Jillian's birth required her to surrender to some hard twists and turns, transferring to the hospital and needing the support of a c-section. She wrote her story below, and you can watch her video on our tube channel

Pushing on your back has a bad rap for quite a few reasons. One, it’s the prime pushing position in the hospital setting, known for convenience for the doc as well as one of the only options you have if you get an epidural. It’s also known that if you’re pushing at a reclined 45 degree angle on your back, you are literally closing off your pelvis by putting pressure on the tailbone and sacrum.

The piercing pain of experiencing my 6th miscarriage has blasted through my body, ricocheting off all the tender parts of me. It has gutted me in a way that takes my breath away. My internal battle continues to rage on within as I process so much loss. Each one has been so different, yet equally devastating.

You hear a lot about midwives these days, but what’s the big deal? What makes our care stand out in ways that are attracting birthing people in higher and higher numbers?

Safety is often a question that comes up in regards to home birth. How do we know if there is a problem? How do we decide when to transfer? What do we do during prenatal care and labor to monitor? These are important questions! Let’s break it down into what home birth midwives do to monitor during each prenatal care, labor, and postpartum.

The short answer is yes. Whether you are birthing at home or elsewhere, I’m going to offer you some thoughts on minimizing pain during labor and birth. 

This question pops up all the time during my home birth consultations. And ok, it’s a fair question right?

Most pregnancies are spent planning for the baby and the birth, but not the mother. Most often the baby is showered with gifts, but not the mother. And in the postpartum, the baby is held, but not the mother.

I’m a midwife. I thought I knew things. Pregnant with my second baby, I was sure breastfeeding was going to be easier than with my first, because I have learned things as a midwife that I didn’t know when my son was born. Breastfeeding him felt like breastfeeding an angry piranha.

Wednesday morning I woke to some strong surges around 1:30am. I was still just waking up so I wasn't sure if it was a practice surge or the real thing. I knew I would be going into labor soon as the day before I started to have my birth show.

Here’s what you need to know. The mother of your baby is about to need you more than ever. When this baby arrives, your relationship will shift.

Everywhere I look, including my own home, I see mothers struggling. Exhausted, depressed, anxious, at their wit’s end. I hear the words “How you feel right now is normal. Most moms feel this way.”

I’m not sure when my birth story starts, I had been having surges for three weeks, some of them so strong that I couldn’t catch my breath. I had thought I was headed towards labor so many times I wasn’t sure if I would recognize the real thing.

“Come in here with me while I pee on this stick,” I said to Sean. “You’re taking a pregnancy test?” He said with a “you’re crazier than I thought” look on his face.

Okay mamas, raise your right hand and repeat after me, “I will not use Google, Facebook groups, or mommy forums to get information about my pregnancy symptoms and birth fears.” Now, please, put your hand down, settle in, and hear me out.

Every year on my son's birthday, I replay the day he was born. There is no memory ingrained in my mind as well as the events of that day and it's no wonder that women carry those feelings and memories so strongly.

Have you heard all those sayings about how you manifest the thing on which you focus your energy? Like if you spend all your time focusing on the thing you’re afraid of, you tend to act in a way that makes that thing more likely to come true? Believe that idea or not, let’s talk a little bit about how it may look in labor and birth.

“I’m wondering why your labor seems to start and stop. A vaginal exam might give me a clue about why. We can also just wait and see, your baby is doing just fine. What would you like to do?”