FoC 083: The Confidence to Embrace Birth with Mary Haseltine

 

We’ve been following Mary Haseltine’s blog for years and years and we are thrilled that she agreed to join us on this episode to talk about the sacred nature of birth and how it relates to our faith. With let’s just say lots of kids between us, I’m surprised that we’ve never podcasted about birth before, but now seemed like the right time!

Mary is a doula, mother to five boys, and blogger. She’s about to release her first book with Our Sunday Visitor titled Made for This: The Catholic Mom’s Guide to Birth. She has also studied the Theology of the Body extensively and we love how she combines Catholic teaching on the body with her experience as a mom and doula to help women feel more confident about birth and view it through a sacred lens.

In this episode we talk about bringing prayer into the birthing room, how mothers can prepare for birth, choose healthcare providers, and create a birth plan. We also discuss how mothers who have had traumatic or negative birth experiences can find healing and process their trauma so they can feel confident about future births and their role as mothers. Mary’s book is a fantastic resource and offers tons of reflection, information, and a wide variety of different birth stories. We totally agree with her that there is not “right way” to give birth and love the wisdom she shares in this episode about how women can prepare for a birth that will be right for them.

So grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy the conversation!

Mary’s book:

Made for This: The Catholic Mom’s Guide to Birth

To connect with Mary:

Our Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Annunciation Designs.  Catholic families seek beauty and truth in their busy lives.  With hand-lettered designs, Annunciation Designs offers products that call to mind the sacred in the midst of the ordinary.  Find more at annunciationdesigns.com, including hand-printed Catholic baby swaddles, labor encouragement cards, tea towels with Saint quotes that are super appropriate for the kitchen, and cards for the sacraments and other life events. You can also follow @annunciationdesigns on Instagram.

Come hang out with us!

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

FoC 082: What to Read and Watch Now: Our Best Recommendations

 

Today we’re talking about some of our recent good reads and fantastic shows. Books and tv: two of our favorite things! For this episode we each picked three books and three shows that we loved and want to share with you. We cover everything from domestic spy thrillers to books by popes. So grab a cup of coffee and discover some great new reading material and binge watches!

Our Book Picks:

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

Reading People by Anne Bogel

Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

The Glass Town Game by Catherynne Valente

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Other Books We Talked About:

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection by Pope Benedict XVI

Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Our TV Show Picks:

Dickensian, Available on Amazon’s Brit Box Channel

Somebody Feed Phil, Available exclusively on Netflix

Broadchurch, Available on Netflix

This Is Us

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Available on Amazon Prime

The Good Place, First Season Available on Netflix

Other Shows We Talked About:

Anthony Bordain, Parts Unknown

This episode is sponsored by 40 Days to a Feminist Faith e-retreat by our friend Claire Swinarski of The Catholic Feminist Podcast

This opportunity is fantastic because you can grow deeper in your faith from your couch with a retreat that hundreds of women have gone through and said it was “life-changing”, “amazing”, and “just what I needed.”  No travel time, no arranging childcare; it can be done from the comfort of your home.
40 Days to a Feminist Faith consists of a daily email–on alternating days, it will have a digital lesson on a feminist topic like contraception or rape culture, and on the in-between days, it will have a prayer reflection. You’ll learn answers to questions like “Why is being pro-life a feminist position?” “How can I be a feminist, whether I’m a working woman, a college student, or a stay at home mom?” “Can nuns be feminists?” “How should Catholic women be responding to the #MeToo movement?” You also get access to the Catholic Feminist slack channel and commit to praying 20 minutes daily.
It’s only $40–just a dollar a day . In today’s crazy culture, the world needs more Catholic women that understand their womanhood and feel a passion for fighting for others.
It will run from March 20-April 28, ending on St. Gianna’s feast day. So sign up at www.thecatholicfeministpodcast.com/feministfaith by MARCH 14.

Come hang out with us!

You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.