Podcasts about IVS

“A lot of other disease sites, they have some targeted therapies, they have some immunotherapies [IO]. In lung cancer, we have it all. We have chemo. We have IO. We have targeted therapies. We have bispecific T-cell engagers. We have orals, IVs. I think it's just so important now that, particularly for lung cancer, you have to be well versed on all of these,” ONS member Beth Sandy, MSN, CRNP, thoracic medical oncology nurse practitioner at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about lung cancer treatment. Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by May 16, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to lung cancer treatments. Episode Notes  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  ONS Podcast™ episode: Episode 359: Lung Cancer Screening, Early Detection, and Disparities ONS Voice articles: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Prevention, Screening, Diagnosis, Treatment, Side Effects, and Survivorship Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Amivantamab-Vmjw Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Cisplatin Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Lazertinib Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Nivolumab and Hyaluronidase-Nvhy Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Fam-Trastuzumab Deruxtecan-Nxki Optimize Your Testing Strategy and Improve Patient Outcomes With NeoGenomics' Neo Comprehensive™–Solid Tumor Assay Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing article: Oncogenic-Directed Therapy for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Implications for the Advanced Practice Nurse ONS Biomarker Database ONS video: What is the role of the KRAS biomarker in NSCLC? Biomarker Testing in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Discussion Tool ONS Huddle Cards: Checkpoint inhibitors External beam radiation Monoclonal antibodies Proton therapy To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities. To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. Highlights From This Episode “Unfortunately, because lung cancer is pretty aggressive, we'll see lung cancer mostly in stage IV. So about 50%–55% of all cases are not caught until they are already metastatic, or stage IV. And then about another 25%–30% of cases are caught in stage III, which means they're locally advanced and often not resectable, but we do still treat that with curative intent with concurrent chemoradiation. And then 10%–20% of cases are found in the early stage, and that's stage I and II, where we can do surgical approaches.” TS 2:53 “The majority of radiation that you're going to see is for patients with stage III disease that's inoperable. At my institution, a lot of stage III is inoperable. Now, neoadjuvant immunotherapy has changed that a little bit. But if you have several big, bulky, mediastinal lymph nodes that makes you stage III, surgery is probably not going to be a great option. So we give curative-intent chemoradiation to these patients.” TS 10:51 “Oligoprogression would mean they have metastases but only to one site. And sometimes we will be aggressive with that. Particularly, there's good data, if the only site of progression is in the brain, we can do stereotactic radiation to the brain and then treat the chest with concurrent chemoradiation as a more definitive approach. But outside of that, the majority of stage IV lung cancer is going to be treated with systemic therapy.” TS 15:00 “It's important for nurses to know that there's a lot of different options now for treatment. Probably one of the most important things is making sure patients are aware of what their biomarker status is, what their PD-L1 expression level is, and make sure those tests have been done. … It's good that the patients understand that there's a myriad of options. And a lot of that depends on what we know about their cancer, and then that guides our treatment.” TS 31:05

 In this episode, Nurse Doza breaks down the key differences between weekly intravenous (IV) vitamin therapy and daily oral supplementation. Learn how IVs provide near-instant benefits, higher absorption, and faster results, while oral vitamins offer long-term support. Plus, discover how Boost can enhance your health regimen with optimal nutrient absorption. FEATURED PRODUCTS Boost: A comprehensive blend of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids designed to support energy, immune function, and overall wellness. With high-quality nutrients that fuel your body at a cellular level, Boost enhances the benefits of both IV therapy and daily supplementation. Shop now. Looking for a quick energy boost without leaving home? Now you can experience the benefits of NAD+ with easy-to-use NAD shots from TryShed. Support your metabolism, energy, and cellular repair—all from the comfort of your home.  

On this episode I have the pleasure to talk with Kathi Sohn who I met just two weeks ago at the latest Podapalooza event. Kathi, as it turns out, is quite knowledgeable and fascinating on many levels. Kathi grew up in Rhode Island. She describes herself as a shy child who had been adopted. While in her mother's womb, her mother tried to conduct a self-abortion when Kathi was six months along. I tell you about this because that fact and others are quite relevant to Kathi's story. Kathi will tell us that at some level we have memories that go back to even before we are born. Science supports this and it is one of the concepts that Kathi's late husband utilized in creating what he calls the “body memory process”.   Kathi graduated from high school and went to college. As you will learn, over time Kathi secured several college degrees and even became a certified nurse. At some point she joined the army. That story is best told by her. Suffice it to say that Kathi says that joining the army on the advice of her adopted father was one of the best moves she could have made. From her four years in the military she learned commitment, responsibility and discipline.   After the army, Kathi went to work for the Department of Defense and at some point she met and married her husband David. Again, a story better told by Kathi.   For many years Kathi and David lived in Maryland. Eventually they moved to Alabama.   Kathi will tell us about the work David conducted to develop the “body memory process” which he used to help many overcome fears and life challenges. After David's death in 2019 Kathi decided to retire from the Department of Defense after 36 years and then to continue the work David had begun regarding the body memory process which is the discovery and release of self-limiting beliefs (vows) we all create in early childhood. Today she is a coach and she is an accomplished author. Her book about the body memory process is entitled, “You Made It Up, Now Stop Believing It, which was released in 2023. It has reached twice bestseller status on Amazon Kindle.   Our conversation ranges far and wide about medicine, our limiting beliefs and how to deal with our limitations using the body memory process. I think you will like what Kathi has to say. She has some good nuggets of wisdom we all can use.       About the Guest:   In 2020, Kathi Sohn retired from her first career as a senior manager after 36 years with the Department of Defense. When Kathi lost her beloved husband David in 2019, she decided  to devote her life to sharing the powerful work he created – the Body Memory Process, which is the discovery and release of self-limiting beliefs (vows) we all create in early childhood.   Kathi wrote a book on the work, You Made It Up, Now Stop Believing It, which was released in 2023 and it has twice reached bestseller status on Amazon Kindle. This information-packed book not only gives the reader the entire childhood vow discovery and release processes, but also has practical exercises for increasing self-awareness and fascinating stories of real people who experienced personal transformation by using the Body Memory Process.   Kathi is also a speaker and coach, sharing as broadly as possible the importance of healing childhood wounds. She is dedicated to mitigating the cycle of inter-generational trauma.   Ways to connect Kathi:   WEBSITE: https://kathisohn.com FREE GIFT: https://bodymemoryprocess.com/free-gift/ FREE PARENT GUIDE: https://coaching.kathisohn.com/freeparentguide "RESILIENT TEEN": https://coaching.kathisohn.com/resilientteen PURCHASE BOOK WITH FREE GIFTS: https://youmadeitupbook.com/bonuses FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/bodymemoryprocess/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/kathi.sohn/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/kat_sohn LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathisohn/ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC9R0noiiPPWf1QjzrEdafw           https://linktr.ee/MCAnime   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi everyone. I am your host, Mike Hingson, and welcome once again to another episode of unstoppable mindset today. Once again, as we've done a few times already in the last few weeks, we have the opportunity and joy to interview, well, not interview, but talk with someone who I met at our recent patapalooza Number 12 event, and today we get to talk to Kathi Sohn Kathi was at podapalooza. Pat Kathi has a lot of things going for her, and she'll tell us all about all of that. She had a long career with the Department of Defense, and if we ask any questions about that, then probably we'll all have to disappear. So we won't, we won't go into too much detail, or we'll have to eliminate you somehow. But in 2020 she left the career that she had with DOD and started working to promote something that her late husband, who died in 2019 worked on the body am I saying it right? Kathy, body memory process, yes, and and she will tell us about that, so we'll get to all that. But for now, Kathi, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Kathi Sohn ** 02:37 Michael, it is great to be here. You are such a big inspiration to me. So thank you so much for having me on your show.   Michael Hingson ** 02:44 Well, thank you. I really am very glad that we get to do this. Do you have a podcast? No, I don't. Well see, did PodaPalooza convince you to start one?   Kathi Sohn ** 02:55 No, but there's always. I'm open to possibilities in the future. So   Michael Hingson ** 03:01 as as I tell people, potable is a pretty neat event. You go because you're a podcaster. You want to be a podcaster, or you want to be interviewed by podcasters, which covers basically a good part of the world. And so you're in the I want to talk to podcasters. And there we are, and we got to meet Kathi and chat with Kathi, and here we are. So it's a lot of fun. And so why don't we start, if you would, by you telling us a little bit about maybe the early Kathi growing up and all that sort of stuff, that's always fun to start at the beginning, as it were, yes,   Kathi Sohn ** 03:37 my goodness, so I, I grew up not in A a neighborhood where, you know, kids just played together and ride their bikes. I was, I was in a rather along a kind of a rural road in in Rhode Island, going down to the beach. If anyone has heard of watch Hill and westerly that area. So it was a beautiful, beautiful area. But because I didn't have a lot of, you know, again, I didn't have the neighborhood kids to play with, and I tended to be a little shy and to myself, I spent a lot of time after I was old enough and my mom let me just sort of exploring the woods nearby and learning, you know, just really kind of going within myself and thinking, and I would look at things in nature, and I would write this very deep poetry about it. So I think I was very fortunate, on the one hand on to have a very introspective life growing up. On the other hand, it didn't help me to work out, you know, some of that, that shyness, so that's something I needed to tackle a little bit later. As an adult, I had two older brothers, all three of us were adopted from very, very difficult beginnings. And again, it wasn't until I was an adult. And in fact, doing using the work that I'm going to talk about today, that I was able to understand some of the things that I was feeling and didn't understand growing up about myself, because some things were were shrouded in mystery, and I was able to get to the bottom of it, but basically, I had a very happy childhood. My adoptive parents were just so loving and wonderful and very, very fortunate to had a great education and parents who told me that I could do anything that I put my mind to.   Michael Hingson ** 05:38 It's great when parents do that, isn't it? Oh, yeah, I was very fortunate to have parents that took that position with me. When the doctor said, Send him up to a home, because no blind child could ever grow up to be anything, and all he'll do is be a drain on the family. And my parents said, No, I was very fortunate. So it's yeah, I I definitely sympathize and resonate with that, because it's so wonderful when parents are willing to really allow children to grow and explore. And obviously parents keep an eye on us, but still, when they allow us to do that, it's great. Yeah,   Kathi Sohn ** 06:13 I had heard you. I've heard you talk, because I have your your your book, live like a guide dog. And hearing about that story, and it reminds me, if anyone of your listeners are familiar with the Barry cowfield and his wife, who had an extremely autistic son, and the doctors were telling them, You need to institutionalize them that you can't you're not going to be able to deal with that. And they said, Are you kidding me? He's our son. If the best that we can do is just love him, then we're going to have him home. You know, he's our son. We're not going to put him anywhere. And then, of course, they they work with him, actually brought him out of autism through an amazing, amazing process. But yes, you're absolutely right. The parents are just, I know it seems almost cliche, but really, parents are instrumental, not just taking care of the physical needs, but those emotional needs, so, so critical and related to what we're going to talk about today.   Michael Hingson ** 07:20 Yeah, well, and it's, it's unfortunate when parents don't do that and they give into their fears and they don't let children explore, they don't let children grow. That's, that's so unfortunate when that happened. But I'm really glad that my parents and I'm glad your parents allowed you to to stretch and grow as well. That's a neat thing. So you and of course, being a reader of a variety of Stephen King books, when you talk about Rhode Island, although the Stephen King things were a little bit further north, but and the woods sort of makes me think of, oh my gosh, did you ever run into Pet Cemetery? But we won't worry about that.   08:03 Fortunately not,   Michael Hingson ** 08:06 yeah, yeah, that was a that was a scary book. Yeah, he's a pretty creative guy. But anyways, enjoy him. But anyway, so you went through school, you went to high school and and were a little bit shy. I kind of, again, I kind of empathize. I was in a neighborhood. It was not as rural, probably, as as what you grew up in. And kids did play, but I didn't really get a chance to do much playing with the kids, because I didn't do baseball and sports and all that. So I did a lot more reading. I hung around where the kids were, somewhat the other kids were, but my brother was the one that that really interacted with them. And I, I have to admit, that I didn't do as much of that, and was was probably a little bit shy or at least hesitant as a result, but I did make some friends. And in fact, when I was seven, there was a girl named Cindy who moved into our neighborhood, who had a bike, and she asked if I ever rode my bike, and I said I didn't have one. And she let me learn how to ride a bike on hers. And my parents saw that, and so then they got me a bike, and my brother had a bike, so we did a lot of bike riding after that, it was kind of fun.   Kathi Sohn ** 09:21 Yes, I love the part of the book where your dad took a call from the neighbor who was so nonplussed about the fact that, well, did he, did he fall off right? Did he? Did he run into anything? No, what's the problem? I got a good laugh out of that. Yeah, well, and   Michael Hingson ** 09:39 I know many blind people who, who, when they were kids, rode bikes. You know, it's not that magical. You have to learn how to do it. But so do side are kids. So it's, it's the same sort of thing. So what did you do after high school? Did you go to college?   Kathi Sohn ** 09:56 Yes, it's kind of a long. Story. Let's see if I can, if I can, sort of summarize, I had, I went into college in actually, was, in my mind, pre med, my I it was the major was zoology. Where did you go? University of Rhode Island. Okay, and I, I had been well when I was 12, I started piano lessons, and then I had private singing lessons when I was 14. So here I found myself on a college campus where there was a Fine Arts Center, and I had continued to, of course, develop in music. And a part of me kind of wanted to pursue becoming a sort of a music star, while the other part of me, of course, was more practical and guided by my parents about, okay, get yourself some, you know, a more dependable career. And so here I am on this college campus and spending more time in the fine arts center than than the library. So my college years were a little turbulent, as I was still trying to figure out really what I wanted to be. I went from pre med into nursing because, again, my grades weren't that great. And because of the distraction, and I even that, even that wasn't working, the problem essentially came with me. And instead of a fine arts building, it became, you know, playing, playing the piano in local bars was just kind of trying to find my way. And my dad told me one evening I was visiting, I was home with my parents, and I was very distraught. I don't know what I'm going to do. My grades aren't that great. And he said, I think I have an idea. I'll talk to you in the morning. Well, he worked for General Dynamics Electric Boat division. So he was involved working with the Navy building nuclear submarines. Did   Michael Hingson ** 12:10 he go to rotten Connecticut? Yes, yeah. And   Kathi Sohn ** 12:15 I actually ended up working there myself briefly. And he said, you know, the military may just be what you need. So, long story short, I ended up in the army and for, you know, for four years, and really did turn everything around. Then I started getting building that self confidence. I finished a undergraduate degree in political science. And then when I started working for the Defense Department, and there was I took advantage of the benefits of them helping me with paying for graduate degrees. I i got a graduate degree in conflict resolution and one from the Naval War College where I graduated top of my class in national security studies. Wow. So turned it all around. And yeah, so in the in, you'll love this too. A little loose end that I tied up. My dad encouraged me to do this the New York regions. It was called regents college, I think, yeah, University of the state of New York had a Regents college where you could challenge a nursing degree program. So with all the courses I had taken, and I just I went to a local hospital, I they helped me to practice stealth, adjusting changes and, you know, and all of that, giving IVs, and I passed the test. It was a weekend of clinical, one on one with a nurse evaluator failure. I could not, you know, had to be 100% and I passed. So I also have an Associates in nursing. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 13:57 I wanted to, you know, is this the time to say I wanted to be a doctor, but I didn't have any patients anyway. Go ahead, yes,   Kathi Sohn ** 14:06 gosh, I'm still interested in medicine, but I figure it all, it all comes in handy if I'm, you know, I have my kids at the doctor, and I can, I can talk with them at a level, you know, a little bit of a notch above just being a worried mom. What   Michael Hingson ** 14:20 do you think of a lot of the tendencies and the trends, and I've talked to a number of people on on a stop level mindset about it, a lot of the things that go on in Eastern medicine that Western medicine doesn't practice.   Kathi Sohn ** 14:34 Well, yeah. In fact, with the body memory process, my late husband factored that into what he developed as the body map, which I can can can discuss when the time comes, very, very important stuff that's just really being missed, although there are more and more doctors who are understanding the value. Yeah. That the body is an energy system and energy and information system, and they're starting to integrate that more.   Michael Hingson ** 15:08 And at least, my opinion, is they should. There is a lot more to it. It isn't all about drugs and surgery or shouldn't be. And so it is nice to see a lot of movement toward more, what, what many might call spiritual but there's, there's so much scientific evidence and anecdotal evidence that validates it, that it's, it's good, that more people are really starting to look at it. Yeah,   Kathi Sohn ** 15:37 absolutely. And this, if this might be an appropriate place to talk a little bit about some of the scientific underpinnings of the work that I'd like to discuss. There is science behind it, and you know that when there's research that's done in, say, the pharmaceutical area, it ends up the public will find out about it through, say, new new medications. With technology, you know, you went there's some breakthrough. You end up with something new for your phone. But some of the breakthroughs that were made in the 80s about the awareness of babies and children, especially babies in the womb, and also the mind body connection. You can you can see it referenced in some, you know, scientific papers, but it doesn't really often make it to to the public, and it is very relevant to the to the public. And that's what my late husband did, was he took this research and he turned it into a practical application to people's everyday lives. One of the most really stunning discoveries back in the 70s and 70s and 80s was made by someone named Dr Candice PERT. She wrote Molecules of Emotion, and they were trying to figure out why drugs work in the body. They figured it was sort of a lock and key that if, if you know so APO opiates worked in the body. They they figured that there was an opiate receptor somewhere. And during the course of this, they sort of accidentally discovered that during emotional events, the neurotransmitters from the brain travel to receptors all over the body, that they're actually located everywhere and in the organs, in the muscles. And Dr pert would make statements like deep trauma puts down deep roots in the body. You know, your body is your subconscious mind, so that is very, you know, very strong underpinning for the body memory process at that whole mind, body connection that we never really understood so well before   Michael Hingson ** 18:00 one of our earliest podcasts, it was actually number 18. I just looked it up. Was with a gentleman, Dr Gabe Roberts, and it was also from, I think a pot of Palooza was the first one I attended. And he is a psychologist, and he or he deals with psychological things, but one of the things that he talked a lot about, and talks a lot about, is people's traumas and their injuries and the things that bother them and and even the things that are good are all actually holograms that are in your memory. And he calls them holograms because you can get to a particular one, and hologram usually is really something that's just composed of a whole bunch of littler holograms. But what he does to help people is to work with them to find that hologram that they thought they got rid of, that they didn't really get rid of, because everything is always in your memory, and if you don't really deal with it, then it's going to sit there and continue to to affect you. But what he does is he works to help people find those memory things that really need to be corrected, and then helps them to correct it was fascinating interview. As I said, it's number 18 and unstoppable mindset. So my point it'd be, I think you might find it fun, and I think other people might find it fun to   Kathi Sohn ** 19:30 listen to. Yeah, definitely that. That sounds incredibly interesting. He's   Michael Hingson ** 19:35 in Kansas. I'm not sure if it's Kansas City, but he's in the Kansas area somewhere, as I recall, well, so you did all that, and then you, you were working at the Department of Defense. Were you a civilian and working essentially as a contractor, or working,   Kathi Sohn ** 19:52 yes, as a civilian? I It was sort of a natural, you know, from being in the military. Then I was. Able to find an assignment as a civilian when I got I only did four years in the Army. I never intended it really to be a lifetime career, but it was enough time again for me to turn things around. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 20:14 that's not the issue, isn't it? Yes,   20:17 yes, absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 20:19 So I mean, that's, that's and your father. So your father was right, and obviously he cared a lot about you Yes,   Kathi Sohn ** 20:27 and helped me with that. I Yes, I, my father did me such a great service by pointing me in that direction. I mean, my, my, you know, incredible career that I could not have imagined myself in if he hadn't pointed me in that direction, so I don't know what I would be doing. Hopefully it's still not floundering in college somewhere.   Michael Hingson ** 20:49 Yeah, so is there a truth to the old Jerry Lewis song, the baby gets a gravy and the army gets the beans. But anyway, it's a cute song. I listen to it every so often on my little Amazon Echo device. It's cute, yeah. But so, so when did you meet your husband through all this?   Kathi Sohn ** 21:11 Yeah, so it was 1994 and so I was pretty much square in the middle of my my career, my civilian career. And it was a there was a friend of mine that was sort of a mutual friend. She she knew him as well. I was living in Maryland, and David was living in Alabama, actually, where I live now. And she kept saying, You got to meet this guy. And kept saying to him, You got to meet this girl. It was one of those sort of matchmaker deals. And and she was right, even though the the both David and I weren't really looking for someone. So when she actually dragged him to my doorstep on Fourth of July, 1994 you know, there were some sparks, I think that we acknowledged that, but it took some time. I mean, we dated for almost three years before we were married, and then we were we were married for about 25 years, wow, before I last, before I lost David, and it was, you know, really wonderful. And, like all marriages, you know, some some, some ups and downs, but the overall theme was that we supported each other, you know, he was, you know, really incredible. I spent I would go to, I would go to war zones every now and then he would tell people, yeah, and then she came home with a flack vest and said, you know, by the way, this is where I'm going to be going. You know, when, when I came to him, and I guess it was 20 so 2017 I'm trying to what exactly, before that was 2015 the kids were still pretty young, but it was, it was really important for me to do a job, actually, in Afghanistan that was going to take me away from home for six months there. And he said, You know what, if it's if it's important to you, it's important to me, and we'll make it work. And he came from a military family, so we really understood that type of, yeah, he understood mission and commitment, right? And yeah. So he was probably never,   Michael Hingson ** 23:38 I never, needless to say, got to serve in the military because they they don't. When the draft was around, they wouldn't draft blind people, and later on, they wouldn't allow blind people to enlist, although, during the time of Afghanistan and Iraq, there were a few people who lost eyesight while in the military, and a couple of a few of them were allowed to to continue. But they never let me do that, and I, and I, and I understand the the prejudice, if you will, but it, it doesn't really stand that everyone has to be able to go into combat directly, and they could have found other jobs, but that's okay, and I certainly don't hold it against the military in any way, but I do appreciate the responsibility, and I've learned enough about military life from talking to a number of people and and my father was in World War Two, so starting with him, but others learning a lot about military. I appreciate what you're saying about it taught you a lot about responsibility. It taught you about commitment and so on. The closest I come to that is when I worked at Guide Dogs for the Blind any number of the puppy raiser families, those are the families that have agreed to take a guide dog puppy when they're about nine weeks old and they'll raise the dog, teach them basic obedience, teach them how to behave. In public and so on. And one of the things that children say, young kids who want to be puppy raisers and who take on the responsibility, is they learn so much about responsibility from doing that, because when they take on the job, it means they have to do the job, because the dog has to get used to somebody doing it, and they do such a wonderful job of raising these dogs who come back and they, a lot of them, become successful guide dogs. Not every dog does, because not every dog is really cut out to be a guide dog, but it's, it's not military, but it is still teaching responsibility and commitment. And the young kids who do it and really catch on are great. Yeah,   Kathi Sohn ** 25:42 yeah. So yeah, I can see the corollary there,   Michael Hingson ** 25:45 yeah, oh yeah. There's definitely some. It's pretty cool. Well, so I'm sorry, of course, you you lost your husband. I lost my wife Three years later, as you know, in 2022 but tell me so he was for a lot of the time when you were married. Was he in the military, or did he do other things? No,   Kathi Sohn ** 26:06 he was not in the military. They would not let him in the military because when he was 14, he was he had a near death experience. He had double staff pneumonia, and he was pronounced dead for a period of time, no respirations, no heart rate for a significant period of time. And then his dad noticed Bill something on the monitor, and there he was back again, and it's one of the reasons why he had ended up actually pulling this work together. So he he wanted to be in he was actually in ROTC, and I think it's interesting that he got through all of that, and then they decided that they didn't want to medically clear him to go into the military. But the men in his family always became military officers. His his dad was a general in the Air Force, and the closest that he got was helping with medevac, like Tanzania. And I remember him telling me the some stories about that he was working as an EMT, and he managed to do some connections to be able to do this work, just to be somewhat a part of, you know, the Vietnam War, but he really wanted to to be a military officer, and they just wouldn't allow him. But I think that maybe God wouldn't allow him because he had a different mission. I'm pretty convinced of that. So,   Michael Hingson ** 27:36 so he became a doctor.   Kathi Sohn ** 27:40 No, he, he had a couple of very advanced degrees, and, let me had a couple of doctorates, but he did not choose to not a medical doctor, to be a medical doctor, right, and do any type of mainstream work, because what he, what he brought in, was really kind of cutting edge, and you wanted to have the freedom, to be able to to put the work together without somebody telling them that, you know, is got it for regulations. He couldn't do that.   Michael Hingson ** 28:11 Well, let's get to it. I know you've alluded to it, and we've kind of circled around it. So tell us about the body memory process, and tell us what he did and all that you want to tell us about that Sure.   Kathi Sohn ** 28:24 So I talked a little earlier about the some of the the I talked about Dr Candice Kurt and the what she talked about with the by the mind body connection, what she learned and right about that time was also some research by Dr David Chamberlain about the consciousness of babies. Just, you know, they didn't even realize, I mean, the birthing practices were actually rather traumatic, really, just regular birthing practices in terms of the baby coming from that warm environment into a rather cool temperatures and very bright lights. So Dr Chamberlain did a lot of work. He wrote books like babies, remember birth and the mind of your unborn baby. And really brought a lot to bear about about how influential that period of time in our life can be. So then to take a couple steps backwards. First, we talked about David having that near death experience, and as he was growing up, the doctors kept telling him that he was never truly going to be well, and he kind of railed against that, and he was like, Well, you know, it really brought him to wonder, okay, what truly is wellness? So back in, back in that day, nobody was really talking about it. I think that if you look online these days, you see a lot of different theories about wellness and. You know, is across a spectrum, right of not just mind, body and spirit, but so many other things, including environmental factors. But he, in his quest for wellness, he did study the Far Eastern medicine medical practices, and he he studied Dr Chamberlain's work and about the such as Dr perks work, about the mind body connection. And so he pulled together what he called the body memory process, based upon the fact that what we believe, like the power of belief and the mind body connection and the awareness of babies and children that we had never really realized before about how they actually can create their reality. I mean, they they, but Dr Bruce Lipton calls if you're familiar with biology and belief, he talks about putting these programs in the place that we you know, we're born with sort of the operating system, but we need the programs. And so what we observe and what we experienced before we're seven years old, largely, we put together the core belief system. And so that's the body memory process is about, you know, basically how this all comes about. That's sort of like the this, the sort of the in the information part, there's a discovery part, which is, you know, what are your childhood vows? David called them vows, because, just like wedding bows, they're about what we promise ourselves, about how we're going to be in life, based upon these decisions we make when we're very, very young and and then so between, you know that that mind, body, spirit, side of things, he pulled together this process where, after you have discovered what your vows are, then there is a release process, how to be able to let that go. And these, these beliefs are in, these Vows are actually in our cell memory, kind of like that hologram that you were talking about before, and David created a process for people to be able to then, sort of like, if it's a vow, then to disavow it, to be able to empty the cell memory. Because he said, If you, if the cup is full, right, you can't put anything new in, you know? You can try with affirmations, you can try, through willpower, to change a habit, but if you, but if you have these, these, this energetic you know aspect to yourself, these vows that are actually in your subconscious and are there, then it needs to be dealt with. That energy needs to be released in order to be able to truly create what you want in the present moment as an adult.   Michael Hingson ** 33:11 Hence the title of your book. You made it up now stop believing it. Yes, yeah. I figured I love the title. That's a great title. So, so what exactly is the body memory process then?   Kathi Sohn ** 33:27 So it's the book goes into live details about it, you know, there, there is a discovery aspect to it, you know, and there's that's that involves both subjective and objective data, if you will. It's, you know, what, what am I feeling in my body? Where do I carry tension? Maybe, if I have the same thing, you know, sort of happening over and over again, like I I always, maybe, maybe it's the right side of my body where I'm always, maybe I'm stubbing my right toe or, you know, maybe I've, whenever I have a I fall down, you know, it's always like, I land on the right side, and I create problems there, and maybe I have a really tight right hip. You know, it's like, what, what's going on in your in your body? It's about what's going on in your life. I mean, how are, how are things overall, with your health, with your finances, with your relationships, with your career. And then there's, you know what? What was going on start in your very early life, starting with when you were in the womb, like, what was going on with mom, you know what? And that's sort of like an investigative process that clients get to do, you know, if mom is still around then, that she's really probably the best source of information there, but there could be other family members who are who are aware, and sometimes you don't. Get a lot, or maybe you don't even get any information from that period of time, and you need to just do a lot of this work through, through, you know, through intuition and and being being able to take a look at sample beliefs, which I have a collection of over 900 that David had gathered over the years of working with his clients, and to be able to take a look and see what resonates. You know, clients find that very valuable. To be able to say, oh, yeah, yep, that's absolutely me, you know, right there, because sometimes it's difficult to access it, because it's in the subconscious. I I have a video that I've created to help walk people through that discovery process. And since losing David, I've done whatever I can to sort of replicate what he was able to do quite intuitively. He would, he would be with someone for about three, three and a half hours, and he could just laser being right to do what was going on based upon how they were talking about what was going in their life, on in their life now and then, talking about what their childhood was like, Mom, Dad, how the relationship was. He would listen to how they would talk. He called it listening them, not listening to because when you're listening to someone, sometimes you're already thinking about what you want to say next to contribute to the conversation, which is fine, but when you're when you're listening someone. You're giving them that full space. You pull in all your energy, and you give them the full attention so that you can catch them saying pretty much their script. He said, you could, you know, you could hear even their birth script like they would, their belief system would just sort of come out. And the things that they would say, like, well, I know nobody ever really believes me, right? So as an example, and sometimes we might say that sort of in just in talking, it's sort of an assumption there that people just let that go, unless there's someone who's really engaged and says, Hey, wait a minute, let's talk about that a little bit like, what's the evidence that you have that nobody ever believes you and and sometimes people need to be able to take some of these assumptions that they that they just find they live their life by, and actually challenge them and say, you know, where does that come from? And try to get back to, you know, when, when that first occurred, because then thereafter, a lot of times it's just a self fulfilling prophecy, and every and he just keeps reinforcing itself.   Michael Hingson ** 37:48 Well, yeah, and we, we sell ourselves short in so many ways. And one of the things that you talked a little bit about is is childhood and so many people think, well, you're when you're when you grow up, your childhood is left behind. And I gather that you're saying, No, that's not true, because even from the womb, there's memory. How. How do we know that?   Kathi Sohn ** 38:16 Really, I think it's if you don't just sort of deal with whatever was going on back then, then it is going to sort of reach up and bite you at some point. I mean, everybody has something, even the people who say they have the have had the most perfect childhood. Because it's not about when I talk about childhood trauma in the book, and I talk about trauma, it's not about abuse and neglect. I mean, unfortunately that happens to many, but it's about how we actually sort of traumatize ourselves, because we're not yet logical. So before we're seven, we're not we're not even logical, and we're largely, you know, in our emotional brain, and we're the center of our own universe. We're very egocentrical During those years, and so we tend to jump to the conclusion that it's about right, it's about me, something happened, or mom and dad are fighting. It's about me, right? Or anything that goes wrong, it's either about something I did or something I didn't do. That was really big for me, like it's one of the other damned if I do, damned if I don't. So yeah, I would, I would be willing to make a rather bold statement that says everyone has something that they could look at from their early life, and that, because it's having some type of an impact on your adult life.   Michael Hingson ** 39:45 Has anyone ever used hypnosis to help somebody actually go back and and either at least learn about maybe that early childhood or even pre birth kind of thing   Kathi Sohn ** 39:59 I'm. Sure. I mean, so, you know, David created his work, and he called it the body memory process. It's not the only game in town, right there. There are other people who are are doing other things that are similar. I think Hypno, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, can get you there as well. I think that there's also something called rebirthing that was something that was going on, I think, that came out of the of the 80s as well, which was about, very specifically, getting you back to when you were born, right? What was going on during that time? So I think that you know anything that that that works for for you, to get you, you know, back into that time period is good. I think what makes David's work so especially powerful is that he has a very balanced sort of mind, body, spirit approach. And that is not just about, well, here's the bad news. It's about, you know, here's the good news too, because here's a way to be able to let that go and and to be able to move on. You know, I when we talk about, when I talk about this topic of going back to your childhood, I always think of that scene from The Lion King, where the monkey, you know, Rafiki, sort of bops The Lion, the young lion, Simba on the head right with the stick that says, It doesn't matter. It's all in the past. And that's true to on the one hand, because we need not dwell on the past, we need to be able to get the goodness from it, learn from it. That's the point, and then be able to let it go. And I think that's what the body memory process does, is it takes us back to be able to do that, that self examination, and then gives us a way to then be able to move on and not dwell on it, because it's not who we are. It's not it doesn't define us, even though, if we're not aware of it, we inadvertently let it define us. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 42:10 and that's the issue. It's like I always say, and many people say, in the National Federation of blind, blindness doesn't define us. It is part of who we are, but it doesn't define us. But when we allow something specific to define us without understanding the importance of it, that's a problem, but that is something that we have control over if we choose to do it.   Kathi Sohn ** 42:32 Yes, yes, absolutely. So how did David   Michael Hingson ** 42:36 come to actually create the whole concept of the body memory process.   Kathi Sohn ** 42:42 Well, you know, again, I think it was his personal quest for wellness that got him, you know, into doing the the investigative work that he did. He actually had other other work that he was doing for a while. He did a home restoration, you know. And he was a builder, a home builder, at one point, but this work just really kept calling him. And it was, I think, the early 80s. It was somewhere around 1984 I think that he started actually working with clients where he had pulled together all of this information and created the the discovery and then the release process for poor beliefs. But he there was someone who actually paid for him to go through a lot of the trainings that were going on in the 80s, like life, spring was one of them, and there's a few others where I think there was this human potential movement. Back during that time, people were starting to turn inward. And then, of course, at the same time all of this research was was coming out, like Dr Chamberlain and Dr PERT. So I think that David was is sort of like in the middle of a perfect storm to be able to create this because he had his own personal motivation. He had access to the all of the state of the art research that was going on around him during that time period, and he was also very intelligent and very intuitive. So he said that when he came back from his near death experience, he he knew that there, there was a reason that he came back. So I think he always had a sense of mission that he wanted to make a contribution to the world. And then it just over time, it just became clearer and clearer what that was. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 44:51 So have you had any direct experience with the body memory process? I.   Kathi Sohn ** 44:59 Yes, I absolutely have. I used to tell David that I was his poster child because of, because I had a lot of stuff that I was dealing with. I I had a birth mom, and then I had an adoptive mom, and I had, you know, my own, my own baggage that came from, from both. So I had, you know, many layers to, you know, to work through. But I guess, you know, there's always got to be something. You know, David said that he would work with the greedy, the needy and the greedy. He said the needy were the were people who ended up in some sort of crisis, because this, if you call it, your life script, which was another word for this collection of vows that we create during early life, that your your life script can either keep you in your comfort zone or it will keep you in crisis. There's really, there's, there's really two, but two, those two avenues, when you have this unexplored stuff that's that's going on, right? And then the greedy are the people who would like pretty good and they just want more, and he's so and it's all valid. It's all good, right? The different avenues that lead us to the work. For me, it really was a personal crisis that had been simmering for me through all of my life, starting when I was very, very young. I mentioned earlier that I was kind of shy, but it was really, really difficult for me just to just through school when you know I knew the answers to things. I wanted to be able to to talk in front of the class, but it was so scary for me just to be the center of attention. It was just, I just think of, there's some of the stories are kind of funny in my mind about what happened, even to the point where once I got in front of the class and I was laughing at my own science fiction story that I had written, and then everybody else started laughing. And that was actually a pretty positive experience, but most of them were rather negative, but it didn't really come to a head for me until I was a manager. I worked my up, my way up in at the Defense Department, and I was in in charge of an office. I I needed to be able to speak to my personnel. I had staff meetings, and I had greater and greater responsibilities. I needed to lead conferences and things like that. And I became face to face with my own fears of just being in front of a great as bigger and bigger rooms of people. And I know that, you know, this is a common thing for for for people, common fear with public speaking. But for me, it was, it's just, I can't even explain on the inside how difficult it was. I managed to pull it off a lot of times, and people would compliment me, and they didn't, you know, like you didn't look nervous. But I realized that I had to deal with it, or it was going to make me ill because of internally, the turmoil I was going through. And so I did use the work and ended up discovering, I told you that my parents adopted kids from very difficult beginnings, as it as I discovered, again, that's another story, but a little bit later in life, I had been, you know, basically At six months I had been born, though, from from an attack from my birth mom, so she tried to to do a home abortion when I was six, only six months along, and so that was rather traumatic, you know? I ended up born. I was an orphan, and I didn't have, you know, I wasn't received into the world by a loving mom. And then I think what was piled on top of that was the fact that I was in an incubator, and I was peered at by the medical staff, probably many of whom didn't think I was going to make it. So, you know, when you again, based upon the work that Dr Chamberlain did, and the idea of the connectedness, and that everything is about energy, and that there is communication that's going on, but it's at a sort of at a vibrational level, and that the infant is actually able to pick up on that, it's not, it's not about language, right? It's not about their mental development. It's something else that, you know, it just, it puts it's it puts these foundations within us into into place, until again, we're able to get back into that energy and be able. To deal with it. So for me, it was about that judgment. Whenever I got myself, got in front of a room, you know, I was that little baby in an incubator, and people that were, you know, like, I don't think she's going to make it. And so that was sort of a, if you picture, if you, if you kind of take that and overlay that on, you know, speaking in front of a room, what is not being able to make it or, you know, or dying, you know, it's like, Well, I kind of screw up, right? I forget what I was going to say. Or, but, and again, it's not, it's not, it's not rational. I couldn't say that it was I knew very specifically of what the turmoil was about. It was just about this intense energy that I could not define. But it was there for me. It was like I was right back in that incubator being evaluated and fighting for my life.   Michael Hingson ** 51:01 So what did you do?   Kathi Sohn ** 51:04 Well, I did the body memory process. Well, first I had my my my David and I sat down, and we really explored it, and I was able to put words to it. So for me, it was they watched me to see when I'm going to die and when I was able to do the body memory process, and again, it's all outlined in the book, but you know, the specific process around that I was able to, over time, increasingly, be able to feel comfortable in front of a room. And now I do public speaking, I'm able to be on camera and take David's work, you know, really to the world, and be the face of the work. If he had said that I was going to be doing this back in those years, I would have said, You've got to be kidding me. There's no way that I could, that I could do that through most of the years. When I had David, I was so thankful that he was the one who stood in front of the room right he was the one in front of the camera, and I was very happy to support him from behind the scenes. But I think that when I made the decision to carry on his work, and I think that's when I did the final steps of the process of being able to release all of that and say, Okay, again, that's in the past. Right to to be able to have to let that go, realize it for what it was. But it's not about who I am now. But   Michael Hingson ** 52:35 the issue is that you recognize it, you you learn from it, which is why it's important that you acknowledge it, yes. And you know, in live like a guide dog. We talk, as you know, about self analysis, introspection and so on. And I wish more people would do it. And I wish people would do it more often. I'm a fan of saying that people should do it every day. You should look at what at the end of the day. Look at what happened today, what worked, what didn't work, and even the stuff that worked, could I do it better, or the stuff that maybe didn't work? It's not a failure, it's a learning experience, and you should use it and treat it as that, which is why I also tell people never use the term. I'm my own worst critic. I've learned that I'm my own best teacher, which is a whole lot more positive anyway.   Kathi Sohn ** 53:25 Yes, absolutely. The other thing, Michael and Anna, and this is from, I think, in an interview that you were in when they were talking about what you were going through on 911 and you know you as the you were thinking to saying to God, gee, we got through one tower, and now there's another one coming down and and what are we facing? And that you you your own guidance you heard about. Just don't try to just what you can control. Can worry about what you can Right, right? And I think that's what this work is about, is that if we go through life and we're not we don't know that all of this is operating below the surface. It's so easy to blame events and people and circumstances and conditions for everything, but if we're willing to take personal responsibility, and go back to those early years, then we are doing something about what we can do, and then when we go forward in our adult life, we can handle those crises, and we can be much more in control of ourselves. And that's where we're we're truly in a place of power, because we can't control all those events and conditions, but we can be, you know, I just think again, that's why you're so inspirational. Like, okay, you know, you couldn't do anything about what was going on around you in in New York, but you were able to be. Com and trust your dog and to trust God, and that's the way we want to be in life.   Michael Hingson ** 55:06 Well, and that went both ways. The dog trusted me as well, and it and it really is a two way trust situation. You know, I read articles even as late as 30 years after I was born, about people who became blind from the same thing that I did, retroenter fibroplasia, now called retinopathy or prematurity, and I'll never understand why they changed the name doesn't change anything. But anyway, people sued their doctors, even 30 years later, and won lawsuits because medical science had started to learn. At least a couple of doctors had discovered. One specifically discovered that giving a child in an incubator, a premature baby, a pure oxygen environment, 24 hours a day, could be a problem for retinal development, and even if you gave them a little bit of regular error, the incidence of blindness went to zero, but it wasn't accepted by medical science, and so people sued, and they won, and I and I asked my dad one day, what do you think? Should we go back and sue the doctors? And he said, and what would it accomplish? Yeah, and he was absolutely right. And I wasn't asking him, because I was ready to go do it. I was just curious to see what he thought about it. And he thought, really, the same thing that I did, what would it accomplish? Even if we won, it doesn't do anything, and it ruins lives, because the doctors were doing the best with what they had. You couldn't prove negligence, yeah,   Kathi Sohn ** 56:39 absolutely it's they were doing the best with the information they had, and that's the way we should be with ourselves too, right? This isn't about going back and then get feeling guilty or blaming your parents or, you know, blaming yourself. We did the best that we in our own lives, at every stage of our lives. You know, we really are doing the best that we can with the information and the resources that we have   Michael Hingson ** 57:04 exactly, and that's what we should do. Yes. So what are some ways that people can benefit from the body memory process?   Kathi Sohn ** 57:14 Well, you know, again, I get, I had mentioned that 360 degree, look at your life there, there's, there's so many ways that you you can can benefit, because when you have this energy that you haven't discovered these, these, these beliefs, there, there is, there are words that You can put to it, and that actually plays out in your life, sometimes in very, very limiting ways. And you know, if you're looking at, say, finances, if you were raised with, you know the root of money, the root of evil is, you know money is the root of evil. You know that in you have that operating, then you're you're going to have a limit, a limit, you know, a limited way that you're interacting with money. I like to talk about some of the rather innocuous ways that, you know, relatives talk to us when we're little, and, you know, they end up impacting us as adults and limiting us, for example, if, if I have an uncle who says, Well, you know this, the Smiths are hard workers. We work hard for every penny. We don't make a lot, but we work really hard for every penny we make. It's like, okay, well, gee thanks. Now, you know, I'm going to grow up, and that's in there, in my subconscious. And, you know, I, I'm gonna, I believe that I have to work hard. And not only do I have to work hard, but I'm, you know, I may, I can't really earn money easily, right? So maybe investments are off the table for me, investments that might yield, you know, a lot of money. I mean, there's, there's, there's so many ways that this plays out in our life, and we don't even know that it's it's impacting us in what we do, and then what we're not doing, you know, if we're not taking risks, that could actually be good for us because of this. So people would benefit from from just taking a look, because you don't know, you know where it could could help you, but I can say that it can help you across health, across finances, relationships. That's huge about you know, what you observed in your parents and how they talk to each other, and then how how you are in relationship as an adult. So in so many different really, those important areas of our lives, this type of work can really benefit. There   Michael Hingson ** 59:57 are so many things that. Happen to us, or that we become involved in in some way or another, that are really things that we chose to have happen, maybe whether we realize it or not, and it's really all about choice, and likewise, we can choose to be successful. It may not happen exactly the way we think, but it's still a matter of choice, and that is something that is so important, I think, for people to learn about and to understand that you can make choices, and it's it's all about learning. So when you make a choice, if it doesn't work out, or it doesn't work out the way you thought, and it's not a problem, or it is a problem, then you make another choice, but if we don't explore and we don't learn, we won't go anywhere, right, right? Well, this has been a lot of fun, and I hope people will go out and buy the book again. You made it up. Now stop believing it. I love the title and and I hope that people will get it. We put a picture of it in the show notes, so definitely go check it out. And I want to thank you for being here and spending the last hour plus with us. I I've enjoyed it. I've learned a lot, and I always like to learn, so that's why doing this podcast is so much fun. So thank you for that. And I want to thank you all for listening wherever you are or watching if you're on YouTube. Cathy was a little bit worried about her room isn't as neat as she maybe wanted it, so she wasn't sure whether it was going to be great to video. And I pointed out, I don't have a background or anything. Don't worry about it. The only thing I do is close my door so my cat won't come in and bother us.   1:01:41 Oh, yeah, me too, yeah. Well, stitch   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:44 is probably out there waiting, because it's getting close to one of them many times during the day that she wants to eat, and I have to pet her while she eats. So we do have our obligations in life. Yes, we do, but it's fun, but I want to thank you for being here. But thank you all, and please, wherever you're listening or watching, give us a five star review. We value it. I'd love to hear your thoughts about today and our episode. So if you would email me, I'd appreciate it. Michael H, I m, I C, H, A, E, L, H i at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, or go to our podcast page. Michael hingson.com/podcast, Michael hingson is m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, S o, n.com/podcast, definitely love to get your thoughts Kathy. How do people get a hold of you if they want to learn more? Or are you are you doing coaching or working with people today?   Kathi Sohn ** 1:02:37 Yes. So if you go to Kathi sohn.com, that's k, A, T, H, I, s, O, H n.com, there's a lot of information on there. You can learn more about body memory. You can get a free chapter of the book. I have a couple other free gifts on there. You can and you can learn about my coaching programs. I have private coaching and for individuals, and I love to work with parents as well.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:06 Well, there you go. There you go. So Kathisohn.com and I hope people will do that again. We really appreciate a five star review. And Kathy for you, and all of you out there, if you know anyone else who ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset, because you feel they have a story they should tell introduce us. And if they don't think they can come on and tell the story, I'll talk with them. And oftentimes I can show people why it's important that they come on and tell their story. A lot of times, people say, I don't really have anything that makes me unique or different. Well, yeah, you do the fact that you're you, but anyway, if you know anyone who ought to be a guest, we'd love to hear from you and Kathy, if you know anyone same for you. But again, I really appreciate you being here and being a part of unstoppable mindset today. So thank you very much for coming.   1:03:56 Yes, thank you for having me here.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:02 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

