Doing It At Home - The Home Birth Pod...

Doing It At Home - The Home Birth Podcast is a weekly podcast about home birth and our decision to go from a traditional hospital birth with an OBGYN to a natural birth at home with midwives. This is a raw and honest show that explores homebirth from every angle. We talk about the fears and judgements thrown at you when you choose home birth. We share resources that we found tremendously helpful for understanding our birthing options. We confess the magic and craziness in preparing for pregnancy, home birth, motherhood and fatherhood. We talk about having sex while pregnant and maintaining your connection and intimacy as a couple. We reveal how to stay centered and not lose yourself through pregnancy, and tons more! This show is all about adding an empowered conversation to the topic of home birth and natural birth, while keeping it real, grounded and fun. So strap in and join us as we’re doing it at home!

Kids & Family
Parenting
Self-Improvement
101
474: A Secret Home Birth and Postpartum PTSD fr...
Have you experienced postpartum PTSD? Today we’re talking with Stephanie Aberlich, not only about her home birth of her son Arlo (which she and her husband Dustin planned for and kept a secret from friends and family), but also the traumatic ER visit and hospital stay for baby Arlo just 24 hours after he was born and was experiencing fast breathing.
92 min
102
473: Trusting Baby and Staying Empowered During...
What does it mean to become a student of birth? For Lauren Leduc, that was the role she took on when she planned for her home birth. “I took on pregnancy and birth like it was my major in college!”
67 min
103
472: A Home Birth Story and A Birth Center Stor...
Here we have another magical home birth story for you. Maria reached out to us after listening to the show and felt inspired to share her experience of home birth. We love stories like these - full of candor, vulnerability and humor. Maria has the experience and perspective of giving birth in a birthing center as well as at home, so we were really excited to sit down and pick her brain about it all.
42 min
104
471: Mum of 16 Plus Creating Your Home Birth Pl...
How should you approach your home birth plan? In today’s episode Sarah reads listener emails and talks about creating a home birth plan.
23 min
105
470: First Time Mother and Labor and Delivery N...
Why would a labor and delivery nurse choose home birth? There are quite a few reasons, at least for today’s guest Corrie Oyinloye. Corrie has been a labor and delivery nurse for 10 years. And two years ago, she chose home birth for the birth of her daughter, Rachel.
58 min
106
469: Hyperemesis Gravidarum, Membrane Sweeps an...
How do we move through the discomforts of pregnancy and birth? This comes up in today’s interview with Melanie Meador. Melanie shares her journey with both of her home birth experiences. This birth story includes: hyperemesis gravidarum, doula, acupuncture, TENs machine, membrane stripping, en caul, cervical lip, and red raspberry leaf tea.
67 min
107
468: The Science of Natural and Undisturbed Bir...
In today’s episode we speak with Dr. Sarah Buckley on the science of natural and undisturbed birth. Dr. Sarah Buckley is the author of the best selling book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, the author the report Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing (January 2015), and all around natural childbirth expert.
45 min
108
467: Journeying From Cancer to Home Birth with ...
How could lessons from surviving cancer empower you in your birth? For Eva Whipple, going through cancer at age 19 shifted up her perspective on things. It taught her about priorities and her ability to push through. She recognizes that it also taught her to be present. And this carried into both of her births, both on the same day two years apart.
40 min
109
466: Couples Birth: Strengthening Your Connecti...
Ever heard any of these approaches to birth: couples birth, daddy delivery, husband and wife birth? Well today our guest Lynn Griesemer, who is a mother of 6, marriage coach, podcaster and author (among many other things) joins us for a conversation about including your partner in the birth experience. Giving them an active role and making birth a family-led experience.
49 min
110
465: Q&A with Midwives About the Midwifery Mode...
What does a midwife do? Might seem like an obvious answer if you’ve been in the birthing world for a while. But if you’re unfamiliar with different models of care or exploring home birth for the first time, it’s a very legitimate question with answers that could be very significant in your birthing journey. Today we’re joined by Sarah McClure and Charli Zarosinski, midwives of Hearth and Home Midwifery and hosts of The Homebirth Midwife Podcast.
47 min
111
464: Peaceful Birth, Healthy Baby or “Birth is ...
Meet Megan, mom to 6-year-old Aurelia and 19-month-old Leonardo Iztali from Denver, Colorado. We connected with Megan via another DIAH mom, Marissa (whom we interviewed a few weeks before). Megan had sent a banner to Marissa to decorate her home in preparation for home birth. The same banner has made its way to other mamas since then, and Megan plans to continue to send it to friends as they want it.
50 min
112
463: Two Mamas Welcome Their Baby with Caitlin ...
Were you surprised when your labor started? For mama Caitlin Thompson, she shares that even though she felt somewhat ready, there was still a part of her that didn’t expect it. Today’s home birth story is a followup to our interview with Caitlin back in episode 126 when we spoke to her about the emotional journey to conception for her and her wife Sho (definitely listen to that episode if you haven’t yet - it’s amazing).
