Ep 194: Empowering Birth Choices in Georgia - interview with Lainey Stancil founder of Peach State Birth Coalition

In this episode, Lainey Stancil, founder of the Peach State Birth Coalition, shares her journey of advocating for midwifery and maternal health in Georgia. She discusses the importance of individualized care, the need for midwifery licensure, and the role of community support and education in empowering women during childbirth. Lainey emphasizes the significance of birth freedom and the ongoing maternal health crisis in Georgia, while also highlighting upcoming events aimed at raising awareness and funds for these causes. 

takeaways

• Lainey founded Peach State Birth Coalition to address gaps in maternal healthcare.
• Individualized care is crucial for empowering women during childbirth.
• Advocacy for midwifery licensure is essential for improving access to care.
• Community support and education can bridge the gap in maternal health.
• Birth freedom means having the choice of who and where to birth.
• Georgia faces a maternal health crisis with high mortality rates.
• Upcoming events aim to raise awareness and funds for maternal health.  January 23, 2026
• Sharing birth stories can help build a supportive community.
• Education about birth options is vital for informed decision-making.
• Moms need to feel seen and heard during their birthing experiences.

Connect with Lainey: instagram - website 

Transcript

Aligned Birth Podcast (00:01.535)
Hello, hello, this is the Aligned Birth podcast. I am Dr. Shannon, one of the hosts of the show. And today, Dula Rachel, who is our other host, is not with us because we have an interview today. We have another local Metro Atlanta Dula on the show, Laini Stancil. And she is going to talk about her nonprofit, Georgia Birth.

our Peach State Birth Coalition. so that, she shares her birth story and a lot of things and that's a big part of why she does what she does. So we're probably gonna touch on that, but we really wanna hit home of like, what is Peach State and what is it doing for birthing folks in Georgia? So she's the founder of Peach State Birth Coalition, Georgia-based nonprofit working to improve access to midwives, birth options and personalized maternity care, especially in rural communities.

Through education, advocacy, and community connection, her organization aims to create a future where every Georgia family has access to safe, supported, and informed birth choices. Lainey's passionate about empowering women, uplifting local birth workers, and bringing awareness to the growing gaps in maternal healthcare across the state. So welcome to the show, Lainey.

Lainey Stancil (01:20.111)
Thank you. It sounds so weird when somebody else talks like that.

Aligned Birth Podcast (01:21.326)
Yes!

Everybody says that. Everybody's like, wow, that sounds great. I'm like, yes, let's lift you up and talk about all the good things. I know that's probably everybody's like least favorite part too is the whole like the intro of like, my gosh, I don't want to talk about talk about that. It's just me. I know, but you're doing big things. So, okay. So again, I think I say this at almost every episode, like my love hate push pull relationship with social media, but that is how I found you. So.

Lainey Stancil (01:28.551)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (01:35.598)
Like, hello, it's just me.

Aligned Birth Podcast (01:53.91)
I it's you know, besides the doom scrolling aspect of things. That's how I found you and mainly through what you've been posting with Peach Day Birth Coalition. And when I saw it and I was like, I must know more. What is what is this? And so then I devoured it and then reached out. And now you're on the show with us because you're so gracious to be here. So that's going to be the nugget of what I want to chat about. But I kind of introduced it there. But maybe let's start with a.

Lainey Stancil (01:54.028)
Yeah!

Lainey Stancil (02:05.294)
You

Aligned Birth Podcast (02:23.293)
a little background, you know, like a little bit of a where I want to really highlight the where you saw the gaps and where you saw the need for this nonprofit. So maybe starting there.

Lainey Stancil (02:35.47)
Yeah. Yeah. So, I guess so it all started about a year ago, actually, a year, October of last year, I had a nine month old. was still what felt very postpartum after my first baby was born. I, through my pregnancy alone, like, so I decided

Aligned Birth Podcast (02:58.453)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (03:04.002)
to do a home birth and seek out a home birthing midwife at 28 weeks. After kind of just feeling really dismissed and unheard in a normal like OB practice. And so I was thankfully very, very lucky to have had somebody who had a home birth reached out to their midwife and she just so happened to have a spot open, which is.

Aligned Birth Podcast (03:29.278)
Hmm.

Lainey Stancil (03:31.636)
extremely, extremely rare.

Aligned Birth Podcast (03:32.738)
Rare. I know. When you said switch at 28 weeks, I was like, how'd you find that? Yeah. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (03:36.8)
Yeah. I mean, it's just one of those other things and like the cascade of things that have happened for Peach State alone that has just made me very clear that like, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Because there's been so many things where I'm like, this is not going to work. And then it does. So that was like kind of the first thing that happened. And I was like, if I can even find one, then this is the route I'll go. And I mean, it was like,

Aligned Birth Podcast (03:42.421)
He

Aligned Birth Podcast (03:49.513)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (03:54.612)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (04:01.459)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (04:04.59)
in a matter of like a couple days that it changed. So that was kind of like, know, for me, I saw it as like, oh, this is easy, you know, like you just ask somebody, they ask somebody else and it happens. Yeah, and it's easy. So then like once I started seeing her and she's very involved with Georgia NACPM and all the legislative side of the midwifery stuff going on in Georgia right now. And so she...

Aligned Birth Podcast (04:15.157)
You find your midwife and you go. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (04:32.748)
just briefly kind of explained just so that way I knew, you know, what the issues are here in our state. And that I was consenting, you know, to having a midwife who does not have a license in our state to practice and all of that. So she was like, you know, just being upfront with that. And I was like, wait, what? What does that mean? But I was also still pregnant. So I was just like, you know what? I don't care what you are. You're amazing. You're making me feel more seen than I've ever felt my whole life. So I was just like,

Aligned Birth Podcast (04:45.235)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (04:49.801)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (05:01.054)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (05:03.298)
I don't care, you know? And so we kind of went from there. Now, once I was postpartum and, you know, just living life, she did like a consumer Zoom meet and was just kind of like trying to explain to the moms in, you the midwife community kind of what was going on in more detail. And so that's when I was like realizing like,

Aligned Birth Podcast (05:03.965)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (05:27.358)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (05:31.64)
like this is like a way bigger issue than what I even really realized in the beginning. And then I started having like more friends that were asking me like, like how did you do that? Like, you know, how, and so I kind of became like kind of a connector with moms, like trying to meet other midwives. So I'd reach out to my midwife and be like, hey, my friend lives in this area. Do you know any midwives in that area? And most of the time they're completely booked.

Aligned Birth Podcast (05:57.746)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (05:58.958)
And like a lot of moms don't have the option. And so that's when I kind of like started asking questions and kind of being like, you know, and she was like, would be really great if we had like a consumer advocacy group. And I was like, okay, what does that mean? How do I do that? And I had no idea that that meant, you know, growing it the way that I have becoming a 501 C3 doing all these things that I have no knowledge of.

