5 Home Births Over the Course of 20 Years with Melissa Rae Irish-Miller

Ever wondered how to include your older kids in your home birth in a way that’s empowering, fun, and not scary? In this episode, we’re sharing creative tips from real home birth families on how they prepared their children to be present for the birth of a sibling. From animal birth videos and “growling games” to plain talk about body parts and backup plans for midnight labors—this one’s packed with heart and humor. Whether you’re planning to have your little ones right there or just want the option open, this convo will help you feel more confident and connected as a family. If you had your children present at your home birth, and have any additional advice for fellow listeners, we'd love to hear it! You can reach out to us at ⁠hello@diahpodcast.com⁠. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your first-time, one-time order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Elo 18min

In today's episode we're talking to mama Emily Lucchino about giving birth at a birth center, being a natural mama, and how chiropractic practices factored into her prenatal care. Meet Emily, chiropractor, doula-in-training, mama to Ava Grace, wife to Joe, and lover of all things natural. Emily grew up on a farm and familiar with what it’s like to live off the land. She shares that when they weren’t feeling well in her home, they used hand-picked herbs, flowers and other natural remedies for healing. It makes sense that Emily was drawn to school for chiropractic care, being in alignment (pun intended!) with natural healthcare and living. Her husband Joe had a more modern upbringing. So when it came time to decide what to do when they became pregnant, it was a big test of their marriage. To set the scene, Emily and Joe got pregnant just after getting married, at the same time their careers were taking off. So here they are with multiple new life experiences and figuring out how to navigate it all. They asked themselves, “are we ready for this?!” Emily originally wanted a home birth. After some discussion and compromising with Joe, they decided on a birthing center. Emily takes us through the process of this decision, along with some of the deep self-work she did while pregnant. She’s excited to share her story because it’s an opportunity to re-write the script of what you typically hear around birth. And she also answers the million dollar question for us - Will they do a home birth for baby number 2?! Links From The Episode: The Midwife Center for Birth & Women's Health⁠ in Pittsburg, PA Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your first-time, one-time order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Elo 44min

In this episode we're talking about mommy guilt, comparison and shame. We're kicking off a brand new series on the Doing It At Home podcast. Normally we talk about home birth, healthy pregnancy, and share home birth stories. But we also want to bring conversations about new parenthood because that's extremely relevant to many of our listeners (and also to ourselves).  On episode 45 Matthew and I interviewed new mom Monica Smith, and me and Monica really hit it off. So much so that we started having weekly phone calls where we opened up to one another about the challenges we were facing in new motherhood. The conversations were so honest and raw that we decided to record them for you all, because we know we're not the only ones with these feelings. So what you're hearing is a recorded conversation between Monica and myself. There is no structure to the call, we're simply sharing from our hearts how we're feeling in the moment. In this episode we talk about mommy guilt, comparison and shame. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your first-time, one-time order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Elo 20min

In this episode, we’re chatting with Kim Newing - a teacher, intuitive coach and creator of hypnotic meditations for women who want more from their lives. I found Kim from a Facebook post of a video of her home birth (link to video is in our show notes on our website). This video brought me to tears and I knew we had to have her on the show. The video was the home birth of her third daughter, Harper. Kim is mother to two other girls, Charlotte and Page. Kim, her husband Jess and their girls live in Brisbane, Australia (if you haven’t noticed, we’ve had quite a few amazing interviews with women from Australia - it’s rising steadily to the top of our list of places we need to visit!). Kim was a life coach for 11 years, and then her business took a slightly different trajectory after experiencing a miscarriage. Since then, she’s found a way to acknowledge the divine synchronistic events of life, and to birth something beautiful from the experience. Then, Mama Goddess was born! Mama Goddess is Kim’s movement - a way to address the lack of nurturing many women have towards themselves. It’s also an awakening for women to love and honor themselves. Kim’s goal is to help women feel whole and empowered in the preparation and experience of birth. To do this, she has just launched her Sacred Birthing Program, an audio series for conscious women to want to experience a “divine and empowered birthing experience.” In this program, Kim is there with you to say, “I see you and I know what you’re capable of.” Kim is really about the spirituality of birth, and her experiences and knowledge are so valuable and we’re grateful to share it with our listeners. Links From The Episode: ⁠Kim's Website⁠ ⁠Sacred Birthing Course⁠ ⁠ Kim's incredible home birth video⁠ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Elo 35min

