Send us Fan Mail

Host Elsa welcomes doula and doula mentor Ann Morris, a mom of three based in Lawrenceville, Georgia, to discuss motherhood, birth, and postpartum. Ann shares how her first fast, intense hospital birth in New York City—ending with an ambulance ride and a late-pregnancy doula hire—sparked her passion for birth work. After becoming a doula, she planned and had a peaceful home birth for her second baby in Florida and emphasizes learning from positive birth stories and preparing for postpartum, especially breastfeeding support. She describes postpartum anxiety, exclusive pumping, and relationship strain after her first, then recounts her third birth in Georgia: challenges accessing home birth care, a hospital pivot after her water broke days early, and a last-minute chiropractic adjustment that helped trigger labor, culminating in a rapid surprise baby girl. Ann highlights grace, informed choice, and trusting God-given intuition.

00:00 Meet Ann Morris

00:29 Podcast Intro

00:58 Motherhood Origins

02:40 Becoming a Doula

04:36 First Birth Story

11:12 Labor Coping Tools

12:46 Choosing Home Birth

15:06 Prep for Postpartum

17:01 Breastfeeding Support Team

20:40 Postpartum Anxiety Reality

23:36 Relationship Expectations Shift

26:46 Marriage Comparison Trap

27:42 Keeping Main Thing

29:05 Planning Baby Three

30:28 Georgia Homebirth Limits

32:48 Water Breaks Early

33:51 Waiting Out Labor

37:22 Chiro Sparks Labor

39:16 Hospital Pivot Birth

42:54 Third Postpartum Chaos

45:07 Grace and Asking Help

47:47 Doula Grace Philosophy

50:55 Trust Your Intuition

52:56 Daily Centering Rituals

55:19 Work With Ann

56:37 Podcast Closing Message

Website

www.annmorris-doula.com

Socials

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annmorrisatldoula/

Business FB: https://www.facebook.com/annmorrisatldoula/

Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

These stories remind you that you’re not alone in the chaos. And if you’re ready to take the next step from conversation to transformation, explore Svea – The Beauty Edit. It’s my signature service that helps women edit the noise, simplify their routines, and reclaim confidence through radiant, effortless self-care.

🎙️ More stories: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/podcast
💄 Your Edit awaits: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/beauty-edit

Embrace the chaos. Reclaim yourself.

Send us Fan Mail

Host Elsa returns with a mid-year update on her three words—relentless, unhinged, and ascending—originally shared in January. She explains how “relentless” has shown up through committing to a new studio, creating beauty edits, and working toward fully setting up an in-person podcast recording space with a planned roster of guests. “Unhinged” has meant taking bold leaps, including joining a cabaret program led by Priscilla, which became a healing, confidence-building experience rooted in women in community and learning to say no to misaligned opportunities. “Ascending” reflects continued growth without slipping into toxic self-comparison, as she focuses on building the studio, expanding media and beauty work, and staying open to new opportunities. She shares that the next three weeks are booked and invites listeners to follow her updates, including on Instagram for Svea the Beauty Edit.

00:00 Welcome to the Circus

00:26 Life Update and Rewind

00:49 Three Words for 2026

01:37 Relentless Without Burnout

02:45 Building the Studio Vision

03:52 Unhinged Energy and Bold Moves

04:22 Cabaret as Healing Self Care

05:22 Saying No and Finding Confidence

08:20 Ascending Into the Back Half

10:17 What’s Next and Closing Thoughts

11:28 Podcast Outro and Community Invite

Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

These stories remind you that you’re not alone in the chaos. And if you’re ready to take the next step from conversation to transformation, explore Svea – The Beauty Edit. It’s my signature service that helps women edit the noise, simplify their routines, and reclaim confidence through radiant, effortless self-care.

🎙️ More stories: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/podcast
💄 Your Edit awaits: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/beauty-edit

Embrace the chaos. Reclaim yourself.

