If you haven’t heard of the podcast The Birth Hour I would HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend listening to it. She has birth stories of every kind. I spent hours listening to the stories that are shared. They are told by the Moms themselves so you can really hear the emotion that comes with every story. I truly think it was a big part of how I got through – the Moms share a lot of details so i felt like i knew what to expect and what was happening and some things i could do to help.
I can’t thank you enough for your podcasts! I started from your first episode about two weeks ago and listen to two or three a day-just filling my mind and spirit with positive stories. It has been very difficult to find support [from my peers], and to hear other women who have gone through natural birth on your podcasts makes me feel so confident and empowered about my decision.
I’ve been listening to The Birth Hour for several months and absolutely love it! I have been a birth junkie since the age of 18, after taking an anthropologie of women course in college, that examined birth cross culturally. I live in Vancouver, Canada and had a home birth (in someone else’s home…long story!) in summer 2014. Cheers! Erin.
I’m a first time mom, 7 months pregnant and love the show. I think by the time I give birth I’ll know just about every possible scenario for labor, delivery, and postpartum from listening to the podcast. I’m sure there will be surprises but I feel more prepared for those too. Thank you!
Your podcast was my birth preparation. I called on the strength of the many women who shared their stories while I was birthing, and I truly believe these women and your podcast helped me achieve the non-medicated birth I had dreamed of. Thank you for all that you do for Mamas!
This podcast made such a difference in my pregnancy at each stage! From helping inspire a homebirth to coping with the fact that I had to be induced early on from cholestasis and embracing the birth plan that was not ideal. I appreciate what you do on so many levels and tell everyone in the natural birthing community about it.
I just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for making the birth hour. I had a marathon labor with my first son two years ago and was pretty apprehensive before I had my second 3 weeks ago. I listened to every single episode of the birth hour while I was pregnant with my second baby – some of them multiple times – and I want you to know that it was the single most valuable thing I did to prepare for the birth. My labor was so different the second time – and all the different stories of all the different labors of all the women you’ve had on your podcast were with me. Somehow I learned from all of the experiences that have been shared on your show – and it made me stronger and more peaceful while I was in labor myself. My daughter is almost a month old, and I miss listening to you now that I don’t “need” to listen anymore to prepare (I may sneak an episode here and there anyway). Thank you for the work you’re doing. It touched my life in a way I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully articulate.
My name is Fanny, and I am a religious devotee of your podcast. I am due to have my second planned home birth any day now, and I started listening to your podcast during this pregnancy. I don’t remember where I heard about it, but I am glad I did. I love that you cover birth stories of all kinds. So often, I feel that women feel like they are lesser if they have a medicated hospital birth or a cesarean. I have strong feelings about this, as I feel that any woman who gives birth to a human being, no matter how she does it, is a strong and amazing woman, and she should feel as such. The stories I hear on your podcast are empowering, and the women who tell them wear their birth story like a badge of honor, as they should. Thank you for continuing your hard work in spreading stories that inspire.
I gave birth to my 4th baby a little over two months ago, and after 3 births with epidurals (and 2 inductions), this was my first unmedicated birth. I decided to go the unmedicated route for a few reasons this time around, which was a complete 180 from my previous thinking! Basically I just wanted to have my baby in the hospital, with my doctor that I loved, but do it unmedicated. I read a couple of books, but mostly I just listened to The Birth Hour episodes daily for the last couple of months. I drew so much strength from hearing different women’s stories and hearing many of the possible ways birth can go – but still with a positive outcome. It helped the whole birthing process seem very normal and natural to me, and not something that I needed to be anxious of fearful of. That couldn’t have been a bigger blessing, because when my baby decided to come (a week before my due date AND on the day we were moving!) it was such a whirlwind and I know that without the mental preparation I had from listening to your podcast, I would have been a total wreck! I was able to stay completely calm through my intense and crazy labor and delivery (we left our house at 5 am and barely made it to the hospital in time for my son to be born at 5:27!) I still look back on that day and feel so happy and empowered. I’ve never looked back on my other births and felt sad, but I’m just so happy that I got to have the experience that I did that time.
Hearing the birth stories of other women (good and bad), has really made me feel like I am not alone, and that I can one day have a beautiful uncomplicated delivery. I myself, had a shoulder dystocia birth 18 months ago. My daughter has Erb’s Palsy as a result. We go to countless physio appointments and my daughter also has had surgery. Because the birth was so traumatic, I now suffer from PTSD. I see therapists, and take medication to help with the anxiety, flashbacks, and sleeping. I felt very alone, for a very long time. Slowly day by day, it gets a little better and a little easier to accept what has happened. Thank you for being part of my recovery.