Down to Birth
362 episodes - English - Latest episode: 16 days ago - ★★★★★ - 418 ratingsJoin Cynthia Overgard and Trisha Ludwig once per week for evidence-based straight talk on having a safe and informed birth, which starts with determining if you've hired the right provider. If we had to boil it down to a single premise, it's this: A healthy mom and baby isn't all that matters. We have more than 30 years' experience between us in midwifery, informed rights advocacy, publishing, childbirth education, postpartum support and breastfeeding, and we've personally served thousands of women and couples. Listen to the birth stories of our clients, listeners and celebrities, catch our expert-interviews, and submit your questions for our monthly Q&A episodes by calling us at 802-GET-DOWN. We're on Instagram at @downtobirthshow and also at Patreon.com/downtobirthshow, where we offer live ongoing events multiple times per month, so be sure to join our worldwide community. We are a Top .5% podcast globally with listeners in more than 80 countries every week. Become informed, empowered, and have a great time in the process. Join us and reach out any time - we love to hear from you. And as always, hear everyone, listen to yourself.
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Episodes
#172 | Our Sexual Energy as The Secret Weapon to Our Best Birth and Best Life with Kim Anami
August 03, 2022 09:00 - 48 minutes - 66.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Sex and birth are inextricably linked. Both functions operate optimally under the same conditions: trust, safety, security, surrender. Furthermore, they both require oxytocin. So it is no wonder that birth can actually be the biggest oxytocin rush and/or orgasm of your life. But the importance of healthy sexual energy goes far beyond birth. It is also the key to our best relationship and our best life. Kim Anami is a holistic sex and relationship coach whose thirty y...
#171 | July Q&A: Premature Rupture of Membranes; Hyperemesis Gravidarum; Aspirin in Pregnancy; Waterbirth Safety; Nipple Pain in Pregnancy; Quickies
July 27, 2022 09:00 - 45 minutes - 62.8 MBSend us a Text Message. It's the last Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means! We are back with our monthly Q&A episode. Today, we are discussing how long it is safe to go after your bag of waters releases (see link to our amazing birth story below); What can be done to treat or prevent Hyperemesis Gravidarum? Is Aspirin in pregnancy really necessary and what does ACOG have to say about it? When your hospital says waterbirth increases the risk of infection and is harmful to th...
#170 | An Empowered Cesarean Recovery with Nicole Alfred
July 20, 2022 09:00 - 36 minutes - 50.6 MBSend us a Text Message. Nicole Alfred the @csectionrecoverycoach is a cesarean recovery coach, massage therapist, and mother of two. She has given birth two times by C-section: one emergent and traumatic, the other empowered and planned. Her different experiences opened her eyes to the abject lack of support mothers receive post-operatively. Nicole sees a need for much more emotional and physical attention. In today's episode, she shares with us the key steps she believes mothers must take,...
#169 | Protecting Today's Children with Integrative Pediatrician Dr. Joel Gator Warsh
July 13, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Should we really be treating fevers in young children? Why are babies so gassy? Are germs helpful or harmful for our kids? Do kids actually need cows' milk? What is the problem with dairy? Dr. Joel Gator Warsh , an integrative pediatrician in Los Angeles, CA, joins us today to discuss what is happening in our environment that is contributing to making kids sicker in the past generation rather than healthier, despite all the resources of modern society. He answers...
#169 | Protecting Today's Children with Integrative Pediatrician Dr. Joel Gator Walsh
July 13, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Should we really be treating fevers in young children? Why are babies so gassy? Are germs helpful or harmful for our kids? Do kids actually need cows' milk? What is the problem with dairy? Dr. Joel Gator Walsh , an integrative pediatrician in Los Angeles, CA, joins us today to discuss what is happening in our environment that is contributing to making kids sicker in the past generation rather than healthier, despite all the resources of modern society. He answers...
#168 | The Business of Birth Control with Abby Epstein: The Importance of Safety, Autonomy and Informed Consent
July 06, 2022 09:00 - 44 minutes - 60.8 MBSend us a Text Message. The Business of Birth Control is a new documentary directed by Abby Epstein and produced by Ricki Lake, who achieved international acclaim for their revolutionary 2008 film, "The Business of Being Born". Abby joins us today to discuss why she and Ricki made their new film, which boldly shines a light on some of the severe side effects that accompany hormonal birth control, including death -- and the fact that congress, and the pharmaceuticals who make the pill, have ...