Send us Fan Mail

Host Elsa welcomes Dr. Rachel Smith, founder of Aspect Wellness, who shares her path from early motherhood to a career delivering over a thousand babies as a nurse midwife, then transitioning through burnout and perimenopause into obesity medicine and a cardiometabolic longevity-focused practice. They discuss the joy of parenting adult children, how midwifery differs philosophically from traditional OB care, and why perimenopause can bring “hormone chaos” with symptoms like mood changes, sleep disruption, anxiety, decreased libido, brain fog, joint issues, weight gain, and hot flashes. Dr. Smith explains the evolving landscape of hormone replacement therapy, including recent FDA label changes, and emphasizes individualized care. They also cover GLP-1 medications’ benefits and safety concerns, skepticism about “microdosing” as marketing, cautious use of peptides, and considerations around postpartum depression, including hormone-related treatment options.

00:00 Welcome to the Circus

00:24 Meet Dr Rachel Smith

01:14 Motherhood With Adult Kids

05:09 Early Parenting Wake Up Call

09:31 Tornado Meets Midwife

12:37 Fast Track Through Training

17:40 Building a Midwife Career

20:26 Midwife vs OB GYN

24:43 Perimenopause Career Pivot

29:57 Hormone Therapy Updates

33:04 Hormone Chaos Symptoms

34:02 From Weight Clinic to Coaching

36:14 Private Practice and Lifelong Learning

38:21 Data Driven Longevity vs Biohacking

40:03 HRT as the Original Biohack

42:38 GLP Ones Benefits and Risks

44:55 Microdosing Myth Busting

48:43 Peptides Hype and Safety

51:43 Who She Helps in Practice

56:43 Postpartum Hormones and Depression

01:01:47 Personalized HRT and the Magic Window

01:05:02 Wrap Up and Final Thoughts

IG: https://www.instagram.com/aspectwellness/

Website: https://aspect-wellness.com/

Rachel Smith, DNP, FNP-C, CNM is the founder of Aspect Wellness, a precision health and longevity practice focused on helping high-performing men and women optimize metabolism, hormones, recovery, and long-term vitality.

With 20 years of clinical experience spanning women’s health, family medicine, and obesity medicine, Rachel combines evidence-based medicine with performance-focused coaching to help clients maintain the energy, clarity, resilience, and physical capacity needed to lead ambitious lives.

Her work focuses on the intersection of longevity science, metabolic health, behavior change, strength, stress physiology, and hormone optimization—cutting through health industry noise to help people focus on what truly drives long-term outcomes.

Rachel is known for translating complex medical science into practical, actionable strategies that help busy professionals protect their health before decline becomes their new normal.

Through her clinical practice, speaking, and media appearances, she advocates for a modern approach to health optimization rooted in data, physiology, and sustainable performance—not trends, quick fixes, or fear-based wellness culture.

Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

These stories remind you that you’re not alone in the chaos. And if you’re ready to take the next step from conversation to transformation, explore Svea – The Beauty Edit. It’s my signature service that helps women edit the noise, simplify their routines, and reclaim confidence through radiant, effortless self-care.

🎙️ More stories: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/podcast
💄 Your Edit awaits: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/beauty-edit

Embrace the chaos. Reclaim yourself.

Send us Fan Mail

Host Elsa welcomes Holly, a craniosacral therapist and somatic practitioner devoted to helping people reconnect with their body’s wisdom, as they discuss motherhood as an initiation filled with grief, surrender, and honesty. Holly shares her unplanned pregnancy after leaving an engagement, an attempted home birth that became a long hospital labor ending in a vacuum attempt and C-section, and a difficult postpartum period marked by breastfeeding struggles, recovery challenges, and feeling unsupported and judged. She explains how these experiences later shaped her work with families and infants, especially around early signs like feeding difficulties, mouth breathing, airway issues, snoring, and sensory sensitivities. Holly also recounts her own health crisis after an HPV shot, which led her to craniosacral therapy, and describes how the modality supports the nervous system, fascia, and overall regulation for both children and parents.

00:00 Meet Holly

02:54 Podcast Mission

05:50 Holly Becomes Mom

07:10 Surprise Pregnancy

13:19 Pregnancy Plans

16:16 Home Birth Derails

19:40 Hospital C Section

25:46 Postpartum Struggles

29:48 Grief and Ego Death

33:39 Another Baby Question

38:52 Judgment and Meltdowns

42:41 Autonomy Over Obedience

44:33 Generational Trauma In Kids

49:55 Motherhood Without Martyrdom

51:48 HPV Shot Health Spiral

57:31 Finding Craniosacral Healing

01:01:47 Pandemic Reactions And Advocacy

01:04:47 Kids Airway And Oral Ties

01:11:53 How Craniosacral Works

01:19:57 Fascia Trauma And Breathwork

01:21:25 Care For The Caregiver

01:23:22 Closing And Community Invite

www.hollysticalchemy.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/hollystic_alchemist/

Holly Del Valle is a Craniosacral Therapist and somatic practitioner devoted to helping people reconnect with the wisdom of the body. After navigating her own health challenges, she became deeply passionate about showing others just how remarkable the body is at healing, adapting, and finding balance when given the right support. That journey transformed not only her health, but also the way she understood the body, nervous system, and healing itself.

Then motherhood rocked her world.

Becoming a mother shifted everything and had her viewing the body, regulation, development, and healing through an entirely new lens. Through her own experiences and challenges navigating infancy, feeding, airway concerns, regulation, and the things many parents are told are “normal,” she began seeing how many early signs and patterns often go unnoticed. That journey expanded her work beyond individuals and into supporting entire families, infants included.

Today, her approach bridges science, fascia, the nervous system, and subtle energy, helping clients reconnect with safety, coherence, and embodied expansion while remembering that the body is always communicating.

Business Info: Through Hollystic Alchemy, Holly offers private Craniosacral Therapy, lymphatic drainage, fascia focused therapies, workshops, and educational resources designed to empower individuals and families to better understand and support their nervous systems at home. Her mission is helping people move from survival mode into greater resilience, regulation, and embodied expansion.

2–3 Areas of discussion lighting me up: • Fascia and the incredible role it plays in health, compensation patterns, and whole body function • The connection between hypermobility, highly sensitive individuals, and what the body may be communicating through those patterns • Babies and early development, especially the subtle red flags we now recognize through airway, feeding, movement, fascia, and nervous system patterns

Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

These stories remind you that you’re not alone in the chaos. And if you’re ready to take the next step from conversation to transformation, explore Svea – The Beauty Edit. It’s my signature service that helps women edit the noise, simplify their routines, and reclaim confidence through radiant, effortless self-care.

🎙️ More stories: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/podcast
💄 Your Edit awaits: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/beauty-edit

Embrace the chaos. Reclaim yourself.

Send us Fan Mail

Host Elsa welcomes her friend Stacey, mom of Brielle and Jamie, to discuss the micro-moments that shape motherhood, including Stacey’s planned first pregnancy and a traumatic, fast-unfolding birth marked by preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, placenta accreta, an emergency C-section, major blood loss, and a transfusion that left her unconscious and delayed meeting her baby. Stacey shares how therapy, family support, and a healing planned C-section with her second helped her process resentment, grief, and identity loss, and why community and accepting help matter. She also discusses the stress of trying to conceive, an early miscarriage, balancing work travel with motherhood, breastfeeding pressures, and modeling boundaries like taking quiet reset breaks.

