Holy Confident Birth | Catholic Natural Birth + Holistic Motherhood, Birth and Postpartum For Christian Moms
Eve O'Brien
54 episodes
2 days ago
Is a pain-free birth really possible? In this week’s episode, we’re diving into the neuroscience of labor—what actually causes pain, and how your brain and hormones are designed by God to help block it. You’ll learn how to work with your body’s design instead of against it, why fear is the #1 cause of unnecessary pain in labor, and how to create the conditions that make birth calmer, more efficient, and even less painful. As a nurse, doula, and mom who’s experienced a pain-free birth, I’m sha...
All content for Holy Confident Birth | Catholic Natural Birth + Holistic Motherhood, Birth and Postpartum For Christian Moms is the property of Eve O'Brien and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Is a pain-free birth really possible? In this week’s episode, we’re diving into the neuroscience of labor—what actually causes pain, and how your brain and hormones are designed by God to help block it. You’ll learn how to work with your body’s design instead of against it, why fear is the #1 cause of unnecessary pain in labor, and how to create the conditions that make birth calmer, more efficient, and even less painful. As a nurse, doula, and mom who’s experienced a pain-free birth, I’m sha...
Is a pain-free birth really possible? In this week’s episode, we’re diving into the neuroscience of labor—what actually causes pain, and how your brain and hormones are designed by God to help block it. You’ll learn how to work with your body’s design instead of against it, why fear is the #1 cause of unnecessary pain in labor, and how to create the conditions that make birth calmer, more efficient, and even less painful. As a nurse, doula, and mom who’s experienced a pain-free birth, I’m sha...
In this week’s episode, I’m sharing the three biggest reasons I see birth plans fall apart (and how to fix them before you’re in labor). Drawing from my experience as both a nurse and a doula, we’ll talk about what it really means to have a rightly ordered relationship with your provider, how to restore trust in your body’s God-designed ability to give birth, and why “winging it” can leave you disappointed in your birth experience. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: Why your provider shouldn’t be...
For this week's podcast, I sit down with Flo, The Catholic Nutritionist — a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and FEMM Instructor — to explore how our relationship with food and our bodies is intertwined with our spiritual lives. Flo vulnerably shares her journey from disordered eating to food freedom and how God redeemed her understanding of nourishment, health, and holiness. Together, we discuss the beauty of the female body, especially in pregnancy and motherhood, and how learning to care f...
Choosing where to give birth can feel overwhelming — hospital, birth center, or home? In this episode, I walk you through the pros and cons of each birth setting so you can make an informed, confident choice that aligns with your values, comfort level, and vision for your birth. From the high-tech convenience of hospital care, to the homey middle ground of birth centers, to the peace and autonomy of home birth, we’ll cover what to expect, what to consider, and how to choose the option that’s ...
In this heartfelt and fun conversation, I sit down with Laila, host of the Learning to Mom Podcast, to talk about her unexpected journey into motherhood — from an unplanned pregnancy and prenatal depression to finding true joy and freedom as a mom. Laila opens up about how cultural lies once convinced her that motherhood would ruin her life and how God completely transformed her story. We talk about: The cultural lies that distort our view of motherhoodPrenatal depression and why it’s more co...
This week, I answered some listener submitted questions on topics ranging from postpartum prayer to creating a birth plan. Whether you’re a brand-new mom, expecting your first baby, or planning your next birth, I hope you'll walk away with peace and confidence in your current season. Questions answered: Postpartum prayer life: What does prayer look like in the early months of motherhood? How can you stay spiritually grounded when your time and energy feel stretched thin? Pregnan...
This week, I'm chatting with Ashley, the voice and heart behind @anourishedmother on Instagram, to dive deep into what it means to nourish yourself as a mother: body, mind, and spirit. Ashley shares her journey from veganism to nutrient-dense living, the lessons she learned through her home birth experiences, and how her postpartum seasons shaped her philosophy on nourishment and radical self-responsibility. Together, we explore what true support looks like for women after birth, how food and...
This week on the podcast, you’re getting something extra special—a module from The Holy Confident Birth Course! If you’ve been wondering what the course is all about, this episode is your chance to experience it firsthand. Inside the course, I walk Catholic women through a Christ-centered approach to preparing for fertility, pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. And today, you’ll hear one of the actual teachings straight from the program where I break down the anatomy of the pelvis, optimal...
When labor slows down, it can feel discouraging, frustrating, and even lead to unnecessary interventions. This week, I’m breaking down the two biggest culprits that stall labor—and how you can prepare for and prevent them. Drawing from my experience as both a nurse and a doula, I’ll share: The two scenarios I see most often when labor stallsWhy fear (sometimes hidden or subtle) can disrupt your body’s natural labor flowHow baby’s position plays a huge role in keeping labor movingPractical str...
