Episode 013: Christina Szrama

Hopeful Birth Podcast

In episode number 13, Christina Szrama shares about the birth of her 4 kiddos. Christina had a very challenging first labor that unearthed in her a love for birth. She pursued her doula training and certification - working on that even during her second pregnancy. She chose a different birth environment for her second and had a completely different experience. “Peaceful” was how she described it, even though her son was 10 pounds, 6 ounces! Her third birth was a home birth, as well as her fourth, Jack, and if you can believe it, he was even heavier than her second. She had no tearing or even abrasions. I am so impressed with her and with him. What a team!

Christina talks about how “endurance” became a word that helped her press through the challenge of birthing Jack, and I appreciated her forthrightness as she shared about a difficult spiritual season she’s walked through.

In the Meet the Birth Worker segment, I had the privilege of interviewing Janelle Alier, CNM of Paris Mountain Midwifery. Janelle is a Certified Nurse Midwife serving women in the Greenville area of South Carolina. She typically takes only 2-3 births a month, so it’s best to reach out to her as soon as possible, if you’re interested in hiring her as your midwife. You can find her on Instagram at Paris Mountain Midwifery.

If you’d like to help support the podcast, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts and visit my corner of the internet - Hopeful Birth on Facebook and @hopefulbirthpodcast on Instagram. It is so appreciated!

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LINKS MENTIONED by Christina

• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth - Ina May Gaskin
• The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth - Henci Goer

Books for nutrition/postpartum:

• Real Food for Mother & Baby (Nina Planck)
• The First 40 Days (Heng Ou)
• Real Food for Pregnancy (Lily Nichols)

Books to help kids prep for birth:

• I Am a Big Sister (Caroline Church) or I Am a Big Brother
• I'm a Big Brother (Joanna Cole)
• What Baby Needs (William & Martha Sears)
• Baby on the Way (William & Martha Sears)
• Will There Be a Lap for Me? (Dorothy Corey)
• Peter's Chair (Ezra Jack Keats)
• On Mother's Lap (Ann Herbert Scott)
• (Specifically show homebirth):
  • Home Sweet Baby (Jonna Carter)
  • My Mother is the Strongest (Cynthia Durand)
  • Welcome Home (Alisha Bourke)
  • Our Water Baby (Amy Maclean)
  • Mama Midwife (Christy Tyner)
  • All of the Places to Love (Patricia MacLachlan)

LINKS MENTIONED by Janelle

https://www.instagram.com/parismountainmidwifery/

Childbirth Education Suggested by Janelle:

• Bradley Method
• Hypnobabies