Congratulations to the newest members of Happy Homebirth Academy! Check out myhappyhomebirth.com to access the interview application.  It's open this week!   Show Notes: In her first pregnancy, Katie felt excited about her birth, but did not think there was anything for her to learn.  She knew that God had made her to give birth and she would.  She thought that any education she found, like What to Expect When You’re Expecting would be negative and unhelpful.  Looking back, Katie says this was well-meaning, but very naive.   With her first labor, she was in Mass and noticed that she was having “stomach pains” almost every 6 minutes.   Once she went to the hospital, she labored all night without any coping mechanisms.  She just knew that she wanted to have an unmedicated birth.   She called her mom and asked her to make her way there- a 5 hour drive.  Katie’s labor stalled the entire 5 hours her mom was making the drive.  As soon as she arrived, her labor began progressing immediately.     Once her baby was born, they were taken to a recovery room with an amazing queen-sized bed.     With her second birth, her husband was deployed.  Her mother came to support her.   Once she went to the hospital, she met up with her doula, who was an amazing support.     They walked the hospital halls, then went to their room.  Once Katie’s water broke, her baby was born about 4 minutes later.   Because she had declined antibiotics for GBS, Katie had to stay for 3 days.   Katie learned so much about birth between her 2nd and 3rd birth.  Because she didn’t want another experience like her previous hospital one, she began looking into birthing centers.  Her doula asked if she’d be interested in homebirth, to which she replied “no way”.  Later that very week, Katie decided she did in fact want a homebirth!   Her doula accompanied her into the bathroom, then yelled for the midwife to get in there.  Katie was adamant that she didn’t want to have her baby in the bathroom,, so she walked over to the tub, where her water broke and Fetal Ejection Reflex kicked in.  She flipped over onto her back and then pushed her baby out.  She found out that her baby had a nuchal hand.   Katie loved the experience of her third pregnancy and adores homebirth.

Happy Homebirth

Ep 92: Learning That There's Something To Learn About Birth

Happy Homebirth Academy is open for enrollment through Sat, Sept 19th!  Head over to: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/hha to sign up!   Joelle and her husband did not choose to have a homebirth until only a few weeks before giving birth.    She and her husband watched The Business of Being Born early on in the pregnancy, but decided their hospital would be just fine, as it was considered Baby Friendly.   However, as Covid-19 hit and Joelle was forced home to work (virtual school), she spent more time looking into her options.  She decided to meet with a local midwife, and it was decided that homebirth was the best option for her family.      

Ep 91: Preparing for a Homebirth in a Time Crunch!

Happy 100,000+ Downloads, Happy Homebirthers!We're celebrating today with a replay of the episode that played when we hit 10,000 downloads (only a little over a year ago... we're growing fast!).  This episode is also the story of my own birth... the inspiration for all of the childbirth education I've begun creating since.  The 3 Pillars of a Happy Homebirth live event is this week, September 8th-10th at 8pm EST. Make sure you join!www.myhappyhomebirth.com/3pillars

Ep 90: The Story Behind The 3 Pillars of a Happy Homebirth

*IMPORTANT*: Don't forget to sign up for the FREE 3 Day Event: 3 Pillars of a Happy Homebirth!  www.myhappyhomebirth.com/3pillars Happening Sept 8-10th (replay will be available)   Show Notes: Jocelyne noticed that pregnancy was listed as a “condition”, which felt incredibly wrong for her.  She did a google search and found a birth center located only 5 minutes away from her home.  Jocelyne and Eddie were so excited for their lovely birth center experience. Unfortunately, as the date approached, Jocelyne and Eddie found out some devastating news… The birth center would be closing down before their due date.  They were going out of business, and the midwives sent an e-mail discussing local hospitals to choose from. Jocelyne drove up to the birth center to ask what was going on.She spoke with one of the midwives, who told her she could consider homebirth with another local midwife.  “Is that even safe?” Jocelyne remembers asking.   After much research and consideration, Jocelyne and Eddie were sold on their homebirth experience.  They were even able to find a doula who spoke Spanish— perfect for their situation!Jocelyne’s labor was long and arduous, but when she looks back, she says the experience was perfect for herself and her husband.  She relied on Eddie, as she says she always has in their relationship.  He was her perfect comfort and support.   A while after their daughter was born, Eddie realized that the domain homebirth.com was for sale.  They chose to purchase it, not knowing exactly what they would do with it at the time, but they knew they wanted to help pregnant women.   Jocelyne and Eddie have begun with plans to use homebirth.com as a way to educate mothers about this birthing option, and to create an online midwifery matching service.  Families will be able to search their location and add in specific credentials and preferences about their midwife in order to find their perfect match.   To learn more about this amazing growing resource, go to homebirth.com or check them out on instagram: instagram.com/homebirthdotcom

Ep 89: Homebirth.com and a Homebirth Story!

