Mariah Shrock, a stay-at-home mom of three, is sharing her experience of finding peace through home birth as well as her natural approach to raising happy and healthy children grounded in “strong morals” and traditional family values.
Originally from southeastern Ohio, Mrs. Shrock, 24, is married to Leo Shrock, 27, who grew up in Michigan. She says the way her husband supported and trusted her throughout pregnancy, labor, and birth has strengthened their bond in an “incredible way.” The couple runs a coffee shop and roastery and lives in Tennessee with their three kids: Charlette, 4, Charles, 3, and Clayton, 1.
“We briefly met at a wedding when I was 17 and he was 20,” Mrs. Shrock told The Epoch Times. “About a month later, Leo’s sister and her husband invited me to a week-long young adults’ Bible camp. ... It just so ‘happened’ that Leo and his sister picked me up at the airport!
“I felt very drawn towards Leo and was very impressed with how kind he was to his sister and how he talked so respectfully about his siblings and parents. He has seven sisters and three brothers. That day was the start of it all. ... A year later, he asked my Dad if we could start a relationship. We got engaged in April 2018 and got married in August of that year.”
When it came to starting a family, both knew that Mrs. Shrock would favor home birth since they had both been born at home, and the practice ran in their families.
Three Very Different Home Births
Mrs. Shrock gave birth to her first baby, Charlette, at home, at just shy of 37 weeks, with the support of a midwife.“Labor started with my water breaking at 6 a.m.,” she said. “Around 12:40 in the afternoon, in the bathtub on hands and knees position, I began to push. I birthed my baby at 12:52 p.m. and caught her myself. Pulling her up to my chest, she immediately began to cry. ... I felt an indescribable amount of pride, intense love, and a deep calming peace.
“There were a few small encounters that made me frustrated ... so the birth hormones were disrupted and my body wouldn’t release the placenta. Five hours after birth, we transferred via car to the hospital for placenta delivery.”
At the hospital, Mrs. Shrock felt she had to advocate for herself and “deny more things” than she had during the entirety of her prenatal care with the midwives. It felt “very cold” compared to the beautiful home birth she had just experienced.
During her second pregnancy with her son, Charles, Mrs. Shrock chose the same midwife and a doula. At around 32 weeks, she started showing signs of preeclampsia—a condition marked by high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and swelling in the legs during pregnancy or after delivery. But after Mrs. Shrock made some “drastic changes” to her diet to “build blood volume,” the signs went away.
She said: “I added a lot of nutrient-dense food and made sure I was getting plenty of protein, minerals, and the proper food to naturally add vitamins through food to my body. I ate things like beef liver twice a week, coconut water, lots of red meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, Kiefer, Greek yogurt, spinach, and, most importantly, I made sure I was eating plenty and not being afraid of gaining weight through nutrition.”
At 39 and a half weeks, she went into labor in the morning. “I wanted the security of having a midwife around, but I really wanted to be alone,” Mrs. Shrock said. “I called them in the afternoon, and immediately my contractions stopped, so I asked them not to come for a few hours. They came at 7:30 p.m.
“Even though I was starting to feel like pushing, I wanted her to leave again. I could feel [the doula’s] stress and my body tightened up, so when I went to push again, nothing happened. The baby had shoulder dystocia (when a baby’s shoulder gets stuck during birth). As the midwife went to move his shoulders, I told her to stop. I reached down, and she guided my hand to move his shoulders and guide him out.”
Charles was born at 12:54 a.m. looking purple-blue. Instinctively, Mrs. Shrock used her mouth to suction the baby’s nose, and he began to cry. After five hours, she transferred to the hospital to deliver the placenta.
During her third pregnancy, with baby Clayton, Mrs. Shrock decided to give birth unassisted, meaning she and her husband would stay home alone.
“There was quite a bit more work that went into prepping for an unassisted birth, but when I began labor, it was the most peaceful experience of my life,” she said. “I had laboring contractions for a few days that seemed to do a lot of work towards birth, but none of it was painful. I went about my daily life, and then, one evening, I told my husband it was time.”
Mr. Shrock ran a bath for his wife, who got into the tub and held his hand. They “talked and laughed” between contractions.
“Less than an hour after getting in the bath, I felt my body pushing,” Mrs. Shrock said. “After four minutes of me completely relaxing as my body pushed, he was born. My husband and I pulled him up out of the water onto my chest, and he immediately began to cry. I was surprised at how simple and beautiful it was.”
