Happy Homebirth

Can hope return after something painful changes the way you experience motherhood?

 

This week, we're speaking with Lydia Ashford, a flower farmer, worship leader, wife, and mother of two daughters born at home on the Northern California coast. Lydia and her family live and work together on a flower farm with her parents and sisters, raising babies alongside one another in a deeply connected community.

In this conversation, Lydia shares the beautiful homebirth of her first daughter—but also the traumatic postpartum complications that followed– and the transformational healing that slowly took place after.

 

Episode Roundup:

 

1. “Postpartum is porous.”

Lydia described postpartum as “spongy”—that everything spoken over a mother during that season goes straight to the heart.

YES. The postpartum period is incredibly vulnerable.

The voices around a mother matter.
The support, the encouragement, it is all so critical.

And hearing how her midwife, her mother, her husband, and her community continually spoke hope over her while she struggled with breastfeeding… it’s such a powerful reminder that support can completely shape a postpartum experience.

2. I was deeply moved by Lydia’s honesty about fear after trauma, because it’s such a common experience.  

Sure, not everyone has experienced sepsis or emergency surgery postpartum, but many mothers have walked through complicated births or postpartum seasons that left them afraid to do it again.

And I loved hearing how Lydia described God slowly transforming fear into hope—not all at once… over time.  

Through prayer walks, community, stories, scripture, and through intimate moments of healing.

 

3. This line Lydia shared just got me at my core:

“I will not nurse fear. I will nurse hope.”

What a powerful renewing of her mind.  She intentionally refused to let fear become the center of the story.

Wow, doesn’t  that apply so far beyond birth?

What are we feeding?
What are we nurturing?
What are we allowing to shape the atmosphere of our homes, our motherhood, our hearts?

Lydia’s story is such a beautiful reminder that healing does not always mean the absence of difficulty.  Healing is allowing hope to return.

 

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

 

Youtube Episode Link: https://youtu.be/_zhc9aKXtME

Have you ever reached the point in labor—or honestly, in life—where you truly didn’t think you could keep going?

 

This week, we're speaking with Faith Robinson, a stay-at-home mom from Kansas City, wife to her husband of three years, and mother to baby Ezekiel. Faith grew up around birth through her mother’s work as a doula, but despite always wanting an unmedicated birth, she initially viewed birth primarily as a medical event. That slowly began to change after witnessing a peaceful birth as a teenager—and eventually led her and her husband to prayerfully pursue homebirth for their own family.

In this episode, Faith shares her pregnancy journey, navigating back pain from previous spinal injuries, concerns about preeclampsia symptoms late in pregnancy, and the emotional challenge of going well past her due date.

And then came the loooong labor.  You’re going to love hearing her perseverance.

 

Episode Roundup:


 1. I keep thinking about the importance of support.
Not just during birth itself—but throughout pregnancy too.
Faith described so many moments where she felt deeply cared for by her midwives. They listened to her concerns, helped her navigate anxiety, supported her through physical discomfort, and treated her as a whole person rather than just managing symptoms.
That kind of care changes the way women experience pregnancy and birth.

 

2. This story is such a reminder that labor does not always unfold quickly or neatly.
Forty-seven hours is a long time.
And I appreciated Faith’s honesty about how difficult that became mentally. The discouragement after learning she was still only two centimeters after hours of strong contractions… the exhaustion… the moments of saying, “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
I think many women need to hear stories like this because sometimes physiological birth is portrayed as effortless if you just “trust enough” or if you do the precise right things to prepare. 
But birth is intense, so trusting birth doesn’t mean pretending it’s always easy.
Sometimes trust looks like continuing one contraction at a time.

 

3. I was so moved by the way Faith described the Lord meeting her during labor.
The difficulty was not removed.  The pain was not instantly ended.
But He gave her exactly what she needed for the next step.
A moment of encouragement. A reminder that she was safe. The strength to continue.
Truth be told, I think that mirrors motherhood so often too, at least for me.
We’re not always given the full picture ahead of time.
 But grace does meet us where we are.


Ps. Shout out to Faith’s mom Kim. You’re the best, love you girl.

 

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

 

Youtube Episode Link: https://youtu.be/PFkl9gpM_k8

What does it look like to re-build a family legacy? 

And how do birth, motherhood, healing, and even hardship become part of that restoration?

Gabrielle Manier is a wife, homeschool mother of four, homemaker, gardener, and passionate homebirth mother living in Michigan with her husband Dustin and their children. Since her first appearance on the podcast, their family has welcomed two more babies while continuing to walk through healing from a difficult past marked by addiction, homelessness, and generational brokenness.

 

Episode Roundup:

1. The idea of rebuilding.

Gabrielle and her husband came from incredibly difficult backgrounds, and yet the way they are intentionally building their family now—with faith, purpose, nourishment, connection, and presence—it’s such a reminder that generational patterns do not have to continue forever.

