Pregnancy is a stress test for a woman’s body, and for a regrettably large share of women this test is a challenge. We’ll hear women’s incredible stories--in their own words-- about their experiences with pregnancy and birth and revel in their ultimate triumph. We’ll hear about the mountains many have climbed to create a family, and be inspired by their strength and resilience.
For this season, I'm going to migrate over to a new show called Making Sense of Pregnancy What Experts Want you to Know about Your Body:This show is meant to be a new pregnancy reference that should fill you with both information that's useful to your pregnancy and awe about the project of growing another human in your body and what science does and does not understand about this amazing process. I'm finding and talking with experts, doing cutting edge work to better understand pregnancy and what you can do to better understand your own experience. I was pregnant three times and each time I experienced things that I never saw in any book about pregnancy, which led me to dig deeper and try to find answers to some of these mysteries or talk about where we are in the hunt to better understand how pregnancy works. Each week, the research we highlight is focused on creating healthier pregnancies, Giving you the most current evidence-based way to approach this enormous transition in your life. I hope it will become your go-to source for how to make your pregnancy better. This is a teaser episode of Making Sense of Pregnancy. In this episode we'll talk about the distinct and important difference between childbirth related PTSD and postpartum depression. The two are often confused, and Its particularly important to figure out which path you may be on because although the symptoms can overlap, the treatment is entirely different. You can find Making Sense of Pregnancy: What Experts Want you to Know about your Body https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-sense-of-pregnancy-what-experts-want-you-to/id1779600854https://open.spotify.com/show/75WWhQawTcxSSn9xtXW5Bt
This week, we hear the rest of Julia's story. More endo, a bit older, a shorter menstrual cycle, a medical community that was suggesting the pregnancy was unlikely again. But Julia story should remind us to never bet against mother nature. I'm also including the insights of a functional nutrition and integrative women's health expert who focuses on endometriosis. Endometriosis is one of those topics that highlight how some areas of women's health have been historically. Let's say under researched. And if you go digging for those topics in the broad category of pregnancy, you will find more questions than answers. Because of that, I've started a new show called Making Sense of Pregnancy and which I interview scientists doing cutting edge work right now on a variety of topics to do with pregnancy. That may well change the way we manage and understand pregnancy both now and in the future. We pick up where we left off last time, Julia and her husband are trying to get pregnant with their second child and have run into endometriosis as an obstacle again. And the idea of IVF surfaces...To find Making Sense of Pregnancy--What Experts Want you to Know About Your Body: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/making-sense-of-pregnancy-what-experts-want-you-to/id1779600854
Pregnancy involves massive changes, and for some of us, one of the first hurdles is overcoming issues that have developed in our bodies that make getting pregnant and being pregnant difficult.On the road to becoming pregnant, today's guest learned that she had endometriosis, an issue that she'd painfully lived with for years without a diagnosis, and which required surgery before a pregnancy could develop.She also shares how the pregnancy and birth fulfills an earlier premonition. Women's health, especially around fertility and pregnancy has not historically gotten the attention. It deserves. I've started a new podcast called Making Sense of Pregnancy in which I'm tracking the impressive progress. That's been made more recently in these areas. You can catch my new show. Making Sense of Pregnancy here: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/making-sense-of-pregnancy-what-experts-want-you-to/id1779600854
This is the second half of my rebroadcast conversation with Gill, a mother from England who experienced lots of physical challenges with her premature birth, which changed her life. The birth gave her a beloved son, but it also dramatically shifted her life: away from the job she'd had and the life she'd imagined into something entirely different and ultimately completely inspiring. Now: she's an advocate for women who encounter birth trauma and a full time source of inspiration. Today we pick up where we left off last week. Gill has finally met with a consultant who accurately diagnoses the tear she sustained in birth. Chameleon Buddies: https://chameleonbuddies.org.uk/Beyond Fistula: https://beyondfistula.org/
Today's guest overcame all the challenges that met her in birth, including a premature birth, a fourth degree tear and a misdiagnosis and a fistula and a stoma. Despite that list, this is an amazing story of resilience. Having had so many elements of her life overturned by her experience of birth, she was reborn in a way she could never have predicted.She's challenging all the ideas that had created limits on her life and in the process, raising awareness and money for others who've experienced birth trauma and are living with a stoma.