51 min
113
462: Two Different Home Births in Two Different...
Any mamas out there who have birthed in multiple countries? Today’s guest, Lindsay Wolff shares her two home birth experiences with us. Her first with her daughter Isla was in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and her second daughter Marin was in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
50 min
114
461: Birth Worker Burnout and the Balance of Ho...
How do we prevent birth worker burnout? This is one of the great topics we dive into this week with Martha Lerner, birth doula and photographer.
42 min
115
460: Why Non-Moms are Important in the Home Bir...
We have a fun and little different kind of episode for you today. Katy emailed us after her great friend and fellow DIAH mama Katie McCormick (from episode 73) shared the podcast with her. Katy thanked us for what we’re up to with the show. As a “non-mom” (though she plans to be in the future), she’s always been fascinated by pregnancy and birth. She’s been exploring the option of home birth for herself when that time comes. So we figured...let’s get on the phone, hit record and see what happens!
33 min
116
459: Home Birth for Baby #3 with the Help of an...
Would you consider using an enema during the labor process? In today’s birth story, we’re chatting with Alyssa Reeves, wife to Kirk and mama to twin boys Sam and Niko and daughter Zooey. And while there’s a lot more and totally magical elements to Alyssa’s story, she’s the first mama on the show to share her experience of using an enema during her transition phase of labor. We’re so grateful for her open and informative sharing on how helpful it was for her in preparation for pushing. So now other mamas listening to the show can learn from Alyssa’s experience and have another possibility for themselves if they have similar challenges during birth.
47 min
117
458: A Home Birth Transfer to the Hospital is N...
Has anyone ever felt like a failure because their birth didn’t go exactly the way they planned? We think this happens far too often. That’s why we’re happy we have conversations like the one we have today on the podcast. Allison Rich joins us to share her birth story.
53 min
118
457: How Orgasmic Birth Is Connecting Women To ...
We are so honored to have Debra Pascali-Bonaro join us on the show. She is the creator and director of the documentary, “Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret.” She’s also the co-writer of “Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth.” In our interview, we talk about her path to being obsessed with birth, learning from her own birth story. We also chat about the concept for the documentary and where it came from. We explore themes from the documentary and the impact it’s had on the conversation of birth.
48 min
119
456: Overcoming Diagnoses of “Incompetent” Cerv...
How do you plan for a positive hospital birth experience, when you were originally intending to have a home birth? This is such a great topic to cover. For many who start out with a home birth plan, sometimes that changes for various reasons. Sarah Schade shares her story with us. From a diagnosis of an “incompetent” cervix (definitely not a term we’re fond of around here) to another diagnosis of IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), Sarah and her husband Jeremiah went through a lot of ups and downs.
76 min
120
455: Unsupportive Midwife with Traumatic Experi...
Is one way to birth “better” than another? Sometimes there are misconceptions and unhealthy conversations floating about in the birth community around natural vs. medicated birth or hospital vs. home. That one is better than the other or there’s a sense of superiority or higher moral code to choose one over the other. And competition comes in as a factor, like there is something to prove or defy. This topic is relevant for the conversation we have today with Lillie Cooke, sharing her birth story with us.
48 min
121
454: Rainbow Home Birth Baby After 2 Miscarriag...
What would you do if you really trusted yourself? This is a beautiful question that comes up in today’s episode, and I think everyone can take something from it and carry it into their lives. Mellisa Reeves of Motherbirth is sharing part of her journey with us. From some of the traumatic elements of her first hospital birth with her first son Aiden, a stillbirth in hospital at 41 weeks pregnant with her second son Rowan and two subsequent miscarriages, she brings us to the healing process and experience of her home birth with her daughter, Etney.
44 min
122
451: Healing Through Trauma After a 48-Hour Lab...
What do you do when it’s difficult to come to terms with how your birth unfolded? In today’s episode, Katie Suder shares her journey with us. From her unexpected and joyful pregnancy to currently 9 months postpartum and still processing a lot of her birth experience.
56 min
123
450: Empowering Hospital Births with a Home Bir...
What do you do when you want a home birth, but life circumstances make it a bit challenging to create? Cami Harper is sharing her story with us and how she embraced her situation to make it beautiful, even though it wasn’t exactly what she wanted.
30 min
124
449: Giving Birth in Another Country Without Fe...
What’s it like giving birth outside of your native country? It’d be understandable to have fears and/or reservations around birthing in a different country. But what if it could be normal, uncomplicated, supported and without fear? Our guest today is Amy Brown. Amy traveled from Chicago, Illinois to Peru in 2011 to work as a teacher, and hasn’t left since. After meeting her now husband Marco, she has since set up life in Lima. And she has given birth to her two children: daughter, Leah and son, Christopher in a birthing center in the city.
51 min
125
448: Witchcraft, surprise babies, and moving du...
In today’s episode we’ve got the whole family on the line - Meggie and Steve Andrews join us, along with their baby William, or Liam as they refer to him.
47 min