Surrendered Birth Stories: Your Christian Birth Story Podcast
Let’s explore the amazing world of birth together! Listen for inspiring birth stories and intriguing teachings to expand your knowledge surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and postpartum life. Each soul-stirring episode is full of heart, passion, and practicality. Join me in this diverse mix of teachings and interviews with real moms and professional birth workers as we seek to more fully understand how God has designed early motherhood and the beginning of life!
148: How Your Faith Can Reduce Stress In Pregnancy (Home Birth, First-Time Mom) [with Mitch and Angeline Bestenlehner]
When you get to marry a chiropractor…you’re going to want to have a home birth! And that’s just what happened for Angeline when she married Mitch. Thankfully she didn’t have to convince him to get on board with a home birth like a lot of other wives out there, instead he was already made aware of the risks to mom and baby that come along with choosing a hospital birth, so much so that whenever any doubts would arise in her mind, he was the one to remind her that everything was going to work out just...
147: The Joys and Difficulties of Becoming A Mom (First-Time Mom, Hospital Birth, Breastfeeding) [with Emily Kelly]
As a first-time mom, things were going very smoothly for Emily. After getting pregnant quickly, she wanted and planned and prepared for an unmedicated hospital birth. She took a great in-depth class, read books and hired a doula. Then during a prenatal, she met a doctor who liked to focus on the fact that C-Sections=Safety. Not something a mom planning a vaginal birth needs to be focusing on. Then, when she went into labor, out of all of the providers at her office, who happened to be on call? The C-Section-happy doctor. You won’t believe some of th...
146: The Hidden Consequences of Trying To Control Your Birth (Infertility, IVF, Endometriosis) [with Inara MacKay]
Sometimes it takes several births to learn what God has been trying to teach you all along-that His ways are above our ways, that His plans are better than our plans, and that if we would just sink into that promise and let go of the reigns, that we could trust Him to know and do what’s best. Inara finally had this revelation after her fourth birth, after a long and complicated fertility journey, and after several pregnancies and losses that left her incredibly sick. While she’s now found contentment living in the present, she’s excited for a...
145: Defeating Anxiety in Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Motherhood [with Taylor Hayes]
Have you ever been anxious about having a miscarriage once conceiving? What about the results of an ultrasound that said something other than what you expected to hear? Have you ever been anxious approaching labor, unsure how you were going to get through it? And postpartum-what happens when your hormones are all over the place, it’s nighttime, you’re alone, and awake AGAIN with a crying newborn who’s struggling to breastfeed? What do you do? Who do you turn to in order to battle this feeling of anxiousness? My best friend, Taylor Hayes, who has walked this road f...
144: Make Sure You Trust Your Birth Care Provider (Natural Birth, Home Birth, Water Birth) [with Aileeah Colgan]
At 18 years old, before you’re ready to start a family, you’re told that you have cancer and that you’ll have a very hard time getting pregnant one day so you should just plan on doing IVF. Then, you find out that your test results got mixed up with somebody else's and that none of those things are true! Would you be able to fully trust the medical establishment after that? At 36 weeks into her first pregnancy, Aileeah decided to switch to a home birth, a place where she knew she could relax and trust not only the pr...
143: Labor and the Fruit of the Spirit (Infertility, IVF, Hospital Birth) [with Morgan Mathis]
What would it be like to hold your baby girl in your arms for the first time after 6+ years of struggling with infertility? Nothing short of a miracle! While Morgan and her husband were so incredibly grateful for God’s gift of their daughter, there were still some less than desirable events that occurred during and shortly after her birth that you'll have to hear to believe! Thankfully, the Lord has grown Morgan’s faith, patience and trust in Him through this entire journey and now her relationship with Him is stronger than ever!
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142: How First-Time Parents Can Be Best Equipped For Birth (First Baby, Natural Birth, Hospital Birth) [with George & Emily Sandridge]
Most first-time moms who are planning a hospital birth arrive at the hospital too early, and some of them even get sent home, which can be incredibly defeating as a laboring woman wanting so badly to meet her baby. Thankfully, Emily made some really good choices during her pregnancy to prioritize childbirth education and hire a birth doula so she wouldn’t be one of those women. She arrived in active labor at a whopping 9cm and was able to get in the tub right away. Now that’s how it’s done! Emily and her husband George share with u...
