Happy Homebirth

You’ve done it- you’ve decided to give birth at home, and NOTHING is going to stop you, right? 

 

This week we’re speaking to Heather Whitehead, a mother to 5 living in East Tennessee.  We’ll hear how Heather and her husband settled on homebirth for their most recent pregnancy, and how they navigated certain obstacles that arose after their decision.  You know, like the realization that they were pregnant with twins, to start. 

 

Episode Roundup:

 

First, I love that Heather chose to continue care with her midwife, even knowing that there could be a larger number of reasons for a transfer of care as her pregnancy went along.  When she considered the whole situation thoroughly, she decided that BECAUSE she was pregnant with twins, she actually needed a midwife more: The individualized care, the preventative approach, and the loving support. Even if it meant paying for two providers, she and her husband decided midwifery care was worth the cost.

Next, Heather really has experienced the gamut when it comes to pregnancy and birthing experiences.  From different types of inductions to gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, she’s seen some things– and I love that she allowed those experiences to inform her decisions in the future.  Especially when combined with midwifery care, she was able to take hold of potential “high risk” issues preventatively this time around.  The 2 mile post-dinner walk?  I would LOVE to hear if you give that a try and what it does to your fasting blood sugar numbers!

And finally- this was so ordained, wasn’t it?  As Heather said, there were so many potential issues that could have occurred as she gave birth to her preemie twins, but… her husband made it home.  Heather took her time with a few last minute tasks that allowed her midwife to be there– quite divinely.  Heather was able to avoid further intervention with her birth by having her babies before arriving to the hospital, and her midwife most assuredly impacted Baby B’s life by staying with Heather in the ambulance and providing the care that she and baby needed.  What an amazing series of events.

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Pregnancy is the height of creativity– you are literally creating a brand new human… from scratch?  But have you noticed that sometimes the creativity of pregnancy moves into other aspects of your life?  

 

This week, we’e speaking with Khylir Patton, a mother of two and a homebirth mom based in Tampa Bay, Florida. After navigating an unexpected late-pregnancy loss of care and ultimately experiencing a deeply empowering homebirth, she became passionate about helping mothers feel supported, informed, and less alone in their journeys. Khylir is the founder of IYA, a maternal care platform inspired by her own experiences navigating pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. At her core, she believes birth is intuitive, sacred, and a powerful initiation into motherhood. 

 

Episode Roundup:

 

Moving into motherhood is not always a perfectly smooth transition.  You are growing, regenerating, renewing as a human.  Your responsibilities shift completely, and the entire focus of your life, both long term and day to day, must yield to this new experience.  Khylir mentioned the struggle of her time no longer feeling like her own– She couldn’t sleep when she wanted to, work when she wanted to.  She had to relinquish the grip she previously easily held on her schedule.  But– while it’s not all easy, it is all an invitation to transform.  How can you hold onto your identity, grow in your identity, and care for your baby, too?  Sometimes the balance takes time to establish, but I love how Khylir was able to move through the experience and eventually come out on the other side capable of caring for her two little ones while also creating something she felt called to create.  

Which leads me to my second point- isn’t it amazing how pregnancy truly is an incubator?  For new life, of course, but also an incubator for ideas and creativity.  I’ve had some of my very best ideas and revelations during the pregnancy and postpartum phases of my life.  

And finally, I love hearing Khylir’s experience of– awakening to invitation.  One day in postpartum, she heard “get up.”  Such a small phase, but it changed everything about how she was interacting with her life.  She accepted the invitation.  She took small steps– taking a bit of time to wash her face and brush her teeth, then going on walks… suddenly, as she listened and responded, she was given more direction– take this dream you’ve had and turn into something new.  Something that will impact others for years to come.

 

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Have you ever found yourself wanting something to happen so desperately, and at the same time realizing you have absolutely no control over its happening?

 

This week, we’re speaking with Erica: a wife, mother of two, one of nine siblings,

and a woman who entered marriage already having seen family members give birth beautifully at home.

 

Episode Roundup:

1. Generational Trust in birth is a GIFT 
Erica didn’t stumble into homebirth hoping it might work.

She had seen it.

She watched her mother birth.
She watched her sister birth.
She grew up witnessing women trust their bodies.

When birth isn’t something foreign and medicalized —
when it’s something you’ve seen unfold in your actual living room —where you LIVE–
it builds a different kind of confidence.

What are we modeling for our daughters?
What are our sons witnessing about women’s strength?

Erica is now continuing that legacy.  Absolutely amazing.

 

2. Surrender Is Not Passive — It’s Active and continual
Two weeks of prodromal labor.
Contractions that start… and stop.
Hopes rising… and falling.
Over and over again.

