Mod Midwives: a Metro Midwifery Podcast

Gina and Nedra wrap up the loose ends of Mod Midwives, and their home birth practice, in this final episode.

This week we spend a little more time getting to know our illustrious student, Paige Hesen. Paige has been involved in our practice for over a year and has become an important member of our team! This episode, though, is going to be our last for a time. Mod Midwives has been continuously running for two years and we have yet to take a season off. It's been a long two years--between a new practice, a podcast, and a pandemic...and dang...we are ready for a break! So we're going to pull a Rachel and Ross and take it! So, don't forget to subscribe to us on your favorite podcast player so that when we do come back you'll be the first to know! We hope you enjoy and we'll see you on the other side!

This week Nedra and Gina have a frank discussion about those times when we, as practitioners, make mistakes. Sometimes this comes in the form of a missed or mis-diagnosis, sometimes it looks like unhappy clients, and sometimes it's just when we don't stick to boundaries and protocols that we know we should. It doesn't happen often, but it is a part of learning how to dance the dance of midwifery and client care.

This week, Gina and Nedra talk listeners through how we organize our equipment and supplies--in our cars, bags, and office. You can find more information, including some videos, on our blog here: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4330

This week Gina and Nedra discuss why framing breastfeeding/chestfeeding as a simple parenting choice is problematic. Not only is it an oversimplification of very complex issue, this also places blame and shame on new parents who were likely derailed, undermined, or unsupported in meeting their own feeding goals for their babies. We hope you enjoy this week's podcast!

In this week's podcast, Gina and Nedra talk about parenting babies in the wee hours. From what to expect with feeding, to the importance of skin to skin and close contact, to a discussion about safe sleeping arrangements, it's all covered in this episode. As promised, in the discussion of skin to skin, Gina mentioned that she would provide references for thermoregulation (including temperature adjustment up and down to help babies regulate their own body temperature). Here are a couple resources to for your perusal, including an amazing study that shows breasts can adapt differently to accommodate twins' needs! Breast-Infant Temperature with Twins during Shared Kangaroo Care:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1890034/ Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3979156/ The effect of mother and newborn early skin-to-skin contact on initiation of breastfeeding, newborn temperature and duration of third stage of labor: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6048813/

This week we tackle a topic that most of us don't particularly enjoy talking about: money. We cover a number of topics related to your financial agreement with your home birth midwives from what is involved in the fee to insurance reimbursement to refunds. Just a few takeaways from this week's podcast are: * You are not paying for a home birth, you are paying for midwifery care. * Your midwifery fee not only pays for our practice, it pays our salaries. * Choosing a home birth (at least in our state) means opting out of the usual financial processes and structures of the health care system. * While we absolutely love our career and are called to it, it isn't a hobby for us and we're not able to take a high enough volume to offset poor reimbursement rates. * Overall, it is best to consider whether all of the services and value-added benefits that come with home birth are worth it for you to pay the fee out of pocket. While some reimbursement may happen in some cases, it's best not to bank on it. Is this something that's worth paying for? If yes, great. If not, there may be lower out of pocket options for you. *Finally, not only is health care expensive in this country, but kids are as well. We often joke about our hourly rate vs. our kids' orthodontists. Midwives are a great value. No contest. We hope this episode clears up some of the confusion out there about the midwifery fee!

This week, Gina and Nedra bring you another episode in our Practical Advice for Midwifery Practice series. Over the years and between the two of us, we've had a lot of different office configurations: home visits in the clients' home, shared office space, home offices in the midwives' homes, and dedicated office space. This week, we discuss the pros and cons of each, as well as considerations as you embark upon setting up your practice space. We hope you enjoy!

In this week's podcast, Gina and Nedra tackle the most common questions our clients ask us--both for baby and mom. For baby we discuss: Normal newborn breathing (and clearing of secretions) The fussy second night Umbilical cord care For the birthing person we discuss: Postpartum blood clots Afterpains/cramping (particularly with subsequent babies) Recommendations for resting postpartum We hope you enjoy this week's episode! (Photo courtesy of Monet Nicole Birthing Stories)

Peer review is something that midwives--and clinicians of all types--regularly engage in. It's an de-identified, confidential review of cases. It's meant to provide the midwife with feedback, suggestions, and guidance, as well as accountability and continuing education. As an added bonus, it's a great way to develop community and relationship building.

In this episode, Gina and Nedra discuss a less-than-concrete topic: what traits do homebirthers tend to have in common. From determination, resilience, and intelligence to flexibility and the ability to surrender, there are certain characteristics that we see over and over in our clients and ourselves. We hope you enjoy listening to our reflections on this topic!