141: Hold Your Birth Plan Loosely, But Not Your Convictions (Home Birth, Hospital Transfer, Natural Birth) [with Jennifer Plemmons]
When you’ve already had 3 babies and 2 home births, you plan to have your next baby at home as well. But what do you do when your water unexpectedly breaks and there’s thick meconium in it? You have a decision to make. Do you decide to stay at home where you prefer and had planned to birth with the small risk of meconium aspiration, or do you decide to go to your least desirable location, the hospital, just in case? Which decision is God giving you peace about? Find out as Jennifer shares her fourth birth story today and...
140: You Should Marry a Husband Who... [with Kayla Heeter]
This episode is dedicated to my husband, Chris Heeter. He's legitimately the GOAT (and he also taught me what the GOAT meant)! He turned 40 this weekend and I wanted to take the time to celebrate HIM! So this episode is all about how amazing of a husband he is through pregnancy, labor, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding and fatherhood in general. This episode could have easily been 40 hours long, but I tried to keep it to around 40 minutes or so and just give you the tip of the iceberg. We'll be back to our regular birth stories next week, but after 140...
139: A Godly Perspective Leads to a Surrendered Birth (Hospital Birth, C-Section, Postpartum Euphoria) [with Kayla Steele]
How do you know you’re pregnant without taking a pregnancy test? How about God simply tells you that you are. That’s the kind of trust and faith that Kayla had with the Lord from the start of her pregnancy, and it would carry her throughout the entire 9 months, from a subchorionic hemorrhage to a last minute change in her birth plan and location, He would carry her. Your perspective on your birth and your choice to surrender holds so much more weight in your experience than whether or not your birth plan unfolds the way you thought it w...
138: A Birth Advocate In A Hospital Setting Is A Must (First-Time Mom, Hospital Birth, Induction) [with Amelia Williams]
Sometimes all it takes is one person’s recommendation and you taking it to change your perspective on everything. That’s what happened to Amelia when she read Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth. So she went on to hire a doula and plan a natural childbirth, but unfortunately, her care providers would bully her into an induction, and one that lasted three days. Between a nasty tooth abscess and root canal a mere few days before she would be induced, to a long induction process, Amelia was exhausted. But when her baby finally came, she would be overjoyed, and al...
137: Triumph Over Trauma & the Power of Birth Support - Pt. 2 (Hospital Birth, Natural Birth) [with Kathleen Jones]
When Kathleen was pregnant for the second time, she was understandably anxious about the impending delivery, but this time, per her therapist’s recommendation, decided to hire a doula and went to a different hospital to deliver, and her journey was redeemed in every way. Postpartum became challenging though, not because of her newborn, but because of her toddler who was recently discovered to be on the spectrum, and figuring out how to juggle the two would be difficult for anybody. But God has given Kathleen the perspective of joy amidst it all!
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...136: Keeping Faith Amidst A Traumatic Birth - Pt. 1 (Hospital Birth, First-Time Mom, Birth Trauma) [with Kathleen Jones]
When you get sent home from the hospital during your first labor because you're only 1.5cm dilated and told you’re in early labor, it can be quite confusing to know when to come back. Poor Kathleen ended up laboring all alone, all night long, thinking she was just in early labor, then shows up to the hospital the next morning, begging for an epidural, only to find out she was actually fully dilated and ready to push. This all sounded great, until her delivery experience was decided for her from the hospital staff in the room, which lead to...
135: DOULA DIARIES! 2nd Edition [Delayed Cord Clamping, Amnio Infusion, Unplanned Home Birth]
Today we'll dive into three more birth stories from my time as a doula. I'll walk you through what it was like for me to support these moms during their labors. First up is the story of the very first birth I ever attended as a doula in training, and the old school doctor whose routines I found absurd. Next, a long labor of a long gestation pregnancy that could have easily ended in a C-Section had this mama chose an OB for her provider, but thankfully her midwives were trying to keep their C-Section rate low, but I...
134: Realizing the Gravity of Becoming A Parent (Natural Birth, Car Baby, Home Birth) [with Mitchell & Molly Dorsett]
When you're wanting a more holistic birth but decide to go to the hospital with an OB care team, things may not turn out how you envisioned. So for your second birth you hire hospital midwives, thinking that will be better, but then realize they’re not that much better than the OB’s. But then in the midst of your labor, you accidentally have your baby on the side of the road, just you and your husband, and you realize that you never needed the hospital anyways, only God and His angels, so you land on a planned home...
133: Can Breech Twins Actually Be Delivered Naturally? (Twin Birth, Breech Twins, Natural Birth)
When you’ve only ever given birth outside of the hospital and with midwives…what would it be like to have to birth in the hospital with high risk OB’s? In the state of California, where Breanna lives, midwives are not permitted to deliver twins outside of the hospital setting, and must work alongside an OB. So when Breanna found out she was having twins, she realized she’d be having a different kind of experience than her first two babies who were delivered at a birth center and at home. She still wanted to have a natural, unmedica...