#167 | June Q&A: A Small Pelvis, Plugged Ducts, Vaginal Exams, ECVs, Libido Woes, Castor Oil, Cord Prolapse & Painful Sex, Plus Bonus Content
June 29, 2022 09:00 - 46 minutes - 63.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Hello! This month's Q &A begins with a story from one of our Instagram followers on the pressure to have a vaginal exam to document cervical status so that her doctor can schedule an induction that she didn't need or want. Next, we jump into our questions starting with, "I have a narrow pelvis and grow big babies; what can I do stretch my pelvis for birth?" What can be done about plugged ducts and "Is my haaka helpful or hurtful?" Do I have to be on my back for a cer...
#166 | Developmental Toilet Training: How to Train Your Baby for Big Kid Success
June 22, 2022 09:00 - 44 minutes - 61.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Danielle Daure holds a Master's Degree in Education and has over 20 years' combined experience in education and behavior analysis. She is a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst (BCBA, LBA). For years, Danielle worked with children as old as five with extreme anxiety around toilets, to the point where they had severe constipation through tears and tantrums. She saw frustrated parents trying to reward and/or punish their children into potty-training; children ...
Bonus Episode | Midwives Under Assault by Hospital Administrators
June 20, 2022 09:00 - 36 minutes - 50.3 MBSend us a Text Message. "There is something going on against midwives, against birth centers, and against choice for women." Cathy Parisi is the director of the Connecticut Childbirth & Women's Center in Danbury, Ct since 1999. The center is the only free standing birth center in Connecticut and promotes physiologic birth under the midwifery model of care, offering women choice, freedom, and empowered decision making in their care in the birth center itself or across the street at Danbury h...
#165 | The Holistic OBGYN, Dr. Nathan Riley, on Autonomous, Empowered Birth
June 15, 2022 09:00 - 38 minutes - 52.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Dr. Nathan Riley is a board certified obstetrician in California advocating for autonomous birth. Through his experiences as a hospice care provider he learned that choices around end of life care are no different from choices in birth: What matters is that mothers feel in charge of their bodies during their birth experiences. He argues that birth is so much more than the standard metrics of vital signs, length of labor, fetal status or any variable routinely measur...
#164 | Kendra's Story: A Traumatic Birth Due To Hospital Policy and Poor Training
June 08, 2022 09:00 - 41 minutes - 57.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Kendra grew up around physiologic birth and was a VBAC, breech baby herself. She was planning a birth center birth when she went into labor unexpectedly at 35 weeks. Her physiologic birth plans quickly went out the window as she was continuously monitored, poorly treated, stalled around 7 cm, got an epidural and ended up with a C-section when her baby's heart rate dropped. Despite being born with excellent APGAR scores, her baby was whisked away from her and sent to...
#163 | Postpartum Roundtable: A Candid Conversation on Postpartum Depression, Anxiety, Unmet Expectations & Spousal Challenges
June 01, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 94.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Today's episode is another special roundtable, in which we sat with some postpartum women in Cynthia’s kitchen to talk about their experiences with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, arguments with their spouses, lack of professional and personal support and unmet expectations. Amy is a young mother of three; Devon is a forty-year old mother of one. Through tears and some laughter, you’ll discover that much of what a struggling mom experiences in her early months a...
#162 | May Q&A: Conversations with Your OB; Erythromycin; Mastitis; IUDs; Artificial Rupture of Membranes; Feeding Routines for Babies; Quickies!
May 25, 2022 09:00 - 34 minutes - 47.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Hey everyone! Starting this month, we have an exciting announcement: Down to Birth Show is now producing longer Q&A episodes. So if you can't get enough Q&A, and you want to enjoy ad-free episodes all the time, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts! This week we're answering questions on: Difficult conversations with your doctor and how to discuss things like aging placentas, eating during labor, breech deliveries, etc.; What Erythromycin eye ointment works for and...
