033: You're Doing Great, Mama!

Have you experienced postpartum PTSD? Today we’re talking with Stephanie Aberlich, not only about her home birth of her son Arlo (which she and her husband Dustin planned for and kept a secret from friends and family), but also the traumatic ER visit and hospital stay for baby Arlo just 24 hours after he was born and was experiencing fast breathing. Doctors later diagnosed him with polycythemia and kept him in the PICU and then the NICU for a total of 5 nights and 4 days. Stephanie talks about their experience, including all the procedures that Arlo underwent as well as the treatment and care from the hospital staff (particularly around their decision to home birth) and how she’s processed since the event.  Stephanie is beautifully open about the whole thing and shares with a reliability and vulnerability that we know will touch other families who have experienced something similar, as well as inform others who have not. Links: Stephanie’s website: https://inharmonylife.com/ Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC 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

21 Maj 20191h 35min

How does the experience of one birth influence the plans for births that follow? Today we chat with Emilee Petrill, and we pack a lot into a sub-hour conversation. Emilee has experienced a hospital birth with her first son Corbyn, a birthing center for her son Penn and finally a home birth for her son Moxy. She walks us through the processes and decisions around each of those experiences. Then we get into the details of her home birth, and why she’s thinking about a free/unassisted birth for a future baby. Bonus topics in this conversation include Emilee’s experience with consuming her placenta and why she’s a big advocate for it, the 10,000+ oz of breast milk she has donated and how the Doing It At Home podcast and community has impacted her body image and sex life! Links: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC 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

14 Maj 201953min

What if you felt like no one believed in your body’s ability to birth your baby? What if a care provider told you that just by being pregnant you were making an unsafe choice? Today we talk to Dedra Straka, mama of 4. Dedra had a home birth for her fourth, after 3 cesarean births. She had always dreamed of a home birth, but due to multiple circumstances and methods of care after her first cesarean, she would try for a VBAC for the next two but felt cornered and pressured. Following her third birth, doctors noticed a thin left lower uterine segment (essentially the thinning of the uterine lining, which could potentially cause future complications). After waiting the recommended 2-3 years before becoming pregnant again, Dedra and her husband Joshua thought it would be another cesarean for their fourth birth. But unpleasant encounters with a doctor who claimed she was putting her child’s life in danger by even being pregnant, she no longer wanted to be in his care. Utilizing resources like the local ICAN community and finding a midwife who could support her process, Dedra eventually moved into a plan for a home birth. This is an inspiring story of coming full circle in the process of informed, empowered choice and healing when it comes to birth. Links: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe  Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Kelly McDermott from Sage Femme - http://sage-femmemidwifery.com/about/meet-us/ ICAN - http://www.ican-online.org/ Dedra’s video - https://youtu.be/3QPfQM8i_GM ICAN Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/ICANonline/ ICAN Capital District - https://www.facebook.com/ICANoftheCapitalDistrict Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Maj 201946min

In today’s episode we’re talking with Laura Fifield and Natalie Bancroft, two amazing women who are linked with a quite famous recent birth story. You see Natalie, a birth photographer and doula as well as a mama of 3, gave birth to her third baby earlier this year at home. And baby Simon weighed 11 lbs. 2 oz!!! And Laura, Natalie’s friend, birth photographer and mama of 2, was there to document the experience. Some of the amazing photos from the birth, namely one that features Natalie holding her newly birthed bundle of adorable squish with this elated, shocked, goddess-like expression of “wow!” has been featured far and wide. Publications like Today Show, Hello Giggles and even People have featured the image on their sites. We were so grateful and excited to speak with these awesome women. They share insights from the birth photography community, which is small in their city of Spokane, WA. We get to hear about some of the memorable births they’ve been able to document. Natalie talks about her journey to home birth, having her first in a hospital, and deciding that she wanted a different experience for future births. Her second was a beautiful home birth, and she knew she’d have another one for her third. It wasn’t long into the pregnancy that she realized baby number 3 was going to be larger than the others. Natalie’s belly was so much larger, in fact, that they went for an ultrasound towards the end of the pregnancy to find out if she was having twins! Turns out, she wasn’t. This baby was just that big. When birthing time came around, everyone was prepared and peaceful. And the whole experience was only about 4 hours! Both these women are total rockstars and inspiration for the birthing community. We’re honored to have them join the DIAH podcast and share a story that has reached so many. Enjoy! Links: Spokane River Midwifes - http://spokanerivermidwives.com/ Childbirth without fear - https://www.amazon.com/Childbirth-Without-Fear-Principles-Practice/dp/1780660553 Ina mays guide to childbirth - https://www.amazon.com/Ina-Mays-Guide-Childbirth-Gaskin/dp/0553381156 Today - http://www.today.com/parents/mom-gives-birth-11-pound-baby-home-without-epidural-t110221 Hello Giggles - http://hellogiggles.com/shows-womens-bodies-incredible-meet-mom-gave-birth-11-lb-baby-home-without-epidural/ People - http://people.com/bodies/mom-11-lb-baby-without-epidural-at-home/ Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC 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