Today I finish my conversation with Sascha. We hear about her triumphant home birth with her fourth pregnancy and the challenging outcomes of the two pregnancies that followed: what her experience was with the screening and diagnostic testing, and how she's moved on to her current pregnancy. We pick up where we left off last week: Sascha is being ushered to the hospital by her husband, so as to avoid a home birth with their third child.
Today we hear the really really from a woman whose experiences dramatically changed her approach to birth, from having the first one at a hospital, assuming that was the norm, to having her husband catch the fourth baby at her home birth, with a midwife looking on from the sidelines. She shares how she managed the challenges of extreme nausea, scary test results, and more.diastasis recti:https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22346-diastasis-recti
In today's episode we hear about the rest of Atara's experience. She talks about managing GBS and its consequences with her newborns, and the importance of nutrition before pregnancy.We pick up today where we left off last week. Atara is pregnant with her second child and is experiencing a numbness on the left side of her body. She has figured out that she should be in the emergency room and what follows is what she encountered there...
In today's episode my guest, who is a therapist, shares her experiences of four births and all the many things she learned things like holding lightly to the birth plan as she's moved from the birth center to a hospital when her cervix is reluctant to fully dilate, holding lightly the plan to return to work three months after delivery when postpartum
Today I finish my conversation with Kristen. This week we hear about:* two challenging miscarriages* drugs for miscarriage versus D and C procedure* Insights on how to think about the miscarriages* Her current pregnancy We pick up where we left off. Kristen is talking about getting pregnant a 4th time, around 9 months after the last birth, and how this time things don't go well...Must Watch video with Elizabeth Banks from the American Heart Associationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JI487DlgTAReferences for Oocyte Aginghttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-many-eggs-does-a-woman-have#pubertyhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10080932/
Today we hear from a woman whose experience ran the gamut from infertility, on the brink of IVF, to smooth pregnancies, quick births, and difficult miscarriages.Throughout this process she learns:* important lessons about the limits of her control over the complicated process of growing another human* the joys of outrunning medical predictions that pregnancy would be very hard to achieve. What follows is the first part of our conversation.Link about inductionshttps://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-inducing-labor-for-going-past-your-due-date/
This week I finish my conversation with Darla. She has another uneventful pregnancy, that ends in a bang--* An unintended home birth*Significant challenges when-- in the early thick of Covid-- Darla has to jump through hospital hoops shortly after delivering a baby. We pick up where we left off last week. Darla reflects on her first birth with appreciation, and is gearing up for the next birth, in a different setting.More on recurrence of retained placenta https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14767058.2019.1688294https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijgo.14800 To find more about Darla:Website:howtoaffordeverything.comSocials:instagram.com/my_finansisyoutube.com/@my_finansis
Today we hear from a mother of two who has a degree in public health and was trained as a doula before her first pregnancy. She didn't expect her water to break the way it didShe didn't expect a retained placenta or the hemorrhage that followed and thanks to both her resilience, and the skillful work of her doula, that experience was followed by a second pregnancy and birth. She also shares great tips about managing the chaos of postpartum with a whiteboardWhat follows is the first part of our conversationDoula care is currently covered by insurance in 21 states:https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/challenges-and-strategies-in-expanding-non-traditional-pregnancy-related-services-findings-from-a-survey-of-state-medicaid-programs/#:~:text=Endnotes,reimbursed%20through%20a%20bundled%20payment).To find more from Darla:Website:howtoaffordeverything.comSocials:instagram.com/my_finansisyoutube.com/@my_finansis
In today's episode I finish my conversation with Jennifer, the Doula in RenoShe shares how she managed all the complications of her daughter's tenuous condition: * Born with RDS, a lung condition that has a high mortality rate* How lessons learned from that experience shaped her willingness to go on to foster babies who came into the world with other compromising circumstances and *How her experience in the hospital that first time led her into birth work. We pick up where we left off last episode. Jennifer is in the hospital after birth waiting to hear about the fate or her fragile newborn.
