101. Surrendering to Birth: Katie's Powerful Wild Pregnancy and Free Birth Story

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In this episode, we discuss:

• Home birth in Maine
• The challenges of surrendering during pregnancy, labor and birth. 
• Wild Pregnancy, and Free Birth in Maine
• ….and a whole lot more!

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Episode Transcript

Katie (00:00):
So this next day is Monday and I wake up that
morning and my mom went backhome because she was like, well,
she stayed for a little whilebut the sensations the next day
really pretty much stopped andshe had to get back to work.
So she ended up going home.

(00:20):
My husband was supposed to workthat night but he had told his
boss and he bought work, like mywife's in labor, you know.
And so I was kind of feelinglike this, like outside pressure
of like okay, all these peopleare like waiting on me.
It felt like kind of, and itdidn't necessarily feel like it

(00:41):
was getting like getting to metoo much, but I do think that,
like it was, that was a smallpiece of like me feeling even
more annoyed and like confusedand like, oh no, these people
are waiting on me.
Like my husband told everybodyat work I'm in labor and he, you
know, is he gonna get introuble because I'm not really
having the baby yet, and like.

(01:01):
So all these things, all thethings I'm thinking, and and
then I just started getting inmy head to like what is going on
, like why is this happeninglike this?
And yeah, and then you know, Ireached out to you because I was
like I feel like I just need tolike speak out my fears right

(01:23):
now, and I know that Angela willhear me and listen and just
kind of like be there for me.
And it was.
It felt like I needed to justlike speak it out.
And, yeah, and you know, forsome reason the fear of
stillbirth was something thatlike came up for me.
And stillbirth was somethingthat like came up for me and you

(01:49):
know, ultimately, like what amI gonna do about that?
You know you can't really doanything about that.
Unfortunately, like, with lifecomes death and it's a really
like sad thing to talk about andthink about, and not that like
I would ever do anything to likeput, put my baby at risk or
whatever.
Like some people may think thatthe way we go about it is

(02:14):
putting my baby at risk.
I think it's the completeopposite.
But still, birth happens, nomatter where you birth, no
matter who your medical team isor is not, it happens.
Yeah, so that fear came up forme and I didn't I actually I
don't even think I reallymentioned it to my husband
because he was already in thisstressed out state because of

(02:37):
work and him it was a whole lotof stuff with that.
So I didn't really want tobring that into his realm
because it was just for me, thatwas that.
So I didn't really want to likewant to like bring that into
his realm, cause it was kind oflike just for me, like that was
my fear.
I didn't want to bring thatfear to him and and I knew that
like nothing was wrong, it wasjust me working out what was
what was playing out.
Like I just had to.

(02:58):
You know, I had to figure itout and surrender.
And yeah, once we we talkedabout it a little bit and you
know I listened, I listened tobaby with fetus scope and baby
had been moving, like you knownothing, nothing seemed wrong.
Then, you know, that fear kindof just went away and I just
like surrendered to like it'sgoing to be what it's going to
be and yeah.

(03:19):
So, and I want you to know youwere a big part of that.
So thank you for being therefor me.
We all need that Sisters totalk to.

Angela (03:28):
Yeah, I'm Angela, and I'm a certified birth
photographer, experienced doula,childbirth educator and your
host here on the my Maine Birthpodcast.
This is a space where we sharethe real life stories of
families and their unique birthexperiences in the beautiful
state of Maine, from our state'sbiggest hospitals to birth

(03:48):
center births and home births.
Every birth story deserves tobe heard and celebrated.
Whether you're a soon-to-be mom, a seasoned mother or simply
interested in the world of birth, these episodes are for you.
Welcome to episode 101 of thepodcast and also to the first

(04:09):
episode of 2025 in season three.
I absolutely love sharing allof these incredible main birth
stories and it is such an honorto be back shining a light on
the beauty of birth and thepower of motherhood.
Today's birth story guest is mydear friend and inspiring fellow
childbirth educator, katieStroud.

(04:30):
Katie shared her first twobirth stories back on episode 48
of the podcast, so go checkthat out to hear the first part
of her story, and she alsojoined me in episode 95, where
we talked about her wildpregnancy, this time around with
her third baby, and also aboutour collaboration on Birth Bliss
, a comprehensive childbirtheducation course that we

(04:53):
designed to guide you on yourjourney to pursuing a natural
and undisturbed birth experience.
I'm so excited to announce thatwe'll be teaching this course
in person in the Bangor areaagain this spring and fall, so
stay tuned for all of thedetails about that coming so
soon.
Today, katie is here to shareall about her wild pregnancy and

(05:13):
free birth of her youngest son,forrest.
All right, hi Katie, welcomeback to my Main Birth.

Katie (05:21):
Hey Angela, I'm so excited to be here again.
I feel like we were justchatting not very long ago and
now we're here to talk about thebirth.

Angela (05:29):
Finally, and I'm so excited yes, I am so excited to
hear about it and yeah, so toget started, why don't you share
about how you found out youwere pregnant this time around?
And, yeah, what your, what's,your thoughts were around
everything related to thepregnancy and birth?

Katie (05:47):
Yeah, okay.
So if your listeners arefamiliar with any of my previous
stories, this is like my thirdtime on your podcast.
I got to tell my first twobirth stories and then I came
back on a few months ago andtalked about what it was like
walking through this lastpregnancy.
It was a wild pregnancy.

(06:08):
If anyone doesn't know thatterm, it's pretty much just like
being pregnant and living yourlife away from the medical
system or any really sort ofsystems.
So and that was a term coinedby Janine Pavardi Baker so I
talked about that a little bit,but, just as a refresher, this
is my third baby and just lastyear it was when my second son

(06:35):
was turning one and it wasactually Mother's Day and I
decided to take a pregnancy testbecause I was feeling like my
period was supposed to be comingor I missed it.
I wasn't really tracking verywell I usually do fertility
awareness method and, yeah, Iwasn't really tracking and so I

(06:55):
just like randomly, took apregnancy test.
I didn't have symptoms oranything and I was pregnant and
it was a really big surprise.
We were not consciouslyconceiving, it wasn't very yeah,
it just wasn't in our plans,but this baby had their plan and
he was coming through and so,yeah, that's how I found out I

(07:16):
was pregnant and yeah, and thenthe story goes on from there.
I really want to start this bytalking about one of the biggest
lessons that I felt like I wasbeing taught was being asked to
lean into deeper during thispregnancy and birth and

(07:36):
everything.
Really, I think that I don'tnecessarily think that every
pregnancy and birth, you know,there's like a concrete, like
lesson to be learned or whatever, but I do think that it can be
a really amazing and open timefor lots of deep, integrative
work.
And sometimes it isn't, andthat's fine, whatever.

