Mamas Who Inspire: Bryn Huntpalmer of The Birth Hour Podcast
Please tell us a little about yourself and what you do for work.
I'm mama to two young children living in Austin, Texas where I host a birth stories podcast called The Birth Hour. My mission with The Birth Hour is to encourage women to be informed about pregnancy and childbirth and know their options while creating a community for moms to support one another through pregnancy and motherhood. The podcast has grown rapidly since its launch in 2015 with over 4 million downloads and a supportive Instagram community. This year The Birth Hour launched it's first online course that prepares couples for everything from childbirth through newborn care and even going back to work after baby!
How did you get the idea to start The Birth Hour?
When I was pregnant with my eldest, my love of (OK obsession with) birth stories began. I would google birth stories and watch youtube videos of birth until 3AM many nights, which is not exactly the healthiest practice when you are growing a human in your body. When I discovered podcasts I realized that, for busy mamas, being able to listen to birth stories in the car or on a run or walking around burping a baby, would would make birth stories so much more accessible. I spent more than a year thinking about the idea and planning for it but once I finally took the plunge and recorded my first episode, I was hooked!
What has been one of the most rewarding things about creating and running The Birth Hour?
Hearing from moms who share that they were empowered in their births through hearing other women's stories. I get these messages quite frequently now and it still makes my day every single time!
Can you talk a little more about your upcoming Childbirth Course? How can people enroll in the class?
The Know Your Options Childbirth Course was created because there wasn't a comprehensive online childbirth course that was all inclusive of the different choices around birth. This course is unique because it educates parents-to-be on their options so they can choose where and how to give birth based on all of the most up-to-date evidence based information available coupled with real life experience to help make decisions based on what is right for YOU.
We like to start expecting parents off with our free video series to get familiar with our teaching style and evidence-based, non judgemental approach and then they will have the opportunity to enroll in the course.
Do you have any other fun projects in the pipeline?
We are super excited about our Back-2-Work Breastfeeding Course as well! This is an additional six modules of information all about how to navigate that transition back to work while maintaining your breastfeeding relationship. We cover everything from pumping strategies to reduce the time you're hooked up to the pump to milk supply issues to navigating conversations with your employer and caregiver. This course is free with the Know Your Options Childbirth Course but can also be purchased separately for those that need it.
What's your funniest parenting moment?
I'm spending more time thinking about this question than any of the others because kids are so darn funny it's hard to pick just one! The one that keeps coming to mind though is when my daughter was learning to say "fox" and it very clearly sounded like a familiar four letter F word that you don't want your 18 month old yelling out at the library. We have a very funny video of her saying it over and over and over again that I absolutely love watching!
What's your favorite Ergobaby product?
There have been so many new products released since I had my babies that I love to recommend to my audience but for me personally, I love the Original Ergobaby carrier. We have so many happy memories carrying our two children around in our Ergo. If I ever had another baby I would absolutely get the new Ergobaby 180 Reversible Stroller too, that basket underneath is what dreams are made of!
