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Pregnancy & Birth Made Easy
Birth is amazing, beautiful, wonderful . . . and it can throw you for a loop! Despite our very best birth “plans,” we can find ourselves taking some twist and turns during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum that we don’t expect. Enter the Pregnancy & Birth Made Easy Podcast!
Hey mama! My name is Stephanie, and I’m a mom of three boys, and two girls, a professional doula, childbirth educator, and the creator of the Online Birth Course - My Essential Birth www.myessentialbirth.com.
I love to help mothers just like you feel empowered and confident during pregnancy, birth, and into motherhood by taking my years of knowledge and personal/professional experience in the birth world and breaking down complex birth topics to make preparing for labor & birth a breeze!
Every week, you’ll hear from myself & other women ready to share their knowledge with other pregnant moms about pregnancy and birth topics that will have you feeling knowledgeable and in the driver’s seat of your best birth experience.
Your best birth starts here >>>> www.myessentialbirth.com/getstarted
Episodes
361 episodes
From the Vault Birth Story: Unmedicated Hospital Birth with Jamie Peterson
This episode first aired back in August 2023 and it went on to become one of the most downloaded birth stories I have ever put out. So I'm bringing it back! Whether this is your first time hearing Jamie's story or you are coming ba...
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The Vault: Getting Ready for Birth & What Most People Aren't Telling You
This one first aired back in November 2025 and you guys loved it. It ended up being one of the most downloaded episodes I have ever done.So I am bringing it back out of the vault because it's just too good to let it sit there! <...
The Vault Essentials: 3 Birth Plan Mistakes That Lead to Regret (And What to Do Instead)
Back by popular demand, this is one of 2026's most-listened episodes. If you're building your birth plan right now, grab your notebook and tune in, mama! What if the birth plan you worked so hard on… actually set you up for dis...
Rebroadcast - Unmedicated Birth: How To Prepare If This Is Your Goal
This is a rebroadcast of one of our most loved episodes — whether you are listening for the first time or coming back for another listen, I know you are going to get something out of it. Enjoy! ❤️I have three babies I gave birth t...
Elimination Communication: Going Diaper Free From Birth with Andrea Olson
What if your baby has been trying to tell you they need to go to the bathroom this whole time, and you just did not know how to listen?Before disposable diapers existed, 92% of American babies were out of diapers by 18 months. <...
Your Legal Rights in the Birth Room with Attorney Hermine Hayes-Klein
Signing the general consent form when you walk into the hospital does not mean you have agreed to everything that follows. Not the Pitocin. Not the vaginal exam. Not the electronic fetal monitor. Not the ...
The Truth About Gestational Diabetes Testing, Nutrition & Birth with Midwives, Bonnie Baker & Karina Robinson
Gestational diabetes is one of those topics that every pregnant mama needs to understand way before she ever gets to that 28 week test, whether she thinks it applies to her or not. And I could not be more excited about who I brough...
Tongue Ties, Breastfeeding & Baby Development: Everything You Need to Know with Michelle Emanuel
Is your baby fussy, clicking while nursing, struggling with tummy time, or just not quite seeming like themselves, and nobody can give you a straight answer about why?In this episode, I sit down with Michelle Emanuel, pediatric occupatio...
Birth Story: A Birth Center Water Birth & Letting Her Body Lead w/Kyla & Gabe
After giving birth at 28 weeks with her first baby, Kyla knew that this pregnancy was going to look different. She was intentional about every decision: her providers, her preparation, her birth space, and her mindset going in. And ...
Can You Say No to Your Doctor During Pregnancy?
You leave your prenatal appointment and get in your car. And something just feels off.You are confused. Unsettled. Maybe a little worried about your body or your baby. And you spend the whole drive home trying to figure out ...
Before You Say Yes In Labor, Ask These Three Questions
What would you do if you were deep in labor and someone walked in and said it was time to talk about Pitocin, breaking your water, or maybe even a cesarean?I am you through the exact moment that catches...