What if every milestone your child was supposed to reach came with countless curve balls? For Alexis Kaplan, motherhood quickly turned into a journey of advocacy, strength, and unwavering love as she navigated her daughter Gabby's complex and rare health conditions. In this moving episode, Alexis shares:  ✅ The moment her newborn was rushed to the NICU with a collapsed lung  ✅ How her daughter's recurring infections led to a diagnosis of immunodeficiency and collagenous gastritis ✅ The emotional toll—and strength—of being the medical historian and advocate for a medically complex child ✅ How weekly infusions, therapy, and figure skating are helping her daughter thrive ✅ Her advice for parents facing rare, chronic, or undiagnosed conditions This is a must-listen for anyone caring for a child with complex medical needs, healthcare providers who want to better understand the family perspective, and parents looking for inspiration and connection. Timestamps & Key Topics ⏱️ [00:00] – Meet Alexis Kaplan Mother of two, former PR pro, and fierce advocate for her daughter Gabby ⏱️ [03:00] – From a Healthy Start to a Medical Emergency Gabby is born with a spontaneous pneumothorax and was immediately taken to the NICU ⏱️ [08:00] – Life After NICU The strange silence in the hospital room and the emotional weight of an unexpected start ⏱️ [10:00] – Feeding Struggles and Early Signs Something Was Wrong Eczema, weight loss, food intolerance—and a mother's instinct in full force ⏱️ [14:00] – The Fevers Begin Raging fevers, unrelenting illness, and a trip to the ER that revealed double pneumonia and RSV ⏱️ [19:00] – ENT Visits, Hearing Loss, and the Power of Child Life From audiology tests to the first Barbie from a Child Life Specialist—how support changed their hospital experience ⏱️ [22:00] – Asthma, Immunology & The First “Red Flag” Gabby's pulmonologist recommends deeper testing, leading to a pivotal moment in her diagnosis journey ⏱️ [24:00] – Periodic Fever Syndrome & Tonsillectomy A working diagnosis leads to aggressive treatment—but symptoms persist ⏱️ [26:00] – Gastroenterology, Scopes & the Search for Answers A rare diagnosis: collagenous gastritis—so rare, the doctor had never seen it before ⏱️ [29:00] – The Diagnosis That Changed Everything Immunoglobulin deficiency is confirmed, leading to weekly subcutaneous infusions at home ⏱️ [31:00] – A Grey's Anatomy Ritual & Finding Control Gabby takes charge of her infusions, watches Grey's Anatomy, and finds a routine in the chaos ⏱️ [32:00] – Advocating for the Right Medication Alexis does her own research and fights for biologic treatment to manage Gabby's symptoms ⏱️ [34:00] – Reflecting on Strength, Resilience & Motherhood The mental toll of advocating, comforting, and never giving up—and watching her daughter skate through it all ⏱️ [36:00] – TikTok Tips & Empowerment in the Hospital Line Gabby empowers other kids at the clinic with simple strategies to get through shots and IVs ⏱️ [37:00] – Final Reflections: Curveballs, Advocacy & Support How Facebook groups, therapy, and the power of asking questions help Alexis keep going   Resources & Links

Hey, fellow lushes! This week we talk trauma bonding, comedy cults, and what happens when a grown man “accidentally” sits on an apple. Pippy Pierce—ER nurse turned stand-up comic—joins us to spill hospital horror stories, pitch her all-female cult (men optional, chains required), and explain how comedy became her therapy after a decade of starting IVs, pushing meds, and dodging code blues. We get into "greasy" roast battles, baby forearms in Room 12, and a very intimate "Would You Rather" that involves being paralyzed or permanently turned off. It's unfiltered, inappropriate, and exactly the kind of episode your mom warned you about. Check out Pippy - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pippy.pierce Linktree: https://linktr.ee/pippycomedy Check us out - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cwdatb Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cwdatbpodcast/ Website: https://cocktailswithdimplesandthebeard.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CocktailswithDimplesandTheBeard X: https://twitter.com/dimplesthebeard Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cocktailsdimplesthebeard Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-6163487 Sponsorship and business inquiries: cwdatb@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Girls Gone Wellness, we're joined by Dr. Ashley Chauvin, ND, a certified menopause practitioner with years of experience supporting cancer survivors and navigating the hormonal shifts that come with treatment and aging. After a powerful first episode on breast cancer prevention, she's back to help us dig deeper into what really impacts cancer risk.From metabolic health to environmental exposures, birth control to hormone replacement therapy, we're asking the questions you've seen all over your FYP. Are seed oils carcinogenic? Does sugar feed cancer? Should you be fasting to “starve” cancer? What does our weight and metabolic health have to do with our cancer risk? What about IVs, probiotics, or red wine's so-called resveratrol benefits? We're cutting through the noise of wellness culture and diving into what the science actually says, so you can make informed decisions without the fear-mongering.If you'd like to learn more from Dr. Ashley Chauvin, ND-Follow her on instagramBook with her hereDon't forget to follow us on Instagram @girlsgonewellnesspodcast for updates and more wellness tips. Please subscribe to our podcast and leave a review—we truly appreciate your support. Let's embark on this journey to wellness together!DISCLAIMER: Nothing mentioned in this episode is medical advice and should not be taken as so. If you have any health concerns, please discuss these with your doctor or a licensed healthcare professional.

In this juicy AMA episode, I tackle two hot-button topics: parasites (yes, you probably have them!) and how to actually biohack your beauty from the inside out.  I break down the 5-step parasite cleanse protocol and reveal the most effective hacks for glowing skin, hair growth, and anti-aging—no overpriced serums required. Send me a DM on Instagram to get your questions answered! I TALK ABOUT:  05:00 – Signs you may have parasites 10:50 – The 5-step parasite cleanse protocol 14:20 – Anti-parasitic herbs: Wormwood, black walnut, clove, neem, oregano oil 19:05 – Binders for die-off symptoms: Activated charcoal, bentonite clay, zeolite 22:10 – Gut rebuilding supplements: Seed probiotics, BiOptimizers code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY, aloe vera, collagen, L-glutamine 24:20 – Parasite cleanse kits: CellCore, Microbe Formulas, Organic Olivia 30:05 – Biohacking your mitochondria: Higher Dose code: BRITTANY15, NOVOS code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY, cold dunks 36:00 – Collagen biohacking: Hydrolyzed peptides, bone broth, vitamin C, silica, zinc 37:40 – Hormonal balance and beauty: Ashwagandha, maca, castor oil packs, sauna, my cycle syncing guide 39:10 – Non-toxic beauty brands: OneSkin code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY, RMS, Westman Atelier, Beauty Counter 42:00 – Home upgrades: Wood toothbrushes, Muskoka Tallow code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY 44:05 – Beauty-boosting nutrients: Biotin, omega-3s, astaxanthin, fermented cod liver oil 46:25 – Sleep as the #1 beauty biohack: BiOptimizers magnesium code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY, chamomile/ reishi tea, Oura/Whoop tracking 48:00 – Next-level beauty hacks: Stem cell facials, PRP facials, cold plunges, vitamin IVs, colostrum powder SPONSORS: Protect your reproductive health with Leela Quantum Tech's EMF-blocking underwear. Use code: BIOHACKINGBRITTANY for an extra 10% discount on all of their products! Feel your best with NOVOS—the only supplement targeting all 12 causes of aging. Use code BIOHACKINGBRITTANY for 10% off your first month! RESOURCES: Optimize your preconception health by joining my Baby Steps Course today! Optimize your preconception health and fertility through my free hormone balancing, fertility boosting chocolate recipe! Download it now! My Amazon storefront LET'S CONNECT: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook Shop my favorite health products Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music

NAD is all the rage. Its such a crucial molecule in our body that declines with age. You're probably not sure if you should be taking NAD or a precursor like NMN or NR, and if so, how – do we take supplements, IVs, injectables…? But you may have also heard of the dangerous pathways that some of these molecules take us down that increases the risk for cancer. So is there a better way? Yes! Molecular biologist Dr. Sandra Kaufmann, who is completely unbiased, clears the confusion and helps us navigate this world of NAD. It gets a little geeky, so break out your pen and paper, and keep the speed on 1x.  We cover: -   NAD basics -   What is NAD vs NAD+ vs NAD- minus -   Different categories of what NAD does -   How NAD controls circadian rhythms -   Is fatigue due to NAD or something else? -   Is it better to optimize our ovaries with NAD or HRT? -   If, how and when to take NAD, NMN, NR and which one is best? -   The best time to take NAD or its precursors -   When is the only time to do an NAD infusion -   What happens to our DNA when NAD is low -   How NAD can be made from scratch in the body -   The dangers of NAD and its precursors that may triggering more inflammation -   Can you test NAD levels? -   Best way to increase NAD levels naturally -   The cheapest way to increase NAD levels -   What Dr. Sandra does personally for her NAD Dr. Sandra Kaufmann started her career in the field of cellular biology. She got her Master's Degree from the University of Connecticut in Tropical Ecology and Plant Physiology. And then she turned to medicine, and got her medical Degree at the University of Maryland. And for the last nearly decade she has been the Chief of Pediatric Anesthesia at the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Florida. Everyone in the biohacking world knows Dr. Kaufmann and outside of this world she's been recognized as “Best in Medicine” by the American Health Council.   PAST EPISODES ⁠Brand New Supplement Solutions⁠ ⁠3 Brain Supplements To Keep Your Marbles Exosomes vs Stem Cells   Contact Dr. Sandra Kaufmann: Website: kaufmannprotocol.com Instagram kaufmannantiaging Facebook: Kaufmann Anti-Aging Institute Email: kaufmannaai@gmail.com Book 1: The Kaufmann Protocol: Why We Age and How To Stop It Book 2 : The Kaufmann Protocol – Aging Solutions   Give thanks to our sponsors: Qualia senolytics and brain supplements. 15% off with code ZORA here.  Try BEAM minerals at 20% off with code ZORA here.http://beamminerals.com/ZORA Get Primeadine spermidine by Oxford Healthspan. 15% discount with code ZORA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get Mitopure Urolithin A by Timeline. 10% discount with code ZORA at https://timeline.com/zora Get Magnesium Breakthrough by Bioptimizers. 10% discount with code HACKMYAGE at https://bioptimizers.com/hackmyageTry OneSkin skincare with code ZORA for 15% off https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=2685556&u=4476154&m=102446&urllink=&afftrack= Join ⁠⁠⁠Biohacking Menopause⁠⁠⁠ before April 1, 2025 to win OneSkin OS-01 peptide facial supplement and OS-01 eye cream! 15% off with code ZORA at OneSkin. Join the Hack My Age community on: Facebook Page: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@⁠Hack My Age⁠     Facebook Group: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@⁠Biohacking Menopause⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠  Private Women's Only Support Group: https://hackmyage.com/biohacking-menopause-membership/ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@⁠HackMyAge⁠    Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HackMyAge.com⁠   

John Lessiue, former NBA Mascot for the New Jersey Nets as Duncan, Super Dunk, and briefly Sly. From repelling off cranes to the physical toll of life as an NBA mascot, the unpredictability of working with an NBA organization, the change in current Mascot performers, the importance of challenging yourself, and how John stumbled into this crazy career.Sports Apparel: Mitchell & NessNEW Merch: FURKenn's hat in this episode: TripleStarBrandFOLLOW:

What if instead of relying solely on injected stem cells to heal your body you could actually make your own stem cells do the job, but better?My guest on the podcast this week, the amazing Dr. Christian Drapeau has discovered that certain natural plants can trigger the release of our own stem cells, offering powerful healing potential.Yes, no need for stem cell injections or IVs—your own cells can do the job with the help of a few specific plant extracts!This is exactly what I discuss in this episode, where Dr. Drapeau, a neurophysiologist, author of Cracking the Stem Cell Code, and pioneer of endogenous stem cell mobilization, shares his journey with us.He and I will be touching on his innovative products for stem cell mobilization, the importance of reducing blood inflammation to increase stem cell efficiency, the promising results from his studies on heart disease and Parkinson's disease using stem cell mobilization, and so much more.Are you ready to learn more?Then tune in now!Key Takeaways:Introduction (00:00)Meet Dr. Drapeau (01:23)How Dr. Drapeau's products work (07:52)Research on cardiac and Parkinson's patients (13:35)How herbal extracts trigger the release of stem cells (17:09)Do all stem cells go back to the bone marrow? (29:02)More about Dr. Drapeau's products (34:49)Can you take these herbal extracts all the time? (48:20)STEMREGEN vs stem cell therapy (52:04)Additional Resources:✨ Use coupon code DRJOY to get 15% off your first purchase of STEMREGEN products:  https://www.stemregen.co/ ✨ Learn more about how to live a long and pain-free life: https://joykongmd.com/ ✨ Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stemcelldrjoy/ ✨ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_joy_kong/ —Dr. Joy Kong is a regenerative medicine and anti-aging expert. Her podcast is part of her mission to reduce suffering and elevate happiness. Join us every week for the latest holistic health insights that will help you live a long and pain-free life.

Seeking Health with Drs. Mark and MicheleSherwood Dr. Mark brought his lovely wife, Dr. Michele to join us in person on theshow today to answer your questions! We're also talking about our favorite hydrogenwater and our favorite supplements and IVs. Mammograms or not? Best way to test and handle allergy questionsand natural antihistamine options. | Natural helpers to prevent dementia.| What are the best ways to boost breastmilk supply and formula options if I need one?| How can I help neuropathy? And more!Watch the Heidi St. John Podcast on Youtube:youtube.com/@HeidiStJohnPodcastWatch the Heidi St. John Podcast on Rumble:https://rumble.com/user/HeidiStJohnFind Heidi on Instagram: instagram.com/heidistjohnFind Heidi on Facebook: facebook.com/realheidistjohnFind Heidi on X: x.com/heidistjohnJoin Heidi at Faith That Speaks faiththat speaks.com/ Submit your questions for Mailbox Monday Heidi stjohn.net/mailboxmonday

In this episode, Hailey and Matt discuss whether IVs are rebellious or magical or the midlife crisis of methods. We talk about how they deal with confounding problems. We talk about how they are used to attempt to mimic randomization and the assumptions for IVs. We talk about why it's so helpful to think about who gets the exposure and why for causal inference. We talk about how IVs fit in with the target trial framework and wham it might tell us about how to teach intro epi. We talk about what estimand IVs estimate. And we relitigate the soda vs pop discussion.

