Birth As We Know It ™️-Birth Stories and Experiences
If you are planning to become pregnant, trying to conceive, currently pregnant, have given birth in the last few years, or work in the birth field, Birth As We Know It ™️ is the podcast for you.
Birth As We Know It ™️ is a birth story and birth experience podcast that is dedicated to recognizing the many different ways that birth unfolds. The good, the bad, and everything else in between.
You will hear birth stories and birth experiences from the perspective of birthing people, birth partners, birth providers, birth workers, and more! This podcast was created to be a place where people can learn more about pregnancy, birth, and a little bit of postpartum, all while hearing about what really happens in the birth space.
Every other week, join Kiona Nessenbaum as she interviews guests who encourage birth education by sharing their personal birth stories and birth experiences. She believes that hearing a birth story directly from the person who lived it, brings the individual human experience back to the forefront of childbirth education.
Kiona is a mother of 3, a birth doula, a birth assistant, and a former student midwife who has supported over 140 birthing families.
Through this podcast, you will find a connection in knowing that you are not the only one who has experienced something unexpected on your journey to parenthood. As people share their personal birth stories and experiences, you will hear about their entire journey through conception, pregnancy, labor, and birth. They will also touch on newborn feeding choices and overall postpartum experiences. You will also hear what providers and birth workers think and feel as they support birthing families on their journeys to parenthood.
To learn more about the host Kiona Nessenbaum or see pictures of those who have shared their stories, go to birthasweknowitpodcast.com
Subscribe to our newsletter: birthasweknowitpodcast.com/newsletter
Connect with Kiona Nessenbaum on Instagram: @birthasweknwitpodcast and join the private Birth As We Know It ™️ Podcast Community on Facebook: birthasweknowitpodcast.com/community
Episodes
94 episodes
92-Monae Munchrath-Vaginal Birth-Theodora
In this episode, Monae shares the birth story of her daughter, Theodora, and how it differed from the birth of her son, Soren. She also touches on the emotional challenges of becoming a mother of two and how her normal day-to-day has changed.&n...
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Episode 92
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1:11:54
91-Thad King- Partner-Miscarriage-3 Vaginal Births-Kearney, Aubrey & Owen + Bonus Birth
In this episode, Thad, a partner and father, shares his perspective on what it was like to watch his wife Patty go through multiple pregnancies and how they handled each transition as a couple. He also talks about a bonus birth that he experien...
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Episode 91
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1:17:26
90-Deb & Norman Erb-White-Miscarriage-Adoption-Caleb, Patrick, Thomas, Cherish, Isiah & Emily
Deb and Norman share how they went from no kids to many through natural conception, also known as their DIY kids, and adoption. They also talk about how the emotions around experiencing pregnancy loss through miscarriages and how that impacts t...
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Episode 90
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1:06:02
89-Katie Blaeser-Vaginal Birth-HIE-NICU-Zion
Katie dives into the details of the birth she experienced with her son Zion, and talks about how rough postpartum was for her after the traumatic birth she experienced, especially since Zion was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy in...
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Episode 89
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1:03:54
88-Heather Forseth-3 Births-Vaginal-Cesarean-NICU-Breech-VBAC-Noah, Maysen & Cooper
Heather dives deep into the details of what each of her three pregnancies was like for her. She also touches on the importance of postpartum support and following your intuition because she had to do so for her second pregnancy, which was her f...
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Episode 88
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1:00:56
87-Genesis Holguin-1 Birth-Cesarean-Giovanni
Description: Genesis dives into the details of what it was like to find out that her son had an atypical result on the Non-Invasive Paternal Testing (NIPT), which is a genetic test that screens cell-free fetal DNA for certain genetic con...
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Episode 87
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1:10:02
86-Jennifer Hand-1 Cesarean Birth-Giant Omphaylceles-Alyssa
Description: Jennifer is a mother to four children. Her fourth child is her daughter, Alyssa, who came into this world with all of the surprises. She was a surprise pregnancy for her parents and came with a very surprising diagnosis of a...
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Episode 86
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42:51
85-Amanda Clarke-Ray-3 Vaginal Births-Aila, Norah & Haiden
Amanda dives deep into her true emotions about finding out she was pregnant so quickly after intentionally trying, and how that impacted her pregnancy and postpartum time with her first daughter, Aila. She also talks about how different each of...
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Episode 85
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1:36:44
84-Maddie & Macka Palmer-1 Birth-Cesarean-Preeclampsia-Cystic Fibrosis-NICU-Maya
Maddie and Macka take us along on their journey to parenthood as they discovered their daughter Maya was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. At the time of the recording, Maya is only 6 months old. Throughout the episode, you will hear how Maddie a...
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Episode 84
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1:05:43
83-Sierra-Miscarriage-Vaginal Birth-Plus Size Pregnancy-Ember
Sierra shares how devastating it was to experience a miscarriage during her first pregnancy and how that impacted how she felt throughout her pregnancy with her daughter Ember. She also touches on how her size, while being completely healthy, l...