Mrs. Shrock passed the placenta easily an hour later and was tucked up in bed with her newborn just three hours after giving birth.
Mrs. Shrock shared how she felt on holding each of her babies for the first time. She said that after giving birth to Charlette she'd felt “incredibly proud,” like she could accomplish anything in the world. During Charles’s birth, she had felt “rushed to push out the baby” and had “wanted to postpone the feelings of happiness” so that she could catch up on all the emotions she was feeling at once.
Advice for Expectant Parents
Her older children welcomed their baby brother with love and curiosity, and, over time, Mrs. Shrock integrated what she had learned from her three home birth experiences into her best advice for other expectant parents.“This is my personal experience and what has worked well for me, this is not medical advice,” she said. “The most important things would be preparing your mind and your health. Everything you do today and every day leading up to birth, whether you are pregnant now or don’t plan to get pregnant for five years, will play a part in your birth.
“Prioritize nourishment to your body,” she said. “Find a midwife who you get along well with and enjoy being around. This is essential, as those you invite into your birthing space will play a huge part in the outcome of your birth experience.”
In preparing for a home birth, Mrs. Shrock advises preparing bath towels, disposable underpads for the bed or floor, and a small packed bag in case of transfer to the hospital is needed. “Make sure you communicate with your midwife what they will provide versus what they expect you to have on hand,” she said.
For an unassisted birth, Mrs. Shrock advises stocking up on the following equipment: a fetoscope, test strips to check when the water has broken, a digital waterproof thermometer for the bathtub or birthing pool, a waterproof mattress and extra bedsheets, a baby forehead thermometer, a cord clamp and cord cutter, snacks, bendy straws for drinking during active labor, a bowl for the placenta, a syringe for the baby’s nose, blankets for the baby, and paper towels and hydrogen peroxide for cleaning.
She also recommends stocking up on 100 percent purple grape juice to boost blood volume, liquid chlorophyll to help in the event of blood loss, and herbal tinctures to guard against hemorrhage and help release the placenta. Postpartum, she recommends adult diapers and a contraction-reducing herbal tincture for the belly.
‘Not to Be Feared’
What makes home birth so different from a typical hospital birth is its reinforcement of birth as “a completely natural process that is not to be feared,” Mrs. Shrock said.
“Childbirth is a natural occurrence, not a medical procedure. ... often interventions lead to more interventions, so the less intervention during labor and birth, the more comfortable the mother is, which allows nature to take its course and therefore less medical intervention is needed,” she said.
“Home creates privacy that is non-existent in a hospital setting. You have freedom to move about freely. ... There is no pressure to vaccinate or do antibiotics for yourself or your baby. Interventions are a lot less common. There’s not a rush to get labor done as fast as possible, and it can be a deep time of bonding between you and your partner.”
While she acknowledges that transfer to the hospital can be disappointing, Mrs. Shrock is “extremely grateful for the technology and skill the hardworking individuals in the medical field have to offer, in case of emergencies.”
Natural Remedies
As her three babies grow, Mrs. Shrock, who plans to homeschool, is evolving her traditional approach to motherhood to include battling sickness the natural way. Whenever her kids get sick, she has an arsenal of herbal home remedies to help boost their bodies’ own healing capacities.Mrs. Shrock shared three of her best home remedies for common ailments:
Cough syrup: Layer onion slices with cane sugar in a glass jar. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes until the sugar draws out the onion juice. It becomes a natural cough syrup to soothe the throat and reduce coughing, while onion provides additional immune-boosting benefits. Take a tablespoon or two when needed; there is no specific limit to the amount you can take.
Strong Morals and Traditional Values
The Shrocks are also aware that raising healthy, happy kids depends upon the example they set in the family home. Mr. Shrock is the primary breadwinner, and the couple upholds the traditional marital values of trust, honesty, and integrity.“We have strong morals that we uphold and teach our children,” Mrs. Shrock said. “We don’t get caught up in politics or celebrities. We help our children use their creativity instead of just always relying on screens. We eat mostly locally sourced foods, except for dry goods that we buy in bulk. ... I cook from scratch 95 percent of the time. We eat three family meals a day at the table together, talking and having a good time.
“I think young children thrive best when they have clear boundaries, consistency in what they are being told, quality time with their parents, and unconditional love. I think that ... knowing we are there for them when they need us will build a sturdy foundation of trust and security in relationships.”