00:00 Meet Stacey

01:23 Motherhood Origins

03:10 Planned Baby Surprise

04:22 Traumatic First Birth

07:34 HELLP And Emergency C

13:26 Recovery And Going Home

16:58 Losing Yourself

23:12 Returning To Work

29:26 Second Baby Timing

31:34 Trying To Conceive Stress

33:19 Considering Fertility Help

34:40 Paths to Parenthood

35:26 Pressure and Fertility Talk

37:03 Dont Ask About Pregnancy

38:51 High Risk Mindset Shift

41:25 Miscarriage and Heartbeat Fears

44:39 Motherhood Resilience and Community

49:29 Planning Birth and Postpartum

53:38 Breastfeeding Guilt and Formula

58:26 Learning to Ask for Help

01:03:38 Overstimulation and Reset Time

01:07:59 Work Life Balance and Priorities

01:13:50 Stay at Home Dad Season

01:17:54 Growth Reflections and Goodbye

Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

These stories remind you that you’re not alone in the chaos. And if you’re ready to take the next step from conversation to transformation, explore Svea – The Beauty Edit. It’s my signature service that helps women edit the noise, simplify their routines, and reclaim confidence through radiant, effortless self-care.

🎙️ More stories: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/podcast
💄 Your Edit awaits: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/beauty-edit

Embrace the chaos. Reclaim yourself.

Send us Fan Mail

On a Mother’s Day special of It’s a Circus Podcast, host Elsa is joined by her husband Dimitri to reflect on the past year of parenting their two young boys and navigating constant change. Elsa shares that she’s grown more confident by surrendering control, focusing on being present, and lowering expectations instead of chasing perfection influenced by social media or others’ standards. They discuss how hearing guests’ stories on the podcast brought hope and reminded Elsa she isn’t alone, even while caring for kids and building her work—including opening a physical studio space for in-person podcast filming and beauty edits. Elsa emphasizes that when parents feel overwhelmed or lost, the first step is asking for help without shame, protecting wellbeing, and taking needed rest and space. Looking ahead, she hopes for more family peace and continued support of their kids’ interests.

00:00 Welcome to the Circus

00:22 Mothers Day Special With Dimitri

01:15 Life With Two Wild Boys

02:45 One Year Later Confidence Shift

04:05 Podcast Wins And Studio Build

06:50 Finding Momentum Through Stories

11:15 Showing Up When Empty

12:19 Radical Presence And Lower Expectations

14:46 Escaping Comparison Culture

15:21 Pressure and Expectations

16:37 Simple Plans for Kids

17:18 Ditching Anxiety Triggers

18:12 Immigrant Parent Perspectives

19:53 Finding Yourself Again

20:50 Ask for Help and Rest

24:51 Guilt and Self Care

26:55 One Year Vision

28:49 Podcast Wrap and Farewell

29:42 Final Encouragement Outro

Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

These stories remind you that you’re not alone in the chaos. And if you’re ready to take the next step from conversation to transformation, explore Svea – The Beauty Edit. It’s my signature service that helps women edit the noise, simplify their routines, and reclaim confidence through radiant, effortless self-care.

🎙️ More stories: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/podcast
💄 Your Edit awaits: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/beauty-edit

Embrace the chaos. Reclaim yourself.

Send us Fan Mail

Host Elsa welcomes Brooke, co-founder of the Mone Wellness postpartum app, to discuss motherhood, postpartum realities, and the inspiration behind building a dedicated support resource. Brooke shares her experience becoming a mom during COVID, her three home births with a midwife team (including a prolonged second pregnancy, postpartum hemorrhage, and a colicky baby), and how each postpartum season differed. They talk about baby temperament, colic, lactation support, supplementing with formula when needed, and Brooke’s experience with mastitis. Brooke explains Mone Wellness features including evidence-based education, tools for tracking and guidance, community forums, baby feeding support, symptom alerts for potential complications, partner email tips, and content on boundaries, contraception, and wellness goals, emphasizing that postpartum extends far beyond six weeks.