Aligned Birth Podcast (06:11.765)
you

Aligned Birth Podcast (06:25.267)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (06:26.35)
but it just kind of snowballed into it. And it just kind of grew from me seeing more moms would like the opportunity to even explore that option, or they don't even know that it is an option. But they just don't have the education, they just don't know who to talk to. There's Facebook groups and things like that, but there's really nothing that's kind of Georgia-based that could help moms.

Aligned Birth Podcast (06:35.508)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (06:54.136)
figure out like all of these options and then also support the midwives. I mean, they're great at supporting themselves. They are incredibly intelligent women, but there's no, if there's not a need then, and there's nobody saying that there's a need, then how does anybody know, you know, at the Capitol that we want them?

Aligned Birth Podcast (07:10.516)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (07:15.071)
That's huge, yeah.

Lainey Stancil (07:17.26)
Yeah, so it kind of just all started from me being curious and also me wanting to have more kids. And my experience with my midwife was so amazing, not even just like the birth side of things. I was very, very lucky to have an easy pregnancy and easy birth. mean, easy, know, like no complication. But nothing big happened. So I was really grateful for that.

Aligned Birth Podcast (07:36.453)
Easy, yeah. No, we know what you mean. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (07:45.666)
But it really wasn't even that that made the difference. Like it was really just the care that I received and like the small little things, the attention that she gives, those things that like I didn't even get in the slightest whenever I was seeing the practice that I was seeing previous, which is unfortunate.

Aligned Birth Podcast (07:48.809)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (08:07.337)
And it makes sense because midwives, I mean, they do spend that longer appointment time. They really get to know you. They remember you in those times. So you're not just a number in that, but then that creates the deficit of being available for other moms as well too. So it's kind of, and then it's really, I mean, you want to, I think it's hard for a midwife to have her practice, but then also put so much time into the advocacy as well.

Lainey Stancil (08:36.268)
Yeah, yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (08:36.733)
It's just, it's really difficult, but knowing how important that individualized care is in helping you and moms feel seen, heard, supported, because that allows you to really release a lot of fears that can pertain to birth.

Lainey Stancil (08:45.4)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (08:54.41)
Mm-hmm. mean, I truly didn't have any Like I mean going like in the beginning I mean even at 28 weeks like I was doing the spiral like I was just like my god How am I supposed to do this? Like I just have no idea how my body is gonna be capable of this and like Yes, so it was my first I had no idea my biggest question was how do I know when labor starts like I know because there's a first time you're like I don't know like I don't even know what to expect

Aligned Birth Podcast (09:06.441)
Mm-hmm.

Because this was your first, right, that you had your home birth with,

Aligned Birth Podcast (09:17.993)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (09:23.566)
And it was small things that I would ask, know, when I was at the practice, like I would ask about my birth plan and be like, you know, hey, I really want to talk about a birth plan. I want to talk about like pain coping mechanisms and things because I did not want to do like an epidural or anything like that. I wanted to try to achieve, you know, an unmedicated labor. And that was just a goal of mine, not because I thought it was, you know,

Aligned Birth Podcast (09:23.689)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (09:47.167)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (09:51.788)
like a trophy, like some people say, or that I've been told when people are criticizing my decision. But I just, wanted to experience it. My mom had natural labors that were unmedicated, kind of not by her choice. She wanted an epidural, but she progressed too quickly by the time she got to the hospital. And so she just always talked about, even though she wasn't planning that.

Aligned Birth Podcast (09:53.875)
Mm-mm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:04.905)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:13.205)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:21.214)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (10:21.354)
she really talked about it, like, she really uplifted it. Like, she was just talked about how amazing it was, how she could feel us moving into the birth canal and everything. And I know some people are grossed out by that. have always loved medical things. And I was like, that's kind of cool. I want to experience that. Yeah. So I like, I just wanted to experience it.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:25.097)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:31.797)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:41.465)
Mm-hmm how we're innately designed. Yeah for that I think that's amazing Having her and I think that's a huge part at least what I see with some Moms, especially first times mom seeking out like a home birth thing because you've been spoken into

that it can be like that rather than it just being the TV portrayed, you're on your back, you're in the hospital, you're screaming in pain. There's something different, but you have to be told that you have to... I don't know, you got to plant that seed, I guess, a bit. I'm glad that you did have that.

Lainey Stancil (11:13.932)
Yeah, yeah.

It was really, she always just spoke really highly of it in a way. And then I actually got to be present. I have a younger brother who's five years younger than me. And so even though I was only like five, I vividly remember being at his birth. so that's why I think it's so cool now being with Doula, like being at second time mom births where like the kids are involved or third or fourth or fifth, where they're involved because like it really did make like a lasting impact on me because of.

Aligned Birth Podcast (11:21.361)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (11:37.525)
you

Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (11:46.766)
I decided even then my mom said that I wanted to be a baby doctor. Like that's what I would always say. I'm gonna be a baby doctor. Even though I was talking like labor and delivery, but I called it a baby doctor. Yeah. In a five year old's mind.

Aligned Birth Podcast (11:51.125)
I love it.

Aligned Birth Podcast (11:59.122)
Yeah, no, I like it. like it. It makes sense. Exactly. Exactly. I'm putting that in perspective there. Okay, so with it was after your birth and that birth experience when so the midwife had that like almost like a community meeting of

Lainey Stancil (12:26.273)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (12:26.653)
Hey, this is some other things that are going on where we could need your help. Is that kind of what she had said? Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (12:30.562)
Yeah, basically, yeah. And something in me was just like, like she was like, is anybody like super outspoken and like not afraid to stand up and speak and like all these like, you know, things and I was just like,

Aligned Birth Podcast (12:45.897)
you

Lainey Stancil (12:47.374)
Crap, I think that's me.

And so I like, and I was just like, I feel like that's me, but I'm like, I have no idea how to do this. especially with like this little baby that I don't even know how to do that. Like I'm still trying to figure out, you know, that whole situation. And so I was like, I don't know how to do this, but like I'm willing to try. Like, why not? And my husband was like, you're doing what?

Aligned Birth Podcast (13:01.203)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (13:06.591)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (13:14.953)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

you

Lainey Stancil (13:20.726)
And I was like, I'm going to start a nonprofit. And he was like, okay.

Aligned Birth Podcast (13:25.681)
Yeah. What was his reaction and response with the home birth?

Lainey Stancil (13:33.59)
So he was actually the one, so when I left that last appointment at the OB's office, I was in tears because I asked about my birth plan. I was like, hey, I would love to talk about my birth plan. And she was like, that's not really necessary. And I was like, what do you mean? And she was like, well, all those things that you guys ask for.

