sharing her own personal journey into birth work and feeding her passion for serving and celebrating women with alternative therapies. The list of roles that Lindsey has includes (and isn’t even limited to): Founder and CEO of BIRTHFIT, chiropractor, birth doula, strength and conditioning coach, yoga instructor, NLP practitioner, childbirth educator and author. So you can imagine, we had lots to talk about! From working in Hollywood and the sports industry, Lindsey eventually found herself diving into research, education and course work around recovering and healing in prenatal and postpartum as efficiently as possible as a way to serve her clients. Now for Lindsey, “birth work is my sport.” We talk about the building blocks of BIRTHFIT (fitness, nutrition, chiropractic and mindset) and how they can serve pregnant women prepare for the birth experience and the opportunity to develop a deep trust in the body.  Topics we cover in this episode: prenatal and postpartum fitness, chiropractic, doula work, healing and recovery, drug-free birth Links: Get 50% off the BIRTHFIT Education with the code DIAH50off: https://birthfit.mykajabi.com/store/Xy3nDKkS BIRTHFIT website: https://birthfit.com/ BIRTHFIT Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birthfit/ Lindsey’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsey_k_mathews/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/diahpodcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1904721379788084/?ref=bookmarks Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Helmi 20211h 9min

Is one way to birth “better” than another? Sometimes there are misconceptions and unhealthy conversations floating about in the birth community around natural vs. medicated birth or hospital vs. home. That one is better than the other or there’s a sense of superiority or higher moral code to choose one over the other. And competition comes in as a factor, like there is something to prove or defy. This topic is relevant for the conversation we have today with Lillie Cooke, sharing her birth story with us. Lillie and her husband Josh planned for a home birth with their first child, son Judah. Along the way towards planning for the birth, Lillie noticed little things that indicated she wasn’t really connecting deeply with her midwife. There was also a big fear of going to the hospital, seeking to avoid that at all costs. This fear stemmed from, as Lillie put it “hearing terrible hospital stories and only fairy tale home birth stories from the homebirth community.” Labor began at 40 weeks and 6 days. After laboring for 4 days, things started to feel chaotic and the midwife’s hands-off approach wasn’t very helpful for what Lillie needed. Lillie made the choice to transfer because of pain and exhaustion. What helped make the transfer a less fearful event was the great experience she had with the staff there. They were respectful and she felt empowered, calm and peaceful.  Some words from Lillie: “I ended up having so much better care and such a peaceful birth. The OB was more of a midwife than my own midwife! We ended up with a peaceful vaginal delivery. She also didn’t check on me until 3 weeks after my birth. After I just felt abandoned and not welcome in the home birth community. I felt the one in our area was not very inclusive to all births and made it feel like you didn’t have a good enough or “superior” birth if it wasn’t at home. My experience woke me up from the tunnel vision I had before from being in that community and showed me that none of that was true. That’s why I love this podcast because it is the only home birth podcast that is inclusive with ALL births and shows the pros AND cons of homebirth. I want to share my story to other first time mamas so they have a better perspective and know there is no superior way or place to birth despite what people promote. And there are good stories and traumatic stories at home just like at the hospital. But no one lets people come on and talk about that with home births and that’s a shame. Everyone’s experience is so powerful. Birth is so powerful. I've learned a lot from my first birth and would just love to share my story and my thoughts surrounding it.”  And - Lillie is currently pregnant with her second child. What birth plan are they creating? Listen in to find out! Topics we cover in this episode: Business of Being Born, Ina May Gaskin, relationship with your midwife, choosing a care provider that’s best for you, Miles Circuit, hospital transfer, epidural Links: Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/diahpodcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1904721379788084/?ref=bookmarks Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Miles Circuit: http://www.milescircuit.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Helmi 202151min

“How are you doing mentally and physically through your open-to-conceive journey?”  This is a really great question we received recently when we did one of those fun Instagram story “what questions do you have for us?” things. And we thought it was appropriate timing to bring this onto the podcast and have a followup to our first conversation that we put out in September 2020, talking about our conception journey and planning for a second baby. Check out that episode (293) if you haven’t already. In this episode we’re still bringing the vulnerability and transparency, along with some things we’ve learned and grown from since September and even earlier back to when we originally embarked on this process.  We describe our highs and our lows and all that comes up for us as a couple and individually. How we’re feeling as we near a 1 year mark of “open to conceive,” and what interventions we’d consider. Then we address some fresh and even real-time unpacking of some things we don’t fully agree on, and how we move through that in order to stay intimately connected in our partnership. It’s certainly a juicy one! Feel free to contact us at hello[at]diahpodcast[dot]com with any followup questions or feedback! Links: Episode 293: A Vulnerable and Transparent Conversation Around Conception: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-vulnerable-and-transparent-conversation-on-conception/id1153134918?i=1000491733548 “Doing It At Home” book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098GVJ9KL?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Home Birth Support Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoKeBfEZ143sWU7V9I5Gdg DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe  Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Helmi 20211h 42min

