20. How I Became a Christ-Centered Birth Doula, Part 3: My Home Birth Story After a Traumatic Hospital Birth

23. "They Wouldn't Let Me": The Birth Language That's Working Against You

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2567288/fan_mail/new] "They wouldn't let me go past 40 weeks." "They made me get an injection." "I had to have a C-section." This is the language of permission and it's so normal in birth culture that most of us don't even notice it. In this episode, we're talking about how the words we use around birth quietly shape what we believe about our role in it. And our role in our birth is not a small thing. Here's what we get into: • Why language is never neutral including in birth • What "let," "made," and "had to" are really communicating about your autonomy • The legal principle of informed consent and why permission language doesn't reflect it • How this starts in prenatal care, long before labor • What ownership language sounds like in practice, with real examples • Why this matters before, during, and after your birth, including what the research says about birth trauma and perceived control • Why none of this is about going adversarial with your care team This episode is for every pregnant woman, regardless of where or how she plans to give birth. Just getting started? Use my free pregnancy and birth research checklist [https://www.risebirthservices.com/freebie] to jumpstart your learning. Free roadmap to planning a natural birth: 10 Steps to Natural Birth  [https://www.risebirthservices.com/10stepstonaturalbirth] Want to feel more confident making decisions in labor? Join the Autonomous Birth Workshop [https://www.risebirthservices.com/autonomous-birth-workshop] to learn how to advocate for yourself and navigate birth with clarity. Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards For encouragement and truth as you prepare for birth, download my Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards [https://www.risebirthservices.com/scripture-based-affirmation-cards] Connect with me on Instagram: @rise.birth  [http://instagram.com/rise.birth/]

22. 3 Truths Every Christian Mom Needs to Remember When She's Still Afraid of Birth

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2567288/fan_mail/new] You've read the books. You've taken the class. You've prayed about it more times than you can count. And you're still afraid. If that's you, this episode is for you. This isn't an episode about the physiology of fear or coping techniques for labor. It's a heart-level conversation for the mom who feels like she should have more faith by now and doesn't understand why the fear is still there. In this episode, I walk through three timeless biblical truths that I come back to again and again with the moms I work with: • Truth #1: Fear does not disqualify your faith; the story of the bleeding woman in Mark 5 shows us why • Truth #2: God doesn't promise control, but He does promise His presence (and what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego can teach us about holding a birth plan loosely) • Truth #3: You are not the main character (and the freedom that comes with truly believing that) I also share why I think the Bible says ""do not fear"" 365 times, literally one for every day of the year, and what that tells us about how God views our anxiety. If you've been carrying shame about your fear alongside your faith, this episode was made for you. Just getting started? Use my free pregnancy and birth research checklist [https://www.risebirthservices.com/freebie] to jumpstart your learning. Free roadmap to planning a natural birth: 10 Steps to Natural Birth  [https://www.risebirthservices.com/10stepstonaturalbirth] Want to feel more confident making decisions in labor? Join the Autonomous Birth Workshop [https://www.risebirthservices.com/autonomous-birth-workshop] to learn how to advocate for yourself and navigate birth with clarity. Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards For encouragement and truth as you prepare for birth, download my Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards [https://www.risebirthservices.com/scripture-based-affirmation-cards] Connect with me on Instagram: @rise.birth  [http://instagram.com/rise.birth/]

21. How I Became a Christ-Centered Birth Doula, Part 4: 42 Weeks Pregnant, the Pressure to Induce, and Finding Peace in Surrender

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2567288/fan_mail/new] We've made it to Part 4: the final chapter of my personal birth story series. This episode picks up after my second birth and covers my third pregnancy, my third birth, and the pivotal experience that led me to officially become a doula. This one is about learning that preparation and control are not the same thing. In this episode, I share: • My friend's VBAC story aka the birth I attended that changed everything and sent me home knowing I was going to become a doula • How I started my business, and the early messaging that was all about taking control of your birth experience • Going 42 weeks pregnant with my third baby, the pressure, the fear, the impossible decision, and what finally brought me peace • My third birth story; how it unfolded, and why it felt completely different from the first two • The shift in my birth philosophy that came out of all three experiences • What I believe God was teaching me through each birth and why that arc matters for you too This is the episode that closes the loop on why Rise exists and what it's really about. Thank you for coming on this whole journey with me. 💛 Just getting started? Use my free pregnancy and birth research checklist [https://www.risebirthservices.com/freebie] to jumpstart your learning. Free roadmap to planning a natural birth: 10 Steps to Natural Birth  [https://www.risebirthservices.com/10stepstonaturalbirth] Want to feel more confident making decisions in labor? Join the Autonomous Birth Workshop [https://www.risebirthservices.com/autonomous-birth-workshop] to learn how to advocate for yourself and navigate birth with clarity. Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards For encouragement and truth as you prepare for birth, download my Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards [https://www.risebirthservices.com/scripture-based-affirmation-cards] Connect with me on Instagram: @rise.birth  [http://instagram.com/rise.birth/]