#161 | Four Tips to Train Your Body for Natural Birth with Doula Krisha Crosley
May 18, 2022 09:00 - 38 minutes - 52.9 MBSend us a Text Message. You may remember today’s guest from episode #105: Tips for Supporting Women in Labor with Guest Host Doula Krisha. This time, Krisha of @serenitylifedoula returns to the show to discuss her effective techniques for "training" - in the athletic sense - her clients for a natural birth. As a former collegiate athlete, Krisha has developed a methodology for training your mind and body to have your easiest, fastest, and safest birth. Today, she explains her four key steps...
#161 | Four Tips to Train Your Body for Natural Birth with Doula Krisha Crosley
May 18, 2022 09:00 - 39 minutes - 54.2 MBYou may remember today’s guest from episode #105: Tips for Supporting Women in Labor with Guest Host Doula Krisha. This time, Krisha of @serenitylifedoula returns to the show to discuss her effective techniques for "training" - in the athletic sense - her clients for a natural birth. As a former collegiate athlete, Krisha has developed a methodology for training your mind and body to have your easiest, fastest, and safest birth. Today, she explains her four key steps to get there and how you...
#160 | The Vagina Whisperer: Painful Sex, Prolapse, Incontinence & Diastasis Recti After Birth
May 11, 2022 09:00 - 56 minutes - 78.3 MBSend us a Text Message. If you are on Instagram and you have a vagina, you most likely know Sara Reardon, aka the vagina whisperer, pelvic floor extraordinaire! Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that attach to your pelvis and support your bladder, rectum, and reproductive organs. A healthy pelvic floor is essential to normal functions such as: peeing, pooping, sex, and childbirth. But after pregnancy and childbirth many women experience difficulty in one or all of the above. Sara j...
#159 | Yvonne Strahovski's Birth Story: The Most Important Lesson in Childbirth
May 04, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 95.7 MBSend us a Text Message. Yvonne Strahovski is the Emmy-nominated, SAG Award-nominated and Golden-Globe-nominated actress whose voice you may recognize as the stoic Serena Joy Waterford from The Handmaid's Tale. She is the mother of a toddler and newborn, with starkly different birth stories to share. During Yvonne's first pregnancy, she felt an intuitive pull toward birthing at home, but suppressed her inner voice in favor of the rational, which warned Yvonne that she lived too far from the ...
#159 | Yvonne Strahovski's Birth Story: The Most Important Lesson in Childbirth
May 04, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 94.1 MBYvonne Strahovski is the Emmy-nominated, SAG Award-nominated and Golden-Globe-nominated actress whose voice you may recognize as the stoic Serena Joy Waterford from The Handmaid's Tale. She is the mother of a toddler and newborn, with starkly different birth stories to share. During Yvonne's first pregnancy, she felt an intuitive pull toward birthing at home, but suppressed her inner voice in favor of the rational, which warned Yvonne that she lived too far from the hospital in the event of ...
#158 | April Q&A: Jaundice; Neonatal Hypoglycemia; C-section & Your Pelvic Floor; Family Boundaries; Meconium; Tearing; Anterior Placentas; Quickies!
April 27, 2022 09:00 - 45 minutes - 63 MBSend us a Text Message. It is time for our monthly Q&A episode! This month we kick it off with a follow-up conversation on the impact of early, frequent breastfeeding on significant jaundice. Next, we address the question of why babies who are born "big" get heel sticks for blood sugar monitoring; the impact of a c-section birth on your pelvic floor; how to manage family boundaries around your birth and birth preferences with your sister and mother-in-law; if you tear during vaginal birth...
#158 | April Q & A: Jaundice; Neonatal Hypoglycemia; C-section & Your Pelvic Floor; Family Boundaries; Meconium; Tearing; Anterior Placentas; Quickies!
April 27, 2022 09:00 - 46 minutes - 64.2 MBIt is time for our monthly Q&A episode! This month we kick it off with a follow-up conversation on the impact of early, frequent breastfeeding on significant jaundice. Next, we address the question of why babies who are born "big" get heel sticks for blood sugar monitoring; the impact of a c-section birth on your pelvic floor; how to manage family boundaries around your birth and birth preferences with your sister and mother-in-law; if you tear during vaginal birth and get medication for s...