132: Planned Hospital Birth, Accidental Home Birth - Pt. 2 (Home Birth, Natural Birth) [with Lycie Ross]
After having her first two babies in Tennessee, where home birth was more affordable, Lycie and her husband had since moved out to northern California where midwifery was not only way more expensive, but the midwives were also not in line with her faith in Jesus. This led her to feeling obligated to plan a hospital birth, something she never dreamed of doing! But this time around she was committed to surrendering all of her birth plans to God, and she was pleasantly surprised that by putting her faith and trust in Him, He had planned a birth even...
131: Reclaiming Motherhood After Postpartum Trauma - Pt. 1 (Nuchal Hand, Postpartum Complications, Postpartum Depression) [with Lycie Ross]
When you grow up with a midwife as your mother, and you and your siblings were all born at home, planning a home birth for your first doesn’t seem strange at all. And it wasn’t for Lycie and her husband. While it was long, all was going well until the midwife realized how badly she had torn, and felt better about sending her to the hospital for her repair. That’s where the trauma started, the moment they called 911. From the EMT staff to the nursing staff to the OB staff, she was met with unpleasant encounter after...
130: So You Had A Home Birth...Now What? [with Kayla Heeter]
So you just had a home birth...what do you do next?
If it isn't obvious already, home birth is starkly and vastly different than a hospital or birth center birth. But is it any different immediately following the birth?
In today's topical episode, Kayla discusses the following topics regarding home birth:
- What to do when the birth is over
- The legality of home birth (Is home birth legal?)
- Providing proof of pregnancy
- Processes for getting birth certificates and social security cards. (NC s...
129: God Will Meet You In The Mess (Free Birth, Home Birth, Precipitous Labor) [with Karyn Dunavant]
The twists and turns that can take place in our lives as God leads us from one season to another are astounding. From leaving religious cults, and trying to find healing through other churches that then turn around and treat you similarly, even though they’re supposed to be different, that in and of itself is incredibly difficult, especially as you’re trying to seek a deeper relationship with the Lord, but add several pregnancies and children into the mix, and the emotions just get deeper. Then, just when you think you’ve got it all, a great property, great...
128: When God Writes An Even Better Story (Hospital Birth, Natural Birth, First-Time Mom) [with Bess Ragan]
How do you react when you never planned on having children of your own, never planned on having the title “mom” or “dad” but then the Lord changes those plans drastically…and little did you know you’d gain three daughters in a 24-hour period? The message here is that God is good, His plans are better than ours, and that we’re able to more fully realize His goodness and mercies when things don’t go according to our original plans. Join us today as we hear Bess’ story of becoming a mother, through adoption and through pregnancy and birth!
S...
127: Is Vaginal Birth Possible After 5 C-Sections? (Hospital Birth, VBAC, Wild Pregnancy) [with Amanda Kairdolf]
What do you do when God is telling you one thing, but the doctors and medical system are telling you the opposite? This is a theme that came up for Amanda from before she got pregnant all the way through the births of her six children. The lesson? God’s word trumps man’s word every single time! Listen to this incredible story of fear conquered by faith as Amanda miraculously has her first vaginal birth after five previous C-Sections. Thought that was impossible? Think again!
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126: Choosing Worship Over Worry (Home Birth, Retained Placenta, Shoulder Dystocia) [with Nikki Ellwood]
When you have a 56 hour labor, that results in a transfer from home to hospital, you would assume all of the trauma from your birth experience is wrapped up in that, right? Not for Nikki, her trauma came about during early postpartum with everything from an IGT diagnosis, to an aspirating baby to an undiagnosed retained placenta that led to a hemorrhage at three and a half weeks postpartum. After all of that, it would take some time and healing before attempting to birth again, and then when she was ready, her and her husband faced secondary infertility. Trying...
125: How God Gave Us Bowie (Home Birth, Free Birth, Water Birth) [with Christopher Heeter]
After six weeks of leave, we are finally back to share our most recent birth story! We hope you enjoy listening to all of the details of this birth, which is very unique to all of our other births, and how God used it to bring the concept of SURRENDER full circle in our hearts.
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124: Pregnancy and Long Covid Are Like Oil and Water (Home Birth, Natural Birth, Midwives Brew) [with Christopher Heeter]
While I am on a little maternity leave from the podcast, we are replaying all five of my children's birth stories, and we'll end by releasing our newest baby's birth story.