20. How I Became a Christ-Centered Birth Doula, Part 3: My Home Birth Story After a Traumatic Hospital Birth

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2567288/fan_mail/new] We made it to Part 3, and this is the one where things started to change. In this episode, I'm sharing my second birth: a home birth after a traumatic hospital experience, and the story of how God used all of it to lead me exactly where I'm supposed to be. In this episode, I share: • Why I trained for a half marathon nine months postpartum (and what it was really about) • How we made the decision to pursue home birth and what my first phone call with a home birth midwife felt like • What prenatal care looked like with a CPM vs. the OB appointments I'd had before • The full story of my labor and birth, the long pushing stage, the birth stool, the moment everything clicked • The detail I didn't find out until after I gave birth  • A childhood bicycle race story and what it taught me about feeling unseen by God • How my faith was transformed through all of this  This is the one I've been excited to get to :) Thank you for going on this whole journey with me. 💛 Just getting started? Use my free pregnancy and birth research checklist [https://www.risebirthservices.com/freebie] to jumpstart your learning. Free roadmap to planning a natural birth: 10 Steps to Natural Birth  [https://www.risebirthservices.com/10stepstonaturalbirth] Want to feel more confident making decisions in labor? Join the Autonomous Birth Workshop [https://www.risebirthservices.com/autonomous-birth-workshop] to learn how to advocate for yourself and navigate birth with clarity. Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards For encouragement and truth as you prepare for birth, download my Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards [https://www.risebirthservices.com/scripture-based-affirmation-cards] Connect with me on Instagram: @rise.birth  [http://instagram.com/rise.birth/]

19. How I Became a Christ-Centered Birth Doula, Part 2: Postpartum Depression, PTSD, & Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy After Birth

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2567288/fan_mail/new] This episode picks up right where Part 1 left off: walking out of the hospital with my firstborn and a plan to just... never think about the birth again. That plan did not work. In Part 2 of this series, I'm sharing what the first year after my traumatic birth experience actually looked like: the physical recovery I wasn't prepared for, the PPD I got diagnosed with in a thirty-second clipboard interaction, the PTSD symptoms I didn't fully identify until later, and the pelvic floor issues I lived with in silence for six months before anyone told me it wasn't normal. In this episode: • What recovering from a second degree tear actually felt like (and why my recovery with my 2nd and 3rd babies was completely different) • The shock of early newborn life, breastfeeding, sleep support needs, and the feeling of losing myself  • The thread connecting birth trauma to postpartum identity loss • What it looked like when my NP told me I had "severe postpartum depression"  • The flashbacks I was from giving birth • What PPD actually looked like for me day-to-day  • Starting a new job at 7 weeks postpartum  • Six months of pelvic pain and what finally got me help • The pelvic floor PT experience that was the first turning point If you've ever told yourself your birth "wasn't that bad", this episode is for you. Trauma is not a competition. And you don't have to go through a medical emergency to be deeply affected by what happened to your body. Resources mentioned: • Postpartum Support International (PSI): postpartum.net • Pelvic floor PT- local to Cherokee County? DM me on Instagram @rise.birth, I have all the local recs for you. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet (Episode 18), start there first so you have the full context. Part 3 is coming soon. Just getting started? Use my free pregnancy and birth research checklist [https://www.risebirthservices.com/freebie] to jumpstart your learning. Free roadmap to planning a natural birth: 10 Steps to Natural Birth  [https://www.risebirthservices.com/10stepstonaturalbirth] Want to feel more confident making decisions in labor? Join the Autonomous Birth Workshop [https://www.risebirthservices.com/autonomous-birth-workshop] to learn how to advocate for yourself and navigate birth with clarity. Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards For encouragement and truth as you prepare for birth, download my Free Scripture-Based Affirmation Cards [https://www.risebirthservices.com/scripture-based-affirmation-cards] Connect with me on Instagram: @rise.birth  [http://instagram.com/rise.birth/]