Aligned Birth Podcast (13:40.126)
Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (13:49.758)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (13:57.344)
And like what really like rung in my head was you guys that felt like really derogatory or something, you know, like I was just like, you guys, like my birth plan, like I researched my birth plan for the options that I would like for myself. Like, yeah, there's people that are like minded and we have, you know, maybe ask for similar things, but I was just like, what? And so that felt like really like, like she was on defense or something with, and she was like,

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:02.965)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:08.617)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:12.489)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (14:26.68)
we already delay cord clamping. And I was like, okay, cool. Like that was like, you know, one thing that I was gonna mention, but that really wasn't even like the biggest thing. I wanted to talk more about like the pain coping and things like that because I really wanted to achieve an unmedicated birth. So I was just like, okay, like, so it just felt really like weird. And I was also.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:29.053)
Hmm. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:41.513)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (14:52.14)
Now looking back on it, was I a little dramatic? Yeah, I was pregnant. And it was my first pregnancy. So I was like, even more in defense because I was just like, what? Like, why are you listening to me? And so, yeah, I left and I called my husband. I was just like in tears, know, pregnancy hormones. And I was like, I just feel so unheard. And I was like, I just feel like how is that going to translate?

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:54.997)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:03.369)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (15:20.29)
to the labor room, like when I'm actually giving birth, how, like if she's not, and I don't even know if that lady was gonna be the one at my birth. It might've been somebody that I've never met before, because they have, you know, 15 different providers. But I was like, if she is, how is that going to translate? Like, because I feel super unheard and unseen just in an exam room. And I have my, you know, wits about me.

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:21.514)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:28.647)
Right.

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:46.879)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (15:50.326)
So and he was like, why don't you just have him at home? Like like you always joke about and I was like, because I don't know how to do that. And he was like, what do you mean? Like you just do it. I was like, was like, OK, but like I have to have like a provider or something. And he was like, well, why don't we ask? had a family friend who had just had a home birth, like really recently from when I was about to give birth.

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:57.747)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (16:20.014)
And he was like, why don't you just call my mom and ask her to ask her friend? And I was like, I mean, okay. And then before I could even like do that myself or think he had his mom on the phone and was like, you call someone and ask her how she had her home birth? And she had had, she has, think like five or six kids. She had had a few in the hospital, a few at home. So she was well versed on either side.

Aligned Birth Podcast (16:35.367)
I love that, how supportive, aw.

Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (16:44.691)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (16:48.204)
and she was so excited to help. Like I'd never met her before. I'd never even really spoken to her before. And then next thing I knew I was on another three-way call with his mom and her. And so it was literally just like, and before I even, yeah, yeah. And I was just like, And it had always been like, I am definitely that friend that everybody like before I had a kid.

Aligned Birth Podcast (16:49.769)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (17:01.845)
It sounds like you're just along for the ride. keep like pushing and you're like, okay, but you're receptive to it. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (17:15.072)
Everybody was like, yeah, Lainey is that girl that would have her kid like in her bathtub, you know, by herself. And it was always like a joke. And I, it was like a bucket list item. Like I literally be like, I want to my baby at home. Like it was like this like made up bucket list. So the fact that I'm like here in the now where like I've done that and I'm like helping other women achieve that is like blows my mind. Cause this was never part of the bucket plan. Like it was just the birth.

Aligned Birth Podcast (17:18.805)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (17:33.545)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (17:38.453)
Ugh.

Mm-hmm. It was just the birth. It wasn't supposed to transcend all of that.

Lainey Stancil (17:44.878)
Yeah, yeah, just snowball, yeah, which I'm so like amazed and just grateful that it has. yeah, it was just, and now when I tell people, like even people who either know me or don't know me, even shortly after they're like, that tracks. I'm like, okay, I didn't realize it was like a character trait.

Aligned Birth Podcast (18:01.499)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, they're like no that fits you're like, okay. Thanks now Yeah, know right. Yeah, don't tell me that Yeah, like the high school like superlatives like most likely to be a doula that should have been or most likely to you know Give birth to a baby in a tub at home. Yeah so were you a doula while you were pregnant

Lainey Stancil (18:16.652)
Yeah, birth or baby in the bath.

Aligned Birth Podcast (18:29.363)
Was it an after the fact thing? Was that also something that just got like snowballed into your life?

Lainey Stancil (18:33.176)
Yes. So, yes. So actually at our, created Peach State Birth Coalition and then they were like, you know, you need to become a 501c3. So that way, like you're credible, you can take donations and you can like do something with this money and like really be able to make change. And I was like, okay, cool. Don't know how to do that. So I just started reaching out to more family friends who either work at non pro or next, my next door neighbor works at a nonprofit.

Aligned Birth Podcast (18:47.775)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (19:01.503)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (19:02.062)
I have a family friend who runs a nonprofit. So like I just started reaching out and being like, what do I do? They kind of like led me on the path to get that. And so through that, they were like, you got to raise money because it costs money to become a 501c3. And I was like, yeah, I'm a stay at home mom. I don't have any money. So the midwives were like, what if you did an event? And I was like, okay, cool. And so then I created the birth expo.

Aligned Birth Podcast (19:16.757)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (19:30.926)
which we had last March or this past March. And so the whole like point of it was to throw this event and raise money so that I could use that money to become a 501C3. And so at that event, everybody was like, and you're a doula, right? And I was like, no, I'm not. And I mean, like, it was like five to like 10 people.

Aligned Birth Podcast (19:34.143)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (19:57.696)
And finally there was like this, this one girl that I was on our panel, her name's Anne Morris and she's a doula. And she was like, so you're a doula, right? And I was like, you're the like the 10th person to ask me that today. I was like, no, I'm, I'm actually not. And she was like, well, why not? And I was like, there that question is again, why not? So, so she was like, you know, I actually mentor, you know, new doulas and stuff like that. You know, I'd love.

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:05.346)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:15.977)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (20:26.934)
chat, you know, after all of this. And I was like, okay, yeah, let me like, come down from like this event tie. And, and I'll reach out. And so we ended up connecting and, I, she told me about a couple different doula courses. I ended up taking one. I finished that a few months ago and I am now on my fourth birth, I think, I think fourth or fifth. Yeah. And so,

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:28.568)
huh.

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:33.037)
yeah.

Lainey Stancil (20:55.724)
It's been awesome. It's been great. It's as soon as I went to like the very first one, I was like, this is it. Like this is what I like. Cause I went to school to be a nurse when straight out of high school. I went to college to be a nurse. Well, actually I went to college my first official like, what is it called? Your not degree, but like your interest or whatever.