Listen in today as Chris and I re-live the birth of our 5th baby, with all of the wild twists and turns along the way. There were so many things that were different this time -- things that were both in and out of our control. It's unlikely you'll ever hear another birth story quite like this one!
To read a more detailed version...
123: Can Childbirth Ever Be An Enjoyable Experience? (Home Birth, Natural Birth, Painless Childbirth) [with Christopher Heeter]
While I am on a little maternity leave from the podcast, we are replaying all five of my children's birth stories, and we'll end by releasing our newest baby's birth story.
This week, you will hear about the birth of our fourth child. Chris and I exchange memories of what pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum were like this time around. Considering it was our first home birth, it looks a lot different than the first three!
The wildest thing of all was that it was also my first painless childbirth! Listen in to hear how...
122: Going From Zero to Transition (Birth Center Birth, Natural Birth, Precipitous Birth) [with Christopher Heeter]
While I am on a little maternity leave from the podcast, we are replaying all five of my children's birth stories, and we'll end by releasing our newest baby's birth story.
To read even more details about this birth and see photos from this story, CLICK HERE!!!
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121: The Day I Pushed Out A Giant Baby (Birth Center Birth, Natural Birth, Shoulder Dystocia) [with Christopher Heeter]
While I am on a little maternity leave from the podcast, we are replaying all five of my children's birth stories, and we'll end by releasing our newest baby's birth story.
To read even more details about this birth and see photos from this story, CLICK HERE!!!
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Has our podcast made an impact in your life? Please consider supporting us so we can continue! Donate: SUPPORT PAGE!
• Take the SURRENDERED BIRTH ONLINE COURSE!
• Check out my MUST-HAVE PRODUCTS FREE...
120: Your First Child's Birth Is The Birth Of Your Family (Hospital Birth, Epidural, First Time Mom) [with Christopher Heeter]
While I am on a little maternity leave from the podcast, we are replaying all five of my children's birth stories, and we'll end by releasing our newest baby's birth story.
In this first birth, you'll learn that I was young and ignorant to all things birth. I had a lot to learn, but God led the way! And I would learn even more in the year following my daughter's birth and would start my journey into birth work.
To read more details of this story and see pictures, CLICK HERE!!!
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119: When Your Second Birth Looks Nothing Like Your First - Pt. 2 (Birth Center Birth, Car Baby) [with Ashleigh Jurena]
When your first labor is 24 hours long, starts with your water breaking and a positive GBS test and you spend the entire thing in the hospital, what can you expect for your second birth? Well, for Ashleigh, it was basically the exact opposite of that! During her second labor she experiences two days of a start/stop early labor and doesn’t know when it will ever actually kick into gear-but when it does, she had less than an hour’s notice before she’d be holding her baby in her arms! And I’ll give you a hint, it wasn’...
118: The Revelations From Your First Birth Should Change Your Next - Pt. 1 (Hospital Birth, First Time Mom, Epidural) [with Ashleigh Jurena]
When your first labor is 24 hours long, starts with your water breaking and a positive GBS test and you spend the entire thing in the hospital, what can you expect for your second birth? Well, for Ashleigh, it was basically the exact opposite of that! During her second labor she experiences two days of a start/stop early labor and doesn’t know when it will ever actually kick into gear-but when it does, she had less than an hour’s notice before she’d be holding her baby in her arms! And I’ll give you a hint, it wasn’...
117: God Is Trustworthy Even When Our Birth Plans Go Awry (with E.J. Lee) [Hospital Birth, C-Section, Miscarriage]
What happens when you’re planning a natural, unmedicated birth at a birth center, and then one little leak of your waters changes everything? E.J.’s plans were turned upside down when she was suddenly being induced, quite unsuccessfully, and then in the end landed in a C-Section under general anesthesia. What she didn’t know at the time is that she would go on to have four more C-sections, and a second and very unexpected miscarriage. Where was God in all of this? How was He working through all of these circumstances? Find out as you listen to E.J...
116: Rediscovering Your Belief During Grief (with Madison Snyder) [Miscarriage, Gestational Diabetes, Induction]
When you find out you’re pregnant and you’ve never had more joy, faith, or closeness with God in your entire life, you’re on the mountain top! Then the enemy takes that baby away from you, and everything comes crashing down-how can you recover from such a tragedy? When Madison and Trevor become pregnant for the second time, they were understandably anxious and unable to celebrate in the way that they did with their first, never knowing if this baby was going to go to Heaven too soon too. Questioning her every decision, Madison navigated every step of thi...