Join the Happy Homebirth Live event!  Sept 8th-10th:   3 Pillars of a Happy Homebirth 

Ep 88: Lindsey's Thoughtful, Meditative Birth

What happens when your baby flips to breech when you’re 6 cm dilated and planning for a homebirth?   Hey there happy homebirthers, and welcome to episode 87 of the Happy Homebirth Podcast.  I’m your host, Katelyn Fusco, and I’m excited to dive into this week’s episode.  Would you take a quick screenshot of you listening to this episode and upload it to your instagram stories?  Tag happyhomebirthpodcast and I’ll be sure to share in my stories as well.   I’m so excited to share Cesia’s two homebirth stories with you, so let’s jump on into the interview.   Please remember that the opinions of my guest may not necessarily reflect my own and vice versa, and we are not acting as medical professionals, so continue to see your Dr., midwife, or if you’re like me, your chiropractor.     Show Notes   Cesia hosts a podcast called Parenting in Queens, where she shares stories and helpful information about her beautiful borough.   When she became pregnant with her first, she and her husband watched The Business of Being Born, though she still intended to have a hospital birth.  She just wanted to be informed.  As the weeks went on, however.  She began feeling that something was missing.  She did not feel connected to her care providers, as she rotated between them.   As she left one appointment, Cesia asked her husband what he thought about the idea of a homebirth.  He responded, “Weren’t you going to have one anyway?”  With his support and encouragement, they went on to hire a midwife team! With her first baby, she went to 41 weeks and decided to have an acupuncture appointment.  The next day, contractions began.  Cesia labored throughout the day, and at midnight her midwife came to check her.  Cesia was a 7, and her midwife stretched her cervix.     3 hours later, her midwife was back at her house, as the stretch had pushed Cesia deep into active labor.  One hour later and her baby was born.   With her second birth, Cesia was having cramps that she thought were due to the beans she’d eaten the night before!   Her midwife decided to come check on her since she was in the area anyway.  Her doula came as well.  The 3 women sat together knitting while Cesia bounced on a birth ball.     When the midwife checked Cesia, she found something interesting:  The baby was breech!   The midwife told Cesia that she could try to turn the baby if Cesia wanted, and she did want her to try.  The midwife began massaging Cesia’s belly using rose hip oil.  After a few minutes, Cesia asked when she was going to flip the baby.  Her response was, “I already did.”   Cesia’s second labor was only 3 hours long.  She pushed her baby out on the birthing stool, and he arrived en caul.   @queensknits was Cesia’s doula, and she felt she was an amazing asset.   Cesia’s midwifery group is now planning to open an nonprofit birthing center in 2020.   Episode Roundup: As we jump into the episode roundup, I’m struck by the ability of midwives.  How amazing, that hands off and yet still hands on balance they have as care providers.  And the gentleness with which they are able to manage situations.  I find it so incredible that Cesia’s midwife was able to gently massage her baby into the correct position, where in her previous pregnancy, Cesia dealt with a stressful and painful doctor’s palpation.     I also want to mention how beautiful I find it that Cesia was so willing to allow others new to the birth work world to witness such a gorgeous birth.  Her care team was so loving and supportive, and she clearly returned that love for them.   Alright, my friends.  Go check out Cesia’s work and follow along.  That’s all I’ve got for you this week.  I’ll see you back here next week.  

Ep 87: Gentle Hands Get the Job Done

You're listening to episode 86 of the Happy Homebirth Podcast.   Pain-free childbirth is a myth.... right?   Show Notes:Laura is a mother of 3, and she and her husband were newly married when they became unexpectedly pregnant.  They had recently moved, and found themselves moving back into Laura's parents' house as they got their finances in order.    Because she had never spent time around babies, Laura took a nannying job for a newborn during her pregnancy.  When he napped, she would read books.  A family member gave her Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, and at 35 weeks her entire outlook on birth shifted.  She even considered a homebirth, but soon realized this would not be possible in her family's house.   Laura switched to midwifery care within the hospital and had a beautiful natural birth.  She wanted to give birth in the water, which she did.   When she became pregnant again 11 months later, she prayed for a shorter birthing time.  That's exactly what she got-- though the experience left her reeling and feeling out of control, even slightly scared of birth.  She did have a natural birth, and it was short, but it was quite stressful for her.   During this postpartum experience, Laura struggled immensely.  She had an incredibly emotional time and leaned on her faith like never before.  She learned about grace on a personal level, and worked through many problems and emotions that had previously never seen the light of day.  Finally, she felt like she could see the light at the end of the tunnel....   And then Laura found out that she was pregnant again.  This came as a massive shock to her, as she and her husband were not planning for this.  While the realization that she was carrying new life initially thrilled her, once the thought set in, Laura began to panic with fear that she would have to go through all of this postpartum pain and suffering again.  She worried that she was nutritionally depleted, and that this third pregnancy would cause more depletion. Laura continued to rely on her faith and her husband, and she prayed about her upcoming birth.  She was finally going to be able to have a homebirth, and she wanted this experience to be not only spiritual, but also pain free.  She dedicated time and prayer to this end, and she created space for this to happen.   When Laura had her third baby, all were shocked to see her raising her hands in worship during her contractions.  When her baby crowned, and then the head was born, Laura truly did not realize it had happened.  Her birth was 100% pain-free.   Laura emphasized the fact that this can be the case for anyone-- creating space for this type of positive outcome is so important.   Episode Roundup:I wanted to touch once again on this idea on creating space for the positive experiences.  I love that Laura cleared her fears when necessary and focused on the notion that she could indeed have a beautiful, pain-free experience.  It's a great reminder for us all: Clear fears and create space for the beautiful experience that birth can be!  

Ep 86: From Valley to Mountain: Laura's Spiritual, Pain-Free Birth

A midwife's homebirth... it should be easy, right?  I mean, come on... you're a pro at this!   Madeline, like so many other midwives, shares just how incorrect that assumption can be with the birth story of her second baby.     Show Notes: After experiencing a LONG, arduous labor with her first child, Madeline decided to prepare differently for the birth of her second child.   She saw a new chiropractor   She focused on visualizations   She took Happy Homebirth Academy   She learned to release her pelvic floor (accounts to follow will be linked at the end)   Madeline did all that she could to prepare herself for a faster, calmer, more peaceful birthing experience.   However, "peace" is not the description Madeline would use for her second birth.  Peaceful as a tornado, maybe!   Madeline's fast and furious birth left both her midwife and mother brains reeling.  Her mind couldn't keep up with her body, as her body forcefully produced her new daughter.   Episode Roundup:   Although I love the idea of having a peaceful homebirth, and I think it's an important desire to discuss, Madeline's experience has taught me just how important it is to emphasize the empowerment of birth, not only it's potential peacefulness.  No matter how you do it: fast, slow, loud, quiet.... bring a baby from inside of you, out... that's incredible.       Resources:https://www.instagram.com/pelvicpotential/ https://www.instagram.com/thepelvicperspective/ https://www.instagram.com/pregnant.postpartum.athlete/ https://www.instagram.com/the.preconception.pt/    

