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Five Birth Stories – Hospital and Home Births
Mary shares the stories of her three planned homebirths (two in water); one crazy-fast, planned hospital birth; and one unplanned hospital birth that resulted in a natural footling breech birth. She also has experienced a natural miscarriage at home.
Mary Haseltine Bio
Mary is a mother to five on earth and one in eternity. She works as a certified birth and bereavement doula, birth educator, and as a writer at Better Than Eden. There, she shares about birth, her faith, mothering, homeschooling, miscarriage, raising boys, and more. She is also a featured writer at Elizabeth Ministry International. A theology graduate, she has a passion for helping women experience their God-given “feminine genius” through birth, motherhood, and in the very design of their body. She believes that treating babies and women with the utmost dignity and respect at every moment during pregnancy and birth is necessary for building strong families and a culture of life and love. You can find her writing at Better Than Eden or connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Birth Resources
Evidence Based Birth
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn by Penny Simkin
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor’s Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices by Sarah Buckley
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by Diane Wiessinger and Diana West
The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
The Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II
On the Dignity and Vocation of Women by Pope John Paul II
Earth Mama Angel Baby
At the end of this episode I spoke to a Andrea about her favorite products from Earth Mama Angel Baby, today’s sponsor.
I’m so curious — what state was Mary located where a doctor was doing homebirths?! So incredible. And I’m guessing he was a family doctor rather than an OB? I’d love some more information!
Hi Anastasia! Yes, he was a family doctor and it was in Illinois. He actually had a colleague who was also a doctor that attended home births and they would back each other up when needed. Neither of them are still practicing, unfortunately. One nice benefit of having a family doctor was that he was kind of our “one-stop shop” for the whole family. He was with us for prenatal care, the births, and then took care of all the whole family’s normal health needs, too. It was nice having a provider that knew and cared for the whole family. I miss that!
Mary