Latest Birth stories Podcast Episodes
What Happens when Postpartum is a Bear: Kelly's Birth Story, Part II
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - December 26, 2023 08:00 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode we talk about the many challenges Kelly faced in postpartum, including: * very painful breastfeeding, in part likely due to a significant tongue tie that was never caught, *signs of tongue tie and the difficulties identifying it We also hear about her second birth, which was...
What You Can do to Conquer Your Fear of Birth: Kelly's Birth Story, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - December 19, 2023 08:00 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I talk to a woman about the first of her two births. She talks about HOW her experience in pregnancy and her first birth changed her life in ways she couldn't have anticipated. Because of the things that happened in this pregnancy and birth she left teaching and became a BIR...
What Happens when you Research your Way to a better Birth?: Chantal's Birth Story, Part II + Doula insights
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - December 12, 2023 08:00 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I finish my conversation with Chantal. We talk about: * how she used her experience of her first birth to inform how she walked into the second birth. One major change she made was in her research strategy: The second time around she traded a home birth for a hospital birt...
What Happens when Your Pregnancy is visited by Postpartum Preeclampsia: Chantal's Birth Story, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - December 05, 2023 08:00 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode, I talk to a doula who learned a great deal about her body and her pregnancy in a challenging postpartum that included both a hemorrhage and preeclampsia. we talk about: * the dramatic gap between her expectation: that everything would be easy, and * her actual experience...
What Happens when your Postpartum Experience teaches you to Advocate for Yourself: Tonya's Story + OB insights, Part II
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - November 28, 2023 08:00 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode, Tonya and I talk about her second birth, which was different in almost every way from her first; Her first birth was an emergency C section in the hospital; her second was a smooth and serene home birth, but the aftermath was much trickier. Tonya shares the things she learne...
What Happens when Your Vaginal Birth ends in an Emergency C section: Tonya's Birth Story + OB insights, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - November 21, 2023 08:00 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode, I speak with a woman who shares her experience of two births. In the first part of our conversation, which follows, we talk about: the first pregnancy which included: hyperemesis and how she managed it and a birth that started out as a vaginal birth that came to include:...
What you might do with previous Trauma that visits in the Postpartum: Nadia's Birth story + Therapy Insights, Part II
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - November 10, 2023 08:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode, I finish my conversation with Nadia, who shares: * the process she went through in understanding her own history *how she's used things like writing to explore difficult topics *how she's come to a better understanding about herself and her motivations in an effort to be ...
What Happens When Pregnancy & Birth are linked to Trauma? Nadia's Birth Story & Therapist insights, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - November 03, 2023 07:00 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode, I speak with a woman who shares how her experience of pregnancy and birth shifted her into a space in which she could connect with a buried sexual trauma from her past. NOTE: this discussion is not explicit about the details of the trauma In our conversation, we focus on ...
What Birth Trauma can look like after Therapy: Alexis' Birth Story, Part II
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - October 27, 2023 07:00 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsThe intense things that can happen in the course of this transition can impact: how you see yourself, how you see your partner and how you parent The better we understand what happened to us, the better we can manage all the things that follow. Today is the second part of my conversation wi...
What Birth Trauma can look like after Time to Reflect: Alexis' story, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - October 20, 2023 07:00 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsThe intense things that can happen in the course of this transition can impact how you see yourself, how you see your partner and how you parent. The better we understand what happened to us, the better we can manage all the things that follow. Todays episode focuses on this fact. I original...
What to do with Trauma around Pregnancy & Birth: Bethany Warren, LCSW, PMHC
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - October 16, 2023 07:00 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I talk with Beth Warren LCSW and PMHC and author of a new workbook that focuses on helping us manage reproductive trauma. We discuss: * better ways to manage the pain of miscarriage and loss *what trauma in this space looks like * how it can affect both ourselves and our pa...
What happens when you experience both reproductive traumas and successful birth: Melissa's Birth Story + therapy insights, Part II
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - October 13, 2023 07:00 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I finish my conversation with melissa. We talk about: How she manages the births of her two sons on the heels of a challenging reproductive journey I also include the insights of a fantastic therapist who specializes in reproductive trauma. She talks about: How attachm...
What can we do to Navigate Miscarriage & Stillbirth: Melissa's Birth Story + reproductive trauma insights, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - October 06, 2023 12:00 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode: I talk with a woman who had a very challenging experience with pregnancy. She shares the story of a number of miscarriages and a stillbirth, as well as two pregnancies that led to the births of her two sons. Pregnancy loss is an incredibly common and incredibly hard expe...
Creating Truly Informed Consent around Delivery Decisions: Advice from a Doula and Birth Activist, Dawn's story, Part II
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - September 29, 2023 07:00 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsin today's episode I finish my conversation with Dawn Thompson, the founder of birthify. We talk about the dramatic difference between *the education you might get in a prenatal class run by a hospital and *the education that Dawn is advocating for, with very specific instances of how these ...
What Can you Do to Better Navigate Birth? Dawn's Birth Story, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - September 22, 2023 07:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I talk to a Birth Warrior. She's: * a mother of six * has been a birth advocate for decades *was a doula *started Improving Birth *Is the CEO of Birthify, and * has done amazing work in this field to try to make birth safer for all of us. We discuss both: *how birth is conv...