#157 | Labiaplasty Gone Wrong: The Collateral Damage of Ignorant Doctors
April 20, 2022 09:00 - 53 minutes - 73.1 MBSend us a Text Message. When Jessica Pin was a teenager, she became convinced her labia minora were unusually large and unattractive. Within days of her 18th birthday, she underwent labiaplasty with a prominent and trusted OB/GYN. Without her consent or knowledge, her surgeon severed the dorsal nerve of her clitoris, resulting in a loss of clitoral sensation. In the face of clear evidence, her doctor denied wrongdoing. Jessica has since discovered labiaplasty is regularly performed by OB...
#156 | Surviving Psychosis: Christa's Story of Postpartum Hallucinations, Intrusive Thoughts & Suicidal Ideations
April 13, 2022 09:00 - 39 minutes - 55 MBSend us a Text Message. Postpartum psychosis occurs in 1 to 2 per thousand births and involves extreme conditions such as hallucinations, intrusive thoughts, paranoia, suspiciousness, hyperactivity and inability to sleep. Today, Christa Ardelean joins us to share her powerful story of suffering with postpartum psychosis. Her story begins with a difficult pregnancy and birth, which, unbeknownst to Christa, included numerous risk factors associated with perinatal mood disorders. When Christa'...
#155 | Gestational Diabetes Prevention and Management with Author Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE
April 06, 2022 09:00 - 45 minutes - 62.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is the most common metabolic complication of pregnancy impacting 5-10% of pregnancies in the United States. It is controversial, complicated and loaded with misinformation. Do I really have it? Can I reverse it? Is there a way to prevent it? According to Lily Nichols, RDN CDE author of Real Food for Gestational Diabetes and Real Food for Pregnancy, you can certainly "stack the deck in your favor" to reduce your chances of it impact...
#154 | March Q&A: Postpartum Boundaries; Infant Lip Blisters; Newborn Separation After Birth; Legitimate Reasons For C-section; Splitting Parental Duties; Quickies
March 30, 2022 09:00 - 46 minutes - 64.6 MBSend us a Text Message. It is time for our monthly Q&A episode! Thank you to all who submitted excellent questions. Today we are talking about managing postpartum boundaries with in-laws, newborn nursing blisters--are they normal or not? What can I do to ensure my baby is not separated from us after giving birth in the hospital--do they really need to leave the room to be examined? What are the actual reasons I might truly need a C-section? What is the best way to split parental duties aft...
#153 | Legal Case Study #2 with Attorney Hermine Hayes-Klein: Injured by Obstetrics with Nowhere Else To Turn
March 23, 2022 09:00 - 59 minutes - 82.2 MBSend us a Text Message. "You'll never get sued for doing a C-section. You'll only get sued for the C-section you didn’t do." This is the narrative in obstetrics and the lens through which hospital birth is viewed. Litigation is feared in obstetrics but for the wrong reasons. What if, instead of resorting to C-sections to prevent liability exposure, doctors were rewarded for avoiding unnecessary C-sections? United States law as it's practiced today actually incentivizes OBs to perform C-sect...
#152 | The Impact of Birth Stress on Infant Development with Ontrack Baby
March 16, 2022 09:00 - 44 minutes - 60.8 MBSend us a Text Message. Today's discussion with sisters Jenny & Carrie, the pediatric occupational therapists behind Ontrack baby and the NOEL method, is a fascinating exploration of how the way we give birth impacts infant development. In particular, when the baby does not experience the "vaginal squeeze" the infant Moro or "startle" reflex may become over-reactive, leading to more fussy babies and slower development. Jenny & Carrie explain how vaginal birth can help infant development an...
#151 | Labor & Delivery: A Nurse Shares Why She Left Obstetrics
March 09, 2022 10:00 - 27 minutes - 37.4 MBSend us a Text Message. "I don't have time for this today. My son has a soccer game. I am going to say that her baby's heart rate is decelerating and we need to do a c-section." This is just one of the many things Shelby, a nurse in Arizona, heard from doctors in labor & delivery when she worked on the maternity ward. This episode brings to light the very real fact that providers don't always have the laboring woman's best interest in mind. Instead, profits, time, and liability concerns d...
#150 | Myth of the Aging Placenta with Midwife/Author Dr. Rachel Reed
March 02, 2022 10:00 - 48 minutes - 66.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Dr. Rachel Reed, PhD, is a midwife and author of Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage. Since earning her doctorate, she is inarguably now among the world’s leading experts on placentas. The publication of her book has come during an era in which women are often told placentas can “fail”, “calcify” and “stop working”, or even cause stillbirth. This rhetoric - all of which we discuss in the episode - is not only terrifying, but false and harmful, and consistently...
