Sister Birth Blog

Pointers for first time moms planning a home birth.

Have you seen this? This peaceful, unassisted water birth on a porch at the edge of a meadow… the one where the baby received a little assistance from her mother to finish being born? It’s worth watching. And have gratitude for the brave and bold @thealliewoods for livestreaming and sharing her very personal moments with the world. And […]

All about incorporating a cord burning ceremony into your home birth.

pictured here: me and my just-born daughter with two of her older siblings standing by. Photo credit: Annica of Sprout and Blossom “What do I do with my kids during my home birth?” It’s a question I hear a lot of. And there isn’t one right answer, but here are some thoughts. It’s important to […]

We live in an age of online community. There are Facebook groups for nearly EVERY topic, interest, and qualifying personal characteristic you can imagine. I participate in lots of those communities and am genuinely grateful for the role they play in my life: a place to speak freely about topics I know everyone in the […]

I’m not going to lie: having a low-intervention or intervention-free, physiologic birth in a hospital takes some serious commitment and a lot of proactive preparation. Why? Well, maybe it’s like trying to live in a totally foreign country that doesn’t understand your language, culture, values, or needs. The country isn’t designed to accommodate anything about […]

When I first started looking into reading material to assist me in preparing for a natural birth, the most widely recommended books by far were those by Ina May Gaskin. I can’t say that I disagree with that recommendation at all, because her work is truly phenomenal and important. So consider the following list not […]

What is a mother blessing? Why do you need one? Here’s a definitive guide to having one with Christian spirituality.

A while ago, a friend who wanted to attempt a completely unmedicated birth with her third child asked me how she could begin to prepare. Instead of a quick, short answer, I ended up writing her a long list of suggestions. This is Part 1, which focuses on things that can be done ahead of […]

I wrote in my Mama Natural birth story write-up that I’d advise a woman to “eliminate the word pain from your vocabulary” as she approaches her birth. I’m rethinking that now. Because there may be pain. For the vast majority of births that’s probably true. And while it’s not helpful to DWELL on the pain, […]