Today my guest, a DOULA and birth worker, talks about her challenging experience with INFERTILITY: * All the minor surgeries* How hard it was to manage at the age of 19 more or less alone *How challenging it was to go through a regrettably similar process with her grown daughterand how she managed the twists and turns of both the pregnancy and the birth, which included HYALINE MEMBRANE DISEASE (aka RDS) and a PDA.Unequal Investment in Women's Health: Nature, 2023https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-023-01475-2/index.htmlPDA: Patent Ductus Arteriosiswww.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/patent-ductus-arteriosus-pdaConnect with Jennifer:https://doulainreno.com/
In today's episode I finish my conversation with Kim about her experience, both having kids and becoming a sleep coach. NOTE: I should mention upfront that we talk about a full term still birth and how Kim managed that very challenging experience.She also shares WHAT MAKES BED SHARING SAFE OR UNSAFE (generally speaking) and gives TIPS about what's generally considered NORMAL FOR INFANT SLEEP and WHY WE SEE DISRUPTIONS IN SLEEP even after things have been going well!We pick up where we left off last week. Kim is talking about the benefits of starting to understand what cultural anthropologists and others define as normal sleep patterns for infants.AAP Guidelineshttps://safesleep.mo.gov/american-academy-of-pediatrics-recommendations/#:~:text=Infants%20should%20be%20placed%20in,position%20as%20soon%20as%20possibleAcademic work that contest elements of the AAP Guidelineshttps://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/153/4/e2023064675/196919/The-Tension-Between-AAP-Safe-Sleep-Guidelines-and?redirectedFrom=fulltextConnect with KimWebsite: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/The Responsive Family Sleep Podcast: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/podcasthttps://www.instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc/https://www.facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc
In today's episode I speak with a woman who worked in the field of mother and infant health before she became pregnant. She shares the challenges she encountered in her birth--going from a planned birth center birth to a C section, what she might have done differently in that process, and how she managed that challenge.She also shares what led her to become a holistic sleep consultant, a story continued into the next episode.You can find Kim here: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/aboutkim
In today's episode I finish my conversation with Shri. She shares her experience of birth, and the things that made postpartum a challenge--in particular Covid and the isolation it involvedShe shares the ayurvedic approach to both the preconception period, and to postpartum to help restore balance in the bodyincluding topics on: movementstress managementfood/herbs in the postpartumWe pick up where we left off last week, with lessons Shri learned from her experience of a stroke before she got pregnant.To find More from Shri: you can check out her website: https://vivabyshri.cohere.live/aboutHer Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/vivabyshri/and her Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554924608066
In today's episode I speak with a woman who had her whole life turned around by an unexpected health crisis when she was in her early thirties. She shares *what she did to reclaim her health * how it influenced her fertility and pregnancy journey* the wisdom she gained in this effort to regain her health and her life* insights from the ayurvedic approach to life What follows is the first part of our conversationYou can find Shri at her:Website : https://vivabyshri.cohere.live/aboutInstagram : https://www.instagram.com/vivabyshri/Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554924608066
This is the THIRD and last part of Amy's story. In this episode she talks about * the importance of accurate ultrasound in utero * her experience of navigating a surgery on her newborn* the challenges they encounter in the hospital * her son's amazing recovery. This is a beautiful story of overcoming, and what she learned in the process. We pick up where we left off last week. Amy is talking about an organization that works to draw attention to the important work of sonographers--in particular focused on congenital heart issues
In today's episode we hear part 2 (of 3) of Amy's story--she talks about her induction and her experience becoming the parent of a baby with a significant heart condition, the operation that saved his life, and tips for parents who might find themselves the new minders of a fetus with a congenital heart defect. I also include the insights of a doctor who performs fetal cardiac ultrasound to understand that technology better. And the last thing I'll add in the interest of transparency, is that like Amy, my partner and I had a child with a significant congenital heart defect that required emergency surgery when she was born, so a lot of what she says really resonates with my experience. We pick up where we left off last week. Amy is learning about her future son's congenital heart defect from her doctor.