(07:59):
The work kind of is just beingpregnant, I feel like too.
Work kind of is just beingpregnant, I feel like too.
But yeah, so from the beginning, the word and the lesson that I
was being asked to learn wassurrender, and that's kind of
like the theme of the pregnancyand it started with when I took

(08:19):
that pregnancy test and I foundout that I was pregnant.
I really I had to surrender tothat because that was.
I didn't have another optionlike that.
I was going to move forwardwith the pregnancy.
So, yeah, surrender startedthere and then, you know, life
went on, there was a lot ofthoughts about, like how am I
going to do this?
You know three kids.
There's going to be a prettysmall age gap between my second

(08:43):
and third Not what I would haveplanned out, but we're going to
go with it.
And then at one point in mypregnancy, pretty early on I was
probably like 10 weeks I had anexperience of I had an insect
bite on one of my thighs, rightnext to my left butt of, and it

(09:06):
was nothing like that I wouldhave been worried about for for
a couple of days I just likenoticed it.
It just looked like a mosquitobite.
It was red, just like a red dot, and it didn't really itch
though no other symptoms.
But one day I just I likelooked down at it after like it
had been there for a few daysand it seemed like it was
getting bigger.
And so I like threw a circlearound it and, you know, within

(09:29):
the next day it had alreadygotten bigger.
And so I was like, okay, well,I don't need to keep drawing
circles because this isobviously getting bigger.
So anyway, long story short,this bite grew to be almost the
size of like my whole, likeupper left thigh and like butt
cheek, and it was like it was alot of um.

(09:50):
I had a lot of thoughts.
I'm like, is this a tick biteRight?
Like that's the first thingthat comes to mind.
You know, that's a big thing inMaine and there was a lot of
fear that came up for me andlike just a lot of thoughts.
And I really had to sit with itand and just think about, like
okay, what am I going to do?
What am I going to do with thisinformation?
Well, I didn't have anyinformation, but what am I going

(10:11):
to do with what I'm seeing?
And you know, like I'm pregnant, I'm I don't really associate
with the medical system, notthat I wouldn't if I didn't need
to, if I, if I felt I didn'tneed to, but yeah.
So I really had to sit with itfor a while and like sit with
the fear and just like thinkabout all the different ways

(10:33):
this could go, what, whatoptions I had and what I wanted
to do and and the way I live mylife.
It just it made sense to reallynot do anything and to just kind
of like let anything, any ofthe symptoms play out or
whatever, and I really then Idecided.
You know what?

(10:55):
I think our minds are reallypowerful.
People are probably going tolaugh at me like you can, you
know, heal cancer with your mind, blah, blah, blah, but like I
believe that I really do,there's there's a really deep,
powerful ability we have all ofus, not just some people.
And so I just started reallytrying to think positively and I
was doing like some littlemeditations like of like healing
and, like you know, sound,sound bath meditations, and and

(11:18):
then I also decided, okay, I'mgoing to make sure my lymphatic
system is flowing really well.
So if there's anything in mysystem, my, at least my lymph,
lymphatic system, is workingproperly and you know
everything's, everything's good.
So, like every day I was doinglike certain like movements and
stuff and getting all that going.
And I decided to up mymagnesium levels and, and you

(11:42):
know, I'm like somewhat doingGoogle searches, but not really
because Google just makes me gospin out of control.
Um, I feel like that's probablya thing for a lot of people and
it it's just filled with toomuch information.
So, anyway, and that that likeeverything played out the way it
played out.
I did end up going to like walkin care and I was like you know

(12:04):
what, maybe I'll just get a Lymetest.
And if it played out, I did endup going to like walk in care
and I was like you know what,maybe I'll just get a Lyme test
and if it's positive, I'm stillprobably not going to do
anything.
But like I don't even know if Ibelieve the test, like it was
just you know so many things.
So I did that and she she sentme in a prescription for
antibiotics just just to have onhand, and I was like, okay,
I'll have them at home, but I'mprobably not gonna take them.

(12:24):
And it came back negative,which I once again, I don't know
if I believe it.
It could be positive becausethere's so many different
opinions and there's so muchdifferent information around
Lyme and testing and all thethings.
And I ended up not taking theantibiotic too, because and
people, probably there's somepeople who are gonna be like

(12:50):
you're crazy, like you know,long having having chronic Lyme
is way worse than just likewrecking your gut and taking an
antibiotic and and like, yeah,that might be true, that might
be true.
Um, and there's also not reallyany good information and
research on the antibiotics thatthey prescribe when you're
pregnant in like helping cureLyme or like get rid of the Lyme
in that like window of timethat you have.

(13:11):
So I was like taking thisantibiotics probably not going
to do anything either, so likeit just all, you know all.
I just didn't believe in any ofit.
So I just kept having apositive mindset and I really
had to surrender to all of this,you know.
So that came up again and the,the bite, the redness, it just
faded away and like there hasn'tbeen any other issues since, I

(13:34):
still just really believe thatlike my body was like working
through what it needed to workthrough and everything's okay
now.
So I feel like I just had tomention that because that was
like a really big part of mypregnancy and it happened early
on and and that was just anotherhuge instance for me of just
like surrendering deeper andyeah.

(13:55):
So I went about the rest of mypregnancy and busy, busy, have
two young kids, two boys, andyou know I didn't really have a
whole lot of time for like someof the self self-care that I
would have imagined havingduring pregnancy.
Um, I took baths and stuff whenI could and I just tried to
cherish those like little, thoselittle things that I got to do,

(14:15):
given the you know thecircumstances I'm under and
having, you know, the two youngkids.
So so, so, yeah, let's see.
So the weeks leading up to hisbirth, I was feeling pretty
ready, not like I wantedpregnancy to be over, because I
love being pregnant, but it's awhole nother animal when you

(14:38):
have young kids and you're andyou're pregnant, and it's winter
time in Maine.
It's like that's a whole notherlayer and I just was like over
it.
And then there's the aspect offeeling like we're all cooped up
, we can't really get outsidebecause it's been freezing, and
then getting outside is such atask getting all of their winter

(14:59):
clothes on, and my 19-monthmonth old can't really walk in
the snow with a snow pad.
So I was just like superpregnant trying to carry him
through the snow and you knowthey're going crazy cause we're
not really going outside a lotand and I felt like, yeah, okay,
it's time to have the baby and,um, yeah.

