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In episode number 15, I had the privilege of sitting down with Davis Evans and hearing her three birth stories. Her first two births were during her career in the Air Force, and you’ll hear her talk about how those births were distinctive from her third. She says, “By baby number three, I had really found my voice a lot more to be able to stand up for what we wanted for our family and our birthing experience.”  There are things that no friend who shares every detail of her pregnancy and birth and postpartum experience could ever fully reveal to you. I think there’s so much about birth that you learn as you go - experiential knowledge. However, I’m hopeful that by sharing the birth stories of women like Davis here on the podcast, that you will be able to make prayerful, empowered decisions for your birth experience.  If you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts and visit my corner of the internet - Hopeful Birth on Facebook and @hopefulbirthpodcast on Instagram. It is so appreciated!  LINKS MENTIONED BY DAVIS: - The Bradley Method - The Business of Being Born

In episode number 14, Amanda Wood, my friend and mentor is on the podcast sharing about her two births. She tries to say that she doesn’t remember all of the details, but even with 16 years having passed since her first birth, she has SHARP memories of her birth. And sweetly, she can clearly point out how the Father met her in her births.  Amanda has worked with me over the last few years on applying the gospel to any situation in my life - to see where I am standing firm in Him or where I’m lacking - so I also asked Amanda to walk us through applying the gospel to our births. I hope you find this helpful as you seek the Father’s heart for you and your baby.  If you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts and visit my corner of the internet - Hopeful Birth on Facebook and @hopefulbirthpodcast on Instagram. It is so appreciated! 

In episode number 13, Christina Szrama shares about the birth of her 4 kiddos. Christina had a very challenging first labor that unearthed in her a love for birth. She pursued her doula training and certification - working on that even during her second pregnancy. She chose a different birth environment for her second and had a completely different experience. “Peaceful” was how she described it, even though her son was 10 pounds, 6 ounces! Her third birth was a home birth, as well as her fourth, Jack, and if you can believe it, he was even heavier than her second. She had no tearing or even abrasions. I am so impressed with her and with him. What a team!  Christina talks about how “endurance” became a word that helped her press through the challenge of birthing Jack, and I appreciated her forthrightness as she shared about a difficult spiritual season she’s walked through. In the Meet the Birth Worker segment, I had the privilege of interviewing Janelle Alier, CNM of Paris Mountain Midwifery. Janelle is a Certified Nurse Midwife serving women in the Greenville area of South Carolina. She typically takes only 2-3 births a month, so it’s best to reach out to her as soon as possible, if you’re interested in hiring her as your midwife. You can find her on Instagram at Paris Mountain Midwifery. If you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts and visit my corner of the internet - Hopeful Birth on Facebook and @hopefulbirthpodcast on Instagram. It is so appreciated!  -- LINKS MENTIONED by Christina Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth - Ina May Gaskin The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth - Henci GoerBooks for nutrition/postpartum: Real Food for Mother & Baby (Nina Planck)The First 40 Days (Heng Ou)Real Food for Pregnancy (Lily Nichols)Books to help kids prep for birth: I Am a Big Sister (Caroline Church) or I Am a Big Brother I'm a Big Brother (Joanna Cole)What Baby Needs (William & Martha Sears)Baby on the Way (William & Martha Sears)Will There Be a Lap for Me? (Dorothy Corey)Peter's Chair (Ezra Jack Keats)On Mother's Lap (Ann Herbert Scott)(Specifically show homebirth):Home Sweet Baby (Jonna Carter)My Mother is the Strongest (Cynthia Durand)Welcome Home (Alisha Bourke)Our Water Baby (Amy Maclean)Mama Midwife (Christy Tyner)All of the Places to Love (Patricia MacLachlan)LINKS MENTIONED by Janelle https://www.instagram.com/parismountainmidwifery/ Childbirth Education Suggested by Janelle:  Bradley Method Hypnobabies