Aligned Birth Podcast (21:03.273)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (21:21.877)
Yes, yes. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I don't want to that. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (21:24.61)
like my track was a bio pre-med. And then I was like, I don't want to be in school for 10 years. So then I was like, you know what? I want to be a nurse. I have a ton of nurses in my life. they were like, this is the obvious path for you. So then I tried to get into nursing school, which is incredibly hard.

Aligned Birth Podcast (21:43.871)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (21:48.885)
you

Lainey Stancil (21:50.24)
And so I tried to get into a couple of nursing schools, but I was paying for college on my own and I couldn't afford it anymore. And so I was like, well, what can I do to like make money and get into this field? So I got my certification in medical assisting and started working as medical assistant in OB, my very first job out of medical assisting school. That's like all I wanted. I was like, I just want to get into OB or labor and delivery. I don't care how.

Aligned Birth Podcast (21:57.759)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (22:08.693)
Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (22:18.868)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (22:20.14)
where like I just got to get in. So I did. And I worked in labor or I worked in OB for a year. And then I ended up moving. And so I had to change jobs and I couldn't find an OB office, but I found a urology office. I worked in urology. It was still somewhat, you you're dealing with some type of women's health. And so it's mainly more men, but there are women urologists. So

Aligned Birth Podcast (22:42.261)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (22:49.388)
I got to be a lot more hands on with like things. So I really liked that. So kind of like, I always felt like I was doing like a service and I enjoyed it, but it just something felt missing. There was always like this thing piece. And then I actually left the medical field completely because I just wasn't making enough money. Never went back to nursing school because at that point I was just like, I'm not going back. Like, so I actually ended up becoming an insurance agent.

Aligned Birth Podcast (22:54.143)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (22:57.813)
You

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:01.61)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:13.159)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:17.296)
There you go.

Lainey Stancil (23:18.758)
and worked in sales until I had my son and decided to be a stay-at-home mom. And I love being stay-at-home No, yes, I wasn't. Yeah, I wasn't a stay-at-home mom for very long because I have learned about myself. I know this very well about myself. I don't sit still. I won't sit still. I'm literally moving back and forth as we speak. Yeah, like it's constant.

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:24.975)
You weren't the stay at home mom for very long. Well, I mean, you still do that, but I mean, like, you now have added.

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:37.317)
Mm-hmm

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:42.517)
We've got the mom rock as we sit and yeah. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (23:48.714)
And, and I yeah, I'm always looking for something else. So I'm always looking for what I can do, or how I can make it, you know, more. So yeah, whenever they were like, you're a doula, you're a doula. I was like, no, I'm not. They're like, kind of already are you're just not attending births and getting for it, you know, but you're, you're helping you're educating you're doing all these things. And I was like,

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:53.79)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:04.627)
Hmm... Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:10.378)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:14.9)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (24:17.102)
Oh, I didn't really think of it like that. I didn't really see myself as a birth worker when I just started Peach Day. And it was midwives who kept saying like, you know, you are a birth worker, like just because you don't go to a birth doesn't mean that you're not a birth worker. Like you are creating a big part of birth, which is the education side, the prepping side, all that stuff. Like, oh, well, I didn't really think of it like that. And then when I

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:19.007)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:26.057)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:39.963)
Mm-hmm. yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:45.396)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (24:46.604)
tended my first birth as a doula, I was just like, wow, like.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:51.451)
Now did you have a doula for your home birth? Okay, okay. So you knew of that and experienced that.

Lainey Stancil (24:54.677)
Yes, I did. So I got to visit my best here. Yeah, so my best friend growing up, her grandma actually is a doula down in South Florida. And so we used to visit her every summer. And I just always thought that like what she did was so cool. She's also a nurse or nurse practitioner in the hospital as well. But I remember her doing like belly dancing classes. And so she would do like these belly dancing classes.

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:04.757)
Okay.

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:19.843)
She sounds like a really fun grandma. I'm not gonna lie.

Lainey Stancil (25:22.412)
She is a really fun grandma. And so she would do like, like, pregnancy belly dancing classes to like get ready for labor and stuff like that. And I would just be like, this is so cool. And like, I always, she always said, like, I will, you know, I'll be all doulas one day, but she lives in South Florida. You know, that's not exactly attainable. So I actually ended up meeting a doula local. I live in Winder, Georgia, which is close to Athens.

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:27.975)
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:33.33)
I love that.

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:39.209)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:47.409)
Okay. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (25:50.028)
found a doula in Athens and I'm blanking on her last name but her first name is Teresa and she yes I think that's her yes yes yeah that was my doula and like the first time I met her I was just like my gosh like she gave me all the same feelings that my friend's grandma gave me like I was just like

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:57.362)
Okay. I know one Howard. I know Teresa Howard. Yeah. Is that okay? Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:13.171)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (26:14.503)
me feel so at home. yeah, she was my doula and she was amazing. so then it just kind of was like, I don't know.

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:21.823)
Did you have her before, like you had her when you were gonna do the hospital birth? Or did you find her after? Okay.

Lainey Stancil (26:27.438)
No, so I found her after two because I had wanted a doula. But I had interviewed like a couple but I was just like, I don't know. I just did I was so like, I don't know. Like, I don't know how to do any of this. But then my midwife, she's actually the one who had told me about Teresa and she was like, let's check into getting a doula. And like, I knew that they were important, but like didn't really know how important they were. And then my wife was really the one who was like,

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:38.239)
Yeah. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:45.183)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:52.115)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (26:55.254)
no, you need to get a duel. And so I was like, okay. So she kind of was more of like the push to like explain, I knew like what they were, but just didn't really know like how. Yes.

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:56.675)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (27:05.941)
Well, how does that fit into the birth scheme? because you sometimes think, well, because midwives or even the providers are there for the birth. They're not going to be that continuous labor support. And so sometimes I try to explain to moms and patients that too of like, that's where the difference can come in. So, okay. That's fun to see how all this unfolded.

Lainey Stancil (27:19.245)
Yes.

Lainey Stancil (27:24.972)
Yes. Yeah. was so helpful. Yeah, it's crazy. Like, and this all happened like, and I'm literally 28 weeks pregnant, like, weeks are counting down. It's never too late. I met women that did it even later than me. So it's never too late. If it's, it definitely isn't always as easy as you know, me finding my midwife.

Aligned Birth Podcast (27:35.153)
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. I hope somebody hears that though and is like, okay, it's not too late. No. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (27:52.944)
No. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (27:54.318)
be challenged. But if we had licensure, it could be a lot easier. One, because we could have more midwives. A lot of midwives don't want to practice in our state because it's scary to not know if you're going to get in trouble for doing your career. There's so many people, even I think sometimes like I would love to be a midwife, but

Aligned Birth Podcast (27:58.492)
Right. So great segue. As soon as I get about to, yes.