We’re launching a special series of episodes, each centered on one powerful theme in the home birth journey. This first set — Water Birth Stories — gathers real experiences and insights to support, inspire, and immerse you in the magic of water birth! 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 From This Episode: Briahnna and Jerry's Youtube Channel “ReadyScottsGo”: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtvyYJ7xRVehO5UydyHZAw⁠ The Curtis Method of Childbirth Education: https://curtismethod.com/ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Elo 1h 10min

We’re launching a special series of episodes, each centered on one powerful theme in the home birth journey. This first set — Water Birth Stories — gathers real experiences and insights to support, inspire, and immerse you in the magic of water birth! How can you take your power back after it feels like a previous birth experience took it away? Today’s story with Karine Halle features details of trauma from a hospital birth for her first child and how she was determined to have a home birth for her second.  In between her first and second birth, she felt called into doula work and became passionate about supporting families in the birth experience.  For her second pregnancy and birth, she did everything she could to put the odds on her side to have her dream birth. *Please note that this conversation contains mention of suicidal thoughts Things we talk about in this episode: Postpartum rage GBS positive Gestational Diabetes testing Body work for birth: chiropractic care, massage, yoga, exercise Links From The Episode: The Birth Hour: ⁠https://thebirthhour.com/⁠ Birthful: ⁠https://birthful.com/⁠ Evidence Based Birth Podcast: ⁠https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-based-birth-podcast/⁠ Babies are Not Pizzas: ⁠https://amzn.to/3UGYtPi⁠ Ina May: ⁠https://amzn.to/3tfHuI2⁠ Hypnobirthing: ⁠https://hypnobirthing.com/⁠ The First Forty Days: ⁠https://amzn.to/3WMDtbK⁠ Birthing from Within: ⁠https://amzn.to/3tfHOqe⁠ The Fourth Trimester: ⁠https://amzn.to/3NOSUvE⁠ Business of Being Born: ⁠https://www.thebusinessof.life/⁠ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: ⁠https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP⁠ - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order or DIAH100 for $100 off a Complete Plan  More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon:⁠ https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU⁠ DIAH YouTube:⁠ https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC⁠ DIAH Merch:⁠ https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe ⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Elo 1h 6min

We’re launching a special series of episodes, each centered on one powerful theme in the home birth journey. This first set — Water Birth Stories — gathers real experiences and insights to support, inspire, and immerse you in the magic of water birth! How does your first pregnancy and birth experience impact your second? In today’s interview, we’re chatting with Carolyn about her pregnancy and birth story of her son Solomon, while pregnant with her second child. We go over her decision to have a home birth as well as the intense first trimester sickness she experienced. Also the denial around labor starting, which we’ve heard quite a few times from mamas on the show. Carolyn shares that while the birth went very well, it was still different from what she imagined in her mind. Following her birth, she experienced postpartum anxiety that involved separation anxiety and trouble sleeping. Addressing the anxiety and getting help around it has supported and encouraged her in preparation for her next child, due this fall. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Elo 1h 16min

We’re launching a special series of episodes, each centered on one powerful theme in the home birth journey. This first set — Water Birth Stories — gathers real experiences and insights to support, inspire, and immerse you in the magic of water birth! In today’s episode we’re talking with Kimberly Huck, a mama who used the Bradley Method during her water birth at home. Kimberly is mama to Henry and wife to Dan. And we have a special connection with Kimberly. We live near each other and...we used the same midwives! So the same women who helped deliver baby Maya, delivered baby Henry just a few months earlier. Kimberly and I connected after she posted a cool home birth related article on Facebook that happened to make its way into my awareness (article link in the show notes). Kimberly grew up in a natural home, being unvaccinated herself. She became interested in home birth after working for a chiropractor in her early 20s who had a home birth in their family. So for she and Dan, home birth is just a part of the world they live in. In their environment it’s “normal.” Kimberly’s story highlights the concept of honoring the body’s natural process and timing. Also - birth is not an exact science. Enjoy her journey and story!   Links From The Episode ⁠Kimberly's Crunchi page⁠ ⁠American Row House⁠ ⁠Dawning Life Midwifery⁠ ⁠The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth⁠ ⁠Birth Takes A Village article "Dear home birth skeptic"⁠ ⁠Dr. Bootstaylor's gynecology, midwifery and perinatal practice⁠ ⁠Dr. Rubin's chiropractic practice⁠ Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://needed.sjv.io/XY3903 - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/doingitathome Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Elo 57min