Podcasts about birthing

New York City's public advocate released a report showing Black women are nine times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth than white women in the city. Plus, defense lawyers have developed backdoor legal maneuvers to move their clients to the front of the line for mental health services. Also, criminal justice experts say the Adams administration is not doing enough to shutter Rikers Island on time. Meanwhile, many residents of the Garden State say the search for affordable housing is a timely one. And finally, it's been 60 years since Mayor Robert Wagner signed New York City's Landmarks Law, beginning an era of historic preservation across the city.

Send us a textWhen Laci Tang experienced painful breastfeeding with her first child, she had no idea it would launch her into a career transforming how mothers receive lactation support. Her journey from anxious first-time mom to innovative IBCLC offers a much-needed blueprint for better postpartum care.Birthing at a midwifery center opened Laci's eyes to a different kind of care—one where she was listened to, believed, and supported in finding real solutions. After navigating tongue ties, low supply, mastitis, and then oversupply with her second baby, she realized how vital individualized support is for breastfeeding success.What makes her practice, Milk in Motion, stand out isn't just her expertise—it's her commitment to personalized care. “There has never been a single dyad, a mom and baby team, that has been exactly like the one before,” she says. Her innovative “pump bar” lets moms test different breast pumps before investing, solving a common frustration many face.Laci also speaks openly about her own postpartum anxiety—from intrusive thoughts to fears about her baby's safety—reminding moms they're not alone. Her story shows that mental health and feeding support go hand in hand.Whether you're expecting or currently struggling, Laci's story is proof that the right support can shift your journey from overwhelm to empowerment.Connect with Laci: https://www.milkinmotion.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milkinmotion.co/ Join the Bump & Beyond Online Community for moms & moms-to-be! Coaching offerKelly Hof: Labor Nurse + Birth CoachBasically, I'm your birth bestie! With me as your coach, you will tell fear to take a hike!Kelly Hof: Labor Nurse + Birth CoachBasically, I'm your birth bestie! With me as your coach, you will tell fear to take a hike!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showConnect with Kelly Hof!Grab The Book of HormonesMedical Disclaimer:This podcast is intended as a safe space for women to share their birth experiences. It is not intended to provide medical advice. Each woman's medical course of action is individual and may not appropriately transfer to another similar situation. Please speak to your medical provider before making any medical decisions. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that evidence based practice evolves as our knowledge of science improves. To the best of my ability I will attempt to present the most current ACOG and AWHONN recommendations at the time the podcast is recorded, but that may not necessarily reflect the best practices at the time the podcast is heard. Additionally, guests sharing their stories have the right to autonomy in their medical decisions, and may share their choice to go against current practice recommendations. I intend to hold space for people to share their decisions. I will attempt to share the current recommendations so that my audience is informed, but it is up to each individual to choose what is best for them.

The New Earth Children of Today - Join us with Spirit Baby stories that are real and personal conversations that will share a message of love, hope, connection, and truth. Special Guest Episode: Dr. Courtney Yurko is a wife, freebirth mama, visionary leader, entrepreneur, and dedicated advocate for holistic wellness. As the founder of Connection Health Center, she specializes in spinal health, supporting women through pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. A passionate advocate for freebirth and sovereign birthing choices, Dr. Yurko empowers women to trust their bodies and reclaim autonomy in the birth process. Beyond her work in health, she is the co-founder of T.O. Mezcal with her husband, an artisanal mezcal brand that honors Oaxacan tradition and promotes intentional consumption. She also founded T.O. Missions Worldwide, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to bringing love, chiropractic care, and community service to Chichicapam, the town where T.O. Mezcal is produced. Whether guiding her clients to optimal health, advocating for birth freedom, or leading mission-driven initiatives, Dr. Yurko is committed to creating meaningful connections and inspiring others to live life to the fullest. WEBSITES: Work with me / www.tomezcal.com. (BUY — code YURKO10 for 10% off your order) www.connectionhealthcenter.com    www.tomissions.com  

BE WARNED: It's LuAnna, and this podcast contains honest, upfront opinions, rants, bants and general explicit content. But you know you love it! It's time to get TOTALLY EXTRA. Extra chat, extra rants, extra bants, extra stories, nonsense and more.On this week's Totally Extra: More stupid things partners do whilst you're in labour, a woman birthing a piece of gum, a lady with a defensive partner, and some kind words from one lufannian to another.Remember, if you want to get in touch you can:Email us at luanna@everythingluanna.com OR drop us a WhatsApp on 07745 266947Please review Global's Privacy Policy: https://global.com/legal/privacy-policy/

Keywords: childbirth, prenatal yoga, birth story, pregnancy complications, birth stories, parenting, postpartum, holistic health, labor support, postpartum experience, midwifery care, birth trauma, motherhood In this episode of the Resilient Birth podcast, hosts Justine Leach and Sarah Adelmann welcome Ashley Herrera, a certified yoga teacher specializing in prenatal and postnatal yoga. The conversation explores the complexities of childbirth, acknowledging that while the physiological process can be simple, it is not always so; moreover, the emotional and mental aspects are often not easy either. They discuss the duality of birth experiences, the impact of complications during pregnancy, and the importance of support systems. Ashley shares her personal journey through IVF and birth trauma, and the challenges she faced during her pregnancies, highlighting the need for empowerment and advocacy in the birthing process. In this conversation, Ashley Herrera shares her profound birth story, highlighting the critical role of support during labor and postpartum when her daughter was diagnosed with an issue with her heart necessitating a change of birth plan. She discusses the challenges faced in switching from a birth center to hospital environment, the importance of having a supportive team, and how these experiences shaped her transition into motherhood. The conversation also delves into the emotional and physical aspects of labor, the significance of connection to baby, and the lasting impact of trauma. Takeaways: Childbirth is a simple physiological process but can be physically and emotionally complex. Support systems are crucial during pregnancy and childbirth. It's important to honor both the simplicity and the challenges of birth. The connection between parent and child can remain unwavering despite complications. Finding moments of joy can help navigate fear and uncertainty. Empowerment comes from reclaiming choices during the birthing process. Emotional preparation is as important as physical preparation for childbirth. Every birth story is unique and valid, regardless of complications. The journey of parenthood involves continuous self-growth and learning. It's okay to feel a range of emotions during the birthing experience. Asking for what you need in labor is essential. The hospital environment can feel alien and restrictive. Practicing through movement and sound can help prepare for labor. Postpartum experiences can be affected by birth trauma. Midwifery care provided comfort and reassurance after birth. Advocating for your needs is important for both mother and baby. Sound Bites "The body knows how to birth." "One moment can thieve your hope." "It's okay to feel all the feelings." "We flipped the narrative on it." "We got our power back." "I had to ask for everything" "I could conquer the world" Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Resilient Birth Podcast 00:58 The Complexity of Childbirth 04:11 The Duality of Birth Experiences 06:53 Navigating Complications in Pregnancy 13:58 Finding Beauty Amidst Fear 16:57 Empowerment Through Support 24:07 The Journey of Induction and Advocacy 25:11 Navigating Labor: The Role of Support 28:06 The Birth Experience: Challenges and Triumphs 32:17 The Power of Support in Birth 37:01 Creating Connection in Prenatal Classes 42:04 Postpartum Journey: Trauma and Healing On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma across the perinatal period, from trying-to-conceive to pregnancy, from childbirth to postpartum and parenting. Through an inspirational quote that drives our weekly conversations about trauma and healing, Justine and Sarah explore topics such as birth trauma, parenting as a survivor, and finding healing with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals. Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic. Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience. Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence and is currently working towards a Masters in Counselling. Learn more about Sarah and Justine's trainings: https://www.resilientbirth.com/workshops Ashley Herrera is a certified yoga teacher, specializing in prenatal and postnatal yoga, a mother of two, and a passionate advocate for empowering parents on their unique pregnancy and birth journeys. Inspired by her own transformative experiences, Ashley dove deeper into her work to support expectant parents through both in-person offerings in Calgary, AB, Canada, and online programs like the Confident Labor Prep Program and From Bump to Birth prenatal yoga series. Currently training as a Birthing from Within childbirth educator and doula, Ashley will also complete the Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educator Training this Spring, further enhancing her ability to guide parents toward confident, connected births.

In this episode of The Box of Oddities, we begin with the extraordinary life—and tragic death—of Khaled al-Asaad, the Syrian archaeologist who courageously protected the ancient city of Palmyra from destruction. Refusing to reveal the location of hidden treasures, he faced unspeakable brutality to ensure the survival of irreplaceable history. His legacy is carved not in stone but in sacrifice. Then, from solemnity to sheer absurdity, we dive headfirst into The Great Stork Derby—a 1930s Canadian legal spectacle where a millionaire's will turned childbirth into a competitive sport. Yes, a real-life baby-making contest. What happens when estate law meets aggressive procreation? A weirdly fertile lawsuit. Two stories: one man dies for ancient artifacts; several women compete for a fortune by having the most artifacts. Heroism and hilarity. Antiquity and maternity. Welcome to The Box. If you would like to advertise on The Box of Oddities, contact advertising@airwavemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina shares about her experience with living in France, a very anti-homebirth country, and wanting to birth outside of the medical system. Her dreams of wanting a physiological freebirth and believing she would NEVER go into the hospital system were very abruptly shattered when she found out about her baby's diagnosis. She then realized birth is not so black and white, we were able to discuss a bit about the dangers of freebirth culture, while also holding space for the women who feel a very deep and intuitive call to freebirth. Christina goes on to share her second birth experience which was a full circle moment of getting the birth she had always wanted from the very beginning. *I want to be transparent in saying that I do not support or stand with the Free Birth Society. My values and approach to birth work differ greatly from theirs*

BE WARNED: It's LuAnna, and this podcast contains honest, upfront opinions, rants, bants and general explicit content. But you know you love it! It's time to get TOTALLY EXTRA. Extra chat, extra rants, extra bants, extra stories, nonsense and more.On this week's Totally Extra: Our own Cosette, bum hair, ruining someone's coffee, a birthing petty polly, & another gag inducing confession. Remember, if you want to get in touch you can:Email us at luanna@everythingluanna.com OR drop us a WhatsApp on 07745 266947Please review Global's Privacy Policy: https://global.com/legal/privacy-policy/

- Make Us Choose! - What's next for Iowa State's Wide Receivers? - "Berthing" is not "birthing". - What is "DAD ROCK"?