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:06.301)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:12.861)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (28:22.424)
What does that look like? Like I see how hard they struggle. And not that I don't want to, you know, jump into the struggle with them because I love them and I would, but it's like, I'm like, I feel like what I'm doing right now needs to be done first.

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:23.443)
That's... yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:31.977)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:38.149)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes, spreading the word on those disparities there as far as midwifery licensure. So that's one pillar of, I guess I would call it a pillar. I don't know if you've called it pillars, but I think, just looking at the website, I'm like, okay, I think you have like four pillars there. At least that's what I see. So what all is involved with that?

Lainey Stancil (28:45.006)
It was.

Lainey Stancil (28:54.392)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (28:58.712)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:05.491)
the licensure, what does that look like as far as what is Peach State or how do they do that or how do they advocate for the licensure?

Lainey Stancil (29:07.374)
you

Lainey Stancil (29:19.052)
Yeah, so the biggest thing that we do is we try to help raise money for the lobbyist because you have to have a lobbyist to get a bill passed anywhere. helping raise money is a big thing, kind of driving people to realize what that means. We won't ever achieve licensure if we don't have this lobbyist who helps us out down at the Capitol, but also just the education side of it because a lot of people don't.

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:24.117)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:28.339)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (29:47.402)
even know that midwives aren't licensed or don't know that there are different types of midwives or don't know that there's even an option. So a lot of them just think that like a CNM is the main midwife and people don't even know that they're called CNMs, they just call them midwives and they're like, I have a midwife. And I'm like, well, all right, like what kind of midwife, you know, are you doing a hospital?

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:51.893)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:57.065)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (30:11.721)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (30:13.262)
And they're like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, okay, that's great. That's a CNM. Those midwives are licensed. Yes, yes. And so a lot of people are like, oh, well, I saw a midwife. And I'm like, well, yeah, those midwives are licensed. But any other type, in the bill that we're kind of supporting, it's a house bill, 520, is...

Aligned Birth Podcast (30:18.791)
Certified nurse midwife. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (30:40.276)
any other type which they're labeling it as like direct entry midwives. So just not taking the nursing track. And so yeah, so we kind of just help with like the education side of like what these midwives are, what they do, how you know how this could really bridge the gap in some places especially obviously here in Georgia we have a lot of maternity care deserts. I just don't

Aligned Birth Podcast (30:45.47)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (31:08.181)
And we have what the second highest maternal mortality rate as well. So

Lainey Stancil (31:12.886)
Yeah, yeah, which is so crazy when you think about it. Just because like the I feel like most people who, you know, like, I mean, even I I live in a more rural community than what most people you know, I have a lot of people in Atlanta that are it. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, it gets it gets really rural and I

Aligned Birth Podcast (31:16.403)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (31:29.587)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, our metro Atlanta. I'm like, oh my gosh. But my mom lives out in Athens. I'm like, oh, this is amazing. Or outside of Athens. Yeah, inter-rural area. But it takes a while to get places. And it's, yeah.

Lainey Stancil (31:43.788)
Yeah, it takes a while. And I don't think that people always realize that, that like, feel like our state is, it's so large, it's so vast that like, we don't realize that like, even the women up in Livonia, their L &D just got closed, and their OB office. And like, I feel like I'm familiar with Livonia just because I'm in northeast Georgia. But it's not, it's not far from me.

Aligned Birth Podcast (31:57.45)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:11.157)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (32:11.406)
It's not really that far. And to think that there are a whole community of moms or future moms over there that don't have anywhere to go. Like a labor and delivery hospital is not an option unless they drive all the way to Athens. And in some areas that could be a two hour drive. So just try to like wrap your brain around, you know, you're in labor, spontaneous labor. Maybe you're a first time mom. You don't know how long your labor is going to be.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:19.551)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:25.747)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:29.621)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (32:40.394)
and you're getting in the car to drive two hours through contractions and hopefully make it to the hospital and not have your baby in the car is a really scary thing to think about. Like, and there's some moms that that hospital unit or that, you know, L and D just closed and maybe they were 28 weeks. Maybe they were 30 weeks. And now what? Like, and that's happening right here in our backyard.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:45.685)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:49.976)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (33:02.378)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (33:09.279)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (33:09.356)
Like it seems really distant, you know, when, you're talking about other places, but like it's, it's right there.

Aligned Birth Podcast (33:16.413)
This is in our state. Okay. So licensure for midwives in the aspect of hopefully bringing in more people who want to be a midwife and they're covered and protected because a normal physiological birth can happen. Like it can happen at home. Like it's, and that's a majority of the cases and then get hopefully leaving open the obese to take on any more of those, you know, complicated

Lainey Stancil (33:28.238)
Yes.

Aligned Birth Podcast (33:45.984)
cases. Okay, so the lobbyists and I'm trying to like categorize what are ways well in my mind too I'm thinking of what are ways that hopefully someone maybe someone hears something of like well I can help in this area or I want to know more about this or you know going that lobbyist route or donating in that aspect of things.

Lainey Stancil (34:09.26)
Another big thing is also explaining to people and to moms that like, we are the constituents. The reason why these people who vote on our bill are in office is because we elect them to be. So it's hard because I feel like the average person, like even me, like, do I feel like my voice is gonna be heard if I just like, you know, email my senator? Like, it feels really small, but it's actually really big. We also have, so kind of,

Aligned Birth Podcast (34:21.289)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (34:38.74)
segueing a little bit. the whole point of our Masquerade for Midwives Ball is to raise money specifically for the lobbyist and to kind of continue that because it is very expensive to have a lobbyist on staff or whatever you want to call it. And so actually that same week that we have the Midwife Ball, the Midwife Ball is going to be on Friday and that I think it's Wednesday is Maternal Health Day at the Capitol.

Aligned Birth Podcast (34:46.675)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (34:52.446)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (35:08.213)
Okay.

Lainey Stancil (35:09.176)
So like, I didn't even know that like, this is like, before all of this, I didn't even know that these were a thing, like that normal, everyday, mom's, dad's, grandma's, you can come into the Capitol and, you know, speak your mind about whatever, you know, tell them, you know, hey, I live in your zip code and, you know, this bill or this thing or maternal health is really important to me. And...

Aligned Birth Podcast (35:15.082)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (35:34.975)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (35:37.406)
emailing, calling, any of those things. Like that's another thing that we try to educate people on. Like there is a part of our website that helps you find your representatives. A lot of people don't know who they are. And you can, you know, reach out to them in various different ways. You can even have meetings with them, coffee with them. They're just people. I've learned.

Aligned Birth Podcast (35:55.702)
Mm-hmm. I know they seem so far removed, but actually they work for you. They work for you. Go ahead and tell me the because that was the one thing I wanted to get to was the event and things as well. So for the next you had the birth Expo earlier this year. That's my husband background because my dog just came in. You want to close the door? Thanks, babe. That's fun.