Julia knew something was off during her first pregnancy and birth experience. She knew she didn't feel right about consenting to a Cesarean, but it wasn't until she started diving into research that she realized how much her care lacked informed consent. She discovered options that should have been offered to her that never were.Julia's research led her to choosing the midwifery model of care in a home birth setting. She felt in control of her experience and free to birth the way she felt she needed to. Meagan and Julia discuss stats on uterine rupture, stillbirth, continuous fetal monitoring, induction, due dates, and how our birthing culture can highly influence what we think is safe versus what scientific evidence actually tells us. Evidence-Based Birth: The Evidence on Due DatesThe Business of Being BornNeeded WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello. Women of Strength I am so excited for today's guest. Our friend, Julia, is from Texas. She is a wife and a stay-at-home mother living in, it Spring, Texas, Julia?Julia: Spring, Texas.Meagan: Close to Houston, yes, with her two sons. And she has had a Cesarean and then an HBAC. We get a lot of questions in our inbox every day, but a really common question is dates. "Hey, I'm 40 weeks. My doctor is telling me I had to have my baby by tomorrow or even approaching 39 weeks." People are being told they have to have their babies or really bad things will happen. And Julia's story is proof that you don't have to have a baby by 40 weeks or 41 weeks, would you say? Almost 42 weeks is what you were. So we are excited to hear this story. And I know if you are one that goes past your due date and you're getting that pressure, you're definitely gonna wanna listen. Julia: Thank you so much for having me, Meagan, I'm really, really happy to be here.Meagan: I'm so happy that you are here. I would just love to have you share your stories.Julia: Okay, so my firstborn, he came during the height of the COVID pandemic. It was August 2020.I just saw my OB who I had been seeing for regular gynecology visits. And from the very first appointment, it just, I just kind of got an off feeling. She had seen a small subchorionic hematoma on my ultrasound at my very first appointment at eight weeks. And she just told me, "Don't Google this. It's going to scare you." She basically just said, "Just enjoy being pregnant now because when you come back next week, you may not be." So as a first-time mom, it was obviously pretty upsetting and caused a lot of anxiety. When I went back for my next appointment, she just kind of shrugged it off after she saw the ultrasound. She just said, "It cleared up on its own." There really wasn't any explanation of how it resolved.But that being said, that start to my prenatal care kind of set the tone for the rest of that pregnancy and birth. From then on there was just a lot of fear-mongering going on, and a lot of problems were brought up that really never turned out to be an issue. Around 20 weeks at the anatomy scan, they saw that my son was in the bottom 10th percentile.She had said that she classified that as IUGR, intrauterine growth restriction. We had a lot of extra testing done. Everything was normal. I felt confident and very comfortable just waiting it out. And that really wasn't what she wanted.Actually, starting around 35 weeks, she had started talking about delivering early. I was pressured at each appointment by my OB and the nurses to stay that day and deliver solely because of his size, even though everything was looking great on the monitors. Keep in mind, you know, during COVID, I wasn't able to have my husband or anyone with me during these appointments. And so just being asked that question each time I came in as a first-time mom by myself was just really hard and made me second guess a lot of things and second guess my intuition. I had explained that, "I think he's just a small baby. He needs more time to grow."She basically just said at my 38-week appointment if I didn't deliver that day, it would not be her fault if my baby died and that she or the hospital was--Meagan: What?! Julie: Right?Meagan: She said that she or the hospital, if I walk out that day, they're not liable if something happens because I'm going against her recommendations. I was even seeing a high-risk doctor as well at that point. And even he was saying, "Everything's looking fine. There's no problem with waiting if you want to."The reason she wanted to schedule the C-section because he was breech. I knew that I wasn't even going to have the opportunity to go into spontaneous labor. There were really no alternatives presented at the time. I knew nothing about out-of-hospital birth or about midwives. She offered an ECV, but she said she didn't recommend it because of his size.She didn't really explain why. So I just kind of felt backed into a corner. I remember I had left the office that day at 38 weeks and called my husband immediately and explained what she had said. We felt like, "Okay, well, I guess, we obviously don't want our baby to die, so maybe we need to just stay." I remember pushing my gut feeling aside the whole time. As they were prepping me, I just felt, This isn't right." I wanted to give my baby more time to grow and also to flip so that I wouldn't be backed into a C-section. Had I known then what I know now, I definitely would have opted for a home birth with my midwife who's trained in breach delivery.Just at the time with COVID, I didn't have the resources or the information, so we went through with the C-section that ended in a four-day hospital stay. I didn't sleep at all. Meagan, I'm not even kidding you. I did not sleep those four days. The nurses were really concerned about the baby's size, even though he was growing. He was actually back to his birth weight by the time we were discharged.But I'll never forget this one-Meagan: That's quick!Julie: Right? I know. And so there was so much fear-mongering, so much uncertainty by medical staff, despite how great my baby was doing. And I remember this nurse frantically coming into the room just a few hours after my C-section with this Medella hospital-grade pump. She was just like, "You need to start pumping now on top of breastfeeding because your baby's small. He's not going to grow."It just kind of left me feeling like, I feel confident in what I'm doing, but now all these medical professionals are telling me like, I'm in danger, my baby's in danger. It triggered a lot of feelings of postpartum anxiety. I really struggled that first year. And so it wasn't a very good experience.I just felt like my power had been taken away in the birthing process and felt defeated and like I didn't have a say for my first birth.Meagan: Yeah, I was just listening to an episode the other day, not on our podcast, on another podcast about that experience after baby is born and that postpartum within the hospital and how crazy it is that sleep is one of the best things we can get when it comes to energy, milk production, getting our babies fed and helping them grow, and doing all these things. But then we're not allowed that time. And then on top of it, it's all the fear-mongering and the doubt when it's like we should be being built up like, "Oh my gosh, look how good you're doing. Look how good this baby's doing. Look how good you're doing. Let's keep doing this." Instead of making you doubt that what you're doing isn't good enough and not letting you sleep and doing all these things. It's just weird to me. It doesn't make sense.Julia: Right, and as a first-time mom, you're just like, okay, they know what's best, obviously. I'm going to listen to them and what do I know about birth? They're the doctors. But yeah, it was just really eye-opening, and I really knew I wanted a completely different experience the next time around.Meagan: Yeah, I don't blame you. I don't blame you for wanting a different experience.Julia: So after I had my C section, pretty soon after that, I started digging and doing a lot of research and realized I felt really cheated by the lack of informed consent. I had mentioned that my doctor just had said, "You need a C-section because he's breech."I had no idea that there were even midwives and out-of-hospital birth options where they delivered breech vaginally and not only that, but were highly trained and qualified to do so. I had no idea that in other parts of the world of similar economic status to the US that they were routinely delivering breech babies vaginally with better outcomes than we have here in the US hospitals. So I really didn't feel like there was informed consent there. Even the fact that she didn't even want to try the ECV was upsetting to me. I just felt like I really wish I would have done more research at the time. But I just put all my energy into this next birth. I knew even before I got pregnant that I wanted a VBAC.Pretty early on in the process of my research, I became really fascinated with physiological birth and I knew that I really wanted to experience that. For someone who may not be familiar with that term, physiological birth is natural unmedicated childbirth with no intervention unless medically necessary. It sees birth as a safe biological function rather than a medical event or something that that's inherently dangerous which is how I felt I was treated my whole first pregnancy and birth. I felt like a walking hazard, to be honest, when in reality I was an extremely healthy 25-year-old, first-time mom with a healthy baby with no issues. So the fact that I was gaslit into thinking there was a lot of danger was sad. So I knew that for my next birth I wanted to do a physiological birth and I knew that it would kind of be a fight to achieve in the hospital. I did a lot of research, I watched The Business of Being Born. I read a lot of natural childbirth books. I also knew that on top of the regular hospital policies, I would have some excess restrictions because of the fact that I was a VBAC.Meagan: Yeah, yeah. Julia: I did go back to that same OB at first. I presented my birth plan early on to her and it included things like I didn't want an IV. I wanted freedom to eat or drink. I didn't want any drugs whatsoever for pain relief. I didn't want them pushing an epidural. I would have liked a water birth, but I knew that wouldn't have been possible in the hospital. But I at least would have liked water immersion in labor, minimal cervical checks. I wanted to go into spontaneous labor. I wanted no coached pushing and fully delayed cord clamping.I could tell, right away she was more so just VBAC-tolerant rather than supportive. She really used a lot of fear-mongering. Right away she mentioned the uterine rupture risk. She had said, I think she had said she had just had a mom die from a VBAC not too long ago.Meagan: Goodness. Holy moly.Julia: Without any explanation. Who knows where she was going with that? But she had also said, it may be better to just have a repeat C-section because with the risk of rupture, you may need a hysterectomy after giving birth. She commonly used the word TOLAC which also I didn't really like. I didn't want to feel like I was having to try. I felt like I'm planning a VBAC. I don't need to try for it. It is what it is. I wanted someone to encourage me. She really also highly, highly recommended I got an epidural because she said, "Well, with your increased risk of rupture, if something should happen, then they're just gonna have to knock me out."She also said, "Unmedicated moms tear the worst," which was not at all the case for me. She was saying that because it hurts so bad that you just can't control your pushing. I knew all of this was not true. I was kind of in a funny position because I didn't want to be fighting with her, but I knew the evidence in the back of my mind and all of that scary language. I knew it was not evidence-based. I really wanted someone on my team who was really going to believe in me, who knew the evidence, and who believed in my ability to have a VBAC.  I didn't want to spend all of my energy and labor fighting for this VBAC and for this birth experience that I knew was possible and that I knew that I deserved.My heart really had always deep down been set on a home birth from the very beginning. I loved watching home birth videos and hearing positive home birth stories. I just loved everything about it and also about the midwifery model of care and how much more comprehensive that was. I had heard about a local group of midwives on a Facebook group that I'm in for holistic moms in my area. I found out that this group of midwives offered a HypnoBirthing class. So my husband and I signed up for that. We took the six-week course and we just never looked back after that. We knew that a home birth VBAC would be the way to go. I felt deep in my heart confident about it and that's really what I wanted. I just knew I had found my dream birth team.My midwife was just amazing and I just really couldn't imagine birthing anywhere other than in my own home with her and my husband by my side and someone that didn't look at me differently because of my previous Cesarean.Meagan: Right. And I love that you just pointed that out. Someone who didn't look at me differently because of my previous Cesarean. This is the problem, not the problem. It's one of one of the many problems when it comes to providers looking at VBAC moms. We talk about this in our VBAC course. We should just be someone going in and having a baby, but we are not viewed that way. And it's extremely frustrating because not only do they not view us that way, they make us know and feel that they don't view us that way.Julia: Right, right.Meagan: It's just, it feels crummy.Julia: Absolutely. We knew we were making the right decision. I was really excited about the whole thing. That was another thing that I talked to my OB about. I was like, "I'm excited to be in labor. I want to welcome all these sensations of birth. I know it's going to be hard work, but that experience means something to me and I want that." And she had said, "Well, if you ask other moms who had been through labor, they would say it's painful, it's hard." She was basically saying, I shouldn't want this birth experience. I just didn't want to be fighting that or dealing with someone who had this view on birth that it's just this dangerous medical event. I didn't want to go through feeling defeated like I did last time.Meagan: Absolutely. Good for you for recognizing that and then doing what you needed to do to not have that experience.Julia: Right? Thank you.So I had mentioned that I really wanted to go into spontaneous labor. I didn't want to be induced at all. That's another reason why I'm so thankful that I was with my midwife because I went almost all the way to 43 weeks pregnant. I went into labor at 42 weeks and 5 days in the middle of the night. Had I had been with my OB, I'm positive that I would have had to deliver much earlier and I would have probably been scheduled for a repeat C-section. So I'm just really happy that I was with my midwife and I felt really confident about waiting. I had NSTs and BPPs, non-stress tests and biophysical profiles done daily starting at 42 weeks just to monitor baby's health and to make sure that everything is normal and it was.So we just opted to wait for spontaneous labor. I'm really glad that I did so that I could go through with the home birth.Meagan: Absolutely. What you were saying, yeah, I know I probably would have been scheduled Cesarean and definitely would have been pressured. I mean, even if you would have said no, the pressure would have been thick, especially going over 41 weeks.Julia: Right.Meagan: And then, let alone 42.Julia: Right. Yeah. The pressure was there. Everyone was well intentioned, asking, "Have you had your baby yet?" But I was getting these questions as early as like 38 weeks, 39 weeks. I'm like, "Whoa, I'm not even at my due date yet."Everyone was just excited to meet the baby and had friends asking about that. But my immediate family was so supportive and I'm so, so happy that I had that support because just feeling that from my midwife and from my parents and my husband, knowing that they all really believed in me and we were confident with waiting. As long as everything looked good with baby, that was really what was most important. So I just kind of tuned everything else out and tried to relax as much as possible.We just went out to dinner a few times and cherished these last couple weeks as a family of three. It finally happened in the middle of the night at 42 weeks and 5 days. I remember when the contractions were first starting. I'd had some contractions on and off for the past few weeks, but nothing consistent. So I just kind of thought, okay, well, this is just some Braxton Hicks or something like that.I noticed that around 2:00 AM, they started getting more consistent. I told my husband and they were getting more intense and a little closer together. We called our midwife around 6:00 AM and she was like, "Yeah. Sounds like you're in early labor." I was just so, so happy and grateful to be in labor.Yes, it was hard work, but I can honestly say I really enjoyed the experience. I thought it was extremely empowering. I just remember thanking God through the surges. We called them surges in HypnoBirthing. Just knowing the awesome work that my body was doing from within to give birth to my baby. I really, really enjoyed the freedom of just being able to eat and drink in labor freely wherever I wanted in my home without any restricting policies. I wasn't tethered to any IVs or monitors. I think that's another thing. In the hospital, that would have added anxiety seeing the monitor constantly. We know that continuous fetal monitoring isn't really evidence-based and leads to more C-sections. I knew in the hospital that would have been something that would have been required so I'm really glad that that wasn't the case at home. I just think the freedom and the autonomy is really what helped my labor to progress so smoothly without any complications.There weren't people coming in and out of my room, and I just really enjoyed the whole experience. Listening to birth affirmations helped me. I was swaying through the surges. My husband had helped me put up twinkle fairy lights in our room, and we had some flickering votive candles on my dresser. It just created this really nice ambiance and a calming atmosphere.It just felt so good to know that my husband really, truly believed in my ability to do this. I mean, I really have to give him a shout-out because he was right there with me not only through all of labor, but when I knew that I wanted a VBAC from the very beginning, he was right there with me reading all the natural childbirth books, doing all the research on VBAC with me.He was just really supportive. That's something I would say is very important for a VBAC mom is to have a support person who's not just present, but truly supportive of you and knows what you're going to need and does the work with you ahead of time so that you can just focus on laboring and they can be there to make sure you have water, and you're fed if you're hungry, so I was really blessed to have him and to have his full support.Meagan: Absolutely.My husband told me, he said, "I just don't understand." He just didn't understand. I get that he didn't understand, but I love hearing this where we're learning together. I want to say to couples or to partners, even if you don't understand, understand and trust that it's important to your partner and be there for them because, like you were saying, it can make such a big impact in the way you feel, the way you view your birth, and your overall experience.Julia: Right. No, and that's so true because I feel like, most people's support person is their husband, and a lot of men feel like maybe they can't really help as much or just say, "Well, the doctor knows what to do. I'm just here, like, for emotional support."But it's so much more than that. My husband learned ahead of time how to do counter pressure, and I actually really didn't need it. I think he had done it once, but what really helped me the most was just leaning on him. I did that most of the time. Just leaning into him, and letting him support my weight. He also did a really great job of reminding me to just focus on my breathing techniques and just relaxing between the surges.All of those natural pain relief remedies were really, really helpful. I bought a TENS machine and a heating pad, but I ended up not needing any of those.Meagan: But you at least were prepared with them.Julia: I was. Yeah, I was definitely prepared. We also had hung up all my birth affirmations. We had done a lot of meditation and visualization exercises throughout pregnancy, and so I used some of those as well. He was really great at reminding me just saying, "I love you. You're doing it. You're doing a great job." That was very helpful just feeling him there.Meagan: Yeah, absolutely.So with postpartum, this is also another common question. Is it better postpartum from my Cesarean versus my VBAC? What would you say? And any tips that you have for healing through your VBAC?Julia: Yeah, so my postpartum experience this time around is so much better. It's a night and day difference, not just physically healing like that. My VBAC is nothing compared to the C section. I think a lot of people fail to realize that a C-section is major, major abdominal surgery. Anyone else who had major abdominal surgery would be sent home to be on bed rest for weeks and you have to care for a newborn on top of that. With my C-section, I was a first-time mom. It was so overwhelming. Everything was new to me. I had a lot of pain with breastfeeding at first. I attribute a lot of that to the nurses making me pump. I was never sized for flanges. I just used the ones that came with the Medella and they weren't sized to me.I think that caused a lot of nipple damage. I ended up getting mastitis at two weeks postpartum the first time around and had to go back into the hospital for that and just had so much pain with latching that I ended up exclusively pumping for my son. I'm really proud because I was able to do that for two years, so he had breastmilk for two years.Meagan: That is a commitment.Julia: Yes, it was such a commitment. But I'm really, really happy that I did it and it was worth it to me. I just didn't want that negative experience of the birth and all that damage that happened early on from the pump to affect this because I really knew I wanted to breastfeed, and I was able to do it with exclusive pumping.And then this time around, it was just so much better. Breastfeeding is going great, and I've seen some research on that too. When you have a positive birth experience, that can also affect breastfeeding and even the first latch and everything.Just your emotions surrounding postpartum, when you go through something like that and you feel supported and in charge of your birth, you go into motherhood feeling the same way.Meagan: Yeah.Julia: I can't explain how much better it is this time around. That's why I really encourage all moms to know that you can do your own research and especially VBAC moms, there's so much out there about uterine rupture, and when you look at the relative risk versus the absolute risk, these are the kinds of things that you may not know to do because your doctor is just going to present the statistics one way. But we know that the way that those statistics are presented really greatly impacts what decision you make. And it's important to understand that.And so I would say my biggest tip for VBAC moms is to just really do your own research and find a provider who you feel like in your gut is going to be there for you, and is going to really believe in you. Meagan: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's what I was looking for with my crazy interview process was someone who I didn't just think would be there to be there, but be there to support me and really root for me and really be on my team, not just be there. I just think it makes such a big, big difference. And kind of going away from provider but coming into due dates and waiting longer. When I say longer, past the traditional 39 to 41 weeks. Now you were mentioning, people were even saying at 38 weeks, "Hey, have you had your baby? When are you gonna have your baby?" Oh my gosh. And these people, most of the time, I would say 99% of the time, they really just are excited for you to have your baby. And so if you're listening and maybe you have this situation, do say things like, "Hey, oh my gosh, I'm just so excited for you," not like, "When are you going toa have this baby?" Because it does start taking a toll sometimes on mom's mental health at the end.I wanted to also talk a little bit about due dates because Evidence Based Birth-- Rebecca Dekker, she's incredible. If you guys don't know them yet, go check out Evidence Based Birth. They've got a lot of really great blogs. But there is just a little part of a large blog that I wanted to read about and her little bullet point says, "Is the traditional due date really your due date?" I think this just fits so well here because you were 42 weeks and which day again?Julia: 42 weeks and 5 days.Meagan: 5 days, that's what I was thinking. So 42 weeks and 5 days. So obviously your traditional due date that you were given weeks before wasn't really true. Right? So it says, "Based on the best evidence, there is no such thing as an exact due date, and the estimated due date of 40 weeks is not accurate. Instead, it would be more appropriate to say that there is a normal range of time in which most people give birth. About half of all pregnant people will go into labor on their own by 40 weeks and 5 days for first-time mothers or 40 weeks and 3 days for mothers who have given birth before. The other half will not." Then it says, "Are there some things that can make your pregnancy longer? By far, the most important predictor of a longer pregnancy is family history of long pregnancies, including your own personal history, your mother, your sisters, etc. and the history of the baby's biological father's family history as well." In 2013, there was a large study that was looked at with more than 475,000 Swedish births, most of which were dated with an ultrasound before 20 weeks in that they found that genetics had an increasingly strong influence on your chance of giving birth after 42 weeks. Okay, there's so much more you guys. It talks about if you've had a post-term birth before, you have a 4.4 times more likely chance of having another post-term, if I can read, with the same partner. If you've had post-term birth before, then you switch partners, you have 3.4 times the chance of having another post- term birth with your new partner. And if your sister had a post-term birth, you have a 1.8 times the chance of having a post-term birth. You guys, it goes on and on and on. This is such a great article and eye opening in my opinion. I'm going to attach it in the show notes and it does continue to go on for risk for mothers, risk for infants.What about stillbirth? We know that is a huge topic when it comes to going past your due date just like uterine rupture is a huge topic for VBAC. I feel like when due dates come in, it's stillbirth. And she actually says that. It says up until the 1980s, some research thought that the risk of stillbirth past 41 to 42 weeks was similar to the risk of stillbirth earlier. She's going to go back and talk with how it definitely is a different measurement here, but the stats are there. The evidence is there. But look at you. You went. You trusted your body. You went with your body. You did what you needed to do to take extra precautions and had a beautiful, beautiful experience.Julia: Yeah, I'm really happy that I did trust my intuition and I did the research. All those things that you were talking about like risk of stillbirth and everything that you hear, there's a common thing that goes around social media like, "Oh, nothing good happens past 40 weeks." But that's just not the case.If you look at other countries that are like very similar in economic status to us in the US, due dates are calculated differently everywhere, so who's to say that this mythical 40-week due date is the end all be all? A lot of other countries won't even induce prior to 42 weeks unless there's like an issue. In the US, we see so many people routinely getting induced at 39 weeks, so I just think's it's really a cultural thing, so we we come to believe that it's the safest thing.But when you step back and do your own research, you can get a full picture and you can see, why are we inducing without any, any contraindication? Like why are people being presented Cesarean section as if it's just a minor procedure?I feel like in the Business of Being Born documentary, if you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend everybody watching it really, because it shows how C-sections have become so much more popular and the reasons why they think that is and just the flaws in the medical system. It was just really eye opening and really encouraged me on my VBAC journey. It gave me a lot of tips and information and led me to find other resources. VBAC Facts was another really great thing that I referenced a lot. Evidence Based Birth like you had mentioned, and then of course, listening to The VBAC Link Podcast and podcasts of moms who have really positive VBAC stories because you only hear the negative a lot of the time.With birth in general, I feel like, it's just presented as such a scary thing. I really want to encourage women to know that birth is made to be this way. It doesn't have to be some scary out of control thing where you're at the mercy of a doctor or a provider telling you when to push or telling you to do something that you don't feel comfortable doing. When we trust nature and we surrender to the power of labor, it's really sacred. It's beautiful. It's normal, and most of all, it's safe in most cases.We don't have to fight it or medicalize it. And in the words of Ricky Lake, who gave birth in her bathtub in that stellar documentary Business of Being Born, she had said, "Birth is not an illness. It's not something that needed to be numbed. It needed to be experienced." For anyone who's planning or would like to plan an unmedicated birth, you can get a lot of resistance or people who don't understand. But I really encourage you to know that you can do it, that women have been doing it for generations. And just keep those affirmations in your mind and believe in yourself. You have to do that.Meagan: Exactly. I love that you pointed that out. There are so many times that we do treat birth as this medical event, this illness, this problem, and it's just not. It's not. It's not. I don't know what else to say. It is not. And we have to change our view. And just like you were re saying, it's a cultural thing. We have to change or it's just not going to get better. It could get worse. We're seeing the Cesarean rate. We're seeing these things happen. And there's a problem. There's a problem out there. We have to start stepping back and realizing that birth is not that medical event and we can trust this process. And our bodies were meant to do this. And they do it every day. Every day, all over the world. Every single day, a baby is born, probably thousands. I don't even know the exact number. But we can do this. We don't have to, we don't have to treat it like that.Julia: Right. That's what I really liked about the midwifery model of care. It was just so different to my experience with, with my OB. I think a lot of people fail to realize that in most other parts of the world, low-risk women are attended by midwives and the obstetricians are there to take care of the percentage of women who are having issues. With home birth, you can think, oh well, what if something goes wrong and you're not in the hospital setting?But what a lot of people don't realize is that oftentimes these interventions that are routinely done in the hospital that most of the time they don't even ask for permission to do, or they present it in a way that they're helping you actually lead to some of these devastating consequences, like low-risk women going in and then ending up with a C-section for reasons that they often can't even understand.And so that's something that I really feel passionately about is just encouraging women to advocate for yourself and to know ahead of time, what is routine and why are they offering this? Is this for your benefit or for the doctor's benefit? With all these risks of these different things that can happen, like Pitocin, which is commonly used to induce or augment labor, you might not need that. Or did you know that if they started that you can ask for them to shut it off?You should be in charge of your birth. When you're in that setting, it can be intimidating and you might feel like you don't have a voice, especially when you're already in a vulnerable position in labor. So I was really confident with my midwives' ability to look out for anything that may go wrong. But I love her hands-off approach. She didn't intervene. She just stood back and was just there to witness. There was no telling me when to push. I was able to experience the fetal ejection reflex which was really cool. I just felt my body pushing for me and surrendered to that. She was there to make sure that everything was going smoothly. I was the one who picked my baby up out of the water and she just stood back while my husband and my baby and I met each other for the first time. It was just all really special. That's something I want to say. With the risk of uterine rupture that you hear about with VBAC, that wasn't even in my mind. I didn't have someone there constantly telling me, "Oh, well, we're seeing this on the monitor," or scaring me with the very, very slim chance of rupture.Meagan: Exactly. Oh, so many good tips, such a great story. I am just so grateful that you are here today sharing it with us.Julia: I'm really grateful to be here and to share my story with everybody.ClosingWould 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

Kirsty and Anthony are the owners of Sweatworx - a personal training and group fitness class. After many years being a leading fitness company in Kansas City, they are excited to announce the grand opening of their very own building located in Corbin Park. With the new building they will be rebranding their company to Alpha Collective.Alpha Collective will be your one stop shop for everything health, fitness and wellness.Not only will they provide their small class and boot camp style classes every day, but they will have cold plunges, saunas, vitamin IVs and acupuncture!This "one of a kind" facility will be opening in the next few weeks!

Episode summary and time stamps I. Introduction (0:00-1:31) Host Intro: Introduces Gillian Ehrlich, DNP, ARNP,(Neuroveda Health), highlighting expertise in complex chronic illness, blending #Ayurveda, conventional nursing, #functionalmedicine, and #integrativemedicine. Mentions therapies: #ketamine, #plasmapheresis, #IVtherapies, and conditions treated (e.g., #fibromyalgia, #chronicfatigue, #POTS, #longCOVID). II. Early Influences (1:31-10:38) Childhood: Grew up in polluted Cleveland, OH, noticing tired adults; standard American diet. Jane Esselstyn: Health teacher (daughter of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn) inspired her with her focus on outdoor education and veganism. Hypermobility: Personal experience with #hypermobility, #EhlersDanlosSyndrome, #POTS, and #mastcellactivation led to finding exercise that worked (rowing). Exploration: Interested in health, but questioned the traditional medical model; explored outdoor leadership, farming, sailing. Ayurveda: Introduced to #Ayurveda by a friend, attended classes with Dr. Vasant Lad, then studied at the Ayurvedic Institute (2000-2001). III. Integrating Ayurveda with Western Medicine (10:38-13:48) Desire for Change: Aimed to bring #Ayurveda insights into conventional medicine; mentored by Keisha Ewers, Dr. Eileen Ruhoy, and Arti Chandra. Challenges: Faced limitations in using #Ayurveda in primary care systems (Swedish, Harborview), due to visit length restrictions. Neuroveda Health: Created own practice to practice freely, offering customized treatments and practical support. IV. Patient Experiences and Philosophy (13:48-18:11) Individuality: Believes people thrive when being themselves, not "average;" Sees beauty in human diversity. Teacher Role: Sees herself as a teacher, helping patients understand needs; emphasizes relaxation for healing (using humor for comfort). Patient Focus: Patients should leave feeling empowered and with the tools to improve their health. V. Neuroveda Health & Integrative Approach (18:11-32:04) Spectrum of Health: Sees complex disease and #longevity as a spectrum of #oxidativeStress, sharing similar approaches. Pancha Karma: Introduced #PanchaKarma (Ayurvedic detoxification), with key components: oilation, treatments, and elimination. Executive Longevity Program (ELP): Modeled on #PanchaKarma, offers 3-21 day programs. Includes #Ayurvedic bodywork, #plasmapheresis, #IVIG, #stemcells, #prolotherapy, ozone, #NAD, mitochondrial #IVs, #ketamine therapy. Designed for significant shifts and then a return to primary providers. Diagnostics/Therapies: Offers autonomic testing, EDS evaluation, skin biopsies, craniocervical instability testing, and other advanced therapies. Frustrations: Noted that patients find #Ayurveda after exhausting all other options. Emphasized the need for neuroplasticity. VI. Ayurvedic Principles in Practice (32:04-37:53) Core Philosophy: #Ayurvedic medicine is core, integrating therapies within this framework. Plasmapheresis/Raktamokshana: Links #plasmapheresis to #Ayurvedic practice of "Raktamokshana" (blood removal) part of #PanchaKarma. Personalization: Treatment is based on disease patterns and #doshas. Case Example: CRPS patient case of using gentle massage because of high #Vata; Digestion was a consideration in her case. Unique Approach: #Neuroveda has a unifying philosophy rooted in #Ayurveda, while other clinics may just combine modalities. VII. Closing Thoughts (37:53-39:35) Keywords: #Ayurveda, #IntegrativeMedicine, #FunctionalMedicine, #ChronicIllness, #PanchaKarma, #Plasmapheresis, #Ketamine, #IVTherapies, #Hypermobility, #EhlersDanlosSyndrome, #POTS, #MastCellActivationSyndrome, #NeurovedaHealth, #Doshas, #Vata, #OxidativeStress, #Raktamokshana, #Longevity, #MECFS, #longCOVID https://www.neurovedahealth.com/ https://www.neurovedahealth.com/executive

In this episode, we discuss instrumental variables with Dr. Rita Hamad of Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health. This episode is focused on the first part of Chapter 28 of Modern Epidemiology 4th edition on quasi experimental methods. We start with what quasi experimental designs are and why we would want to use them (and whether more epidemiologists are being exposed to them). We also talk about why these methods are more common in economics than in epi. We talk about how these methods try to take advantage of something that approximates randomization to estimate causal effects. We talk about what instrumental variables are and the conditions required to be met for a variable to be an instrument. We focus on the strengths and limitations of the methods and when they make the most sense to use them. We talk about what happens when you violate the assumptions of IV. We talk about weak and strong IVs and we talk about Mendelian randomization and its role in epi. And we ask the age-old question, how do you find the elusive instrumental variable?