In episode number 12, Kathleen Roth is sharing about the birth of her twin girls, Anna and Noel! Kathleen is a great friend of mine, and her birth story is particularly special because Kathleen became a mom through adoption. In this episode, we’ll walk through how she and her husband decided to pursue adoption, how she tried to hold her hope of becoming a mom with open hands, about her honest disappointments during the wait, and about the day she met her girls. Their story truly is a hopeful birth.  In the Meet the Birth Worker segment, I got to interview Shannon Fleming of Brave the Waves Birth Services. Shannon is a Birth and Sibling Doula in the Upstate of South Carolina, and she also teaches a course called “Maidens by His Design” for young girls (ages 8 and up) - alongside their moms - about menstruation and opening up that conversation to prepare them for maidenhood. You can find her at https://www.facebook.com/bravethewaves If you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts and visit my corner of the internet - Hopeful Birth on Facebook and @hopefulbirthpodcast on Instagram. It is so appreciated!  -- LINKS MENTIONED by Kathleen Quiver Full Adoptions, Inc. - https://www.quiverfulladoptions.com/ -- LINKS MENTIONED by Shannon https://www.facebook.com/bravethewaves [email protected] (864) 991-7184 Childbirth Education Suggested by Shannon:  Bradley MethodHypnobabiesJulie Byer’s Mindful Birth SeriesThree Little Birds Birth Services(for homebirth moms) Happy Homebirth Academy

In episode number 11, Kathleen Joye is sharing about the birth of her sweet daughter Winnie! Kathleen talks about her dive into the world of birth and some of the changes she made during her pregnancy to prepare well for Winnie’s arrival. It’s an episode full of goodness and lots of laughter!  In the Meet the Midwife segment, Bethany Arrington of Genesis Birth and Wellness joined me. Bethany is a Certified Nurse Midwife offering Homebirth and Gynecology services in the Upstate of South Carolina. I ask Bethany to share a little about how Midwifery Care differs from the care of Obstetricians, so make sure you listen in for that. You can find Bethany on her Website and on Instagram and Facebook.  If you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts and visit my corner of the internet - Hopeful Birth on Facebook and @hopefulbirthpodcast on Instagram. It is so appreciated!  Links Mentioned by Kathleen:  The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth  Julie Byer’s Mindful Birth Class Paleo Taco Casserole - This is a pretty close variation of the Paleo Taco Casserole Kathleen mentions. It's a lot of work, but it makes a lot of food and has so many veggies!! I add an onion and spiralize my sweet potatoes rather than grating.

In episode number 10, I was able to record my friend Megan’s birth stories, and she’s got 5 of them, so get ready for some inspiring stories! Make sure you listen all the way to the end because number 5 is *especially* spectacular for multiple reasons.  Megan is one of the friends who helped spark what is now my love for birth. Megan was the first person I’d met who had had healthy pregnancies and births with her first two that were very different experiences, so I would say that it really did give me pause to go, “What made her two experiences so different?” It was intriguing.  I want to share something she says early on in the interview, “But I do think that, across the board, every birth is like a growth spurt for me, emotionally and spiritually. Every birth catapulted me on to a new level with the Lord and a new level, I would say, even in my relationship with my husband, and that's been a neat thing to reflect upon.”  This is where it’s at! Birth is transformative - not just in the obvious physical sense - but in EVERY aspect of our lives. And I’m here to highlight it or soap box on it or both.  I hope you guys are blessed as you listen to Megan’s birth testimonies! You can find her @therealmcsanders and @honorquestart on Instagram.  If you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts and visit my corner of the internet - Hopeful Birth on Facebook and @hopefulbirthpodcast on Instagram. It is so appreciated! Links Mentioned: Supernatural Childbirth 

In episode number 9, we’re hearing from Karen Shorter. Karen was one of the oldest of 8 children, so she watched her mom experience pregnancy and birth multiple times. She grew up with an awareness that birth is nothing to be afraid of, and she used that knowledge during each of her three births. What struck me most about Karen’s testimonies is how grateful she was to get to experience the perfect design of birth. She mentioned several times how her learning about pregnancy and birth spurred gratitude towards God in her. And I love that...birth turning us to worship the Creator. Yes!  I did want to mention that we discuss miscarriage in between births 2 and 3, so you may want to skip ahead or listen to this episode another time, if your heart is feeling tender in that area right now. If you're a birth worker interested in being featured in a future "Meet the Birth Worker" segment or a mom willing to share your birth story, please reach out to me on Instagram @hopefulbirthpodcast. Thanks for taking the time to listen! I pray that these stories are an encouragement to your heart.  Links Mentioned:   Lamaze Ina May Gaskin's Books Bradley Method Business of Being Born Childbirth Without Fear

In this episode number eight, not only do we get to hear Katelyn Fusco’s beautiful homebirth stories, but we also get to hear of the moments when she began her walk with God. Katelyn walked me through how her faith changed between the births of her two girls, and it is powerful. Katelyn is the host of the Happy Homebirth Podcast, which is one of my go-to podcasts, and she also sweetly helped me get this podcast started, so it’s a privilege to have her on to share about her birth experiences. Even if you’re not interested in pursuing a homebirth for yourself, I recommend taking a listen to an episode or two. Along with birth stories, Katelyn sprinkles in some really helpful information in the area of women’s health, which is so good! Links Mentioned: - Happy Homebirth - Hypnobabies - Real Food for Pregnancy - Lily Nichols - Happy Homebirth on Facebook

In this episode number seven, I got to sit with Ellen Songalia and hear her 3 home birth stories. While home birth wasn’t initially something she ever thought she would do, she realized that it was a great option for her and her family. As a military wife, she was grateful for the consistent care of the same midwife throughout her pregnancy and birth, and for a future birth, she added a doula to her birth team during her husband’s deployment. Ellen shares how grateful she is for the births she was able to have, and I hope that they inspire you to pray and be open to how the Father might lead you through your own birth preparation or walking back through your previous birth stories. Links mentioned: Risen Motherhood (Jensen and Wifler) Taking Charge of Your Fertility (Weschler)  Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth (Gaskin) Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way (Bradley) The Birth Partner (Simkin) Please take a moment and leave a review! Reach out to me on the contact page www.hopefulbirth.com if you'd like to share your birth stories in a future episode or if you're a birth worker who would like to be featured in our Meet the Birth Worker segment. Thanks! 

I'm glad to be able to introduce you all to Rebecca Bennett! She lives in Honduras, and I'm grateful for the technology to be able to share her stories with you today. There are some sweet similarities in our birth stories (check out episode 1 for mine), but her perspective is unique and her stories have their own little wild side stories...the Mystery of the Missing IUD for one! I look forward to hearing how her stories encourage you in your own birth journeys. Links mentioned: Rebecca mentions “Welcome to Holland” by Emily Perl Kingsley a couple of times. Enjoy the read!

In this episode, my friend Keri shares her range of experiences with her 3 births. If you want to hear about 3 different birth experiences in a short amount of time, then this is the episode for you!  I loved hearing Keri describe the spiritually intimate nature of her pregnancies, births and postpartum seasons. That part of His character - the way He is Emmanuel, God with us - is so apparent in her stories. How He shows up in different ways for each birth...man, I just love it! 

If you have not yet listened to episode #4 with Sarah Mudder, pause this episode and give #4 a listen. Pay close attention to her 4th birth in which she experienced a NICU stay. During our interview, I asked her to speak to moms who have been through a NICU stay with their babies and moms who may be curious about the experience or even desire to think through that scenario. I found her advice here really helpful and simple and wanted to highlight it in a bonus episode for you. I hope you enjoy it as well!  To stay up-to-date on the podcast, please like me on Facebook at Hopeful Birth and follow me on Instagram @hopefulbirthpodcast. If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast platform you use. Don’t forget to check out my website at www.hopefulbirth.com where, if you’re interested, you can make a request to share your birth story on a future episode. Thanks for listening!