Jana Kramer Gets Candid About Podcasting Her Birth, Mom-Shamers, Fertility & More

Podcast host, actress, singer, and mom of two Jana Kramer can do it all. The 35-year-old One Tree Hill alum recently welcomed her second child, a baby boy, with husband Mike Caussin, and while she was giving birth, she recorded her labor and delivery for her podcast. Some might be shy about sharing these intimate details and moments with the world, but Jana Kramer is happy to be an "open book" with her fans and honestly, it's so refreshing.

While Kramer was giving birth to her second child — a son named Jace Joseph Caussin — she chose to record all of the intense, exciting, and intimate moments on her podcast, Whine Down with Jana Kramer, for her fans to hear. And this was a decision Kramer was confident in making going into her second labor and delivery.

"We’ve always been an open book about our relationship, and just everything in general," Kramer tells Romper. "So I thought this would be a cool way to be even more [of an] open book and record the podcast."

In 2016, Kramer gave birth to her 2-year-old daughter, Jolie, via C-section, according to People. So, when it came time for her second C-section — which Kramer tells Romper is "no fun" — she knew that she wanted to share those moments with her fans and followers.

"I knew it was going to be live, but I thought some parts would be edited," Kramer tells Romper. "I felt kind of embarrassed, but everyone who reached out to me on Instagram after made me feel so much better and not crazy. It's a crazy experience, going through what we go through, and the feeling of not being able to feel your body."

"But at the same time, I'm glad I did it because a lot of people could relate to it," she says.

This is part of Kramer's philosophy of being open about her struggles and successes with her fans, which is exactly what she has done in the past when talking about being a mom, experiencing a miscarriage a little more than year after giving birth to Jolie, and her journey to get pregnant again.

"Because we have been so open about everything, it was just one of those things where I wanted to be able to show a different side of us," Kramer says. "My husband and I are always talking about relationships, and to be able to record the birth of our child was a beautiful thing that we could capture."

"I want people to feel like they know us, and they're connected to us."

In December 2017, exactly one year ago, Kramer opened up to her Instagram followers about experiencing a miscarriage, according to Us Weekly. At the time, Kramer wrote to her fans that she hoped her story would make them feel a little less alone. Kramer continued to bring her fans along on her journey, sharing that she tried getting pregnant through in vitro fertilization, which ultimately didn't work, before getting pregnant naturally, according to People.

But this time, Kramer had something to help her conceive her second child: the Ava bracelet, a device tracks your body's temperature and sleep quality, in addition to tracking your body's ovulation. The FDA-approved bracelet has been on the market since 2016 and syncs with your phone so you can track your fertility in real time.

With this bracelet, Kramer was able to identify when the best days were for her to get pregnant, helping her conceive her son.

"For me, the reason I'm pregnant is because I trusted the Ava bracelet," Kramer says. "I didn't know that I was ovulating late in my cycle — my cycle was probably mixed up from the miscarriages."

Ava's algorithm has a 89 percent success rate at detecting 5.3 fertility days per cycle, according to The New York Times, which gives women a better idea of what the best days are for them to get pregnant. The bracelet and basic package costs $299, but Kramer is a testament to the fact that it is worth every penny.

"When I was using the bracelet, it was telling me I was ovulating on the sixteenth day [of my cycle] and I was like 'That's not possible,' because I never ovulated that late," she says. "But it was on my body, and it was taking my temperature, it was scientific stuff."

"The first month using it, I listened to it, and we got pregnant."

"If I didn't listen to it, and we had sex when I thought I ovulated, then I most likely wouldn't be pregnant because you only have a two to three day window," she says. "So the fact that I listened to it and it was right — I owe a lot of thanks to them."

Kramer tells Romper that she is "not sure" if she and Caussin are "done having kids or not," but if that more kids are in their future, the Ava bracelet will be there when she needs it.

"I still use it because I want to see my stress and how it regulates my health, and I think that's so important," she says. "It's helping me in making sure I'm getting enough sleep and track all those things that are so important for a new mom."

"I'll never use a cycle tracker application on the phone again," she says. "I will always use the bracelet."

Her willingness to share this journey with her fans is refreshing, and Kramer isn't going to stop now that Jace is born and she settles into life as a mom of two young kids, especially because she says that "mom runs the household."

Like most moms who choose to put their life on the internet, Kramer is no stranger to being "mommy shamed" — it's just part of the deal that comes without holding back online. In the past two weeks, she's been criticized for "bouncing back" to her pre-baby body, and followers have even gotten angry about the way her son was strapped in to his car seat in a photo on Instagram. In spite of hearing this criticism, Kramer tells Romper that dealing with the shaming is frustrating:

If something happens, I'm always going to be honest about it. It's something that a lot of people deal with, just like a lot of people deal with body shaming and those issues. So if I can be the beacon to talk about it, or the place for people to feel comforted, that's what I'm going to do. That's why my husband and I are so vocal about our relationship and stuff, because we've been through a lot, and we're going to continue to grow, and we want to be able to help and inspire others.

"We're just doing the best we can, so it would be really nice if moms support each other instead of pointing out flaws," she says. "We're all trying to do the best we can."

But like with most things in life, Kramer knows to give herself a break — whether it's a break from the mommy shame or a break from trying so hard to get pregnant. "Give yourself grace," she says.

"It was so annoying when people said to me 'Don't stress' and I know that's really hard when you're trying to get pregnant, because, you know, every month that you don't get pregnant is another month that you have to wait."

"But as much as you know that it will happen, just have patience, and just know that the timing will happen," she says. "I never understood why I miscarried, but looking back it's just like, 'OK, it wasn't right at that time.'"

And now that she is a mom of two, her life hasn't changed too much. Kramer is going to continue to be honest with her fans. Especially since her journey has inspired her 1.6 million followers on Instagram so far — whether they're going through the same thing or simply appreciate a celebrity who doesn't apologize for keeping it real.

The great thing is, this is only the beginning of Kramer sharing her story and her new journey with her family.

After a very frustrating first birth experience, this Deaf mother wanted a change. Will the help of two Deaf doulas give the quality communication and birth experience this mom wants and deserves? Watch Episode Four of Romper's Doula Diaries, Season Two, below, and visit Bustle Digital Group's YouTube page for more episodes.