#149 | February Q&A: Eating in Labor; Leaking Breastmilk; Postpartum Bodies; Homebirth & Ultrasound; Ovulation After Baby; Birthing Positions; Quickies
February 23, 2022 10:00 - 38 minutes - 53.2 MBSend us a Text Message. We are back with our February Q&A episode! Today we are answering your questions around: Whether or not it is ok to eat in labor, leaking (or not leaking breastmilk), how long it takes to feel good in your postpartum body and relationship again; whether or not you need an OB in order to get prenatal ultrasounds if you are having a home birth; understanding ovulation postpartum; why not to birth on your back, and our quickies series, loaded with great questions submit...
#148 | Choosing Egg Freezing: The Process, Cost, Benefits and Rationale
February 16, 2022 10:00 - 29 minutes - 40 MBSend us a Text Message. Today we are joined by Diana Marks, a social media influencer and coach, who is deeply passionate about bringing awareness to women on how and why to consider egg freezing for fertility preservation. If this is a topic you've been curious about, today's episode will answer your questions from, "When should someone consider egg freezing," to "How much does egg freezing cost," to "What is the emotional journey of going through this process?" With more women choosing t...
#147 | Stefanie's Birth Story: Healing Generational Birth Trauma
February 09, 2022 10:00 - 30 minutes - 41.9 MBSend us a Text Message. How do you know if you are carrying generational birth trauma? And if you identify it, what can be done about it prior to giving birth? Today we meet with Stefanie, whose mother had a traumatic obstetrical experience while birthing to her second daughter, resulting in permanent brain damage and disability to Stefanie's little sister. Stefanie was five at the time. For nine months, she had excitedly anticipated her parents coming home with a baby, only to end up in h...
#146 | Finding Autonomy and Asserting Your Birth Plan with Fierce Lizzie
February 02, 2022 10:00 - 40 minutes - 55.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Lizzie Bolliger of Fiercelizzy doesn't consider herself necessarily a fierce person but very much a fierce advocate for autonomy and informed decision making in childbirth. Today, she joins us as a guest host to discuss what it actually means to be fierce in your birth planning and preparation. Guess what? According to Lizzie, it's not about having the most detailed birth plan because there is no power in the birth plan if you don't know why you are checking the b...
#146 | Finding Autonomy and Asserting Your Birth Plan with Fierce Lizzie
February 02, 2022 10:00 - 38 minutes - 53 MBLizzie Bolliger of Fiercelizzy doesn't consider herself necessarily a fierce person but very much a fierce advocate for autonomy and informed decision making in childbirth. Today, she joins us as a guest host to discuss what it actually means to be fierce in your birth planning and preparation. Guess what? According to Lizzie, it's not about having the most detailed birth plan because there is no power in the birth plan if you don't know why you are checking the boxes. So what is the mos...
#145 | January Q&A: Hypertension & Induction; Boundaries with In-Laws; Posterior Babies; Birth Centers; Distracted Breast Feeders; Limited Provider Options; The "Nurse Curse"; Quickies!
January 26, 2022 10:00 - 52 minutes - 72.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Our January Q&A is here and has a special treat! In addition to your more in depth questions we've add a "quickies" series to the end of the episode. Be sure to check it out and send in your feedback! Today's Q&A begins with induction and hypertension: when is the right time to be induced (see our episode on Pitocin)? Next we touch on setting boundaries with passive-aggressive in-laws; how does having one posterior baby (and an anterior pelvic tilt) impact my birth...
#144 | Restrengthening from Within through Yoga with Deb Flashenberg of The Prenatal Yoga Center
January 19, 2022 10:00 - 33 minutes - 46.6 MBSend us a Text Message. How is yoga like birth? They both ask us to get uncomfortable and sit with that discomfort. How long can we sit with it? Where does our mind go when we get uncomfortable? How quickly do we reach for distraction? Yoga prepares us for birth not only physically but also by integrating the mind/body connection and strengthening our intuition and our physical body. Today, Deb Flashenberg of the Prenatal Yoga Center in NYC speaks with us about how to get safely uncomfortab...
