“Is my body able to give birth?” This is one of the questions that Christina Winsnes asked herself as she prepared for the home birth of her second child, after an unplanned cesarean birth with her first child Emma. With the support of her husband Yeti and the rest of her team, Christina took time during her second pregnancy to deal with fears and concerns. Also to come to a place of peace and acceptance that a non-vaginal birth was not a failure. She walks us through this process and then...

How does the experience of one birth influence the plans for births that follow? Today we chat with Emilee Petrill, and we pack a lot into a sub-hour conversation. Emilee has experienced a hospital birth with her first son Corbyn, a birthing center for her son Penn and finally a home birth for her son Moxy. She walks us through the processes and decisions around each of those experiences.  Then we get into the details of her home birth, and why she’s thinking about a free/unassisted birth for...

Can you approach birth from both a statistics and research-driven mind as well as with an intention to connect more deeply spiritually? YES! And our birth story today is an example of that. Ashton Parker shares her home birth journey with us. First with a good hospital birth for her first child, which included 5 hours of pushing. Then considered another hospital birth for her second child, but after some research and statistics, landed on home birth.  Ashton also shares how listening to DIAH...

We’re entering a new phase of the podcast!  In addition to our episodes that feature Matthew and me discussing some topic related to home birth, we’re publishing our conversations with moms and families who have experienced home birth along with professionals and thought leaders on the subject.  First to kick off this endeavor is our chat with Jenny DiPietro. Jenny is a mom of 4, who has experienced both home and hospital birth. In our talk, we cover things like: The details of her...

Would you say that you eat with awareness? In today’s episode, we’re chatting with registered dietician and creator of Eat With Awareness, Laura Jean. Laura works with women and assists them in becoming the experts in their personal relationships with food. This covers the preconception, pregnancy and postpartum experiences. We talk with Laura about how to approach your nutrition with a holistic and loving mindset. This looks like learning what your body is saying and then figuring out how to...

How does your first pregnancy and birth experience impact your second? In today’s interview, we’re chatting with Carolyn about her pregnancy and birth story of her son Solomon, while pregnant with her second child.  We go over her decision to have a home birth as well as the intense first trimester sickness she experienced. Also the denial around labor starting, which we’ve heard quite a few times from mamas on the show. Carolyn shares that while the birth went very well, it was still...

When it comes to birth, what does it mean to “do your homework?” This is a big theme of our conversation with Emily Stanwyck, birth doula, Birthfit trainer and home birth mom of 2. According to Emily, “you can have 2 perfect home births when you do your homework!” We talk about what this means for her not only as a doula but as a mother. Plus details of both of her home births, addressing the fear of the unknown and talking about the really uncomfortable things that can come up around birth...

Today's episode is an interview and home birth story of Lindsay Bonnar. Lindsay is another beautiful face of home birth, sharing her plans for home birth with her daughter that eventually shifted into a transfer to a birthing center. Now pregnant with baby number two, Lindsay is planning another home birth, a decision that we are totally inspired by and know others will be as well.  For Lindsay, birth was the most spiritual experience of her life. And she talks about trusting herself and her...

For those mamas who experienced their waters breaking - how long did it take for labor to begin after that? Well in the case of today’s guest, Jenna Lehr, her water broke on a Tuesday, and her baby was born that Saturday! What we love about this detail is the opportunity it provides to normalize all the unique aspects of every woman’s body, baby and birth itself. Sometimes waters break and it takes a while (or days) for active labor to begin). Sometimes the waters break in the middle of...

How do you prepare for birth beyond the physical factors? Today’s guest is Amy Zhou, a certified Health Coach and Medicine Woman who specializes in teaching women (and men) how to heal their body, mind and spirit naturally at home. She’s also a new mama to her son Nathaniel, who is three and a half weeks old at the time we recorded this episode. We cover a lot of great things with Amy. For starters, she gave birth in the exact days the situation of COVID-19 dramatically shifted and...

Have circumstances impacted your pregnancy and/or birth? Today we’re chatting with Heather Delaney, childbirth educator, certified labor and postpartum doula and CEO of Maryland State Doulas.  Heather walks us through how she and her team of doulas and birth professionals shifted during the 2020 Pandemic to serve their clients with virtual support. When policies (like partners and/or doulas not allowed in birthing rooms of hospitals and centers) and communications have been challenging,...

In today’s episode we’re talking with Kimberly Huck, mama to Henry and wife to Dan. And we have a special connection with Kimberly. We live near each other and...we used the same midwives! So the same women who helped deliver baby Maya, delivered baby Henry just a few months earlier. Kimberly and I connected after she posted a cool home birth related article on Facebook that happened to make its way into my awareness (article link in the show notes). Kimberly is a chiropractor, and she and...

Why home birth? That’s typically a question we ask every guest in some form or another. For today’s guest, the response circled around family and culture. Because when you were born at home and your father helped deliver you and all your siblings, as was custom in his home in Nigeria, it will probably influence you to explore home birth for yourself when the time comes.  Our latest DIAH mama is actually a close friend (a first for the show!). Mimi Adeogba, yoga instructor and yoga teacher...

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. Doctors later diagnosed him with polycythemia and kept him in the PICU and then the NICU for a total of 5 nights and 4 days. Stephanie talks...

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!” Who else can relate to that? Lauren shares her birth story of her daughter Gemma. Unsure at first if she wanted to have children, things shifted for Lauren after she turned 35. Eventually she and her husband Arthur made plans to grow the family.  Lauren walks us through some of the challenges that...

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. We learn about the birthing center experience and why Maria was certain on the drive home...

How should you approach your home birth plan? In today’s episode Sarah reads listener emails and talks about creating a home birth plan. Offers From Our Awesome Partners: Needed: https://bit.ly/2DuMBxP - use code DIAH to get 20% off your order Splash Blanket: https://bit.ly/3JPe1g0 - use code DIAH for 10% off your order Esembly: https://bit.ly/3eanCSz - use code DIH20 to get 20% off your order More From Doing It At Home: Send us your birth story: https://bit.ly/3jOjCKl Doing It At...

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.  While working in the hospital, Corrie saw how midwives’ rights were being taken away. She also did her own research and found home birth to be safer for mothers, and just as safe for babies. That in combination with her feelings...

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.  Melanie had hyperemesis gravidarum with both pregnancies (extreme and persistent nausea during pregnancy, often with frequent vomiting).  With her first birth experience, she was feeling a little rushed going into the process, because her midwifery practice was going to close 3 days after her due date. Plus...

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.  We are honored and grateful to have Dr. Sarah Buckley join us on the Doing It At Home Podcast for many reasons. To start, her book "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural...

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. For her first birth of her daughter Lois, Eva was in a birthing center (birthing at home was illegal). Then for surprise pregnancy number two, she...

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.  We chat about some of Lynn’s own experience with 4 hospital births, followed by 2 unassisted births (or free births), as...

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.  We unpacked a lot of really great topics in...

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. Besides supporting other women in their home birth journeys, Megan has an amazing story of...