What Birth Experiences inspired her to become a Postpartum Doula? McKayla's Birth Story
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - September 15, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsTW: Medical Racism in this episode... In today's episode I talk to a posptartum doula and gentle sleep coach about: *what she learned from her own experience of birth and postpartum *what pp doulas do *how to better afford their care *what a gentle sleep coach can offer *links for the pe...
What foods are important for Pregnancy or Postpartum? Insights from a Nutrition Doula, Part II
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - September 08, 2023 07:00 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I finish my conversation with Alasen Zarndt, the nutrition doula. In the rest of our conversation, she shares * why she offers different recipes for pregnancy and postpartum *why oatmeal is often suggested for breastfeeding *suggestions for how to get quality sleep, even ...
What Happens when you Know How to Eat in Pregnancy & Postpartum? Insights from a Nutrition Doula, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - September 01, 2023 07:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I talk with a woman who shared her story back in 2021. She's on again to share a passion inspired by the challenges she faced in postpartum. A mechanical engineer turned integrative nutritionist, Alasen gives insights on the many ways you can take care of yourself in postpa...
What it looks like to get Lactation Help, Medical Help, Pediatric Help in Postpartum: Carlota's Birth Story, Part II + Physician insights
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - August 25, 2023 07:00 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I finish my conversation with Carlota. We delve more into: *glandular issues with breastfeeding *managing the guilt of not being able to breastfeed *concerns navigating her own care *the surprising difficulty of finding health care providers who are fluent in Spanish. I...
What are the Hormones involved in Breastfeeding? Mini Episode with Dr. K. McGuire
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - August 21, 2023 16:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsThere are so many surprises each and every one of us meet in the course of getting pregnant, being pregnant, the birth and postpartum. Often times how we think about these major life events reflects the difference between what we expected and what we experienced. For example, many people exp...
What Happens when Breastfeeding doesn't "Work"? Carlota's Birth Story, Part I + Physician insights
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - August 18, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I speak with a woman about some of the specific challenges women of color experience when they get pregnant. We talk about: her fears about being forced into an unnecessary C section, or having her pain ignored and How she managed significant Issues with Breastfeeding. ...
What Happens After the Abortion?: Leah's Birth Story, Part II
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - August 11, 2023 07:00 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode I finish my conversation with Leah Lax, author of the memoir Uncovered, which tells the story of her entrance and exit from an insular religious community. Her story illustrates some of the powerful ideas around what it means to be a mother and a women in society, and how th...
What Happens When you Have to Fight for Birth Control, Abortion, & Control over your body: Leah's Birth Story, Part I
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - August 04, 2023 07:00 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn todays episode my guest and I talk about both physical and emotional challenges of pregnancy. She wrote a memoir about living in and then leaving a highly structured religious environment. Her story is about many aspects of this difficult transition, but one aspect that was of the utmost ...
What a Pediatrician Learns when She Gives Birth: Orlena's Birth Story
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - July 28, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn todays episode we hear about the pregnancy and birth experience of a pediatrician. It’s always interesting to me to hear how medical pple experience this transition because they tend to enter it with different expectations than the rest of us. We talk about : *birth plans *if home deliverie...
Sleep Tips for Babies from a Fantastic Sleep Consultant, mini episode
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - July 24, 2023 07:00 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsLast week I interviewed a great sleep consultant, Mary Vaughn, and we talked about some sleep issues that Kelly was having with her newborn. Today we'll hear more of my conversation with Mary about: * the most common mistakes parents make with sleep training and *how to handle, and think abou...
Induced Labor, Emergency C section and Sleep Troubles: Kelly's Birth Story + Sleep Consultant Tips
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - July 21, 2023 07:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsToday my guest shares her experiences of two births Although she'd hoped for a natural birth the first time:, she had an induced labor that turned into an emergency C section the second time she hoped for a VBAC, but ended up with another C section she shares tips for managing *epidural he...
What are some Breastfeeding Tips from a Lactation Consultant? Jennifer Suffin, IBCLC
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - July 14, 2023 07:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode we hear from a fabulous lactation consultant who answers all kinds of questions * Is breastfeeding supposed to hurt? how much is too much? *What are the physical changes that have to happen to be able to breastfeed *Is there a genetic component to breastfeeding? You can fi...
What Happens when You Make Significant Changes between your First & Second Pregnancy: Colleen's Birth Story + lactation consultant insights
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - July 07, 2023 07:00 - 33 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode Colleen shares some of her challenges with breastfeeding, including: *managing tongue and lip tie *not producing enough milk (And we hear insights about these issues from the fantastic lactation consultant, Katie Howser). She also talks about how significant changes between...
What a Lactation Consultant can Teach you BEFORE the Baby Arrives: A Mini Episode with Katie Howser
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - July 03, 2023 14:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsToday we have a mini episode with a fantastic lactation consultant based in San francisco, Katie Howser. Katie offered insights on last weeks show, but some of what we talked about didn't fit in the episode. She talks about: * Signs that you ARE or ARE NOT producing "enough" breast milk *How ...
What Happens when Your Milk Doesn't Come in Right Away? Colleen's Birth Story + Lactation Consultant Insights
What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights - June 30, 2023 15:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsIn today's episode my guest shares some of the things she learned from her first birth she talks about *managing some of the physical struggles of pregnancy, including restless leg syndrome *all the things she encountered and learned on her breastfeeding journey We also hear from the fabulo...
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