In today's episode I speak with a woman who talks about her experience:* growing her family as part of a same sex couple* her experience with miscarriage and how that changed the way she approached her next pregnancy* issues with breastfeeding when her supply didn't match her newborn's demand* problems with thawed and refrozen sperm* and IUI surprise (not common for same sex couples) What follows is the first part or our conversation.,
This week we hear the rest of Jelena's story:* How she manages a postpartum period marked by the mental and emotional struggles of her partner and a new baby. * Her use of Montessori ParentingWe pick up where we left off last week. Jelena was sharing that her partner was really impacted by the birth of the child and how he came to parenting with things that might have increased his risk for developing something like postpartum depression as well.
In today's episode I speak with a woman who enjoyed a completely healthy pregnancy...until she didn't-- when cholestasis shows up. Cholestasis of pregnancy, I learned this week, is an issue with the liver that sometimes arrives in the second or third trimester.We hear about how it's managed outside the hospital, and some of the surprises that awaited her in the postpartum. What follows is the first part of our conversation.
Today I finish my conversation with Dr. Brandy Cummings, who has an advanced degree in clinical nutrition. We talk about *all the challenges of her first birth in the hospital in contrast to her home birth and what it taught her*how both experiences led her to her mission to change the standard of care for birthing people, including some specific ideas about eating in postpartum.We pick up where we left off last week. Brandy is in the hospital, in the pushing phase of labor with her first child.
In today's episode I interview a woman who was in graduate school studying nutrition during her first sustained pregnancy; she experiences a lot of lapses in care, both for the miscarriage that precedes her first pregnancy, for the first trimester, and more during her first labor; but she learns a great deal about herself and the process. She shares:* What she thinks first trimester care should look like*The concept of "Trimester Zero" and the panatal period* What she wishes she'd done differently You Can find Brandy's company, Pivotal Origins, hereEvidence Based Reasons for Never Ending Symptoms
Today I finish my conversation with Charlotte. We talk about her next two births, one which involved an issue with the placenta, the second of which was a precipitous labor--contractions and birth within an hour--and how those experiences taught her to accept the help on offer from her community.
In this episode my guest talks about a host of challenges she managed during her pregnancy including PCOS, miscarriage, an unexpected appendicitis that leads to a preterm birth. Through it all, she perseveres, learning something from each challenge:* the benefits of preparation* the benefits of hospital care* the limits of her own control over pregnancy and takes these ideas into her reproductive future. I also include the insights of a fantastic OB. What follows is the first part of our conversation.