Join us for the 74th Re:Pro Health Podcast episode! We're so fortunate to have Maureen Callihoo Ligtvoet with us as we discuss the revitalization of Indigenous birthing practices and the importance of culturally safe maternity care. Maureen is a community advocate for truth and reconciliation, a human service professional, and the daughter of a residential school survivor. In this episode she shares her knowledge and experience in traditional Indigenous birthing practices as well as where the healthcare system may be falling short in meeting the needs of Indigenous patients. We'll also discuss some of the important historical context that continues to result in numerous poor delivery experiences for members of Indigenous communities and what steps healthcare professionals can take to work towards addressing these deficits in care. It's such a privilege to be part of this discussion and we hope you enjoy listening in!

Australian icon Jess Mauboy joins Britt & Laura to chat about her newborn baby Mia and the launch of her brand new suncare brand Desert Rose.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apartment brawls, terrifying dad dreams, and getting ghosted by your boss—it's just another week on Demoted! On this episode, Ross recounts the details of his birthing class and the horrifying expecting father nightmare that ensued. Natalie's officially cohabitating, and may or may not have hosted a fight night at her new apartment. Plus, we're dishing out some seriously questionable sleep advice, discussing the perils of losing control of your remote team, and tackling a listener's desperate “Dear Demoted” question about being ghosted by their manager. Get ready for the debut of TWO new segments: “This Guy is About to Be a Father” and “Which Host Wrote This?” Join the movement today by visiting lovesac.com/demoted #ReclineFromTheGrind We want to hear from you! Send in your Corporate Confessions, Dear Demoted questions, and Shout-outs right here: https://forms.gle/nJc667dUL65Xh63C6

In today's replay of episode 322, Anita talks about the power of creating a cozy and calm birth space. So, whether you are planning to become pregnant, you are pregnant, or you work with pregnant clients, this episode will give you insights into things you may never have thought about before - because we aren't usually thinking about the atmosphere, and how it can affect laboring, itself! Let's all plan for a cozy and calm birthing environment!- - - - - - - - -If you liked this episode of To Birth and Beyond, tell your friends! Find us on iTunes and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show.Want more? Visit www.ToBirthAndBeyond.com, join our Facebook group (To Birth and Beyond Podcast), and follow us on Instagram @tobirthandbeyondpodcast! Thanks for listening and joining the conversation!Resources and References Bump to Birth Method - a self-study course from AnitaShow Notes 0:55 - Bump to Birth Method - a self-study course from Anita2:47 - An intro to today's special replay episode!6:00 - Anita shares what today's episode is going to be all about!6:48 - How Anita leads her clients through creating a cozy environment at home9:49 - It could be helpful to write the information in today's episode down! - Anita discusses her 1-page birthing template for her clients11:01 - Sense #1: Sight (what could you visually do/see in your laboring space that could help your nervous system stay in relaxation?)17:51 - Sense #2: Sound (what could you listen to that could help your body go into that rest and relaxation state?)26:55 - Sense #3: Smell (incorporating scents for relaxation)31:01 - Sense #4: Touch (what's physically touching you, tools for the process, etc)38:21 - IMPORTANT: Your Support Team39:53 - Episode wrap up

With Dr. Stu Fischbein about the current state of the birthing business, his over 36 years of experience as a OB - GYN , and the midwife supported and home birthing model of delivery. Hear this best of conversation Tuesday from 2-3pm on KCBX

This episode discusses the depth of the birthing revelation first prophesied in 2021.  Schedule a Free Life Coaching Discovery Call! https://forms.gle/1woJbvNvM5zcrwFf9 21-Day Discipline Boot Camp Coaching Program Wait List (APRIL 2025) https://drea-kay.kit.com/c4bb0cffe6 Entrepreneurship + Creativity Services How to Identify Your Next Creative Pursuit! $9.99 https://drea-kay.kit.com/products/how-to-identify-your-next-creative-project Join me on Substack! Join Now! (Free) Invest in my podcast, music projects, and more. Click Here! Social Media: TikTok YouTube

Postpartum Talks is a podcast that shares tips, ideas. and the host postpartum experiences. Postpartum Talks does not offer medical counsel. If you are experiencing an emergency call 911. Birthing families are you concerned about exercising your new body? Once you know you are willing to take care of that postpartum body moving into a daily routine will improve flexibility, duration. and relaxation even more. To learn more about Postpartum doula care visit www.AhmaDoulaServices.com or email AhmaServices@gmail.com for a consultation with a Certified Perinatal Doula.

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Paula.Paula is a mama of two from the Gold Coast, Australia, originally from NZ.  After having two empowering births of her own and discovering the power of the mind and breath connection she started her own business as a Functional Breathwork Coach and Meditation Teacher. She love all things birth since having her own children as well as having supported 3 of her friends during their births, experiencing what an honor it is to be a part of a woman's transition into motherhood. Today she shares about her empowering birth stories with us.Curious about Paula? Find her on instagram as @choose.u.everyday If you also want to experience the beautify and magic of attending births then here is your reminder to apply for The sacred birth worker mentorship starting in a month time.Only couple of weeks left of the early bird and also only a few places left in the cohort.It's already an amazing group of women from all over the world and I cant wait to begin this journey with them and maybe you!Find out more and apply at sacredbirthinternational.comWant to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?Find Anna's Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources shementions in the episode here: https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links

Message from Tomiwa Odetoyinbo on March 22, 2025

SHE'S GOT BIRTHING HIPS by 101.9POR

Elizabeth speaks with Chine McDonald about her new "Motherhood vs The Machine" podcast, which explores the intersection of motherhood, productivity, technology, and what it means to be human.She discusses the shift in motherhood discourse, womanhood, the challenges of navigating motherhood in professional life, the focus on motherhood vs. parenting, confronting miscarriage and baby loss, and how motherhood can serve as a case study to explore what it means to be human versus machine. Catch the new podcast "Motherhood vs. the Machine" Podcast here

Lawmakers advance a bill eliminating DEI at Kentucky's public colleges, attach an abortion-related measure onto a freestanding birthing center bill, make repeated disruptions of a legislative proceeding a felony, and pass a watered-down ban on cell phones in schools. 

Rachel shares her experience with Birthing at a Birth Center and why she decided to go a different route with her next baby which was to have a Freebirth. Resources & Links:

Have you ever felt weighed down—literally and figuratively—by all the “stuff” we carry? Whether it's an overpacked suitcase, emotional baggage, or the simple overwhelm of daily life, sometimes less really is more. That's why I couldn't wait to sit down with today's guest, Natalie E. Tackett, and talk about how simplifying our travel wardrobes can lead to a more freeing and joyful experience.Natalie is a powerhouse. She's an artist, a restoration expert, and a viral YouTuber who is redefining what it means to pack light and travel smart. Her journey started with a trip to Turkey, where she was challenged to pack everything she needed into an 18-pound bag. (Yes, you read that right!) That experience transformed the way she travels, and now she's sharing her wisdom with the world.What You'll Love in This Episode:Capsule Packing Made Easy – Build a stylish, functional, and ultra-light wardrobe.Less Baggage, More Freedom – How packing light can lighten your mindset, too.Smart Travel Hacks – Essentials to stay prepared without overpacking.Laundry Anywhere – Natalie's top tips for easy sink washing.Packing Bulky Items – Clever ways to carry hats and big gear.A Heartwarming Story – How rescuing kittens became an unexpected adventure.Stuff We Talked About:Scrubba Wash Bag – A game-changer for keeping your clothes fresh while traveling.Merino Wool for the Win – Why natural fabrics can stretch your wardrobe further.Pacifier Clips for Hats – The mom-hack you didn't know you needed.Capsule Dressing resources:https://www.whowhatwear.com/how-to-capsule-wardrobehttps://www.cabionline.comWhere to Find Natalie:YouTube: BrushedArtist and the Art of TravelInstagram: @brushedartistStan Store: https://stan.store/BrushedArtistIf this episode inspired you, share it with a friend, leave a review, and let's keep chasing adventure—without the extra baggage. Support the showConnect with me in the following ways:www.theadventureparadox.com FacebookInstagramcatcaldwellmyers@gmail.com