On today's episode of The Wholesome Fertility Podcast, I speak to author of “Carry On” @carryonthebook Shea Bart Andreone @shea_andreone . Shea shares her deeply personal journey through fertility challenges, pregnancy struggles, and the emotional rollercoaster of loss and hope. She discusses her desire to become a parent, the difficulties she faced with hyperemesis gravidarum, and the heartbreak of losing a pregnancy. Ultimately, Shea emphasizes the importance of resilience and the joy of welcoming her children into the world. In this heartfelt conversation, Shea Bart Andreone shares her journey through the challenges of parenthood, including loss, the search for control, and the importance of community support. She discusses her book 'Carry On', which compiles true stories of individuals navigating the complexities of starting a family. The conversation emphasizes the significance of hope and resilience in the face of adversity, and the need for emotional support in healing. Be sure to tune in as you won't want to miss our deeply touching and hope filled conversation!   Takeaways   Shea always wanted to be a parent and started her journey with high hopes. Fertility struggles are common and can be emotionally taxing. Hyperemesis gravidarum is a severe form of morning sickness that can lead to significant health challenges. Shea experienced extreme nausea and weight loss during her pregnancy. The emotional toll of pregnancy loss is profound and can lead to feelings of guilt and despair. Shea's journey highlights the unpredictability of pregnancy and the importance of being adaptable. The desire to have children can drive individuals to persevere through immense challenges. Finding peace is possible, even amidst uncertainty. Loss can lead to discovering new activities that provide control. Writing can be a powerful outlet for processing experiences. Community support is crucial for those facing fertility challenges. The journey of parenthood can be isolating without connection. Stories of others can provide comfort and understanding. It's important to seek out community and support during difficult times.   Guest Bio:   Shea Bart Andreone was raised in Queens, New York, but moved west and loves California. She is a writer of numerous plays, essays, and maintains a blog called Twig Hugger. Shea has written multiple articles for mom and parent-oriented platforms (The Next Family, Motherfigure, LA Parent, Your Teen Magazine, and Chicken Soup For The Soul). Carry On is her first book and she hopes that it can provide hope and comfort to those who are on the fertility journey.    Websites: https://sheabartandreone.com/  Instagram: @carryonthebook @shea_andreone  X: X.comCarryOnTheBook   For more information about Michelle, visit: www.michelleoravitz.com The Wholesome FertilityFacebook group is where you can find free resources and support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/ Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus/     Transcript:   Michelle (00:00) Welcome to the podcast,   Shea Bart Andreone (00:01) Thank you. Thanks for having me.   Michelle (00:04) Yeah, it's a pleasure having you and I would love for you to share your story and what got you inspired to write your book Carry On. would love for you to share that with the listeners.   Shea Bart Andreone (00:17) I would love to. So I always loved kids. I always wanted a younger sibling. I wanted to babysit when my parents decided they were never gonna have another child. I'm the youngest with a big age gap. So I took on all things that could keep me around.   Michelle (00:36) Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (00:45) kids so that I felt like I could be a big sister or a babysat. And I taught kids and ran day camps and stuff like that. I always knew that I wanted to be a parent and start a family. So when I did finally find the person to do that with, I thought, okay, well, when we get to that moment, it's just gonna be easy peasy and   you know, that's so exciting. We make the decision and we go. And of course, like every listener of your podcast and many, many more people around the world, it doesn't always work that way. So it took me quite a bit of time to figure out what to do. You you're instructed pretty quickly to try for longer and   I just, think I knew something was going to stop me unless I got help, but I, I did see my regular OB at the time and she suggested that we do an HSG, where they flush the iodine up your fallopian tubes. And she discovered that, I, I, you can really feel that.   Michelle (02:04) Not a fun test.   Yeah, it's crazy, but I hear so many things, so many stories, and I just wish doctors would just let people know like what's coming.   Shea Bart Andreone (02:19) Yeah, like exactly what you're gonna feel. Yeah, no, we have to experience it for ourselves. So that resulted in finding out that I had a fibroid right at the opening of my uterus. So I had scheduled the surgery to get it removed and somehow in...   Michelle (02:21) Yeah.   Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (02:48) that, well, not somehow. We know how making babies can work. I guess my husband and I were continuing to try and because of the HSG, it pushed the fibroid a little bit out of the way and I was able to actually conceive. But the fibroid and the pregnancy, they were fighting for the blood supply.   Michelle (03:16) So just backing up, were you about to do surgery for it, but then you stopped because you got pregnant?   Shea Bart Andreone (03:22) Yeah, so I scheduled a surgery and then ended up in crazy, crazy pain. like pain I'd never experienced before, like just shocking, like sharp, sharp pain. And I ended up calling the doctor and she said, go to the emergency room. And it was in the emergency room that I found out I was actually pregnant.   Michelle (03:30) Mm.   wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (03:52) And I was told basically, you gotta just kind of deal with this because they didn't know which one would win out. So I waited and I took whatever I could for pain, but not a lot, because I was like, well, I think I had a feeling like, no, no, no, I'm pregnant. Like, this is amazing.   Michelle (04:06) Got it.   wow, you felt it before they confirmed it?   Shea Bart Andreone (04:22) No, no, no. I definitely didn't know when I went in, but once I was, I was very protective. I was like, no, I don't, you can tell me all you want that like, there's a chance this won't stick, but I'm going to protect this. So I was very, very careful. And then in the end, that doctor was really not helpful. And I had like,   Michelle (04:25) Okay.   Yeah.   Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. For sure.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (04:51) crazy pain on the following Monday and ended up like my sister-in-law said, just go to my doctor, just go to my doctor. So I went to her doctor and I had a very like strong clear line in the sand that I would not go to a male doctor. And I felt like at that point I was like, okay, like we all have things on this journey that we think we're not gonna do. And we think we're gonna like,   Michelle (05:09) Mm-hmm.   Yes.   Shea Bart Andreone (05:19) okay, I'm never gonna do IVF or I'm never gonna do IUI and I'm not gonna, and then like, you're like, well, I'm gonna change that. So I started with him and I really do think that because of that situation, I ended up in the right hands. So luckily for me, like that pregnancy ended up sticking.   Michelle (05:22) It's true.   that's great.   Shea Bart Andreone (05:49) and that fibroid eventually just sort of died off. However, within, I think I felt good for like two weeks and then I started feeling symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum, which is, yeah, a few weeks in, I started feeling severely nauseous and,   Michelle (06:06) Mm-hmm. You mean early in the pregnancy.   Mm-hmm.   Right.   Shea Bart Andreone (06:18) I thought, okay, well, this will pass. This is what they tell people, like, know, morning sickness, but it's not morning sickness. Hyperamesis Gravidarum is like, if I threw up eight times in a day, that was a really good day. And I broke all the blood vessels in my face daily from the pressure of vomiting. And the blood vessels in my eyes were...   Michelle (06:35) Wow, yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (06:48) Like my, I had bloodshot eyes and just could not remember a time that I liked food. Like it was so awful to me. Like the idea of it, sipping water, anything. And originally, like...   Michelle (07:04) Yeah, that's that's a big thing, too, because people get dehydrated.   Shea Bart Andreone (07:08) Yeah, yeah, and I tried everything. tried like, you know, motion sickness bands and you know, there were lollipops that were supposed to help and ice pops and nothing, nothing, nothing. And I just didn't want anything. And that, you know, began the insane journey of my pregnancy because that led me to lose about 15 pounds.   Michelle (07:18) Mm-hmm.   Wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (07:37) And my doctor didn't quite realize how bad it was. And when he did, he was like, I am giving you medication that is going to stop the, you know, the vomiting for a few days and you have to eat. If you do not gain weight by Monday or stay the same, I have to admit you for a feeding tube. So we took the weekend.   Michelle (07:54) Yeah.   Wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (08:06) And my husband was like, can you think of anything, any food you ever liked? And I was like, pizza.   Michelle (08:18) Ha ha ha ha!   Shea Bart Andreone (08:21) For like kid food, I went to growing up, had, I think was, had Elio's frozen pizza and tater tots. And I was like, I don't even know where that came from, but okay, let's try that. And the medication was so intense that you basically like, you could eat and then you'd fall asleep. And so that started on a Friday and Saturday midday, I woke up and I felt like,   Michelle (08:23) Yeah.   The simple things.   Shea Bart Andreone (08:51) I couldn't stop moving. Like I was very restless. And I felt like this must be what restless leg syndrome is like, but it feels like this for my whole body. And that was crazy because I'd never experienced a situation like that before where you feel like it's out of control. Like you can't say kind of wreaks havoc on your mind because you don't want to keep moving, but you are.   Michelle (08:53) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (09:21) Yeah.   Michelle (09:21) Yeah, yeah. Is that from, was that from the medication side effect? my God, you poor thing. You got tortured.   Shea Bart Andreone (09:25) Yeah.   It's the yeah, it got worse too. Then I got jaw lock.   Michelle (09:31) no.   no.   Shea Bart Andreone (09:37) So like my entire jaw just locked to one side. And once that started, it didn't let go for 16 hours.   Michelle (09:42) no.   my God.   Shea Bart Andreone (09:51) And the only thing that would help is sometimes I could put all my upper body weight over my husband's shoulder and it would like kind of fall. And at one point in that time it moved to the other side, but it was so uncomfortable and so painful. And I remember walking to use the bathroom at some point and looking at the toilet and thinking, I'd actually rather throw up than this. Like, I'm like.   Michelle (10:01) Mm-hmm.   Mm.   poor thing. my gosh. And was that also from the medication? Wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (10:24) Yeah. And it's interesting how your brain can only focus on one thing at a time, because in the back of my mind, I was like, how could I remain pregnant through all of this? my body is going through so much trauma right now. I don't know how. And   Michelle (10:34) Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (10:49) I knew that my husband was thinking the same thing, but we weren't discussing it because I was so distracted by the pain and the discomfort. But I knew that he was calling the doctor and trying to find out like, would this baby be okay? And fortunately he got the answer that like, this, guess what you eat doesn't.   Michelle (11:08) Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (11:18) always and what you what medicine doesn't always go fully like you do filter those things out to a degree. And I remember the next, you know, that was over the weekend and I went back and I, I was able to maintain my weight. So he did not have to send me to the hospital. But I remember, like waiting with bated breath to see that ultrasound on Monday morning. And   Michelle (11:46) Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (11:46) there was the baby inside with its legs crossed and an arm back and like yeah I've been fine in here.   Michelle (11:55) lounging. That's amazing.   Shea Bart Andreone (12:00) Like, I know you've been in hell, but I'm having a vacation.   Michelle (12:03) I'm sure you tell the story. It's interesting because my mom actually reminded me again. You have stories that you just keep hearing over and over and over again. But truthfully, mean, suffered secondary infertility to conceive me. So I'm kind of a product of secondary infertility. And she's tried and tried and tried. She said every time I get my period, I cry.   Shea Bart Andreone (12:06) Yeah.   Michelle (12:28) And it was really the stories of the people that I treat. It's so crazy how that comes full circle. And I'm kind of like the proof that a woman can go through all of this and still have a baby. And she also had the same thing. I don't know how severe it was, but to the point where she lost so much weight, she was under a hundred pounds and her doctor said, listen, we got to abort this child. You're not going to survive. And she's like, no way.   You know, and it was, it's pretty crazy. You know, you go through this journey and then you advice that you're like, no, no, no, no, no, this is not happening.   Shea Bart Andreone (13:04) Yeah, you get advice and then also like you try again and willingly enter something this crazy because the power and the, you know, the need and the, yeah. Yeah. That desire to have children is, is pretty huge. pretty, it's, it's, it's quite magical and   Michelle (13:10) Mm-hmm.   The belief really, right? The belief in that desire.   Shea Bart Andreone (13:34) wondrous, I think. Yeah. Yeah.   Michelle (13:37) I agree. I think it's meant to be there. Like, I don't think that it's a random thing. People feel that really strong calling and I don't think it's random. It's not just something that was kind of planted there for no reason. I think it's because you're meant to find the baby in one way the other. Like you were saying before about how maybe you don't expect it to be IVF, but maybe it is, and then you can kind of go back and forth. But even with...   egg donor or embryo donor or even adoption. I've had people talk about that and they said I was meant to have that baby. Like it was that calling. just that I was trying to control how it was going to show up.   Shea Bart Andreone (14:17) Yeah, yeah, it's really wild. mean, the things when you listen to other people's stories, sometimes you're like, why didn't you stop? And like, mean, or how did you keep going? How did you persevere? like, I follow someone online who is pregnant right now. And this is the first positive pregnancy test that she's gotten in over eight, like in eight years of trying. While you wait.   Michelle (14:28) Mm-hmm.   I think I saw that one. Yes. It was amazing. It was really, my God, I got the chills with the video that she showed. was like, that was amazing.   Shea Bart Andreone (14:47) Yes, it was amazing!   Yeah, like to see that double line. yeah, that's a long time. And people go through a lot. And it is not something for anyone on the outside to judge or decide or advise on because that desire, like you said, it's pretty wild. Yeah, yeah.   Michelle (14:57) Yeah, after eight years.   Yeah.   It's real.   Shea Bart Andreone (15:22) So in the end, I did get a very healthy baby and a baby girl. did not find out the gender and in the middle of a contraction, my husband, we had names for both a boy and a girl and in the middle of a contraction, my husband goes, I gotta tell you something. I don't like the boy's name. And I was like, I can't talk to you right now.   Michelle (15:45) That's funny. That is so funny.   Shea Bart Andreone (15:52) So for that sake, we were very happy to have a girl. Like we were happy to have a girl anyway. think we admitted to each other we really wanted a girl, but like, obviously we would have been over the moon for anything except that I don't know what we would have named that boy. So, you know, when she was about...   Michelle (15:59) Yeah.   Yeah, that's so funny.   Shea Bart Andreone (16:17) close to three. I wanted some time. I was really, really enjoying just like feeling healthy and raising a baby and not rushed to have another one. And so I thought, okay, well, when she like goes into preschool, then I can try to do this again. And this time I did get pregnant right away. And   was pretty sick right away as well. And my doctor found this team that like sends an IV, like teaches you guys, like a couple to do their own IVs. And I was set up to give myself, to put a port into my belly every morning with an IV that I wore as a pack.   Michelle (17:01) Mm.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (17:16) that was to help me to stop throwing up. And unfortunately,   I feel like, you know, anything I deal with, like there's research that comes out like a year or two later that like, that could have helped me in that situation, but unfortunately it didn't. But the medicine that was given to me at the time is no longer on the market for pregnancies because it can stop the heart from beating. So in...   Michelle (17:33) wow.   Uh-huh.   my gosh, wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (17:55) you know, at our 12 week ultrasound, which I was hoping to celebrate, was, and talk about like power and instinct. That morning, I felt like something was wrong. And I don't know where that feeling came from, because it's too soon at that point to really feel anything, you know.   Michelle (18:15) my gosh.   Shea Bart Andreone (18:24) moving around, but I just felt like something was wrong. And I remember looking at the sky and it was like this perfect blue and telling myself that no matter what happens today, that sky is still going to be blue. And just to hold on to like, not everything is lost. And I don't, I really don't even know why I felt this like foreboding, foreshadowing feeling. but   Michelle (18:43) Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (18:54) know, the doctor was, we were waiting in the room for the doctor and my husband was joking around and I said, I don't know, I don't feel like joking around. you know, when the doctor came in all friendly right away, I said, don't feel, I feel like some, I was very straightforward in a way that I don't think I usually am. And I was right, there was no heartbeat.   Michelle (19:03) Mm-hmm.   Wow.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (19:21) and I was too far along to like have anything done in the office. So I had to get checked into the hospital and yeah, it was really, really rough and awful because I felt like...   I tried so hard to do the right thing and to like keep everybody healthy. And it was awful doing like, you know, the port and injecting myself every day and all of that. And it still didn't work. So we ended up naming that baby, the name that I...   Michelle (19:43) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (20:08) show is with my, what I thought with my husband, but he didn't really like it. And I said, I know you didn't really like this name, but can I use it for this baby? And in that moment, he said, yep, but why don't you give all the other names that we're not gonna use next time. And that was the first time I heard him agree, like, we'll try again.   Michelle (20:13) you   wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (20:34) I hadn't thought that, like, guess it was, like, it was a lot for me, but I knew I wanted to try, but I kind of felt like, like I said about advice that came from others, like, it felt like everything in the universe was saying, you have gone through enough, take your one child, be grateful and move on. And for him to say, we will try again, it just gave me such a sense of relief that we were on the same page.   But we did agree that no matter what happened, this would be the last time because our daughter couldn't live through that again. And we couldn't, you know, do that. So we were gonna, so we tried again this time with no medication and only an IV for fluid. So I...   Michelle (20:59) Yeah.   Mm-hmm. Yeah.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (21:24) It's strange, hyperemesis is a weird thing. Like I definitely got it all three times that I was pregnant, but with the first one and the third one, the time of day that I could eat was totally different. I, with this, the last pregnancy, I could eat something in the morning, but once like one o'clock came, that's it. Like the gate was closed. Like there's no more putting any food or liquid into your body.   Michelle (21:30) Mm-hmm.   huh.   Shea Bart Andreone (21:54) so I did what I can, like I did what I could to eat before that time. and you know, we navigated it and, and I had a healthy baby boy. so I, I am very, very grateful and definitely, I'm aware, especially when I talk to others that are in the middle of their story.   Michelle (22:07) amazing.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (22:24) that   You don't know how your journey is going to end. really don't know how you're going to get to where you get to. But,   I know it's so cliche, like, whatever is supposed to happen, like the end of the story, it works out in the end. Like whether or not you get the biological child or adoption or foster or five dogs.   Michelle (22:56) Yeah. Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (22:58) you find peace at some point. I, my heart, yeah, my heart goes out to the people that are still in that journey and they don't have the ending yet.   Michelle (23:02) Yeah, I mean that makes sense.   Yeah, it's the ending. It's, things start to make sense at the end. And then you realize, had it not been for that exact moment, the genetics, all the alignment wouldn't be that exact child that you have. And, you know, obviously when you're holding that child in your hands, you're like, I wouldn't change this for anything. but sometimes it can be really scary because when you're going through it, you're walking into like a dark room, cause you have no idea how things are going to play out.   Shea Bart Andreone (23:37) Yeah. Yeah.   Michelle (23:38) And that the unknown, as we know, is like the scariest things for humans. all, nobody likes that. It's just the unknown. And especially when it comes to such a strong desire that is so primal. Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (23:43) Yeah.   Yeah, yeah. And so universal. mean, it's just procreating. That's what we think we're wired. I mean, we are wired and we think that we're meant to do it and it doesn't work out that way for everybody. So in all of that, for me though, especially in the miscarriage part, I felt like   Michelle (23:59) Yep.   Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (24:21) I didn't know who to go to and I didn't know where to, like, didn't feel, obviously I had at the time, like a three year old. And so either everyone around me in my circle at the time had a second child already or was trying to. And I didn't, I don't want to go to those people in that time.   So I ended up calling a friend of mine who had also lost several babies at the same week because I needed very specific support at that time. Like someone who really   Michelle (25:00) wow.   Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, that's somebody who can understand.   Shea Bart Andreone (25:09) Yeah, like understand exactly. And I talked to her and then she maybe led me to someone else. And I discovered that each woman that I spoke to had felt such a loss of control with their trajectory of what they had planned.   that they found activities that they could control to keep them a little bit grounded. It's such an ungrounding time. And one of them was like painting pottery, you know, plant pots. One ran a marathon. One was cooking and started to become a chef.   Michelle (25:45) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (26:06) And I realized that there were these like stories of activities that have, and, you know, hobbies or whatnot that came out of this. And I, I was like, okay, I got to find my, activity. So, and, and like I said, like something I can control, something I can, you know, seek from start to finish and have an outcome.   Michelle (26:07) wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (26:36) because I can't do that with a baby.   Michelle (26:36) Mm-hmm.   That's so interesting. This is the first time I've ever heard anybody put it in that way. I find it so interesting and I think that is really powerful.   Shea Bart Andreone (26:48) Yeah, it made sense to me once I realized this common thread. I was like, I get it. So I took up sewing and realized really quickly that is not going to be my thing. was one of those things I was always curious about and I like maybe took an eighth grade and didn't totally understand it. And so I was like, I'm going to try it now. And I was like,   Michelle (26:57) Mm-hmm.   Which that happens too.   Shea Bart Andreone (27:18) Nope, don't have any control over this either. But I was writing and I decided, that is something that I can do and I really love it and it can be an outlet for me. And so I decided to, because I couldn't think about anything else, to compile these stories from people.   Michelle (27:19) Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (27:47) and their hurdles and their stories of trying to become a parent. And that is how the book, Carry On, came to be. And it is stories of infertility and adoption and fostering. And most stories in the book have a happy ending, but not all the stories in the book.   Michelle (27:57) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (28:18) And yeah, mean, a lot of them, like when you're in the, if you, before you get to the end of that chapter for that person, you're like, whew. But there, you know, every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. so it's been, it, it, it's been wild to, interview people and learn about people. And you know, it is, because it's.   Michelle (28:29) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (28:47) It's my book and I put it together with all these different people. I thought I was done with it a couple of years ago. And again, talk about control and you think you're going to put a deadline on yourself and it has a life of its own. But I made a fairly new friend in the last few years.   Michelle (28:56) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm. Things change.   Shea Bart Andreone (29:17) And we got to know each other over something completely unrelated to fertility. And it was actually like activism against violence for something. we just connected and realized like, we should be friends, but we were so busy focusing on the cause that it took like a couple of months for us to get together and go for a walk before I like.   looked at her and said, so what do you do? Who are you? And she asked the same of me and I said, you I'm working on this book. And she said, if I had known you before, I probably would have been a chapter in your book.   Michelle (29:49) Yeah.   my gosh, wow.   Shea Bart Andreone (30:05) And it took me another couple of months of getting to know her and realizing that like, actually her story really does belong in this book and it is my book. So even though it's been done for a while, I'm adding it. So her story is one of the chapters in the book and she's the one that drew the line in the sand and said, I am never doing IVF. Like that's as far as I'll go.   Michelle (30:16) Mmm. Wow.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (30:34) And if she didn't do IVF, she wouldn't have her child.   Michelle (30:41) Wow, it's amazing how that happens.   Shea Bart Andreone (30:44) Yeah, and she and her story is really fascinating too because   Like mine, her health was at risk, you know, in order to have her child, but she, you know, went through 20 weeks of pregnancy with twins via IVF and unfortunately she lost those babies. And then, you know, knew what to expect the next time around. But when she wanted a second child,   it was just too much for her to like endure again, but it wasn't an option for her to not have a second child. So her second child is actually adopted from Ethiopia.   Michelle (31:33) my is beautiful.   Shea Bart Andreone (31:36) So it's a pretty amazing story.   Michelle (31:40) That's amazing. That's so beautiful. I had a guest, a previous guest, Dr. Lisa Miller. She wrote The Awakened Brain. She has an incredible story and it was, she was struggling to conceive for years with her husband. She had a voice in her head that kept saying, would you adopt if you had a child? If you were able to conceive, would you adopt? And she kept saying no. And then,   Shea Bart Andreone (31:48) yeah.   Michelle (32:04) one day randomly they saw something on TV. think they were either, I don't know if she was in hospital or a hotel. I don't remember exactly what it was, but like the TV wouldn't change. And it was stuck on this channel of a child that didn't have parents and her heart just blew wide open.   and her husband as well. And they're like, that's it. We're adopting. The second they decided to adopt and they got everything in order, she conceived. And she was meant to have her adoptive child. It was like something was calling her in that direction. She kept putting it off. And then all of sudden, boom, like in the right time, it was like, that was it. And then what happened was she heard that voice again in her mind.   if you were able to conceive naturally, would you still adopt? And she said, absolutely yes. Like after she decided and saw the child and it was just so powerful and she was getting all kinds of crazy signs. There was a duck that left an embryo in her door. It was right after she had a challenge conceiving. was just, it was so crazy. Like all these weird signs and it just tells you that they were part of a very cosmic intelligence.   there's got to be some kind of order that we're part of because it can't you can't explain that otherwise. There's something else. There's some other kind of divine intelligence. Yeah, yep.   Shea Bart Andreone (33:31) Yeah, whatever you want to call it, it's out there. So did she end up adopting a child and having a biological child?   Michelle (33:40) Yep. Yep. And she feels that her adoptive child is her child. Like that was the child she was meant to have. And then also her child and they were also meant to be together. It's amazing. It's just so wild on so many levels,   Shea Bart Andreone (33:56) Yeah, yeah, I just met someone I did a panel for a fertility expo and the woman sitting next to me had dealt with secondary infertility and had no issue getting pregnant with her first child and then her second child just she could not get pregnant, could not get pregnant and they had been on a list for fostering.   kids and I didn't go like she wasn't ever planning to adopt but just to help other people and to take in another child and she was thinking she was going to get like a teenager and somehow they were called randomly like two years ago with a newborn that was available and so she has raised that you know baby since birth and   Michelle (34:29) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (34:52) now is trying to adopt the baby. of course, two years, you know, year and a half into having that baby, she did get pregnant and now has three children.   Michelle (34:55) wow.   Wow. wow. you just don't know how and that's the part of relinquishing control. Like we know we have the desire and the desire is there for a reason. We just, we almost have to rely on that divine intelligence for the how. I think that that's what it is. And when we fight that, that's where I feel like it doesn't stop like you from having it eventually, but it stops the process. It delays it. think when we fight   Shea Bart Andreone (35:17) Yeah. Yep.   Michelle (35:30) that divine intelligence, that flow that's trying to move you in a certain direction.   Shea Bart Andreone (35:34) Yeah, it's really true. And also, I don't know why I keep coming back to this today, but that middle part of the story, you have to find a way to be uncomfortable in that disequilibrium and manage it, because it's not going to stay like that. It won't. Yeah.   Michelle (35:50) Mm-hmm.   Right. This too shall pass.   Shea Bart Andreone (36:01) Even like in every situation, every, like this week, my daughter was expecting to get, she had worked really, really hard for a slot and an opportunity to do something. And they were looking at 10 people and knocking it down to six. And she ended up in the bottom four and did not get that opportunity. And I'm shocked. She's shocked, she's devastated.   Michelle (36:28) Mm.   Shea Bart Andreone (36:30) And as a parent, have that like, don't really want to be more upset for them. Like there's a fine line. You got to balance like your own emotions before you like, you know, and I just like the last couple of days, I've been like, okay, what's going to happen next? Because somehow something is going to make this better. Like, and I know something will happen. Like, but I feel like I'm on the edge of my seat sort of waiting for news.   Michelle (36:37) Mm-hmm.   Yep.   Mm-hmm. Yep.   Shea Bart Andreone (37:00) and that is familiar to me for like, you know, all the waiting and the waiting and the waiting of like, well, what's going to happen? Something is going to happen. Something exciting at some point. And you might have some pretty upsetting moments along the way, but something is going to happen.   Michelle (37:21) Yes, I actually remember hearing, I don't remember where it was, but it was a rabbi who said that there was like a saying that everything in the end works out. And if it's not working out or everything in the end is good. And if it's not good, it's not the end. And I'm like, I love that. Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (37:36) at the end. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, I definitely feel that way.   but we get like, it's so global. It's so like, you know, whatever your politics are, you can feel like, shoot, you know, that happened. You know, like, we feel this universally, like many, many times, and it shifts, things shift. And then, yeah, and the story ends.   Michelle (38:03) They do.   Yes. Yeah. Things definitely shift. I'm also kind of into Kabbalah right now, like, cause it's very similar to quantum physics. And I love that, how Joe Dispenza talks about that. But I find that a lot of like ancient traditions teach about, and these are things that aren't necessarily, you don't need to see them as like a religion per se. It's actually a way of life. It's almost like a science of life. And they talk about how, things do come up.   It is really for your soul to evolve. And sometimes those difficult things, like the second we react to them, then we sort of block ourselves off from the light and that like wisdom. But when we allow them, and this is, you know, they talked about it in Zen Buddhism, that's truly going with the flows. Like even when things are not comfortable, if you just allow for it to move and don't fight it.   with the non-resistance, then it actually helps to grow your soul, your spirit, your personality, your mind, your ability to handle things. It's pretty wild, but in some senses that   challenge   is what helps us. And the same thing if you look at a butterfly or even like a plant coming out of a seed and that hard shell and that fighting and that   challenge   of trying to get through. so it's painful, but they do it in that   That aspect of it, the difficulty, the challenge is really what helps us to become more of ourselves.   Shea Bart Andreone (39:44) Yeah, to get to the other side.   Michelle (39:46) Yeah, it's pretty wild. But like you said, it's universal. It could be applied to anything in your life. It could be applied to anything, to getting a job, to marrying the right partner. And it's very similar and also just any kind of challenges that happen in your life. And I've seen it so many times, just like you, like so many stories of people that had they looked at their history and said, okay, well, since I've never gotten pregnant,   Shea Bart Andreone (40:01) Yeah.   Michelle (40:12) before, like the one we just spoke about eight years of never getting pregnant, you could look at the history and say, based on the history and since it's been so long, that's going to probably be my future. And logically, it makes sense to think like that, but it's not necessarily the case for many people.   Shea Bart Andreone (40:15) Yeah.   Yeah. Yeah, and that belief of holding and hope, hope is like.   Michelle (40:35) Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (40:38) That's such a challenging topic because it is the first thing to go, I think, when you're challenged and faced with a big hurdle to overcome. It's hard to think you can hold on to any sort of hope, but that's pretty much the key.   Michelle (41:00) Yeah, it is. it's so interesting that it's so hard because the journey by itself, you're also faced with a lot of professionals that are giving you stats and numbers. And sometimes when you go into that, that's like a hope killer. It'll immediately say, well, I guess you can't really do it because look at your numbers are terrible. And based on this, it's just not possible for you. And so many people still conceive despite that and have healthy   children, know, births. So it's interesting how also the journey, the fertility journey just happens to be one that you're faced with a lot of hope killers in general. And so having to really stay grounded and really stay close to that desire and keep that like in your heart.   is very challenging. and you mentioned something that was actually really powerful. And I think that that is something that everybody should be given as a resource is just community connecting with people that know exactly what you're going through. And having that support is tremendous. And it's just nowadays, it's getting better than it used to. I feel like it used to be worse. Now we have social media.   We have lots of groups, we're connecting. And I think that that's huge. And I think that people who go through miscarriages doctors should be required to give them resources because you're dealing with a traumatic event and then you're sent home. And I think that that is not right. It's, it's like unethical to not provide support for people going through that.   Shea Bart Andreone (42:44) I agree, and I think that is a big flaw in our medical community, like our medical world. takes, I mean, I don't want to be, put anybody in boxes, but the majority of the people who become doctors are very cerebral and understand the logistics of the physical body and don't always necessarily take into account the emotional side.   Michelle (43:13) Mm-hmm.   Shea Bart Andreone (43:14) I would say most for me of the doctors that I have seen don't handle the emotional stuff very well. And I think we're learning that mental health is such a massive, massive element that cannot be ignored and needs the attention. And I do think when you said it's getting better community wise, it is, from what it start like...   There, know, hundreds of years ago and in other countries still today, community is everything surrounding people. And I would say Western medicine has, you know, unfortunately kind of cut that out. And like even in other countries, I think it's France where you're, once you have a baby, you're, you're provided with physical therapy for the woman who gave, you for you as a woman.   Michelle (43:49) Yeah, it's just true. Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (44:12) You're given attention to heal yourself. And here we're sent home. You just had a baby. Bye. You're good. Not even 24 hours of any instruction. If you adopt a baby, you have to go through many, many, many hours of training. But on the other side, if you just birthed your own baby, you're sent home. Good luck.   Michelle (44:20) Yeah.   Mm-hmm. Yeah.   Shea Bart Andreone (44:39) So yeah, would say lack of community is still huge. And yes, you can find that online, but...   Michelle (44:49) Right. It's not the same as actually having a physical community.   Shea Bart Andreone (44:52) Yeah, and we still don't provide that for each other. And there's no wonder to me why doulas and midwives and lactation consultants and postpartum doulas are in such high demand. And unfortunately, that's a luxury.   Michelle (45:13) Mm-hmm. Right, right. It's a luxury and it's expensive. Not everybody can afford it.   Shea Bart Andreone (45:17) Yeah, but I understand the need for it. It makes perfect sense to me because it's like we're thrown into this dark tunnel without any light provided. It would be nice for someone to sit by your side and tell you how it's going to go. And yes, mothers and sisters and friends can do that to an extent, but yeah, it feels like there's a need.   Michelle (45:21) Yep.   Shea Bart Andreone (45:47) And yes, you can Google anything and you will find out.   Michelle (45:51) It's not quite the same. Actually, if anything, it gives you more anxiety. It's so important. And I think that it's true. I, as you're talking, I'm like, this is basically the building blocks of society. Like if you have a good foundation that's done with love and wisdom and carries on like traditions and history that people have learned from and can teach it. I mean, it feels like almost there's a gap because   Shea Bart Andreone (45:54) Yeah.   Michelle (46:21) It used to be that way really back in the day. And then there was this gap with industrial age and we've sort of gotten more separated and now we're thirsting for it. And there is a very big demand for that.   Shea Bart Andreone (46:35) Yeah, yeah. So that I, you know, not that a book can can cover that, but I feel like the aspect of why I chose to write this is just if it could help one person not feel as alone as I felt before I started finding these people. That's the goal because   I just, think even people who can find access to other people sometimes are afraid to like make that like leap to go find a support group or talk to other people. Like, you know, I have a friend right now, a very close friend dealing with cancer and she has three kids and there are so many groups available to them to...   Michelle (47:25) I'm sorry to hear that.   Shea Bart Andreone (47:33) speak to others who are dealing exactly with what they're dealing with, but they don't want to go. Yeah. I, you know, whatever way someone can find that community, whether it's through a podcast or, you know, or a group in the park or a Facebook group or, you know,   Michelle (47:37) Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. It's so personal.   Shea Bart Andreone (48:01) or in a book, just hope for people that they find people to connect to so they don't feel alone.   Michelle (48:09) Yeah. I love that you wrote this book. think having stories is so powerful and just knowing these true stories and that people went through them and then you can relate to the challenges and then you can see how it ends for some people. I think that it's so powerful not to feel alone. I think that that's the big key is just not feeling alone. And like you said, the key is hope.   So for people who are listening to this, and I'm sure a lot of people are going to be wanting to look at this book right now, how can they find the book? How can they find out more about you?   Shea Bart Andreone (48:44) My website is sheabartandrioni.com and the book is available on Amazon. It's also available in certain bookstores. You can walk into your local bookstore and order it through them if they don't have it. And the book is called Carry On and the subtitle is True Stories of the Heartbreak and Wonder of Trying to Start a Family.   Michelle (49:15) Well, first of all, I really enjoyed this conversation with you today, Shay. This is really so heartfelt and it just, it was so symbolic of like the power of the human spirit and going through that and just everything that you shared today and opening up and I really appreciate you coming on. I really, really enjoyed   this conversation with you   Shea Bart Andreone (49:36) Thank you. Thank you. was nice to meet you.   Michelle (49:40) same. And also just for the listeners, if you guys want all of the links that Shay just mentioned are going to be in the episode notes, so you don't have to memorize everything that you just heard. You could just go back to the episode notes. So thank you so much for coming on today, Shay.   Shea Bart Andreone (49:55) You're most welcome.  

