A few years have passed since we last heard from Dasia. She shared her first birth story, which included a home birth transfer to the hospital where she endured birth trauma.  Since our last chat on the podcast, Dasia added birth doula to her growing list of titles and passions.   This second pregnancy was unexpected but welcome. Her threshold of knowledge had shifted not just within birth work but what she knew about herself after becoming a mother for the first time. In retrospect, she acknowledges that she wanted to repair the issues of her first traumatic birth and didn’t a ..read more

Birth doula and student-midwife Trinity Stephens is serving the Southwestern Ohio birthing community at an early age. She's 17 years old but has been a birth worker for four years. She completed her initial training with her Aunt Rhonda and has continued to build her skills and garner further education through training and hands-on work with local midwives. Trinity with her family After attending her first birth, virtually, she couldn't serve in the hospital due to her age. Trinity reached out to local midwives to see if she could shadow them. Her parents were supportive and encouraged her t ..read more

Creatives Jenni & Bryson had built a life together, centering their work in music and writing before their baby girl joined the family. Their pregnancy journey started with extreme nausea for Jenni. She sought medical support for her discomfort and found relief in prescription nausea medication. Jenni was interested in midwifery care but was “risked out” due to blood pressure issues. However, she was able to find medical providers that met her needs. Listening to and watching birth stories helped Jenni prepare for pregnancy and birth. It came to a point where she had to start filtering he ..read more

*We recommend listening to this episode in two parts, there is so much to learn from Shay’s story, and we hope you take the time and space to connect to all the intricacies of it* Black & Queer Mama, Shay Australia and her Filipino partner, Paul, took a deep dive into preconception into what pregnancy would look like for him and her clear expectations of his engagement. He was locked in and in agreement with how he wanted to show up. They both made changes during the pregnancy to improve their health, which included smoking cessation and abstaining from alcohol. They made a commitment to ..read more

With the culmination of a marriage biodata form, a year of cyberstalking, and the power of liquid courage Priya and Harsh finally connected. After a  short courtship, they would marry during the Covid-19 pandemic. The couple found out they were expecting their first child while still managing the pandemic and the challenges it would bring to their parenthood journey. They were committed to learning how to prepare for birth. Priya would experience intense fatigue during the first trimester, depending heavily on support from her sister for guidance and an empathetic employer for grace. The ..read more

After a high blood pressure read at 20 weeks gestation, Mya started care with Maternal Fetal Medicine out of an abundance of caution. Seven weeks later, she would report to the hospital with a headache, feeling sick, and an even higher blood pressure reading, ultimately diagnosed with preeclampsia. Mya, a registered nurse, immediately knew her birth would be different than expected. Her doula met her at the hospital, as she was still being monitored and trying to keep the baby in utero as long as possible. Mya faced many decisions regarding her care about how she wanted to deliver her daughte ..read more

High school sweethearts Elizabeth and Luis started to build their family shortly after marriage. There was no family history of infertility, but after many conversations within their circle, they felt it was worth starting a family as soon as possible. After learning more about ovulation tracking, they were expecting their first child without any challenges. Thankfully the internet didn’t let them down the way her provider did by telling her to try to conceive and come to her in a year if it didn’t work. Elizabeth recalls having some fatigue early in the pregnancy. And overall felt like she h ..read more

Celia Kelly Bouza and her husband, Terrell, welcomed two children in the last three years, while managing their busy careers at ESPN. Leading up to their son Axel’s pregnancy, they were met with a PCOS diagnosis for Celia and a miscarriage. The provider was supportive and helped them manage fertility support, and their journey was off to a great start.   However, upon arriving at the hospital, the nurses didn’t provide the support she had expected. There was a series of heart decelerations and position changes that led to an emergency surgical birth (belly birth) Things happened so quick ..read more

Yoga Instructor and traveling Occupational Therapist, Kelly Barnes shared her quicker than expected homebirth at 37 weeks. An experience she describes as "challenging, overwhelming, and rewarding all at the same time." Her expectations regarding when and how she would give birth were dismantled but the result was pure magic. Kelly maintained an active lifestyle which included yoga and running throughout her pregnancy. Dual care with a certified homebirth midwife and OB. Envisioning a water birth was a focal point for Kelly as she embarked on her pregnancy. As a contingency, she enlisted dual ..read more

In collaboration with Pacify Health, this month’s episodes will focus on the doulas. You’ll hear conversations with four Pacify Doulas, getting a chance to reflect on “ The Other Side” of birth. Today we meet Danielle Miller. Danielle Miller was an established lactation counselor when the call to birth doula work pulled her in as a change agent supporting Black birthing people. She completed both birth and postpartum training, allowing her to build upon her skills. The first birth she attended felt like such an honor that she couldn’t believe she had waited to become a doula. The love for the ..read more