Today's guest is a well known author who wrote a book called Eleven Hours which follows the labor experience of a pregnant woman and her nurse. It's beautifully written and we discuss the author's own experience and how that did and did not impact her approach to the beautiful novel she wrote. One thing to note: we reference the old name of the podcast, War Stories from the Womb a few times..if you didn't know the show by that name, that's what we are talking about.Find Pamela Erens here: https://www.pamelaerens.com/ Eleven Hours
Last week Jennifer talked about the different emotions she experienced when she unexpectedly got pregnant. That crowd of differing emotions follows her through the birth and into postpartum. Her experience is one that many of us can relate to and giving voice to all the different aspects of the sometimes wonderful/sometimes painful or boring aspects of the transition from being an individual to someone's mother is powerful. We pick up where we left off last week, Jennifer has given birth after 5 hours of pushing and is on her way to a surgical suite for a post delivery surgery.Perineal Tearshttps://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21212-vaginal-tears-during-childbirthhttps://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/vaginal-tears/art-20546855https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559068/You can Find Jennifer here: https://jennifererwincoaching.com/
Today's guest shares her experience of an unintended pregnancy. With almost every pregnancy women are expected to narrow range of reactions, from excited to ecstatic.But stepping into pregnancy is such an enormous change that the limits to what we are expected to feel doesn't make sense. In the first part of our conversation we talk how today's guest managed the mass of feelings that probably many of us feel in making this transition.Living Compassionhttps://centerformsc.org/https://www.cnvc.org/Unintended Pregnancy/JAMAhttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2797874You can find more about Jennifer and her work here: https://jennifererwincoaching.com/
This week I finish my conversation with Becky. She's a fertility mindset coach using hypnosis to help women who are struggling with their fertility, a technique she was drawn to learn after it helped her get pregnant after six years of infertility. At first blush, this may sound woo woo (Becky's term), but when you dig into some of the details, it's understandable how mindset could affect physiology. We pick up where we left off last week. Becky has decided to pursue an alternative route to fertility after trying all the conventional methods available to her for the previous six years. Mind body connectionEnhancing Healing through guided ImageryStress & repoductionStress puts Doubly Whammy on Reproductive System, FertilityBlocking Hormone Could Eliminate Stress Induced InfertilityStress increases putative gonadotropin inhibitory hormone and decreases luteinizing hormone in in male rats Find Becky at https://www.lilyandbeefertility.com/
In today's episode I talk with a woman about her very intentional trek through infertility--not intentional in that she was looking for it, but in the ways she managed all the OB, fertility and surgical issues that arose for her. She talks about the importance of educating yourself and advocating for yourself. These are both lessons learned when the absence of both education and advocacy had real consequences for her. She shares both what didn't work and what ultimately did work (spoiler: it was hypnosis), and how it has changed her life. What follows is the first part of our conversation.Chances of Getting pregnant in a cyclehttps://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(16)62849-2/fulltexthttps://www.acog.org/womens-health/experts-and-stories/the-latest/trying-to-get-pregnant-heres-when-to-have-sexWhat's Endometriosis?https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/endometriosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354656Hydrosalpinxhttps://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24437-hydrosalpinxhttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320677#infertilityHypnosis for Healthhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2515690X17748744 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156911https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1567722/1/Barry%20et%20al%202017%20Relaxation%20%2526%20androgens%20in%20PCOS%20published%20in%20CH%2526IT.pdfPodcast with Dr. David Spiegel (hypnosis)
In today's episode we hear the rest of Emily's story. She shares how she ultimately managed her first birth--a home birth that became a hospital birth, and tells us about the art her experience inspired, and how it's helping other women who unexpectedly experience a C section. We also hear briefly from Dr. Young, the OB/scientist who is working to better understand and measure uterine contractions. We pick up where we left off last week, Emily has been brought to the hospital and has to figure out whether to bring her doula or midwife to the hospital birth during covid.Rebozohttps://www.verywellfamily.com/using-a-rebozo-in-pregnancy-and-birth-4111140#:~:text=Using%20a%20rebozo%20wrapped%20around,you%20and%20holds%20the%20ends.You can find Emily's project, Our Cesarean Scars, here: https://www.ourcesareanscars.org/
In today's episode I talk with a woman whose pregnancy was straight forward, and who was aimed at a home birth with a midwife. She talks about why she decided on a home birthHow the home birth was progressing and her strategies for managing itWhat sent her to the hospitalthe ways that she managed the unexpected progress of her labor.We also here from an OB/scientist who is working to decipher how the uterus creates contractions and how these contractions can be measured. What follows is the first part of our conversation.
Today we'll take a bit of a dive into the mechanics of how a uterus contracts. This is actually really important because drawing meaning from patterns of uterine contractions is how many doctors and midwives manage labor. I'm talking with Dr. Roger Young today, an OB scientist who studies, among other things, the details of how a uterus contracts.Dr Young's paper on Uterine contractions (with illustration):https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002937822008602#fig1
Today I finish my conversation with Caitlin, the registered dietician who focuses on women's fertility issues. She shares the rest of her story about managing the challenges of PCOS.She addresses changes she made to:*her diet*her exercise*her mindset*her ability to manage stress and how these changes led to three children (and stay tuned, maybe more?)...we pick up where we left off last week, Caitlin is about to share the very specific things that she did to overcome her diagnosis.