(15:21):
So so the weeks leading up, Ijust felt like I think this baby
is going to come earlier thanthan like my due date that I
have in my mind.
I was just feeling like that.
I just felt like my body wastelling me and I don't know, and
my babies have.
The two babies I've had beforehave come around like 39 weeks
or like the first one was 40weeks, but but that doesn't

(15:44):
necessarily mean anything either.
Your babies can all come atdifferent times.

Angela (15:47):
So so how did you calculate your due date?

Katie (15:50):
Well, well, I, it was kind of a guess, right, because
I didn't actually know exactlywhen my last period was.
I didn't like have it markeddown, but it was within, I'm
sure, a week more, more or lesson either end.
So, like, my estimated date wasJanuary 15th, which is the day

(16:11):
it's my, my first son's, the16th of January.
So yeah, so it was kind of aguess.
Um, so maybe I went on time, Idon't know, maybe I went two
weeks early and yeah, I was kindof hopeful like the baby would
come during Christmas orsomething, I don't know why,
like the idea of that and cominglike before the new year.
But that didn't happen.

(16:31):
That's okay, whatever, um sonear rolls around, and I'm I
still haven't had like a babyshower and we kind of planned it
last minute, but I reallywanted to have like a little
nesting party where I'd have,you know, family and friends
come over and they could justhelp in whatever way they wanted
.
I don't I never want to likeforce people to like clean my

(16:55):
home or anything like that, butit was like an open invitation
like, hey, come, hang out, havesome food.
If you want to clean a littlebit, that I would love that Like
that's like the best gift to me, honestly, like not buying
things but like coming andcleaning and making meals and
stuff, cause that's the way Iwould show my love and

(17:16):
appreciation for somebody youknow.
So, so, yeah, it was reallynice I I had so much support and
it was just amazing.
All of the women just cametogether and just like kicked
butt, doing stuff at my house,like organizing and made a bunch
of meals in the kitchen, and itturned out that it was perfect

(17:37):
timing, because after everybodyleft, and later that night, well
in the middle of the night, iswhen I had my first like real
sensations and I sort of washaving, like you know, I was
having sensations towards theend of pregnancy anyway, just if
I was, like you know, doing alot like moving, a lot or
whatever, but nothing like crazy.

(17:59):
That was just like the practiceyou know, practice sensations,
but yeah.
So I woke up in the middle ofthe night it was around 2am and
I was like whoo okay, and it waslike it felt like okay, this is
on.
So I got out of bed and myhusband was up because he had
happened to be on a night shiftschedule, because he was working

(18:20):
night shift for a couple weeksleading up to that, and so he
was already up, so that workedout, came out in the living room
and I was like, okay, I'm, youknow, I think I'm in labor, I'm
pretty sure we're going to havea baby tonight.
Like it felt.
It felt legit it.
You know, I've had two babiesbefore, like I know what this is
like, right.
So so I was like, yeah, feelingconfident, like baby was coming,

(18:47):
and it was really quiet andpeaceful in my living room, like
we just had a little bit oflike, a little bit of light.
Nothing, nothing too much, justenough.
I had.
I got on my ball, I put somenice music on and and I felt
really relaxed and like at peacethat it was happening.
And leading up to his leading upto this, though, I was feeling
like, oh man, I really hope Idon't go into labor at night.
I don't know something about anight labor just like made me

(19:10):
feel anxious and I felt likethat.
I don't think I know, I don'tthink I felt like that before.
I think this was really theonly time, but yeah, I don't
know why I was having that kindof those kind of thoughts, that.
Oh man, I hope I don't go intolabor at night.
I want to be rested and likesomething about the nighttime
feels like lonely or like Idon't know.

(19:31):
I just was getting in my headabout it.
But near the end of mypregnancy I kind of like
accepted like it was going tohappen when it would happen and
it would be just the way itneeded to be.

Angela (19:41):
That's surrender again.

Katie (19:43):
Yes, yeah, exactly yeah, yeah.
So I did.
It took me a little while, butI did finally surrender to that.
And so, yeah, when the nightthat it began, I was like this
is actually really nice, likethe atmosphere is perfect, like
my boys are asleep and I'm, likeyou know, I'm not like super
rested, but I don't feel likereally tired either, just like

(20:06):
the normal, like day to day momtired, you know.
And yeah, so you know,contractions were probably I
don't know every five minutes orso.
I wasn't, I hadn't been timingat this point, but they felt.
They felt like they wereconsistent and like strong
enough to make me really thinkthe baby was coming.
And I contemplated, like lettinga couple people know.

(20:27):
I usually don't do stuff likethat because I get in my head
and I'm like if I say it, thenit's not going to happen.
Or when it comes to anything, Idon't like to speak things out
before they happen.
But this night I was like youknow what, no, I'm just going to
let a couple people know sothat if they wake up in the
night and they see it, they canbe thinking of us.
So I did that and, of course,everything just kind of like

(20:50):
faded out.
Well, also my, my youngest, whoI sleep with, he woke up more
than once.
The first time he woke up Iwent in there to support him
back to sleep and came back out,and then he woke up again and I
was like, okay, well, I don'tknow how this is going to go,
but you know it, they ended upmy, my sensations just kind of

(21:10):
like slowed down, they weren'tvery strong anymore.
I had like a bowl of chickensoup before I went back to sleep
, just so I could have somenourishment, and and then I was
like, all right.
Well, I told my husband I guessI'm going to go lay back with
him because he's waking up and Ikind of don't really feel much
anymore.

Angela (21:30):
I don't know what's going on, but like I'm sure
we'll have the baby tomorrow, soyeah, that's what I did, and he
had taken this day off for thenight off from work, because
right Was that?

Katie (22:11):
no-transcript in the night and I'm like I really hope
I don't go into labor any ofthese nights, you know, and
because he's the only nurse atthe facility, like he, he can't
just leave.
If I do go into labor it couldbe quick and all these thoughts
and but it worked out where,yeah, he was, he was off that

(22:31):
first night and and then we knewhe was only going to get you
know two weeks off.
So it was also kind of like,well, we don't want you to take
any time off until I'm actuallyhaving the baby, because I want
to make sure you're home for aslong as I can have you.
Basically, right, I'm sure alot of mothers can relate to
that, especially with, yeah, nothaving a lot of time off and

(22:52):
stuff for the fathers or for thepartners.
So the next morning, sundaymorning, I wake up and nothing
was really happening.
I was sort of having sensationshere and there, but like
nothing to make me think likebaby was coming anytime within
the next like couple hours.
So we went about our day and Iwas kind of like what do I even

(23:15):
do with myself?
Like I could go into labor,like do I want to?
Just like do nothing like belazy, you know, like, but I have
two kids I have to take care ofstill, and I was kind of like
pouty about it.
So I was like what the heck?
What do I do?
So you know it was what it was,whatever, me and the kids just
had lazy day, a lazy day.

(23:36):
We, you know, they had somescreen time and they just played
really, which is what theyusually do.
I just tried to take like abath that day and not think
about it too much, but it washard not to like have my mind on
it, understandably.
So, yeah.
So then I let my mom know,because she was going to be a

(23:57):
part of, like, the birth, inthat she was going to kind of
like tend to the boys while, youknow, had, whenever labor
happened, she could tend to themso that my husband wasn't
worrying about what you know thetwo other kids were doing and
also trying to like help me if Ineeded help in any way, and he
just he didn't want to have thatsituation.

(24:19):
It would have been stressful,especially with, like, our 19
month old.
Like he's, you just don't knowwhat he's going to be getting
into.
He kind of has to be watched.
So so, yeah, she, she came overand the evening came and we all
just had dinner and we watcheda family movie together and
sensations picked back up again,like when evening came I gave

(24:42):
the boys a bath and they werelike every starting around, like
probably 6 PM or like no, likefive.
I was like I'm going to timethem just to see.
And they were every fiveminutes and like nothing, like
crazy, crazy strong, but strongenough to make me think, okay,
baby's going to come tonight.
This is going to be good, thebaby's finally coming.

(25:03):
And so, yeah, we just wentabout the evening.
Um, when we were watching themovie, they, the intensity kind
of picked up and I was like, oh,okay, nothing like I was having
to like stop talking throughanything, but like enough to
really make me think this isreally, this is early labor, you
know.
So the boys went to bed.
I kind of was like, yeah, Ithink they should go to bed soon

(25:25):
because I don't really, I, you,I want to get my space ready
and which is the living room.
So they went to bed and, yeah,I just kind of stayed up and did
the same thing.
I put on a nice show that wouldmake me laugh and feel good.
And my mom ended up staying outin the living room after she
helped put the boys down and meand her just kind of like watch

(25:46):
that together and spend sometime together, and I think my
littlest one woke up again.
I had to go tend to him.
It came back out and once againthough, the yeah, the sensations
just kind of like stop, sort oflike the.
The pattern was so interestingand I really had to keep like

(26:07):
surrendering to that because Iwas like there's no, like
there's no way this is supposedto go, like there's nothing, you
know there's no textbook.
This is labor and if it's not,you know, like it's just also
mysterious.
There's no playbook for it.
And ultimately, like what am Igoing to do?
There's nothing to do tocontrol it.

(26:28):
And I didn't want to control it, of course.
So I had to just surrender toit Like man, like of course I
let my emotions come like justbeing bummed and kind of like
annoyed, like why isn't thishappening?
You know, I'm like ready, let'sgo baby, and but there's
nothing I can do.
So I went to bed aroundprobably like 11 or something,

(26:48):
and I was still havingsensations, but they were just
like sporadic and like I wasable to pretty much sleep
through them, like it would kindof wake me up, but nothing
crazy.
So this next day is Monday and Iwake up that morning and my mom
went back home because she waskind of like, well, you know,

(27:09):
she stayed for a little whilebut the sensations the next day
really like pretty much stoppedand she had to kind of get back
to work.
So she ended up going home.
My husband was supposed to workthat night but he had, you know
, told his his boss and hebought felt work like my wife's
in labor, and so I was feelingthis outside pressure of like,

(27:34):
okay, all these people arewaiting on me.
It felt like kind of, and itdidn't necessarily feel like it
was getting to me too much, butI do think that it was.
That was a small piece of likeme feeling even more annoyed and
like confused and like, oh no,these people are waiting on me.
Like my husband told everybodyat work I'm in labor and he, you

(27:56):
know, is he going to get introuble Cause I'm not really
having the baby yet, and like.
So all these things, all thethings I'm thinking, and and
then I just started getting inmy head to like what is going on
, like why is this happeninglike this?
And yeah, and then, you know, Ireached out to you because I

(28:18):
was like I feel like I just needto like speak out my fears
right now, and I know thatAngela will hear me and listen
and just kind of like be therefor me.
And and it was it felt like Ineeded to just like speak it out
.
And yeah, and you know, forsome reason, the fear of

(28:40):
stillbirth was something thatlike came up for me and
something that like came up forme and you know, ultimately,
like what am I gonna do aboutthat?
You know, you can't really doanything about that.
Unfortunately, like with lifecomes death and it's a really
like sad thing to talk about andthink about, and not that like

(29:05):
I would ever do anything to likeput, put my baby at risk or
whatever.
Like some people may think thatthe way we go about it is
putting my baby at risk, but I Ithink it's the complete
opposite.
But still, birth happenswherever.
No matter where you birth, nomatter who your medical team is

(29:26):
or is not, it happens, yeah, sothat fear came up for me and I
didn't I actually I don't eventhink I really like mentioned it
to my husband because he wasalready kind of in this stressed
out state because of work and,like him, it just it was a whole
lot of stuff with that.
So I didn't really want to likebring that into his realm, cause

(29:47):
it was kind of like just for me, like that was my fear.
I didn't want to bring thatfear to him and and I knew that
like nothing was wrong, it wasjust me working out what was
what was playing out.
Like I just had to.
You know, I had to figure itout and surrender.
And yeah, once we we talkedabout it a little bit and you
know I listened, I listened tobaby with fetus scope and baby

(30:09):
had been moving, like you know,nothing, nothing seemed wrong.
Then, you know, that fear kindof just went away and I just
like surrendered to like it'sgoing to be what it's going to
be and yeah, so, and I want youto know you were a big part of
that.
So thank you for being therefor me.
We all need that Sisters to talkto.

(30:29):
Yeah.

Angela (30:30):
Yeah, it's so powerful just to be heard and to have
someone witness what you'regoing through and sit with you
through that and not pathologizeyour birth, but instead reflect
back to you, like to tune intoyour intuition, and what do you
think you should do?

(30:50):
And you're really the only onethat could ever know.

Katie (30:56):
We, as women and people in general, like just like sit
with our emotions a little morebefore we react, because, like
we're so quick to just likereact.
React instead of oh, my husbandalways says this instead of
like reacting, I don't know howhe says it, but we just have to
like sit with it more and likethink about all the different

(31:18):
things, like what matters to us.
What do we actually want to do?
Are we letting fear likecontrol our decisions, or are we
making these decisions based on, based out of like like pure
integrity and like congruencewith how we want to like live
our lives?
And like you know cause, if Itold anybody else this, they

(31:40):
might've told me, like youshould go to the hospital or
whatever, like even though therewas nothing.
There was nothing going on, itwas just like you know,
prodromal labor.
So letting other people controlour decisions too, and like
letting that fear just like comein and take over it.
And it's really hard, it can bereally hard no matter how you
live your life.

