Ep 45 - The Man's Role in Pregnancy and Childbirth with Travis Stroud ✨
The Birth Prep Podcast with Taylor MinaberryShow Notes
If you’ve ever wished your husband or birth partner would actually GET IT when it comes to birth prep, momma, this episode is for you. I’m chatting with Travis Stroud, aka Doula Dude, about why men need to stop treating birth as “her thing” and start learning how to actually show up for the woman and baby they’re responsible for protecting. We go DEEP into birth education, unlearning what we’ve been taught, protecting momma’s peace, taking ownership of your birth choices, and why preparing for birth is really preparing for parenthood.
Inside this episode:
✨ Why Travis went from knowing basically nothing about birth to becoming completely obsessed with learning about it alongside his wife
✨ Why “just be supportive” isn’t enough for dads, and what it actually looks like for a man to take responsibility and protect his wife’s peace during pregnancy and birth
✨ The importance of learning what physiological birth actually looks like BEFORE you start making decisions about interventions, providers, birthplaces, and everything else
✨ Why birth stories, birth education, and a little bit of unlearning can completely change the way you see what’s possible
✨ Why your birth prep isn’t just about getting the birth you want, but about laying the foundation for your marriage, your family, and the way you step into parenthood together
Connect with Travis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doula.dude/ Connect with Samantha (Travis' wife): https://www.instagram.com/risingsoulsamantha
Travis' Recommended Resources: linktr.ee/Doula.dude
Husband-Coached Childbirth by Dr. Robert Bradley - Travis’s top recommendation for dads who want to start learning about birth from a male perspective. He specifically recommends starting here because it teaches husbands how to coach and support their wives through childbirth.
Uncovering Birth Doula Training by Eyla Cuenca - The doula training Travis’s wife completed and the resource he credits with giving them the majority of the birth education that shaped their decisions. Ayla also offers postpartum doula training.
And of course, if you're here because you want to prepare for an unmedicated hospital birth, don't forget that you don't have to choose free birth or home birth to take ownership of your experience! You just need to be willing to learn, prepare, and become the HGIC 💖
More from The Birth Prep Podcast with Taylor Minaberry
Girl, your Instagram saved folder is NOT a birth prep plan 👀 There's a big difference between knowing a whole lot about birth and actually being prepared to give birth. In this episode, we're talking about why it's so easy to get stuck in the information rabbit hole, what intentional birth preparation actually looks like, and how to do your part while trusting God with the rest.
Hey! Today, we’ve got a special guest joining us - Allison from raising.lions.not.sheep_ on Instagram. She’s a mom of three and a huge advocate for medical freedom, passionate about sharing the truth about the procedures and interventions that affect our babies.
We've all heard it: "Well... as long as the baby is healthy." It sounds comforting, grateful - even reassuring. But what if that phrase is actually shutting down one of the most important conversations we need to be having about birth? 👀
Choosing an unmedicated birth doesn't mean choosing to feel everything with no plan. It means building a different kind of plan - one that is more effective, more accessible, and more overlooked than anything a hospital can offer you. In this episode, I break down exactly why preparation is your most powerful pain management tool and what that preparation actually looks like in practice.
One of the most common - and most consequential - mistakes women make when planning an unmedicated hospital birth has nothing to do with their provider, their birth plan, or their mindset. It's going to the hospital too early.