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There's a lot of information out there when in comes to pregnancy, birth and parenthood so what do you actually need to know when you're preparing for the journey ahead? If you're here, you're probably a mama who wants ALL the information and wants to be as prepared as possible! If so, this episode is for you!

I'm joined this week by Jessica Lorion, the host and producer of the podcast, Mamas in Training. She's here to share her best tips for getting prepared for pregnancy and birth based off of the three pillars of advocacy, community, and informed consent. 

JESSICA LORION is an American TV, film, and theatre artist based in NYC. She’s also the Host and Producer of the Podcast: Mamas in Training.

Screen credits include Metro Park (Eros Now/Amazon Prime), Homicide City: Charlotte (Investigation Discovery) and a national commercial for King Clean. Her theatrical credits include the North American tour of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Babette) and two...

One of the first things on our minds as soon as we have our babies is feeding them. Those first few days can feel like a blur and if you're choosing to breastfeed you may be feeling overwhelmed by ALL of the things you need to learn seemingly overnight. If you're worried about if you're producing enough or whether your baby is eating enough, or what the heck is happening to your nipple, don't worry.

Today, I'm here with our special guest, Sally Wright, an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) and mother of five, to help clear up the confusion and pump out the facts you actually need to know!

Sally grew up in Hawai'i and now lives in Utah. She is the mother of five children, including a set of twins. She has been an IBCLC since 2016 and has served as a volunteer Leader with La Leche League since 2006, providing community breastfeeding support. Sally especially loves helping parents of multiples meet the joys and challenges of a life with abundance. When...

Childbirth is a rite of passage and an essential part of the human experience… but it can often be confusing, scary, and sometimes, a little stressful. We all want to induce labor naturally, but most of us don't know how to go about it!

Sit back and relax because today's episode is a guide to inducing childbirth without medical intervention. With a bit of consideration, you can increase the chance of natural childbirth and experience a healthy, happy pregnancy!

Today, I share the different herbs, oils, techniques, exercises, and procedures that you can practice to start your labor naturally, now. These include some more known medicinal oils and herbs like evening primrose oil, raspberry leaf tea, midwife's brew tea, and the lesser known black cohosh. We'll also learn about some techniques like the Webster's chiropractic technique and the miles circuit method. We'll dig into both the positives and negatives of each, so you can rest assured that you choose the...

Show Notes:

1:12 - Our reviewer of the week shares how easy this podcast is to listen to and gain valuable knowledge. They recommend this podcast to anyone who is pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant

3:33...

Show Notes:

1:13 - Our reviewer of the week shares how the My Essential Birth podcast has provided her with a realistic perspective of birth and has given her a wealth of knowledge as she prepares for her first birth. (Thank you for the amazing review and congratulations on your new baby, all the...

Do you know how to tell if your provider is going to be a supportive part of your birth team? I see moms run into this issues a lot. You know how much I talk about the importance of a supportive provider BUT how do you know if you're provider is the right one?! One of the things I hope this episode does for you, is make some of your own assumptions about your provider's supportiveness, or lack thereof, clear and give you ideas about what questions you should ask to figure out if you're on the same page. I'm covering things like how you choose to birth (medicated or unmedicated - yes providers may have unsupportive opinions about this), cesarean birth rates, inductions, vaccines, birth plans, doulas and more. 

Trigger warning! Some of the topics we cover in this episode are sensitive to some mamas. Everything here is meant to inform, give you excellent examples, and be a starting point to having those tough conversations with your provider. If you have questions about...

This week I'm so excited to welcome Carly and her husband, Robbie who are sharing the story of the birth of their firstborn!Dive in to hear about how they navigated switching providers in the middle of their pregnancy from an OB, preparing for a  hospital birth, to a Midwife at a birth center and how they made it through the most challenging part of their labor, the final hour.

Show Notes:

 1:12 - Reviewer of the week

3:05 - Introducing Carly, a pediatric speech-language pathologist and her husband, Robbie, a 5th grade teacher who are here to share the birth story of their first baby. 

4:32 - Carly shares how she found her provider and why she decided to switch midway through her pregnancy from an OB at a hospital to Midwives at a birth center.

8:06 - Robbie shares how Carly's switch felt to him as a dad with limited knowledge about birth .

11:54 - Carly completed the 3 MEB exercises to help prepare for birth (way to go!) along with other great prep tools.

17:40...

When it comes to giving birth, most people picture it going down in a hospital room. This is absolutely an option and there are more! That’s what we’re setting out to discuss this week on the Pregnancy and Birth Made Easy podcast. Join us as we go over the different locations where you can have your baby, the pros and the cons, and share evidence-based information as well as real-life experiences in order to help you decide what will be the very best place for YOUR birth.

Show Notes:

 1:14 - Reviewer of the week!

 2:30 - The question I hear the most, "What are my options for where I give birth?" this episode dives into all of them...minus the forest... 

3:24 - A little love note to the new moms and dads that have come to my classes, I love watching those lightbulbs come on as you dream up your birth map.

5:07 - I am devoted to keeping my content evidence-based and non biased. You have the ultimate choice in everything you decide for your...

**GIVEAWAY Instructions at the bottom of this page!**

Pregnancy includes many unknowns for dads-to-be and having something or someone to look up to could help you in the journey phenomenally. Today's guest is an author-dad who helps fathers worldwide understand pregnancy and the roles of a dad in helping make the experience easy for themselves and their partners.

David Arrell is a dad, consultant and men's coach. He turned author with his book, "Welcome to Fatherhood", in which he consolidates the lessons learned from his experience being a dad for the first time. Through the book, David encourages men to more actively step into their supportive roles during pregnancy, childbirth, and the fourth trimester back home and gives them detailed and practical tips and techniques on how to do so.

In this episode, he breaks down his journey of becoming a dad, the invisible roles of assisting the mother during the journey, the benefits of using professional help, like a doula, and some tips to...

Imagine training for a job but walking in on your first day and having no idea of what you were going to be asked to do! "Have you ever wondered what males really know about pregnancy and birth?"

The My Essential Birth Podcast began an intimate conversation between two childbirth educators and doulas. Since that first recording in an office after hours, things at My Essential Birth have grown. I now record in a studio with my incredible podcasting team Corbin, Trent, Dallon, and Savannah. With the exception of Savannah, my team is primarily male.

As you can imagine, they knew very little about pregnancy, the birthing process, and how women's bodies function! In this interview, my Rockstar editors will share the episodes that made them redefine the pregnancy journey, what it means to advocate for expectant moms, and the episodes that made them say -- "Wait, is THAT what happens during pregnancy?"

Sit back and prepare to laugh while gaining insight into how movies and media...