1 Maj 201955min

How long was your birth? We tend to made assumptions about the birth experience based on how long it was. Especially if it was very fast. Some might think, “Oh, wow that’s awesome! You’re so lucky!” But it’s not always that simple. In today’s episode, we talk to both mom and dad! Caitlin and Drew Hutcheon join us to talk about their pregnancy and birth of their son Harbor. Both Caitlin and Drew are in the birth world! They served on the board of the Birth Network of Monterey while living there. And Caitlin is also an Evidence Based Birth instructor, Birth Chemistry educator, Doula and birth activist.  Their birth lasted a total of 5 hours. Despite things moving very quickly, there were some challenges and things to move through, like not being totally prepared for birth and communication around how fast things were actually progressing. This is great support in the conversation of processing parts of your birth that don’t exactly go to plan. Your feelings are valid and everyone has their own experience and way to cope. Links:Our website: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC 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

23 Apr 201944min

What do you think it would be like to grow from a family of 2 to a family of 5 in just under a year? Well, you’ll hear a little bit about that today in our interview with Lynnea Krall. Lynnea is an RN turned doula who believes in the power of supporting women and families in birth. She and her husband Daniel struggled themselves when it came time to plan their family. After 2.5 years of infertility challenges, they were told that it would be medical impossible for them to have biological children. Already planning to foster at some point, they moved up that timeline when they brought two beautiful little girls into their lives, Winne and Lissa. A month and a half later, they found out they were pregnant! So listen in to hear the rest of this magical and wild ride - from the plan to have a home birth, to surprises during labor and now what life is like as a family of 5.  Links:Our website: Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC 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

16 Apr 201957min

Have you heard the term geriatric pregnancy? (Matthew hadn’t before this interview). Any pregnancy after the age of 35 is actually technically considered a geriatric pregnancy. But in our conversation today with Stephanie Dunne, we’re shifting that narrative and dropping age as a defining factor in pregnancy and birth. Stephanie shares her birth story of her son Sebastian with us and makes a very powerful point in her sharing: “We create our own reality.” This is a great episode for mamas of all ages and birthing philosophies to listen to. We talk about the factors that led to choosing home birth for Stephanie and her husband Jerry, why they waited after 16 years of marriage and Stephanie turning 40 to have a baby, and how they processed the whole experience. Stephanie trusted her body (being a very active person, a registered dietician and Ironman athlete), prepared her mind and utilized her team and the strong partner that she had in her husband. Links:Our website: Stephanie’s Website - www.nutritionqed.com Birthing From Within - https://birthingfromwithin.com/ Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC 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 Apr 201953min

Can you train for the experience of birth? We’ve often heard birth compared to a marathon. Most people have a lot of intense and focused training when it comes to their marathons. So how can a woman prepare for the marathon of birth? In today’s birth story we’re chatting with Brooke Cates, the founder and CEO of The Bloom Method, a pre and postnatal fitness method and training for the modern mama. Brooke shares her home birth story of her son Leven and how she applied all of her knowledge and breath work to the experience. She talks about the strength and the ability to soften and surrender as important parts of birth. Plus she shares part of her postpartum journey and what it’s been like running TBM as a new mama, as well as talks about the viral video of some TBM breathing techniques. This is an empowering conversation for mamas interested in stepping into motherhood with more awareness of your body after giving birth. Links:Our website: The Bloom Method: https://thebloommethod.com/ The Bloom Method Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebloommethod/ The Bloom Method video featured on Today Show: https://www.today.com/video/the-pregnant-belly-pump-what-is-the-bloom-method-958060099916?v=raila Doing It At Home book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vJcPmU DIAH website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ DIAH Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv DIAH Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://bit.ly/3pzuzQC 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

2 Apr 20191h 1min