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Welcome to the Pain Free Birth podcast. I'm your host, Karen Welton. And yes, that's my real name. You can thank my mom for that. Like many of you, I grew up scared of the pain of childbirth. In my sixth grade health class, our teacher showed us a video of a woman giving birth, screaming in pain and agony. It was my school's version of birth control to scare the kids out of having sex. And it traumatized me for life. The Hollywood movies and TV shows
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didn't help change this perspective. And growing up, my mom told me of her birth story with me, where she experienced excruciating back labor. And so it's quite a miracle that I sit here today as a woman who has had three pain-free births at home without drugs. And I get to teach women every day how to give birth without fear or pain as a doula, an educator, and coach. Now hang on, I know what you're thinking.
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There's no such thing as a pain-free birth. Childbirth is supposed to be painful. You might've even seen this title and clicked on out of morbid curiosity, even though you are offended about the very notion of pain-free birth. If that's you, you are in the exact right place. Lean in. The title is intentional. I am here to radically disrupt the narrative and shift the global culture of birth from fear to faith.
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How do I have the audacity and authority to claim that birth can be pain-free? Well, I'll tell you. When I first got pregnant, like most women and many of you listening today, I was fearful. I questioned, can I really handle the pain? Is my body really broken or at worst cursed to have pain in childbirth? What if those horror stories are true and they happened to me? But something in my spirit knew that there had to be more.
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You see, I believe God is a good father who created my body and he didn't make a mistake. And I'm a bit of a rebel. I like to challenge the status quo. If there's a shortcut or a hack to the system, I'm gonna figure it out. So I decided while I was pregnant that I would discover if pain-free birth was possible for me. And the more I studied, the more excited I got about birth. I learned about the power of our mind to release hormones that block pain.
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But when labor began, I found myself struggling with painful contractions. I prayed and God gave me supernatural revelation that unlocked my body and removed all the pain of the contractions. In fact, I remember laughing at eight centimeters in the middle of transition. That birth was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but I can say it wasn't painful. In episode two, you'll get to hear all about the supernatural things that happened in that birth story.
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This birth lit a fire in my soul, and I realized women are being lied to. You don't have to be afraid of birth. Your body was created for this, and it can be so much better than you've been told. I became a doula and started sharing birth with my friends and at women's conferences and anyone who would listen about pain-free birth. And something incredible happened. My friends and clients started having pain-free births too. I realized it wasn't just for me.
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This was something that was available to every woman. I became obsessed with studying the physiology of birth and what really caused pain and labor. I knew this message had to reach more people, so I created the Pain Free Birth e-course to reach women all over the world and give them the tools to have a pain-free birth. When COVID hit in 2020 and the whole world shut down, I launched my course and started my Instagram account Pain Free Birth, which now after three years has grown
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to nearly 300,000 followers and reaches two to three million people every month organically. I never anticipated it would get this big. It's become a movement and a community of badass empowered women stepping into their God-given power. This podcast is all about changing the fear-based, disempowering narrative of birth that tells women birth is dangerous, the worst pain you'll experience in your life, and they should just get the drugs.
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This show is about discovering the truth of how our female body is brilliantly created for birth. If you're tired of the fear-based birth and longing to behold birth in a whole new way, this podcast is for you. If you grew up afraid of birth, maybe you didn't even want kids, I invite you to pull a seat up to the table. The show is for pregnant women, aspiring mothers, and couples who want to learn more about physiological birth.
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It's for birth workers, doulas, and birth junkies of all kinds. Home birthers, hospital birthers, and free birthers are all welcome here. And this show is even for the skeptics. I was once a skeptic too. I will be interviewing women from all over the world to share their positive, pain-free, and supernatural birth stories. Breach birth, twins, VBACs, home birth, hospital, car birth, you name it. You'll hear challenging and inspirational birth stories. We'll discuss motherhood.
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postpartum and the transition from maiden to mother. And I'll interview guest experts in the birth community like doctors, midwives, nurses, researchers and scientists. These episodes will inspire you, educate you and revolutionize how you view birth. It's time to shift out of the fear of birth and adopt the awe and wonder of what the female body is truly capable of. Thanks for tuning in and don't forget to subscribe for updates.
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Thank you for listening to this episode of the Pain Free Birth podcast. If you were encouraged, it would mean so much if you left us a five-star review and shared this with your community. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram at PainFreeBirth. To learn more about the Pain Free Birth e-course, free resources, private coaching, and upcoming events, find out more at painfreebirth.com. See you next week.
