Carlyncia Grice went into her second birth determined to experience it differently than her first. During her first pregnancy, she had hoped for a natural birth but hadn’t done the research or preparation she truly needed. This time, she was ready—committed to her birth plan, inspired by her ancestors, and determined to trust her body. […]
After nearly two weeks of prodromal labor and multiple trips to L&D, Chanarah felt her first real contraction the night before her birthday during a staycation her husband planned at the Four Seasons. Her due date was April 25th, but by Sunday night, labor truly began. After being sent home again with a morphine shot […]
Kate shares her two hospital birth stories in this episode. She had a positive hospital birth with an OB group for her first birth. She got a membrane sweep at 38+5 and the next night her water broke and kickstarted labor. She experience back labor and needed pitocin to move labor along. She opted for […]
Lindsay shares the story of her redemptive second birth which followed a challenging first birth marked by a retained placenta and diagnosis of placenta accreta. Initially planning for an epidural, she found herself unexpectedly in an unmedicated hospital birth when her baby arrived quickly after labor started. Due to the fast pace of the labor […]
Jenny is from the Pacific Northwest but currently resides in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband Chris and almost 4 year old daughter and 8 week old son. She is a dentist specializing in the treatment of sleep apnea while her husband is an ENT. Jenny gave birth to Maya in April of 2021 after a […]
Jennifer and her husband were overjoyed — and more than a little stunned — to find out they were expecting after just one try. Determined to pursue a more holistic approach to birth, Jennifer found the path challenging while living in Ireland, where options like that weren’t widely supported at the time. Navigating a complex […]
Madeline is a L&D nurse who chose to give birth at a different hospital than where she works so that she’d have midwifery care and access to a birth tub. Her labor was quite lengthy (over 30 hours!) and started off strong after a postdates stretch and sweep, then slowed down when she went to […]
Averi had an uneventful pregnancy and was preparing for an unmedicated hospital birth, until she was induced at 41 weeks and 3 days. After 12 hours of pitocin and only dilating 3 cm, she got an epidural but felt empowered by being prepared and having the chance to make choices throughout her labor. Ultimately, after […]
After a healthy pregnancy and a lot of birth preparation, Saskia went into spontaneous labor after weeks of intermittent prodromal labor and contractions. She labored at home with her supportive partner using breathing and coping skills. Upon arrival at the hospital after 24 hours of labor, she was 3cm dilated and continued to labor with […]
Charli got pregnant unexpectedly with her oldest daughter months after graduating from college. After an uncomplicated pregnancy, her water broke at 39 weeks without contractions ending in a speedy pitocin induction with an epidural. After her first experience, seeking more calm and connection and less intervention, she prepared differently using the Bradley Method with her […]
After three IUIs with the last resulting in a chemical pregnancy, Makayla braced herself for the next steps of her infertility journey. To her surprise, she and her husband conceived naturally just one month later. From her very first appointment, she fiercely advocated for an intervention free birth. Much to her surprise, she felt very […]
Caitlan had an uneventful first pregnancy until Covid hit when she was 6 months pregnant. Despite the unexpected global pandemic, her first birth (an accidental unmedicated hospital birth) was surprisingly quick and relatively easy despite a surprise episiotomy. An albinism diagnosis when her daughter was 12 weeks old was quite shocking and hard to process […]