Today I'm sharing my personal reflections on unassisted birth (or “freebirth"). This is a topic many in the natural birth community are curious about, and one that I’ve been asked to expand on. We’ll talk about: What unassisted birth really means (and what it doesn’t).Why some women are drawn to it and the risks to consider.The balance between trusting God’s design and acknowledging we live in a fallen world.The role of trained professionals, safety, and the value of postpartum su...
Today I’m sharing the intimate and faith-filled story of my first birth and the arrival of my daughter, Avila Grace. This is what ignited my deep passion for birth work and continues to shape the way I serve other women today. I open up about: Healing after miscarriage and finding hope in God’s promisesProphetic moments that confirmed new life was on the wayChoosing a birth center and preparing spiritually and physically for laborPraying boldly for a pain-free birth and experiencing God’s fai...
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Jill Stecklein, a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor and women’s health. We go deep into a topic that so many of us have heard as a “buzzword” during pregnancy but never fully understood: the pelvic floor. Dr. Jill shares her professional expertise alongside her personal journey of birth, postpartum recovery, and motherhood. She explains what the pelvic floor actually is, why it matters for pregnancy, birth, and beyond, and how caring for it can...
In this special episode, I sit down with my husband, Nick, to talk all about what it really looks like for husbands to support their wives through natural childbirth. From his initial reactions when I first shared my desire for unmedicated birth, to the lessons he learned through our two very different birth experiences, this conversation is packed with honesty, humor, and encouragement. We cover what every husband should know about birth, how to prepare together as a couple, what support dur...
Choosing your birth provider isn’t just about finding someone kind or faith-aligned. It’s about finding someone who will truly support your birth goals when it matters most. In this episode, I share the red flags that might indicate your provider isn’t on the same page about your vision for a natural or low-intervention birth, and the green flags that signal you’re in good hands. We’ll talk about subtle (and not-so-subtle) language cues to watch for and how to discern if kindness is masking a...
If you’re a mom who’s hoping to breastfeed, or maybe you’ve tried before and felt discouraged, you are not alone. In this episode, I’m joined by Jaimie Zaki, a mom of five, former nurse and doula, and an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant), who shares the 5 most common breastfeeding mistakes new moms make and how to move forward with clarity and confidence. Jaimie shares the wisdom of her personal story and the redemptive journey God led her through to become the kind o...
In this week's episode, I’m joined by Emily Whalen - a wife, mom, content creator, and passionate voice for intentional and Christ-centered motherhood. Emily shares her journey from working in ministry to becoming a stay-at-home mom, and how her unmedicated birth experience led her to rethink the way she approaches the challenges of motherhood. We dive deep into cultural narratives that portray motherhood as a burden, the power of mindset, and why slow, present living is a radical act of fait...
In this episode, Emma Radatovich shares her 3.5-year journey through infertility, from the heartbreak of unanswered prayers to the joy of her current pregnancy. We talk about how charting with Creighton revealed deeper hormone issues, how NaPro and functional medicine worked together to uncover root causes like endometriosis and gut infections, and how God used this season to grow her faith and shape her calling. Emma also opens up about what not to say to someone struggling to conceive, the ...
If you’ve ever found yourself lying in bed at night, heart racing with questions like “Can I really do this?” or “What if something goes wrong?”—this one’s for you. In this deeply personal episode, I’m sharing the story behind why I left the hospital system and stepped into this work: not just to support natural birth, but to stand in the gap for Catholic women who feel spiritually stuck when preparing for birth. I share how my own pain-free birth experience—and the fear I had to overcome—sha...
Most women walk into the hospital thinking birth is just something that happens to them — but the truth is, there are decisions being made at every step. And many of them are presented as routine, when they’re actually optional. In this episode, I’m walking you through the five most common interventions used in hospital births — continuous monitoring, cervical checks, inductions, epidurals, and artificial rupture of membranes — and helping you understand what they are, why they’re so often us...
What if healing your body didn’t have to feel so complicated? In today’s episode, I’m joined by Colleen Ritz—a Catholic wife, mom of six, clinical herbalist, and women’s health coach—to talk all about how simple, natural shifts can support your fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. We’re breaking down what herbal support actually looks like for real moms, how to use herbs safely in the childbearing year, and why you don’t need to go full “crunchy” to begin living differently. Whether ...
Holy Confident Birth | Catholic Natural Birth + Holistic Motherhood, Birth and Postpartum For Christian Moms
Is a pain-free birth really possible? In this week’s episode, we’re diving into the neuroscience of labor—what actually causes pain, and how your brain and hormones are designed by God to help block it. You’ll learn how to work with your body’s design instead of against it, why fear is the #1 cause of unnecessary pain in labor, and how to create the conditions that make birth calmer, more efficient, and even less painful. As a nurse, doula, and mom who’s experienced a pain-free birth, I’m sha...
