059: HOME BIRTH STORY - The Alabama Freebirth Story with Ginny Rodgers

Today we have a really incredible episode, for many reasons. For one, it’s a home birth story with an extensive journey, full of highs and lows. And it’s really about trusting your heart and your intuition. Ginny is the essence of a mother. The way she describes her connection with her children and her experience of her pregnancies...it gave me goosebumps multiple times during our conversation. She has dreams about her children - before she conceives them. Her trust and faith is so beautiful and something we can all learn from. She and her husband James have two children together: Grace who is 3 years old and Deborah who is 9 months old. Ginny opens up and shares part of the loss they’ve also experienced, having endured 3 miscarriages before Deborah’s birth. She’s open and honest about the loneliness she felt in the grief walk, the devastation and the healing. She shares how all of it has just brought her and James closer together, strengthening their partnership and bonding them in a more intimate way. Living in Alabama, where home birth was illegal at the time (happy to report this status has changed since our interview!), Ginny and James decided to have an unassisted home birth, otherwise known as free birth (The only way to have a home birth in Alabama at the time, as it was illegal to have any certified nurse midwife or medical professional in attendance for a planned home birth. This, as you can imagine, deterred many families from choosing home birth, with the fear factor of not being allowed to have any care providers present. Yes, we’re shaking our heads just thinking about it, too.). Even with the label of “high risk” after blood clotting and a stillbirth, Ginny and James proceeded to plan for their home birth. They were under the care of an OB for prenatal visits and educated themselves. For Ginny, she just knew the hospital wasn’t the right choice for her. And so, the two of them welcomed their baby daughter Deborah into the world from the comfort of their home, just the two of them. Listen to the episode to hear more! Notes: Ginny's birth story blog post "Dear Deborah: On The Day Your Were Born" Our new "Doing It At Home" book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098GVJ9KL?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860 Our website: https://www.diahpodcast.com/ Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3jKtIYv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doingitathome/ DIAH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGoKeBfEZ143sWU7V9I5Gdg DIAH Store: https://yoursuccessfulhomebirth.com/ DIAH Merch: https://bit.ly/3qhwgAe  Donate to DIAH: https://bit.ly/3qgm4r9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices