Ep 212: From Mothering Struggle to Success with Blythe Hoerr

Happy Homebirth

What was it like-- finding out that you and your spouse were pregnant with your first child? Were you thrilled, shocked... utterly horrified? This week, we're speaking to Blythe, and incredible mother to two precious boys. We're going to hear how Blythe's entrance into motherhood- beginning at the knowledge of her pregnancy was tumultuous and difficult, and yet she experienced so much healing.... and then was able to go on to have an absolutely joyous second pregnancy. I do want to share that Blythe is so wonderfully open about her experiences with us, and I feel that this can be so encouraging, especially to those of you who have found yourself in a similar frame of mind as Blythe in your pregnancy. Maybe you even feel that way now. At the same time, I do always like to give a good heads up when content may be difficult, and this is the case with the first part of today's story. Blythe will share of her perinatal depression along with her postpartum mood disorders, including the hallucinations she experienced. But, as I said, this is a story of hope and redemption, and there is so much beauty to follow. As always, please decide for yourself what you feel comfortable taking in in terms of stories, but I'm thrilled to be able to share hope with so many mothers who can relate. Episode Roundup:

1. How amazing was it to hear the way that Blythe's mother's choices regarding birth set her and her brothers up for success? They grew up not feeling fearful about birth, but believing it to be a normal, beautiful event. This is what you're doing for your children right now as you make this decision to. embrace pregnancy and labor as it was physiologically designed to be. How incredible.
2. Blythe struggled. Truly, truly struggled. From conception through the first three years, she had a long, dark road to walk. It included symptoms of psychosis, anxiety and depression, and it was just heavy. If you've been there or if you're there now, I want you to know that you're no less worthy of a human because you're struggling. There can be such grief and shame added from ourselves, which simply compounds the pain. Instead, I would love to share about one of many avenues we can consider to heal. I believe that so much healing can take place when we focus on the nervous system. This can look like many different things, but tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique is one of my favorite ways, and it's got the research to back that it truly works. There are so many incredible practitioners out there, but I have a package that has be created specifically for my listeners and students by two amazing women, Greta Zukoff and Naomi Reyes. Greta has worked with me over the last year healing my relationship with myself, with my childhood, with the deepest parts of my core.... and Naomi specializes in working with pregnant and postpartum mothers. She deals with these exact issues. If you are struggling and you know that you're tired of struggling, just how Blythe began to feel, let's begin to heal. The link to contact them and sign up is available in my bio. I would love for you to take advantage of it.
3. Finally, I want to end with the incredible joy that came with healing for Blythe and her family. Not only was she able to reconnect with Gibson in such a powerful way, but she was also able to experience a pregnancy and birth that were truly marked by joy. And Gibson was able to see and feel that, too. What a gift and what a beautiful reconciliation. If you've experienced a pregnancy or postpartum that reminds you of Blythe... I want you to focus in on that. It does NOT mean that you won't experience joy in the future. Blythe surely did, and how beautifully healing is that.

Resources:

FREE Homebirth Essentials Guide

The Homebirth Collective