(32:01):
Like fear comes up foreverybody.
So, yeah, it was, it was bigfor me.
It felt like, um, but yeah, Ijust I took another bath that
day and I I actually reached outto my breath work coach too,
who has been who's so amazingthroughout my pregnancy.
She I just, I got, um, I got alot deeper with God.

(32:23):
I, I, my relationship with Godgrew a lot because of her and
because of the breathworkjourney and I've always had,
like I went to, you know, theBible study growing up and I
guess I would consider usChristians, but I that I kind of
like fell away from religion inmy like college years and that
was kind of the thing likerebelling against that, like so

(32:44):
sort of like the feministmovement I feel like.
But yeah, god came back into mylife and he was a big part of
my birth too.
So, yeah, I reached out to herand she told me she experienced
prodromal labor before and justlike to look to God and
surrender deeper and that he'sgot me and baby knows what

(33:05):
they're doing and baby, you knoweverything.
So that really helped and justgetting in my body more, trying
to just like be embodied, yeah.
So I went about the evening andthis evening I was expecting the
same kind of thing to happen,the sensations to pick up again.
You know, when the boys went tobed.
It would be kind of like thesame thing, but it was like less

(33:28):
than what it had been, like itwas like slowing down even more.
It seemed like and I was kindof like, okay, well, it was
nothing to do, like I really,really, really felt like I had
deeply surrendered at this point, Like there is nothing for me
to do and I just I'm going to,just, it is what it is.
But I was like tomorrow, Idon't care what happens.

(33:50):
I didn't want my kids to be atthe birth, just to be a part of
it.
But I was like they need to getout of the house.
I'm going crazy, they're goingcrazy.
So I was like I'm going to makesure they're gone tomorrow so
that they can have some, gettheir energy.

(34:10):
Like maybe I just need likesome space to just to relax even
more.
And yeah, so that night, yeah,nothing, nothing happened.
I stayed up a little bit, but Iwas like, no, I'm going to get
rest, cause you know, I don'tknow when this is going to
happen.
So so slept that night and umwoke up in the morning with my
youngest and we had somebreakfast together and then I
was like I want to get in thebath.

(34:31):
I don't know, I just want somewarm water, me and him can just
play in there for a little bit.
And and then I started feelingsensations picking back up again
.
I was like, okay, this didn'thappen the other mornings, like
this is feeling, you know,whatever, I just like, took note
of it.
But I, I just didn't thinkabout it too much Cause I had

(34:52):
that had been happening for days.
And we got in the bath and wellbefore I got in the bath I sat
on the toilet to pee and mymucus plug came out and I was
like, oh, okay, this might be agood sign.
You know, sometimes thathappens days before, but I, I've
been having this for days, somaybe it's a good sign.
And it kind of got me excited.
Um, we get in the bath, take abath, had some special time

(35:13):
together, some one-on-one time,and and then my young, my oldest
, woke up and you know I'm likegetting breakfast ready for him,
and then I'm kind of gettingtheir stuff ready to go for the
day, cause my mother-in-law wasgoing to take them to the
children's museum and andeverything was starting to pick
up quite a bit and I was like,ooh, okay, this is yep, these

(35:34):
feel strong.
And so I was like I'm I need toget up my husband because he
helped me out here Like I'm likegetting these kids ready in
labor, which isn't even a bigdeal.
I feel like so many mothers canprobably relate to that Like,
especially the ones that havelots of kids like they're like,
oh, I've gotten kids readythrough multiple labors, you
know, I've like brushed teeth,I've wiped butts, I've all the

(35:55):
things, because that's just partof life.
And so, anyway, yeah, part ofme was like you know, pouty,
like I'm getting them ready.
My husband's sleeping but hewas like on that night shift
schedule.
So, like he, you know I wastrying to let him rest too,
because he had been on this likeflip-flop schedule.
And so, anyway, I get him upand I'm like you need to get up

(36:15):
soon.
Um, I'm feeling this and I'mlike, oh, I lost my baby's plug,
just so you know.
And he was like, okay, and hegets up and, um, I get like the
living room ready and the boysare all ready, they're excited
to go.
My mother-in-law comes and getsthem and she's so sweet.
She kind of just comes in andI'm like rolling on my ball and
she just comes over and is justrubbing my back and she's like

(36:38):
you've got this, your body knowswhat to do and I'm not like in
deep labor, I'm just, like youknow, just getting my body
feeling good.
But she was sweet and then sothey left and and yeah, we just
went about the morning and like,even still up to this point,
like labor patterns were stilllike, not like my usual, they
were still like they weregetting stronger, but just it

(37:01):
took a little longer.
Like it was, it was a littlemore spaced out and like there
was some like some more time, Iguess.
So I was just trying to notcompare it to like any other
labors, like I just I couldn't,there was nothing.
Even if I did compare it, likewhat's the point?
It's just going to make me getin my head more so, uh, yeah, so
we went about the morning.

(37:22):
I'm in the living room justrolling on the ball you know I'm
staying really hydrated andmaking sure I'm like I've eaten
enough and I'm like justnourished and everything's
picking up.
But I felt like I don't know.
I felt like, hmm, I had athought like maybe like the
baby's positioning like is kindof, you know, creating this,

(37:46):
this weird pattern, or maybemaybe they just need a little
like change up in there.
And I'm like I'm a believer inwell, we've talked about this
before, angela, you know likethere's a lot of nuance, like
birth is birth, but there's alot of nuance too, and I'm a
believer in like biomechanics inour bodies and like that does

(38:07):
play a role in positioning andin like maybe in labor patterns,
and it's not something topathologize, but like it's
something that we can use as atool and like for support and to
maybe create different outcomes.
But you know, at the end of theday we don't really know for
sure, like what, what it's doing.

(38:28):
But so, yeah, you know, andsome of like the where I have
learned my teachings, ourteachings, they, they wouldn't
agree with this.
Like it.
It's kind of like you know,positioning has nothing to do
with it.
And your body.
You know positioning hasnothing to do with it.
And your body, you know blah,blah, blah.
It's like only in your head andlike I believe that to an
extent, but I do believe in likebody mechanics too, and like

(38:49):
creating more space in ourbodies helps our babies have
more space as well and, like youknow, shift in the body.
So I was like, all right, maybeI'll try some like side lying,
cause that's like really theonly thing that came to mind.
And, um, so my husband did somelike side lying if anyone
doesn't know, that's from umspinning babies and we just kind

(39:10):
of did that a little bit likeone or two rounds, and I don't
know if it did anything, whoknows?
Um, I had the baby eventually,obviously, but I just thought
that was important to mentionbecause, yeah, like I don't know
, sometimes doing a little bitof moving and like whatever can
be beneficial.
If you feel like it, you don'thave to like don't do anything.

