How can we set ourselves up for an empowered motherhood experience? Are there any specific values or ideals that we can practice and exercise in order to ready ourselves for the great task that motherhood is? This week we're speaking with Jessica Lorion. As an auto-immune disease fighter, Jessica's motherhood journey is postponed. While she navigates her health journey, she has decided to learn all about motherhood before she becomes one. As aMama in Training herself, she decided to take that concept and support other Mamas in Training on their journey in and through motherhood.Today we'll be taking time together to discuss how to best prepare for pregnancy, postpartum and beyond with Jessica's 3 pillars of motherhood. Episode Roundup Advocacy. Let's remember that you are yours and your baby's best advocate. Wear that title proudly, and don't allow others, even those with white coats, to bully you. This can feel like a daunting weight, but you were made for this and created for this. Spend time thinking, praying, meditating on this fact so that you can go forth confidently. Next, let's talk about planning and preparing. You know this is near and dear to my heart, as we go through a strategic planning and preparation sequence inside of Happy Homebirth Academy. From preparing the mind to preparing the relaxation techniques, to preparing your partner, heart and home, body, and for postpartum... this idea of taking the time to consider what's important to you, consider all of the options, and create a fluid plan is essential. And finally, community. I love how Jessica divided up this concept of community. We've got care providers and professionals, close friends and family, and then third party community. I love the idea of having outside input. Each group is important and can bring us something slightly different. Learning to lean into our communities for support is a lesson that can sometimes be challenging, but it is truly so rewarding for both yourself and your family. Resources: Happy Homebirth Academy FREE Homebirth Essentials Guide
How do you go through with a home birth when you start your pregnancy terrified of home birth? This week we're speaking to Kati Gannom, a mama who agreed to a home birth during her second pregnancy, even though she really wasn't sold on it in the beginning. Episode Roundup: Kati is a perfect example that your cervix is not a crystal ball, and the fact that it's out of one during one exam means absolutely nothing about when your baby will be born. This reality really presented itself in both of her labors. Before I go on a tirade about the absolute insanity of cutting an episiotomy, especially without consent from the mother first, because I'm feeling a whole lot of angry feelings about that, let me just skip to the good part. Katie toured during her second birth, which, sure, nobody wants to do, but this is a great reminder that the perineum was made to stretch, yes, but it was also made to heal. And healing from a natural chair is generally a much easier experience than healing from intentional incisions, as I am sure Kati would attest. Mindset is everything. I mean, really, your body already has everything it needs to give birth to your baby, barring very special circumstances. The really important task is assuring and reassuring your mind that that's the case. Of course, understanding physiological birth, knowing all the types of positions and pain relief and coping techniques play a part in building that mindset. But it's important that you know that you've already got everything that you need. Resources: Happy Homebirth Academy FREE Homebirth Essentials Guide
Childbirth education isn’t enough. How many homebirth mothers do you know who “did everything right” and yet still felt unfulfilled after their birth? Listen, when we don’t treat birth as sacred and prepare for it as such, how can we expect to feel like it was scared afterwards? In order to reap, we must first sow. Let’s sow the seeds of preparation with intentionality. Let’s prepare our hearts and our feminine intuition and wisdom before jumping straight into “how to cope with labor” Join me for 12 weeks and let’s get to work so that when it’s time for the harvest, it’s absolutely abundant. Send me a DM saying ‘me!’ If you’re ready to prepare with intentionality inside of The Homebirth Collective.
4 Warning Signs that You Need to Re-Prioritize Your Homebirth Preparation So you want an empowered Homebirth. Are you preparing in a way that will provide you with empowerment? 1️⃣ If you think you’re going to just go with the flow ️ reprioritize 2️⃣ If you think that relaxation techniques alone give you empowerment ️ reprioritize 3️⃣ If you think that hiring a midwife guarantees success ️ reprioritize 4️⃣ If you’re not preparing for this with the same dedication that you did when planning/preparing for your wedding ️ reprioritize Wanting an empowered birth experience is doable with the right tools and preparation. But let’s remember that it isn’t going to just drop in our laps. We’ve got to take radical responsibility for our preparation.
Here’s a belief shift for you: Knowledge about birth is key and knowledge is enough ️Wisdom should be our emphasis. Takeaways from today’s chat: We’ve been taught that the way to prepare is to acquire information (from social media, the stories of others, birth classes) BUT this isn’t reducing anxiety because none of that is directly applied to YOU. We need to to focus on your own internal wisdom and self knowledge before adding “science”. If you want to feel peace, but you’re stressing about finding peace... that’s not going to lead you to peace. When you have a framework that integrates knowledge AND wisdom, then you can release the anxiety and feel JOY.
You don’t have to wait until your baby is in your arms physically to begin attaching and bonding. In fact... how much closer can you get than being inside of someone?! Let’s emulate that close physical proximity with mental and emotional proximity, too! This weekend we’re running a challenge!#chorionicconnection We’re going to set aside a little bit of time each day for the next 3 days to intentionally connect with our babies. Day 1: spend time thinking about what it will be like to work with your baby during labor. How will the two of you work together? What will that look like? Day 2: Focus on what the newborn connection will be like. Joyfully imagine the new baby snuggles, smelling that precious little head, nursing and changing diapers. Let your baby know that you’re a safe place and you’re going to take care of them. Day 3: let’s visualize this connection 5-10 years down the road. What will this beautiful love look like then? Imagine your baby, now a child, and imagine you helping them solve some type of problem. Let them know that this isn’t a short term relationship- you’ll be bonded and connected for life. SHARE YOUR DAILY EXPERIENCES! Post about it on your stories and tag@happyhomebirthpodcastso I can see where you are, how you’re doing, and what about this is most valuable for you! Use#chorionicconnection Is this the type of in-depth, actionable preparation you want for your Homebirth? If you’ve got 16+ weeks left in your pregnancy and you want to be fully prepared on all levels, send me a DM (chorionic connection) to learn more about The Homebirth Collective.