How do our births influence our life journeys? That’s such a big question. It can be, as is likely, multi-faceted. For some, one area where birth impacts is the profession or calling they lean into. For our guest today Brenda Amaya, her births lead her to her doula and birth photography work, and now as she works with other birth workers and in her plans to train as a traditional midwife. Brenda shares some of her history with us. From her first birth in a hospital, which was traumatic, to her second birth being at home. It was her second birth that pushed her into doula work. Then we get to hear details from her third birth, also at home. Along with her birth stories, we learn about Brenda’s work with mother blessing -- ceremonies for mothers as they prepare for their birth experiences. Plus her work in the Latinx community to provide services and resources for families who are interested in learning more about their birthing options. Things we cover in this episode: birth trauma, doula work, importance of community, mother blessings, birth photography work, birth in the Latinx community Links: Brenda’s Website: https://www.thedoulatog.com/ Brenda’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_doulatog/ Brenda’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedoulatog/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/diahpodcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1904721379788084/?ref=bookmarks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Helmi 202145min

Today’s birth story features Briahnna Roy and Jerry Scott, a couple sharing their journey to home birth.  For their first baby, Briahnna and Jerry chose to deliver in a birth center. The experience wasn’t everything they wanted, and when it came time to decide on the location for baby number two, they opted for home birth.  From Briahnna: “The second birth was incredible. It was the most unreal, beautiful experience. Everything was so calm. I was very quiet and so in control. I was surprised by myself. I can honestly say that it was not painful. It was everything I ever wanted.” Links: Briahnna and Jerry's Youtube Channel “ReadyScottsGo”: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtvyYJ7xRVehO5UydyHZAw The Curtis Method of Childbirth Education: https://curtismethod.com/ “Doing It At Home” book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098GVJ9KL?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Home Birth Support Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoKeBfEZ143sWU7V9I5Gdg DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe  Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Tammi 20211h 12min

How do we move through the discomforts of pregnancy and birth? This comes up in today’s interview with Melanie Meador. Melanie shares her journey with both of her home birth experiences.  Melanie had hyperemesis gravidarum with both pregnancies (extreme and persistent nausea during pregnancy, often with frequent vomiting).  With her first birth experience, she was feeling a little rushed going into the process, because her midwifery practice was going to close 3 days after her due date. Plus she was working full-time. The birth lasted 34 hours with her waters broken. This is a stark contrast from her second birth, 6 hours and baby was born en caul (waters still intact).  Melanie is the only person in her group of friends to have had a home birth. And with her mother and almost all of her aunts having cesarean births, this was something unique. Melanie says, “My mom was so excited to be at the birth of my son that she told anyone that would listen for the first 2 years!” This birth story includes: hyperemesis gravidarum, doula, acupuncture, TENs machine, membrane stripping, en caul, cervical lip, and red raspberry leaf tea. Links: “Doing It At Home” book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098GVJ9KL?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Home Birth Support Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoKeBfEZ143sWU7V9I5Gdg DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe  Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Tammi 20211h 10min

How do you know when labor is starting? This is a question we put out there into the community, and received some really great answers and examples. So we’re sharing them with you! Plus our experience of what it was like when we realized it was “game time” -- what it felt like, what was going on, and what we did once it was clearly active labor. There’s a wide range of possibilities and experiences when it comes to discovering you’re in labor. Our goal in sharing this conversation with you is to help you should you find yourself experiencing anything similar to these situations. And for those who have already been through the birthing experience, something to reflect back on and connect with. We also share some bonus tips on what you can do when you do discover you’re in labor, to avoid any unnecessary stressors and create a smooth and peaceful environment. Oh, and just for fun -- please message us or engage on social media and weigh in on the epic saga of “the mixed greens” in the Bivens household!  Links: Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Shop: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/diahpodcast Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1904721379788084/?ref=bookmarks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Tammi 202144min