Lainey Stancil (36:01.826)
Yeah, they're just everyday people. Yeah, they work for us. Yeah. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (36:23.2)
I was thinking it was a dog. I love dogs.

Aligned Birth Podcast (36:24.445)
Yes, my dog. And luckily, I mean, you'll hear it. You you hear that on the podcast, but you don't see it. That's great. So, surprise. It's not a kid. It's a dog. So, what is the, what's the event, the Masquerade event that's coming up? And give me like the date and then we can talk about that maternal health day at the Capitol as well too.

Lainey Stancil (36:32.139)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (36:36.577)
Right.

Lainey Stancil (36:50.946)
Yeah, yeah, so the Mass Grade for Midwife Ball is going to be on January 26th, and it's gonna be at the College Park Women's Center. And it's basically just like, it's just gonna be like a night of, one, like we want it to be fun. So we're gonna have like, you know, music and food and drinks and all that fun stuff. But we also want it to be like a big like advocacy night. So we are actually going to invite some of the representatives from the Capitol.

hopefully they'll come or they'll send somebody on their staff at the least. And we're just gonna try to invite, I would really love for other just big name people in Atlanta to come and see what we're doing and just kind of hear about the maternal health crisis that is in Georgia. And we're also raising money so we're gonna have raffles and silent auctions. We're currently...

Aligned Birth Podcast (37:21.95)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (37:48.342)
looking for auction items and sponsorships for small and large businesses. The auction items, we're trying to find like, it's hard because like when we do the birth expo, it's very mom centered and it's easy to find, you know, like things that moms would like. It's a little bit harder to find auction items that are like well rounded for anyone. So we're trying to...

Aligned Birth Podcast (38:03.561)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (38:11.049)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (38:12.898)
find maybe some Atlanta experiences or Atlanta sports memorabilia or things like that that people would like to donate to us so that we can auction them off. So that's kind of like a big ask right now that we're asking for. But yeah, we're really hoping that it's going to be just a night where we can all come together and kind of celebrate the midwives, although they do, but then also raise money to kind of further what they're trying to do.

Aligned Birth Podcast (38:26.961)
Yeah

Aligned Birth Podcast (38:42.579)
Yeah. Okay. And what you said that that happens on what, like a Friday or Saturday and then that next, that coming Wednesday is, it's the Wednesday before. Okay.

Lainey Stancil (38:55.086)
I think it's actually the Wednesday before. So I believe it's the Wednesday before is the maternal health day at the Capitol. And so it's basically just where like really anybody can come. And honestly, what we've been told by representatives that we've spoken with is that if you come in numbers, they're kind of forced to listen to you. they see you and like not even if we come just on that day, but like you can go any day.

Aligned Birth Podcast (39:18.25)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (39:24.607)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (39:24.8)
and just go in there. Representatives loved baked goods and things like that. You can drop off, you know, little presents to their offices and things like that with a little note or something saying, know, like, support us with this bill or support, you know, maternal health or whatever, you know, you want to say. So it the maternal health day is a little bit of like a bigger, like they know that everybody's there for maternal health. And so you just

Aligned Birth Podcast (39:39.689)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (39:52.095)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (39:54.71)
and there's gonna be like, I think there's also gonna be like tables and booths set up. I actually did not attend last year's. I didn't know anything about it. Yeah. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (40:05.375)
I gonna say, I remember seeing pictures, because I obviously had a lot of, yeah, birth worker friends and colleagues and stuff go. Yeah, I know I was unable to attend, but I think I remember seeing pictures. Yeah, and it looked good.

Lainey Stancil (40:16.628)
Yeah, yeah, so it's just like a big like, you're just, I feel like the Capitol building like looks so official and feels so scary. But it's an open building for the people. You can go in there anytime and talk to, you know, whoever you need to speak to. They're not always available because they're busy, but you know, try. But yeah, so it's

Aligned Birth Podcast (40:24.754)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (40:30.228)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (40:37.031)
Right. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (40:42.774)
It's basically just a day where anybody and everybody can come and share their story, talk to representatives, meet other organizations. I know Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies is gonna be there. We're hoping we're working on kind of like a partnership together with them. So.

Aligned Birth Podcast (41:00.089)
Okay. Yeah, I would assume postpartum support international would be doing something as well too. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (41:06.966)
yeah, there's a lot of organizations that will be there setting up like tables and stuff like that for people to come and also just see like all of the organizations that support maternal health as well.

Aligned Birth Podcast (41:18.325)
Okay, so in that aspect of things, like I said, the licensure for midwives, I feel like is a pillar. And then you have mentioning on the website, you've got birth education, birth freedom, and like community support. And so if you want to speak on some of those, like the birth education piece does, what does Peach State Birth Coalition, like what do they do with that?

Lainey Stancil (41:37.07)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (41:47.522)
Yeah, so that's something that like I when I you know started Peach Date I was like, you know, this is something that's like really important to me because I I mean as much as I'm like a researcher and I love birth I've always loved birth since I was five So I've always like kind of researched it but even then like there was a lot of missing pieces I still didn't feel like I knew, you know everything even though there's so much to know but

Then I started realizing that even with me being the birth nerd that I am, that there's people who like, they're not birth nerds. They know nothing. And so I was like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like the simplest of, know, terms or things, like people just don't know. And so that was like something really important that I wanted to be able to expand on.

Aligned Birth Podcast (42:24.571)
Mm-hmm. Nothing. Mm-hmm. They don't know the word doula, you know? I use that a lot or, you know, even anything in those worlds. Yeah. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (42:37.589)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (42:46.016)
At this moment in time, really, the education piece is just me making post on Instagram. What I would like to do. Yes. Yes. What I would like to do is I would hope that maybe we can get like an education grant or something like that to be able to do free education classes in preferably more of those like underserved maternal care deserts.

Aligned Birth Podcast (42:51.389)
Yeah, hey, that's how I found you. So yeah, yes, what do want it to look like?

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:12.447)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (43:13.578)
And whether that looks like me traveling, I'm a travel girly, so I would love to travel around even if it is just in the state. So you know, whether that's me traveling and me doing the education classes for these moms, or outsourcing to doulas in that area and being able to like, one give them a platform to, you know, spread the word about their doula business.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:18.133)
You're like, I will... Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:31.519)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (43:37.624)
but also being able to reach out to the moms in their community so that maybe they could get clients from that. Or even maybe like a collective of doulas in that area that are able to do weekly, monthly. I'm not sure exactly what that looks like just yet or what the need is for it. But that's kind of like my idea behind that is being able to reach out Yes, yes. And being able to make it.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:40.479)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:46.483)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:55.635)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:00.754)
expanding that birth education.