Originally aired in June 2019 as our 73rd episode, we still often think back to this amazing first conversation we had with Dr. Stuart Fischbein and Midwife Blyss Young!Now, almost 6 years later, the information is just as relevant and impactful as it was then. This episode was a Q&A from our Facebook followers and touches on topics like statistics surrounding VBAC, uterine rupture, uterine abnormalities, insurance companies, breech vaginal delivery, high-risk pregnancies, and a powerful analogy about VBACs and weddings!Birthing Instincts PatreonBirthing BlyssNeeded WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hey, guys. This is one of our re-broadcasted episodes. This is an episode that, in my opinion, is a little gem in the podcast world of The VBAC Link. I really have loved this podcast ever since the date we recorded it. I am a huge fan of Dr. Stu Fischbein and Midwife Blyss and have been since the moment I knew that they existed. I absolutely love listening to their podcast and just all of the amazing things that they have and that they offer. So I wanted to rebroadcast this episode because it was quite down there. It was like our 73rd episode or something like that. And yeah, I love it so much. This week is OB week, and so I thought it'd be fun to kick-off the week with one of my favorite OB doctor's, Stuart Fischbein. So, a little recap of what this episode covers. We go over a lot. We asked for our community to ask questions for these guys, and we went through them. We didn't get to everything, so that was a bummer, but we did get to quite a bit. We talked about things like the chances of VBAC. We talked about the chances of uterine rupture and the signs of uterine rupture. We talked about inducing VBAC. We talked about uterine abnormalities, the desire of where you want to birth and figuring that out. And also, Blyss had a really great analogy to talk about what to do and how we're letting the medical world and insurance and things like that really contemplate where we or dictate where we are birthing. I love that analogy. You guys, seriously, so many questions. It's an episode that you'll probably want to put on repeat because it really is so great to listen to them, and they just speak so directly. I can't get enough of it. So I'm really excited for you guys to dive in today on this. However, I wanted to bring to your attention a couple of the new things that they've had since we recorded this way back when. I also wanted to point out that we will have updated notes in the show notes or updated links in the show notes so you can go check, them out. But one of the first things I wanted to mention was their Patreon. They have a Patreon these days, and I think that it just sounds dreamy. I think you should definitely go find in their Patreon their community through their Patreon. You can check it out at patreon.com, birthinginsinctspodcast.com and of course, you can find them on social media. You can find Dr. Stu at Birthing Instincts or his website at birthinginsincts.com. You can find Blyss and that is B-L-Y-S-S if you are looking for her at birthingblyss on Instagram or birthinblyss.com, and then of course, you can email them. They do take emails with questions and sometimes they even talk about it on their podcast. Their podcast is birthinginsinctspodcast.com, and then you can email them at birthinginsinctspodcast@gmail.com, so definitely check them out. Also, Dr. Stu offers some classes and workshops and things like that throughout the years on the topic of breech. You guys, I love them and really can't wait for you to listen to today's episode.Ladies, I cannot tell you how giddy and excited I have been for the last couple weeks since we knew that these guys were going to record with us. But we have some amazing, special guests today. We have Dr. Stuart Fischbein and Midwife Blyss Young, and we want to share a little bit about them before we get into the questions that all of you guys have asked on our social media platforms.Julie: Absolutely. And when Meagan says we're excited, we are really excited.Meagan: My face is hot right now because I'm so excited.Julie: I'm so excited. Meagan was texting me last night at 11:00 in all caps totally fan-girling out over here. So Dr. Stu and midwife Blyss are pretty amazing and we know that you are going to love them just as much as we do. But before we get into it, and like Meagan said, I'm just going to read their bios so you can know just how legit they really are. First, up. Dr. Stuart Fischbein, MD is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and how much we love ACOG over here at The VBAC Link He's a published author of the book Fearless Pregnancy: Wisdom and Reassurance from a Doctor, a Midwife, and a Mom. He has peer-reviewed papers Home Birth with an Obstetrician, A Series of 135 Out-of-Hospital Births and Breech Births at Home, Outcomes of 60 Breech and 109 Cephalic Planned Home and Birth Center Births. Dr. Stu is a lecturer and advocate who now works directly with home birthing midwives. His website is www.birthinginsincts.com, and his podcast is Dr. Stu's Podcast. Seriously guys, you need to subscribe.Meagan: Go subscribe right now to their podcast.Yeah. The website for his podcast is drstuspodcast.com. He has an international following. He offers hope for women who cannot find supportive practitioners for VBAC and twin and breech deliveries. Guys, this is the home birth OB. He is located in California. So if you are in California hoping for VBAC, especially if you have any special circumstance like after multiple Cesareans, twins or breech presentation, run to him. Run. Go find him. He will help you. Go to that website. Blyss, Midwife Blyss. We really love them. If you haven't had a chance to hear their podcast guys, really go and give them a listen because this duo is on point. They are on fire, and they talk about all of the real topics in birth. So his partner on the podcast is Blyss Young, and she is an LM and CPM. She has been involved in the natural birth world since the birth of her first son in 1992, first as an advocate, and then as an educator. She is a mother of three children, and all of her pregnancies were supported by midwives, two of which were triumphant, empowering home births. In 2006, Blyss co-founded the Sanctuary Birth and Family Wellness Center. This was the culmination of all of her previous experience as a natural birth advocate, educator and environmentalist. The Sanctuary was the first of its kind, a full-spectrum center where midwives, doctors, and other holistic practitioners collaborated to provide thousands of Los Angeles families care during their prenatal and postpartum periods. Blyss closed the Sanctuary in 2015 to pursue her long-held dream of becoming a midwife and care for her clients in an intimate home birth practice similar to the way she was cared for during her pregnancies. I think that's , why Meagan and I both became doulas. Meagan: That's exactly why I'm a doula. Julie: We needed to provide that care just like we had been cared for. Anyway, going on. Currently, Blyss, AKA Birthing Blyss, supports families on their journey as a birth center educator, placenta encapsulator and a natural birth and family consultant and home birth midwife. She is also co-founder of Just Placentas, a company servicing all of Southern California and placenta encapsulation and other postpartum services. And as ,, she's a co-host on Dr. Stu's Podcast. Meagan: And she has a class. Don't you have a class that you're doing? Don't you have a class? Midwife Blyss: Yeah. Meagan: Yeah. She has a class that she's doing. I want to just fly out because I know you're not doing it online and everything. I just want to fly there just to take your class.Midwife Blyss: Yeah, it's coming online.Meagan: It is? Yay! Great. Well, I'll be one of those first registering. Oh, did you put it in there?Julie: No, there's a little bit more.Meagan: Oh, well, I'm just getting ahead.Julie: I just want to read more of Blyss over here because I love this and I think it's so important. At the heart of all Blyss's work is a deep-rooted belief in the brilliant design of our bodies, the symbiotic relationship between baby and mother, the power of the human spirit and the richness that honoring birth as the rite of passage and resurrecting lost traditions can bring to our high-tech, low-touch lives. And isn't that true love? I love that language. It is so beautiful. If I'm not mistaken, Midwife Blyss's website is birthingblyss.com.Is that right? And Blyss is spelled with a Y. So B-L-Y-S-S, birthingblyss.com, and that's where you can find her.Midwife Blyss: Just to make it more complicated, I had to put a Y in there.Julie: Hey. I love it.Meagan: That's okay.Julie: We're in Utah so we have all sorts of weird names over here.Meagan: Yep. I love it. You're unique. Awesome. Well, we will get started.Midwife Blyss: I did read through these questions, and one of the things that I wanted to say that I thought we could let people know is that of course there's a little bit more that we need to take into consideration when we have a uterus that's already had a scar.There's a small percentage of a uterine rupture that we need to be aware of, and we need to know what are the signs and symptoms that we would need to take a different course of action. But besides that, I believe that, and Dr. Stu can speak for himself because we don't always practice together. I believe that we treat VBAC just like any other mom who's laboring. So a lot of these questions could go into a category that you could ask about a woman who is having her first baby. I don't really think that we need to differentiate between those.Meagan: I love it. Midwife Blyss: But I do think that in terms of preparation, there are some special considerations for moms who have had a previous Cesarean, and probably the biggest one that I would point to is the trauma.Julie: Yes.Midwife Blyss: And giving space to and processing the trauma and really helping these moms have a provider that really believes in them, I think is one of the biggest factors to them having success. Meagan: Absolutely. Midwife Blyss: So that's one I wanted to say before you started down the question.Meagan: Absolutely. We have an online class that we provide for VBAC prep, and that's the very first section. It's mentally preparing and physically preparing because there's so much that goes into that. So I love that you started out with that.Julie: Yeah. A lot of these women who come searching for VBAC and realize that there's another way besides a repeat Cesarean are processing a lot of trauma, and a lot of them realized that their Cesarean might have been prevented had they known better, had a different provider, prepared differently, and things like that. Processing that and realizing that is heavy, and it's really important to do before getting into anything else, preparation-wise.Meagan: Yeah.Midwife Blyss: One of the best things I ever had that was a distinction that one of my VBAC moms made for me, and I passed it on as I've cared for other VBAC mom is for her, the justification, or I can't find the right word for it, but she basically said that that statement that we hear so often of, "Yeah, you have trauma from this, or you're not happy about how your birth went, but thank God your baby is healthy." And she said it felt so invalidating for her because, yes, she also was happy, of course, that her baby was safe, but at the same time, she had this experience and this trauma that wasn't being acknowledged, and she felt like it was just really being brushed away.Julie: Ah, yeah.Midwife Blyss: I think really giving women that space to be able to say, "Yes, that's valid. It's valid how you feel." And it is a really important part of the process and having a successful vaginal delivery this go around.Dr. Stu: I tend to be a lightning rod for stories. It's almost like I have my own personal ICAN meeting pretty much almost every day, one-on-one. I get contacted or just today driving. I'm in San Diego today and just driving down here, I talked to two people on the phone, both of whom Blyss really just touched on it is that they both are wanting to have VBACs with their second birth. They were seeing practitioners who are encouraging them to be induced for this reason or that reason. And they both have been told the same thing that Blyss just mentioned that if you end up with a repeat Cesarean, at least you're going to have a healthy baby. Obviously, it's very important. But the thing is, I know it's a cliche, but it's not just about the destination. It's about the journey as well. And one of the things that we're not taught in medical school and residency program is the value of the process. I mean, we're very much mechanical in the OB world, and our job is to get the baby out and head it to the pediatric department, and then we're done with it. If we can get somebody induced early, if we can decide to do a C-section sooner than we should, there's a lot of incentives to do that and to not think about the process and think about the person. There's another cliche which we talk about all the time. Blyss, and I've said it many times. It's that the baby is the candy and the mother's the wrapper. I don't know if you've heard that one, but when the baby comes out, the mother just gets basically tossed aside and her experience is really not important to the medical professionals that are taking care of her in the hospital setting, especially in today's world where you have a shift mentality and a lot of people are being taken care of by people they didn't know.You guys mentioned earlier the importance of feeling safe and feeling secure in whatever setting you're in whether that's at home or in the hospital. Because as Blyss knows, I get off on the mammalian track and you talk about mammals. They just don't labor well when they're anxious.Julie: Yep.Dr. Stu: When the doctor or the health professional is anxious and they're projecting their anxiety onto the mom and the family, then that stuff is brewing for weeks, if not months and who knows what it's actually doing inside, but it's certainly not going to lead to the likelihood of or it's going to diminish the likelihood of a successful labor.Julie: Yeah, absolutely. We talk about that. We go over that a lot. Like, birth is very instinctual and very primal, and it operates a very fundamental core level. And whenever mom feels threatened or anxious or, or anything like that, it literally can st or stop labor from progressing or even starting.Meagan: Yeah, exactly. When I was trying to VBAC with my first baby, my doctor came in and told my husband to tell me that I needed to wake up and smell the coffee because it wasn't happening for me. And that was the last, the last contraction I remember feeling was right before then and my body just shut off. I just stopped because I just didn't feel safe anymore or protected or supported. Yeah, it's very powerful which is something that we love so much about you guys, because I don't even know you. I've just listened to a million of your podcasts, and I feel so safe with you right now. I'm like, you could fly here right now and deliver my baby because so much about you guys, you provide so much comfort and support already, so I'm sure all of your clients can feel that from you.Julie: Absolutely.Dr. Stu: Yeah. I just would like to say that, know, I mean, the introduction was great. Which one of you is Julie? Which one's Meagan?Julie: I'm Julie.Meagan: And I'm Meagan.Dr. Stu: Okay, great. All right, so Julie was reading the introduction that she was talking about how if you have a breech, you have twins, if you have a VBAC, you have all these other things just come down to Southern California and care of it. But I'm not a cowboy. All right? Even though I do more things than most of my colleagues in the profession do, I also say no to people sometimes. I look at things differently. Just because someone has, say chronic hypertension, why can't they have a home birth? The labor is just the labor. I mean, if her blood pressure gets out of control, yeah, then she has to go to the hospital. But why do you need to be laboring in the hospital or induced early if everything is fine? But this isn't for everybody.We want to make that very clear. You need to find a supportive team or supportive practitioner who's willing to be able to say yes and no and give you it with what we call a true informed consent, so that you have the right to choose which way to go and to do what's reasonable. Our ethical obligation is to give you reasonable choices and then support your informed decision making. And sometimes there are things that aren't reasonable. Like for instance, an example that I use all the time is if a woman has a breech baby, but she has a placenta previa, a vaginal delivery is not an option for you. Now she could say, well, I want one and I'm not going to have a C-section.Julie: And then you have the right to refuse that.Dr. Stu: Yeah, yeah, but I mean, that's never going to happen because we have a good communication with our patients. Our communication is such that we develop a trust over the period of time. Sometimes I don't meet people until I'm actually called to their house by a midwife to come assist with a vacuum or something like that. But even then, the midwives and stuff, because I'm sort of known that people have understanding. And then when I'm sitting there, as long as the baby isn't trouble, I will explain to them, here's what's going to happen. Here's how we're going to do it. Here's what's going on. The baby's head to look like this. It not going be a problem. It'll be better in 12 hours. But I go through all this stuff and I say, I'm going to touch you now. Is that okay? I ask permission, and I do all the things that the midwives have taught me, but I never really learned in residency program. They don't teach this