Partner Prep

4 years ago, I no idea what birth would be like.

My vision of birth looked a lot like you see in the movies where the mom is laying bedside screaming in pain for the baby to come out of her with no idea what to do or what to expect.

In all honesty, my first birth looked pretty similar.

At the time, I was struggling with overwhelm as my due date was quickly approaching. My to-do list was a mile long. I had spent months working on the fun parts of pregnancy—picking a name, the perfect baby announcement, prepping an adorable nursery.

But the Superbowl of pregnancy—the actual birth—was coming quickly and I worried if I was ready. Were my body and mind prepared for birth? How would I manage the pain? What could I do to try to prevent an unnecessary c-section? To avoid tearing? What did I need to do to help my body heal postpartum?

I worried things wouldn’t go as planned. I hoped my care provider and the hospital staff would somehow teach me what I needed to know for a great birth experience. Spoiler alert: they didn’t.

But then things changed.

This not-so-great birth experience sparked my passion.

Shortly after, I started binge watching birth videos and reading book after book about childbirth looking for similarities in how these moms were having such empowering births. How they were able to manage the discomforts of labor. How they were able to heal so quickly afterwards.

Then one day, I decided to stop daydreaming about all of these empowering births. I spent the next year going through trainings and certifications, observing births and student teaching to become a certified childbirth educator.

I started developing my own, powerful process for preparing for birth—for kicking ass through labor & postpartum.

Just last year, I was able to put my process to the test with the birth of my little girl, Isla. I left the hospital 24 hours after her arrival feeling empowered as hell. No screaming. No tearing. The sweetest little newborn in my arms and a postpartum period that was enjoyable rather than overwhelming.

But I didn’t want to keep this knowledge inside. I wanted other new moms and dads to have this same euphoric feeling. To know that they, too, could have an empowering birth experience and smoothly transition into parenthood.

So, I created Birth Prep and Partner Prep. Birth Prep to help mommas and Partner Prep to help new dads.

Partner Prep is a collaborative effort between my husband Joe and I with a goal of teaching you ways you can support mom during labor + postpartum. We want you to know what you can expect a birth experience to be like and how you can this experience can truly bring you and mom closer together. Throughout this whole course, I just want you to remember one important thing and that is that your presence alone makes a difference.