Jen Hamilton on Birth Vibes: Reclaiming Agency in One of Life’s Most Vulnerable Moments

About this sermon

If you’ve ever felt the quiet fear of placing your body—and your baby—into a healthcare system you don’t fully understand, this conversation is for you. Today, Jen and Amy sit down with labor and delivery nurse, educator, and internet big sister Jen Hamilton to talk about her brand-new “book baby,” Birth Vibes. With more than a decade at the bedside and millions who trust her honest, compassionate voice, Jen has become a steady guide in one of life’s most vulnerable moments. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the delivery room—the expectations, fears, and surprises—and talk about what it actually means to feel prepared. Not in a rigid, checklist kind of way, but in a deeply personal, values-driven way. Because as Jen reminds us, birth isn’t something you control—it’s something you move through. Whether you’re expecting, supporting someone who is, or simply curious about the intersection of care, advocacy, and the body’s wisdom, this conversation will leave you feeling steadier, braver, and less alone. Because at the end of the day, this isn’t just about birth. It’s about learning to trust yourself in the middle of something you can’t fully control—and finding your voice anyway. In This Episode, We Discuss: ● Why “perfect birth plans” often set us up for disappointment—and what to hold onto instead ● How to discover your own “birth vibes”—a blend of values, intuition, and informed choice ● What it means to advocate for yourself inside the healthcare system ● Holding both roles—provider and influencer—with integrity ● How birth can still be empowering, even when it doesn’t go as planned Thought-Provoking Quotes: “What an honor to be with people during the most vulnerable and impactful moments of their life.” – Jen Hamilton “I can watch someone have a birth that goes completely to plan, but if they do not feel heard, respected, and empowered, they can leave that experience with negative feelings. And then someone else can have a birth that goes completely off the rails and still look back positively—because they were heard, respected, empowered, and informed. It has so little to do with what happens and so much more to do with how it happens.” – Jen Hamilton “Birth plans are as individual as you are as a human.” – Jen Hamilton Tags: birth, pregnancy, labor and delivery, women’s health, maternal health, birth plans, advocacy, healthcare system, empowerment, midlife women, body wisdom, Jen Hamilton, Birth Vibes, parenting, motherhood Resources Mentioned in This Episode: ➢ Birth Vibes: Stories and Strategies for an Empowered Birth by Jen Hamilton – https://amzn.to/4sXMrlp ➢ Birth Vibes Audiobook – https://amzn.to/4sXMwFJ ➢ Trauma: Life in the ER – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0215445/ ➢ A Baby Story on TLC – https://go.tlc.com/show/a-baby-story-tlc-atve-us ➢ Nurse Hadley – https://nursehadley.com/ ➢ Read the Red Letters Video - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKVrukwub7O/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== ➢ Huff Post | This Viral Video Has People Talking About Christianity Vs 'MAGA Christianity' – https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-viral-video-has-people-talking-about-christianity-versus-maga-christianity-goog_l_685d63d4e4b0bd0253106ddc ➢ Amy’s Toxically Empathetic Tee - https://www.jenhamilton.co/merch-/p/toxically-empathetic-short-sleeve-tee ➢ Read the Red Words Tee - https://www.jenhamilton.co/merch-/p/read-the-red-short-sleeve-tee Guest’s Links: Website - https://www.jenhamilton.co/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/_jen_hamilton_ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jenhamiltonfacebook Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@jenhamilton TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@_jen_hamilton_?lang=en Substack - https://jenhamiltonsub.substack.com/ Connect with Jen! Jen’s Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy.