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Show Notes:

[2:00] Our Reviewer of the Week, Neenah66, said: "I listened to this podcast through my first pregnancy (and went back to listen to every podcast ever made). I also bought their birth class, my essential birth! Labor and birth went even better than planned. I owe it all to Stephanie! It’s great to be back listening as I grow baby #2!"

[2:49] Our birth story today is from Savanna Davis! She and her fiance, CJ, welcomed their first baby girl in January of 2023. She actually came on New Year's day, which was unplanned, but exciting. They are from Cleveland, and her fiance owns a flooring company, and Savanna is in grad school right now, which is a whole challenge in itself.

[3:40] Savanna's pregnancy was not planned. She did not know right away. She was feeling awful, and she was worried because autoimmune diseases run in her family. She went to the doctor, and they actually didn't even test her for...

Show Notes:

[2:04] Our Reviewer of the Week, ERees307, said: "This podcast was my best resource during pregnancy! I just had my first baby and before the birth I listened to every episode of this podcast! My birth preferences went out the door when my babe was diagnosed with fetal growth restriction, and I was scheduled to be induced early. This podcast gave me the strength and knowledge to stay positive and continue forward to have the most amazing natural(ish) hospital birth. Now I have a beautiful baby girl who is as healthy as can be at 1 week old. Thank you!"

[3:01] We have a birth story fromKatelynn Monty, who lives in Michigan with her husband and son, who was born October 2022.

[3:26] Katelynn shares her overall pregnancy experience and how she knew she was pregnant before she had missed her period.

[8:41] She went to a Midwife group and tried to meet as many midwives as possible. Once she found a midwife she loved, she tried to schedule all her appointments with...

Show Notes:

We're celebrating our 200th Episode for My Essential Birth! To celebrate, Stephanie King, the host of the Pregnancy & Birth Made Easy Podcast and creator of the My Essential Birth Course AND My Essential Postpartum Course, will be sharing her birth stories (one Cesarean, one VBAC, and one home birth!) and how it impacted her to become a doula! You won't want to miss this celebration episode! 

"When it was time to have my third baby, we were moving from overseas back to the States, and the area in which we were moving had one hospital. When I called and said, Hey, this is my experience and I'm ready for another VBAC, they said, 'Nope, plan for another cesarean. We don't care that you've had a VBAC.' And I was like, no, no, no, no. I have worked too hard, too long. I know the risks and the benefits of what I am trying to do. Like that's not happening."

[1:28] - It's HERE! The My Essential Birth Postpartum Course is HERE! Whether you're pregnant, just...

 Show Notes:

[1:11] Our review of the week, sls610, said: “First podcast I listened to while pregnant! I LOVE this podcast! I’ve been listening to it for about 2 months since finding out I was pregnant, and it’s been so helpful in teaching me all the different things to think about for labor and delivery. I started from the beginning and hope to listen to all the episodes before I’m due in June! Stephanie’s ethos for birth is so similar to how I’m thinking about it (holistic combined with western medicine practices) so I feel right at home with this podcast. I even signed up for the My Essential Birth course, and my husband and I are starting tonight! So excited!! Thank you for all the helpful info!”

Thank you for this review and jumping into the course! I love hearing when you guys tell me you started listening to the very beginning episodes! We’re almost 200 episodes in! You’re doing the work and having incredible birth...

Show Notes:

I want this episode to give you some things to think about when it comes to delayed cord-clamping and questions to ask your provider. We’ll talk about the pros and cons and different methods of cord-clamping, which I hope will help you make the decision of how you want to handle it for you and your baby a little easier!

[1:11] Our reviewer of the week, KaitlynL2021, says: “Absolutely love this podcast. My husband and I are hoping to get pregnant in the next year, and this podcast makes me so excited. When we started talking about having kids I was nervous because I didn’t know anything. Now I feel confident and like I know what I’m getting myself into. I also feel like I have options and there isn’t one “right” way to give birth. I love that this podcast gives all of the options from crunchy to conventional, and I can’t wait to be in the birth class one day in the future!”

