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Click on the blog post {aka Show Notes} for any podcast below and the links are at the bottom! Enjoy!

Birth Story: Unplanned Pregnancy to Knowing What Her Body Needed with Savanna Davis

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...

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A Guide to Knowing Pain Management Options BEFORE Your Contractions Begin

[1:17] Our Reviewer of the Week, kompatrit, said "So grateful for this podcast for making my unmedicated birth possible! Found this podcast at 4 weeks pregnant with an unexpected baby! I’m only 21 and had ZERO knowledge of anything birth or baby related and was so in the dark. This podcast has provided me with so much confidence and knowledge, I’m now 32 weeks and planning for an unmedicated hospital birth! Thank you so much for all your podcast and the birth course!"

[2:07] I want to talk to you about pain management options during labor because this is kind of one of those things that is out there and we kind of sort of talk about it or kind of think about it, but maybe we don't understand fully what's involved.

[3:02] What are your options? When it comes to pain management, there are things you can do that are administered in a hospital setting, and there are things you can do that are more natural coping techniques. 

[3:45] The most common pain management...

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Preparing Her Body & Mind for her Redemptive Birth Story with Courtney Hart

Show Notes:

Sometimes a negative experience can be the catalyst we need to make a change in our lives. Courtney Hart talks about how her first birth experience changed her life, how she prepared her mind and body for her second birth, and how our podcast made all the difference!

[1:11] The Reviewer of the Week is Andrea.mn and she says, “I love listening to this. She has such a great soothing but energetic voice to listen to and I love all of her knowledge she shares, as well as the birth stories we get to hear! Thanks for what you do!”

Today’s episode is a birth story with one of our previous interviewees! We interviewed Courtney Hart: a Labor & Delivery nurse and certified breastfeeding counselor who works in the Labor Delivery Recovery Postpartum (LDRP) unit at the hospital.

[1:54] I have Courtney Hart reintroduce herself. She is a Labor & Delivery nurse and certified breastfeeding counselor. She has come back to share her positive birth story and...

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Induction: When Is It Necessary & How to Make It Successful

Women are being forced into unnecessary inductions which makes me pose the question, do women’s bodies need to be forced into labor as much as they are being right now, and if there is a medically-necessary reason for this, how can we make it an excellent experience? In this episode I want to discuss what would constitute some medical reasons for inductions AND what you can do when an induction becomes necessary. This is something I get asked quite a bit. Once you do have a medical reason for induction, how does that change the birth plan? What do you need to know? I want you to have all of the best evidence-based information that will help you ask good questions, get all the information, and ultimately be able to make the decision that is best AND feels best for you. 

Show Notes

4:48 - I talk about the number one reason women are typically encouraged to get an induction. I discuss how moms should be approached by their provider & when this conversation should occur....

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Student Success Story: Christy's Birth

 

In this episode, My Essential Birth mama, Christy, walks us through her birth experiences and what she did to make the third time a charm!  We absolutely love listening to birth stories and this one was no exception. We know you'll feel inspired by it too!
 
[1:27] Christy has 3 girls; 4, 2, and 2-month old baby
[2:13] Chrisy's first birth - She discusses the details of this birth, the challenges, and how preparation would have helped.
[3:01] Christy had her water broken, received an epidural and blood pressure meds because the epidural caused a drop in blood pressure. She was told she may need a cesarean birth for baby in distress and a stalled labor. She was put on Pitocin, pushed for 45 minutes, received an episiotomy, and lost a pint of blood. 
[8:22] Found a new doctor for her second birth who was more in line with her vision for birth.
[9:07] Stalled again, right around 7cm...just like with her first birth.
[9:29] Baby #2 was a...
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2 Girls, 7 Totally Different Births

 

We share our personal birth stories which include hospital, birth center, and home birth, as well as cesarean birth, VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), medicated, and unmedicated....does that cover everything?! PLUS, get the scoop on the one thing that made all the difference for BOTH of us when getting ready to have our babies.
 
Also poop, we talk about poop!
 
[1:47] In the U.S. 1/3 of women will find themselves in a cesarean birth
[2:27] The one thing
[2:57] Stephanie's first birth story...and that time when she was told by her provider that women with size 5 1/2 shoe and smaller, typically have a cesarean (say what?!)
[12:17] A lot of My Essential Birth mamas are mamas who have had a previous birth experience that they don't want to repeat
[12:47] Through preparation, you can control a lot of your birth
[13:47] Stephanie's 2nd birth...
[16:45] Third baby, Stephanie calls the one hospital in the area and they tell her to plan for...
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