This week, Merelise is joined by model and mom, Baskin Champion McFarland, who shares the miraculous story of her son’s birth via emergency C-section.

Baskin talks about the life-changing moment she decided to trust her intuition and go to the hospital when she felt like her baby had stopped moving in utero, the extremely fast decision to perform an emergency C-section (her husband almost didn’t make it!), and the miracle of her son’s birth.

They also discuss the dense cloud that is postpartum depression, intrusive thoughts, the healing power of Zoloft, the importance of a supportive community postpartum, choosing unique baby names, and so much more.

This is a beautiful, transparent conversation that you don't want to miss!

Resource Links:

• Follow Baskin on Instagram
• Moms On Call

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains general information and discussions around health and related subjects. This information and the other content provided in this podcast and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is this information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

Join Merelise and her guest, Meg, as they delve into Meg’s two vaginal birth experiences, with an extra special guest appearance from Aubrey, Meg’s 10 week old daughter!

Meg, who is a professional equestrian, did a lot of preparation for her first birth, from hiring a doula, to pelvic floor physical therapy, to yoga, in the hope of having an unmediated vaginal birth and being able to get back to riding as soon as possible postpartum. She details how she ended up getting an epidural during that birth and the struggle with connecting with her body, before ultimately giving birth to her son vaginally about 24 hours after arriving at the hospital.

Meg opens up about dealing with postpartum depression and wishing she’d addressed it sooner, and then getting pregnant with her daughter while she was still breastfeeding her son. The plot twist with her daughter’s pregnancy was that she was transverse or breech up until 38 weeks, so Meg explored different traditional and non-traditional ways to approach “breech release”. She talks about how her first birth experience left her a bit disappointed and disconnected from preparing for her second birth until the very end, when she received a few signs that it was time to tune back in with her body. Not long after, her daughter was born vaginally in a quick birth that didn’t leave time for an epidural, which felt scary at first, but ultimately became a beautiful, connected experience for Meg.

Both of Meg’s births are beautiful examples of creating a more “natural” environment in a hospital with the help of a doula as your birth advocate. If you know you want a hospital birth but see the appeal of a peaceful home birth, this episode has lots of tips for how to create that experience in a hospital!

Resource Links:

• Doulas of ATL
• Revelle Physical Therapy
• Moonlight Midwifery

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains general information and discussions around health and related subjects. This information and the other content provided in this podcast and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is this information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

This week, Merelise is joined by her friend, Davis, who shares the stories of her two sons' births. Her first son was born via unplanned C-section after Davis stopped dilating and actually started un-dilating at 3 cm. She talks about how she knew very little about C-sections before she had one and the complex feelings she had after hers, including some guilt. When she got pregnant the second time, she decided to have a scheduled C-section and she talks about reclaiming the narrative around C-sections, embracing the positive aspects of a scheduled C-section, and helping other women navigate C-section prep and recovery (links are included below!).

We also discuss the medical protocols when you birth a big baby, how to get your baby to pass a glucose test, and how important it is to find those moments of solitude postpartum, even if it’s 5 minutes alone in your car with Sour Punch Straws.

Davis’s Post C-Section Recovery Essentials:

• Belly Bandit Original Postpartum Belly Wrap
• Frida Mom C-Section Scar Patches
• Friday Mom Postpartum Underwear

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains general information and discussions around health and related subjects. This information and the other content provided in this podcast and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is this information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

Join Merelise and her guest, Alison, who shares her two VERY different birth experiences. In this moving episode, Alison details what happens when the best laid plans go out the window and mother nature takes over. Her first birth was a straightforward, vaginal birth with an epidural at 40+3 weeks and her second was a surprise, precipitous home birth at 38 weeks, while Alison was home alone. She describes the moment when she knew it was too late to go to the hospital and then those precious moments right after her daughter was born, where it was just the two of them. Alison and Merelise discuss the importance of processing your birth experience and finding “beauty in the boring.” You don’t want to miss this one!

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains general information and discussions around health and related subjects. This information and the other content provided in this podcast and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is this information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

This week, postpartum doula, Penny Gilchrist, joins Merelise to not only tell her two birth stories, but to talk about the importance of the postpartum doula role, how birth and postpartum trends have changed in her 27 years as a doula, what she recommends all new moms do, and so much more. They reflect on their experiences with post-partum depression, why it’s hard for new moms to ask for help, and the importance of having a community in those early days after your baby is born.

Want to be a guest on Arrivals? Contact Merelise here!

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Resource Links:

1. Penny’s Instagram
2. CAPPA Doula Training
3. Circle Moms

Disclaimer: This podcast contains general information and discussions around health and related subjects. This information and the other content provided in this podcast and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is this information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

This week, Merelise is joined by Jessica, who shares her four birth experiences. Jessica’s first three birth experiences in a hospital left much to be desired, and so for her fourth, she decided to plan a home birth. Jessica talks about how she felt a lack of control for different reasons during each of her hospital births, whether it was an epidural that left her feeling unable to connect with her body, a COVID diagnosis that isolated her during labor, or a fast labor that resulted in no time for an epidural. She expresses how choosing a home birth for her last pregnancy felt like taking back that control and peace she so deeply craved from a birth experience. Ultimately, she got the redemptive and empowering birth experience she’d always wanted.

Jessica really pulls back the curtain on home birth in this episode, detailing the planning process, the financials, the actual birth experience, and so much more!

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Resource Links:

1. Shannon Tripp's Instagram

Disclaimer: This podcast contains general information and discussions around health and related subjects. This information and the other content provided in this podcast and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is this information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

In this episode, Merelise and her guest, Leah, dive deep into the world of preeclampsia and high risk pregnancy. Leah’s journey to motherhood was complex and scary at times, starting with an ectopic pregnancy in 2024, then a high-risk pregnancy later in the same year, during which she was ultimately diagnosed with preeclampsia and admitted to the hospital at 33 weeks. But Leah’s trials didn’t end with the birth of her son - she discusses navigating NICU life and then, unfortunately, being readmitted to the hospital a few weeks after her son’s birth with a uterine infection.

At only 13 weeks postpartum when we recorded this episode, everything was very fresh in Leah’s mind. She vividly describes her experience and reflects on what she learned during and after, particularly how her approach to seeking out information about pregnancy and her condition shifted from “ignorance is bliss” to something much more proactive by the time her son was born via C-section.

Content warning: this episode discusses miscarriage and stillbirth.

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Resource Links:

1. The Positive Birth Book by Milli Hill

Disclaimer: This podcast contains general information and discussions around health and related subjects. This information and the other content provided in this podcast and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is this information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.

Just like during birth, all modesty is out the window in this episode! Join Merelise and her sister-in-law, Abby, as they reminisce on the birth of Abby’s two children, who are now fourteen and twelve. Abby had a successful induction with her first and then went into labor naturally with her second, and both were born vaginally in a hospital but were very different experiences. They talk about watching her favorite comfort rom-coms during her induction, her first-born’s adorable cone-head thanks to a long labor, the magic of a good enema, being hangry during labor, feeling cooped up in post-partum, a surprise pregnancy and then miscarriage, and so much more.

Content warning: this episode discusses miscarriage.

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Disclaimer: This podcast contains general information and discussions around health and related subjects. This information and the other content provided in this podcast and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is this information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.