Ep 85: A Midwife's Homebirth

You are listening to episode 84 of the Happy Homebirth Podcast. Today, our guest is Dr. Brad Bootstaylor, author of the book Shared Decision Making. Dr. B Bootstaylor helps expecting parents to get an enlightening birth experience without being fearful of having their voices heard by using Shared Decision Making. Drawing on over 30 years of academic and clinical experience, Dr. Brad Bootstaylor provides you with a resource guide to having an “empowered” pregnancy and birth experience. Through a series of defined principles, birth stories, and real-world clinical scenarios, the model of Shared Decision Making is readily accessible, extremely practical, and can be applied to the many different scenarios that occur during pregnancy and birth. Shared Decision Making: Bring Birth Back Into The Hands Of Mothers Vol1 is outlined in a clear, concise fashion. Six information-packed chapters build upon each other, guiding the reader to adopt a new way of viewing themselves and the power derived from this model of care. THE QUEST - Shared Decision MakingGUIDED DISCOVERY - Planning Your Birth JourneyTHE JOURNEY - Understanding DatesTHE DETOUR - UltrasoundsTHE DELIVERY - BirthplacesBring Birth Back - FAQsBonus insight into the “B Score,” as described, provides you with the foundation to make safe, healthy choices in pregnancy and childbirth. By the end of “Shared Decision Making; Bring Birth Back Into The Hands Of Mothers,” you will understand that this process is intuitive, and the tools provided will enable you to practice it in an empowering and meaningful way. Buy a copy of the book! https://amzn.to/3gZkNjf Join the Happy Homebirth Facebook group: Facebook.com/groups/happyhomebirth

Ep 84: Shared Decision Making With Dr. Brad Bootstaylor

Can you really do it all?   Okay, let’s talk about today’s guest.  Our interview is with Megan, a mother of 4 and a jack of all trades.  You’re going to love hearing all of the activities this woman did throughout her pregnancies, and how she continued to make stronger and stronger empowered decisions each time.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to cover all of her birth stories, so she’s going to definitely have to come back to share.  You’re going to love her bubbly personality! Show NotesDuring her undergraduate studies, Megan and her husband became pregnant with their first child at 22.  She had vocalized that she wanted to have a natural birth, but Megan didn’t know that there were really any ways to prepare for this.  2 hours into labor, she received an epidural.  Once her baby arrived, family and friends descended upon the young couple and their new baby.  Looking back, she recognized that this situation was not ideal, and she decided that she would not handle postpartum in the same way going forward. For her second birth, Megan began doing more research and learning more about natural childbirth.  She learned about a birth center 2 hours away, but felt unsure that she could actually go through with a natural birth. After they toured the birth center, Megan immediately felt calm.  She decided to go for it!  On the day of labor, Megan rode the 2 hours to the birth center in the backseat of the car facing the opposite direction.  The 2 hour drive turned into a 3-hour drive due to road construction. She spent the short amount of time at the birth center in the tub, until her midwife required that she move to the bed.  Megan had her baby on hands and knees, and later recognized that her baby had somewhat of a shoulder dystocia. Once they were discharged from the hospital, she and her husband and newborn stayed in a hotel for the night, as they knew the baby would need a 24 hour checkup the next day at the birth center. Because of the driving and discomfort of staying in a hotel, when Megan was unexpectedly pregnant with her next child, she began looking into other options.  She found a midwife and connected with her immediately and deeply.  So much so, that on the front porch of her midwife’s house, she called the birth center and told them she was transferring care.   Megan’s third pregnancy came when she was in graduate school.  In fact, her labor began on the day of her graduation.  She was having rather intense contractions through the ceremony, and when the president of the college found out, he had the camera pointed on her and told the entire crowd that she was in labor.   Immediately after walking across the stage, Megan and her husband went home.  They filled up the tub, her doula and birth photographer arrived, and her midwife was on her way.  Megan hopped in the water and immediately felt the urge to push.  Her husband put the midwife on speaker phone and helped Megan catch their baby. Episode Roundup I seriously love Megan’s style.  Maybe because she reminds me of myself?  There’s always something going on!   There’s always something that’s got to be cooked up!  As we head into the episode roundup, I just want to call attention to how incredible the modern mother is. Megan went through school, worked, cared and nurtured her babies, began running, and researched the heck out of birth.  Mothers are amazing, and the things we do for our families and the world… wow.  It truly is overwhelming. 

Ep 83: Graduation and a Baby!

You're listening to Episode 82 of the Happy Homebirth Podcast. Midwives, are you set up to be in practice for a long, long time, or are you feeling the sensations of burnout taking hold? Today’s episode is going to be of great benefit to midwives and mothers alike. So mamas, if you love your midwife, make sure you share this podcast episode with her. Why?Today’s guest, Leslie Cornwell, is a midwifery business consultant, and she has a passion of helping midwives grow and run thriving, brilliant practices that stick around for 30+ years by preventing burnout.  She’s a midwife herself, and she’s struggled with the same burnout issues as many of my listening midwives will surely have experienced themselves. I’d love for you to take a quick screenshot of you listening in and post it to your Instagram stories. Tag Happy Homebirth Podcast, and I’ll be sure to feature you in my stories as well. All right, let's hop on over to the interview with Leslie. Please remember that the opinions of my guests may not necessarily reflect my own and vice versa, and neither one of us are acting as your medical professional, so continue to see your doctor, midwife, or if you’re like me, your chiropractor. Show Notes / About Leslie's Services: "Becoming a midwife has been a lifelong dream. I didn't realize that this wonderful profession would lead me down the path of business. I have found over the years that midwives need to understand business, accounting, financing, marketing, negotiating, and so much more to be successful in today's health care system. I love supporting women. By being able to participate in leadership roles and create amazing private practices, I can support midwives just as much as the pregnant women they care for! I am passionate about women's empowerment and women business ownership. We can serve families best with independent successful midwifery practices. I have had over 16 years experience in health care. I have worked in hospitals, birth centers, and home settings. I have worked for large non-profit hospitals, small community hospitals, privately run birth centers, hospital owned birth centers, and my own homebirth / birth center practice. Being able to understand the business and financial side of midwifery has really shown me how much easier a midwife practice can be profitable and successful in today's health care ever-changing climate. Let me help you start your own practice or improve the current midwifery business you are struggling with. I have years of billing, accounting, contracting, business plan writing, and midwifery clinical expertise to make your midwifery practice thrive no matter what stage it is in! Whether you want a small homebirth practice, large birth center practice, or booming hospital midwifery practice, I can provide guidance, support, and resources to make your midwifery practice dreams a reality!" Conclusion: I'm so grateful for the business professionals who have a heart for mothers and midwives. Thank you, Leslie, for supporting mothers by supporting midwives. When we work together, we can make sure that more and more women are able to receive the intimate, loving care they deserve through thriving midwifery practices. All right, friends, that is it for this episode! I look forward to seeing you back here next week. Don't forget to join our thriving community at Facebook.com/groups/happyhomebirthpodcastcommunity

Ep 82: The Business of Midwifery

Homebirth… despite the podcast name, Happy isn’t the only adjective that can be used to describe it. No, my friends. Birth experiences vary so widely, and things do not always go perfectly easily. Today’s story is one of those tough births, but wow. Our guest, Sophia sheds so much insight and through her struggle brings so much encouragement to us all. There’s such a balance. Of course we want to be positive about childbirth and understand that it can be beautiful and peaceful. But we also need to recognize that birth is untame and raw. It is such a thin-veiled experience. Today’s interview leans into the raw experience of Sophia’s homebirth and postpartum experience. I encourage you to embrace the intensity, but you know that I also like to be up front about these episodes so that if you are nearing your birthing time and concerned about hearing any difficult stories, you can save this one for a later