Motherbirth

After years of menstrual irregularities and difficulty getting pregnant, a women is finally diagnosed with PCOS and begins her journey through several IUI losses to finally meeting her daughter.

A mother has an accidental unassisted homebirth without any pain after preparing using Hypnobirthing in Sweden.

A mother shares her journey of conceiving through a sperm donor, of her homebirth turned c-section and what she learned from two very different experiences of birth.

After experiencing two totally different births as a military expat, a mother discovers her love for helping women find the support they need as they transition to motherhood.

A mother shares her journey from being unsure about ever wanting kids due to her independent lifestyle and personal goals to experiencing how surprisingly rewarding and enjoyable being a mother was. 

A mother shares her experiences of birth and motherhood with the perspective of raising globally-minded children no matter where you live.

A mother and doula shares her journey through a troubled childhood with a mentally ill single mom through to the empowering experience of birth with her second that led her to pursue non-judgmental birth support.

An American Expat talks about giving birth in Guatemala and navigating the cultural differences in birth and motherhood.

A mother who had planned an advised c-section for her second birth is shocked when her water breaks at 38 weeks and her baby is born within 3 hours.

Lauren's interest in the mystery and power of feminine wisdom began when she was pregnant with her son many years ago.  Feeling awakened to her true self for the first time, she began to explore her intuition and found herself drawn to creating space for women undergoing the transformation of motherhood. Lauren shares with us her incredible perspective on the identify shift that women experience when they become mothers, and seeing the season of early motherhood as a time of creativity and full bloom instead of closing off or isolation.  Bringing the wisdom of over a decade of supporting women in birth and motherhood, her compassionate and gentle soul radiates throughout our conversation as we talk about everything from aligning with the season of life you are in to believing in your body. Lauren's work in creating Spirit Birth is a culmination of years of holding space for mothers, and we are so excited for what she offers.  Believing that each woman's birth path is important and beautiful, she knows that e

This weeks guest shares her long journey to believing that she is enough, just as she is, as a mother.  When her first son was born, she struggled with resentment and grief as she felt the pressure to be perfect and knew she couldn't be.  Over the years she struggled more and more with her relationship with her son, reaching a point where she felt there was something wrong with her because she didn't want to be around him. It wasn't until years after Kelly's son was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome at age 5 that her turning point came when she began to understand that she had always been conditioned to perform for worthiness and that this had carried over to her experience of being a mother. Learning to let go of perfectionism and her need for control was an important part of her journey, and now Kelly helps others do the same through her coaching work. Kelly gets real about learning how to understand her son's needs and advocate for him, what it's like to embrace imperfection, and ho

In Part II of our Birth Plan episode, Laura and Mellisa get deep into what happens when things don't go as planned.  Using the BRAIN evaluation tool for making choices during childbirth, we help you explore both your philosophical approach to labor as well as how you handle changes of plan.   If nothing else, we want to get across the concept of holding your birth with open hands - this frees you from the possibility of being disappointed in yourself, your care providers, or the outcome itself if things deviate from the plan in any way. You can count on us to tell it how we see it - from the perspectives of both a mom who has completed several variations of a "birth plan" and from a labor and delivery nurse who sees the impact they have all the time! In This Episode: Learning the BRAIN way of evaluating choices, alternatives and "changes of plan" in labor   It's ok to ask for time to evaluate things on your own (when there's time), even without your doula   Collaboration wit

In this episode, Laura and Mellisa dive deep into the why, what and how of a birth plan.  We talk both about the birds eye view and the nitty gritty - and how a birth plan can be relational instead of confrontational. Part 1 of a 2 part episode, this conversation will get you thinking about your motivations and beliefs about birth, as well as reframing what the benefits of "planning" ahead really are. It's our goal to get you thinking about what's important to you about birth, helping you reframe the way we approach goals and preferences around birth, and giving you the tools to evaluate your birth options successfully and in collaboration with your birth team. You can count on us to tell it how we see it - from the perspectives of both a mom who has completed several variations of a "birth plan" and from a labor and delivery nurse who sees the impact they have all the time! In This Episode: A birth plan is not just for the birthing mother   A birth plan is not just for labor and

After years of unfertility and wondering why this wasn't happening for her, Megan and her husband finally did testing and had to face that having children wasn't going to happen easily.  For a time, they decided not to do anything other than wait and see. Inspired by a few different people, the couple eventually made the difficult decision not to pursue fertility treatments but instead to open their home to foster children.  They knew that this would be a challenging and often heartbreaking endeavor - and their families were initially concerned for their emotional wellbeing.  Megan and her husband knew that this is what they were meant to do and that no matter how hard it may be to have children they loved come and go, that they were willing to open their hearts and their home. What follows is an incredibly inspiring and emotional journey through the ups and downs of falling in love with each baby that came into their lives and not knowing what the outcome would be.  Megan talks about the emphasis on

