A duo of respected NYC obstetricians talk about cesarean birth and gentle cesarean techniques – ways to help the birth feel beautiful, healthy and sacred as it should.

Upper West Sider Diana’s rapid, unmedicated birth story unfolds with her and partner Josh navigating spontaneous water rupture, fast labor, and timely hospital arrival with the help of doulas after switching from a large OB practice to much more personable midwife support.

Chantal shares her story of getting pregnant easily despite having PCOS, pre-term labor at 35 weeks starting with the water breaking, and a short NICU stay for her newborn son.

NYC homebirth midwife Sorayya Kassamali Rickicki shares all things homebirth, including answering the most common reason people are hesitant to consider giving birth at home.

Sheyda and her partner Corentin share their experience of choosing a home birth. The homebirth is smooth, but then after birth, Sheyda makes an informed decision with the collaborative care of her midwife to transfer to the hospital so she could recover more efficiently from bleeding a lot after birth.

Tracy shares her challenges both with a harder 2nd pregnancy as well as with baby being in transverse position late in pregnancy, getting chiropractic care to flip baby and avoid a C-section, and how she confidently advocated to buy time and avoid unnecessary interventions in labor.

Craniosacral therapist Regina Patane explains the biodynamic craniosacral therapy approach to bodywork and its benefits for babies and parents.

Personal trainer Leia shares how, when her hospital birth that she had hoped to be unmedicated didn’t go according to plan, having her partner and doula there to help support her and help her advocate for herself were what made a positive difference.

Taylor shares the story of her surprise pregnancy and prenatal depression, her choice to give birth at home with a supportive team and what a gamechanger her choices and lots of support before, during and after her labor were to protect the physical and mental health of her and her baby.

Ellen returns to share her 3rd baby’s preterm birth story. Despite being slightly premature and having a cleft lip, her son doesn’t need to go to the NICU and breastfeeds beautifully. Postpartum mental health struggles and needing to speak up for more support are also highlighted in this story.

Donna & Sandy share their unmedicated hospital birth story in which their daughter was born with the amniotic sac intact and share about their dedication to practicing meditation.

NYC birth doula, postpartum doula and lactation counselor Theresa Lasbrey Peters shares her own 2 birth stories, discusses her empowering experiences with Hypnobabies and unmedicated hospital births, how it informed her approach as a birth worker, doula, and a passionate advocate for empowering birth experiences.

NYC actress Alexis shares her wildly wonderful unplanned homebirth story in her Harlem walkup apartment.

Kaitlin shares 3 birth stories: 1 birthing center to induction to cesarean that was traumatic because she didn’t receive respectful care, 1 blissful VBAC and one fast homebirth.

Kaitlin shares 3 birth stories: 1 birthing center to induction to cesarean that was traumatic because she didn’t receive respectful care, 1 blissful VBAC and one fast homebirth.

Melissa shares 2 birth stories, 1 hospital birth with epidural, the 2nd in which she reclaimed her body confidence in an unmedicated birth in a birthing center with midwives.

Jessica shares the story of her unmedicated hospital birth in which her son is born en caul. Part 2 of 2.

Jessica shares the story of her unmedicated hospital birth in which her son is born en caul. Part 1 of 2.

Bettina shares her pregnancy and birth journey in which she switches from OB to midwives, hires a doula, does lots of research and learning, and advocates to avoid induction to support the unmedicated hospital birth she hoped for.

Taylor & Joey share the story of an efficient, unmedicated labor at home after her membranes rupture, arriving to their central Texas hospital just in time for Taylor to push and give birth.

Sierra envisioned a waterbirth for her baby in a birthing center and a doula, but baby has others plans while in the car en route to the birth place. Sierra shares those exciting details plus details the night and day difference between how she was treated when seeing an OB vs. the midwifery model of care.

Despite the fact that EmJ has always had a self-professed low pain tolerance, she finds instinctive coping mechanisms that work for her to have the unmedicated birth that she had hoped to have in a Manhattan hospital, largely because she had uncommonly doula-like support from the nurses and an OB she loves. This is a story of ongoing, essential community and support that started in birth class.

Crystal shares her positive belly birth (cesarean) story. Due to her bicornuate, heart-shaped uterus, her baby was persistently breech and therefore needed to be born surgically since the majority of providers aren’t trained in safe vaginal breech birth.

Cally’s hopes were high for an unmedicated birth. She gets thrown a curve ball when her membranes rupture as the first sign of labor. She bravely signs an AMA (“against medical advice”) form in order to go back home. When she is later quickly induced, she has a vaginal birth, short epidural, and an efficient pushing stage. She also discusses anxiety, breastfeeding, and "mommy wrist."

Pelvic DPT Nidhi Sharma shares self-advocacy tips for delaying her hospital induction that was recommended partially due to a gestational diabetes diagnosis. She also details pelvic floor injuries that occurred due to the use of a vacuum when baby wasn’t descending.

Jewish doula and mental health therapist Chana Diamond returns to share her 2nd and 3rd babies’ unmedicated hospital birth stories, attended by a Jewish midwife.

Suzanne & Edgar share their preparations for birth, discuss benefits of couples therapy, prioritizing mental health, and choosing an aligned provider and doula. Despite going for an "emergency" induction, labor begins spontaneously, with a unique progression. Suzanne also discusses breastfeeding challenges and the importance of a healthy support system.

Hallie and Eric had a long 3-year journey to conceive their son, battling previously undiagnosed PCOS and Hashimoto’s. Hallie seeks complementary therapies and after a successful IVF transfer, she carefully researches her doula and OB choices. Despite an immediate induction at 38 weeks due to preeclampsia, she still has a positive experience because of the birth team she so carefully chose.

NYC professional dancer Hannah and her husband Tommy share about reconciling Hannah’s very physical profession with the huge bodily changes in pregnancy and postpartum, and how she chose to give birth in her Upper West Side home with the support of a great midwife and doula team.

Because of her experiences working in the medical field, Kelly knew it was really important to make very intentional choices surrounding her care provider and support team, so she chose to hire a midwife & a doula. She describes how quickly her labor progresses while laboring at home and how showing up just in time to push contributed to an easier-than-she-expected birthing process.