stuff.Julie: Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. One of the things that we go over a lot to in our classes is finding a provider who has a natural tendency to treat his patients the way that you want to be treated. That way, you'll have a lot better time when you birth because you're not having to ask them to do anything that they're not comfortable with or that they're not prepared for or that they don't know how to do. And so interviewing providers and interview as many as you need to with these women. And find the provider whose natural ways of treating his clients are the ways that you want to be treated.Dr. Stu: And sometimes in a community, there's nobody.Julie: Yeah, yeah, that's true.Meagan: That's what's so hard.Dr. Stu: And if it's important to you, if it's important to you, then you have to drive on. Julie: Or stand up for yourself and fight really hard.Meagan: I have a client from Russia. She's flying here in two weeks. She's coming all the way to Salt Lake City, Utah to have her baby. We had another client from Russia.Julie: You have another Russian client?Meagan: Yeah. Julie: That's awesome. Meagan: So, yeah. It's crazy. Sometimes you have to go far, far distances, and sometimes you've got them right there. You just have to search. You just have to find them.So it's tricky.Midwife Blyss: Maybe your insurance company is not gonna pay for it.Meagan: Did you say my company's not gonna pay for it?Midwife Blyss: And maybe your insurance company.Meagan: Oh, sure. Yeah, exactly.Midwife Blyss: You can't rely on them to be the ones who support some of these decisions that are outside of the standards of care. You might have to really figure out how to get creative around that area.Meagan: Absolutely.Yeah. So in the beginning, Blyss, you talked about noticing the signs, and I know that's one of the questions that we got on our Instagram, I believe. Birthing at home for both of you guys, what signs for a VBAC mom are signs enough where you talk about different care?.Dr. Stu: I didn't really understand that. Say that again what you were saying.Meagan: Yep. Sorry. So one of the questions on our Instagram was what are the signs of uterine rupture when you're at home that you look for and would transfer care or talk about a different plan of action?Dr. Stu: Okay. Quite simply, some uterine ruptures don't have any warning that they're coming.There's nothing you can do about those. But before we get into what you can feel, just let's review the numbers real briefly so that people have a realistic viewpoint. Because I'm sure if a doctor doesn't want to do a VBAC, you'll find a reason not to do a VBAC. You'll use the scar thickness or the pregnancy interval or whatever. They'll use something to try to talk you out of it or your baby's too big or this kind of thing. We can get into that in a little bit. But when there are signs, the most common sign you would feel is that there'd be increasing pain super-cubically that doesn't go away between contractions. It's a different quality of pain or sensation. It's pain. It's really's becoming uncomfortable. You might start to have variables when you didn't have them before. So the baby's heart rate, you might see heart rate decelerations. Rarely, you might find excessive bleeding, but that's usually not a sign of I mean that's a sign of true rupture.Midwife Blyss: Loss of station.Dr. Stu: Those are things you look for, but again, if you're not augmenting someone, if someone doesn't have an epidural where they don't have sensation, if they're not on Pitocin, these things are very unlikely to happen. I was going to get to the numbers. The numbers are such that the quoted risk of uterine rupture, which is again that crappy word. It sounds like a tire blowing out of the freeway. It is about 1 in 200. But only about 5 to 16%. And even one study said 3%. But let's just even take 16% of those ruptures will result in an outcome that the baby is damaged or dead. Okay, that's about 1 in 6. So the actual risk is about 1 in 6 times 1 in 200 or 1 in 1200 up to about 1 in 4000.Julie: Yep.Dr. Stu: So those are, those are the risks. They're not the 1 in 200 or the 2%. I actually had someone tell some woman that she had a 30% chance of rupture.Julie: We've had somebody say 50%.Meagan: We have?Julie: Yeah. Jess, our 50 copy editor-- her doctor told her that if she tries to VBAC, she has a 50% chance of rupture and she will die. Yeah.Meagan: Wow.Julie: Pretty scary. Dr. Stu: And by the way, a maternal mortality from uterine rupture is extremely rare.Julie: Yeah, we were just talking about that.Dr. Stu: That doctor is wrong on so many accounts. I don't even know where to begin on that.Julie: I know.Dr. Stu: Yeah. See that's the thing where even if someone has a classical Cesarean scar, the risk of rupture isn't 50%.Julie: Yep.Dr. Stu: So I don't know where they come up with those sorts of numbers.Julie: Yeah, I think it's just their comfort level and what they're familiar with and what they know and what they understand. I think a lot of these doctors, because she had a premature Cesarean, and so that's why he was a little, well, a lot more fear-based. Her Cesarean happened, I think, around 32 weeks. We still know that you can still attempt to VBAC and still have a really good chance of having a successful one. But a lot of these providers just don't do it.Dr. Stu: Yeah. And another problem is you can't really find out what somebody's C-section rate is. I mean, you can find out your hospital C-section rate. They can vary dramatically between different physicians, so you really don't know. You'd like to think that physicians are honest. You'd like to think that they're going to tell you the truth. But if they have a high C-section rate and it's a competitive world, they're not going to. And if you're with them, you don't really have a choice anyway.Julie: So there's not transparency on the physician level.Dr. Stu: So Blyss was talking briefly about the fact that your insurance may not pay for it. Blyss, why don't you elaborate on that because you do that point so well.Midwife Blyss: Are you talking about the wedding?Dr. Stu: I love your analogy. It's a great analogy.Midwife Blyss: I'm so saddened sometimes when people talk to me about that they really want this option and especially VBACs. I just have a very special tender place in my heart for VBAC because I overcame something from my first to second birth that wasn't a Cesarean. But it felt like I had been led to mistrust my body, and then I had a triumphant second delivery. So I really understand how that feels when a woman is able to reclaim her body and have a vaginal delivery. But just in general, in terms of limiting your options based on what your insurance will pay for, we think about the delivery of our baby and or something like a wedding where it's this really special day. I see that women or families will spend thousands and thousands of dollars and put it on a credit card and figure out whatever they need to do to have this beautiful wedding. But somehow when it comes to the birth of their baby, they turn over all their power to this insurance company.And so we used to do this talk at the sanctuary and I used to say, "What if we had wedding insurance and you paid every year into this insurance for your wedding, and then when the wedding came, they selected where you went and you didn't like it and they put you in a dress that made you look terrible and the food was horrible and the music was horrible and they invited all these people you didn't want to be there?"Julie: But it's a network.Midwife Blyss: Would you really let that insurance company, because it was paid for, dictate how your wedding day was? Julie: That's a good analogy.Midwife Blyss: You just let it all go.Meagan: Yeah. That's amazing. I love that. And it's so true. It is so true.Julie: And we get that too a lot about hiring a doula. Oh, I can't hire a doula. It's too expensive. We get that a lot because people don't expect to pay out-of-pocket for their births. When you're right, it's just perceived completely differently when it should be one of the biggest days of your life. I had three VBACs at home. My first was a necessary, unnecessary Cesarean.I'm still really uncertain about that, to be honest with you. But you better believe my VBACs at home, we paid out of pocket for a midwife. Our first two times, it was put on a credit card. I had a doula, I had a birth photographer, I had a videographer. My first VBAC, I had two photographers there because it was going to be documented because it was so important to me. And we sold things on eBay. We sold our couches, and I did some babysitting just to bring in the money.Obviously, I hired doulas because it was so important to me to not only have the experience that I wanted and that I deserved, but I wanted it documented and I wanted it to be able to remember it well and look back on it fondly. We see that especially in Utah. I think we have this culture where women just don't-- I feel like it's just a national thing, but I think in Utah, we tend to be on the cheap side just culturally and women don't see the value in that. It's hard because it's hard to shift that mindset to see you are important. You are worth it. What if you could have everything you wanted and what if you knew you could be treated differently? Would you think about how to find the way to make that work financially? And I think if there's just that mindset shift, a lot of people would.Meagan: Oh, I love that.Dr. Stu: If you realize if you have to pay $10,000 out of pocket or $5,000 or whatever to at least have the opportunity, and you always have the hospital as a backup. But 2 or 3 years from now, that $5,000 isn't going to mean anything.Julie: Yeah, nothing.Meagan: But that experience is with you forever.Dr. Stu: So yeah, women may have to remember the names of their children when they're 80 years old, but they'll remember their birth.Julie: Well, with my Cesarean baby, we had some complications and out-of-pocket, I paid almost $10,000 for him and none of my home births, midwives, doula, photography and videography included cost over $7,000.Meagan: My Cesarean births in-hospital were also more expensive than my birth center births.Julie: So should get to questions.Dr. Stu: Let's get to some of the questions because you guys some really good questions.Meagan: Yes.Dr. Stu: Pick one and let's do it.Meagan: So let's do Lauren. She was on Facebook. She was our very first question, and she said that she has some uterine abnormalities like a bicornuate uterus or a separate uterus or all of those. They want to know how that impacts VBAC. She's had two previous Cesareans due to a breech presentation because of her uterine abnormality.Julie: Is that the heart-shaped uterus? Yeah.Dr. Stu: Yeah. You can have a septate uterus. You can have a unicornuate uterus. You can have a double uterus.Julie: Yeah. Two separate uteruses.Dr. Stu: Right. The biggest problem with a person with an abnormal uterine shape or an anomaly is a couple of things. One is malpresentation as this woman experienced because her two babies were breech. And two, is sometimes a retained placenta is more common than women that have a septum, that sort of thing. Also, it can cause preterm labor and growth restriction depending on the type of anomaly of the uterus. Now, say you get to term and your baby is head down, or if it's breech in my vicinity. But if it's head down, then the chance of VBAC for that person is really high. I mean, it might be a slightly greater risk of Cesarean section, but not a statistically significant risk. And then the success rate for home birth VBACs, if you look at the MANA stats or even my own stats which are not enough to make statistical significance in a couple of papers that I put out, but the MANA stats show that it's about a 93% success rate for VBACS in the midwifery model, whereas in the hospital model, it can be as low as 17% up to the 50s or 60%, but it's not very high. And that's partly because of the model by which you're cared for. So the numbers that I'm quoting and the success rates I'm quoting are again, assuming that you have a supportive practitioner in a supportive environment, every VBAC is going to have diminished chance of success in a restrictive or tense environment. But unicornuate uterus or septate uterus is not a contraindication to VBAC, and it's not an indication of breech delivery if somebody knows how to do a breech VBAC too.Julie: Right.Dr. Stu: So Lauren, that would be my answer to to your question is that no, it's not a contraindication and that if you have the right practitioner you can certainly try to labor and your risk of rupture is really not more significant than a woman who has a normal-shaped uterus.Julie: Good answer.Meagan: So I want to spin off that really quick. It's not a question, but I've had a client myself that had two C-sections, and her baby was breech at 37 weeks, and the doctor said he absolutely could not turn the baby externally because her risk of rupture was so increasingly high. So would you agree with that or would you disagree with that?D No, no, no. Even an ACOG statement on external version and breech says that a previous uterine scar is not a contraindication to attempting an external version.Meagan: Yeah.Dr. Stu: Now actually, if we obviously had more breech choices, then there'd be no reason to do an external version.The main reason that people try an external version which can sometimes be very uncomfortable, and depending on the woman and her parody and certain other factors, their success rate cannot be very good is the only reason they do it because the alternative is a Cesarean in 95% of locations in the country.Meagan: Okay, well that's good to know.Dr. Stu: But again, one of the things I would tell people to do is when they're hearing something from their position that just sort of rocks the common sense vote and doesn't sort of make sense, look into it. ACOG has a lot. I think you can just go Google some of the ACOG clinical guidelines or practice guidelines or clinical opinions or whatever they call them. You can find and you can read through, and they summarize them at the end on level A, B, and C evidence, level A being great evidence level C being what's called consensus opinion. The problem with consensus, with ACOG's guidelines is that about 2/3 of them are consensus opinion because they don't really have any data on them. When you get bunch of academics together who don't like VBAC or don't like home birth or don't like breech, of course a consensus opinion is going to be, "Well, we're not going to think those are a good idea." But much to their credit lately, they're starting to change their tune. Their most recent VBAC guideline paper said that if your hospital can do labor and delivery, your hospital can do VBAC.Julie: Yes.Dr. Stu: That's huge. There was immediately a whole fiasco that went on. So any hospital that's doing labor and delivery should be able to do a VBAC. When they say they can't or they say our insurance company won't let them, it's just a cowardly excuse because maybe it's true, but they need to fight for your right because most surgical emergencies in labor delivery have nothing to do with a previous uterine scar.Julie: Absolutely.Dr. Stu: They have to do with people distress or placental abruption or cord prolapse. And if they can handle those, they can certainly handle the one in 1200. I mean, say a hospital does 20 VBACs a year or 50 VBACs a year. You'll take them. Do the math. It'll take them 25 years to have a rupture.Meagan: Yeah. It's pretty powerful stuff.Midwife Blyss: I love when he does that.Julie: Me too. I'm a huge statistics junkie and data junkie. I love the numbers.Meagan: Yeah. She loves numbers.Julie: Yep.Meagan: I love that.Julie: Hey, and 50 VBACs a year at 2000, that would be 40 years actually, right?Dr. Stu: Oh, look at what happened. So say that again. What were the numbers you said?Julie: So 1 in 2000 ruptures are catastrophic and they do 50 VBACs a year, wouldn't that be 40 years?Dr. Stu: But I was using the 1200 number.Julie: Oh, right, right, right, right.Dr. Stu: So that would be 24 years.Julie: Yeah. Right. Anyways, me and you should sit down and just talk. One day. I would love to have lunch with you.Dr. Stu: Let's talk astrology and astronomy.Yes.Dr. Stu: Who's next?Midwife Blyss: Can I make a suggestion?There was another woman. Let's see where it is. What's the likelihood that a baby would flip? And is it reasonable to even give it a shot for a VBA2C. How do you guys say that?Meagan: VBAC after two Cesareans.Midwife Blyss: I need to know the lingo. So, I would say it's very unlikely for a baby to flip head down from a breech position in labor. It doesn't mean it's impossible.Dr. Stu: With a uterine septum, it's almost never going to happen. Bless is right on. Even trying an external version on a woman with the uterine septum when the baby's head is up in one horn and the placenta in the other horn and they're in a frank breech position, that's almost futile to do that, especially if a woman is what I call a functional primary, or even a woman who's never labored before.Julie: Right. That's true.Meagan: And then Napoleon said, what did she say? Oh, she was just talking about this. She's planning on a home birth after two Cesareans supported by a midwife and a doula. Research suggests home birth is a reasonable and safe option for low-risk women. And she wants to know in reality, what identifies low risk?Midwife Blyss: Well, I thought her question was hilarious because she says it seems like everybody's high-risk too. Old, overweight.Julie: Yeah, it does. It does, though.Dr. Stu: Well, immediately, when you label someone high-risk, you make them high-risk.Julie: Yep.Dr. Stu: Because now you've planted seeds of doubt inside their head. So I would say, how do you define high-risk? I mean, is 1 in 1200 high risk?Julie: Nope.Dr. Stu: It doesn't seem high-risk to me. But again, I mean, we do a lot of things in our life that are more dangerous than that and don't consider them high-risk. So I think the term high-risk is handed about way too much.And it's on some false or just some random numbers that they come up with. Blyss has heard this before. I mean, she knows everything I say that comes out of my mouth. The numbers like 24, 35, 42. I mean, 24 hours of ruptured membranes. Where did that come from? Yeah, or some people are saying 18 hours. I mean, there's no science on that. I mean, bacteria don't suddenly look at each other and go, "Hey Ralph, it's time to start multiplying."Julie: Ralph.Meagan: I love it.Julie: I'm gonna name my bacteria Ralph.Meagan: It's true. And I was told after 18 hours, that was my number.Dr. Stu: Yeah, again, so these numbers, there are papers that come out, but they're not repetitive. I mean, any midwife worth her salt has had women with ruptured membranes for sometimes two, three, or four days.Julie: Yep.Midwife Blyss: And as long as you're not sticking your fingers in there, and as long as their GBS might be negative or that's another issue.Meagan: I think that that's another question. That's another question. Yep.Dr. Stu: Yeah, I'll get to that right now. I mean, if some someone has a ruptured membrane with GBS, and they don't go into labor within a certain period of time, it's not unreasonable to give them the pros and cons of antibiotics and then let them make that decision. All right? We don't force people to have antibiotics. We would watch for fetal tachycardia or fever at that point, then you're already behind the eight ball. So ideally, you'd like to see someone go into labor sooner. But again, if they're still leaking, if there are no vaginal exams, the likelihood of them getting group B strep sepsis or something on the baby is still not very high. And the thing about antibiotics that I like to say is that if I was gonna give antibiotics to a woman, I think it's much better to give a woman an antibiotics at home than in the hospital. And the reason being is because at home, the baby's still going to be born into their own environment and mom's and dad's bacteria and the dog's bacteria and the siblings' bacteria where in the hospital, they're going to go to the nursery for observation like they generally do, and they're gonna be exposed to different bacteria unless they do these vaginal seeding, which isn't really catching on universally yet where you take a swab of mom's vaginal bacteria before the C-section.Midwife Blyss: It's called seeding.Dr. Stu: Right. I don't consider ruptured membrane something that again would cause me to immediately say something where you have to change your plan. You individualize your care in the midwifery model.Julie: Yep.Dr. Stu: You look at every patient. You look at their history. You look at their desires. You look at their backup situation, their transport situation, and that sort of thing. You take it all into account. Now, there are some women in pregnancy who don't want to do a GBS culture.Ignorance is bliss. The other spelling of bliss.Julie: Hi, Blyss.Dr. Stu: But the reason that at least I still encourage people to do it is because for any reason, if that baby gets transferred to the hospital during labor or after and you don't have a GBS culture on the chart, they're going to give antibiotics. They're going to treat it as GBS positive and they're also going to think you're irresponsible.And they're going to have that mentality that of oh, here's another one of those home birth crazy people, blah, blah, blah.Julie: That just happened to me in January. I had a client like that. I mean, anyways, never mind. It's not the time. Midwife Blyss: Can I say something about low-risk?Julie: Yes. Midwife Blyss: I think there are a lot of different factors that go into that question. One being what are the state laws? Because there are things that I would consider low-risk and that I feel very comfortable with, but that are against the law. And I'm not going to go to jail.Meagan: Right. We want you to still be Birthing Bless.Midwife Blyss: As, much as I believe in a woman's right to choose, I have to draw the line at what the law is. And then the second is finding a provider that-- obviously, Dr. Stu feels very comfortable with things that other providers may not necessarily feel comfortable with.Julie: Right.Midwife Blyss: And so I think it's really important, as you said in the beginning of the show, to find a provider who takes the risk that you have and feels like they can walk that path with you and be supportive. I definitely agree with what Dr. Stu was saying about informed consent. I had a client who was GBS positive, declined antibiotics and had a very long rupture. We continued to walk that journey together. I kept giving informed consent and kept giving informed consent. She had such trust and faith that it actually stretched my comfort level. We had to continually talk about where we were in this dance. But to me, that feels like what our job is, is to give them information about the pros and cons and let them decide for themselves.And I think that if you take a statistic, I'm picking an arbitrary number, and there's a 94% chance of success and a 4% chance that something could go really wrong, one family might look at that and say, "Wow, 94%, this is neat. That sounds like a pretty good statistic," and the other person says, "4% makes me really uncomfortable. I need to minimize." I think that's where you have to have the ability, given who you surround yourself with and who your provider is, to be able to say, "This is my choice," and it's being supported. So it is arbitrary in a lot of ways except for when it comes to what the law is.Julie: Yeah, that makes sense.Meagan: I love that. Yeah. Julie: Every state has their own law. Like in the south, it's illegal like in lots of places in the South, I think in Washington too, that midwives can't support home birth if you're VBAC. I mean there are lots of different legislative rules. Why am I saying legislative? Look at me, I'm trying to use fancy words to impress you guys. There are lots of different laws in different states and, and some of them are very evidence-based and some laws are broad and they leave a lot of room for practices, variation and gray areas. Some are so specific that they really limit a woman's option in that state.Dr. Stu: We can have a whole podcast on the legal decision-making process and a woman's right to autonomy of her body and the choices and who gets to decide that would be. Right now, the vaccine issue is a big issue, but also pregnancy and restricting women's choices of these things. If you want to do another one down the road, I would love to talk on that subject with you guys.Julie: Perfect.Meagan: We would love that.Julie: Yeah. I think it's your most recent episode. I mean as of the time of this recording. Mandates Kill Medicine. What is that the name?Dr. Stu: Mandates Destroy Medicine.Julie: Yeah. Mandates Destroy Medicine. Dr. Stu: It's wonderful.Julie: Yeah, I love it. I was just listening to it today again.Dr. Stu: well it does because it makes the physicians agents of the state.Julie: Yeah, it really does.Meagan: Yeah. Well. And if you give us another opportunity to do this with you, heck yeah.Julie: Yeah. You can just be a guest every month.Meagan: Yeah.Dr. Stu: So I don't think I would mind that at all, actually.Meagan: We would love it.Julie: Yeah, we would seriously love it. We'll keep in touch.Meagan: So, couple other questions I'm trying to see because we jumped through a few that were the same. I know one asks about an overactive pelvic floor, meaning too strong, not too weak. She's wondering if that is going to affect her chances of having a successful VBAC.Julie: And do you see that a lot with athletes, like people that are overtrained or that maybe are not overtrained, but who train a lot and weightlifters and things like that, where their pelvic floor is too strong? I've heard of that before.Midwife Blyss: Yep, absolutely. there's a chiropractor here in LA, Dr. Elliot Berlin, who also has his own podcast and he talks–Meagan: Isn't Elliott Berlin Heads Up?Dr. Stu: Yeah. He's the producer of Heads Up.Meagan: Yeah, I listened to your guys' special episode on that too. But yeah, he's wonderful.Midwife Blyss: Yeah. So, again, I think this is a question that just has more to do with vaginal delivery than it does necessarily about the fact that they've had a previous Cesarean. So I do believe that the athletic pelvis has really affected women's deliveries. I think that during pregnancy we can work with a pelvic floor specialist who can help us be able to realize where the tension is and how to do some exercises that might help alleviate some of that. We have a specialist here in L.A. I don't know if you guys do there that I would recommend people to. And then also, maybe backing off on some of the athletic activities that that woman is participating in during her pregnancy and doing things more like walking, swimming, yoga, stretching, belly dancing, which was originally designed for women in labor, not to seduce men. So these are all really good things to keep things fluid and soft because you want things to open and release rather than being tense.Meagan: I love that.Dr. Stu: I agree. I think sometimes it leads more to not generally so much of dilation. Again, a friend of mine, David Hayes, he's a home birth guy in South Carolina, doesn't like the idea of using stages of labor. He wants to get rid of that. I think that's an interesting thought. We have a meeting this November in Wisconsin. We're gonna have a bunch of thought-provoking things going on over there.Dr. Stu: Is it all men talking about this? Midwife Blyss: Oh, hell no.Julie: Let's get more women. Dr. Stu: No, no, no, no, no.Being organized By Cynthia Calai. Do you guys know who Cynthia is? She's been a midwife for 50 years. She's in Wisconsin. She's done hundreds of breeches. Anyway, the point being is that I think that I find that a lot of those people end up getting instrumented like vacuums, more commonly. Yeah. So Blyss is right. I mean, if there are people who are very, very tight down there. The leviators and the muscles inside are very tight which is great for life and sex and all that other stuff, but yeah, you need to learn how to be able to relax them too.Julie: Yeah.Meagan: So I know we're running short on time, but this question that came through today, I loved it. It said, "Could you guys both replicate your model of care nationwide somehow?" She said, "How do I advocate effectively for home birth access and VBAC access in a state that actively prosecutes home birth and has restrictions on midwifery practice?" She specifically said she's in Nebraska, but we hear this all over the place. VBAC is not allowed. You cannot birth at home, and people are having unassisted births.Julie: Because they can't find the support.Meagan: They can't find the support and they are too scared to go to the hospital or birth centers. And so, yeah, the question is--Julie: What can women do in their local communities to advocate for positive change and more options in birth where they are more restricted?Dr. Stu: Blyss. Midwife Blyss: I wish I had a really great answer for this. I think that the biggest thing is to continue to talk out loud. And I'm really proud of you ladies for creating this podcast and doing the work that you do. Julie: Thanks.Midwife Blyss: I always believed when we had the Sanctuary that it really is about the woman advocating for herself. And the more that hospitals and doctors are being pushed by women to say, "We need this as an option because we're not getting the work," I think is really important. I support free birth, and I think that most of the women and men who decide to do that are very well educated.Julie: Yeah, for sure.Midwife Blyss: It is actually really very surprising for midwives to see that sometimes they even have better statistics than we do. But it saddens me that there's no choice. And, a woman who doesn't totally feel comfortable with doing that is feeling forced into that decision. So I think as women, we need to support each other, encourage each other, continue to talk out loud about what it is that we want and need and make this be a very important decision that a woman makes, and it's a way of reclaiming the power. I'm not highly political. I try and stay out of those arenas. And really, one of my favorite quotes from a reverend that I have been around said, "Be for something and against nothing." I really believe that the more. Julie: I like that.Midwife Blyss: Yeah, the more that we speak positively and talk about positive change and empowering ourselves and each other, it may come slowly, but that change will continue to come.Julie: Yeah, yeah.Dr. Stu: I would only add to that that I think unfortunately, in any country, whether it's a socialist country or a capitalist country, it's economics that drives everything. If you look at countries like England or the Netherlands, you find that they have, a really integrated system with midwives and doctors collaborating, and the low-risk patients are taken care of by the midwives, and then they consult with doctors and midwives can transfer from home to hospital and continue their care in that system, the national health system. I'm not saying that's the greatest system for somebody who's growing old and has arthritis or need spinal surgery or something like that, but for obstetrics, that sort of system where you've taken out liability and you've taken out economic incentive. All right, so how do you do that in our system? It's not very easy to do because everything is economically driven. One of the things that I've always advocated for is if you want to lower the C-section rate, increase the VBAC rate. It would be really simple for insurance companies, until we have Bernie Sanders with universal health care. But while we have insurance companies, if they would just pay twice as much for a vaginal birth and half as much for a Cesarean birth, then finally, VBACS and breech deliveries would be something. Oh, maybe we should start. We should be more supportive of those things because it's all about the money. But as long as the hospital gets paid more, doctors don't really get paid more. It's expediency for the doctor. He gets it done and goes home. But the hospital, they get paid a lot more, almost twice as much for a C-section than you do for vaginal birth. What's the incentive for the chief financial officer of any hospital to say to the OB department, "We need to lower our C-section rate?" One of the things that's happening are programs that insurance, and I forgot what it's called, but where they're trying, in California, they're trying to lower the primary C-section rate. There's a term for it where it's an acronym with four initials. Blyss, do you know what I'm talking about?Midwife Blyss: No. Dr. Stu: It's an acronym about a first-time mom. We're trying to avoid those C-sections.Julie: Yeah, the primary Cesarean.Dr. Stu: It's an acronym anyway, nonetheless. So they're in the right direction. Most hospitals are in the 30% range. They'd like to lower to 27%. That's a start.One of the ways to really do that is to support VBAC, and treat VBAC as Blyss said at the very beginning of the podcast is that a VBAC is just a normal labor. When people lump VBAC in with breech in twins, it's like, why are you doing that? Breech in twins requires special skill. VBAC requires a special skill also, which is a skill of doing nothing.Julie: Yeah, it's hard.Dr. Stu: It's hard for obstetricians and labor and delivery nurses and stuff like that to do nothing. But ultimately, VBAC is just a vaginal birth and doesn't require any special skill. When a doctor says, "We don't do VBAC, what he's basically saying, or she, is that I don't do vaginal deliveries," which is stupid because VBAC is just a vaginal delivery.Julie: Yeah, that's true.Meagan: Such a powerful point right there.Julie: Guys. We loved chatting with you so much. We wish we could talk with you all day long.Meagan: I would. All day long. I just want to be a fly on your walls if I could.Julie: If you're ever in Salt Lake City again--Meagan: He just was. Did you know about this?Julie: Say hi to Adrienne, but also connect with us because we would love to meet you. All right, well guys, everyone, all of our listeners, Women of Strength, we are going to drop all the information that you need to find Midwife Blyss and Dr. Stu-- their website, their podcast, and all of that in our show notes. So yeah, now you can find our podcast. You can even listen to our podcast on our website at thevbaclink.com/podcast. You can play episodes right from there. So if you don't know-- well, if you're listening to this podcast, then you probably have a podcast player already. But you know what? My mom still doesn't know what a podcast is, so I'm just gonna have to start sending her links right to our page.Meagan: Yep, just listen to us wherever and leave us a review and head over to Dr. Stu's Podcast and leave them a review.Julie: Subscribe because you're gonna love him, but don't stop listening to him us because you love us too. Remember that.Dr. Stu: I want to thank everybody who wrote in, and I'm sorry we didn't get to answer every question. We tend to blabber on a little bit asking these important questions, and hopefully you guys will have us back on again.Meagan: We would love to have you.Julie: Absolutely.Meagan: Yep, we will.Julie: Absolutely.Meagan: YeahClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Tell us about your experience at thevbaclink.com/share. For more information on all things VBAC including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Meagan's bio, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vbac-link/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