(39:31):
That doesn't feel good, I think.
But, yeah, something to keep inmind.
So, yeah, so this is like youknow, it's like 11, 1130.
Things are getting going.
I remember being feeling like socold for some reason in my
house and like that we have theheat blasted and I'm, like my
husband's like sweating.
I'm like I just feel so cold inhere but all my heat's going to

(39:54):
my womb.
So, you know, it felt reallynice and cozy just to have the
heat blasted and I'm in like amuslin robe and some wool socks.
That's all I've got on.
So that probably is why too,but eventually I get in the bath
.
I was like, alright, I want totake a bath, just to, I don't
know, feel the warm water.
And I didn't feel like birthingin the tub this time, I don't

(40:18):
know why.
I feel like I was just set onhaving the baby in the living
room.
That's what I had pictured andI just wanted that.
So I don't know, that's justwhat.
Yeah, that's what I did, notthat I would have not done it in
the water, I don't know.
But so I got in the tub andthings were stronger, getting
stronger, getting stronger, andI was at one point like, oh man,
I feel.

(40:38):
And I was kind of like at onepoint, like, oh man, like I feel
, like I should like be feeling,like I need to push soon, like
this is, you know, the intensityfeels like it's at that point
from what I've experiencedbefore, and, um, so I like, sort
of like, tried pushing and itfelt so wrong.
I was like, oh no, this is nolike, definitely not this.

(41:00):
I'm going to just wait for mybody to do it Like.
There's no reason to be rushingthis and there's something
powerful when you like, justlike, let your body do it, like
it.
There's nothing else to compareit to and like.
That's why it's just so hard forme to get on board with like
birthing in the hospital, where,like women are so they're so

(41:25):
like tied down to these rulesand constraints and like they're
not.
They're just, they just giveaway their power and like their
intuition to like other peoplewho aren't even in your body,
like how, how, why are youhaving somebody else tell you
what to do?
Then they're not in your body,like they might know this, these
medical terms, and like yourbaby's heart, like they, yes,

(41:46):
they're educated in certain ways, but they're not in your body.
You're the one birthing Right.
And so when you're birthingwithout medication, of course,
cause that, that throws in awhole nother layer.
But yeah, it's just it's.
There's something beautifulabout just letting your like
feeling it all and letting yourbody just do it and work its
magic.
And but yeah, no, ultimatelylike give birth where you want

(42:08):
to give birth.
I'm not like dissing any, youknow the way women give birth.
It's just I like I want otherwomen to like feel that and like
no, like they can do it, andlike just be able to take
control of that experience more,because then the outcomes are
just like so much better whenyou just let it play out, so
like, yes, yes For the world,it's like like we've got this.

(42:34):
Women like you, any woman, cando this.
And so, yeah, I just had to saythat.
So, okay, so I'm in the bathfor I don't know 30 minutes or
so.
Just, you know, breathingthrough I, I pretty I kind of
like go pretty internal during,during labor and like I am just
in, I don't like I'm not veryloud for that, like first, not

(42:58):
first bit, but I guess, untiluntil I'm like pushing, I'm not
very loud.
I'm like very internal and veryjust like in my head, but not
at the same time.
It's like this really cool inbetween, I don't know.
So, yeah, I got out after alittle while, made sure my
husband had everything like setup.
Oh, it was so funny.
At one point he I had like put ayoga mat on the floor, like

(43:20):
right on right by the couchCause, like my I knew my knees
were going to be on the floorand like then I put some chucks
pads and I think I think it wasafter this he like took the yoga
mat out for some reason and Iwas like, what are you doing?
I like got so mad.
I'm like like I had this set upthe way I wanted it.
And then, of course, I'm likeabout to have a contraction and

(43:40):
I'm like you need to fix itright now.
I'm like, oh, in the middle ofit he was like okay, sorry,
sorry, sorry.
It was just one of thosemoments, like, where I was like
what the heck?
So he fixes it for me and andand you can relate to if you,
you know you're about to have acontraction and like you want to
get in the position, you wantto get in, and you're like, oh,

(44:01):
like you know, you just need itto be the way you need it to be.
So so I get in the bath and Icome back out.
Gosh, this must've been one 45at this point, one 45 in the
afternoon and within I don'tknow the next 10 minutes,
finally, baby had like descendedand was in my pelvis to the

(44:26):
point where my body was startingto push.
So finally I had that firstfetal ejection reflex that just
you know, the, the, your body'sjust pushing for you and I was
kind of like, oh, okay, finally,but then also kind of like, oh,
no, like this is, like this.
Is it right?
This is the most intense part,like you know what's coming,

(44:48):
kind of, and it was very intenseand I was just, you know,
leaning over the couch justhaving so many thoughts, so many
thoughts of just like I'm inthis now, like I have to
surrender.
I've been, I've beensurrendering, but like this is
the deepest surrender I needright now.

(45:09):
And there was no like mefighting anything back.
It was just like me having toface what was coming of all of
this intensity.
And I read portal Well, Iactually didn't finish it portal
by Yolanda Norris Clark, and ifanyone is familiar, it's like I

(45:29):
don't know the exact title,it's portal like something about
a blissful, pain-free, orgasmicbirth.
I totally believe all of theconcepts she talks about, like
just the concepts ofconsciousness and like the fact
that, like we have so much morechoice than we think we do and
that you know all the things andI'm like I know I can, like
this is attainable for me andfor any woman, not so much like

(45:52):
the orgasmic part like I'm notreally sure about that but like
the, the pain-free part, likewas, like I was like, okay, I
can get on board with this, youknow.
So I read that, not like tryingto like get this outcome, but
just like really to like justhave a lot of that information
and like those words and thewisdom and just all of it like
in my consciousness and in myrealm so I could do with it what

(46:15):
I wanted, right.
And so I was like thinkingabout that during it and you
know, up until the pushing part,like I was like okay, like I
can sort of transform this intolike not as intense, but like
once, once it gets to that point, like I just I felt like I
couldn't do that and, um, I can,I know I can, right.