#143 | Radical Boundaries in Birth with Tranquility by Hehe
January 12, 2022 10:00 - 38 minutes - 53.3 MBCan you be so firm and stable in your boundaries around pregnancy and birth that it doesn't actually matter who attends your birth because you know exactly what and what not you will let into your birth space? In this conversations with Tranquility by Hehe, we dive into hard boundaries versus soft boundaries; how to set them; and why they matter so much in our birth planning as well as our personal relationships throughout pregnancy and postpartum. * * * * * * * * * * Connect with us on...
#143 | Radical Boundaries in Birth with Guest Host Tranquility by Hehe
January 12, 2022 10:00 - 40 minutes - 55.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Can you be so firm and stable in your boundaries around pregnancy and birth that it doesn't actually matter who attends your birth because you know exactly what and what not you will let into your birth space? In this conversation with HeHe Stewart of Tranquility by Hehe, we dive into hard boundaries versus soft boundaries; how to set them; and why they matter so much in our birth planning as well as our personal relationships throughout pregnancy and postpartum. ...
#142 | Healing from Birth Trauma with Hypnosis: Molly's Birth Story
January 05, 2022 10:00 - 38 minutes - 52.6 MBSend us a Text Message. Molly had a textbook first pregnancy and went into labor just at 37 weeks. After an uneventful labor, her baby was born with an APGAR score of one. Despite a successful resuscitation, her baby was put into an intentional state of hypothermia for seventy-two hours to prevent or reverse any potential brain damage. During this time, Molly knew very little about why this was happening, what caused it or if it was really even necessary. Thankfully her baby made a full re...
New Year's Eve Bonus | Our Youngest Listener
December 31, 2021 10:00 - 12 minutes - 17 MBSend us a Text Message. New Year's marks exactly two years since we launched our first episode of Down To Birth. While we didn't know what to expect, we never dreamed so many people from every single (inhabited) continent would become avid followers of our show, and we are deeply grateful you find our show worth your time, attention and dedication. Today we're going to delight you with a brief conversation we had with our youngest listener: eight-year-old Scarlett, from Belfast, Maine. S...
#141 | December Q&A: Increasing Breastmilk; Urge to Push; Cervadil; Posterior Cervix; PP Anxiety; Big Placentas; The Purple Line; Amusement Parks in Pregnancy
December 29, 2021 10:00 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBSend us a Text Message. Our December Q&A is here and loaded with entertaining and informative questions: We begin with a question around increasing supply without pumping: Is it possible? Next we dive into expectations around pushing as it relates to hypnobirthing and the urge to push. We discuss Cervadil and the subsequent cascade of interventions and what happens with a posterior cervix? How do you know if you have postpartum anxiety? What are placental lakes and will a large placenta cau...
#140 | How to Write Your Birth Story with Carrie Murphy
December 22, 2021 10:00 - 24 minutes - 33.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Writing your birth story seems like a simple thing to do, yet so many of us struggle with where and how to begin; and many of us never get it on paper at all. We can also opt to skip the writing and record ourselves telling the story. Writing your birth story is not only creating a beautiful memory to be shared and passed on, but it can also be a necessary and important part of healing from a difficult birth. Join us today with doula Carrie Murphy who walks us thr...
#139 | Katie's Gentle Birth After a Host of Unnecessary Interventions the First Time Around
December 15, 2021 10:00 - 47 minutes - 64.7 MBSend us a Text Message. At 41+1 weeks Katie was pressured into an induction beginning with a foley bulb followed by forcefully rupturing her bag of water, high amounts of Pitocin, restricted movement due to fetal heart rate abnormalities, a maternal fever resulting in an urgent need for a forcep delivery to "save her baby," and a six hour separation from her baby for monitoring after birth. Left traumatized and burdened with guilt, when she became pregnant again she sought out midwifery...
#139 | Katie's Home Birth After a Host of Unnecessary Interventions the First Time Around
December 15, 2021 10:00 - 42 minutes - 58.8 MBAt 41+1 weeks Katie was pressured into an induction beginning with a foley bulb followed by forcefully rupturing her bag of water, high amounts of Pitocin, restricted movement due to fetal heart rate abnormalities, a maternal fever resulting in an urgent need for a forcep delivery to "save her baby," and a six hour separation from her baby for monitoring after birth. Left traumatized and burdened with guilt, when she became pregnant again she sought out midwifery care at her local hospit...