And that shower moment —
head against the tile, sobbing, praying,
“I trust You… but please let it be now.”

That is such an honest prayer. That’s a prayer of confession.

Surrender doesn’t mean we don’t have desires.
It doesn’t mean we don’t long for relief.
It means we bring those desires into God’s presence
instead of trying to control the outcome.

And eventually…
her body opened.

Not through force or fear, but because it. Was. time. 


3. And finally, there is such power in undisturbed birth.  
Erica pushed without cervical checks.
She followed her body’s cues.
She reached down and felt her baby descend.

That image —
a mother with her own finger on her baby’s head,
feeling him move down and through her body —
is one of the most instinctive, embodied images I can imagine.

She didn’t need someone to tell her where she was, because she felt it.

And then…
she caught him herself.

Born fully en caul.
Waters intact.
Her hands the first to lift him from the water.

What a picture of partnership between body, baby, and Creator.

 

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

When you want to give birth at home, but the local midwives are overbooked and not taking new clients, what are your options? 

 

This week we’re speaking to Regan, a mother to two kiddos in the Manitoba area of Canada who knew that she wanted to give birth at home, but had to think outside the box to make it happen for her.  

 

Regan is a wife of 7 years and a stay at home mom to her two beautiful young children. A small part of her life includes helping manage a midwifery advocacy group, whose main desire is that all women in her Province can have the birth experience they desire! She loves her quiet country home life raising kids, running her two small businesses and discussing birth with anyone who wants to talk!

 

Episode Roundup:

 

 

It can feel so frustrating to hear how difficult it is in so many places to find a quality care provider at home.  Whether it's because of a lack of midwives or because of an over-taxed system, it leads to the same issue– Mothers have to think outside the box to find the care they need.  But what’s beautiful is the fact that for some mothers, like Regan, their desire to have a certain kind of experience leads them to explore other options and find a solution that works for them.  This doesn’t always look the same for every family.  For some, maybe it’s a hotel or airbnb birth.  For others, maybe it’s finding midwives to travel to you from a distance.  Whatever it looks like, the sense of creativity that you can bring into a difficult situation can truly flip it on its head.

There’s something to be said for having to keep information confidential when you deeply want to share.  Regan spoke of how the sense of secrecy she needed to maintain in order to protect her labor support felt very heavy to hear.  While it’s such a good reminder that your private medical information is yours to keep close and it’s really nobody else’s right to know, that doesn’t change the experience that comes with WANTING to share and feeling unable. Regan thinks this may have impacted her ability to connect to the idea that she was really growing a baby prenatally – which, as I mentioned, I believe makes quite a bit of sense that she needed to truly feel all of her labor to make the connection that, yes, this is happening! I’m becoming a mother again!

And finally, one of the beautiful counter balances to the struggle Regan had with not being able to share about her labor support– was her labor support itself.  She had a team of two women who loved her, cared for her, encouraged her and walked with her as she went through one of the most pivotal days of her entire life.  What a delight that these women cared so deeply for her, and were also so deeply impacted by Regan’s birth.  

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

How do you feel about the specifics of your upcoming birth? Are you clinging to particular desires and feeling like things MUST happen a certain way for you to feel successful? Or do you feel the peace of flexibility?

This week, we're speaking with Pamela, a homeschooling mother of 3 precious kiddos, who decided to give birth at home with her third child. Throughout the end of her pregnancy and labor, Pamela went on a journey of learning that she wasn’t in control of every event that happened, but she was able to surrender— and through the process of surrender she found something even better than certainty- she found freedom.

 

Episode Roundup:

First, I love the fact that Pamela was being encouraged by the young mothers around her– in her community group, and then within her family.  The women in Pamela’s circle gave her a new perspective of what birth could be like– and what she could be capable of!  When you share your experiences with others, who knows who you will influence and how that could change their trajectory.  How beautiful to simply share your story.

Next, I cannot–not comment on Pamela’s perspective.  While she did have ideas of what she wanted her birth to be like– in the water, untouched– She allowed herself the freedom to change her mind as her birth unfolded. She was not a victim of birth, even with its changes.  Instead she acknowledges the part that she played: She chose to change her mind.  We cannot control numerous aspects of our births, but we can control our perspective.  And when you pair a healthy perspective with the lesson of surrender, oh my, that’s how mothers transform.

And finally–Beauty and Tragedy exist simultaneously. At the same time that Pam was approaching birth, there was tremendous flooding and loss in her region of Texas. And then her grandfather broke his hip the day before labor. Life is being lost, pain is being experienced, and at the very same time beauty is being created. New life is being freshly breathed. The clear truth is that there is beauty, even in the hardest of times.

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)