This week, Gina and Nedra give a variety of different ideas for paying yourself--and Uncle Sam--after your business expenses have been met. Of course some of these lessons were learned the hard way, so we hope that we can help you set up some good procedures from the outset! Enjoy!

In this week's podcast, Nedra and Gina talk about postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and an option that is available to you: Active Management of the Third Stage of Labor. In this episode we cover some background information about postpartum hemorrhage: the definition of PPH, how often it occurs, and causes, risk factors, prevention, and treatment. We have much more information, including references, in this week's blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4134

We're back this week with another episode in our Practical Advice for Midwifery Practice series. This week we are talking about marketing and advertising of your midwifery business. We cover topics like SEO, paid vs. organic advertising, web presence and branding. We hope you enjoy our tips and tricks for building not only your client load, but also increasing your placement in Google searches and other ideas for getting the word out about your practice. You can also this on our blog this week: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4127(opens in a new tab)

This week Gina and Nedra discuss ideas for jobs that people who are attending your birth can do to support you and your family. In addition, they discuss even who you might want to consider attending your birth (reminiscent of an earlier podcast: By Invitation Only). And in true Mod Midwives fashion, they take a significant detour to talk about births during this week's snow and baby storm! https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4112

This week's episode may lack a little excitement and romance, it is one of the most important tasks of a midwifery practice. We discuss personal protective equipment, procedures, and ideas for keeping those germies at bay--and not only COVID--in this episode in our Practical Advice for Midwifery Practice series. https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4089

This week, a new commercial by Frida Mom hit the airwaves during the Golden Globes. This ad is being applauded for normalizing breastfeeding. It certainly shows a real, raw glimpse of those early days as a nursing parent. We absolutely agree that it did a great job of pushing boundaries that needed to be pushed. But did it really show what the early days of nursing is like for most people? Was it so raw that it makes breastfeeding look scary and unappealing? Instead of portraying a realistic point of view, did it instead portray a point of view where new parents are undersupported? We definitely have concerns, questions, and take issue with more than a few things in the commercial. You can find more information, including a video of the commercial, on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4065

Despite the increased popularity of community birth (which includes home and birth center births), it still represents a very small minority of births in the US. In this episode we discuss a number of ideas around normalizing countercultural practices that are common in our community such as home and birth center birth, breastfeeding/chestfeeding, or opting out of procedures and interventions such a circumcision. You can also find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4036

While we all have personal preferences and opinions, this week Gina and Nedra share some of the considerations they've taken into account as they've named their businesses in the past. From cliches to treading on others' names to SEO we cover things you might want to consider when thinking of the best name for your business. Hopefully there's one or two things in here that might be useful to you! You can also find this week's episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=4025

Being well supported during pregnancy and postpartum is hard enough during normal times. But getting the support you need to feel confident and connected during COVID has been beyond difficult. In this week's podcast we explore ideas for finding your support circle, particularly during the postpartum time. https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3993

In this week's podcast we review our practice statistics for our first year of practice (plus the only four births from 2019). We cover everything from number of clients in care to specific outcomes in this week's podcast! Hope you enjoy! https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3978

One thing we didn't mention in the podcast was that even if you schedule one person's due date each week, there is no way to predict when people will deliver (with a 5 week window of "full term"), and, consequently, no way to avoid the possibility of births overlapping--even with one person due per month. However, the more clients you have due, the more likely it is that this can happen. So, backup considerations must be factored into your client load as well. We also talk about a variety of other considerations: impacts on your family, planning vacations, how much is too little, etc., etc., etc. There is a lot to consider when planning your workload in an unplannable field! We hope you enjoy this week's episode! You can also find it on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3953

After the recent release of the Netflix movie, "Pieces of a Woman," Gina and Nedra decided we simply had to watch it and discuss on Mod Midwives. Whenever a loss in a home birth is portrayed, we are always worried about the optics. While the subject matter is tough, and we have a number of issues about the specifics, the movie did unfold differently than we expected it to do. We also spend a shorter time discussing Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian, Call the Midwife, and Virgin River, a new Netflix series. Fair warning: there are a TON of spoilers in this podcast. You can find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3943(opens in a new tab)

We're back with Ask the Midwives! This week we tackle some of your questions, including: *Where to should we up the birth tub? *Is there any danger of the birth tub falling through the floor? *Should I express and save my colostrum before the birth (AKA colostrum harvesting)? *Can I get a wax while I'm pregnant? Don't miss this week's episode! You can find it on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3925