The board members of a small community hospital in Morrisville face a difficult decision on whether to close its birthing center. Plus, Middlebury College is among 60 universities under threat of enforcement for allegedly failing to protect Jewish students on campus, Ripton elementary school is losing its kindergarten and first grade classes, the Scott administration warns volatility in Washington makes it hard to predict Vermont's future economic health despite current strong revenues, the Department of Public safety seeks input regarding a new report suggesting changes to how emergency dispatch calls are handled, and Vermont now has its first official Animal Welfare Director.

This week we have Leon sharing a message on Birthing from Faith. We hope this message encourages you! Be blessed!

March 10th, 2025 Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X Listen to past episodes on The Ticket’s Website And follow The Ticket Top 10 on Apple, Spotify or Amazon MusicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After birthing twins, navigating complex PTSD, and balancing motherhood, business, and life's challenges, in this episode I'm sharing the seven tools and strategies that have made the biggest impact on my healing journey over the last four years. If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure of how to move forward in your own health or mental wellness journey, this episode will give you actionable ideas and inspiration to thrive even when life feels full or chaotic. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Why retreats and stepping away from daily life can be a powerful healing tool. How trauma work, like EMDR, has helped me rewire my brain and find peace. Why a balanced, permission-based approach to food is key to sustainable health. The targeted supplements that have supported my immunity, stress, and mental health. The magic of Yoga Nidra (aka non-sleep deep rest) and how it can help regulate your nervous system. How hot and cold therapy can boost recovery, mental clarity, and brain health. Why prioritising sleep (even with small children) is non-negotiable for wellness. Resources Book your free call with me here If you want to work with me, I have spaces in my new program, Bloom. Beat the Sweet: Sugar Detox & Recipe Collection