Abigail's first pregnancy turned into a life-threatening birth experience with undetected gestational diabetes and a traumatic ICU stay. On top of that, she unexpectedly had to move homes just two weeks postpartum. Abigail quickly developed intense postpartum depression and struggled to make sense of what happened to her. She was sure she would never have kids again, but after therapy and healing, she and her husband found themselves wanting another baby three years later. Abigail became pregnant right away, and she knew this time would be different. This time, things would be better. From the meticulous monitoring to the candid conversations, Abigail felt heard and supported throughout her entire pregnancy. Her gestational diabetes was detected and very controlled. While a scheduled C-section seemed to be a logical choice, she knew her heart wanted a VBAC. She was able to go into spontaneous labor and pushed her baby girl out in just 13 minutes!How to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Welcome to the show, everybody. We have our friend, Abigail, from California with us today. She is a 27-year-old stay-at-home mom with a 4-year-old daughter and a 7-month-old son. She experienced a very unfortunate, traumatic experience with her first which really left her not really sure that she wanted any more kids. She's going to dive more into her wild experience, but she had a COVID pregnancy. She had a lot of different stresses through the pregnancy, especially at the beginning– gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and so many things with her first that really taught her a lot, and had a wild birth experience. Then the second time, she ended up getting gestational diabetes again, but did a lot of different things to improve her outcome like hiring a doula, getting a supportive provider, and all of that. We are going to turn the time over to her in just one moment, but I do want to quickly in place of the review share a couple of tips for gestational diabetes. If you guys have not heard about it so far, check out Real Food for Gestational Diabetes by Lily Nichols. It is absolutely incredible. It is less than 200 pages long. It is a fantastic read and filled with a lot of really great information and studies. She also talks about prenatals, so I wanted to remind everybody that we have a partnership with Needed who we just love and adore. We do have a promo code for 20% off. You can get your 20% off by using code VBAC20. Definitely check that out.Then we are going to be including a lot of things in our blog today like third-trimester ultrasounds, sizes of baby, and gestational diabetes so make sure to dive into the show notes later and check out what we've got. Okay, my darling. I'm so excited for you to share your stories today. I feel like there's part of your story that I want to point out too before you get going, and that is that sometimes you can plan the most ideal birth scenario, and I'm not going to talk about what this scenario is, but a lot of people are like, “Do this. Do this. Do this.” Sometimes you plan it, and then your care falls short or something happens and plans change. If you guys are listening, I just want you to dive in. As you are listening to Abigail share her stories, listen to how sometimes things change and what she did, and then what she did differently to have a different experience. Okay, Abigail. Abigail: Hello. First of all, I just want to say that I'm really happy to be here today. Thank you for having me today. Meagan: Me too. Abigail: Yeah, I guess let's just dive right in. Meagan: Yeah. Abigail: First thing is I am a stay-at-home mom, so my mom is out in the living room with my babies right now, and at this point, my son is 7-months-old, and we are having a really good time over here. I just want to start by saying that. Basically to start with my story, I got pregnant for the first time in January of 2020. Everybody knows what else happened in 2020. I was, I think, about 12 or 13 weeks pregnant when everything completely shifted. Everything started to shut down. There was a chance that I was going to get laid off of work which I did end up getting laid off of work about a week later. It was not a fun time. My husband and I had an apartment. We lived in a place we had just moved to. We had been there for about 3 years. We had a roommate, and everything was totally fine. Everybody worked full-time. I was working out regularly. We had a pretty chill life. Go to the farmer's market on the weekend. I was really excited when I found out I was pregnant. I was like, “Okay, yeah. We are going to bring a baby into this. Let's do it. I love what we're doing.” So again, everything completely shut down and shifted. Our roommate decided he wanted his own space, so he gave us a 30-day notice. We were stuck in a situation where they were raising our rent because our lease was up. We would have had to re-sign. It would have cost us more and everything, so we were looking at having to move because our roommate was moving out. It was all not a very fun time, so we decided to move back to where we were from, rent a room from a family member, and stay with them for the time being. They had a little bit of extra space for us. We thought it would be totally fine and everything. We moved when I was about 20 weeks pregnant. Up until that point, I had regular OB care at a regular office. I had done all of the blood work and everything and the ultrasounds and the anatomy scan and everything up until 20 weeks. When we moved, I decided, “Okay, I think I want to have the baby at home, especially now since the pandemic.” I don't know that I really wanted to go to the hospital, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to do that to begin with. I grew up in a community where home birth was pretty normal. My mom had my younger brother at home. Several of my friends were born at home and their siblings when we were younger. It was a pretty normal thing to me. I reached out to a team of midwives. I talked to them, and got everything set up. I started doing appointments with them. They were coming over to my house fairly frequently. It was pretty nice doing the regular blood pressure checks and the urine samples with the little sticks, and all of that stuff. When it came time for the gestational diabetes testing, I was like, “Okay, is this something I have to do?” I didn't have my insurance set up at that point or anything because we had just moved so we would have to pay out of pocket for it. I would have to go sit in some lab or office some place. Again, during COVID, while I was pregnant, I was like, “I don't know. If I don't have to do it, I don't want to. If I have to, I will. What are we doing here?” They were like, “Well, you're low-risk. These are the risk factors. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to. You just have to sign this form.”I was like, “Okay, cool. I'll sign the form. Seems easy enough.” I totally skipped the gestational diabetes testing. That was on me, but it wasn't on me at the same time because I don't feel like I was given proper informed consent. There was a team of three midwives plus a student, so a total of four that I was seeing. One of the midwives ended up getting switched out at about that point, so it ended up being the student, the same original two, and then one newer one. Everybody was really nice. They were coming over and checking on me and doing all of the things that I thought they were supposed to be doing. I was not weighing myself. We did not have a scale. Again, they didn't tell me that it is important to make sure that you're not gaining too much weight at a time or anything like that. What happened was, I started gaining a lot of weight, but I didn't really realize just how much weight I was actually gaining. I was like, “Oh, I'm pregnant.” I quit going to the gym. I can't even hardly do anything. It's hot out. It's summertime. I was pregnant from January to September, so the bigger I got, the hotter it got.I didn't do much, so I was like, “Whatever. I've gained some weight. It's not a big deal.” I was a pretty small person to start with. Just for reference, I'm 4'8”, and I was 95 pounds when I got pregnant initially, so really small. It started becoming concerning because toward the end of my pregnancy, and toward I guess not even the end, the beginning of my third trimester, I started getting really swollen. Like, really swollen. My feet and my legs up to my knees– not just my feet, but my calves and everything were pretty swollen. Toward the end of my pregnancy, I had swelling up to my thighs. I'm being told this is normal. I'm 23. I've never been pregnant before. I don't have any support groups or anything going because it's COVID. Nobody wants to talk to anybody or do anything. It was a little frustrating for me because they were like, “Just put your feet up. Soak your feet.” If I soaked my feet, they got more swollen. I was not taking proper care of myself either. I went from exercising and eating right and doing all of the things that you are supposed to do to sitting at home and eating a lot of fast food and not walking. I was not having a great time mentally either. We were living some place I didn't want to be living. It was all of it. I didn't think too much of it. Again, I'm like, “Well, I'm being told this is normal. I'm gaining some weight. It's fine.” At one point, one of my urine tests that they did came back positive for glucose, and they were like, “Well, what did you eat for breakfast?” When I told them, I was like, “I had some waffles. I had some orange juice,” and whatever else I had, they were like, “Oh, you just had some orange juice before you got here. That's fine.”I was like, “Okay.” They didn't think to check it again. I didn't think to get a second opinion or anything. At one point toward the end of my pregnancy, I had a blood pressure reading that I checked myself at home with the little wrist cuff. That was really elevated. It was the end of the day. I texted the midwife. I was like, “Hey, my blood pressure is really high.” She was like, “What did you do today?” I was like, “I didn't really do much. I ate this for lunch. I had some soda.” She was like, “Okay, well that's probably fine. Just rest and check it again in the morning.” I checked it again in the morning, and it was still relatively normal, so they didn't do anything. One of the midwives came over at one point and dropped off some herbs for me that they wanted me drinking like some tea or something like that because I was getting swollen. I was standing outside talking to her, and she was like, “Oh my god, I can see your feet swelling up while we are standing here. You need to go back inside and put your feet up.” Again, nobody thought anything of it. How four people missed all of this, I don't know. I feel kind of like the student may have been more concerned, but didn't really know how to say anything or anything, just looking back on the facial expressions she would give and things like that. I go into labor right at 40 weeks. I am planning a home birth. Everything is set up for that. I've got the tub at my house. We've done the home birthing class and how to get everything set up. We've done all that. There was no backup plan in place. They did not suggest that I have one. Again, I did not know any better at the time. I was told that if there was some kind of emergency, I would go to this hospital. That was as far as it went. I didn't have a backup bag ready. I didn't have a hospital bag ready. I didn't have anything planned. There was no, “Hey, this is what we watch out for. This is what you might go to the hospital for.”I go into labor at 3:00 AM. Honestly, contractions started, and they were immediately painful. I've never done this before. I'm like, “Okay well, maybe we're just starting out harder than I thought. That's fine. Maybe there's not going to be early labor.” I labored for a couple of hours. I was really uncomfortable, so I called the midwives. They came over. They checked, and they were like, “Okay, you're only at 2 centimeters, and this is seeming like early labor.” I'm like, “This really painful. I'm not having a good time. This does not feel okay at all.” They checked my blood pressure. My blood pressure was through the roof. They waited a little bit, checked it again, and it was even higher the second time. They were like, “Okay well, this is out of our care. You've got to go to the hospital now.” I'm like, “What do you mean I've got to go to the hospital? That's not part of the plan here. We don't even have a plan B or anything.” Through tears and contractions and everything, I was having contractions maybe every 10 minutes or so, 5-10 minutes. Somewhere around there, I don't remember exactly. I got a hospital bag ready. I got some clothes for the baby together. I got my phone charger, my toothbrush and everything, and we headed to the hospital. I sat in triage by myself for 4 hours because they did not have a bed available for me. They would not let my husband into triage with me because it was COVID. The entire time, I was so uncomfortable. They had me immediately start on blood pressure medication to try to get my blood pressure down. They started me on magnesium, and they told me that the magnesium was going to make me feel yucky which is the biggest lie I have ever been told by a nurse. I don't know if she just never had it or what, but I felt like you have the worst flu you've ever had. My whole body hurt. It made everything feel worse. I felt groggy. I felt sick. It was not fun at all. At that point, I think I got to the hospital at 11:00 AM. They didn't get me into a room until 3:00 or 4:00 that night. So at that point, I'd been in labor for 12 hours. I was still hardly dilated. The doctors, initially when I got there, said, “Your notes say you are only 2 centimeters. Why are you here?” I was like, “I don't know. I was told to be here. I was told that my blood pressure is high or whatever. I don't know. I don't want to be here.” They did all of the things. They ran all of the tests. The doctor comes back in and says, “You are severely preeclamptic. Why did you not get here sooner?” Meagan: So why are you here and okay, why weren't you here sooner?Abigail: Yeah. I was like, “I'm so confused. I don't want to be here.” I'm freaking out. I'm stressing hardcore. My blood pressure went down for a little bit, but it stayed really, really, really high. They put me on fluids and everything which of course, did not help with the swelling. They get me into a room and everything. Things are moving along. It's going fine. I was okay for a little bit, then it got to the point where my legs were so swollen that I felt like they were going to pop. My legs felt like balloons that were going to explode. They were trying to put compression boots on me and stuff in the bed. Every time I was having a contraction, I was trying to get up and get moving because it felt better to get up and move. They were taking the boots on and off. It was miserable. After, I think, 28 hours of labor at that point, I was like, “Okay. I would like an epidural, please. I really don't want to have to get out of bed. I can't do this. I want my legs up. I don't want any part of this.” They got me an epidural. I don't know exactly how many centimeters I was at that point, but things had not moved very far in 28 hours. The doctor kept pushing to try to break my water. I kept telling her, “No, thank you. I don't want that. It will break on its own. I would like to take a nap.” I took a nap. My water did break on its own. That was nice. The water was clear. Everything was fine. We are still moving. I have an epidural. It's working great. I'm laying in bed. My blood pressure was still high. The swelling was still bad, but other than that, everything was maintaining. We were fine.I continued laboring for a while. I was getting checked pretty frequently because the doctors were uncomfortable with the situation. Again, looking back, I realize why they would be uncomfortable with the situation. They kept checking me and trying to want to do stuff. I was on Pitocin at that point. They had started it at some point, I think, shortly before I got the epidural. I had been on that for a while. It had been from being okay to all of a sudden, I was not okay. I don't remember exactly what hour that happened. It was somewhere between probably 36-ish. I was dealing with some stressful stuff with some family members. I was not having a good time. My phone kept going off. I was just trying to rest. It was a miserable time. They said that I was getting a fever all of a sudden. They were like, “You're getting a fever. We're going to see what we can do.”  They tried to give me Tylenol to bring it down. They tried putting a cool rag on my face. They were trying to get me to eat ice. At that point, they had completely stopped letting me eat because initially when I got there, they were letting me eat a little bit, but that stopped. They wouldn't let me drink anything, so they were giving me ice chips and stuff. I started getting to the point where I was feeling really sick, like more sick than I already felt. They checked me again, and depending on which doctor did it, I was at a 6 or a 7 still. They finally called it. They were like, “You have an infection. You are not doing okay. This is not okay. You need to have a C-section now.” Crying, I was like, “Okay, fine. That's not what I want, but let's go.” They prepped me for the OR, got everything moving, got me back. By the time I got in there, it had been 38 hours. I had an epidural for about 12 of those hours, I guess. At that point, it wasn't working super well anymore. It was not working well enough that they could do the C-section, so they put in a spinal as well. I had both of those done. To my understanding, they are two different pokes. Again, I didn't want either initially, and I got both. I was not thrilled about that. I'm laying on the operating table. I was so thirsty. They wouldn't give me anything to drink. They kept giving me this moist sponge. They said that I couldn't suck on the sponge. I could moisten my mouth with it. They gave me some stuff to drink that said it was going to make it so I didn't throw up. I wasn't nauseous at all the entire time. I hadn't thrown up at any point at all. I was like, “I don't want this. I don't need it.” The stuff that they gave me tasted awful, and they wouldn't give me anything to rinse it down. My mouth is dry. I'm gagging from how dry my mouth is, and the stuff tastes bad. They have me strapped to the table. My arms are down. I just laid there crying. The C-section went fine. They got my baby out. She was okay. She was 7 pounds, 12 ounces. For somebody who is my size, I was like, “Wow. That's a really big baby.” That was surprising. So they get me sewn up and everything. They let me look at my placenta, and it was four times the size of any placenta I have ever seen. It was like a dinner plate sized, but a couple of inches thick, like really thick. I was like, “Okay well, that's really weird.” They moved me and the baby to recovery. My husband was with me. Everything was okay. Everything calmed down. We were okay now. We've got this. It's fine. Then all of a sudden, the nurse was like, “I don't like your bleeding.” This is the same nurse I had for two or three nights because at that point, I had been in labor for 46 hours. It was 46 hours by the time they took my baby out. I started labor initially on the 28th at 3:00 AM, and my baby was born on the 30th at 1:00 AM, so almost a full two days. She's like, “I don't like your bleeding.” I'm like, “Okay.” I'm really out of it. I'm not really paying attention. I'm trying to nurse my baby. I can hardly move. I'm uncomfortable. Next thing I know, there are more people coming in, more doctors coming in, more nurses coming in. They take the baby from me. They hand the baby to my husband, and they shove them out. I'm just screaming, “Please don't give my baby formula.” I don't know what's going on. I don't know where they're taking her. I was trying to nurse her, and I'm so confused now. Next thing I know, there are 10 people surrounding my bed. It's three doctors and seven nurses. I had one IV in my hand initially, or in my arm or wherever they put it. Next thing I know, I had two more IVs. There was one in my other arm and in my other hand. They put some pills up my backside, and I'm so confused what's going on at this point. I'm still numb from everything from the spinal and the epidural and everything, so I can't feel what's going on. She's pushing on my belly. She's changing the pads under me. Everyone is freaking out.Meagan: Wow. Abigail: I am fading in and out of consciousness. I don't know what's happening. My husband's freaking out. My blood pressure had dropped to 25/15 I think. Meagan: Whoa. Abigail: I was about to die. They finally got me stable. I don't really know what happened exactly. All I know is the next thing I know, I woke up and I was in the ICU. They wouldn't let my husband come see me. They wouldn't let me see my baby. I'm with a bunch of COVID patients and everything. They gave me two or three blood transfusions. They put a balloon in my uterus to apply counterpressure so that it would stop bleeding, and they had a bucket attached to it. I'm watching them just empty buckets of my blood. It was so scary. I'm laying in the ICU by myself, and the balloon in my uterus hurt so bad, like, so bad. I didn't end up moving. I laid there for the rest of that night, the entire next day, the whole next night, then I think they moved me the next day. It was a night and a half plus a whole day that I just laid there by myself. Meagan: Wow. So scary. Abigail: It was so scary. The nurses came in at one point and were trying. I think it was the lactation consultant maybe. They were trying to get me to pump and everything. I think I pumped once or twice, but I was not up for doing anything. If they didn't come in and sit me up, they didn't really do it. I finally get the balloon taken out because that was what I kept begging for. I was like, “Please take this out. It hurts so bad. The pain medications aren't helping.” I didn't want to give the pumped milk to my baby as it is because I was on so many pain medications and so many antibiotics and everything else. I get the balloon out finally, and I think they took it out that night then they moved me the next day. They moved me to high-risk maternity, and they let me take a shower and eat some food and stuff before they brought my baby back from the nursery because she was fine in the nursery. That was nice to be able to take a shower and wash off all of the blood. I was so covered in blood and everything. I looked at my C-section scar and everything for the first time, and I realized I had a reaction to the tape that was on it and stuff too, so my skin all around it was all irritated. All up and down my arms had been profusely poked and prodded because they were checking my blood every four hours because of the infection and stuff. Depending on the lab tech's skill and everything, it was not going well for some of them. They kept having to poke me. The IVs weren't working for them to take blood from or something like that so they just kept having to poke me more. Again, I was having reactions to some of the tape, so my whole arms are just completely raw and everything. I was still very swollen. I was very, very, very swollen still. They had compression socks and stuff on at this point, not boots at least. They finally bring my baby to me, and then we ended up spending three days in high-risk maternity, so total, that was two days in labor, almost two days in the ICU, and three days in the high-risk maternity. Total, I spent seven days in the hospital. I get home, and they had me on blood pressure medication for a few weeks until I think my six-week appointment when I followed up, and then my blood pressure was back to normal, so I was able to quit taking the blood pressure medication and stuff. I dropped 30 pounds instantly because it was all of the swelling that just came off. I had still gained a lot of weight, but it a huge chunk of it was swelling which is so bad. It was finally over. I was settled. I'm in bed with my baby, and then the family member we were living with decided that they didn't want us living there anymore, so at three weeks postpartum, we had to move. I had only been home from the hospital for two weeks at that point. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't want to be around the situation. My husband was dealing with it. I ended up going on a road trip with my grandma to go stay with a different family member out-of-state just to make sure my baby wasn't anywhere near anything that was going on. Three weeks after a C-section and almost dying, I was driving and doing a whole bunch of other stuff– going out, walking around, and trying to put jeans on. I couldn't figure out why my clothes didn't fit. I didn't realize just how big I had gotten. It was not a fun time. It was about five days out of town, then I moved into a different family member's house temporarily where I was completely isolated by the people that I was living with. They did not understand what I was going through. They thought that I was choosing to be difficult intentionally, so that created additional problems. I ended up getting pretty bad postpartum depression which is really not a surprise. I still didn't understand what had happened to me. I still didn't understand why I had almost died. I still didn't understand. I didn't know if I had done something wrong. I didn't know what was going on. I spent a lot of time really upset over the fact that everything went wrong, and I didn't know why. Life was falling apart around me. I was not doing okay. It turned into really bad postpartum depression pretty quickly. My husband and I got our own apartment when my baby was four month's old. I was like, “Okay, things are finally going to get settled. Things are going to be okay now.” It did not settle. My depression got worse, and I didn't even know what to do. I was eating a lot because I was like, “I'm breastfeeding. I need to eat.” I basically just sat at home, didn't do anything but eat and nurse my baby. I was very thankful I was able to successfully breastfeed my baby after everything that happened to me. All of the nurses at the hospital were surprised about that and stuff. Meagan: Yeah, with the amount of blood loss and everything, that's pretty rare. It's pretty rare. Abigail: Yeah. I never ended up giving my baby a bottle or anything because I was so scared that if I tried to give her a bottle or something that it would mess up my breastfeeding, and that was the only thing that had gone right. I was doing okay for a little while, I thought, but it was not okay. I was really not okay. I was very, very sad. I was fully convinced for a period of time that they should have let me die at the hospital. I was fully convinced that the doctor did me a disservice by trying so hard to save me. Meagan: I'm so sorry. Abigail: Yeah. I finally started therapy. I started trying to get up and do more and not eat so much and get moving. I think finally around the time my daughter was a year or a year and a half, I started to feel a little bit better, and things slowly did start to get a little bit better for me, but I was fully convinced that I did not want more kids. I was like, “I am never going through that again. I do not want another C-section. I don't know what happened to me, so obviously, I would have to have another C-section because we don't even know what went wrong.” It took me until my daughter was almost three. She was about to be three when all of a sudden, my mindset shifted, and I was getting mad at myself for feeling like I wanted another baby because I was like, “I don't want another baby. Of course, I don't want another baby. I made that very clear.” We got rid of all of the baby stuff. I told everybody I wasn't having more. What was wrong with me? I was fighting internally with myself because I wanted another baby, but I did not want another baby. It was insane. I kept it all to myself. I didn't say anything. All of a sudden, my husband was like, “I think we should have another baby. I was like, “What are you talking about? You're insane.” He was like, “No, really. I think we should have another baby.” I was like, “You shouldn't have said that because I want another baby.” Meagan: Yeah. I have been actually thinking the same. Yeah. Abigail: Yeah. I was pretty surprised that I got pregnant right away. Literally, within a couple weeks, I was pregnant. It was a good thing and a bad thing because it didn't give me a chance to overthink it, but also, it was like, “Oh no, I haven't even had a chance to think about this. This is definitely what's happening.”I started going to the doctor right at five weeks. They started doing ultrasounds right at five weeks. They were checking me for everything every time, all of the time. I had so much anxiety. I made that very clear to them. I think that's part of the reason that they checked everything all of the time and were trying to be more reassuring. They did ultrasounds at almost every appointment. Most people don't even get an ultrasound until 12 or 20 weeks. Meagan: And then that's the only one. Abigail: I had four of them before I even went for my anatomy scan. They were trying to watch everything and make sure everything was fine too because again, they didn't do my care last time. This OB place did my follow-up care afterward. They saw the aftermath of everything, and they were concerned and stuff. That's what we were dealing with. I was dealing with some nausea, so they gave me some pills for that. Come to find out, one of the side effects of one of the medications they gave me was anxiety. I was fighting a losing battle with myself because I was taking these pills for the nausea. I wasn't eating because I was anxious, and I wasn't eating because I was nauseous, then I was getting more anxious. It was a rough first 20 weeks I would say. Then I did start feeling better, thankfully, so I was able to start eating and stuff again. Once I felt better, I was eating ice cream and all of those things that I wanted and all of that. It was fine. I was doing fine. I was doing all of my appointments and stuff, then it comes up for my gestational diabetes testing. The doctor says, “You need to do this,” and immediately, I was like, “Yes, please. I need to do that because that's one of the things I didn't do last time. I need to do everything to make sure I'm good.” I need to backtrack a minute, I'm so sorry. At my first intake appointment at five weeks when I met with one of the– they're nurses, but it's not the nurse who actually checks you and stuff. They have an office at the OB's office, and they check in, and they ask, “Do you have transportation for your appointments? Do you need help with anything? Do you have access to food? Are you in a safe relationship?” I let them know what had happened previously with me, and she was like, “Oh, well then you might be interested in this. This is something new your insurance covers. You could get a doula if you wanted since it sounds like you wanted to have a more natural experience last time.”Meagan: That's awesome. Abigail: Yeah. Immediately, I was like, “Hell yeah. Let's do that.” I didn't have a doula last time. Again, last time was COVID. I was already trying to pay for the midwives. It wasn't something I thought about one, because I thought I was having a home birth with a couple of midwives. I didn't think I needed a doula. Also, I didn't fully understand what they were and the actual extent of the benefits of them. I was like, “Yeah, totally.” The first thing I did when I got home was call. They were like, “Yeah, we take your insurance. We can get you set up. We're taking new clients. Let's get you in for an appointment.” I started seeing a doula sometime in my first trimester. I don't remember exactly when, but I remember I pulled up the office and I got out. I was like, “This can't be right. This is too nice. There's no way my insurance covers this.” I was shocked at the care I received from my doula service. I'm just going to go ahead and give them a quick shoutout just because they are amazing, but it's Haven for Birth in Sacramento, California, and they do amazing work for a lot of different things. I still attend lactation meetings and stuff with them monthly. Meagan: That's awesome.Abigail: It's such a great team of people. I got the doulas that they set up for me because there are two of them. There's a main one and a backup one. My main doula's name was Heidi, and the backup doula's name was Francine. They were both so sweet and wonderful. Heidi has been doing doula work for a good amount of time. She owns a chiropractic business and Haven. She's the main one, and she's the one who has dealt with higher-risk pregnancies and things like that, so she was my main source of support and throughout everything. I would text her if I needed something. She was so reassuring. She was like, “Yep. You can totally have a VBAC if that's what you want to do.” I was like, “Really? I can do that, okay. I'm going to talk to the OB about it.” The OB was like, “Yeah. It's completely up to you. As long as you are fine and we watch everything, that's fine.” I really did feel like they were supportive. It wasn't like, “Well, if you are okay, then you can.” It was like both of the OBs that I had seen, one of them was a guy and one of them was a girl, and both of them were like, “Yeah, as long as we keep everything in check, you are totally fine. I don't see why you couldn't.”I started to feel a little more confident in that. I had a lot of anxiety about it and for a couple of weeks, I did contemplate scheduling a C-section just to ease my own anxieties, but I didn't feel right with that choice. I really didn't. I was like, “I need to try.” It was tough, though, because I was like, “I don't know how I'm going to deal with the feelings of trying and not succeeding,” so that was the struggle of, “Do I want to just have a C-section that way? I get what I want no matter what,” but I didn't feel like I wanted to do that. I worked really, really, really hard to get my VBAC is basically what ended up happening. Back to where I was, I get my gestational diabetes testing done, and the first-hour one comes back really high. I'm like, “Okay, that's concerning.” I texted my doula about it. She was like, “It's okay. You're going to do the three-hour one. You'll probably pass the three-hour one, but even if you don't, it'll be fine.”I failed the three-hour one really bad. My fasting number was fine, but the rest of the numbers were very elevated, not even just a little bit. I was like, “Oh, okay.” This is all starting to make sense. I had a lot of anxiety initially about what I could or couldn't eat because I didn't feel the greatest, and I was letting myself eat what sounded good to make sure that I was eating. It was a rough week initially when I got that, then it took them a minute to get me the referral in for the program, the Sweet Success program where I was actually able to talk to nurses and dieticians there. Once I finally got in with them, I met with them a few times throughout the end of my pregnancy. I did feel very supported by them. They were very nice. The dietician was willing to meet with me one-on-one instead of a group setting because I was having issues with eating and not wanting to eat and feeling very concerned that I was going to hurt myself or hurt the baby.They did a very good job making sure that I was cared for. We completely changed up my diet. I started walking after every meal. I started checking my blood sugar four times a day, so first thing in the morning, then after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner. I basically, immediately after eating, would get up and do the dishes or clean up the food I had made or pick up the house or start some laundry or something so that I was getting up and moving. Only a couple of times, there was only once or twice where my blood sugar numbers were higher than they really wanted by more than a point or two. I did a really good job keeping those in check with what I was doing and watching what I was eating very closely and monitoring my portion sizes and realizing what I could and couldn't eat. Once I got to the point of 36 or 37 weeks or whatever where they were like, “Okay, this is the plateau. It's not going to get worse than this,” and I realized I was able to keep it under control and things like that, I would let myself have a couple of bites of a cookie here and there. It wouldn't spike my blood sugar or anything because I was doing everything I needed and that made me feel really nice because I was able to eat the stuff I really liked as long as that was within reason.We met with the doula multiple times. She came over and did a home visit at 37 weeks. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions from the time I was 19 weeks because we got COVID. We got RSV, and we got a cold. We got a cold. We got COVID, and we got RSV. Meagan: Oh my goodness. Abigail: Yeah. That was the whole first half of my pregnancy along with dealing with nausea and everything else. I found out I was pregnant the beginning of September. We got a cold in October. I got COVID in November, then in December, we got RSV, and my daughter who was three at that point spent five days in the hospital, so I spent five days in the hospital right next to her dealing with RSV while I was pregnant. I feel like the coughing kickstarted Braxton Hicks contractions almost because at that point, I started having them pretty regularly. From 19 weeks on, I had tightenings all the time. Some days, they would be worse than others, but because I was so active, it definitely– I never got diagnosed with irritable uterus or anything, but I think that's what it was because it would get really irritable when I would do pretty much anything, and I was doing things all of the time. At 35 weeks, my contractions started getting fairly intense-ish. They weren't painful at all, but it was every 3-5 minutes, I was contracting. I drove myself to the hospital. I was like, “I'm fine. I'm not concerned.” I didn't bother my husband or my doula or anything. I let her know I was going, but I was like, “Don't worry about it.” They hooked me up. They checked me and everything. they were like, “You're hydrated. We don't need to give you fluids or anything.” They were like, “How are you feeling? You've got to tell us if they hurt or not because we can see them on the monitor, but you've got to tell us how you're feeling.” I was like, “I just feel annoyed. They tighten up, and it's uncomfortable when they do, but nothing hurts. I'm annoyed.” They were like, “Okay, let's check you.” I was still completely closed with no baby coming down. So they gave me a single pill to stop them and sent me home. It worked. It slowed them down for the rest of the night, then they kicked back up to their normal here and there the next day. But for the next couple of weeks, I kept it fairly easy. If I noticed I started I was having more of them, I would try to go lay down. I was able to have my baby shower at 36 weeks which was wonderful because I had not had a baby shower for my first baby because of COVID. I feel like 36 weeks was almost pushing it because my family had asked if we wanted to have it later to have somebody else be able to join us and I was like, “No, no. Please don't push it later. I don't trust that.” It was like I knew that he was going to come just a little early, but I was doing all of the things and still having the regular Braxton Hicks contractions and everything. They were doing multiple growth scans on my baby because he started measuring small at 28 weeks, I think. At his 28-week scan, they noted that his kidneys were slightly enlarged, so they wanted to follow up on that. They followed up on that at 28 weeks. His kidneys were completely fine. We never had another incident with that, but they noticed he was measuring a little smaller so they started doing regular checks. By the end of my pregnancy, I was having a growth scan every week, so they went from, “Let's check you in six weeks. Let's check you in four weeks. Let's check you every two weeks. Let's check you in a week.” They noticed he was measuring small, and he continued measuring small. Meagan: They were regressing, or he was staying on his own growth pattern but small?Abigail: He was growing but not a lot. Meagan: Okay, yeah. He was staying on his own pattern. Abigail: They didn't want him to drop below the 10th percentile, and if they did, they were going to be concerned. He did get right to the 9th or 10th percentile, so they did start to get concerned. They labeled him IUGR. They were doing non-stress tests on me twice a week. Basically, by the end of my pregnancy, I was seeing the OB, the place for the non-stress tests, the gestational diabetes program, the place for the ultrasounds and growth scans, a therapist, a hematologist because I ended up having to have iron infusions and B12 injections, and the doula's office, so seven places. Almost all of them wanted to see me every week. Meagan: Whoa. Abigail: I was running around, super active towards the end of my pregnancy. I was still taking my daughter out and doing all of the things with her as well. I noticed after my baby shower at 36 weeks that my feet were just a little puffy, and I was like, “Huh. That's funny.” It hit me all of a sudden. I was like, “My toes are kind of pudgy.” I'm 36, almost 37 weeks pregnant, and this is the most swollen I have gotten. It was not up my legs. It was not even in my whole feet. It was my toes and the top of my feet, not even my ankles. They were the tiniest bit puffy. I had this moment of clarity where I was like, “How did nobody notice that something was so wrong with me?” I was shocked because I'm looking at myself and I had gained a total, by the end of my pregnancy with my son, of 25 pounds, and that was it. With my daughter, by the end of it, I had gained 70 pounds. Again, how did nobody notice? I am shook. I thought on that for a long time. I'll come back to that, but I thought on that for so long. I ended up emailing the midwives who had provided me care. I was having a day. I went off on multiple people that day. I was not having it, and I emailed them, and I sent them a four-paragraph email about how they let me down. They should have known better. Somebody should have noticed something was wrong. They should have asked for a second opinion. It was ridiculous. I was shook that they didn't push harder for gestational diabetes testing, and all of the things because clearly at this point, I realized that my blood sugars being in control has made all of the difference. Not knowing, you can't do what you need to do which is why I'm such a big advocate for informed consent and gestational diabetes testing. I know sometimes I see people saying that they want to skip it because they are fine. I had zero of the actual risk factors, and I still had it. I'm just putting that out there. That's my main thing for this. Definitely get checked, and stay active, and watch your blood sugars because it's a really, really serious thing. I literally almost died. Sorry, I keep jumping around. My son was measuring small, so they started doing all of the tests and everything, and they couldn't find anything wrong. They were like, “Your cord dopplers look great. The blood flow looks great. Nothing specifically is measuring small. His head is not measuring smaller than the rest of him.” He was very, very, very low in my pelvis. I was waddling from 32 weeks on. He was low the entire time. I could feel him moving regularly. He was super active. I felt confident in myself. I felt safe. I felt good. they were telling me he was fine. Everything was looking fine. My fluid levels were looking good. My non-stress tests were always good. They make you sit for a minimum of 20 minutes, and if they don't see what they need to see in 20 minutes, then you need to stay longer. I never had to stay longer than 20 minutes. It was always in and out. He was always moving. His heart rate was always good. When they started mentioning induction at 37 weeks, I was like, “I don't want to be induced. I don't. There's really no reason.” They were like, “Well, he's measuring small. Your other baby last time was so much bigger. He is so small. This is such a concern.” I was like, “But I think there was something wrong with me and my baby last time. I don't think she should have been that big for me.” I thought that was the problem. I tried explaining that to them that I think they had it backward. They should have been concerned about how big my last baby was because they didn't check my blood sugar when I was in the hospital or anything. They didn't check it. Everything was fine. I was feeling fine. I was having pretty regular Braxton Hicks still. I was convinced I was going to have him early. I told him that. “I will have him early, and you're not going to have to induce me. I promise you. You're not going to have to induce me.” I told the doula that I promised the doctors and the specialists that I was not going to have to be induced. She was on my side. She was like, “Okay. We can try some midwives' brew if we get to that point. We'll talk about it.” I didn't end up getting to that point, thankfully. I had another scan at 37 weeks and 36 weeks. At 37 weeks, the doctor was like, “Okay, well, I specifically want to see you next week. I want you to come out to my other office next week because I specifically want to see you. I don't want you to see the other doctors. I want to follow up with you.” I was like, “Fine. I'll drive to Rosedale. No problem.” It wasn't farther than the other office I had been going to. I didn't get that far. I went into labor at 37 and 6. It had been a normal day. I had taken my daughter to the jumping place and had gone to the grocery store. I messed up when I went to the grocery store and the jumping place. I parked too far out, and I didn't think it through. I jumped near the jumping door, not the grocery door. Walking in was super close, but then I had to walk all the way back carrying my groceries. The carts didn't go out that far or anything. I'm like, “Oh my gosh. This is so heavy.” I'm still having Braxton Hicks the whole time. I'm feeling fine. I haven't had any kind of mucus plug activity or none of that. There was no swelling in my feet or legs. My blood pressure had been good. I checked it regularly. My blood sugar had been good. I had checked it regularly. I get home, and I'm like, “Man, I'm tired.” I got up, and I kept doing laundry and stuff. My husband gets home from work. He's like, “Hey, do you want to go out to dinner? We can go to the restaurant up the street.” I'm like, “Yeah, it's a beautiful day out. It's the beginning of May. That's a great idea.”It's a 3-minute walk from my house to the restaurant. I'm not kidding. About halfway there, I stopped, and I was like, “Oh. Well, that one was a little more uncomfortable than they have been. Okay. I actually felt that.” It felt like a bad period cramp, but also tightening with the Braxton Hicks at the same time. I was like, “I'm fine.” I kept walking. We get to dinner, and I notice at that point, I'm having mild contractions every 10 minutes. We ate food. I had sushi, and I know that rice spikes my blood sugar, so I try not to eat too much of it, but I was like, “You know what? I feel like I'm going to have them. I just need to make sure that I eat.” I ate my dinner. We walked back home. It was still about every 10-12 minutes that I was having mild contractions. We went about the evening as normal. I put my daughter to bed and stuff. I took a shower. My husband and I were watching some TV. I was bouncing on the ball. I wasn't really telling my husband that I was super uncomfortable at that point yet. It hit all of a sudden. It was 11:00 PM. At this point, it was 6:00 PM when I felt the first slightly uncomfortable contraction. It's now 11:00 PM. I'm like, “Okay. This is actually starting to get a little bit more uncomfortable.” I got up, and I paced around the living room. My husband was like, “Uh-oh. We should probably go to bed.” Yeah, we should probably go to bed. That was a good idea. We went to bed, and I did not sleep. I think I slept for about seven minutes because at that point, it went to seven minutes, not 10 minutes. I started timing them on my phone. I texted my doula. I made sure I had all of my stuff ready just to be safe. I made sure the house was picked up. I tried to sleep. I let the doula what was going on. She was like, “Don't worry about timing them, just get some rest.” I was like, “I'm not trying to time them, but every time I have one, I look up and I see the clock. This is happening.” She was like, “Okay, well I'll start getting up, and I'll be ready to head over if you need me. I want you to take a shower.” It took me a good 45 minutes or a half hour or something like that to actually get from hanging around my house to getting in the shower because I started shaking really bad, and I was starting to have contractions pretty quick together. They started getting closer and closer together. My husband ended up texting her at that point, “Hey, she's int he shower. I think contractions are getting closer together. They are two minutes apart at this point. You should probably head over.” She gets here pretty quickly. My daughter is still asleep. At that point, my doula was like, like, “Yeah, I think you're in active labor. We should think about heading to the hospital.” I'm only 10 minutes from the hospital, but my daughter needed to get picked up. I put my bag in the car. We call family. I get my daughter picked up. She hadn't heard anything. She hadn't noticed I was in labor. I wasn't being necessarily loud, but I wasn't also being super quiet or anything. She gets picked up. She's mad she's awake. It's 2:00 AM. We get ready to go, and by the time we get down the stairs, because I live in an upstairs apartment, so I'd been pacing the whole upstairs in my apartment and everything, I was super afraid my water was going to break in the car so I put on a Depends because I was like, “I'm not going to have to clean that up later because I'm going to be the one cleaning it up later, and I don't want to have to deal with that.” My doula was like, “Chris, get her a bag in case she throws up in the car. Let's go.” She tried checking my blood pressure, but I kept moving and stuff, so we couldn't get an accurate reading which made me that much more anxious. I was so afraid that by the time I got there, everything was going ot go bad. I had convinced myself that it was fine, but there was this nagging voice in my head that was like, “No, no, no, no, no. Everything went wrong last time, so surely, you are going to die this time.” I was like, “Nope. I am fine. Everything has been fine. They are aware. They have blood on deck for me. It's going to be okay. I've got this.” We get to the hospital. It's 3:00 in the morning. It's fairly quiet. We parked in the parking garage which was across the street. We walked through the parking garage. We take the elevator. We take the walk bridge across. We get into the hospital, check in with security and everything. they were like, “Oh, sweetie, do you want a wheelchair?” My doula was like, “No, no, no. She's fine. She will walk.” I'm like, “Yeah, okay Heidi. Walking is a great idea.” I mean, that's what she's there for. It's fine that I kept walking, honestly, because we had to walk from one side of the hospital to the elevator to take the special elevator that goes to the 6th floor. We're about halfway to the elevator, and I'm like, “Oh, I think my water just broke.” My water broke walking into the hospital which was that much more convenient. We get in. We get checked into triage. The nurse is so nice, and she was like, “It's okay if you want to give me a hug,” because they wouldn't let my husband or my doula in at first. I gave the nurse a hug. She was so nice. They were like, “We need a urine sample.”At that point, basically, from the time labor started, I couldn't pee. That was an issue, so they were like, “Don't worry about it. It's fine. Let's get you back on the bed. Let's check on you, and see how you are doing.” They said I was a 4 or a 5 depending on who checked and who assessed.They asked me about pain medication and stuff, and I was like, “I'll get back to you. I'm doing okay.” Contractions are about every 2-3 minutes at this point. My water had broken on the way in. They tried doing one of the swabs to check it was my water and not that you peed, and the nurse was like, “I'm not even going to send this in. It's fine. I know that it's your water.” They got me in pretty quickly. By the time I got into a room, I was like, “I would like some pain medication please.” They were like, “Okay, do you want an epidural? Do you want IV medication?” I remembered when I was in labor with my daughter, the nurse had initially offered me what was called a walking epidural, so I asked because I remembered declining that with my daughter. I was like, “No, no, no. I don't want to do anymore walking. That's the point. I don't want walking. no walking.” This time, I was like, “That actually sounds like I wanted to know more about that.” I asked the nurse more about it. She was like, “It's still an epidural. It's put in your back the same. It's just different medication. It's lower doses or different medication or whatever it is. It's going to provide some pain relief, but you're not going to be numb. You're still going to feel everything.” I was like, “Honestly, that sounds like what I would like. That sounds like it's a really good idea.” I was having a very hard time taking a deep breath. I was having a very hard time relaxing because I was so afraid that something was going to go wrong. At that point, my blood pressure was fantastic. Everything had been normal. No protein in my urine, no swelling, no high blood sugars, nothing. I was like, “Okay, this is going to be fine. I'm going to be fine.” I felt a little weird about asking for pain medication because I was adamant that this time, I was going to do it without it, but they called the anesthesiologist. He comes in, and he says, “Okay, are you sure you want the walking epidural? That's definitely not going to get you were you want to be pain-wise.” I was a little ticked off, but I was like, “Just get me what I asked for, please. If I change my mind, I will tell you.” That's the thing. If you change your mind, all they have to do is switch up your medication. It's not continuous with what I got. It's just a bolus of medication, and the little thing is taped on your back. You're not actually hooked up to medication or anything, but if I wanted to be, all they had to do was hook it up. I was like, “I'm fine. I don't need that. Thanks, dude.” They get me that, and they made me stay in bed for the first hour just to make sure I was okay and my blood pressure was fine and everything. My blood pressure was fine. Everything stayed fine. My blood sugar was a little high at this point. It was two points over the max where they want it to be. My husband ran down to the gift shop and got me some trail mix, cheese, and meat things. I ate that. They checked my blood sugar in a little bit, and it was back to a healthy, happy, normal range, so they weren't concerned. I was like, “I ate rice the night before, guys. That's all it was. You checked my blood sugar in the middle of the night after I had rice. Of course, it's going to be a little high.” At this point, it's 4:00 AMish. I stayed in bed for the first hour. My doula was like, “Okay, let's get you out of bed. Let's get you moving.” I was out of bed almost the whole time. I did spend a little bit more time in bed at one point. I had the initial bolus of medication. That was all I had, so at this point, I can feel the contractions are getting stronger, and I can also feel that the medication is also starting to wear off. It started getting more intense. I was on the toilet for a minute. I was still having the issue where I still could not go pee. My doula kept feeding me water after every contraction, so they were keeping an eye on that. My doula was keeping an eye on that and stuff. It got to where it was 8:00 AM, I think, so at this point, I had been in labor for a total of– from the time contractions actually started being painful at midnight to 8:00 AM– 8 hours. I was on the side of the bed leaned over the bed. They had it at my height. My husband was rubbing my back. The nurses were there taking care of me and making sure I was good. All of a sudden, she's like, “Okay, honey, I think it's time to get you back in the bed.” I was like, “What?” She was like, “We've got to get you back in the bed. With the noises you're making, and squatting down, we've got to get you back in bed.” With every contraction, I was bearing down. Meagan: And they just didn't want you pushing standing up, type of thing? Abigail: I think they wanted to check me and see how I was doing and everything. They had me on continuous monitoring, which initially I didn't really want, but up until that point, I hadn't minded the monitors. It was just at that point because I kept moving, and I was so sweaty. I was so sweaty. My IV kept slipping off. The monitors kept slipping off. My gown was drenched. My hair was drenched. They kept re-taping my IV, and I was like, “Can you please just take the IV out? It's bugging me.” At that point, the IV was somehow more painful than the labor. I was coping with labor, but I kept feeling the IV in my arm because they kept having to poke it and mess with it and stuff because it wasn't staying in. They ended up leaving it in which I was annoyed with, but I was in and out of at that point.They get me back in the bed, and they check me. They're like, “Okay. You're already starting to push. Let's get the doctor in here. Let's do this.”I'm on the bed. I've got the squat bar. I'm up on the bed on the squat bar. I'm kneeling in a lunge position. I've got one knee up and one knee down. Every contraction, they were having me switch my knees which started getting really uncomfortable for me. I felt so heavy, and I was falling asleep in between each contraction it felt like. I wasn't all the way there, but they ended up saying that my son's heart rate was dropping just a little bit, and they were like, “Okay, let's get him out. Let's move this along.” They pulled the squat bar, and they had me on my back. The bed was propped up. I was upright, and they had me holding my own legs. I was having a hard time because I was so sweaty that my hands kept slipping off the back of my thighs. They were like, “Okay, you need to push. Let's push.” I wasn't really listening to them. They were trying to do coached pushing, but if I didn't feel like it, I just wasn't doing what they were telling me. I was more listening to my doula than anything else because I felt like I trusted her and what she was saying more than anything else. I told them, I was like, “I feel like it's pulling up. I feel like it's pulling up.” They were like, “Okay, lower your legs a little bit.” It was really nice that I was able to feel everything. I put my legs down a little bit, and that helped a little bit. I don't know exactly how many pushes it was. I don't know if anybody counted, but it ended up being 13 minutes that I pushed for from the time they got me in the bed and were like, “Okay, you're pushing,” to “Let's get you on your back. Give a couple good pushes.” I think it was two pushes once I was on my back and he was out. Meagan: That's awesome. Abigail: He came right out. I had a small right inner labial tear, no perineal tears, and then I don't think I actually tore up, but I noticed I was sore afterward up toward my urethra, but they ended up only giving me one stitch on my right labia. That was fine. They did numbing shots and everything for that, and I could feel the numbing shots and everything, and I didn't like that. It's uncomfortable, but it was fine. I felt fine. I felt good. They put him right onto my abdomen because his cord was so short that they couldn't put him any further up. I wish they would have waited just a little longer to cut his cord, but they were like, “He's hanging out down here where we need to be,” because his cord was so short, which makes sense that he was head down the entire pregnancy and didn't move. He stayed right there. He flipped and rotated. Meagan: Transverse. Abigail: Sideways. He would put his butt back sometimes and toward the side sometimes, but that's all he would do. His head was in my pelvis the entire time. He comes out. Once they cut his cord, they moved him up to my chest and everything. They got me cleaned up and everything. Everything was fine. I got my golden hour, and he didn't want to nurse right away, but he was fine. They were taking bets like, “Does he look like he's over 6 pounds or what?” He ended up only being 5 pounds, 5 ounces. Meagan: Tiny. Abigail: He was a little, tiny guy. He was barely 18 inches. I had him right at 38 weeks, so he was a little small. He was closer to the size of a 35-week baby. Meagan: Mhmm, and he had IUGR. Abigail: I don't think there was anything wrong with him. I think I'm a very small person, and I think my first baby was too big because when I look at pictures, my daughter's head was coned off to the side, and I know that she did not have room to move around in there. She was stuck where she was stuck. Meagan: That would mean it was asynclitic probably. Her head was coming down wrong. Abigail: Yeah, which is probably why it hurt so bad. I know that now, initially, it started even with early labor. I don't think that even once I had an epidural with her, they were using the peanut ball. They were changing my positions. They were doing all of the things, and she wasn't coming down any further. She wasn't moving, and I wasn't going past a 7. I think that she was too big which I think is from having unchecked gestational diabetes. Even though she was considered an average-sized baby. I'm not an average-sized person. I'm really, really, really small. Me having a 5-pound, 5-ounce baby seems about right.He came out perfectly healthy. There was nothing wrong with him. His blood sugars were good. His blood pressures were good. Everything was great. And now at seven months, he's still slightly on the smaller side, but he went from being in the 2nd or 3rd percentile or whatever he was born into all the way to about the 20th. He's almost caught up. He's healthy. He's chunky. There wasn't actually anything going on with him. I think that says a lot to the fact that I'm just really small and my first baby was the result of an unhealthy pregnancy. I didn't have a postpartum hemorrhage. I didn't need any extra medication. I didn't need Pitocin. I didn't end up getting a full epidural. When they asked me about my experience, I made sure to tell them that the anesthesiologist should choose his words more wisely. It went well. I waited two months afterward to see how I was feeling and everything, and I do not have postpartum depression. Meagan: Good. Abigail: No more anxiety than what I regularly deal with. I have had a great time. Everything is just completely different, and my son is already seven months old, and I am already at a point where I'm like, “I want another baby.” I don't know if I'll actually have another one or not. I mean, there are financial reasons to consider and actually giving birth to another baby and raising another human. It's not just a baby. It's a whole other life. It's a lot, but I have baby fever already. I would absolutely do it again, and I just had him. Meagan: Oh, that makes me so happy. I am so happy that you had such a better experience that was more healing and positive and has left you having a better postpartum for sure. Abigail: It was a completely different experience. I mean, night and day. I'm just trying to make sure that I didn't miss anything. I think the only thing that ended up being different was like I mentioned, I couldn't really go pee. I did end up having to have a catheter at the end of my labo