Lainey Stancil (44:05.782)
either extremely affordable or free because unfortunately there's a million birth classes that are amazing but they're generally kind of on the expensive side. And I mean even it's hard for people who are wanting to have a home birth because midwives aren't licensed, insurance doesn't pay for anything. So you're out of pocket for your midwife, you're coming out of pocket for your doula.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:12.841)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:17.735)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:28.947)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:33.332)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (44:33.836)
now you're coming out of pocket for an education class. And so for a lot of women, that's just unattainable. And so I would like to, if they can't have a midwife and do a home birth because licensure isn't a thing just yet, then I would at least like for them to have quality birth education. So that way when they go into the hospital, know, mean, because some women don't even know that it's an option to say no to some things. they just...

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:39.859)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:49.011)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:01.267)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (45:03.202)
you know, or like, well, I've talked to moms that have already experienced, you know, birth and they're like, well, I didn't know that I could say no to that. Like, I didn't know that that was an Like, I just thought they told me, you know, this is what we're doing. And I thought that that's what I had to do. And so if they have that education on the front end, then, you know, maybe a lot of the birth trauma of

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:12.029)
Yeah, a multitude of things, yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:21.247)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (45:31.032)
feeling like you don't have a voice during birth could be taken. There's a lot of other things that happen in birth that cause trauma, but I feel like there are a lot of women that don't necessarily have like the bigger birth traumas, know, catastrophic events happening, but they just feel like they were really dismissed and unheard or that birth happened to them instead of like...

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:33.769)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:42.175)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:47.944)
Mm-hmm. To them. That's what I was about to say instead of, yeah, that they were not like an active participant in their birth. was just, yeah, something that happened to them. No, I think that education component. Mm-hmm. I think the education component's big. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (45:55.118)
Yeah, like, safe and kill. Yeah. Yeah, so I feel like that's he. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:05.063)
Okay, what does birth freedom mean?

Lainey Stancil (46:08.023)
So the birth freedom, everybody always asks me like, what does birth freedom mean? And really it's just like the freedom to choose. Like the freedom to choose who and where and with or with who and where and how you birth. And that's literally it. Because without having midwives licensed, technically it's not legal to have a midwife at your home birth. So that.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:15.189)
Cheers.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:24.255)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:34.076)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (46:36.302)
takes away that freedom of choice because personally I would like to have a provider with me at my home birth. I know that there's women that are okay with doing free birth and that's great, that's another choice. But really that having a midwife at a home birth isn't really a choice. There are a few...

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:38.334)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:45.034)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:50.611)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (47:03.586)
like you know just other choices that I feel like people don't even have like you don't have the freedom to choose so really that like birth freedom is just choice yeah

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:11.699)
Yeah, the freedom to choose. I love it. I love it. And also too, if you don't know your options, then you don't have any options. So then it's also that ties into that education piece as well. And then lastly on there, you have the community support. So what does that look like? Because I know that's probably where a lot of...

Lainey Stancil (47:26.7)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (47:33.187)
Yes.

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:38.229)
Us regular folk, I mean, I am a birth worker, but just like the moms or the allies or something like that, they may not be in the birth worker world, how they can kind of make an impact as well too.

Lainey Stancil (47:42.37)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (47:49.986)
Yes, so right now it's looked like just doing mommy meetups, as simple as that. Like just building a community, building, and we've done two so far, which I would love to do more, just finding the right time and all of that, or what to do. We did one at a coffee shop. That was a difficult one because the shop was not super kid-friendly.

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:54.057)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:02.611)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:11.594)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (48:15.086)
We didn't think that through so the kids were just kind of going buck wild there were like business people trying to have meetings and we're just like sorry life is life and today We just like show up with kids and like a bunch of like crayons and toys and we were just like they have like a back patio area so

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:23.061)
Just a bunch of moms are short with kids. I love it. I love it.

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:33.491)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (48:34.978)
That was really fun though, but we were like, we gotta figure something else out. So thankfully nearby us, is one of those play studios. It's called J &K Play Studio in Brasilton. They are amazing. And it's literally just like, you know, like one those little play studios that there's like a gate, the kids can't get out. She has like a whole like, kind of like living room, like couch area that like moms can just sit and chill and then the kids can go buck wild.

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:42.943)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:51.721)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:02.463)
There you go.

Lainey Stancil (49:03.98)
So we did one there and that was super fun. That was way better than the coffee shop. Cause we were able to like actually conversate as moms and it was just, and like literally when we do these mommy meetups, is a like, let your hair down, let your kid go crazy with mine and we can literally talk about anything.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:08.789)
Yes.

Lainey Stancil (49:24.654)
Some, we do generally talk about birth a lot. A lot of them are either pregnant, just had a baby, you know, or we all obviously have kids. So we do talk about birth a lot, but it's like a come as you are, hang out. And I'm always down for new mom friends. So it's just like a hang out. I would like to maybe, you know, also expand on that and like do more, either more mommy meetups.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:24.66)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:32.393)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:36.97)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:41.043)
Yeah, no, I love it.

Lainey Stancil (49:54.028)
or like mom's night out or like something like that. It's just, I'm also a mom. Finding the time, the things.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:55.945)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:59.614)
Yeah, yeah, you're finding the time. but I mean planting the seeds and having that idea and then letting it unfold how it will, you know?

Lainey Stancil (50:09.55)
Yeah, I would also really like I've talked to a couple people about doing like, like a pregnancy retreat or like a mom retreat or something like that. have a girl who I just met. like lives by coastal Lee. She started kind of like a community. It's called matricots. I don't know if you're aware of it. They're on Instagram as well. But she has done like amazing things out in LA.

Aligned Birth Podcast (50:18.761)
Hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (50:32.209)
Okay. Uh-uh.

Lainey Stancil (50:39.566)
And so I've been kind of talking to her and hoping to kind of build like a similar thing. And I think it was her and I that were talking and she was like, I'm gonna be so cool to like, you know, they do all these like cool retreats for people, know, like out in like Sedona and stuff like that. I'm like, Georgia mountains are beautiful. Yes. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (50:54.505)
Mm-hmm.

Blue Ridge, I was gonna say Blue Ridge was great. I did a yoga retreat there and it was amazing and it wasn't too far and they like cooked me food and it was this French lady and we had crepes and did yoga and I was like, this is magical.

Lainey Stancil (51:05.003)
Yes!

Even if it was like a mom retreat and like, you know, we had somebody come in and do yoga one morning. I mean, like it could be something short, like a two day type of thing. Obviously we're moms, so we can't be gone too long. Yeah, like do something like that where we, you know, we can just have a moment together as moms. Yeah, Lord knows I need it.

Aligned Birth Podcast (51:15.283)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (51:29.715)
Just pause, I know, right? Yeah.

think we all need to pause, yeah.

