Rock Your Birth

Rockstar Birth Radio – Positive Caesarean Birth

Why this podcast?
Maybe it’s because I’m a doula and super interested in all things birth but I get a lot of photos and links pop up on my social media from Rockstar Birth Magazine.

I love their photos of birthing mothers, they are so richly powerful, beautiful and often intense.

I had no idea, however, that there was also a Rockstar Birth Radio, in other words, a podcast!

Excited much?

The host, Shalome Stone, who also started the Rock Your Birth Academy, asks if you want to remain in fear of birth –

“Or, take a deep breath, step up, and become an active participant in your birth?” 

I think it is so important to participate in your birth and it can really make a difference to how you view your experience afterward too.

However you choose to birth your baby, choose to –

“Rock Your Birth”

How does it look?
The podcast launched in June 2016 and between then and March 2017, thirty-six episodes were released.

Each episode tends to be around thirty to thirty-five minutes and areas that have been covered include Hypnobirthing for Caesarean Birth, Empowered Breech Birth, Clearing the Stress of IVF, Surrogacy, Orgasmic Birth, various birthing methods such as Gentle Birth, Calm Birth and Lamaze and, of course, lots of rockstar birth mama stories.

Why this episode?
This episode focuses on having a positive Caesarean birth but also talks about how important it is to feel positive about whatever kind of birth you have. It’s a good example of what the podcast is about and a great way to see if Rockstar Birth Radio is for you.

Who should listen to this episode?
All expectant mothers and partners too as the podcast really recognises how important they are in the birth experience.

The episode
This episode is Shalome talking directly to the audience.
She is direct, open and very honest.

I’m going to share a few moments that stood out for me and I invite you to explore the episode and share what stood out for you.

Lost, overwhelmed and desperately underprepared
Some time ago, a friend of Shalome asked her to be her birth partner. Shalome was honoured and they were both super excited as they set off to the hospital, intent on a natural birth.

Sadly, it didn’t turn out that way and Shalome very eloquently shares how, as her friend was wheeled in for her Caesarean, they both felt –

“Lost, overwhelmed and desperately underprepared.”

That feeling of being uninformed and of feeling useless stayed with Shalome and when she was expecting her own child she worried that a Caesarean might be on the cards for her too.

With the rate of Caesarean births being pretty high in many countries it’s important to be informed about them.

Find out what you can do to try and avoid one, what’s involved should you need one and how you can feel empowered about your baby’s birth.

That way you won’t end up feeling “lost and overwhelmed.”

After all, who wants to start their motherhood journey feeling like that?

You deserve to feel like a freakin’ rockstar
Shalome invites you to repeat the following four words –

*Caesarean Birth Is Birth*

It doesn’t matter, Shalome says, if your baby is born –

“Under your pelvic bone or over it.”

So, how about a natural Caesarean?

Is that a thing?

Yep, it’s absolutely a thing and here’s how it can look –

“An intimate, mother-focused experience that may involve” –

Watching your baby being born
This either involves a clear drape or the lowering of the drape just before your baby emerges.

Lifting your baby from your womb
This is known as a maternal assisted caesarean and I have to say I’m not sure how common it is but, if it is something you would like to include in a possible Caesarean, make sure you talk to your care provider well in advance.

Immediate skin to skin
I talk in more detail about family-centered caesareans in this post and about how things like the placement of the I.V. and heart sensors can be altered to ensure skin to skin is possible.

Seeding your baby
With the important bacteria they would have otherwise got from the birth canal.

Delayed cord clamping
To allow as much of your baby’s blood as possible to travel from the placenta into their body.

Holding and bonding with your baby
For the remainder of your time in surgery and when you move to the recovery room.

To wrap up
I hope that this post has given you an idea of what Rockstar Radio is all about. I’ll leave you with these words from Shalome which I think pretty much sums it up –

“All mamas deserve to feel proud and empowered about their birth experience regardless of how their baby exits the womb”

I’d love to hear from you about your Caesarean experiences. Did you have a natural (also known as gentle or family-centered) Caesarean? How did you feel about your experience?

Other episodes on this topic
Just Enjoy Health Podcast – My Breech Gentle C-Section

Dr. Stu’s Podcast – Gentle Caesarean

A really informative video showing a gentle cesarean