I am so excited! You totally get it and...

Show Notes:

Educating yourself about birth and knowing your options opens you up to so many more choices when it comes to the birth experience you want! Marin's birth story shows the importance of not only educating yourself, but also on staying firm with your choices and decisions on what is best for you and your baby. 

[1:11] Our reviewer of the week, Vandp13, says: “Best podcast AND host! I am just entering the 3rd trimester of my 3rd pregnancy, and I am a self proclaimed birth and breastfeeding nut. I found this podcast when I was about 10 weeks pregnant, and I have been binging ever since - some episodes I even listen to 5+ times! She is so good at giving pregnant mamas all their options and empowering them to advocate for themselves! I reached out to Stephanie on Instagram, and she replied so quickly and didn’t give me a ‘one size fits all’ answer. She asked me questions so she could answer me specifically, which I thought was amazing! I...

Show Notes:

[1:11:] Our reviewer of the week, Leliz86, says: “Still in preconception here! ‍ I stumbled upon this podcast when I started searching for meaningful and educational podcasts that fit my hopes and dreams for my first time pregnancy at 36! I love the content - I feel so informed and empowered to make all the decisions, prepare myself to be my healthiest for me and my baby! I absolutely love that there’s even episodes that help new dads! I can’t wait to sign up for the birth course and love that they cover pregnancy, some preconception health, and birth stories! Determined to listen to every single episode - Thank you for all that you do! 

We love when we're able to hear from both mama and birth partner about the birth experience! Justina and Kace Knowles share about the unmedicated birth of their son in a hospital and how their faith, communication, and the birth course prepared them.

[2:30] Justina and Kace Knowles introduce...

Show Notes:

[1:11] Our reviewer of the week is Madi Mackley, and she said: “I started listening to the podcast as soon as I found out I was pregnant. My goal was to give birth at the hospital with a walking epidural, and I was hoping to be induced. After listening to every episode and learning every unbiased aspect of birth, my perspective changed, and I had an unmedicated birth at a birth center at 41 weeks and 1 day! I owe it all to this podcast and the My Essential Birth course for achieving the birth I wanted! :) Just found out baby number 2 is on the way and it’s time to start listening to every episode again!

We’ve had Madi on our podcast before, and she shared her birth story! You can listen to it here! Thank you to all of those who love listening to the podcast and who have left a review!

While it's so important to be prepared for birth, labor, and delivery, at the end of the day, you need to get out of your own way! You can do all the things, but your...

Show Notes:

[1:17] Our Reviewer of the Week, Celina Souffrant, said: “I started listening to this podcast about two weeks ago. I’m 34 weeks into my pregnancy, and it has been so helpful. The highlights for me are definitely the birth stories because it makes birth so much more relatable. In particular, I loved Sally’s recent birth story. Her tips, exuberant faith and infectious energy really transformed my perception of what a natural birth can look like. Please keep up the good work!”

I can’t get enough birth stories! This week’s particular birth story has a special place in my heart! I’m so excited to have Lorelei and her husband, Jason, here with me on the podcast.

One of my favorite parts of what I do is getting to be a part of and hearing the incredible birth stories in the My Essential Birth community. Lorelei shares about how she did not see birth as a beautiful experience but something she had to get through to get to the baby....

Show Notes:

[1:12] Our reviewer of the week is Hailey987416, and she said, “These ladies give you ALL the details - tips and tricks, the real truth about everything! So grateful! I am living abroad in Germany for my first birth and I am so happy my sister-in-law told me about you two! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

I’m excited you’re here! I have another amazing woman on with me today so if you’re looking for more tips and trips, I hope you’ll get that out of today’s episode!

[1:42] I want to tell you how Courtney and I connected! She reached out to me about the GBS podcast episode because she saw some discrepancies and had evidence to back it up! I loved how passionate she is about what she does and how much she cares about women. I responded to her email and asked her to be on the podcast!

[3:32] I ask Courtney to introduce herself. ‍ She emphasized that we’re all here for the same reason, which is to get evidenced-based...