Part 2: Empowered and Embodied During Birth and Postpartum with Joy Moore
Feb 07, 2023
EPISODE 7 SHOW NOTES
Today is part 2 of my dear friend Joy’s birth story episode! In part 1, Joy shared the very real, raw, and vulnerable details of her first 2 births, as well as 2 miscarriages she experienced, and the beautiful way she honored those babies. Make sure to go back and listen to that episode if you haven’t yet, because it is powerful!
About Joy Moore:
Joy Moore is a reluctant, homeschool mom of four earthside little people and four spirit babies. She is the co-founder of Once Again Mom, where mommas are loved, seen, valued, understood, and cherished in all things postpartum. She is passionate about honoring our matrescence (those adolescent mother years and the experience of making a mom).
Joy believes in honoring each of our unique designs, shifting the “should be’s” to “am’s”, and expanding into what it feels like to be ourselves. It’s time to discover the art of experiencing pleasure in everyday moments, and recapture the art of joy.
In today’s episode, we’re talking about Joy’s 3rd and 4th birth stories, as well as 2 more miscarriages she endured in this time.
She actually had both of her babies at home, and brought in a midwife as well. One of her biggest pieces of advice to anyone who is a midwife is to please give encouragement and empowerment to the mamas who are in labor. She did not really receive any of this from her midwife, and that can be extremely discouraging when you're in labor. Joy's 3rd labor ended up being around 42 hours; her son finally flipped from posterior to anterior in her birth canal. Soon after that, she was able to feel his head, her water broke, she did a little push, and he came out.
After having her 3rd baby, Joy experienced 2 more miscarriages around the 5 week time-frame. She was feeling extremely discouraged and negative when it came to how she viewed her body. She struggled with self-hatred and worthiness, and didn't think she was capable of being able to have more children. Joy and her husband weren't sure if they would have any more children, but she shares that she felt like someone was missing from their family. She did get pregnant with their 4th baby, and when she was planning to give birth, she only wanted her husband and kids there. With her 4th birth, Joy actually sat on the toilet for a long time; she felt her water break, and soon after, her baby girl was born. Joy had a close friend who was visiting at the time, and she was able to video the entire birth; it was a beautiful experience, and she loved being at home, with her family right there.
Empowered and embodied during birth is very important, but the postpartum period is also a vital (and vulnerable) time that mothers need more support with.
After everything Joy has experienced on her journey to becoming a mother, she has now stepped into the space of helping mothers during the postpartum period. She talks more about the incredible work she is doing to really hold and support mothers during this important time (and oh, how it is needed!) One of her biggest goals and hopes for the work she is doing is to take some of the chaos out of the equation and really show moms to trust and empower themselves, and to be able to help each other in this delicate season.
I absolutely loved getting to listen to and learn from Joy as she shares all of her birth stories, and her evolution as a mother and embodied individual. You can really hear how she moved through the development of trusting her own body, and becoming more connected to her maternal strength and intuition throughout the entire process. I’m excited you are here, because I KNOW you will resonate with and feel empowered after listening to Joy too!
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
- Connect with Joy on Instagram: @joymoore and @onceagainmom
- Learn more about Once Again Mom: https://www.onceagainmom.com/
- If you’re interested in sharing your own, powerful birth story with myself (and the world), I would LOVE to have you on this podcast! Please fill out this form if you’re interested in doing so: https://forms.gle/Ga4ekxpNWMf43ysy9
- Connect with me on Instagram @the.holistic.birth.coach
- More information about the Virtual Natural Childbirth Education Course and ways to work with me: https://instinctivebirthandbeyond.mykajabi.com/offers/2sHMmves
- Join Instinctive Birth and Beyond: The Collective Facebook Community and Support Page: Instinctive Birth and Beyond: The Collective | Facebook
