Ep 340: Freebirth Story: What Changed Between Her First Birth and Her Third

Ep 340: Freebirth Story: What Changed Between Her First Birth and Her Third

Author: Katelyn Fusco August 24, 2026 Duration: 1:00:33
What if you could do all of it right– read every book, listen to every episode, interview the midwife, make the plan… and still walk into your birth completely unprepared?   Emily Swann is a wife to John, a mama of three, and the woman behind For the Love of Breastfeeding, where she teaches a bodywork course for babies and toddlers and runs a six-month program for mothers called Guided and Grounded. She's a nurse, an IBCLC, and holds a master's degree in public health and nutrition. She also binge listened to every episode of this podcast before her first baby was born.   In this episode, Emily shares three births that look nothing alike. Her first: a planned homebirth that became four days of labor, a house full of onlookers, and a transfer to the hospital. Her second: a baby born at 35 weeks after eleven days of an unexplained 105 degree fever, followed by the NICU and a readmission– and a mother who protected breastfeeding through all of it. Her third: a baby born at home, unassisted and en caul, on the evening she cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner in labor.   We talk about the difference between being informed and being formed, about drama versus transformation, about where a woman's authority goes when she hands it off, and about why the magnifying glass in the lactation world is pointed at babies instead of mothers.   Bonus episode this week: Katelyn's solo episode, Why More Research Isn't Making You Feel Ready, releases Wednesday 8/26 and picks up exactly where Emily's first birth leaves off.   Links: FREE Peaceful Birth Reset: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/birthreset Whole Mother Homebirth | https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/wholemotherhomebirth (use code PODCAST for 10% off) Youtube Episode Link: https://youtu.be/9QcQb_Sg7Qc?si=bp9JQG4yJPGeqey0 Learn more about Samaritan Ministries: https://samaritanministries.org/happyhomebirth Bonus solo episode (releases 8/26): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-341-why-more-research-isnt-making-you-feel-ready/id1446934537?i=1000785946382 Emily's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theloveofbreastfeeding For the Love of Breastfeeding: https://www.theloveofbreastfeeding.com/      

Hosted by Katelyn Fusco, Happy Homebirth creates a genuine space for conversations that go far beyond the simple how-to of having a baby at home. This podcast centers on the real, unfiltered narratives of people who have experienced natural childbirth, primarily in their own homes. You’ll hear directly from mothers as they recount the intensity, joy, and transformative power of their journeys, alongside the perspectives of midwives and other care providers who support them. While the tone is often uplifting and engaging, these discussions don’t shy away from the raw and challenging moments, offering a fully rounded picture of what homebirth can entail. It’s about building a supportive community through shared stories, where education and encouragement are woven into every episode. Tuning in means connecting with a resource that honors the entire spectrum of motherhood, from pregnancy and birth to parenting and personal health, all while exploring the intersections of family life and personal well-being. For anyone curious, planning, or simply seeking honest dialogue about this profound life experience, this podcast serves as a valuable and comforting companion.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Happy Homebirth
Podcast Episodes
Ep 350: A Homebirth After Hyperemesis Gravidarum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:56
Have you ever come through something so hard that when it was finally over, the smallest ordinary thing felt like a miracle? This week, we're speaking with Chelann Watt. Chelann is wife to her husband Sam– who she met in…
Ep 349: Student Interview episode: Abby Johnson/Carley Overbey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:55
Student Interview episode: Abby Johnson/Carley Overbey "I would have definitely panicked if I hadn't known." Links Replay — Why You've Read Everything and Still Don't Feel Ready: https://www.myhappyhomebirth.com/next Who…
Ep 347: Birth is magnetic [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:41
I want to tell you about two births. Same woman. Same husband. Same house, more or less. And afterward, two completely different marriages. Not because one birth was easy and one was hard. That isn't what made the differ…
Ep 346: A Homebirth Story About Learning How to Relax [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:37
Have you ever tried to relax on purpose– and realized you had no idea how? That you could feel the tension sitting in your body, but you couldn't figure out which part of you to let go of first? In this episode, we're sp…
Ep 344: Homebirth at 42 Weeks After a GBS Positive Test [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:27
Have you ever felt like the Lord told you something about your birth… and then watched every circumstance line up to tell you it wasn't going to happen? Gracie Gould is a wife to Jesse and a mama of four in Greenville, S…
Ep 343:  The Moment in Labor Nobody Warns You About [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:58
The moment in labor nobody warns you about The one idea: the moment arrives for almost everyone, and everything depends on whether she was told it was coming. The one action: take the Homebirth Readiness Check. And a fre…
Ep 341: Why More Research isn't Making You Feel Ready [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:24
Why more research isn't making you feel ready The one idea: you don't have a knowledge gap. You have an integration gap, and you've been treating one as the other. The one action: take the Homebirth Readiness Check. FREE…