#138 | Legal Case Study #1 with Attorney Hermine Hayes-Klein: Traumatized at a Major Teaching Hospital While Interns Watched and Learned
December 08, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 87.8 MBSend us a Text Message. Today on the show we have attorney Hermine Hayes-Klein, a fearless legal advocate for sexual and reproductive rights with a particular passion for defending women’s human rights in childbirth, which, she says, are routinely violated in maternity care systems. We’re also grateful to have her her clients, Lillie and George, whose birth experience we will be focusing on today. By the end of this episode you’ll have clarity as what obstetric abuse looks like, who is co...
#137 | When Providers Get It Wrong: Kassidy's Birth Story of Mistreatment and Claiming Her Power
December 01, 2021 10:00 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MBSend us a Text Message. When Kassidy was preconception, she had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and was told she would never conceive. But she did. When she told her providers her conception date, they refused to listen, and determined her due date based on her last menstrual cycle. This insistence on method over mother caused them to overstate the gestational age throughout Kassidy's entire pregnancy, which resulted in perpetual talks about how "small" her baby was, and "if" he makes i...
#136 | November Q&A: Membrane Sweeps, PP Hemorrhage, PP hormones & Mood Disorders, When to go to the Hospital, Cord Traction, Group B Strep
November 24, 2021 10:00 - 38 minutes - 53.1 MBSend us a Text Message. Our Q&A is here again! We open with some interesting survey results on how long mothers spend in the waiting room versus in the actual prenatal appointment. This month we had excellent questions from our community on whether or not you should have a membrane sweep in late pregnancy, how to avoid experiencing a postpartum hemorrhage, how and why postpartum hormones influence baby blues versus postpartum depression and anxiety; and whether there any hormonal treatment...
#136 | November Q&A: Membrane Sweeps, PP hemorrhage, PP hormones & Mood Disorders, When to go to the Hospital, Cord Traction, Group B Strep
November 24, 2021 10:00 - 36 minutes - 50 MBOur Q&A is here again! We open with some interesting survey results on how long mothers spend in the waiting room versus in the actual prenatal appointment. This month we had excellent questions from our community on whether or not you should have a membrane sweep in late pregnancy, how to avoid experiencing a postpartum hemorrhage, how and why postpartum hormones influence baby blues versus postpartum depression and anxiety; and whether there any hormonal treatments for postpartum mood dis...
#135 | Covid Vaccine Research for Breastfeeding Moms with Dr. Kaytlin Krutsch of Texas Tech University's Infant Risk Research Team
November 17, 2021 10:00 - 54 minutes - 74.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Breastfeeding women have been having a difficult time knowing whether to get the Covid vaccine, given that the vaccine is new and neither the CDC nor vaccine manufacturers have studied whether vaccine ingredients make their way into breast milk. Meanwhile, pregnant and breastfeeding women have been told to get the vaccine despite this lack of research. It has been the historical norm for vaccines not to be tested on pregnant or nursing mothers, making informed consen...
#135 | Covid Vaccine Research for Breastfeeding Moms with Dr. Kaytlin Krutsch of Texas Tech University's Infant Risk Research Team
November 17, 2021 10:00 - 49 minutes - 68.5 MBBreastfeeding women have been having a difficult time knowing whether to get the Covid vaccine, given that the vaccine is new and neither the CDC nor vaccine manufacturers have studied whether vaccine ingredients make their way into breast milk. Meanwhile, pregnant and breastfeeding women have been told to get the vaccine despite this lack of research. It has been the historical norm for vaccines not to be tested on pregnant or nursing mothers, making informed consent difficult, if not impos...
#135 | Covid Vaccine Research for Breastfeeding Moms with Dr. Kaytlin Krutch of Texas Tech University's Infant Risk Research Team
November 17, 2021 10:00 - 49 minutes - 68.5 MBBreastfeeding women have been having a difficult time knowing whether to get the Covid vaccine, given that the vaccine is new and neither the CDC nor vaccine manufacturers have studied whether vaccine ingredients make their way into breast milk. Meanwhile, pregnant and breastfeeding women have been told to get the vaccine despite this lack of research. It has been the historical norm for vaccines not to be tested on pregnant or nursing mothers, making informed consent difficult, if not impos...