Today's guest shares her journey through infertility generated by Poly cycstic ovarian syndrome. She is a clinical dietitian and talks about things to consider when taking birth control. She gives a number of tips on what you can do to improve your fertility, but note: this is not medical advice. What follows is the first part of our conversation.possible side effects of hormonal birth control:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9842494/#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20side%20effect,some%20point%20in%20their%20life.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159123003331?via%3Dihubhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10347535/#:~:text=Hormone%2Dbased%20contraception%20disrupts%20hormonal%20balance%2C%20creating%20artificial%20states%20of%20anovulation%20and%20threatening%20women's%20health.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.00603/fullTo find Caitlin's podcast, Food Freedom & Fertility, click here
In today's episode: I finish my conversation with Jess. We talk about :* how her research prior to the third postpartum set her up for a significantly better experience.She describes concepts like constructive rest and matrescence* practical tips on how much physical work should be done in the early weeks* a useful time line to set your expectations we pick up where we left off last week, where jess is reflecting on all the advocacy she did on her daughter's behalf and how that might be applied to her own experience in a future pregnancyWhat can you do naturally to induce labor (spoiler: not much)https://www.webmd.com/baby/does-pineapple-induce-laborhttps://www.nct.org.uk/pregnancy/your-pregnancy-week-week/third-trimester/can-i-make-myself-go-labour-myths-or-truthsFind Jess at:https://www.instagram.com/motherme.io/
I talk to a woman who shares the story of her transformative births: in particular :how the postpartum and aftermath of the second birth changed the way she viewed herself and her career. Its an impactful and inspirational story that I think many of us can relate to. What follows is the first part of our conversation.hyperemesis and anxietyhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14767058.2022.2089550https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1471-0528.14180affect of fetal sex on pregnancy outcomehttps://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-020-00299-3https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-75969-8 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2017.00144/fullto find Jess's company: https://www.instagram.com/motherme.io/
Today we'll talk with Dr. Carl Weiner, MD, MBAHe has been working on developing testing that can PREDICT PREMATURITY and EARLY ONSET PREECLAMPSIA as early as 12 weeks into the pregnancy.*If it is detected, WHAT can be done?*What are his hopes for the FUTURE of PREGNANCYYou can find Dr. Weiner here: https://www.creighton.edu/campus-directory/weiner-carl-p
In this week's episode we hear the rest of Hannah's story: *we hear about the premature birth of her son * how she manages his care during his long stay in the NICUand*how he's doing now.We also hear more from Dr. Weiner, who is working on a test that can predict both prematurity and early onset preeclampsia to try to prevent these issues from arising in a pregnancy. We pick up where we left off last week; Hannah has checked into the hospital at 23 weeks five days because she's having contractions and doesn't know if this is the birth or Braxton Hicks..
