Doing It At Home - The Home Birth Podcast

What does it mean to become a student of birth? For Lauren Leduc, that was the role she took on when she planned for her home birth. “I took on pregnancy and birth like it was my major in college!” Who else can relate to that? Lauren shares her birth story of her daughter Gemma. Unsure at first if she wanted to have children, things shifted for Lauren after she turned 35. Eventually she and her husband Arthur made plans to grow the family.  Lauren walks us through some of the challenges that popped up along the way during the pregnancy, the magical birth experience and then the unplanned transfer to the hospital after birth because of complications with the placenta.  One of the big takeaways from this episode is to use your resources and go with your intuition. Things we talk about in this episode: subchorionic haematoma, progesterone, velamentous cord insertion, postpartum hospital transfer, fetal ejection reflex, D&C Links: Lauren’s website: www.Thrivewithlauren.com Lauren’s yoga studio: www.trueloveyogakc.com Lauren’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivewithlaurenleduc/ Sacred Song Home Birth: http://sacredsonghomebirth.com/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Touko 20211h 10min

Who are you going to be when birthing time comes? Today is a fun episode. Not only is it a part 2, but a highly requested one. AND we get to talk to some of our favorite people. Anthony and Erica joined us back in August 2020 to talk about their pregnancy and plans for their upcoming home birth. We’ve known them since 2013 and they’re pretty much family.  So we’re honored to pick the conversation back up from where we left off, and hear the full birth story of baby Ava. If you haven’t heard part 1 (episode no. 287), we highly recommend you do so -- the link for that will be in the show notes of this episode. Things we talk about in this episode: maternity photoshoot, moving through pain aka sensations, a high tear of the waters breaking, cervical lip, the Matrona, birth partner support Links: Part 1 of Anthony and Erica’s story: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/home-birth-story-being-very-intentional-planning-your/id1153134918?i=1000489077553 Erica’s website: https://www.ejcounselingatl.com/ Erica’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ejcounselingatl/ Anthony’s website: https://www.anthonystrayhorn.com/ Anthony’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strayfit.lifestyle/ Anthony’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/strayfitatl The Matrona: https://thematrona.com/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Touko 20211h 10min

How do you plan for a positive hospital birth experience, when you were originally intending to have a home birth? This is such a great topic to cover. For many who start out with a home birth plan, sometimes that changes for various reasons. Sarah Schade shares her story with us. From a diagnosis of an “incompetent” cervix (definitely not a term we’re fond of around here) to another diagnosis of IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), Sarah and her husband Jeremiah went through a lot of ups and downs.  She shares all the thoughts and emotions that came up, and ultimately the arrival of her daughter Clementine.  Things we talk about in this episode: incompetent cervix, cervical cerclage, IUGR, D&C procedure for placenta removal, home birth plan, hospital birth From Sarah: “It was really difficult being labeled as “incompetent”, or “high risk”, especially because being healthy and active is something really important to me, and I never thought I would have any problems with my pregnancy, being so young and healthy. We shifted from working only with our midwife, to the medical treatment model, which neither of us envisioned for our pregnancy… My pregnancy was filled with joy, sadness, fear, and anger. Our baby is healthy, and we are so in love with our little fighter, and her strength. But we have learned so much about the health care system, how women are treated, and why women need to be given more options in treatment. We had a lot of positive aspects to her birth, but were also threatened with an episiotomy, forceps, and vacuum. Our midwife and the hospital nursing staff was amazing, but the doctor on call severely violated some of my wishes without consent.  I want to share my birth story, because it’s not enough to believe that “doctors know best” when in actuality birth experiences matter to the mental and physical health of women and their babies.” Links: Sarah’s Schade’s website: SarahSchade.com Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Touko 20211h 19min

Where do you feel most safe to give birth? Ultimately, that’s one of, if not the most important question to consider when it comes to your birth plan.  When it came down to it, home was the answer for today’s guest, Porshe Turner.  This was Porshe’s third pregnancy. Influenced by COVID-19 and circumstances related to it, Porshe and her husband Jeremy switched to a home birth plan at 25 weeks pregnant. They kept their plans quiet, like many others we’ve spoken to on the podcast (some prefer to keep home birth plans to themselves as a personal preference whether that is to avoid unwanted feedback from others or just desiring a more private experience).  Her previous births were in the hospital: a cesarean breech and a VBAC. One of her concerns going into this third birth was what it would be like to go into labor on her own without any medical intervention.  One interesting element of Porshe’s birth experience is that she went to the hospital during labor when her blood pressure rose, and was eventually able to leave the hospital and return home to have her birth.  From Porshe: "This pregnancy was the only one we planned and we just so happened to plan it at the precipice of a pandemic, which has turned out to be a blessing but also brought about a lot of difficult challenges to navigate. It did push us to evaluate where I felt safest to birth and that aligned best with home." Things we talk about in this episode: cesarean birth, breech birth, VBAC, birth blessing, TENS unit, hospital transfer, other resources that helped prepare Links: January Harshe Birth Without Fear: https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Without-Fear-Judgment-Free-Postpartum/dp/0316515612 The Birth Hour: https://thebirthhour.com/ Birth Kweens: https://www.birthkweens.com/ Badassmotherbirther: https://www.instagram.com/badassmotherbirther Wine About Birth: https://www.wineaboutbirth.com/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Huhti 202144min