This week, we discuss Mark Zuckerberg's craven capitulation on content moderation, even if it was an inevitable decision; the upside of algorithmic rabbit holes vs the downside of the commodification of attention; and how creator culture is reshaping trust in media institutions. Plus: why the Ninja Creami and IVs are good products.Watch us on YouTubeTroy Young's People vs Algorithms newsletterBrian Morrissey's The Rebooting newsletterAlex Schleifer's Human ComputerFollow Alex, Brian and Troy on Twitter

FLASH WARNING NOTE: The flashing seen from the device demo is due to the camera - Firefly Vein Lights DO NOT flash. Welcome back to F&E for Season 4!!! If you love a nurse entrepreneur story, then you'll love this one! Adam B, a Peds nurse who was struggling to lay those IVs in those tiny little meaty hands, decided he needed something to increase first stick success. What followed snowballed through a multi-year journey of creating Firefly, the infant vein light, while living out of a van, travel nursing, and regularly traveling with a duffle back of fake babies! He's not sus TSA! Take a listen and be sure to make use of this PROMO CODE: friendsandenemas for 10% off! Follow us on Socials: The Guest: IG - @fireflyveinlight www.fireflyveinlight.com LI: Firefly Vein Light LLC The Pod: @friends.and.enemas The Host: @scrubhacks Follow the podcast Friends and Enemas on anywhere you listen to podcasts! Links below: Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lindsey-shelton8 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-enemas/id1698393587

The aesthetic and wellness industry is rife with “trends,” and while some may have thought this service would be a flash in the pan, market and consumer data shows that integrated aesthetic and wellness services are here to stay with potential for massive future growth.  One of those integrated services is IV therapy. While it's not a service every spa can or should do, it does provide an incredible opportunity for those aesthetic and healthcare practitioners who are equipped to add value to your clientele. Joining me on the mic to discuss IV therapy is my guest, Jenn Plescia, DNP, APN,FENP, the founder and CEO of IVs by the Seas, an in office aesthetics and mobile IV hydration practice in New Jersey.  Beyond being a successful entrepreneur with an inspiring business origin and growth story, Jenn is a board certified Family and Emergency Room Nurse Practitioner who received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from Rutgers University in 2017, and she has over 10 years of Emergency Medicine and Urgent Care experience.  Jenn believes in treating patients as an entire entity and identifying the root cause of their health care ailments and aesthetic needs so she can help optimize your health and wellbeing from the inside out.  Whether you're someone who desires to or is qualified to bring IV therapy into your aesthetic business, this episode is a great listen for any aesthetic professional as they consider bringing new therapies or equipment into their practice, or finding the right businesses to partner with and recommend should your clients be interested in receiving IV therapy.  In this episode, we discuss:  Jenn's origin story of how she began offering IV therapy and hydration as a service during the pandemic and how her business quickly took off thanks to connections, referrals and social media  The things every aesthetic practitioner or Spa CEO should know before bringing IV therapy into your practice and why it's critical to have a close relationship with your medical professional you're bringing on board The ins and outs of navigating potential emergencies and how this informs hiring and team building decisions  Why Jenn prioritizes digging into the science of her clients lab work and the importance of tailoring IV treatment plans  Plus, Jenn's insights on profit potential, crafting an incredible client experience and aesthetic atmosphere, and key legalities and liabilities to consider To read the full show notes for this episode, visit: https://www.addoaesthetics.com/podcast/ep414 Keep the conversation going inside the Spa Marketing Made Easy Community by clicking here.  

In the most listened to Love, Hope, Lyme podcast of 2024, Fred Diamond welcomes Ali from The Tick Chicks and host of the Lyme Time Podcast. Ali shares her inspiring journey from struggling with Lyme disease to achieving healing and dedicating her life to helping others navigate their own paths. This episode focuses on six key strategies Ali used during her recovery that offer hope and practical advice for Lyme survivors and their families:

The liver is an organ that does many important things for the body, from reducing inflammation to detoxifying damage from inflammation. To support the liver, one should consume foods that support antioxidant production. Antioxidants help reduce inflammation throughout the body and help protect the heart, brain, and digestive tract from damage. Stress is a major cause of inflammation, and the liver will work overtime to try to reduce it. Consuming foods that support the liver's functions is essential to maintaining good health. The liver produces antioxidants, such as glutathione and NAC (acetylcysteine), which have pro, neurogenic and neuroprotective properties. Glutathione is often given via IV, while NAC is a precursor to glutathione and can be taken as a supplement. The World Health Organization recognizes NAC as an essential medication. In order to support the production of antioxidants, the liver needs nutrients such as vitamins B6, B9, B12, B2, B3, lgutamine, and methionine. The liver also helps regulate hormones, which are signals sent to the brain in response to stress. When we wake up, our body starts producing different hormones as a result of being awake. The liver is a key organ when it comes to hormone regulation. It produces cortisol, which is released to give the body energy in the mornings. It is also responsible for the regulation of thyroid, adrenal, and other hormones. When a woman is going through pre menopause, it is important to assess her liver health, as it directly affects the regulation of hormones. Additionally, the liver has a direct connection to insulin and is crucial for insulin regulation, which can lead to a variety of diseases and disorders if it is not healthy. Timestamps 0:00:04 "Welcome to the Nurse Doza Podcast: Five Tips on Liver Health" 0:02:53 Liver Health: Supporting Antioxidant Production for Optimal Health 0:04:13 The Role of the Liver in Antioxidant Production and Hormone Regulation 0:09:01 The Role of the Liver in Hormone Regulation and Insulin Resistance 0:10:40 "The Link Between Hormone Regulation and Liver Health" 0:16:04 The Impact of Birth Control and Environmental Stressors on Liver Function 0:17:21 The Impact of Poor Liver Function on Estrogen Regulation and the Methylation Cycle 0:21:03 "Tips for Supporting Liver Health with MTHFR Gene" 0:23:06 "5 Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Liver and Hormone Balance" 0:24:39 Heading: Benefits of Taking Liver Love Supplement for Improved Liver Function and Detoxification 0:26:40 "Liver Detox: Tips for Achieving Optimal Health" Highlights It has 16 ingredients in it that support the methylation cycle to support liver function and detoxification and the production of antioxidants. We love talking about the liver, because if the liver helps regulate hormones, then all of a sudden, if your hormones become balanced, you become balanced. So taking a supplement like Liver Love, which I highly recommend everyone does, I take it on a daily basis because it has methylated B Nine in it.. It's going to help improve your life. Use code nurse dosa for 15% off. There's 120 capsules in it, and you can play around with the dosage if you want. Some people take one a day, some people take two a day. But keep in mind, if you go to two to three pills, it's a heavier detox. If you do four pills a day, you're detoxing and cleaning out that storage unit. So be prepared. It's going to be the best thing for you. Number three fast food leads directly to unhealthy liver. One in four U. S. Adults have a fatty liver, which means one in four US. Adults are eating way too much fast food. Cut back on it and replace that type of fat with healthier fat like avocado. That's a great substitute for your liver. Number four bad liver equals bad estrogen for all the women out there. If you want better hormones, especially better estrogen, take care of your liver. Take some sort of supplement to help support your liver, like knack or maybe even milk thistle. And get off the birth control, please. So to recap, I want you to take away five different tips to support your liver health. Number one your liver makes antioxidants. Find the recipe to make yours. Either get an acetylcystein Ivs or start taking glutathione. Number two the liver helps regulate all your hormones. Keep this in mind the next time you're doing blood work because you want to include liver hormone or liver enzyme panels. Along with your hormone panels, ask your practitioner to order it alongside. That's the reason why all of our vitamins are methylated. Because of people like me. Every single Msw nutrition vitamin has methylated factors in it to help support the mthfr gene because people like me need it in order to function better. And on a side note, we'll get into one episode later, but the mthfr gene and the comt gene are directly connected. So if a person has an issue with both, like we mentioned before, it puts them at higher risk for estrogen and dopamine issues as well as detoxification and hormone regulation. That's my genetics. So I'm at higher risk for things like diabetes because of insulin problems with the liver, right? I'm at higher risk for low testosterone and higher estrogen, which could put me at risk for cancer. And then, because all these issues are also involving neurotransmitter production and the brain, what does that look like for vascular dementia down the road for me and cognitive decline?. Anyone that has an Mthfr issue needs to take methylated vitamins in order to support this gene and its many pathways. Some of the methylated vitamins that you could take are methylated B Nine, five, MTHF. There's also methylcobalamin, which is B twelve, and my personal favorite, P five P vitamin B six. I take these on a daily basis along with something known as trimethylglycine or betaine in order for my methylation cycle to work correctly, because I cannot afford to have any Undermethylated liver.

In this highly requested episode, Dr. Efrat LaMandre explores the truth about IV infusions and answers the big question: Are they the future of health and wellness or just another fleeting trend?  Spoiler alert: They work—and Dr. E is here to tell you why. From their role as emergency room essentials to their rise as cutting-edge wellness treatments, Dr. E uncovers the hidden benefits of IV infusions that you need to know.  She explains how IV therapy bypasses digestion, delivers nutrients rapidly, and achieves levels of effectiveness that oral supplements simply cannot match. This episode provides an in-depth look at how IVs deliver bioavailable nutrients directly to your bloodstream.  Dr. E also breaks down the most popular infusions, including vitamin C, magnesium, NAD+, and glutathione.  She explains why hospitals rely on IV therapy for critical care but hesitate to embrace its potential for wellness applications. Dr. E shares actionable tips on how you can leverage IV therapy to optimize your health without giving up healthy habits.  Whether you're exploring IV infusions for chronic health issues, enhancing physical performance, or elevating your wellness routine, this episode is packed with valuable insights that will help you decide if IV therapy is truly worth it.  Don't miss it—because you always knew there was a better way. The Medical Disruptor Podcast is a show broadcasted live by Dr. Efrat Lamandre every week with the express purpose of providing free, factual, and practical functional medicine tips to help people prevent disease naturally. Through giving healthy nutrition tips, tips on intermittent fasting, managing stress through diet, and advocating self improvement for her patients, Doctor E hopes to help you take control of your health destiny and become the GameChanger in your life. Looking to become a client? Join Dr. E's waiting list here: drefratlamandre.com/waitinglist Check us out on social media: drefratlamandre.com/instagram drefratlamandre.com/facebook drefratlamandre.com/tiktok [00:01:40] What is IV Therapy? [00:03:55] Why IV Infusions Work [00:06:30] IV Infusions for Wellness [00:10:15] Tailoring IV Therapy to Your Needs [00:13:40] Benefits of specific IV infusions

Sign up for Par 3 Thursdays. A weekly newsletter sharing three great things to check out in golf. - https://bestball.substack.comThe holidays are upon us, and we're back with another lively episode of the Caddie Tales Podcast! Mark and Nick are here to unwrap a stocking full of stories, humor, and heartwarming moments from the world of caddies and golf.In this episode, we're teeing up a discussion about the idea of a future show dedicated to recommending the best golf products, with Mark sharing his top picks like the Ping Hoofer and the Titleist Links Legend golf bags. We'll also dive into some laughs as Mark jokes about "prescribing" IVs and antibiotics for the young caddies who push themselves to the limit. Join us as we reflect on the idea of a "healthy dose of reality" for players and the art of handling criticism, much like referees in sports. We'll also share some fun and practical holiday gift ideas for golfers, from a motivational audio reel of Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell to a humorous framed poster reminding golfers to keep their cool.So grab a seat, pour yourself some eggnog, and let's swing into the holiday spirit with another engaging episode of the Caddie Tales Podcast. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Mark, Nick, and the entire Caddie Tales crew!Links:•https://twitter.com/caddietales•https://bestball.com/collections/caddie-tales-podcast•https://BestBall.com•https://linktr.ee/BestBallFriends of BestBall:•Holderness & Bourne - Enter "BESTBALL" for complimentary shipping when your order - https://hbgolf.com•Western Birch Golf Co. - Enter "BESTBALL" in the shipping cart for a free gift with your order - https://westernbirch.com •Atomic Golf - Custom Ball Markers, Divot Repair Tools, & more - https://atomicgolf.clubInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Caddie Tales Podcast? Email info@bestball.com.