115: What To Do When Your Baby Gets Sick (with Emily Ransom) [Fever, Ear Infection, Colds, Croup, Flu, Pink Eye, Tummy Bug]
Books: The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care, Smart Medicine For a Healthier Child, How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor, Homeopathic Medicine-Children and Infants
To Have: Pulse Ox, Neb, Nose Frida, Feel Better Fast (6m+), Elderberry (12m+), Cod Liver, Teeth Tamer
FEVER: Ferrom Phos 6C (low), Belladonna 30C (high), Chamomilla 30C (teething), Genexa
EAR INFECTION: Garlic Drops, Belladonna 30C (fever), Chamomilla 30C (fussiness)
COLD/CROUP/RSV: Cough-B-Gone (6m+), Cold Calm, Hyland's Tiny Cold Tablets, Hyland's Mucus & Cold, Aconite 200C + Hepar Sulph 200C + Spongia...
114: Birth Redemption Comes In Many Shapes & Sizes - Pt. 2 (with Matthew and Monika Taylor) [Precipitous Birth, Two Under Two, Water Birth]
Amazingly, Matthew and Monika went on to have their second child relatively quickly after she was finally healed from her first, and again had another smooth pregnancy. But all of her plans would come crashing down as her due date approached, and it seemed as if all of her hopes and dreams were slipping out of her hands. Her biggest fear was tearing again…and for good reason! Tune in today to find out what happens and how birth number two (and postpartum number two) ultimately unfolded!
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113: When Giving Birth Is the Easy Part - Pt. 1 (with Matthew and Monika Taylor) [First Time Mom, Fast Labor, Postpartum Complications]
When you have a relatively smooth pregnancy, and a spontaneous, quick, uncomplicated and unmedicated birth at 39 weeks, you seem to have won the pregnancy and childbirth lottery, right? That’s what Matthew and Monika thought as well until she hit postpartum. And it wasn’t postpartum depression that took her out. It was the tear she endured during delivery that was unable to heal. For six months Monika had to return to her doctor every few weeks for more painful procedures and eventually surgery. It was like starting from Day One all over again every time. And that can take...
112: Pregnancy Isn't Easy, But It's Worth Every Second (with Daniel and Alyssa Mead) [Difficult Pregnancy, Water Birth, First Time Mom]
Sometimes getting pregnant is easier than you expected, but then the pregnancy itself ends up being much more difficult. So learning to trust God and expect the unexpected is the name of the game! Alyssa and Daniel, while experiencing a difficult pregnancy with terrible nausea and vomiting, blood sugar issues, random rashes, the works, were pleasantly surprised when God redeemed the pregnancy through an early, relatively short, unmedicated water birth that they’d been praying for!
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More about Sukkot!: https://www.curtlandry.com/how-believers-can-celebrate-sukkot/
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111: The Beautiful Simplicity of A Planned Free Birth (with Katelyn Morgan) [Home Birth, Water Birth, Wild Pregnancy]
Wild pregnancy...free birth... Are you familiar with those terms? While Katelyn had a home birth for her first, she went one step further and planned a free birth for her second. Unlike some moms, she’s not married to the idea, and it’s not a hill for her to die on, and if at any point she felt the need for assistance, she would have some, but as she said, until God told her otherwise, a free birth it would be. The Lord again taught her a lesson of patience, but this time it was in a tota...
110: Q&A with Kayla! [Preventing Water From Breaking, Early Ultrasounds, Preventing Tearing, Placenta Encapsulation, Episiotomies]
In today's Q&A episode, I'm going to answer several of the most commonly asked questions we've gotten as of recently. Tune in to find out how to keep your water from breaking too soon, how to prevent tearing during delivery, what episiotomies are and why you don't want one, what is placenta encapsulation and is it biblical, and the most asked question I've had as of late, why NOT to get an early ultrasound!
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
"50 Human Studies in Utero" Book by Jim West: https://amzn.to/3KnGTQl
"Cause For C...
109: God's Lessons and Blessings Are All Around You - Part 2 (with Balt and Miriam Peña) [Home Birth, Water Birth, Birth Redemption]
For her second birth, Miriam realized the amount of support she truly needed, and that instead of isolating herself, surrounding herself with like minded women was what she needed in order to be able to fully surrender to the Lord and lean on Him through the process of an unmedicated home birth. And what an incredible difference that would make in her postpartum and in her relationship with her husband as well. Tune in to find out exactly how it all went down!
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