Gina's first pregnancy was with twins, which limited her options for care to a hospital birth. During this labor, she faced immense pressure to receive an epidural, undergo various interventions, and was even made to give birth on the operating table in the operating room “just in case.” Despite all of this and the atmosphere of fear surrounding twin births, she managed to deliver both babies naturally in the hospital, on that cold operating room table. Her second pregnancy was with a singleton, so this time, a midwife could legally attend her birth at home, and Gina jumped at the chance. She found the perfect wise woman to walk alongside her during the pregnancy. This experience allowed her to heal some of the scars left by her previous, medicalized birth and to deeply reconnect with her Mexican heritage through cultural birth practices, such as using a rebozo, and having the maternal grandmother cut the umbilical cord. Gina says that this birth experience deeply reconnected her to her lineage and inspired her to dive into learning more about the sacredness of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts!  Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth Do you have a birth story you'd like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net Intro / Outro music: Dreams by Markvard Podcast cover photo by Karina Jensen @karinajensenphoto

We love our families, but let's be real - some of us are fighting battles that didn't start with us. In this episode, the sisters get vulnerable about the weight of childhood wounds, the pressure of hustle culture, and the emotional toll of being the ‘strong Black woman.' But sis, we're not meant to just survive - we're meant to thrive. It's time to heal, rewrite your family's story, and build a future free from cycles that no longer serve you.

As we continue our exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures in Exodus, we will be challenged to set aside the cultural programming of the images, movies, and assumptions about Moses, Pharaoh, the parting waters, and the 10 commandments. An often overlooked major theme found in the minor characters and elements of the story reveal a revolutionary strategy of how the way of establishing justice is often much like giving birth. As such, we ought to learn from those experts who know all about giving birth in challenging and seemingly impossible times.

Kindly Subscribe to the channel to support the podcast by clicking the link: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/blessing-masawi/subscribeGOD'S BATTLE AXE (JEREMIAH 51:20) - BIRTHING AND EXECUTING GOD'S PROPHETIC PROGRAMME (PART ONE)

Kindly Subscribe to the channel to support the podcast by clicking the link: ⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/blessing-masawi/subscribe⁠GOD'S BATTLE AXE (JEREMIAH 51:20) - BIRTHING AND EXECUTING GOD'S PROPHETIC PROGRAMME (PART TWO)

Unpopular opinions, soon to be popular opinions, and genius ideas. Let KiddNation know! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I've got some BIG life and business updates to share with you – things are shifting in a way that feels both exciting and a little surreal.It's a season of change, new beginnings, and planning for what's next… in life and in business. In this episode of the Feminine Fire Podcast, I'm sharing some exciting personal news.And of course, I'm bringing you behind the scenes of it all – the unexpected challenges, the big decisions and how I'm setting things up to thrive in this next chapter.So let's get into it.Sign up to the Spiritual Business MistressmindI have just opened up a very limited number of spaces for this special 9 month round of the Spiritual Business Mistressmind in 2025. If you're serious about scaling your business this year – I'd love to support you to do so.If you're interested in working with me this year, send me a DM at @bec_cuzzillo to kick off the conversation. You can also check out the sales page with the full breakdown of what this 9 month round looks like at beccuzzillo.com/mistressmind Want more?Connect with me on Instagram @bec_cuzzilloDownload ChatGPT Prompts To Create Your Body Of Work To Stand Out AND Sell Out beccuzzillo.com/aiFind out more at beccuzzillo.com 

As mentioned in the Episode Intro, info for 7SEEDS 7KEYS **DATE CORRECTION: Saturday March 22nd, our CACAO DRAGON PORTAL, can be found here!& The Maya Calendar Options for 7 NAWALES, or 1 NAWAL for Year of the Serpent: Here!***In this NEW SEASON, IT'S ALL #4THEWATERS. Brought to you for a fourth season by A RI A NÁ DEL RÍO (my Birthname), NEW EPISODES WILL GO LIVE ON SUNDAYS!I am also expanding in ways destined for my Path as YA MA KAN (A Watery Dragon Legion I AM from), and this podcast is now my PLAYGROUND and A CREATIVE SPACE to explore themes of: Co-creation, Communion, Flow, Trust, Birthing & Ri-birthing, Passions, & HOW TO SERVE THE WATERS OF GAIA-PACHAMAMATO CONTINUE RECEIVING THIS STREAM, YOU CAN SUPPORT ME & THE WORK I DO HERE: ⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/queenofthestars⁠⁠ & ALSO BY SAVING THIS PODCAST TO YOUR FAVORITES OR REVIEWING IT.In this First Episode Recorded in the YEAR OF THE SERPENT, Episode #4:51 we are Diving into: Essential Oil Frequencies shared: Eucalyptus (EU-CA-LYP-TO) Oil from Perú SPINAL & RESPIRATORY SYSTEM Upgrades Sharing Codes of GNOSIS, the Oracle & Trinity AYA Codes in Year of ‘Wood Serpent' Lightning Striking- NU Energies, NU Codes: Rainbow Serpent/Rainbow Dragon Ri-membrance Your ORACLE TEMPLATE Ri-membrance- with Mariamne of Magdal Maya Stream & Q'anil Gifts: THE SEED, THE STAR It's time to synch with Venus & to Seed Venusian Streams of Ri-membrance, for NU EARTH Alchemizing with Ixcacao, Alchemizing Star/Galactic Lineages within YOU/US/Humanity Celebration Time!! Sacred Union & Comm-Union with PLANT SPIRITS/MASTERS Exploring LOVE with two Feminine Characters in the Matrix Films: TRINITY, & THE ORACLETo connect with me and explore all of my current Offerings (ALL REALMS OF DRAGONS, CACAO, GRIDWORK, AWAKENING TO OUR POWER) be sure to visit my WEBSITE: ⁠⁠https://www.dragonslovecacao.com⁠⁠For more Serpent/Dragon Medicine & my Current Gridwork Shares, Check out IG: ⁠⁠@dragonslovecacao ⁠⁠and ⁠⁠@silverriverofalchemy⁠⁠Audio Clips used in this Podcast from: 'The Matrix' Film Closing Song used in this Podcast: 'Snakeroot' by Lis Addison (via Youtube)Please support IYAKUH & VOLO, WHOSE MUSIC 'Winds of Change' is our Theme for Season 4: You can follow this⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ link⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to Download/Purchase this Song.and support or discover more on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Iyakuh's Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ where he features so many healing & transformative Songs.

At Star Magic, we believe energy healing is a skill that everyone possesses. Whether you're looking to elevate your life, business, or the lives of others, our hands-on and distance healing programs are designed to unlock your potential, no matter where you are in the world. Through our Star Magic Healing training, you'll tap into your inner power and learn how to harness the healing frequency that can transform mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Founded by Jerry Sargeant, Star Magic is rooted in years of experience, expertise, and results. Jerry is a globally renowned healer, motivational speaker, and bestselling author known for facilitating rapid shifts in thousands of individuals across more than 40 countries. His mission is to spread the Star Magic Frequency, training others to step into their authentic power and serve humanity through transformative healing. Jerry's Star Magic Healing courses are practical, hands-on, and deeply transformative. Whether you're seeking to activate your DNA, open your third eye, or elevate your consciousness, these courses will help you rise to your fullest potential. Begin your journey today and embrace the ultra-high vibration of Star Magic. ➡ Discover more about our training at: starmagichealing.org/facilitator-training ➡ Private healing with Jerry: starmagichealing.org/private-healing-sessions-with-jerry-sargeant ➡ Access powerful ascension tools: starmagichealing.org/welcome-to-infinity ➡ Explore our Star Magic Meditation Library: starmagichealing.org/meditations-library ➡ Attend a group healing: starmagichealing.org/attend-an-event/category/group-healing-experiences ➡ Join our community on Telegram: t.me/spiritualgangsta1 ➡ Follow Jerry on Instagram: @sargeantjerry

A teenager discovers his parents were legendary monster hunters—and that their murder was just the beginning of a war between worlds. The complete Zachary Bane story. Zachary Bane Kickstarter! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zachbane/zachary-bane-birthing-day Nightmare Machine by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4133-nightmare-machine License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music: Drone in D by Kevin MacLeod Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3680-drone-in-d Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Darkest Child by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3615-darkest-child License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Thunder Dreams by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4526-thunder-dreams License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Nervous by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4118-nervous License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license SCP-x6x (Hopes) by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/6736-scp-x6x-hopes- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Dark Walk by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3612-dark-walk License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Our Story Begins by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4181-our-story-begins License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Dawn Of The Apocalypse by Rafael Krux Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5627-dawn-of-the-apocalypse License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://www.orchestralis.net/ The following music was used for this media project: Music: Ambient Suspenseful Background by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6597-ambient-suspenseful-background License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles The following music was used for this media project: Music: Mysterious Cinematic Foreboding Background by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7695-mysterious-cinematic-foreboding-background License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles The following music was used for this media project: Music: Mysterious Cinematic Foreboding Background by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7695-mysterious-cinematic-foreboding-background License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles Canon in D Major by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3473-canon-in-d-major License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Cryptic Sorrow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3568-cryptic-sorrow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Unnatural Situation by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4567-unnatural-situation License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Kevin MacLeod Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/4533-toccata-and-fugue-in-d-minor Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sonia. Sonia is a mom to three and currently resides in North Carolina. At just 22 years old, after meeting the love of her life, she became a mother to her two adoptive kids (now teenagers!) After a long journey to conceiving their first baby, Sonia and her husband were overjoyed to welcome their baby into the world and had spent a lot of time figuring out what they wanted that experience to look and feel like. Sonia knew from a very early age that she wanted to have a home birth with a surprise gender. She and her family did everything in their power to make that possible- and it was beautifully successful even after an intense labor and almost a hospital transfer due to meconium when her water broke and her midwives advised to transfer. Her baby was still at a 0 to -1 position as they moved downstairs to wait for the ambulance to arrive. However, as so often when the waters break late in labour she proceeded to push her baby out on a yoga mat on her living room floor in front of her entire family in about 10 minutes! Sonia is passionate about natural birth and encouraging women to know and trust how powerful and perfect their bodies and minds are! She hopes her story helps to normalize the home birth experience and empower women that your first birth is not a trial run. Curious about? Find her on Instagram as @soniahittle If you didn't know already I have 2 really great free resources that you can access and download at sacredbirthinternational.com/free-resources They are two E - books, one called 6 Steps to Having a Natural & Empowering Birth Experience and one called Routine Hospital Birth Procedures Inform yourself and make an Educated Decision! Whether you are having a hospital, birth center or home birth, knowledge is power and you never know where your birth journey will take you. Find them all via the link in the show notes or at sacredbirthinternational.com Please come join our FB Podcast Community! Connect with your fav podcast guest and discuss natural birth! https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenaturalbirthpodcastcommunity Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship? Find Anna's Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Out & About with Antionette Blake Episode 161: Elevating Patient Care: Birthing Simulation Breakthroughs Host: Antionette Blake - Social Media Manager |Author |Blogger | Speaker | Branding Specialist Guest: Amy Cowperthwait, CEO at Avkin Produced by: Elite Conversations Podcast Media www.eliteconversations.com