On today's episode of The Wholesome Fertility Podcast, I speak to Dr. Jeff Gross, a top Neurosurgeon who has a background specializing in athletic injuries and spine procedures. Dr. Jeff shares his journey from spinal neurosurgery to the forefront of regenerative medicine, focusing on the transformative potential of stem cells and exosomes. He explains the science behind stem cells, their applications in treating joint degeneration, and their role in anti-aging and fertility. Dr. Jeff also discusses the regulatory landscape, the cost of treatments, and the exciting future of stem cell research, including innovative approaches to enhance mitochondrial function which has a lot of promise when it comes to egg and sperm health.   Takeaways   Stem cells can be used to treat various conditions, including inflammation. Accumulation of inflammation is a key factor in aging and conception challenges. Exosomes may play a significant role in the benefits of stem cell therapy. Regenerative medicine is evolving rapidly, with new research emerging. The cost of stem cell treatments can vary but is becoming more accessible. Stem cells are sourced from well-regulated donor programs in the US. Direct injection of stem cells may yield higher doses than IV administration. Future research may explore the use of exosomes in fertility treatments. Dr. Jeff emphasizes the importance of personalized treatment plans.      Guest Bio:   Dr. Jeffrey Gross graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in biochemistry and molecular cell biology. He earned his Doctor of Medicine in 1992 from the George Washington University School of Medicine. He contributed to virology research during his studies. After graduating, he undertook a residency in neurological surgery at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center until 1997. He then pursued a Fellowship and Chief Residency in Spinal Biomechanics at the University of New Mexico until 1999. Licensed in California and Nevada, Dr. Gross has SPINE practices in Orange County and Henderson, Nevada. A trained neurological surgeon, he specializes in athletic injuries and spine procedures, and offers longevity and biohacking consultations. He achieved board certification by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is a member of several prestigious medical societies. He has written textbooks and articles in his area of expertise and is a peer-reviewer for the state of California and a scientific journal. Since 2020, Top Doctor recognized Dr. Gross as a leading Neurological Surgeon. He also received HealthTap's 2022 Top Doctor Award as a top Neurological Surgeon in the U.S. Dr. Gross founded ReCELLebrate, focusing on anti-aging and regenerative medicine. The mission for ReCELLebrate emphasizes offering modern biochemical treatments and considering surgery as a last resort.     Websites: https://recellebrate.com/ https://www.instagram.com/recellebrate/ https://www.tiktok.com/@recellebrate https://www.youtube.com/@stemcellwhisperer https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-gross-md-5605605/       For more information about Michelle, visit: www.michelleoravitz.com   The Wholesome FertilityFacebook group is where you can find free resources and support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/ Check out Michelle's Latest Book: The Way of Fertility! https://www.michelleoravitz.com/thewayoffertility Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus/     Transcript:   Michelle (00:00) Welcome to the podcast, Dr. Jeff.   Dr. Jeff (00:03) Thank you so much for having me. Nice to see you.   Michelle (00:06) Nice to see you as well. So you definitely have a very long, impressive background. So I'd love for you to share your story on how you got to really to the anti-aging stem cells work that you do, So I'd love to just get a quick background so the listeners can hear.   Dr. Jeff (00:26) Sure, thank you for that. It was by accident of sorts, maybe directed accident because I was practicing as a spinal neurosurgeon, taking care mainly of neck and back trouble, some other neurological issues, nerve problems, things like that. But my practice was highly consultative, a lot of opinions, second opinions. I was seeing patients who had neck and back problems that were perhaps...   mistreated or not fully treated elsewhere. And I was kind of, I was kind of a catchall for that. But my patients came to me one at a time. And these are patients that had tried different things and they just didn't work adequately. Like physical therapy, like anti-inflammatories, like rest, like, you know, chiropractic, acupuncture, maybe spinal epidural injections or things like that.   And they'd come in and say, well, you know, help for a minute, but just wasn't enough. I'm still having a lot of trouble with my neck or back or pinch nerve or whatever. And I say, well, the next thing on the menu is to talk about surgical options. And they'd say, well, I'm not that bad. So wait a minute. Okay, good. Cause I was hoping you would say you're not ready for that. Cause I really didn't want to offer that to you. Cause I've always been on the slow to operate side of things. So, a lot of them would say, well, how about lasers or how about.   Michelle (01:37) Mm-hmm, yeah.   Dr. Jeff (01:52) herbs or how about cannabis or how about stem cells? And I heard the stem cell one more than once and chance favors the prepared mind. So my undergraduate background is in molecular cell biology, which is kind of the stem cell, know, root of stem cell biology. And, you know, when you get whisked off from undergraduate to med school and residency and practice,   you don't really get to apply that cool science. So the nerd part of me took over and said, I wonder what's happened in all these years since I went to undergraduate, you know? So instead of going to the Stodgy Neurosurgeon Convention every year, or more than one, where the same people pat themselves on the back for saying the same things for decades, I decided I'm going to open my mind and start going to stem cell and regenerative medicine meetings.   Michelle (02:46) Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (02:46) So I can offer this to my spine patients. So I did that and I not only brought back a new tool to offer them, but it blossomed into so much more. You can't get access to regenerative medicine, stem cell medicine, and I'm using those phrases sort of interchangeably here, and not say, I'll help your knee or your ankle or your shoulder or your...   autoimmune issues or other hyper inflamed states. Or, you you read more and you see accumulation of inflammation is really the aging process. And if you can fight against inflammation accumulating, you're fighting against aging. So the whole anti-aging umbrella opened up and here I am, you know, six years later where spinal medicine is only a small percentage of my practice and I love it.   Michelle (03:33) Mm-hmm. Yeah.   That's great. So, so for people listening, some people might be like, okay, I kind of heard about stem cells, but what exactly are they? So just for people listening for the first time, we're really not understanding that aspect of like what they are. Cause we hear about it a lot. And over the years, like you said, stem cell research has really drastically changed and has gone into so many different things. Sometimes we hear about like   Dr. Jeff (03:45) So.   Yeah.   Michelle (04:12) you know, back in the day about them growing a liver, like, you know, the possibility of growing organs through stem cells. for people who are really new to this, I would love for you to break it down.   Dr. Jeff (04:15) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.   sure, let's do stem cell 101. That's great. and being a fertility podcast, this is relevant probably more than any other area of medicine because fertility and creating an embryo is, you know, creating a group of stem cells that divide and grow into a fetus who's made of all stem cells, right? And then,   Michelle (04:28) Hahaha   Right.   Dr. Jeff (04:54) then that fetus is born and it's a baby and the baby grows for 18, 20, 25 years, whatever. And that growth requires stem cells. And then after that, an adult has to maintain, has to replace, has to restore, has to regenerate and that requires stem cells. So what are these? They are cells from which other cells arise, from which other cells stem from. Okay? So, and they are...   Michelle (05:20) Mm.   Dr. Jeff (05:24) They are powerful because there are different types, right? We throw out the phrase stem cells, but when you're a one cell or a two cell or a four cell embryo, you have these omnipotent cells. They can form any part of your body. They are amazingly powerful. As those divide and differentiate, meaning take on some specific characteristics, they become less powerful and more directed, and those are called pluripotent.   And a pluripotent might be able to regrow a limb. And as you, as you, and many of your listeners probably know, there are certain species that can still do that. Like a starfish, you cut off a leg of a starfish, it can regrow it. Or a tail of a lizard or a limb of an axolotl, which is a strain iguana like creature from Mexico. So there are many examples in biology where these pluripotent stem cells can be called upon. And you mentioned maybe regrowing a liver someday.   that will probably require some knowledge of pluripotent stem cells, which are being looked at. However, after these stem cells sort of retain, we bank them in our body as adults, those are called multipotent. So they can't regrow a limb, they can't regrow an organ per se, although they can replace some organ cells and regenerate. And you were always replacing cells, we're replacing skin cells and   you know, hair follicles and all kinds of things that require stem cells. If you have an injury and you cut yourself, you, require stem cells to help come repair that. and you know, we make new blood cells all the time that requires stem cells in our bone marrow. So we are using our stem cells. This is not new. We just know more about it now. And the whole move in regenerative medicine is, is to take   Michelle (07:03) Mm.   Dr. Jeff (07:19) a lesson from that biology and use it strategically to help somebody do something they need.   Michelle (07:27) So interesting. So give us a couple of examples on how it works in the body. Like for somebody who needs it, for example, whereas like a therapy.   Dr. Jeff (07:34) Well, the-   Right. So the low hanging fruit as an example, are joint degeneration. Also called arthritis or osteoarthritis vaguely, or some people it's called bone on bone if it's bad enough. Right. And these are your painful joints. It could be from an old injury, an old arthroscopic surgery. It could be from just, you know, accumulated wear and tear. And this is a problem with the joints where the cartilage   is, you know, down and the joint is painful. You can't use it as well stiffness, et cetera. And it slows people down. And when you slow people down, particularly in their older years, they're less mobile and then they can't maintain their bones, their bone density, AKA, you know, the one way to fight osteoporosis is weight bearing exercise. So if you can't, if your joints hurt, you're not going to do it. And muscle mass, cause both bone density and muscle mass are correlated with longevity. So if you keep moving.   You maintain your muscles and bones, you'll live longer statistically. So in any event, we want to preserve joints. And that's kind of why I got into this field. I'm a structural guy of the spine and it easily extrapolates to the other joints. And most of the research, the well-published research comes from knees and other joints. And just parenthetically, most of the good published research that we follow, because we're not just shooting from the hip here.   We do shoot some hips, but it comes from Asia and Europe. The United States is behind, although we can do these things. And, you know, we can talk about that later, but the short of it is we have a really good track record of helping people with degenerated joints in reducing pain and improving function. And we do have some examples with where we've done some MRIs.   Michelle (09:09) Ha ha ha!   Dr. Jeff (09:37) before and after and the after MRIs have shown some regrowth of like knee cartilage, for example, and things like that. you know, we're not allowed to make any claims because we're not yet approved for marketing claims, but I can show examples and I have to say like you invest in stocks, know, past performance does not guarantee future results or something like that, but in medicine, never, yeah, yeah.   Michelle (10:01) Right, and each person is different and unique. Yeah.   Dr. Jeff (10:05) But anyway, it's better, listen, if you want to try to avoid a joint replacement surgery, it's worth looking into. So whether it's spine or joints, so that's the easy stuff. Low hanging fruit, I call it. The other stuff is anything with an inflammatory problem in your body can potentially have benefits from regenerative medicine on its face being a natural anti-inflammatory. So for example, autoimmune problems with hyperinflammation.   You know, like rheumatoid arthritis, thyroiditis, inflammatory bowel syndromes, MS, things that have an inflammatory component. Also, most diseases of aging are diseases of inflammation. So coronary artery disease, Alzheimer's, things like this, all have an inflammatory component. And this allows me to overlap into your area is there are some causes of fertility.   issues that have an inflammatory component, whether it's a uterine issue or ovarian failure. And sometimes fighting that inflammation, whether it's through lifestyle changes, diet, exercise, mindfulness, sleep, reducing mental stress, all those things can help reduce the inflammation and help potentially lead to successful pregnancy. The same can go for use of   regenerative biologics like stem cells, and they're not the only thing we use. And there are wonderful publications. And before we got on this, I refreshed my knowledge by doing a little homework. And there are even newer publications on use of these things to improve fertility. Now, most of these are from China because they are way ahead of us. But that doesn't mean they can't be applied here outside of China.   Michelle (12:01) Interesting. So interesting. So how do they get these stem cells?   Dr. Jeff (12:07) So stem cells and other related biologic material in the US comes from a well-regulated donor program. Typically the donors are women who are planning to have a C-section. Some of the labs even recruit the donors in the first trimester, make sure they're having a healthy pregnancy, they're not using substances they shouldn't be using, they take their prenatal vitamins, they're not in any high-risk behaviors.   And at the time of the C-section, they simply, and once the mother is congratulated with her new baby, they take the amniotic fluid, they take the umbilical cord, they take the placenta and they put them on ice in a sterile fashion and they go to an FDA compliant certified lab that can test and screen the materials, make sure there's nothing in there, no diseases, no problems, and then make it available to clinics and end users like myself.   So there are myths that all kinds of crazy stuff are happening out there, but not here in the US. We use highly regulated donor processes.   Michelle (13:19) When you have the stem cells from donors, can they be multiplied or is it just like a finite amount? Whatever is there is there.   Dr. Jeff (13:28) They can be, there are labs that put them in culture, would let them grow and divide and that's one thing that can be done. Now, just like anything, a copy of a copy of a copy tends to lose its vitality. So, things like telomere length, which is an aging marker, that changes with each division of a cell. So I don't like to use a divided material.   Michelle (13:50) Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (13:58) I use just fresh first pass stuff. Maybe your listeners are a little young for this, but there's a really funny movie called Multiplicity, where Michael Keaton clones himself, and each clone is a little bit wonkier than the original. if you want a good laugh, yeah, check out that movie. But in short, I prefer the actual native original self.   Michelle (14:15) Comedy used to be so much better.   Right. Got it. Is this similar to cord blood, you know, when they, when the baby's born and they say, do you, you know, you can opt to do that and then store   Dr. Jeff (14:27) When we do self,   Yeah, let's tap into that for just a second and unpack it if it's okay. know, historically you would be offered to donate or not donate, but store your umbilical cord. And the purpose of that was, God forbid your child gets leukemia in seven years, you have a matched set of cells that they culture, they do divide.   Michelle (15:01) Mm-hmm. Right.   Dr. Jeff (15:02) and replace the child's bone marrow, you don't have to worry about a donor or a match. Now you can do that and you can also use, in some labs we'll use those umbilical cord cells as a source for any other future purpose, whether it's a joint problem or what have you, they're now doing that. In fact, you can use that for family members as well. So the reasons for a bank in your umbilical cord, and they probably won't tell you in the pamphlet, because it's not yet approved for marketing claims.   Michelle (15:19) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (15:31) is much more than just, you know, just in case there's a case of leukemia, you need a full bone marrow replacement.   Michelle (15:39) So interesting. how, when you do have the stem cells, first of all, it must cost a fortune, it sounds like, it's limited. It's not something that you, because you're depending on donors.   Dr. Jeff (15:52) No, well, there's a little bit more to it. And that, and I keep using the phrase stem cells and other biologics. Let's, let's talk about other biologics for a minute because some of these other biologics are less expensive and here in the U S it's, it's affordable. You don't have to necessarily leave the country and go to go to central America or, you know, Hong Kong to get this or Europe. A lot of the professional athletes historically went to Europe, but they're, they're getting it here, here in the U S too.   Michelle (15:59) Okay.   Mm-hmm.   that's good.   Dr. Jeff (16:22) But we found out that if we gave you stem cells, let's say you came over and I hooked up an IV and we gave you stem cells, in 10 to 14 days, those would be out of your system. However, the benefits would go on for weeks or months or even some of the benefits would be prolonged. So why is that? If the stem cells are gone, what's going on? Well, it turns out the stem cells aren't really doing all the work. The stem cells are delivering cell to cell communicating and influential   Michelle (16:31) Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (16:52) biomolecules, peptides, growth factors, small RNAs from cell, from the stem cells to your cells, reinvigorating and activating your cells to do that work. And those, those communication packets are called extracellular vesicles or for short exosomes. And you may have seen this, a lot of estheticians use them. You know, they can do the atom to your microneedle facial.   Michelle (17:11) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (17:20) It's sort of an advanced vampire facial with these exosomes. So the exosomes are probably doing most of the work that the stem cells were doing. And there are advantages. They penetrate tissue better. They're easier to store and handle. They'll cross the blood brain barrier if you want them in your brain and nervous system. And they're less than half the price of stem cells. So we can do things that used to cost, you know, 20, $30,000 out of this country.   for less than half of that here, because the big cost is the materials, these biologics. So what does it cost was your original question, but now that you know we're using these exosomes preferentially in a lot of these cases. And by the way, as an aside, all stem cells, sorry, start over, all cells make exosomes. We're using stem cell derived exosomes from amniotic fluid, which is quite abundant. So there are really no cells in this.   Michelle (18:11) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (18:19) There's no matching that needs to be done. and it's, it's wonderful. So, the, you know, for example, treating a knee, if we're trying to repair a knee, help someone heal a knee, we're asking their cells to do the work. We're just providing the, the, the re-instruction to tap back into the original factory that made that joint in the first place. And something that like that is kind of two doses of biologics, one above one below the knee.   the injection, the facility and everything where we do it as sterile. All that is, you know, in the nine to 12,000, depending on what we're doing. So it's not, it's not crazy. And IVs, if we do an IV, that's anywhere from like 4,000 to 8,500, depending on the dose.   Michelle (18:54) Mm-hmm.   And how many times would somebody have to do that?   Dr. Jeff (19:07) Maybe once. Usually the joints are one and done and then they go back to their normal wear and tear. So is it possible someone's going to come back in in 20 years and need it again maybe, but that's okay. We follow a French protocol that has published 15 year follow-up and we follow that protocol how they do it. And they've had over 82 % of the patients had wonderful results at the 15 year mark. We're waiting for them to publish the 20 year mark.   Michelle (19:10) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (19:35) So we're not making this up. We're just duplicating what's already been done and good science that's out there.   Michelle (19:42) And for inflammatory conditions, autoimmune conditions, or even fertility, well, you know, because it's secondary to that a lot of times. Do you use IV? So really get it right into the bloodstream. Okay.   Dr. Jeff (19:51) Right, right.   Yeah, I would definitely. yeah. Yeah. And that's how we approach anti-aging anyway. People are biohackers, anti-agers that come in. This is what we do. And we, we do an IV. We, we try to figure out a dose that makes sense for that person based on the budget and their age and maybe their inflammatory markers and their blood tests and other things. And then we see how long it lasts. And some people get a year, two years. Some people get, you know, six months.   Some people come in preventively and do every three months a lower dose. just, we customize it for the individual.   Michelle (20:33) And that crosses the blood brain barrier. So it's good for brain health, really for just everything. The system.   Dr. Jeff (20:37) Yeah. Anywhere there's an inflammatory burden, we'll do it. But exosomes do cross the blood-brain barrier. And let me go off script here for a second. For listeners that have been pregnant before, in later trimesters, a pregnant woman has glowing skin and her hair is growing wonderfully. And typically, there's not a lot of joint pain, maybe   Michelle (20:43) Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (21:06) low back pain from carrying the weight, why is that woman in, you know, not having this great skin and all that, it's because that woman is getting a daily dose of stem cell derived exosomes because they also not only cross the blood brain barrier, they cross the placental barrier. So what we do is almost simulate that in a single dose.   Michelle (21:25) Mm-hmm. Got it.   That's so interesting. in that case, when you are doing IV, is that also one and done?   Dr. Jeff (21:37) No, like I was saying, it depends on what benefits someone gets and for how long they last. It could be depending on the person's need. Now, if it's someone who's got an inflammatory problem and they're just trying to get pregnant, could be a one and done. If it's someone that has benefited from it and wants to do it repetitively, then we would help support that and make it available.   Michelle (21:43) I see.   Mm-hmm. Done.   Have you heard of this being used and injected directly into like uterus or those areas or is it typically more like IV?   Dr. Jeff (22:11) So not into the uterus, although there are examples in men of injecting the testes where they're not producing adequate sperm counts. I think IV would be a first. So I didn't read anything about ovarian injection yet. Could that be coming? Possibly. IV is obviously an easier thing to do. So I would try the IV first. But you're right, you're going to get a higher dose if you inject directly.   Michelle (22:20) Mm-hmm.   Or ovaries maybe?   Mm-hmm.   Dr. Jeff (22:40) That might be something to look at. haven't done it. We do have some sexual health shots we do at the exosomes now where we do P shots and O shots for men and women respectively for improvement in sensation, lubrication, that kind of.   Michelle (22:53) Mm-hmm.   I know that they do PRP with the ovaries and I think also uterus. So that's why I was asking because it's kind of similar, you doesn't have the same exact substance, but it's the idea of stimulating.   Dr. Jeff (23:14) No, I completely agree with that. PRP is basically a very lower, it's the lowest end self-donated regenerative medicine. And it probably contains some cells and some exosomes in there.   Michelle (23:21) Mm-hmm. Right.   So interesting. that's really fascinating. for you specifically, like if people wanted to work with you, do they have to come visit you, your office, where you are?   Dr. Jeff (23:38) Not necessarily. So, you know, most of what we do, we start out remotely. The vast majority of my patients come from somewhere other than Las Vegas, where I'm located, actually Henderson, Nevada, which is a suburb of Las Vegas. Most people start remotely. We do a lot of the blood tests or if they need MRIs or what have you remotely, and we only invite them to come to town if there's a reason to come to town. We do have some other colleagues in other parts of the states too that can do IVs.   things like that so we can sometimes refer. Yeah.   Michelle (24:09) Mm-hmm. It's really fascinating. It seems like state of the art. It's like the new thing that's coming out.   Dr. Jeff (24:13) and   It's a, and there are things coming. if you'll allow me to just jump there for a second. you know, we are working on some projects here at, at my practice. one of them involves exosomes that are stuffed with extra mitochondria. And for those of you that don't know, that's a small part within the cell. It's kind of a cell within the cell. we learned in high school biology, it was the powerhouse of the cell. made the energy, but it actually does much more.   Michelle (24:22) of course. Yeah.   Hmm   Dr. Jeff (24:46) And some causes of infertility relate to poor mitochondrial activity in the cells of the ovaries and things like that. So we're looking at exosomes that could be overstuffed with, that can donate more mitochondria. So that could be very useful. There are many other reasons to do that as well. And then we're even involved in a project that may be useful to help patients with cancer. And this is a particular exosome.   that comes from a certain type of immune cell, a T cell in our body, whose job is to identify, circulate around the body, identify, and then selectively remove or kill an abnormal cell like a cancer cell. So imagine that as an augmentative therapy or even as a preventative. Yeah, so we're hot on that trail. That's coming soon to a, to a re-celebrate clinic near you.   Michelle (25:36) That's fantastic.   I love that. That's awesome. That's really amazing. And what have you seen so far in regards to fertility? you seen people do this treatment and it work? with fertility, there's so many different reasons for why. I mean, it could be so many different. It's really a range of underlying conditions, but what have you noticed so far?   Dr. Jeff (26:03) Correct. So honestly, I don't have a fertility practice that's pretty far afield from what I do. I do a lot of structural work, a lot of joints, a lot of spine. We do some autoimmune and a few other things. But I have talked to colleagues, fertility specialists in the past, and we've talked about exosomes. I was at a biohacking conference in Texas last year.   Michelle (26:11) Yeah.   Dr. Jeff (26:32) the Dave Asprey event and someone came up to me and asked me about fertility. So I know it's on my radar. It's just not something we put out there necessarily. had one gentleman that had low sperm count. We had talked about doing something for him, but he didn't do it yet.   Michelle (26:34) Mm-hmm.   But have you seen or through colleagues or any studies that have shown even just IV, doing this with IV that it's helped?   Dr. Jeff (27:00) I've only read the abstract of some of the Chinese studies because we don't always get the full article translated. But most of those studies speak to direct injection. They have a lot of animal studies. So I don't have information on the clinical use of...   Michelle (27:07) Okay.   Dr. Jeff (27:25) exosomes personally for fertility, but I know that others have talked to me about it. So it's being done. And I, I did look it up online before we met today and you can actually find, there was a clinic in Europe that was advertising it for this purpose for fertility. Yeah.   Michelle (27:31) Mm-hmm.   Interesting. Yeah, which I'm sure people don't really have to go all the way to Europe. I'm sure also if you get the IV and your body's going through this anti-aging and your mitochondria are benefiting and also, which is very much linked to aging eggs. So you want to like revitalize and reawaken and also lower inflammation that also helps with egg quality and sperm quality.   Dr. Jeff (27:54) and   Michelle (28:08) So this is just definitely something that I found when I saw you, I was like, this is really interesting. I think that it's something that people should be hearing about. And I'm sure I wouldn't be surprised if in the future, a lot of fertility clinics are going to start looking into this as well.   Dr. Jeff (28:26) Yeah, no, the one that was advertising is an international fertility group, I think, in Eastern Europe. And they specifically have a webpage on this. Now, we can't have those webpages here in the US because we are not yet approved for marketing claims.   Michelle (28:32) Mm-hmm.   Mm-hmm. Right.   It's so interesting how all that works. But yeah, this is great. This is a really interesting topic and really great information. I love like cutting edge stuff. I love that it's kind of like to be continued because you're still like, You already have learned so much, but of course, there's so much more coming, which is exciting. I find it really exciting.   Dr. Jeff (29:00) Yeah.   I do too. have this renewed interest. know, I'm, I'm a self admitted nerd. So this is, gets me back into things that are very exciting. I don't get to do the same thing day after day anymore. that's, that's.   Michelle (29:19) I love that.   Yeah, for sure. So awesome. So for people who want to learn more about you and what you do, how can they find you?   Dr. Jeff (29:30) Check out Re-Celebrate because you're celebrating the renewal of your cells. That's spelled R-E-C-E-L-L-E-B-R-A-T-E. And that is our website is recelebrate.com. Instagram is recelebrate at recelebrate it. LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, but just type in recelebrate, you'll find it.   Michelle (29:52) Awesome. And you'll find it also in the episode notes. So I'll share all the links in there, as well as information about Dr. Jeff. So this is a great conversation. This is really, really great. And I appreciate you coming on and explaining it so nicely and really breaking it down for us, you know, people that don't have that background. So thank you so much for coming on today, Dr. Jeff.   Dr. Jeff (30:03) Yeah.   you   It's been my pleasure, thank you for having me.

Thank you for joining us for our 2nd Cabral HouseCall of the weekend! I'm looking forward to sharing with you some of our community's questions that have come in over the past few weeks…   Tina: Hi! I'm a huge fan of your podcast and almost finished with my Level 1 certification. Every year, I complete the Big 5 and gut tests and work with a Level 2 IHP. I diligently follow all the protocols, and all of my hormones are balanced, but I'm still struggling with a few symptoms. I was diagnosed with Raynaud's, the bottoms of my hands and feet have been persistently yellow for 20 years. I take liver support supplements and receive glutathione IVs. Additionally, I suffer from a constant nasal drip. I've been using a neti pot with citracidal drops and have completed all of the detoxes. I do sauna, dry brushing, lymphatic drainage massages, and weekly vibration plate. Can I get rid of the raynauds, yellow hands & feet and nasal drip? What else can I do to get rid of this? Thanks     Mya: Hi Dr. Cabral! Thank you for all you do and educating us on becoming the healthiest version of ourselves! I have been struggling with gut issues for quite a long time, with the biggest issue being extreme stomach pain and bloating. I decided to do further gut testing and found out I have extreme leaky gut, very low levels of beneficial bacteria, low sIgA levels, and low butyrate as well. No dysbiosis, or SIBO or candida. The issue is that I can NOT handle any prebiotics (even PHGG), no probiotics (except sacchromyces boulardii), and have extreme histamine intolerance. How do I fix the low beneficial bacteria and leaky gut if I can't handle pro & prebiotics and have a limited diet (I get extreme stomach pain and immune reactions when I try to add them in).     Sophie: I am an active 42-year-old woman who has a generally healthy lifestyle. I have been experiencing heart palpitations a few to several hours after exercise in the late afternoon or evening. Symptoms include a dramatical increase in my HR and shortness of breath. Medical professionals have diagnosed non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. Blood tests returned normal results for my kidneys, thyroid and electrolytes and further tests confirmed no heart disease. I have been prescribed beta blockers, which Doctors said may resolve the VT, while I await an MRI scan. What test you would recommend to get to the root cause of the problem? What are your thoughts on beta blockers? Are there any natural herbs/tablets I could take instead of the beta blockers?     Mark: Hi Stephen. Your podcast has saved my life and I am forever greatful. Thankyou. What's your opinion on a newish discovered fat C15? The brand is fatty15 and seems that it could replace fish oil. What's are your thoughts on this fat? Thankyou.     Tanna: Hello, my family and I are suffering from mold toxicity, orchard spray poison and a rain barrel that is flooding over. We have recently relocated to get out of mold and orchard spray and need to replace our furniture. Is there a non toxic brand of furniture that you would recommend? Specifically fabric couches?   Thank you for tuning into this weekend's Cabral HouseCalls and be sure to check back tomorrow for our Mindset & Motivation Monday show to get your week started off right!   - - - Show Notes and Resources: StephenCabral.com/3215 - - - Get a FREE Copy of Dr. Cabral's Book: The Rain Barrel Effect - - - Join the Community & Get Your Questions Answered: CabralSupportGroup.com - - - Dr. Cabral's Most Popular At-Home Lab Tests: > Complete Minerals & Metals Test (Test for mineral imbalances & heavy metal toxicity) - - - > Complete Candida, Metabolic & Vitamins Test (Test for 75 biomarkers including yeast & bacterial gut overgrowth, as well as vitamin levels) - - - > Complete Stress, Mood & Metabolism Test (Discover your complete thyroid, adrenal, hormone, vitamin D & insulin levels) - - - > Complete Food Sensitivity Test (Find out your hidden food sensitivities) - - - > Complete Omega-3 & Inflammation Test (Discover your levels of inflammation related to your omega-6 to omega-3 levels) - - - Get Your Question Answered On An Upcoming HouseCall: StephenCabral.com/askcabral - - - Would You Take 30 Seconds To Rate & Review The Cabral Concept? The best way to help me spread our mission of true natural health is to pass on the good word, and I read and appreciate every review!  

In this Weekly Presentation Coaching episode we meet Chris Skeens who does mobile IVs!