Both Gina and Nedra have long subscribed to a parenting philosophy called Attachment Parenting. Coined by William and Martha Sears in The Baby Book, this parenting style emphasizes attachment and connection. Though it evolves over time, it starts from the very moments of birth. There are seven tenets of Attachment Parenting--also referred to as the "7 Bs", which you can read more about on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3905

Much like last year, we are spending the last podcast of the year reflecting upon the year that has passed and looking forward to the next year with intention. We find the idea of setting resolutions for 2021 to be somewhat laughable after the year we've all had, so, instead, we are talking about our "strands of hope" for the new year. If we've learned anything from 2020, it was to let go of our expectations and just do the best we can. You can find more on this week's blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3886

For this week's podcast, we are doing a couple things. First of all, we are telling birth stories. Everyone loves a birth story, right? Secondly, we are reminiscing about the first births we attended together in our new practice--that just happened to have occurred last Christmas. We hope you enjoy our walk down memory lane! You can also find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3871

Whew! Just when we thought we were ahead, we had some massive technical obstacles this week! But never fear--we managed to get a podcast to you, albeit two-and-a-half days late. This week we have our second installment in our Practical Advice for Midwifery Practice series. We are going to give you insight into some things you need to do when you get your practice started. You can find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3846

This week for Mod Midwives we cover the regulation of milk supply. From endocrine to autocrine control, to demand and supply, to activating prolactin receptor sites, we discuss how your milk supply is established and promoted. You can find any relevant links on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3825

This week we are thrilled to launch a new series: Practical Advice for Midwifery Practice. We are busy midwives, and busy people in general, so we've really invested some time into improving our practice workflow and procedures. At the encouragement of one of our students, we decided to share some of our experience and insights with you. We will be discussing many topics from supplies to scheduling to communication, but first we start with expenses you need to consider for midwifery practice. You can also find us on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3815

This week on the podcast we tackle the sticky issue of talking to your family--especially when they are skeptical--about your plans for a home birth. This can be a tricky area to navigate, and different families find different approaches for navigating these conversations. We reference a number of other podcasts, if you want to dig a little deeper. These can be found on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3791

We are back with more questions from you! This week we tackle: The prenatal visit schedule COVID and the holidays Mucus plugs What we've seen change in birth and breastfeeding over the last 10 years You can also find us on our blog here: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3770

This week's Mod Midwives episode comes to you as Gina is recovering from COVID. We know lots of you have questions about exposure, and timelines, and symptoms so join us for our conversation about what it's looked like for our families and our practice. https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3747

This week Nedra and Gina wax about our moniker Mod Midwives. What does it mean to be a mod midwife? We discuss how we navigate the art and science of midwifery, in addition to practical matters like social media presence and generational relevance. You can also find this episode on: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3735

Even though we talk about water birth (or water immersion in labor to be more precise) all the time on Mod Midwives, we have yet to dedicate a full episode to it. So, this week we talk about all things water birth. We talk about pros and cons, challenges, guidelines for use, and logistics and set-up. You can also find this episode on this week's blog post: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3723

For this week's podcast we talk with our listeners about boundaries for midwives: why they're necessary, how to establish them, and ideas for making boundaries work while still being accessible to our clients. You can read more about this topic here: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3707

This week we are interviewing local midwife and Director of Midwifery atSeasons Birth Center in Thornton, Colorado. Aubre's most recent accomplishment is as author of the book, Midwifery for Expectant Parents: A Modern Guide to Choosing the Birth That's Right for You. In our interview, Aubre shares her thoughts about some of our favorite topics: community birth, integration of midwifery, collaboration, informed choice, and more! Don't miss this fun episode! You can also find the episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3651

In this week's podcast, we've created a special compilation of questions people have asked us about choosing a midwife. Most midwives offer a consultation or interview where you can get to know one another and ask any questions you might have. This week, we're hoping to give you some guidance and insight into the process of choosing a midwife. You can find more specific information on our blog at: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3632

It's been a while since we've had a podcast meant specifically for student midwives. We wanted to share some helpful hints for apprentice midwives or those who hope to someday take the journey. You can also find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3614

This week is the third of a three-part series where we talk about the three stages of labor. However, we have put a bit of a spin on our discussion. Not only will we talk about the physiology of what's happening and what the birthing person and their partner should consider doing during each time, we also talk about what student midwives and newer midwives might consider doing during each stage. Learning to manage labor and birth is a skill--sometimes little is required other than to get out of the way, but sometimes carefully considering energy and actions is very important. We hope you enjoy this three-week series!