The 3 Reasons You’re Not Feeling Confident About Homebirth 1. You’re feeling isolated and misunderstood by your closest family and friends who consider what you’re doing to be dangerous 2. You’re looking in the traditionally right place for connection (family & friends), but unfortunately that’s not currently the place where you’ll find what you’re seeking 3. You’ve got to somewhat disengage or remove your energy from these toxic situations and reengage in a community where you will be built up and given both knowledge and wisdom. Sound like you? Send me a DM with the word ‘engage’ to learn how we’re healing these issues at the root inside of The Homebirth Collective!
You’ve been sold the idea that if you know the states of labor and the hormonal interplay and if you practice your relaxation techniques that you’ll be all set for an empowering birth experience. BUT... We need more than science; we need wisdom. We need more than head knowledge; we need heart knowledge. We need the right container so that we can appropriately integrate our experience. We need: ️ COMMUNITY ️ CEREMONY ️ CONNECTION Listen in to hear how we’re cultivating this inside of The Homebirth Collective.
Birth serves a purpose, yes, but can it be more than just bring a baby from within to the outside? Could it actually be... intimate? This week we're speaking with Annalee Ford who is a a civil engineer/makeup artist in Denver, CO who, as she says, spends way too muchtime on Tiktok. Annalee and her husband actually work together (on the engineering side, not makeup!) and have been together for 10 blissful years. Together they have two beautiful daughters (Elliott and Collins), three crazy dogs, and love spending lots of time together as a family. And this family-love is what we'll be exploring inside of this episode. The way that we can take birth from being a medical event to a familial affair. Episode Roundup: I want to reiterate the fact that postpartum rage is a thing that many mothers experience. Sometimes completely alone, and other times intermingled with anxiety and depression. I experienced this quite strongly after the birth of my first daughter, and I felt totally alone and embarrassed that I was experiencing these emotions. Do not make the same mistake as me. If you're experiencing this, reach out to someone. Look into the emotional freedom technique- you can find all kinds of videos online for free, and that's amazing, but I do feel like finding someone to work with one on one can help you uncover a lot more roots a lot quicker. I'm going to put some of my favorite resources in the show notes Let's talk about interventions. Often times I speak on the down sides to interventions, but here's the truth. They can be super helpful sometimes. Annalee chose to have cervical exams and membrane sweeps, and the world didn't fall apart because of it-- in fact, they seemed to truly help her as she progressed throughout her labor experience. Here's the deal. When you have informed consent-- when you truly know the pros and cons to each practice and you confidently choose, that's beautiful and amazing! Interventions are not automatically BAD things... they can serve a purpose... but having informed consent is absolutely key. Next, one more time-- how COOL was it to hear how Annalee's subconscious really seemed to pick up on the impending transport and emergent feelings right at the end of her labor. And what did it do? It cause a STRONG physical reaction. Her baby went from high to ON the perineum in no time flat, all thanks to a well-timed pukefest. I am constantly in awe of the Divine nature in which we were created. And yes, I'm talking about vomit and our divine creation in the same breath. And finally, let's end where we began. Birth does not have to be some big medical to-do. How much more connecting and strengthening is it when we prepare with our spouse, work together as a team, and experience birth as an intimate family event. This is the glue that binds us and can build us up. It was so beautiful to hear how Annalee and Ethan did this together, fortifying and strengthening their connection through the experience. Resources: Happy Homebirth Academy FREE Homebirth Essentials Guide
Do you desire to involve your children in your pregnancy, birthing and immediate postpartum experience, but feel a bit uncertain as to how to prepare them? This episode is full of wonderful, easily attainable ways to discuss birth and midwifery care with your children, no matter what age. Kelly will be giving us such wonderful examples of how to involve your children and bolster their self-confidence. Episode Roundup: One of the very best things we can do for our children is involve them in daily life- both the little and small events. From the daily routines like folding the laundry and washing the dishes to the extraordinary moments of pregnancy and childbirth, to the sweet and intimate moments like feeding our babies. Allowing our children to be a part of our lives facilitates confidence and creates young ones who feel at home in our world. When answering our young children's questions, we don't have to give them a full college essay in response, but it is important to feel out what it is that they're truly wanting to know, and to do our best to give a response that is at their level when possible. I love Kelly's example from Corrie Ten Boom about not asking children to carry more than they can hold-- but on the other end, as parents, we are their safe place to ask questions and learn. Creating a relationship and an atomosphere that lets our children know it's okay to ask questions and to know that their parents are going to do their best to involve and include them goes such a long way when it comes to security. And finally, we can make birth preparation fun and enjoyable for our children. By involving them in the actual appointments, talking openly and often with them, and reading beautiful books like The Midwife's Visit , we let our children take part in this incredible, transformative event-- giving trust to the process now, and allowing that trust to grow over a lifetime so that they too will be excited for their own birthing experiences. This is how we change the perspective of birth in our culture-- by teaching our children the truth. Resources: Happy Homebirth Academy FREE Homebirth Essentials Guide