(46:36):
Like that's what her book isall about, like you can choose.
But I guess I was choosing thatfor it to be intense.
So, yeah, it was, it was veryintense and but I did keep
saying to myself, like I justwas reminding myself, like I am
the portal.
I am the portal and that soundsprobably like so woo, woo or

(46:56):
whatever, but that was likegetting me through it, like I
was like I am the portal for mybaby entering into this world,
like this is the only waythrough that they can get
through is through me, and likewhat an amazing honor and a
blessing and like this is socrazy intense.
But like I'm doing it and I wasreally like looking to God, to

(47:17):
like God has given me this, likelooking to God, to like God has
given me this, he, he's givenme this.
I like I was born to do this andand I was yeah, I just was
saying some affirmations likethat and within like the first,
the first couple like push,pushy contractions, I had my

(47:37):
water just like popped, so Ilike kind of leaned back, pushed
into it and it was like this,really like like this intense
pop.
And then, once that happened, Iwas like okay, yeah, baby's
going to come down prettyquickly now.
Like cause it was almost likethe water was like just adding a
lot more pressure and like heneeded to like just push, burst

(47:59):
through that, you know, to beable to like descend more.
So, yeah, once that popped, itwas about 20 minutes before he
emerged, so intensity keptgetting stronger and there's
really no words.
It's so hard.
Like I try to like be thestoryteller in the way of like I
want people to like be in myshoes and like feel it and like

(48:21):
know exactly what it was likebut there's nothing I could say
that anyone would, unless you'vebeen through it, right, so,
which I'm sure, no, like maleslisten to this, but maybe they
do.
But anyway, if you're a firsttime mom, I guess you wouldn't
know and you'll find out.
But yeah, so I'm just, I'm justpushing, you know, with each

(48:42):
wave and finally he gets to thepoint where he's um, oh no, I
need to say this.
So, yeah.
So I'm like I'm like feelingHoly crap, like this is so hard,
like this hurt, this is intense, like, not that I can't do this
, but, man, like I really don'twant to be doing this anywhere,
I just want to get through it,and without like wishing it away

(49:05):
, but also it's like, uh, youkind of do when you're in it.
So I asked my husband at onepoint and I say like, after like
one really intense contraction,I'm like I'm like heads right
there, and he was like nope.
And I was like, oh no, Ishouldn't have asked you just
like crying.
And I was like, oh no, like whydid I ask?

(49:26):
Like I shouldn't have, I didn't.
I don't want to know that now,because I'm like how much longer
, you know, like the little girlin me like uh.
So it wasn't long after that,though you know, like it was
probably a couple more, couplemore contractions and, um, he,
he, he was nearing the like theend of my Yoni and my husband, I

(49:49):
was giving a really good pushand he's, he's you know, he's
down behind me looking.
So he's like okay, okay, so, so, baby's, baby's trying to come
out, chin first, his, his, hisnose is his nose is coming out
and his chin and you know, hisforehead's kind of getting like
stuck right by your butt.
And he actually says hoo-ha atone point.

(50:11):
And I just have to laughbecause, like I didn't realize,
he said that.
But I look back at the videoand I'm like you, you know, you
said hoo-ha like about my vaginaand it's just so silly, but
he's like he's trying to comeout of your hoo-ha this way.
And so I'm like okay, I'm likeyeah, cause I felt a lot of
pressure in my butthole, whichis like totally normal, but it

(50:32):
felt like more than normal, likeit was, like his head was right
, like yeah, so I don't know ifhis positioning was why, I'm
sure it was, but so when he toldme that though I had like a
little bit of fear.
I was kind of like, okay, facefirst, I was like I'm pretty
sure, like that's a presentationthat's not like super ideal,

(50:53):
but like we're in it, like whatam I going to do?
I'm going to, like push thebaby out, like what's there to
do.
And but I was definitely atthat point I was like, okay, no,
I want to, like, I want to gethim out, like I want to get his
head out.
Like I didn't know, I didn'tknow what to expect, I didn't
know if there was like going tobe any issues or whatever.
I didn't really have time toeven think about that.

(51:14):
It was kind of just like I wantto get him out, so, and there
was nothing wrong like but, yeah, so, so that next, the next
like wave came and I pushed andI started to feel the ring of
fire and I was kind of you know,that's that like ow, ow, ow,
like really really stretching,stretching feeling, and then

(51:36):
kind of got through that and Ijust like got on my my, I kind
of like sat up on my knees andjust like grunted the hardest
I've ever, grunted, like roaredat the same time, just like like
totally primal, like trying tojust push him out.
So I mean it worked, because Ithink his head was like halfway

(51:58):
out and he did like shift hishead.
His head ended up, like youknow, he like tilted his chin
down and his head came out first, not his face.
So you know he shifted, my bodyshifted, whatever, um.
So his head was halfway out andyou know another wave came his
head, his whole head's out, andthen after that it's kind of

(52:20):
pretty easy.
I feel like once that head getsthrough, it's just like it's
just they kind of slide out.
So there's a little bit of apause and then his body came out
and my husband's so loving,he's just giving me so many
affirmations this whole time andjust like you're doing it,
you're doing it and like you'vegot this and, and he catches
them from behind and his cord islike wrapped like a sash around

(52:43):
his shoulders and I immediatelylike I'm like pass him, pass
him through, pass him through.
And he, you know he's slippinghis hands, he's like I got him,
I'm just trying to get his cordunwrapped, and he passes him
through to me and, um, I sit onthe floor on the Chuck's pads
and just kind of like I'm likebreathing deeply, like panting,
kind of just in this, still likereally primal state, and then

(53:06):
I'm just like looking him over,just looking him over making
sure he looks good and he looksbeautiful, and I was kind of
just like this, you know, you'rejust taking your baby in, and
and then finally I like kind oflike come back to and I'm like
smiling and like, not like a sadcry, but like a happy cry, like
you know, yeah, like a pantycry, and and I'm looking at him

(53:31):
and I start talking to him likehi baby, hi baby.
And I'm like, oh, you're gotall the slime on you and cause
he's all slippery and I'm justrubbing him and giving him
kisses.
And my husband was just gettinglike wrapped up in a blanket
and make sure I'm warm.
And I actually I'm like justlooking him over and I I kind of

(53:52):
like peeked down to like Ididn't mean to like look at his
to see what he was, but I guess,maybe subconsciously, I did,
cause I just couldn't wait.
And so I look and I and I seesome balls.
So and I it caught me off guard, though, cause I was like and
my husband wasn't right there tosee with me.
So anyway, I like looked downand I, I just kind of like look

(54:13):
up and like I'm smiling, and myhusband puts a blanket around me
.
I look up at him and I'm like,do you want to look?
And he's like, okay, and he'scrying Cause he's just so happy
that we did it and he's, youknow, he's saying like you did
it, did it again, you did itjust being so sweet, and so that
, yeah.
So then he looks down with meand he says our third son.