This week is the second of a three-part series where we talk about the three stages of labor. However, we have put a bit of a spin on our discussion. Not only will we talk about the physiology of what's happening and what the birthing person and their partner should consider doing during each time, we also talk about what student midwives and newer midwives might consider doing during each stage. Learning to manage labor and birth is a skill--sometimes little is required other than to get out of the way, but sometimes carefully considering energy and actions is very important. We hope you enjoy this three-week series!

This week is the first of a three-part series where we talk about the three stages of labor. However, we have put a bit of a spin on our discussion. Not only will we talk about the physiology of what's happening and what the birthing person and their partner should consider doing during each time, we also talk about what student midwives and newer midwives might consider doing during each stage. Learning to manage labor and birth is a skill--sometimes little is required other than to get out of the way, but sometimes carefully considering energy and actions is very important. We hope you enjoy this three-week series!

Wow! In this, our 52nd podcast episode, we reflect over the past year of the podcast. Our practice is older by a few months, and has an ambiguous start date, but the podcast started the first week of September, 2019. And wow, what a year it has been. Talk about high highs and low lows. We hope you enjoy our walk back through the year as we reflect upon what worked for us and what hasn't, how the pandemic has shaped our practice (and podcast), and what we're proud of and where we feel we've missed the target. It was a year of growth and change. For sure. You can find this link on our blog as well: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3556

We get lots of questions about pumping when someone is planning to go back to work. We take a little time to answer these questions in this week's podcast. Visit our blog for links to shared resources: https://metromidwifery.com/2020/08/25/mod-midwives-milk-expression-for-returning-to-work/

This week we have overcome *some* of our technical issues, but you'll notice our sound quality for Nedra is less-than-stellar. So, forgive us our mistakes as we try to get an outdoor, socially-distanced podcast together for you. We often lament how differently we would have done things if we could parent our first children again. We hope that some of our words of wisdom could ease the way for some new parents. We discuss: *Letting go of expectations *Going with the flow as a way to enjoy these brief moments *Circumcision *Care and feeding of the baby *WATCH THE BABY, NOT THE CLOCK *Nurse the baby--wherever you happen to be *Learning your birth options *Ditching What to Expect and picking up Expecting Better Sleeping while you can TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS We hope you enjoy and can walk away with a tidbit or two to make these days more enjoyable. As they say, "The days are long, but the years are short." Yes, we know it's hard to believe that at the end of a long day where everything went wrong, you burnt dinner and had to get takeout AGAIN, your baby smeared poop all over, and your toddler told you she hates you, but really, it is true. You've got this!

Midwifing is not for the faint of heart. It involves long hours, sleepless nights, and now added COVID headaches. Add that right on top of our normally busy lives--personal and professional--and it can be hard to keep your ducks in a row. So, for this episode we are sharing some of the things that we do to keep #midwifelife manageable. We include some tips for staying on top of the chaos. You can also find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3513

In honor of WBW, Gina and Nedra discuss six of the most prevalent myths that we hear regarding lactation. You can find more information at our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3487

This week, Gina and Nedra talk about their favorite positions for labor and birth. While this may sound like a pat list, we actually dig a little deeper and talk about when and under what circumstances we like certain positions. As well, in this podcast you are briefly introduced to Gina's son (who knows nothing of labor and birth positions) and we blow a million dollar sponsorship deal with Apple. ;) We hope you enjoy!

It's been awhile since we talked about how COVID has been impacting our practice. We'll review what practice changes are still in place and where we've lightened up, and revisit the Incredible Mask Debate, as well as some just general pontification. You can also find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3467.

As a follow up to Your Vagina Looks Scary to Me, where we discuss what to expect with your body in the first few days after birth, this week we take a look at what to expect with your newborn in the first few days after birth. From bumpy skin to swollen genitals to misshapen heads, newborns are an interesting lot. We'll also talk about APGARs and our procedures right after the birth. Tune in this week to learn more! You can also find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3446

Most of our days are relatively predictable (with the built-in unpredictability of birth thrown in for seasoning, of course), but a couple of weeks ago we had a massive baby storm. In this episode, Gina and Nedra talk about ways they managed this busy and exciting time--or didn't, as the case may be. We hope you enjoy our tips and tricks for getting through these unusually crazy weeks. You can also find this episode on our blog: https://metromidwifery.com/?p=3428