My Birth Story

Pursuit of Wellness

Mari Llewellyn & Pursuit Network

Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Fitness

4.7 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

I honestly cannot believe I’m sitting here recording this episode as a mom. In this episode, I’m sharing the full story of Cai’s birth from start to finish. The anxiety leading up to labor, the moment the hospital told me not to come because they were at capacity, the induction process, contractions, getting the epidural, and the unexpected turn that led to an emergency C-section. This experience changed my perspective on birth, control, and motherhood in ways I never could have predicted. After going through IVF and everything it took to get pregnant, I thought I had an idea of how birth would go. But labor has a way of reminding you that some things are simply out of your control. I talk about the mental side of preparing for labor, the pain and intensity of contractions, the moment I realized something wasn’t right, and the emotional second I heard Cai cry for the first time. Even though things didn’t go according to my original plan, the moment I saw him made every single part of the experience worth it. If you’re pregnant, thinking about becoming a mom, or just curious about what birth is actually like, this episode is the full, honest story. _____ Leave Me a Message -⁠ click here!⁠ For Mari’s Instagram⁠ click here!⁠ For Pursuit of Wellness Podcast’s Instagram⁠ click here!⁠ For Mari’s Newsletter⁠ click here!⁠ For Mari’s TikTok⁠ click here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I need to issue an apology.
0:02.0	I just feel overstimulated a lot.
0:04.0	So be patient with me if I'm all over the place.
0:07.0	Let's talk birth.
0:09.0	Okay?
0:10.0	I want to give you guys the full rundown.
0:12.0	And I remember the anticipation of him coming was just giving me so much anxiety.
0:17.0	I don't think I could have predicted how crazy I felt at the end. And I click on
0:21.9	the voicemail and it says, please do not come to the hospital. We are at capacity. I look at my
0:28.5	dula and I'm like, what's going on? What's happening? And she's like keeping me calm. But I can tell
0:33.1	that something's like not, not right. This is the Pursuit of Wellness Podcast, and I'm your host, Marie Lawellan.
0:44.9	Hi, guys, welcome back to the Pursuit of Wellness podcast.
0:49.7	It has been so long.
0:51.8	I think I checked back yesterday, and I haven't recorded since February and I was
0:57.5	super pregnant and that was like a one-off episode. I don't remember the last time I did an interview.
1:02.4	I think it was before I was pregnant. You guys will probably remember better than me. But we are
1:06.7	back. I'm so excited. I'm currently pretty much exactly three months postpartum. I feel like a
1:15.0	different person. I was just chatting with the team outside and it's crazy how much your brain
1:20.8	and perspective on life changes. So it's actually pretty crazy to sit back down and do this show
1:27.4	because I've been doing the show for like, I don't know, three years at this point.
1:30.8	And I've been through so much on the microphone with you guys, fertility, acne, diet, wellness, women's health, all the things.
1:39.8	And now I'm sitting here as a mum.
	...

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