(54:35):
We're both just crying,laughing together, cause we're
just like, wow, another boy.
We just, you know, you justnever know, it's 50, 50, but it
was a beautiful moment for us.
And yeah, we just we took themin.
The after pains kicked in superquick and they really do get in
more intense with every baby man.

(54:55):
It's like I feel, like I didn'tfeel them at all with my first
and then second time a lot, andthen, third time, it was like,
oh, this hurts, you know, andI'm thinking like maybe if the
placenta comes out it will easeup, but it doesn't really, it's
gonna.
You know, it's part of thebody's process that it's all
like divinely designed and Iknow that, but it's still, it

(55:16):
still hurts.
So probably like within 30minutes, though, I got the
placenta out.
I kind of like tugged on it acouple of times just to see if
it felt ready, but it didn't atall.
So I just like let you know,let it do its thing and start to
detach from my uterus andeventually, like I felt like a
nice, a good contraction thatwas like I like pushed with it

(55:38):
and it just kind of like ploppedout and put that in a bowl,
cause I wanted to freeze it, andactually I ended up doing some
placenta prints with it, whichwere fun.
I wish I got some pictures ofit, though I I I didn't get any
pictures on my phone.
I guess I could thaw it out anddo that, but, um, we'll
probably bury it or something,um, this spring in the garden.

(56:00):
And so, yeah, the placenta wasout and this time we just cut
the cord.
Last time we did a cord burningand it was just like too much
time and work and I just didn'tfeel like doing it, although I
think it's a really beautifullike ritual and it's like one of
the best ways to do thatactually, because it's like it's

(56:20):
sterile and you're detaching itas well as like cauterizing it
basically so it's.
It's a really beautifulpractice if people are into that
kind of thing for home birth.
So, yeah, we just cut it andthen we got comfy and snuggled
up and I was super excited formy boys to be back home so that
they could, you know, see thatthey had a new baby brother.

(56:42):
And yeah, we didn't tellanybody until they got to meet
him first, so that they knewthat they knew they were having
a brother first before anybodyelse.
So it was really beautiful whenthey got to meet him and they
were just excited and so sweetand giving him kisses and yeah,
and everything from there hasjust been.
You know, I'm still in mypostpartum time.

(57:03):
I'm about six weeks.
I can't believe it.
Time has flown.
But yeah, a little over sixweeks postpartum and
everything's just been great.
We've just been trying tointegrate.
He looks like he has like redhair and it's the cutest thing
to me.
My first boy had brown and thenI had a blondie and now I've

(57:23):
got like this little ginger andI just love it so much.
So, yeah, it was like a perfectbirth and like just so.
Nothing like you expect, butalso like a little bit like I
imagined, you know, and I justlike, once you're out of it too,

(57:44):
like after that, I'm likethat's so hard.
I don't know how I did it, butlike now, at this point, I'm
like, oh yeah, I could do itagain.
Like you know, you're just likeI don't know.
It's just so beautiful.
I love that.
That's how we were designed, tojust kind of like want to keep
doing it.
When it's when we do it in likea physiological way and we're
not like traumatized Right Cause, then that's a little different

(58:06):
.

Angela (58:06):
But yeah, exactly.
Wow, what an incredible story.
So, as a final question, if youwere to give advice to someone
who's expecting, or even newparents, what would be the
biggest thing you'd want toshare?

Katie (58:22):
Oh my gosh.
Well, you can take in all theadvice and words but ultimately
do what feels like good to you.
So it's hard because it's like,yeah, it's nice to have wisdom
and words of advice and to havesomebody give you the answers,
and also always come back toyourself and like what you, what

(58:44):
your intuition is telling youand what your heart is telling
you.
And, yeah, just try to listenmore to that and like kind of
like clear out the outside noiseand I guess, yeah, I mean like
seek out people who make you notmake you feel good about your
decisions, but like I meanyou're supportive of your
decisions and also are kind ofon like the same wavelength as

(59:06):
you, so that you can kind ofjust be there for each other.
And I just want to encouragewomen and families to seek out
all the options and know thatlike there are more options than
they probably think and and tochoose the options with like all
of the information, not justlike what you hear from, like

(59:30):
your, your mom and your friends,and like don't, don't just like
do what everybody else does.
Just because I just like, andif you want, if you want to, I
guess just do do it whateverlike do whatever you want.
If you want to, I guess, justdo it whatever like do whatever
you want.
But I feel like there'ssomething to, there's something
powerful when we choose thingsbased on like what we want, not
just like what everybody elsedoes.

(59:51):
Right, so, like you know, justgoing with like the status quo
or whatever.

Angela (59:54):
Yeah, trust that intuition, like if your
intuition is like questioningsomething you're being told.
Go with that and learn moreabout, about.

Katie (01:00:04):
Uh-huh and and try not to don't let people like normalize
your trauma and your and likethe mean staff at the hospital
that like made fun of you forfor your choices and your birth
plan, like do you want to begiving birth with people like
that?
Cause I wouldn't.
So anyway, just choose youroptions wisely and you've got

(01:00:25):
this.

Angela (01:00:26):
Yeah, totally Well.
Thank you so much, katie, fortaking the time to share your
story today.

Katie (01:00:32):
I am so glad to share and I hope that some people you
know hear my story and it givesthem courage or it makes them
feel like they are more capablethan they maybe are being told,
or maybe you just feel morevalid and the stories that they
already have and that, yeah, Ijust hope that it someone can

(01:00:54):
people can find even just like alittle grain of something
positive for their own lifeStory.
Medicine is so important and Ithink that hearing all kinds of
different stories is reallyimportant for us, especially for
, like, pregnancy and birth.
So thank you for doing thiswith me.

Angela (01:01:12):
Before you go, I just want to remind you I have a ton
of resources for pregnancy andbirth.
If you're pregnant, whetheryou're a first time mom or if
this is your fifth baby, I wantyou to check out the show notes,
because I have some freetrainings and free downloads
that you can sign up for, aswell as the link to access my
labor of love, a comprehensive,self-paced online childbirth

(01:01:35):
education course.
I created this coursespecifically for moms who don't
want to be told what to do,regardless of where you're
birthing or who you're birthingwith, and I'd honestly love to
teach you everything that I knowso that you can prepare for an
autonomous birth experience andprepare to step into your role
as the leader of your birthjourney.

(01:01:55):
So click to the show notes,check out all of those links and
, if you ever have any questions, feel free to DM me at my main
birth over on Instagram.