Everything you need to know about birth and your OBGYN won’t tell you with Nathan Riley

On this episode, we talked about:

Homebirth is safer for my and my baby
You can make decisions on your own, but you have to own the outcomes of those decisions
Even tho the placenta ages, it is supposed to age
We don't need to intervene unless it's absolutely necessary
We have no idea what happens whenever a woman goes into labor
What's happening with the placenta?
Inductions tend to hurt a lot more
The baby knows when and how to get out
The pain is super complicated

"If I can't talk to you about the realities of what we do and don't know, then I can't do my job"

"Just because the placenta it's starting to calcify, does not mean the baby is compromised"

"When a person doesn't feel supported, they don't feel seen and cared for, pain is actually far worse"

About Nathan:

Nathan is a father of two, the second of home was born at home. He’s married to his high school sweetheart, Stephanie. He grows food, reads more than he probably should, and enjoys coffee, mountain biking, and being in nature. He and his wife are perennial Burners. Nathan is also a psychonaut, procuring his own ceremonial medicines for fellow travelers.

Nathan has a history of athletics, including triathlon (Ironman distance) and rock climbing. He also served as a CrossFit coach for 6 years. He has dedicated himself to the study of exercise science and nutrition since he was 16 (yes, really).

In his spare time, he supports clients through fertility challenges, pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. He also supports fathers-to-be through the spiritual transformation of childbirth. He manages a private practice called Beloved Holistics, a private contract association. He also attends home births, and he provides collaborative care for midwives across the country who struggle to find a friendly OBGYN with whom to consult on clients. He also recently started training in jiu-jitsu.

He left the conventional medical model for a few reasons. For one, he was tired of renting out his time to bean counters and administrators at the minimum wage they could afford to pay him while maximizing profits for their c-suites. Second, he despises the insurance model that characterizes BigMed in the United States. Lastly, he was fired twice during the COVID pandemic. 1st: for calling medicare fraud on his hospital. 2nd: for taking off his mask while visiting with a dying 95-year-old on hospice.