Eating for Your Cycle, Gut Health & Fertility with Nora DeBora
What if understanding your menstrual cycle could completely change the way you prepare for pregnancy and transform how you feel in your body every single month?I sat down with Nora DeBora, functional fertility coach, holistic nutritionis...
Birth Story: Pitocin Induction, 24 Hours of Unmedicated Labor & a 9lb 12oz Baby — Mary Richardson's Story
Birth doesn't always go the way you planned, but preparation never goes to waste.In this encouraging birth story, My Essential Birth Mama Mary Richardson shares her journey from planning a home birth to an unexpected hospital tran...
Tylenol, Vaccines & Autism: What Every Pregnant Mom Needs to Know with Dr. Ari Calhoun
Is Tylenol really safe during pregnancy? Does it cause Autism? What about vaccines? And are you getting the nutrients your baby's brain actually needs?What if the most important health decisions you make during pregn...
Birth Story: When Birth Brings Both Loss and Healing | Sarah’s Story
What would you do if the pregnancy you carefully prepared for suddenly took an unexpected turn?In this powerful and deeply meaningful birth story, My Essential Birth Mama, Sarah, joins me to share the journey of her second pregnan...
Birth Story: Early Labor, Life Flight Refusal & a 32-Week Baby Who Stunned His Nurses with Christa & Morgan
In this incredible birth story, My Essential Birth parents Christa and Morgan take us through one of the most incredible journeys I have ever had the honor of sharing on this podcast. From a heartbreaking miscarriage to livin...
3 Birth Plan Mistakes That Lead to Regret (And What to Do Instead)
What if the birth plan you worked so hard on… actually set you up for disappointment?Most moms spend hours researching, Googling templates, and checking every box, and still walk away from birth feeling blindsided...
Before You Say Yes to an Induction, Ask These 3 Questions
What would you do if your doctor mentioned induction at what felt like a totally routine appointment, and suddenly you were nodding along to something you weren't even sure you agreed to?In this week's episode, I'm walking ...
Placenta Encapsulation: Should You Eat Your Placenta? Benefits, Risks & Postpartum Recovery w/Dr. Sophia Johnson
Some moms swear placenta pills changed their postpartum recovery…others say they did nothing. So what’s actually true?Today I'm sitting down with Dr. Sophia Johnson. She's a physician, researcher, and author who spent a decade st...
Birth Story: Her Husband Caught the Baby Before His Coffee Was Ready - Veronica's Home Birth
What would you do if your baby came so fast… your husband hadn't even had his morning coffee yet?Veronica planned a home birth... she just didn't plan for it to look like this: her husband catching their daughter in their bedroom, the mi...
Reclaim Your Birth: Sovereignty, Intuition & the Dad's Surprising Role with Midwife, Catalina Clark
What if the most powerful voice in your birth room isn't the doctor's — it's your husband's?In this episode, I sit down with Catalina Clark, a licensed home birth midwife in Sonoma, California, who has spent 11 years at the crossroads of...
Hospital Birth: The System is Broken, Not You
Over the years, birth has slowly shifted from a natural, woman-centered experience to something much more medicalized — and most pregnant moms have no idea why.In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on how modern maternity care...
Birth Story: "Any Woman Who Wants an Unmedicated Birth Absolutely Can" w/Haley Sampson
What does it look like when a pelvic floor physical therapist uses everything she knows — plus the My Essential Birth course — to prepare for her own unmedicated birth? It looks like THIS episode.Haley Sampson is a labor of love kind of ...
What No One Told You About Fertility & Gestational Diabetes w/ Dr. Kiltz
Is everything we’ve been told about fat… wrong?In this episode, I sit down with Reproductive Endocrinologist & Fertility Specialist, Dr. Robert Kiltz, founder of CNY Fertility, to talk about infertility, gestational diabetes, insulin...