What happens if you go past your due date? That depends on a number of factors. One thing that we’ve found helpful when it comes to due date or “guess date,” as we’ve seen it referred to (and tend to prefer), is that this is an area of variation of normal. That a very small percentage of babies are born on the projected due date, and that it’s not an exact certainty.  Today’s guest Jessica shares her journey of her second pregnancy and birth and what influenced her to shift from a hospital plan like she had with her first birth.  In this episode we talk about: going past “due date,” induction methods, resuscitation after birth, pitocin after birth, occult cord, large birth team, hiring a doula, hospital birth, dual car From Jessica: "I chose home birth for my second baby at 18 weeks pregnant when COVID hit and additional support personnel were no longer allowed to join laboring mothers in the hospital setting. My husband started off very reluctant and anxious about it, but after doing research together got on board and was supportive." 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

20 Huhti 20211h 18min

When can you change care providers/plans? Answer: any time you want. This comes up frequently on the podcast. As long as it’s an important and relevant part of the pregnancy and birth experience (which it will always be), we will keep addressing this theme. Because for one thing: many do not know or realize that they are actually allowed to change care providers, whenever and for whatever reason. And there are others who might be aware of this, but are hesitant or afraid to.  Today’s guest, Sarah Schlichter shares her journey of shifting from a planned hospital birth with midwives to a home birth with midwives, at 36 weeks pregnant.  Sarah had a cesarean birth with her first child Camryn. She fell into what she referred to as “the traditional way of thinking”...aka you go to the hospital and have a baby. Her first birth left her with some feelings of trauma and disappointment. When it came to her second pregnancy, taking a course in the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth was a turning point. Finally around 36 weeks, Sarah’s husband Ed asked, “why don’t we just have the baby at home?” In this episode we talk about: hospital cesarean birth, switching care, HBAC, dual care, faith vs. fear, GBS positive, and a bunch of helpful resources (links in description below!) From Sarah: Hannah’s birth is a day I will forever remember, and was perhaps the coolest thing I’ve ever done just because of the circumstances of her birth. I never thought I’d do a homebirth, but I wanted a supportive atmosphere for my TOLAC/VBAC and everything worked out like it was supposed to. At 36 weeks pregnant, I switched care providers. Yes – very late in the game! Ed and I had taken a Bradley Birth Class virtually and resonated with so many of the principles and beliefs of the Bradley Method. We truly wanted this birth to be as “natural” as possible. And while it is completely possible to have a natural birth in a hospital setting, I knew it would raise the stakes and make things more difficult for me Based on my prior C Section. Links: Sarah’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bucketlisttummy_rd/ Sarah’s website: https://www.bucketlisttummy.com/ Give Birth a Chance: https://www.amazon.com/Give-Birth-Chance-Prepare-Empowered/dp/1683505190#:~:text=Give%20Birth%20a%20Chance%20is%20a%20must%20read%20for%20anyone,informed%20about%20the%20birthing%20process. Business of Being Born: https://www.thebusinessof.life/ ICAN: https://www.ican-online.org/find-a-chapter-2/ Spinning Babies: https://www.spinningbabies.com/ Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth: https://www.amazon.com/Ina-Mays-Guide-Childbirth-Gaskin/dp/0553381156 Bradley Method: http://www.bradleybirth.com/ Riverside Midwifery: https://riversidemidwifery.com/ Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diahpodcast/ Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 DIAH Shop: ttps://bit.ly/3qhwgAe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Huhti 202158min

“Why doesn’t everybody do this?” That’s the question that David, Ellen’s husband, asked after the home birth of their daughter Willow.  Ellen walks us through her journey to home birth -- from her doula work for 6 years before her birth and what inspired it, to changing care from a birthing center to home birth, to getting her husband on board with the decision. Ellen also shares some of the postpartum challenges, highlighting that sometimes when you have all the knowledge and take in a lot of information, it may not always serve you.  This story includes: doula work, full moon home birth, women’s health and fertility coaching, changing care providers, water birth, postpartum challenges, Raynaud’s disease, feeding tube 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://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Ellen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellen.r.barnard/ Your Harmony Hive: http://yourharmonyhive.com/ Salt and Cedar Midwifery: https://www.saltandcedarmidwifery.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Huhti 20211h 6min

What does it mean to birth “your way?” What are the steps you take, conversations and experiences you have to build an understanding of what birthing on your terms looks and feels like for you?  Of course it’s different for all of us. Today our guest Delayna Wilkins shares her journey that brought her to her fifth birth (her second home birth).  Amongst the experiences of her previous births (2 medicated hospital, 1 unmedicated hospital and 1 home), Delayna took her doula work and other resources into creating the birth setup that she desired for welcoming her fifth baby. From Delayna: “Each of my births had been better than the last and I was determined to keep the streak going! My first two were born in hospitals with epidurals, my third was unmedicated in hospital, and my fourth was born at home. With my fifth, I prepared myself to birth unassisted at home, but ended up utilizing a super hands-off midwife instead. I wanted to be left alone and hardly touched in labor and birth; I wanted the midwife there only to help if necessary (I had some previous hemorrhaging problems), and I wanted to catch my own baby. I wanted to do it all myself! On August 27, 2020, I did just that. I labored about 6 hours, sat in my bathtub, and barely pushed at all to birth her.” This story includes: medicated hospital birth, unmedicated hospital birth, home birth, doula work, relationship with your midwife, “The Business of Being Born,” medical interventions, water birth, children present at birth. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Maalis 202150min