In today's episode I speak with a woman who was very much caught off guard by a condition called PPROM--preterm premature rupture of membranes when she was 22 weeks along. She talks about how she managed all the twists and turns of her experience, and despite all the hard things that happened, many things made her feel lucky. We also hear from an OB/scientist who is working on a test that can be used to predict premature birth, among other things, long before it arrives. JAMA article about NICU policyhttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2815359Find Dr. Carl Weiner's work here: https://www.creighton.edu/campus-directory/weiner-carl-p
In today's episode we hear the rest of Corinne's story. In particular: *What she learned in her repeated trips to the ER*What she took away from the challenging things she experienced. *What she'd do differently next time.We'll also hear from Dr. Chapa, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology at Texas A&M College of medicine, who shares some of his expertise about pregnancy and hypertension. You can find his podcast, Clinical Pearls, here
In today's episode :we hear the story of a first time mother who has a by the book pregnancy which slides off the tracks in delivery and postpartum. In this first part of our conversation, she shares: * how she and her husband managed the uncertainty that seemed to come without much warning. We'll also hear from a fantastic OB (Dr. Hector Chapa) who gives a wider medical context to this story and helps us understand gestational hypertension that appears after delivery. Catch Dr. Chapa's podcast, Clinical pearls here
In today's episode, I finish my conversation with Angie. She's a mindset coach and worked in early interventions from birth to three. we talk about parenting the son that she initially fostered and then adopted; how her training and experience led to a new approach, both in her own life and her work. She talks about how important mindset is and how to manage our mindsetYou can find Angie here: https://www.connectedparentswithangie.com/
In today's episode I speak with a MINDSET COACH about her experience with pregnancy and with fostering and then adopting a child. She talks about what she learned with respect to colic and tongue tie and some of the challenges she met in this process and how she, someone trained in early interventions from birth to three, ultimately had to change the way she approached parenting. What follows is the first part of our conversation. Trends in home and birth center births, 2004-2017https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8827343/#:~:text=(AABC%2C%202021)Definitions of Preterm Birthhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11386/Tongue Tiehttps://www.healthline.com/health/dental-and-oral-health/tongue-tie-in-adults#9https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10167863/
his week I finish my conversation with Suzzie. She shares:* how the second birth felt like a redemption of the first one* all the things she did between the first and second births to make that outcome more likely, including: * more birth education* facing her fears*managing her expectations. We pick up where we left off last week. Suzzie has spent hours contracting and waiting and ultimately her stalled labor leads to a C section. She's now been left in the recovery room by herself, with little sense of where her husband and new baby are.You can find Suzzie's contacts: Childbirth Class: https://shebirthsbravely.com/learnWhat Does Your Birth Plan Say About Your Personality Quiz: https://shebirthsbravely.com/quizInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/shebirthsbravely/
This week's episode features that story of a woman who had two nearly opposite experiences of birth. Like many of us, the FIRST one was ROUGH--including anything but gentle treatment at the hospital and an unpleasant C section; The SECOND was a vast improvement, which started her on a journey to learn more about birth and to become what she needed that first time around: an excellent DOULA; what follows is the first part of our conversationMolar Pregnancyhttps://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17889-molar-pregnancyhttps://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/molar-pregnancy/symptoms-causes/syc-20375175Connection between Psychological State and Labor Progresshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027004/https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/labor-and-delivery/when-labor-stalls/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595201/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595201/ACOG: infection after PROMhttps://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2019/02/approaches-to-limit-intervention-during-labor-and-birthTo find Suzzie' s contacts: Childbirth Class: https://shebirthsbravely.com/learnWhat Does Your Birth Plan Say About Your Personality Quiz: https://shebirthsbravely.com/quizInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/shebirthsbravely/
In todays episode we hear the end of Tanya's story. To remind everyone, last week we left Tanya: *She's spent the whole pregnancy on a boat with her 4 other children & husband*the boat is docked in Sarasota Florida for the birth*Although it's her 5th birth, it doesn't go quickly*The midwife sends her to see an acupuncturist during her stalled labor*Tanya is terrified of needlesListen to how this birth unfolds....Castor oil and laborhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7138266/https://evidencebasedbirth.com/ebb-128-inducing-labor-with-castor-oil-and-dates/
This week's episode features details of a pregnancy on a boat. My guest Tanya shared her experiences of her other 4 births on an earlier episodes: Her first episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-you-learn-from-your-first-two-of-5-births/id1546909059?i=1000617239231The second half of that story: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-happens-when-with-each-birth-you-get-closer-to/id1546909059?i=1000618066765 She had a variety of experiences in the hospital: *induced labor*shoulder dystocia*large babieswith midwives and OBs, but this pregnancy and birth are entirely different. She shares what she learned both about her body and the process of birthing, including the fears she had and how she overcame them. Acupuncture & Labor Inductionhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6953318/https://www.ajogmfm.org/article/S2589-9333(23)00414-7/fulltext
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