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Episode 83
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1:04:28
82-Art Almquist-Partner-2 Births-Cesarean-Vaginal-Mikayla & Leif
Art dives into what it was like to watch his wife of 40 years give birth and become a mother to their children more than 20 years ago. He also talks about what it was like to be in the hot seat and to catch their second child per the doctors...
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Episode 82
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39:03
81-Mackenzie Hyduke-Chemical Pregnancy-2 Vaginal Births-Jack & Teddy
Mackenzie was saddened when she had to get an induction with her first son Jack due to low amniotic fluid levels, but was very surprised when the induction went faster than anyone had expected. Her first birth inspired her to birth with midwive...
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Episode 81
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1:25:45
BONUS-Share The Drop-Kelly Cox
Kelly shares how she came up with the idea of the breastmilk-sharing app Share The Drop. She also talks about its impacts on the breast cancer community and families with new babies as well as going into how the search filters work on ...
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19:39
80-Carly & Jonathan Crowther-2 Vaginal Births-Kinsley & Raelynn
Carly and Jonathan experienced two very different births with their daughters. Their first daughter Kinsley was an induction at the hospital and the birth of their second daughter Raelynn was an unplanned unassisted water birth at home. Carly t...
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Episode 80
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1:23:41
79-Nicky Yazbeck-Adoptive Parent-1 Birth-Jack-The Connected Community Exploring Possibility
Nicky was birthed into motherhood through adoption, but it was far from easy for her and her husband to have a baby placed with them. The birth mother of their son Jack also had an interesting situation that caused Nicky and her husband to be s...
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Episode 79
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52:23
78-Mariela Guerra-3 Births-Cesareans-NICU-PMAD-Twins-Breast Cancer Diagnosis-ZacarÍas, Serafina & Magdalena
Mariela expected to have one child and be done. Little did she know that getting pregnant for a second time unexpectedly 9 years later would lead her to twins and a breast cancer diagnosis. Tune in to this episode to hear Mariela talk about her...
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Episode 78
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1:27:31
77-Ashley Holmes-3 Births-1 Cesarean-Twins-1 VBAC-Holistic Fertility Coach Inc.
When Ashley found out she was pregnant with twins she was very surprised, but not as surprised as she was when she found out that she was pregnant again. This is because she needed some assistant with getting pregnant the first time and the sec...
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Episode 77
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57:57
76-Jeanelle Harvey-Bridges-Miscarriage-2 Unassisted Vaginal Free Births-The Intuitive Parent
Even though Jeanelle worked in healthcare as a registered nurse, she still decided that giving birth in the healthcare system was not the safest option for her or her babies. After getting diagnosed with PCOS at 16 and then gestational diabetes...
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Episode 76
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1:27:02
75-Hannah Carlsrud-Vaginal Birth-Hunter-Carlsrud Psychological Services
In this episode, Hannah shared her experience with being cared for by out-of-hospital midwives and birthing her son Hunter at a stand-alone birth center. She also talks about how during the immediate postpartum time she had to be transferred to...
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Episode 75
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59:45
74-Ally Patrie-Precipitous-IUGR-2 Vaginal Births-Christian & Sara
In this episode, Aly talks about how she emotionally handled caring for and losing her father during her first pregnancy with her son Cristian. She also gives all the details about how her second labor with her daughter Sara did not go as plann...
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Episode 74
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1:06:36
73-Lindsay Bruggeman-Adoptive Parent- 2 Births-1 Cesarean & 1 Vaginal
In this episode, Lindsay speaks on the assumptions people make when they find out you have gone through the route of adoption to grow your family. She also talks about what it was like to find the two different local families that she matched w...
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Episode 73
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54:55
72-Bettina Paek-Miscarriage-3 Vaginal Births-eDoula
In this episode, Bettina discusses the quick and lovely start to her relationship with her husband and the challenges she experienced while conceiving her third child. Even though she conceived her first two children on the quicker side, Bettin...
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Episode 72
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1:14:55
71-Valerie Probstfeld-3 Vaginal Births-NICU -To Mom is To Love
In the episode, you will hear Valerie talk about her 3 birth experiences. She goes into detail about how challenging her first pregnancy and birth were and how medical bullying played a huge role in her NICU experience. She then goes on to talk...
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Episode 71
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1:05:33
70-Morgan Harvey-2 Vaginal Births-NICU-Beyond Birthing Doula-Adoptee
In this episode, Morgan shares her preterm birth experience with her son Josiah as well as her birth center birth experience with her son Noah. Both babies ended up in the NICU for different reasons. She also dives into how being an adoptee ...
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Episode 70
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1:07:00
69-Nicole Bulow-Miscarriage-Bell's Palsy-2 Vaginal Births-Solfuel Wellness
In this episode, Nicole shares her experience with loss through miscarriage as well as diving into her two very different birth experiences with her son Baker and daughter Sophia. She goes into detail about how different it was for her to bi...
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Episode 69
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1:21:52