00:00 Meet Brooke

00:49 Podcast intro and welcome

01:23 Brooke’s mom journey

04:21 COVID pregnancy and homebirth plan

06:54 Home birth story

10:15 First postpartum reality check

12:03 Second birth and hemorrhage

17:14 Colic and baby temperament

21:39 Third birth healing water birth

24:29 Lactation role and feeding journey

25:33 Fed Baby Mindset

26:58 Mastitis Scare Story

29:02 Birth Plans Let Go

31:26 Career Shift to Birth Work

33:54 Mone Wellness App Origin

34:59 App Features and Audience

36:17 Bridging Postpartum Care Gap

40:15 Tracking Tools and Education

44:46 Partners Support Feature

45:40 Launch and Marketing Push

48:38 Advice and Myths Rapid Fire

56:14 Closing Thanks and Outro

IG: https://www.instagram.com/monewellnessapp/

website: https://monewellness.com/

Brooke Orloff, co-founder of Mone Wellness—the comprehensive postpartum support app—is a certified prenatal/postpartum doula, lactation counselor, and entrepreneur. As a mother of three who has personally navigated the raw, beautiful, and challenging moments of the fourth trimester, Brooke offers heart-centered, practical guidance. She helps new parents manage the emotional whirlwind, breastfeeding hurdles, and everyday realities of early motherhood with empathy and wisdom.

Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

These stories remind you that you’re not alone in the chaos. And if you’re ready to take the next step from conversation to transformation, explore Svea – The Beauty Edit. It’s my signature service that helps women edit the noise, simplify their routines, and reclaim confidence through radiant, effortless self-care.

🎙️ More stories: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/podcast
💄 Your Edit awaits: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/beauty-edit

Embrace the chaos. Reclaim yourself.

Send us Fan Mail

Host Elsa kicks off season five of the It’s a Circus podcast with Alicia, who shares her detailed IVF journey to becoming a mom to her son, Andreas. After trying to conceive naturally starting in 2019, Alicia and her husband moved from Clomid to three IUIs during the pandemic, then traveled from Florida to New York for IVF, paying out of pocket while navigating intense physical side effects and emotional strain. Alicia endured repeated two-week waits and three failed transfers, plus delays due to dangerously high blood pressure that required cardiology clearance, triggering grief, depression, and boundaries around family and social media. Further testing revealed silent stage-three endometriosis; after a difficult Lupron experience, she underwent endometriosis surgery in New Jersey and immediately completed a final, heavily medicated transfer that resulted in pregnancy. She describes an anxious high-risk pregnancy, induction at 37 weeks, a C-section, and emphasizes the importance of support, self-advocacy, and trusted doctors.

00:00 Welcome to the Circus

00:22 Season Five Kickoff

01:55 Meet Alicia and Andreas

05:21 Sharing IVF Online

07:29 Trying Naturally and Clomid

10:19 IUI During the Pandemic

12:09 Emotional and Financial Toll

16:17 Finding a New York IVF Doctor

20:45 Shots and Egg Retrieval

24:12 The Two Week Wait Spiral

26:43 Health Scare and Moving Plans

32:35 First Transfer and Heartbreak

41:07 Second Transfer and Hard Talks

46:24 Taking a Break and Setting Boundaries

52:50 When IVF Friends Move On

55:06 Taking a Break and Testing

59:09 Silent Endometriosis Found

59:49 Lupron and Third Transfer

01:02:56 Third Failure and Depression

01:08:34 New Doctor and Surgery Plan

01:14:26 Endometriosis Surgery Recovery

01:19:59 Final Transfer and Positive Call

01:25:48 Early Pregnancy Anxiety

01:31:20 Induction and C-Section Birth

01:33:26 Meeting the Miracle Baby

01:36:43 IVF Advice and Closing

Keep up with Alicia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicia_justasplash/

Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

These stories remind you that you’re not alone in the chaos. And if you’re ready to take the next step from conversation to transformation, explore Svea – The Beauty Edit. It’s my signature service that helps women edit the noise, simplify their routines, and reclaim confidence through radiant, effortless self-care.

🎙️ More stories: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/podcast
💄 Your Edit awaits: https://www.chernerbroscircus.com/beauty-edit

Embrace the chaos. Reclaim yourself.