date. Okay, let’s jump into our interview. Please remember that the opinions of my guest may not necessarily reflect my own and vice versa, and neither one of us are acting as medical professionals, so continue to see your doctor, midwife, or if you’re like me your Chiropractor. Show Notes Sophia has always found herself on the more natural side of things, so she knew that when she became pregnant, she would prefer to have her baby at home. Her husband grew up in a more medically minded household, so before they even became pregnant, she and her husband went to interview local midwives. This put him at ease and was a great way to remove the pressure around the situation. Once they began the process of trying to conceive, they became pregnant immediately. Sophia was seeing a naturopath before her pregnancy to make sure that her hormones were balanced, and she continued this through the first four months. She was very in tune with her body, and felt her baby’s first movements at 11.5 weeks. At 37 weeks Sophia fell forward on ice. Luckily all was fine, but she hoped she’d stay pregnant for a bit longer for her bruises to heal. After 8 days of contractions, right at her due date Sophia felt stronger contractions. She felt a wave of grief that her pregnancy would soon be over, but joy at the same time of it being over and time to meet her baby. As contractions began, while her husband was still asleep, Sophia went to their prayer corner and prayed for this to truly be labor. And truly, it was! Soon, her contractions were one on top of the other, and she was so engrossed in them that she was not remembering to hydrate or eat. During her labor, Sophia experienced a sense of hyper awareness, but a haze at the same time. She could hear everything, even her midwife and husband talking in the other room. Sophia was so prepared for labor that she thought she’d handle it easily and comfortably. Instead, she had moments where she truly felt fear. Once Sophia had been feeling the urge to push for a while, her midwives noted that she had an anterior (front) cervical lip.   She moved to the bed where they asked her to lie on her back. After a while she moved to the birthing stool, where she thought so deeply about her mother and her mother’s strength. After having felt out of body for so long, Sophia felt she returned to normal for a bit as her husband began praying for her. She began praying with him, and she could tell this was incredibly meaningful for him. Sophia moved back to the bed for a bit, and finally when she went to the toilet, she begged her baby to come out. At that point, Sophia began crowning. She moved to the birth stool. Once her baby arrived, it was determined that she had a nuchal hand (very likely causing the 4 hour pushing difficulty and overall strange labor pattern). Her baby was white and not breathing, so her midwives began rescue breaths. After 5 breaths, her baby had still not come around, so her midwife began trying to help Sophia remove her placenta so that they could move the baby to do more resuscitative measures. They did give some cord traction, and the placenta plopped out. Sophia then lost 4+ cups of blood, and almost immediately passed out. Sophia finally came to a while later, having no understanding of what had happened. She didn’t know where she was or that she’d had her baby. She then saw that her husband looked terrified, which is very out of character for him. He later told Sophia that he was terrified that he was about to lose his wife and baby. Sophia and her baby both eventually did come around. Sophia’s midwife put a piece of placenta in her mouth to help stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, this all led to a very difficult postpartum experience. She was weak and exhausted, and did not feel the overwhelming oxytocin rush due to the circumstances. But she knew that she loved her baby. She knew that she would do anything, endure anything for her.When nursing troubles began, Sophia sought help and learned that her baby had tongue and lip ties. Once again, Sophia endured and continued to fight for a bond with her daughter. Now, Sophia feels the bond that she hoped she would experience immediately. In fact, she feels that her bond with her daughter is even stronger because of the difficult experiences they faced together in the beginning.  