Pregnant women in Kentucky may soon have another option when it comes to labor and delivery, a Kentucky doctor talks about the potential impact of a newly-approved non-opioid pain medication, and a recovery center prepares people to work in one of the Commonwealth's signature industries.

Courtney, a Registered Nurse, came on the show today to share her 2 homebirth stories. She came on the show today, real and raw. If you want the NON romanticizing, reality of what can happen at a homebirth and hear how midwives are well equipped to handle many of these "what if" scenarios then this is the episode for you! In this episode you will hear about: - homebirth transfer - homebirth induction -big baby -resuscitation  -shoulder dystocia and it's all summed up together with God's goodness, presence and provision during difficult labors.    Connect with Courtney: IG: @mama.birth.wellness   Connect with Aly: IG- @peacefulhomebirth **DM me to grab a FREE messaging day with me to get all of your homebirth questions answered!** FB Group- www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulhomebirth Click to apply to be on the show!   Discount Codes: Everyday Dose Mushroom Coffee: https://www.everydaydose.com/ALYMCCLAIN My Fav Make Up: Get 15% off Araza Beauty Products with code "empoweredbirth" Homebirth Course: 10% off Homebirth Hub Preparation Course- PHP10  

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Chelsea. And my oh my is this a special and unique story. Chelsea is actually a Sacred Birth Worker Mentee of mine. She started the 2nd cohort last year but got severe hyperemesis with this bub that we are going to hear the birth story off. So she'll be joining the 4th cohort starting in April. She's also been on the poddy before on the episode Chelsea Lee's Irish Twins - A Road Side Birth & a Wild Free Birth if you'd like to listen to that one before this. The unique and special thing about this birth was that Chelsea coached herself through it all alone. It was only her and her toddler and dog present as she went in to about and birthed much faster than she had anticipated. Her partner, mum, mother in law, sister and third child all came ”too late” or maybe just perfect. Chelsea feels like it was the absolute best birth she could have ever had and feels like nothing could ever top this birth. Curious about? Find her on Instagram as @chelsealeebutler Now if you, just like Chelsea have a longing to work with women throughout pregnancy, birth and the postpartum and are looking for a deep, holistic and comprehensive birth worker training that includes self development, spirituality & feminine embodiment practices, a big focus on cultivating you into a sacred space holder for ceremony, the rite of passage of birth, women's circles and holding space in the birth portal. Then here is your invitation to join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship starting in April this year. Together with a vibrant international cohort WE are leading the New Earth Sacred Birth Rebellion with a truly unique approach to birth work merging the modern and the ancient knowledge with feminine wisdom keeping. A birth worker training way beyond a doula training. Really learning all that I know as a former home birth midwife from conception all the way through to sacred birth advocacy. Does this stir your heart? Then The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship could be for you. Head on over to sacredbirthinternational.com to learn more and apply. Please come join our FB Podcast Community! Connect with your fav podcast guest and discuss natural birth! https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenaturalbirthpodcastcommunity Find Anna's Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Dr. Thema discusses moving from soullessness to soulfulness with author and psychologist, Dr. Jaiya John, author of We Birth Freedom at Dawn. He shares poems from his latest book and sacred teachings on the path to freedom. To learn more about his work go to www.jaiyajohn.com where he also offers individual phone sessions to enhance connection to the sacred, creativity, and inner growth. Music by Joy Jones.

Our chance meeting at a grocery store 13 years ago has led us to where we are today, take that in cynics. Championship weekend roundup and Brandon's yet again crushed. 2012 was the last year that hip-hop and rap was relevant to Brandon and possibly the world. We then take you through the birth of Brandon's child: ripe with stories of LA annoyances. Birthing playlists is a thing?!    

Send us a textWelcome to the first Q&A episode of Season 6 with Cynthia & Trisha! We're kicking things off by discussing some lesser-known causes of cervical scar tissue that could impact labor progress. It's a good reminder to consider how any procedure or reproductive intervention might affect future births.In this episode, we answer a new collection of listener questions, including one about a mom-to-be who wants a home birth but is feeling uneasy about having someone else in the house to watch her child during labor. Is a birth center a better option for her? We also talk about postpartum aches and pains—specifically knee, calf, and foot discomfort—and what supplements and activities might help during recovery. Plus, we dive into the rise of shoulder dystocia: why is it happening more often, and what can be done to prevent or address it?In our extended episode, available to Apple subscribers and on Patreon, we answer more questions, such as: How can you tell if you're bleeding too much after delivering the placenta in water (with expert advice from Barbara Harper of Waterbirth International)? Do prenatal vitamins actually play a critical role? And when, if ever, does a low fetal heart rate in labor mean you need to cut the cord and separate mom and baby for resuscitation?We also wrap up with a quick-fire round of Quickies covering everything from laboring on your back and diaper rash to ultrasounds, precipitous labor, and the foods we, personally, could eat every single day.Tune in for all that and more!#200 | Physiologic Birth of the Placenta in Water, Optimal Cord Clamping and Preventing Postpartum Hemorrhage with Barbara Harper**********Our sponsors:Silverette Nursing Cups -- Soothe and heal sore nipples with 925 silver nursing cups.Postpartum Soothe -- Herbs and padsicles to heal and comfort.Needed -- Our favorite nutritional products for before, during, and after pregnancy. Use this link to save 20%Use promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH for all sponsors.DrinkLMNT -- Purchase LMNT with this unique link and get a FREE sample pack Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.comInstagram @downtobirthshowCall us at 802-GET-DOWN Work with Cynthia: 203-952-7299 HypnoBirthingCT.com Work with Trisha: 734-649-6294 Please remember we don't provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Nicole.Nicole and I actually had our interview in September and her episode got lost with some others and so here it is, a wee bit delayed but when you wait for something good you never wait to long ;) Isn't that right?Nicole is a mama of one from St. Petersburg Florida, originally from Rhode Island.She is an avid animal and nature lover - passionate about dog training, hiking, watching sunrises and generally spending time outside. Nicole is also a major foodie and lover of coffee shops. She is currently on maternity leave and enjoying every moment of this special time.She went into labor on her estimated due date which only 4-5% of women do, and gave birth at home in her bedroom with two highly trusted midwives, her doula, and her partner.Her partner caught the baby and it was the most beautiful and empowering experience of Nicole's life.She started out with a hospital based care team but switched to home birth with midwives at the start of her 3rd trimester. Sharing again how it is never to late to change your care provider!Her intuition guided her to her midwives and listening to this podcast was so inspiring + helped her grow her confidence in her decision. I hope it is helping you too, and that Nicole's story sparks even more trust in your body and birth!Curious about Nicole? Find her on Instagram as @nmigs3Follow The Natural Birth Podcast on Instagram@thenaturalbirthpodcastWant to join the Business Course for Birth Workers starting on the 31st of March? https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/business-course-for-birth-workersFind Anna's Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Brittany was diagnosed with brain tumors at the age of 20 and was told she'd never get pregnant and it was too dangerous to give birth. After seven years of failed IVF and surrogacy attempts, Brittany decided to try to get pregnant naturally, and to the surprise of all her doctors, she did. During her first birth and through the pregnancy of her second, Brittany started to reclaim her authority and trust in her own body. Brittany decided to have a sovereign birth with her third child and since then has begun untangling herself and her family from the medical system. Find Brittany on Instagram: @abitobritt

Send us a textReproductive Justice: Birthing The Next 7 GenerationsIn this episode, we sit down with Camie Jae Goldhammer (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyaté), BirthKeeper, Reproductive Justice advocate, and founder of Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services, to define, discuss, and explore how Indigenous birthing practices, breastfeeding, and community care intertwines to combat colonial and capitalist systems of oppression that disproportionately affect Indigenous, Black, and, Brown people. The maternal mortality rate of American Indian and Alaska Natives is 8 times higher than white Americans, with 80% of deaths being preventable. Before Hummingbird was founded, there were no resources in the Pacific Northwest specifically for Native parents and families. Camie shares her own birth journey and how it led to her career serving over 3,000 Native moms and parents.This conversation with Camie is a love letter to Native mommas, parents, and communities as she shares her wisdom as an Indigenous Lactation Consultant and Full Spectrum Doula, having co-created the first and only lactation counselor training created for Native people by Native people. Hummingbird's mission is to have healthy Indigenous babies being born into healthy Indigenous families being supported by healthy Indigenous communities. Our Indigenous reproductive justice is healing not only the future generations but also the ones that have come before us. This conversation is especially close to our hearts at All My Relations as Matika's baby #2 is on the way, and resources like Hummingbird Family Services are so crucial to the reclamation of our birthing stories and practices.Tune in for an unforgettable episode on reclaiming Indigenous birthing practices and reproductive justice . +Episode artwork by Ciara Sana & Matika WilburEditing by Teo Shantz Films by Francisco SánchezSupport the showFollow us on Instagam @amrpodcast, or support our work on Patreon. Show notes are published on our website, Allmyrelationspodcast.com. Matika's book Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America is available now! T'igwicid and Hyshqe for being on this journey with us.