The Happy Homebirth podcast is your source for positive natural childbirth stories, and your community of support, education and encouragement in all things hom...
Ep 268: Emotional and Physical Healing From a Hospital Transport, and a Healing Second Birth with Michelle Varela
When things go unexpectedly during your first birth, how do you plan for a second birth with the hope and expectation that they'll go better?
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This week, we are speaking with Michelle Varela. Michelle is one of those rare and amazing women who knew that she wanted to give birth at home from a very young age. So when her first birth took an unexpected turn, it was confusing and disappointing, and there were certainly questions as to how things would be handled next time.
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Episode Roundup:
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The importance of our care providers. They make a huge difference. How things unfold does depend greatly on that.
But the second thing that's on my mind is just how incredible the body is, how beautifully designed it was and is, how beautifully designed it is to heal itself. While Michelle struggled with a 4th degree tear during her 1st birthing experience, she did not let that come in her way in terms of her second birth experience, and thank goodness that she didn't even know that other people might say, oh, that's too dangerous. She just did what she knew was best for her body, and what ended up happening was a beautiful birth with zero tearing.Â
Our bodies are so incredible. They're so incredible at healing. They're so resilient. So if you have found yourself in a place where you've given birth before and it didn't go the way that you wanted, desired, expected, or planned, Know this. Your body is resilient.
Your mind is resilient. Your heart is resilient, and next time it can be different just like it was for Michelle.
Last thing before I jump off, I did wanna share that Michelle's husband actually works with mothers postpartum. He helps with things like diastasis recti, pelvic floor dysfunction, and just overall achieving of physical goals.
Instagram: @codylanecollinsÂ
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Ep 267: Letting God Be Big in Your Birth with Rachel Petersen
We want a healthy baby and a healthy mama, right? But is it okay to ask for more than that? What if we have specific ideas and hopes and dreams for our birth? Is it okay to pray about that? Is it okay to ask the Lord for more?
This week, we are speaking to my friend Rachel Petersen. Now Rachel did just that. She had desires and she let the Lord know about them. So we're going to learn what that looked like and see how it unfolded for her in her birth experience.
Now, just a little bit more information on Rachel. She is certified through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and the Herbal Academy. She specializes in women's hormones, cycle sinking, fertility, the fertility awareness method and prenatal and postpartum nutrition. So she's somebody that you're going to want to check out. She's on Instagram @nourish.thegood
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Episode Roundup:
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The first one being that Rachel shows us how it's okay to make your requests known to God. In fact, he tells us to, specifically, make your requests known to God and he will answer. Now, does it always look like the answer that Rachel received?
No, not necessarily. However, he does work all things for good. So even when the outcomes don't look the way we had expected, even when they look completely different from how we expected them to look, we know that we have a loving father who does care for us and, like Rachel said, He is aware of us.
He sees us. So whether your birth turns out as spectacularly as Rachel's does, or whether it turns out differently than expected, let God be big in it. Look for Him, He's there. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, He is there. So let's look back and see, where was He? Where was He in my experience?
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Ep 266: Finding the Stubborn Root Cause to Your Child’s Mystery Ailments Through The Gillespie Approach
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2024 Trainings
Greenville, SC
Gillespie Approach-Craniosacral Fascial Therapy
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Previous Episode:
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Ep 175: The Gillespie Approach: How Craniosacral Fascial Therapy Can Optimize Health for Your Infant
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Ep 265: Striking the Balance Between Success in Business and Motherhood with Kyleigh Banks
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Birthworker.com/happyhomebirth
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Previous Episodes with Kyleight:
Ep 98: Kyleigh’s Out-of-the-Box Homebirth Preparation
Ep 258: How To Turn Your Passion For Birth Into A Full-time Career As A Doula with Kyleigh Banks
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Ep 264:The Opposite Of A Traumatic Birth with Regina Lowenfield
Once you've experienced a traumatic birth, the best you can hope for from that point on is just-- a birth without trauma, right? It's best to just play it safe- not to push the envelope....?
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Regina has been married to her husband Miles for 11 years and mother to their 3 children. Currently the Lowenfields live in Southern Indiana where they are building an events venue on their 75 acres. Today we'll hear how Regina and Miles experienced trauma, tried to cope, and then went big with their most recent birth experience.
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Before we jump in, I want to share an important update with you all. The release of this episode coincides exactly with the 5 year anniversary of this podcast. I am just so thrilled to look back over the last 5 years and to celebrate the 264 episodes that have been shared in that time.
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I also want to let you know that I am now going to be going on hiatus with the podcast. I am so excited to focus my energy on a few projects that the Lord has been drawing me into over the last year, and most importantly to spend every waking moment soaking up the beauty of my three little ones. I'm not sure if anyone's told you, but holy moly time goes FAST and one day you wake up and your oldest is seven years old and you wonder what the heck happened.
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So in the meantime, know this: I am still honored to provide you with the deepest homebirth childbirth education through The Homebirth Collective or Happy Homebirth Academy, both of which are self-paced and accessible in the show notes, at myhappyhomebirth.com, or through my instagram bio.
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I'm not going to be checking in on instagram or facebook often, so if you need anything, the best way to reach me is at [email protected].
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If this podcast has meant something to you, would you take a moment now to leave a review? It would mean so much to me.
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Episode Roundup:
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If you've experienced a traumatic birth in the past, don't feel that you have to settle for 'not traumatic'. The opposite of a traumatic birth is not merely 'not traumatic', but it's ecstatic, and that's something that you can prepare for, pray for, and quit often attain.
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Alright, my friends. What an honor this has been. I look forward to coming back in the future with more beautiful stories, but in the meantime, I am praying for all of you. That you'll enjoy your pregnancies, your births, your babies, your children. That you'll feel the love of the Lord covering you like a blanket, realizing that it's somehow even deeper and stronger than that insane love we feel for our babies. I'll see you back here next time.
The Happy Homebirth podcast is your source for positive natural childbirth stories, and your community of support, education and encouragement in all things homebirth and motherhood.