Ep 81: Bonding Interrupted: A Mother’s Persevering Love

Babies wait for no one or no thing.  No matter what’s going on in the world, they will still be born, and we as mothers have to figure out how to cope.  I know that so many of your births were and are being affected by Covid-19.  My heart goes out to you, as this has changed the landscape of birth on many levels.  Of course mothers who planned to give birth in the hospital have been affected, but this is also true of mothers in the homebirth setting.  Today we will hear from Yosefa, who gave birth at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.   This interview was incredibly special, because we were able to be joined by Yosefa’s sister Yakova, who currently resides in Israel.  Yakova is a midwife with several credentials, I might add, and although she was not able to physically be at Yosefa’s birth, she was able to support her virtually.  It’s such an amazing story! Show Notes:   Yakova went to a friend’s birth and ended up acting as support person.  With this one experience, she realized she was called to some type of birth work.  She began working as a doula, then became a midwife.  She gained the Certified Midwife credential, then went back to nursing school and became a Certified Nurse Midwife.   She and Yosefa were pregnant with their first children at the same time, giving birth only 10 days apart.     Yosefa’s first two children were born in a hospital birth center run by midwives in Australia.  When she became pregnant with her third child back in America, she realized that having a homebirth would be the most similar experience for her in this country, given our more medicalized approach to birth in the hospital.   Once deciding on a midwife, she mentioned her choice to her sister.  It turned out that Yosefa’s midwife was the exact same midwife Yakova had used for her third birth, and the assistant was one of Yakova’s former roommmates.     Yosefa went into labor only one week after schools closed.  This was an extremely fear-based time of the pandemic.  She had concerns around bringing in any support personnel, and even family.   Yakova was planning to travel with her children to the US to be at Yosefa’s birth, but Israel was very quick to shut down travel through infected European countries.  Because Yakuza’s flights were to go through either Italy or France, she was unable to travel.   Because Yosefa’s labor began with the rupturing of her membranes, she decided to try some activities to stimulate labor.  Acupuncture and nipple stimulation were very helpful in this and brought on intense contractions.     As labor progressed, Yosefa relied on her sister Yakova for support.  She kept her AirPods in and Yakova monitored her labor in that way.   Yakova was even the one who called the midwife for Yosefa!  She also spoke to Yosefa’s husband about tasks that needed to be done.  Yosefa’s birth was happening right around the beginning of their Sabbath day.  Because of their religious practice, Yosefa’s husband was uncertain about whether he would be able to clean the birth pool and set it up for Yosefa, as when they opened it up, it was moldy.  Yakova spoke to him about how in one of their Holy Books, it says that a laboring mother supersedes all else.  So much so that if a blind woman laboring asks for a candle (typically not lit on the Sabbath), a candle should be lit for her.    Yosefa’s third labor was far more intense than she expected.  She felt that this labor truly showed how different each birth is.     Episode Roundup:   What a beautiful story.  I’m so delighted we were able to make this 3-way interview work!  As we head into the episode roundup, I have a few thoughts I’d love to share:   The power of the feminine in the birthing situation:  How incredible that Yakova and Yosefa both had stories of feminine connection regarding their births.  Yakova experienced a beautiful blessingway, and Yosefa was able to rely on her sister even from afar and in the midst of a pandemic. It’s so fascinating just how different regulations and laws are not only from country to country, but from state to state.  Fascinating, and frustrating, honestly.  Of course, it’s my prayer and hope that homebirth becomes more and more accepted and considered the norm, as we know the great benefits of physiological birth when possible. Finally, let’s end where we began.  Birth happens, whether there’s a global pandemic or not.  I know this has changed the plans of so many, and in a number of ways it’s caused great isolation.  I hope that this podcast has brought some sense of community to you wonderful mothers, and that it will continue to do so in the future.  If you’re looking for more connection, I’d love to have you in our Happy Homebirth Facebook group.  Just go to facebook.com/groups/happyhomebirth to join. Or type in Happy Homebirth Podcast Community 