Rebekah knew early on that her inability to get pregnant wasn't just a fluke that would easily pass.  And as time went on and testing didn't reveal anything clear, they were left without a lot of hope or clarity as they began to explore options. She went through a long season where coping with the continual disappointment and pain was incredibly hard to deal with.  This was time was also hard on her relationship with her husband.  Facing this was so raw and she had a hard time reaching out to friends and family, leading to finding amazing support through online communities for infertility.   1 round of Clomid and 4 rounds of IUI later, they weren't any closer to their hoped for child.  At the point that they were considering IVF, after almost 5 years of trying to get pregnant, Rebekah randomly decided to take a pregnancy test and found out she was pregnant.  Completely shocked by this outcome, Rebekah then entered the overwhelming and unfamiliar territory of navigating pregnancy and dealing with s

Jess's brush with death in her early 20's and subsequent management of lupus and stage 4 kidney disease set the stage for fertility challenges when she was finally ready to become a mother.  Faced with the choice to do emergency chemotherapy knowing that there wasn't time to harvest her eggs and she would likely never be able to carry a child, she moved forward: "you can't be a parent if you aren't alive". With a lot of determination and heart, not to mention no small amount of heartbreak, Jess's journey to motherhood includes most of the possible paths available to those dealing with infertility.  She shares candidly about managing her chronic illness and making decisions with that in mind, loss and vulnerability, and the beautiful gift of surrogacy that finally brought her daughter to her. Find out how Jess and her husband are trying to expand their family again!  This powerful story inspires the courage that it takes to be a mother - from the big, hard decisions to the sho

Stephanie was excited, like any mother, to see her baby at her 20 week ultrasound.  When the ultrasound tech showed concern and then called in a doctor, Stephanie and her husband knew their world was about to change. They learned that their daughter had a rare congenital condition called Fibular Hemimelia, where the fibula bone is short or missing (along with associated bone length discrepancies).  The news that their daughter would likely have to have her leg amputated early in life was very difficult to hear - but Stephanie and her husband were able to remain positive. Stephanie's storytelling of Charlotte's first surgery is poignant and emotional.  Thrown right off the bat into the deep end of parenting, she has learned how to let go of control, focus on her bond with her daughter, and accept what normal is for their family.  Yearly prosthesis changes, hospital visits and helping her daughter advocate for herself are all part of theirs! We learned that we need to keep tissues in the studio - and w

Carolina had heard all about what it would be like to have a baby from her grandmother - and had no idea how it was setting her up to have her expectations sorely disappointed.  As she struggled through the initial months of motherhood, she found herself confronting these expectations one by one. In this episode, we talk about trying to fit your family (and child) into a mold that doesn't actually work for you, and learning to accept who your child is and what's going to work for your unique family.  Now, with her second child, Carolina has learned a lot about going with the flow and speaking up for herself in a traditional, outspoken family. Sleep when the baby sleeps only works if the baby sleeps, we discover in this conversation - it's full of relatable tidbits that every mother will find encouraging! Show Notes: Carolina's Article at The Good Mother Project

In today's episode, Laura and Mellisa do something a little different - we have a one-on-one conversation sharing our thoughts on how to choose who you want to be at your birth.  This episode gets at the heart of why labor support is important and how much of an impact who is present and how they show up can have...  We talk about the pros, cons and personal considerations of anyone you may choose to have at your birth - from mothers-in-law to children, and even go deep on the sensitive subject of "what if my partner isn't able to be the kind of support I need?".  Whether you're pregnant or may be in the future, this episode is a must-listen.  Plus, it turns out we're kinda funny.  ;) We're also excited to share that we're doing our first ever Instagram Giveaway this week - we've teamed up with the talented Lindsay Gilmore over at www.lindsaygilmore.com.  We will be giving away one of her custom portraits - head over to our Instagram account (@motherbirth.co) for all the

This week’s episode features Danielle Mayfield. Her unique journey to motherhood began with an experience that can only be described as what happens when things go upside down. Danielle’s pregnancy wasn’t as dreamy as she had heard it would be - in fact, she kind of hated being pregnant.  When she was around 33 weeks pregnant, she wasn’t feeling well and was sent to the hospital by the urging of neighbors and her midwife to discover she was in hypertensive crisis that developed into HELLP syndrome. On today’s episode, she shares that journey and the experiences in her life that have informed her ability to embrace the births she was given and look back on those seasons and find the lovely things that came from her trauma. “My reality happened and I couldn’t do anything. ” Laura says: Danielle was the type of girl I wanted to meet. Pink hair, cool Myspace page. She worked the front desk of my college library. She always seemed to know something I didn’t and that thing was her calling. Danielle knew then and li