#159 | Yvonne Strahovski's Birth Story: The Most Important Lesson in Childbirth

Yvonne Strahovski is the Emmy-nominated, SAG Award-nominated and Golden-Globe-nominated actress whose voice you may recognize as the stoic Serena Joy Waterford from The Handmaid's Tale. She is the mother of a toddler and newborn, with starkly different birth stories to share. During Yvonne's first pregnancy, she felt an intuitive pull toward birthing at home, but suppressed her inner voice in favor of the rational, which warned Yvonne that she lived too far from the hospital in the event of a possible transfer.  Choosing not to explore it further, Yvonne had her first baby in the hospital. Despite having an obstetrician she deeply trusted, she felt her birthing body start to shut down as soon as she arrived to the unfamiliar setting and found herself surrounded by numerous "strangers" - e.g. hospital staff. Yvonne began her second pregnancy sensing some PTSD from her first birth, and this time allowed her inner voice to grow louder. Yvonne shares her story of consuming  a series of inspiring home-birth stories on Down to Birth Show and other platforms, until finally she said, "If all these women can do it, why can't I?" Yvonne's second son was born at home in December 2021, with her husband, midwives and doula present, along with some of her closest friends and even her obstetrician, who served as a back-up attendant.

Yvonne shares how her fear was never completely eradicated before going into her second labor, and said her supportive team and HypnoBirthing - which she had once assumed was best-suited for those with an inclination toward yoga and meditation - were what kept her erring on the side of grounded and calm through pregnancy and birth rather than fearful.

Yvonne commented on the irony of playing Serena Waterford in the world of Gilead during these formative years as a new mother, and is certain she'll have more to say when she can speak freely after the next season drops. Even though Yvonne is typically very private, she felt compelled to join us as a way to pay forward an inspiring story that might reach those with their own inner voices about pursuing home birth.

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