Ep 80: A Sister's Virtual Birth Support During Covid-19

Is weight alone a pregnancy risk factor requiring intervention?     Brylee is a mom to 3 precious babes, and she’s experienced both negative and positive birthing experiences.  Today we’ll jump into the reasons behind both.   Show Notes Brylee had been told for many years that pregnancy would be very difficult, as she was diagnosed with PCOS as a teenager.  She and her husband became pregnant as soon as she stopped taking birth control. Her OB was so convinced that she wouldn’t be able to become pregnant, that she said she’d give her 6 months to try for a baby before exploring other options. Little did her OB know, she was already pregnant at that appointment!   Brylee had terrible implantation cramps with her first daughter.  They were so bad that she was scared it was a miscarriage (the day after her positive pregnancy test).    Her interest in birth began early, as her mother had Brylee’s brother in a birth center unmedicated.   After watching The Business of Being Born, Brylee let her OB know that she wanted a natural birth.  The OB always dodged the questions and said “we’ll see”.   Brylee woke up with (what she now knows was typical bloody show) and called the on-call doctor.  The doctor acted as if the bleeding was an emergency, and had her come in.  The OB did everything she could to pin pre-eclampsia on Brylee, which she feels was because Brylee is a plus-size mother.   She had one high blood pressure reading, which she feels confident was related to the stress of the situation… she had had zero high readings throughout the pregnancy.  Brylee refused induction, finally was released the next morning, and went home for the weekend.    On the following Monday, Brylee saw the same OB again, and had another high reading.  She told her mom, “I am TERRIFIED of that woman.”  She felt it was a case of White Coat Syndrome, just as her dad has.   The OB sent her straight to the hospital to be induced:   Cytotec 4 times   Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth gives an informative review of why Cytotec can be dangerous   They then started Pitocin.  After laboring for a long time, Brylee received an epidural.     After 30 minutes of pushing, Brylee had her baby.   There was absolutely no continuity of care for Brylee: Her Doctor was on vacation, another OB sent her in for the induction, another started the induction, and another delivered her baby.   With her second birth, Brylee knew she wanted to have a different experience.  Her friend had a birth with them that was wonderful, so Brylee was excited to use the practice of 8.     Brylee had one high blood pressure reading, and so her midwives sent her Maternal Fetal Medicine.  They put her on medication, and the medication constantly made her pass out, as it was bottoming out. At her 3rd midwife’s appointment, the midwives used a blood pressure cuff for a plus-size woman, and low and behold… she had a normal reading.   Because of Maternal Fetal Medicine’s diagnosis (Chronic Hypertension— which she knew was not the case), the recommendation was for Brylee to be induced at 38weeks.   She failed the first Gestational Diabetes test, so she was required to take it again, which she passed.   One doctor at MFM told her that if she’d been in any other state, her blood pressure would not be an issue.  For whatever, in the south, particularly in Tennessee, this doctor said that other doctors hold very strongly to very specific numbers.   Brylee convinced her doctors to let her wait to be induced until 39 weeks.  After a long day of waiting for a room, and laboring, Brylee’s doctor told her they needed to break her bag of waters.  The baby was high, and they did not tell Brylee the risks associated with this.   Fortunately, the baby was fine, and once she began pushing, the baby was out in two pushes.   Unfortunately… soon after she gave birth, a nurse came into her room and switched her blood pressure cuff from the larger size to the standard size.  Brylee’s blood pressure numbers then spiked with the new cuff.   Because of her terrible experience, Brylee decided she was NOT going back to the hospital.  Her third baby was a huge surprise!     Brylee began searching for a homebirth midwife in her area that would take her.  In a local birthing center, her BMI was too high to deliver.      She found a midwife who serviced her area, and set up a meeting.  After deciding to work with her, several appointments in, Brylee had a high blood pressure reading.  Her midwife mentioned that she thought this was likely due to the blood pressure cuff being the wrong size, not her actual blood pressure.  Her midwife ordered a new cuff, and Brylee never had a high reading again.   Brylee’s midwife referred her to a CNM just to have check her out as a backup, and the CNM was incredibly encouraging.  She said Brylee was a perfect candidate for homebirth.   During her anatomy scan, the tech that saw her ended up ripping her skin.  It was a horribly painful experience for Brylee.   As she entered labor… Brylee’s water broke at her parents’ house on their couch.  She tried to get contractions going by walking, dancing, and using a breast pump.   Her midwife had come over in the morning to see what her dilation was (she was a 2).   Brylee decided to try the Miles Circuit    When Brylee called her midwife to let her know it was time for her to come, her midwife responded that she had a fever, so she was going to have to send her partner.   Brylee went from 4cm to pushing in a matter of minutes.       Episode Roundup Wow, what a difference in care.  As we head into the episode roundup, that’s the topic I want to discuss.  What I love about midwifery, particularly the homebirth variety, is the level of individual care.  The midwifery model of care lends itself to truly learning about the mother, gaining a full understanding of her health, and then proceeding with the intention of keeping her risk factors low and in check. Conditions were never pushed on Brylee based off of the fact that there “just must be something,” and she was given the opportunity to absolutely rock her birth, which she did.     Individualized care, my friends.  That’s what it’s all about.  Okay, that’s all I’ve got for you this week.  I look forward to seeing you back here next week.   Links From today's Show:   Miles Circuit Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth The Business of Being Born     Join the Facebook Group!

Episode 79: Plus Size Does Not Equal High Risk

Show Sponsor: Happy Homebirth Academy   Postpartum recovery is important for some people, but not everyone, right?  Not for athletes, right? Show Notes Chelsea, a triathlete, thought that postpartum recovery would be simple for her body after her first.  She assumed that she could push through the pain, having no idea that postpartum rest is critical.    Unfortunately, Chelsea’s body struggled for 12 weeks with on and off bleeding.   She resumed normal activities, including crunches and jumping jacks.   During Chelsea’s second pregnancy, her mother was diagnosed with a uterine prolapse.    She went into labor at the same time as she did with her first baby, so she assumed it would go similarly. It did not!  In fact, Chelsea had her baby before the midwife’s arrival.    Once again, Chelsea resumed strenuous physical activity early, and this led to a bladder prolapse.   She sought help from a pelvic floor physical therapist, but her first experience with this was not ideal.  Kegals were strongly recommended, which were not helping Chelsea’s situation.   Chelsea then found another PF PT who taught Chelsea to relax her pelvic floor.  This made all of the difference and helped her recover.   Recovery postpartum is critical.  If you are struggling with heaviness in your pelvic region, seek help!    Mentioned in This Episode: Birth Fit Happy Homebirth Episode 9 

Ep 78: Why Healing Your Pelvic Floor Matters!

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