Lainey Stancil (51:37.342)
Yes. So I'm like, that's great. I'd love to facilitate something like that.

Aligned Birth Podcast (51:41.19)
Yes, I know. Again, plant the seeds, plant the seeds. There's also on there, you mentioned, think women can go on and share birth stories or telling your story. And that seems to be a big component as well too for Peach State Birth Coalition, but then advocating for the organization too.

Lainey Stancil (51:45.099)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (52:06.402)
Yeah, so we kind of have like a collective blog on our website. then that kind of started because I, before I ever started Peach Day, before I ever even heard about any of this early, early postpartum, when I was dealing with postpartum anxiety, I didn't so much deal with the postpartum depression, thank God, but I dealt with like postpartum anger or rage really bad, which I had no idea was even a thing.

Aligned Birth Podcast (52:30.58)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (52:35.214)
You hear so much about the postpartum depression and anxiety and all this. And I was like, oh my gosh, like, is there something wrong with me? Cause like, I'm not sad, I'm mad. And it was like so uncontrollable. So I started seeing a counselor and she recommended like journaling or, something along those lines. And I was just like, you know, like I've always, I would love to be one of those little like blog moms. That sounds cool. Like so.

Aligned Birth Podcast (52:41.262)
You're like, I'm not any of those. I'm that. I love it.

Aligned Birth Podcast (52:54.889)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (53:04.608)
I started like a little Pinterest blog and was like, let's just, you know, do this. And so that's kind of when I shared like my birth story and I wrote my birth story. And it was really like, even though like it would, you know, I didn't have any birth traumas, but it still felt really like freeing to just like get it all on paper.

Aligned Birth Podcast (53:26.037)
I always recommend that for moms. No matter what and even sometimes you take the feeling out you can just be like and then this happened, this happened, this happened, like just documenting it and then you can process it. But I love, love writing it out. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (53:31.245)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (53:35.158)
No. Yeah. And then reading it back, I read it back every now and then, like, just to like read it back and be like, wow. And like, so I on my doula side, and like my doula page, I have like my own personal blog that I write like a couple different things. I've talked about my infertility journey, I've talked about my miscarriage, I've talked about, you know, like all different types of things on there that are just more like my personal things. And then I took my birth story and I put it on

Aligned Birth Podcast (53:56.286)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (54:01.365)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (54:04.994)
the website for Peach Date and I was like, I love the idea of like moms, no matter if it's home birth, hospital birth, birth center birth, free birth, whatever they want, you know, to talk about, have a place, because not everybody wants to start a whole blog, you know, but like have a place where they can share it and other moms can see it and they can be like, well, you know, my situation was similar to hers or, know, and like.

Aligned Birth Podcast (54:14.473)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (54:20.947)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (54:26.707)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (54:31.078)
Right.

Lainey Stancil (54:32.365)
have to be birth stories. Like it can be, you know, if somebody wants to talk about their miscarriage. That was really a big thing for me when I went, you know, back into counseling again after dealing with that. Like to put it down on paper, like it really felt like a release. So even just having that. Now that one's a little bit harder to read back, but just be able

Aligned Birth Podcast (54:39.743)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (54:53.246)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (54:57.81)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (54:59.852)
write it down and know that like somebody out there is dealing with something similar. I was like, okay, like, I'm just gonna put it out there and, and there it is. And same goes with, I mean, infertility or whatever, like, I just wanted it to be like a place where moms could go and see, you know, all different types of stories to feel like, you know, maybe there somebody has a similar story to them and make them just. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (55:01.301)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (55:10.163)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (55:13.909)
Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (55:24.401)
Right. And it's real life. It's not, you know, what you see in TV or portrait or even what you see on social media, probably. It's more of the, yeah, it's the real, the real life stuff. So I love that.

Lainey Stancil (55:32.098)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, and I always tell moms, like, don't to be a writer, it doesn't have to be in some pretty for-rat, it doesn't have to be, it can be whatever it looks like to you. Like, if it has timestamps, cool. If it doesn't, cool. You know, whatever that looks like. just, if it's word vomit on the page, somebody might, you know, it's not like some professional blog, so I'm like, if it feels good to get it out and you want to share it with others, we'll put it up there.

Aligned Birth Podcast (55:41.439)
Mm-mm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (55:56.529)
Mm-hmm get it out

Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (56:05.993)
Yeah. Okay. So how can people find you and Peach State and get in touch and those type of things?

Lainey Stancil (56:16.962)
Yes. So we have a website that is peachstatebirthco.org. And then we're on Facebook and Instagram at Peach State Birth Coalition. And yeah, so pretty much on there. And I currently run everything myself. I do have a board, but they both are moms and just had babies. I run the Instagram.

If somebody is liking your post, commenting your post, if you DM, it is me that is responding or liking or commenting. So I know a lot of people have thought just from our Instagram or our website that we are a larger organization, but it's just little old me.

Aligned Birth Podcast (57:01.429)
you

It definitely has a bigger presence, yeah. Which is good! I love it. Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (57:09.21)
Yes, yeah, no, I will take it every day. yeah, if even if you and especially for moms like even if they don't feel like they are ready to like dive in and and you know share their birth story or be a volunteer or whatever like they just don't think that they have the capacity. My DMs are always open just to chat. So I'm always there. I'm always willing just to talk if they just want to share their story with me.

Aligned Birth Podcast (57:30.483)
Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (57:37.588)
Mm-hmm.

Lainey Stancil (57:37.835)
That's totally fine too. So whatever moms need, I'm always there to just be a friend.

Aligned Birth Podcast (57:46.906)
Be a friend. I love your story. Thank you so much for being so open and honest and vulnerable with it. But I think I'm glad and I think it's pretty cool how you've been open and receptive to the journey and the calling. So I think that's really, really cool. That's what stands out the most where people are like, hey, you sound like a doula and you're like, okay, hey, we need this. Okay. Yeah. And I

Lainey Stancil (58:06.168)
Yeah.

Lainey Stancil (58:13.666)
Why not?

Aligned Birth Podcast (58:15.751)
I think that's important and I've already seen how the organization can grow and I love the events and things that you have coming up and the ideas and the plans. So yeah, I'm thankful that you stepped up to the plate, Lainey. I love it.

Lainey Stancil (58:25.912)
Yes.

Lainey Stancil (58:30.39)
Yes, thank you. Yeah, that's kind of just been the theme. Why not? And I'm like, right, why not? Let's go. Let's see where this takes us.

Aligned Birth Podcast (58:35.185)
Why not?

I love it. Yes, so I'm going to link everything in the show notes when our episode goes live so that way people can just kind of very easily just a couple clicks and find you and get in touch. And again, thanks so much for joining me.

Lainey Stancil (58:57.89)
Yes, absolutely. Thank you.