Healing, change, renewal really is possible.

 

2. I loved hearing how intentionally Gabrielle prepared for postpartum this time.

So many mothers focus all of their energy on birth preparation, but postpartum can feel deeply vulnerable if we don’t also prepare to be cared for afterward.

And hearing how her mother came to help…
how they restored their relationship…
how she hired postpartum support…
how her husband stepped in so fully…

It’s such a picture of what women were always meant to experience after birth:

Care and space to heal.

 

3. Another part of Gabrielle’s story that really stayed with me was the way she navigated her son’s clubfoot diagnosis.

An unexpected diagnosis in pregnancy can bring so many emotions.

Fear, confusion, and a sense of pressure to make quick decisions and “do something”.

What I appreciated so much was hearing Gabrielle approach the experience in sugh a grounded, thoughtful,  prayerful way.


She didn’t ignore reality, but she refused to allow fear to overtake the beauty of her experience of pregnancy and motherhood.

I think many women need to hear that it is possible to walk through unexpected circumstances while still remaining connected and even joyful.

And Gabrielle’s experience is such a reminder that a diagnosis does not change the value, beauty, or purpose of a child.

Sometimes it’s these very moments that invite families deeper into trust, advocacy, and dependence on God in ways they never expected.

 

4. I was so moved by Gabrielle’s description of birth as exhilarating.

Not that it was painless or easy, but because she experienced birth as something full of purpose, connection, and joy.

There can be intensity and peace at the same time.
Difficulty and beauty in the same breath.  That’s exhilarating.

 

5. I so appreciated Gabrielle’s honesty about fear and anxiety.

I think that sometimes women may hear peaceful birth stories and assume those mothers never struggle with fear, confusion or anxiety.

But that’s not what Gabrielle described– 

She described continually bringing those fears before the Lord… and continuing to move forward in faith.

 

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

 

Youtube Episode

We all know that life is unpredictable in many ways, but when you’re experiencing extreme unpredictability in the midst of your pregnancy, how do you imagine you’d feel?  Would ‘peaceful’ be the first word that comes to mind?

 

This week, we’re speaking with Sarah, mother to two babies– Timothy and Lydia.  We’ll hear Sarah’s extremely difficult experience during her most recent pregnancy and birth of a micro preemie, but take heart– you will leave this story feeling overwhelmed with gratitude and beauty for having heard it.  

 

Sarah does an incredible job of summing up the amazing points of her story at the end, so we won’t have a typical episode roundup.

 

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)

Coincidences– How many of them can you experience before you stop thinking they’re coincidences and start realizing that they are a beautiful divine gift?

 

This week, we're speaking with Kaylee, a mother of 3 living in Athens, Georgia.  Kaylee and her husband experienced struggles with infertility before becoming pregnant, and they are now in the process of raising the large family they always dreamed of.  We’ll hear how a “high risk” hospital-birthing mother found herself at home with her most recent baby.

 

Episode Roundup:

 

After IVF treatment, Will and Kaylee found out that they had 5 embryos.  They felt strongly in their hearts that it was their responsibility to do their part to bring all 5 of those beautiful babies into the world.  I love their heart on this, and it was so sweet to hear Kaylee’s forethought about these precious little souls, even as she prepared for her first hospital birth.  She wanted to take care of herself and learn as much about birth as she could so that she could have vaginal births– knowing that she would be planning to become pregnant at least 4 more times.  I love their tender forethought and the way this family has made their babies such a priority.  

Next, as her third pregnancy progressed, Kaylee noticed her heart being drawn toward homebirth.  She was pulled to listen to mostly homebirth stories, even though she was planning a hospital birth at the time– she felt a sense of curiosity and even desire, despite the fact that she thought homebirth was just out of reach for her.  I love hearing this intuitive nudge that pushed her to begin preparing for the type of birth that she would eventually have, before she even agreed to go that route!

And this leads to my final thought, which was just so potent throughout Kaylee’s story.  Coincidences.  Or are they?  Kaylee would certainly not call them mere coincidences.  No, she sees them as gifts from a loving Father who was holding her and caring for her from the very beginning.  My goodness, the beauty of this and all of the answered prayers.  Her midwife having been the nurse that made the difference in her first son’s birth, her requests for a short labor, her desire to give birth at midnight— and then her trust that it would happen.  Kaylee’s story is full of examples of childlike faith being met with Fatherly love and compassion.  She is held– and so are you.  If you ever want to talk more about relationship with this incredible Unconditional Love, please send me an email at [email protected].

 

Links:

 

Redeem ™ |  https://hubs.ly/Q03K0Dr90

“Click here to learn more about REDEEM HealthShare Ministry”

 

Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

 

Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/presale (use code PODCAST for 10% off)