Anni is a mom of two young girls living in Okinawa, Japan where her husband is stationed with the Marine Corps. In addition to her work as a non-profit grant writer, she volunteers with the Military Birth Resource Network and Postpartum Coalition and hosts their podcast, Military Birth Talk. A big challenge for military parents is creating care plans for older children during birth. They often live far away from family or have recently moved and don't have a village yet. Anni's care plan was shaken up as her induction kept getting pushed back and conflicted with her family's travels.Though her plans changed, Anni was able to go into spontaneous labor and avoid the induction she didn't really want! Her VBAC was powerful and all went smoothly. She was amazed at the difference in her recovery. Another fun part of Anni's episode– she connected and met up with two other VBAC mamas living in Okinawa through our VBAC Link Facebook Community! We love hearing how TVL has helped you build virtual and in-person villages. Military Birth Resource Network and Postpartum CoalitionHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, everybody. You are listening to The VBAC Link, and I am with my friend, Anni, today sharing her stories. Anni is one of our military mamas. This is the final episode of the week of military episodes. So even though it is a little bit after Veteran's Day, that's okay. We are celebrating our military mamas today. Welcome to the show, Anni. Anni: Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here this week. Meagan: Me too. I also can't believe that you are here right now. We were just chatting before the podcast about time. You guys, it is 4:50 AM where she is at. I just can't even believe it. You're in Japan. Anni: Yeah. We live in Okinawa, so I've got to do stuff at weird times if I want to stay in touch with anybody in the States. It's the military thing. Meagan: Oh my goodness. Yes. She is in Japan. She is a mom of two young girls and like she said, she is living in Okinawa, Japan where her husband is stationed with the Marine Corps. Her personal values are community, joy, purpose, and creativity which all drive how she spends her time. In addition to her work as a non-profit grant writer, she also volunteers with the Military Birth Resource Network and hosts their podcast, Military Birth Talk. So mamas, if you are a military mom, and I'm sure a lot of people are flocking to these episodes this week, go listen to Military Birth Talk. Can you tell us a little bit more about Military Birth Talk? Anni: Yeah. So as you said, it's a part of the non-profit Military Birth Resource Network and Postpartum Coalition, so MBRNPC for short. That's an organization that provides resources for military families who are in the perinatal stage of life, so if you've just moved to a new duty station and you're like, “Oh, I need a doula who's covered by Tricare,” you can go to their website and reach out to one of their chapter leaders. They provide that kind of resource. Also, there is sort of an advocacy wing of the organization that works on policy changes impacting military families. This is our podcast, Military Birth Talk. Right now, we're featuring mostly just military birth stories, but we're in our third season and this season, we're going to be adding some additional episodes like policy conversations, interviews with experts, and that kind of thing. So, as you said, if you're a military-affiliated person listening and you want to hear some firsthand accounts of what it's like to give birth within the military healthcare system, we'd love for you to tune in. Meagan: I love it. Thank you so much for doing that and explaining more. Anni: Yeah. Meagan: I just can't wait for you to share your stories. I do have a Review of the Week, and then we'll jump right in. Today's review is by RiverW88. It says, “Gives me hope.” It says, “As a mama who had an unnecessary Cesarean and a poorly planned VBAC attempt that failed and resulted in a Cesarean, listening to these stories and information gives me hope for the future. Not only do I hope to have a third baby and a successful VBAC, but as a doula and an experienced birth photographer, I cannot wait to support other women through their VBAC journeys. I look forward to sending my clients to your website and podcast, and not too far in the future, take your VBAC doula course for myself. I love the way you present facts and inform while giving mamas a platform to share positive stories about a topic that is so scary for so many people thanks to the lack of education out there.” Oh my goodness, that is so true. There is such a lack of education out there and that is why we created the VBAC course that we did and the VBAC doula certification course. So, if you are a parent looking to up your game for VBAC, or if you are looking as a doula to learn more about supporting clients who are wanting a VBAC, definitely check us out at thevbaclink.com.Okay, Anni. Let's jump in. Anni: All right. So I am excited to share two birth stories. I'll focus mostly on my VBAC since that's why we are all here, but I'll give a little bit of context about my first birth. It was pretty routine honestly. I had a breech baby, and there were no breech vaginal birth providers in my area at the time, so that's the spark notes version. But to give a little bit more context, at the time, we were stationed in North Carolina in Newburn, North Carolina. There are a few providers out there, but not a ton. It's sort of remote-ish, but because my husband is in the Marine Corps, we were a little bit limited. I actually was on Tricare Select at the time, so for those of you listening out there who aren't familiar with military healthcare, as a spouse, you can be on Tricare Select which is where you get to choose your own provider. You don't have to be seen by the military healthcare system. You pay a little bit extra. Or, you can be on Tricare Prime which is completely free, but you have to be seen within the military network. I was on Select at the time, so I was paying a little bit extra to choose my own provider which is kind of funny because there was really only one provider in that town anyway. This is one of the reasons why flash forward to a few years later, I wanted to be a part of the Military Birth Talk podcast because we often as military families get a lot of advice that doesn't really fit our life. One of those pieces of advice is to pick your own provider. Do whatever you can to pick your own provider. Sometimes, that's just not possible. That's just not true for military families, right? It can be true for a number of reasons, but it's very true for military families, so choosing my own provider was not really that possible given where we were located. That didn't really come into play until the end when I found out that our baby was breech. Generally, the pregnancy was great. It was a really empowering, positive experience for me. I loved learning about birth. I really hadn't been involved at all in the “birth world” until I became pregnant, then I totally immersed myself. I was super excited to give birth. I was super excited for all of the little quirky things like going into labor and my water breaking, seeing my mucus plug come out, and all of the birth nerd things that I had heard people talk about on all of the podcasts like this one that I had been listening to throughout my pregnancy. It was a pretty routine, positive pregnancy. About halfway through, we found out that we would be moving to Kansas at about 6 weeks postpartum. This is another one of those military things that people would say, “Oh, enjoy nesting and have a really quiet, peaceful postpartum.” I was like, “Okay, that goes out the window. Our house will be packed up by the time the baby is born,” because with the military, you have to send stuff super early. There was no nesting, no quiet postpartum period. There was a cross-country drive at 6 weeks postpartum. That was my first wake-up call around how birthing within the military community can be unique. Up until then, because I was on Tricare Select, I was like, “Oh, I'm not really a part of this military thing when it comes to my healthcare.” That started to shift around then. Then around 36 weeks, we got a scan and found out that the baby was breech. I was so upset. I had just spent the whole pregnancy looking forward to this experience that I now wasn't going to have. It felt like I had been studying for a test or preparing for a final exam that now I wasn't going to get to take. That's obviously not true at all, but emotionally, that's how it had felt. I had gotten so excited about the possibility of seeing what my body could do. It almost felt like I had a sports car and now I was going to be forced to drive it in automatic or something. It just felt like I wasn't getting a chance to experience this thing that I had gotten so excited about. We were really upset, and my husband was too because he had gotten really excited about being able to support me in labor and all of those things. We decided not to do an ECV. I'm sure your listeners all know what that is. Partially, it was because I wasn't a great candidate for it. My placenta was anterior, so that increased the possibility of an emergency outcome. I had a high volume of amniotic fluid, so that also decreases the chances of success, and the position that the baby was in, she was completely breech. She wasn't transverse. She was totally in the wrong position. We were like, “I think we're not great candidates. Let's not do it.” We just booked the C-section. The C-section was fine. It wasn't traumatic, but especially now having had my VBAC and being able to compare the two, it wasn't a great day. I had surgery, anesthesia, and felt nauseous all day, I couldn't really hold the baby until 9:00 that night. The silver lining of that, I would say, is that my husband got to spend the whole day holding the baby because I didn't really feel well. I think that was really special for him after having 9 months of this abstract idea of a baby, and now he got to spend that day with her. I look back fondly on that aspect of it, but otherwise, it was surgery. The recovery was fine. I thought it was, at that point, again, now having had the VBAC and knowing the difference, not really that bad. It was a week and a few days of significant pain, and then after that, it was not too terrible. But again, just not the birth experience that I had hoped for. Then after that, I was not one of those people who was immediately gung-ho about having a VBAC. I think I was a little– I felt so disappointed that I didn't really want to go there in my mind. I was like, “You know, it might just be easier to schedule another Cesarean and not worry about the emotional disappointment.” I didn't want to do that either, so I just didn't really want to think about birth at all for a while. Meagan: That's a valid feeling and very normal. Anni: Yeah, so I took a big break mentally from birthy stuff. We did have a pregnancy in between our two daughters' births that actually ended at around 19 weeks due to Trisomy 18 which is a genetic chromosomal abnormality that is incompatible with life, so that is its own whole story. I don't like skipping over it because we appreciate his life, and it's a part of our story. We love our baby boy that we didn't get to spend enough time with. After that, I got pregnant again when we moved to Okinawa. When my first daughter was about a year old or a little bit less, we found out that we would be moving overseas to Okinawa, Japan. We arrived. We had the 19-week loss, and then a few months later, I got pregnant again with our second daughter who is now almost 9 months old. The pregnancy was so awesome for the most part. I had a little bit of anxiety around having just had the loss and feeling a little bit guarded. I would say it took a little bit of time to actually really be able to believe that she would be born. I think for a long time, I just didn't expect it to work. I think that was compounded by my Cesarean experience. I had this feeling of, maybe my body just doesn't work or something. That took a little while to get over, but for the most part, the pregnancy was great. Because we live overseas, we are not required to be seen on base, but the off-base options are very limited here, especially in Okinawa. The specific, weird thing about the community here is that because Okinawa is such a small island which many people don't know that it is a small island. It's not even off the coast of Japan. It's floating in the middle of the ocean. Meagan: Really? I did not know that. Anni: Yes. If you look it up on the map, you'd see that it's just a dot on the ocean. Because it's so remote, the local vibe here is basically that if the American military is going to have so much presence on this tiny island, they should be caring for their own people which is reasonable. So getting seen out in town is not as easy as it is back in the States because the options are just very limited. The other thing is that really, the only other option that Americans have out here as far as being seen “out in town” which just means off base, is a birth clinic and they don't accept VBAC patients there. Really, my only option, if I wanted to do the VBAC, was to be seen at the military hospital. So, my care there, I was being seen through Family Medicine. You can either be seen by OB or Family Med. I chose Family Med because I wanted to just continue to be seen by my regular PCM. I thought that that continuity of care was nice. Everything went really smoothly. I was sort of on the fence about the VBAC. I knew I wanted it, but again, I was emotionally guarded. Once we got into the second trimester and I started thinking more about birth, I started doing a little bit more digging thing, reading The VBAC Link Community posts a little bit more carefully. Actually, funny story, I posted something in that group. I can't even remember what the question was. Oh, it was about induction actually because it looked likely that we would want to schedule an induction so that we could plan to have family fly out to be with us. They had to buy plane tickets and stuff. Even though that was not at all what I wanted to do from a VBAC perspective, it felt like what we would need to do as far as getting care for our toddler. I posted in that group to try to see if people wouldn't mind sharing their positive VBAC induction stories. Two of the people who responded saw my picture and they were like, “That's in Okinawa. We're here too,” so we met up for coffee and I'm good friends with them now. Meagan: Oh my goodness. Anni: Yeah, so shoutout to Sarah and Tatiana if you're listening. That was really nice to feel like I had a little bit of community here in that way around this very specific topic. I started really committing to the idea of a VBAC. I also, when I say committing, my goal was that I really wanted to have a joyful birth, I didn't want to suffer. I wanted it to be joyful. I wanted to feel present like I didn't have the last time. My thinking about it was basically that those were my priorities. If it ends up being that having another Cesarean is what would get me those things, I would rather have that than lose the joy and the feeling of being present. I'm not willing to suffer just to get this outcome. That was my list in my head. I got a wonderful doula named Bridget who was totally on board with my priorities. She and I really aligned around our level of risk tolerance around VBAC because the hospital here on Okinawa, the Naval hospital, had a couple of specific things that they wanted for VBAC. They wanted me to come in right away as soon as I felt any contractions or if my water broke. They wanted me to come in right away, whereas my preference initially was to have labored at home. So that was one example of one of the things Bridget and I talked about around, okay. What's our preference around how we handle this? Do we want to say, “No thanks. We're going to labor at home for as long as we can”, or do we both feel more comfortable just getting to the space where you're going to deliver and knowing that you'll be there and they'll be watching to make sure that everything's fine? Where I shook out on that was that I'd actually rather just go to the hospital sooner. That was actually fine with me. It was really nice to have somebody to talk through that with. It was nice that we felt aligned in that way. She is really used to working with military families. She is a military spouse herself with two young boys, so that was really a really supportive relationship. My husband felt that way with her as well, and she is still a good friend. That was a really important part, I think, of my preparing for the VBAC. The hospital providers were super supportive which I was very surprised about. I didn't receive any pushback. Anybody who I saw during the course of my pregnancy was totally in support. In fact, I had a TOLAC counseling which they require so they can tell you all of the risks and benefits and whatever. The provider who gave me the TOLAC counseling, I think assumed that I would be coming in blind, so she did her whole spiel. At the end, she was like, “What do you think? What do you think you might decide?” I was like, “Yeah, no. I'm definitely going for the VBAC.” She was like, “Okay, great. I think that's a good choice.” I was surprised by that. I think people, myself included, expected military hospitals to be very antiquated or by the book or very risk averse, which they are, but in this case, it was really nice to see that they had caught on to the fact that in many cases, a VBAC is not actually more risky. Meagan: Risky. Anni: Yeah, exactly. That was really nice to feel like I wasn't going to need to be going in with any kind of armor on. So fast forward to the birth, as I had mentioned, I had “wanted” to schedule an induction for logistical reasons. The way that the hospital here works because they are chronically understaffed as many military hospitals are, if you're having an elective induction, so if it's not medically necessary, they give you a date, then you call the morning of that date and they tell you what time to come in based on the staffing ratios. Our family who we had called to come for the birth that we had scheduled this whole thing around, arrived, and the next morning, we called as it was our scheduled induction day. I will say that the only family who could come was my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, so my husband's sister and her husband. She's a surgeon back in New York, so she only had a 6-day period that they could come. That was part of the reason why we wanted to schedule an induction. They got here. The next morning, we called the hospital, and they said, “Oh, we're too busy right now. We can't safely bring you in, so call back at 4:00.” We called back at 4:00, and they were like, “We're still too busy. We're sorry, but you have to call back tomorrow morning.” My doula had warned me that this was very common. She was like, “Expect maybe 12-24 hours,” but I was just in this manifesting headspace that everything was going to go great, so I was super disappointed. We went to sleep. We were like, “Oh, we were supposed to be at the hospital tonight.” We woke up in the morning, called the hospital, and again, they said, “We are still too busy. For the third time, we can't safely bring you in, so you have to call back at 4:00.” I took a long walk by the ocean. We got lunch. We just killed time. I took my toddler to the playground. I'm like, “Okay, this is it.” We called back at 4:00 PM that day and they were like, “I'm so sorry. We're still too busy.” This was the fourth time. By this time, there was actually a day between when our family arrived and when we started calling. By this time, there was no way they were still going to be here if we had to go for the induction, have what was inevitably going to be a long induction because I never labored with my first, spend the 24-48 hours at the hospital, and then come back, there was no way our family was still going to be here.I was so stressed. They were like, “We know we've pushed you now four times. Why don't you call back tonight at 8:00 or something? We think we're going to get a discharge between now and then. We'll see if you can come in at 10:00, and we'll see if we can start the induction.” I was like, “You know what? Our schedule is already messed up at this point. It sounds like it's already a crazy situation over there at the hospital. I don't really want to go into that mess, and I don't really want to start an induction at 10:00 at night.” I was like, “Can we just come in tomorrow first thing, at 5:00 in the morning?” By this point, it was going to be a Saturday. We were supposed to go in on a Thursday. It got pushed all day Thursday and all day Friday. I said, “Can we push it to the first thing on Saturday morning?” The charge nurse who I talked to said, “Yes, that's fine.” We go to bed. We wake up in the morning, so happy that finally, today was the day. We say goodbye to our toddler. We get to the hospital at 5:30. It's super quiet. Nobody was there. We bring the bags up. We unpack. I had affirmations that I had printed out, Christmas lights, music, essential oils, and all of those things. We start unloading the bag. The nurse comes in and gets me hooked up to monitors to do a non-stress test. We do that. I'm sitting there on the monitors for a half hour. Then she comes in and she says, “The NST looks good.” She starts getting an IV ready because one of their protocols is that they want VBAC patients to have two IVs actually. Meagan: Okay, what is the deal with the two IV thing? I've been hearing this. I apparently need to dig really far into it. Why two IVs? Anni: They said that one was for hydration. Meagan: Okay. Hydration, like for ORs?Anni: Yeah, and the other is for medication, so if they need to hang a quick bag of something like Pitocin– I don't even know. It's so silly because I didn't have anything. When I eventually did get the IVs, I didn't have anything in either one. The second one was really hard to get in. They spent an hour and a half trying to get it in. I didn't even have anything in the first one. I was like, “Nothing is in the first one. If you need to give me meds–” Whatever. Meagan: Stop the hydration and put the meds in, or maybe they need that extra port that they can put in. That's interesting. Anni: Yeah, so she goes to put the IV in. A nurse comes in and goes, “Wait, don't put that IV in.” I'm like, “Why?” They were like, “We don't know. The provider wants to talk to you.” The provider comes back in and she was like, “I'm so sorry, but we didn't realize that you were a VBAC. We weren't tracking that. You got pushed, and we won't induce you on a weekend because we only have one OB and we want to have two,” so we had to go home. They were like, “You have to go home, and you can't come back until Monday.” I burst into tears. This poor OB was like, “You can totally yell at me.” I'm like, whatever. It was so ridiculous. We go home. We were like, “All right. Now, we don't know what we will do for childcare.” Thank goodness, my sister lives in San Francisco. Her husband had a work trip that week that got canceled, so she was like, “I can actually just fly out and be there for you.” She has two kids, so that's why she wasn't going to come before, but now her husband was going to be home. She hopped on a plane right when that happened. We go home, and we were like, “Okay. We will be coming in on Monday.” We go to bed that night on Saturday, and I woke up at 2:00 AM with contractions in labor. Meagan: Oh yay! Anni: I could cry now thinking about it. It was the beginning of a day that was the culmination of everything I had wanted from a birth experience for the last 3.5 years. I had been having a little bit of prodromal labor that week, but it would be one contraction at 2:00 AM and then nothing else. I woke up at 2:00 AM. My husband was sleeping on the couch by this point in pregnancy because I had one of those massive pillows, and he was like, “I can't. I don't fit.” Meagan: I can't compete with the pillow. Anni: Exactly. I was like, “I'm sorry, but I choose the pillow.” He was on the couch. I woke up at 2:00, and I was like, okay. I'm having a contraction. 15 minutes later, I had another one. I was like, “Okay, I had two, but 15 minutes apart is a long time.” But then, 15 minutes later on the dot, I had another one. Then it was every 15 minutes for the next 2 hours from 2:00-4:00 AM. My dogs were there. I was just really enjoying it, honestly. I was feeling emotional. Nothing was super uncomfortable yet, so it was just period cramps and that kind of a feeling. But I was like, “Okay.” We were supposed to take our in-laws to the airport that day because that was the day that they were leaving. I'm like, “Okay. I know how this works. I've heard a bajillion birth stories. I'll wake up at 6:00. The house will get busy. The contractions will peter out. I'll have the whole day to do whatever, then they'll probably pick up tomorrow night after I put my toddler to bed.” So in my head, I'm like, that's the day. That's what's going to happen. The plan was that I was going to drive my in-laws to the airport that morning because my husband was going to pick my sister up late Sunday night. That way, we could split the trips. I didn't want to do the late-night run. 6:00 in the morning rolls around. I wake up my husband and I'm like, “Hey, I've been having contractions for 2 hours, but no big deal. I'll take Megan and Paul to the airport,” which is an hour away. “I'll be back later.” He was like, “What are you talking about? You're not going to take them. Nobody's going to the airport an hour away if you're having contractions. They can take a taxi. They'll be fine.” I'm like, “No. They're definitely going to stop when everybody gets up. That's always what happens. He's like, “No. I don't care if nothing happens today. You're not driving to the airport if you're having contractions.” I was like, “Fine. That's silly, but whatever.” Everyone wakes up. I'm still having contractions, but they were very short. They were 30 seconds long and very tolerable. There were a couple that I was like, “Okay, I want to get on hands and knees and hang out on my yoga ball.” But for the most part, they were super easy. 8:00 rolls around. We called a taxi for my in-laws and we actually had a babysitter lined up for that day anyway. I can't remember why, but we decided just to keep her basically and have an easier day. The babysitter arrived at 8:30 and my husband went out. Right as she arrived, my husband went with my toddler to go do something quickly, so I was alone with Brittany, our nanny. I had this one contraction and I was like, “I don't want to talk to her.” We had just met her at that point. She was new to us, so I was like, “Small talk feels really hard right now. I can't make small talk.” I was like, “Hmm. That's kind of interesting.”Meagan: That's a sign. Anni: But in my head, it wasn't. It was going to be a 48-hour experience. That was just in my head. Again, I didn't labor at all with my first, so in my head, this was a first time birth. My body has not done this before. Once our toddler was with the babysitter, I went upstairs and I got back in bed with my dogs. I was just having contractions. I was snuggling with my dogs just trying to stay present. My husband came in and hung out with me for a little while. He said, “You know, if you're still feeling good, I'm just going to run over to the commissary (the grocery store on base) and grab some essentials because we didn't think we'd be here this weekend, and now we're out of milk and eggs and whatever, so I'll go grab some things, and I'll be back in an hour.” I was like, “Great, no problem.” He left around 9:00. At 9:45, I was like, “I can't do this alone anymore.” I feel crazy saying that because it was way too fast to be saying that, but I texted him saying, “I think I need you to come back.” He came back. He brought me some fruit salad because I hadn't eaten anything yet that morning which I could barely get down. I was in labor for sure, but in my head, I still was like, “This is going to be such a long experience. Nothing is progressing yet.”I got in the shower. That spaced things out for maybe one long gap between contractions, and then right after that, they started increasing. They were getting closer together, and they were more like 7 minutes apart, then 6 minutes apart. I was having to moan through them a little bit. We called Bridget, our doula, to be like, “Hey, what should we do?” I was able to talk to her with no problem in between contractions. I was fully present and lucid, so I was like, “Okay, this means I'm not in active labor because I'm totally present. I can have a conversation,” but then during the contractions, I would really need to put the phone down and moan. Meagan: Okay, I was going to say, but that was in between contractions. Anni: But in my head, again, I was so emotionally guarded around, “I don't want to expect that this is going to happen. I want to expect the worst.” She was like, “Okay, yeah. They are 6 minutes apart. I would really recommend that you wait until it's been at least 1 or 2 hours when the contractions have been that close together before you consider going in, but if you want to call the hospital and ask them what their preference is, you can do that.” I was just starting to feel really anxious about laboring in the car. I also just had this feeling that I just wanted to be there. I just wanted to be where we were going to be and feel settled, which surprised me. I thought I would want to stay at home for a long time, but it was the feeling when you have an afternoon flight. You don't want to hang out at home before your flight. You just want to get to the airport. That was how I felt. I was surprised by that feeling. We called the hospital. We told them what was happenind, and they actually did say, “Yeah, why don't you just come on in?” We told Bridget. I was a little nervous. I was like, “Ooh, I bet she's going to think that this is a misstep. We are going in so early.” But I just was like, “That's what I want to do.” We got in the car. We went over to the hospital and got checked in triage. I was a 1. I had never had a cervical check before ever because my last baby was breech and in this pregnancy, I hadn't been checked yet. I was super, super tense, and the provider, the nurse, was like, “I can't really get up there. Your cervix is really high and hard. I can't really get a good feel, but you're definitely a 1 or a 2.” So I was like, “Okay, not great.” She left and was gone for a while, I guess, to talk to the provider, and then when she came back in, my water broke, and there was meconium in the water. So I was like, “Okay. All of these things are not great. I'm at a 1. I'm a VBAC. My water is broken, and there is meconium. All of these things are going to make the providers feel urgency around getting this thing going.”But I was like, “Ugh. I definitely don't want to get an epidural if I'm only at a 1 because that's a terrible idea, but I also really don't want to get Pitocin if I don't have an epidural.” I was really hoping that I could have a natural birth without any medication, but I also again, going back to my list of priorities, I was like, “I want the joy. I want to be present. I don't want to suffer. If I can check all of those boxes and also experience an unmedicated birth, then that would be amazing, but I'm not willing to sacrifice any of those things.” So after my water broke, they brought me into the delivery room. I just started laboring. They came in maybe a half hour later and said, “We probably want to start some Pitocin.” I was like, “Let me wait on that. Just give me a minute to think about things,” which we can always do. Ask for more time if nothing is an emergency. Thank goodness I did that because in the half hour, I was thinking about it– not thank goodness that there was an emergency, but there was an emergency, and the only OB who was there that day got called away to do emergency surgery, so he became unavailable for the next several. The Pitocin was off the table for the time being, and so I just got to labor on my own. Bridget arrived, and she had me get into a whole bunch of funky positions. The baby was posterior which I knew because I was feeling this all in my back, and so she was having me get into all of these really uncomfortable, asynchronous positions with my legs in all kinds of weird places. It was super uncomfortable, but I knew that it was effective. I kept laboring. As I said, they had trouble getting the second IV in. That took a really long time even though there was nothing in the first one they had put in. I guess I also had two monitors on me. They were Bluetooth monitors, so one for me and one for the baby. I don't remember that at all, but my doula said that they were messing with them the whole time because they kept moving. I don't remember that. I think I was just more in labor land than I realized. But I had the two monitors. They finally got that second IV in. The anesthesiologist came to do it, and after he did the IV, he gave me the whole epidural spiel which they have to do for legal reasons which I wasn't paying any attention to because I was just moaning and groaning and ignoring him. So he left. I kept laboring, and then around– we got to triage at noon and we got checked into our room around 1:00. Around 3:30, they came back in and asked about the Pitocin. I was like, “I need to get more information about this because I need to figure out what I'm going to do for pain management if we're doing Pitocin.” Bridget was like, “Why don't you just get checked again and see where you are?” I was a 7. So either I made a ton of progress in that 2 hours, or I wasn't really a 1 when I got there, and my body was stressed and it clamped up, or the provider couldn't get a good read. Whatever it was, in my head, I went from a 1 to a 7. Meagan: Massive change. Anni: Yes. I think I giggled. I was just so happy. So they were like, “Okay, well we don't need to do any augmentation. You're progressing just fine.” I was like, “Okay. We're doing this. We're just going to keep going.” Bridget recommended that I go to the bathroom because I hadn't peed in a while. I went over to the toilet, emptied my bladder, then had a huge contraction and felt super like I needed to get off the toilet immediately. I hopped off and went back to the bed. A little bit of time passed, and then I started feeling like I had to throw up, but it wasn't a nausea throw-up. It was like my abdomen was heaving kind of thing. I was like, “Am I pushing right now?” It was this involuntary feeling. I knew about the fetal ejection reflex, but in my head, I thought that was more of a sustained bearing down feeling and this was a more grunty thing. Everybody heard what I was doing, and the nurse who was phenomenal, her name is Cassie. She was such a godsend. She checked and she was like, “Yep, you have no cervix left. You're good to go.” This was at 5:00. Meagan: 2 hours later. Anni: Yeah. I just couldn't believe it. I still thought it was going to be hours and hours and hours because I was so guarded, but it wasn't. There were about 15 minutes between when she checked me and when I really started pushing. I labored down a little bit. The providers lost the baby's heartbeat at one point which is super common when they're in the birth canal, but because this provider knew I was a VBAC, and he had experienced some things before and was very risk-averse, he wanted to do an internal fetal monitor. I was like, “You know what? Not ideal. I don't love it, but that's fine.” I wanted to maintain that calm environment in the room. I didn't want people to start freaking out. I was like, “That's fine. Do what you need to do.” They did the internal fetal monitor. I rolled over to my hip. I wasn't having those grunting urges anymore, but I could feel the baby moving down on her own. I felt her head start to stretch me, then she sucked back in. It started to feel scary like, okay. There's no way out at this point. I'm the only one who can do this. I'm going to feel all of this.I gave a couple of really strong pushes. Up until then, I had been breathing and pushing because that's what my pelvic floor therapist and I had talked about, and I had really practiced that. But the provider again, had nervousness about the heartbeat. The internal monitor wasn't picking up what they wanted it to, so the nurse was like, “Okay. Let's give this one really good push.” I gave one really good push. I felt her head come out, then shortly thereafter, her body. My husband said, “Oh my gosh, she's here. You did it!” They put her right up on my chest, and it was just incredible. Looking back, now I say it was incredible. In the moment, I think I was completely shocked because it was so fast. I had a ton of adrenaline. I had the labor shakes, so my chin was chattering. My husband moved the baby down a little bit because he was like, “You're going to knock her in the head.” It was just amazing. I felt so empowered. It took me a few hours to come down from feeling shocked, but 3 hours later, we were in our room with the baby, and I had showered already at that point, walked myself to the maternity room where we would spend the next day, and it was just so beautiful. I look back on that day all the time in my head. I relive that day all the time in my head. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was so incredible, and it was an experience that I will draw strength from for the rest of my life. It was just amazing, yeah. Meagan: Oh my goodness. And being pushed, and pushed, and pushed, and having a plan, and then it changing, and having a plan, and it changing, I mean, it was meant to work out this way. Anni: Yeah, yeah. Meagan: I'm sure you can feel that now. Oh, it is just amazing. It just goes to show that sometimes first-time vaginal births don't take 40 hours. They can go quickly if your cervix is ready and your body is ready and your baby is ready. I love that your doula was like, “All right, let's get in these positions.” You talked about going from a 1 to a 7. You may very well could have been a 1, but positional changes and getting better application with the baby's head to the cervix can make a big difference. Anni: Yeah. I will say I think one of the things that also made a huge difference was that I mentioned I had seen a pelvic floor physical therapist. I had started seeing her around 20 weeks because I thought I had appeased knees at one point. I was like, “I want to nip that in the bud right away.” I went to go see her, and we really worked a lot on relaxing my pelvic floor and how I would need to do that during labor. I thought I was one of those people who was like, “I'm relaxed. I can relax my pelvic floor. That just means not clenching,” but it's so much more intentional than that. Meagan: It is. Anni: Practicing actually really relaxing my pelvic floor through pregnancy was so helpful because I knew what I needed to do during a contraction to not tense up at all. I think that really helped things progress. Even with a posterior baby, usually that can take a really long time, but it was a really fast labor. I give my pelvic floor therapist at Sprout Physical Therapy if anybody is looking, she was wonderful. Meagan: I love that so much. I love that you pointed out that you did it before pregnancy. A lot of people, me included– I didn't think of pelvic floor therapy before I had my baby. Why would I have pelvic floor therapy before I even had a vaginal birth? That's just where my mind was, but it's just so, so good. Now, I personally have seen a pelvic floor therapist, and I understand the value and the impact that they can make so much more. Like you said, they teach you how to connect and truly release and relax because we might think we are, but we are not. They can help avoid things like really severe tearing and that as well. Anni: I had no tearing. I had a first-degree tear. It was easy peasy. Yeah. Meagan: Yes, yes. I have heard that a lot of people who do pelvic floor therapy can reduce their chances of tearing based on what they know and how they connect to the pelvic floor. Anni: Yeah. Yeah. I'm just super grateful and so grateful for resources like this. I think storytelling is such a powerful tool and listening to all kinds of VBAC stories was really helpful, even the ones that didn't go as planned because that's always a possibility. I really wanted to be mentally strong against that. I didn't want to be crushed and feel like I lost my hopes and dreams. I wanted to come out on the other side of what happened with some sense of acceptance, so hearing all of the stories was so helpful, and having the community here and having my VBAC friends here in Oki was amazing. Meagan: I absolutely adore The VBAC Link Community, and I love hearing that, not only did I meet people who were my friends online, but we connected in our own community because there are Women of Strength all over. You never know, if you reach out there, you will probably have someone down the street. There are thousands and thousands of people in there, so I highly suggest to go to The VBAC Link Community on Facebook. Answer the questions and dive in because there are also stories being shared there daily. Anni: Yeah. I felt so reassured. I think I got 40 responses when I asked for positive VBAC induction stories. There were so many responses, so I was like, “Okay. I can totally do this.” It made the pregnancy easier. Regardless of what the outcome was going to be, it alleviated the anxiety that I had about the induction. So even though it didn't end up going that way, it definitely made a positive impact on my pregnancy. Meagan: Absolutely, and I know that VBAC groups can make a negative impact as well like it did for me. I was in the wrong VBAC supportive group that I thought was supportive and it just wasn't. That is why we created this one. There are other amazing ones as well, but that's why we created this one because we do not handle the B. S. We just do not tolerate it. It is a loving community and only a loving community. That is what it's for. Anni: Yeah. I was also in the chat feature. There was a chat group for people who were giving birth in the same month. I was in the January group. That was an amazing group of people too. I got so familiar with those names and those stories. People were so supportive of every outcome. There were people there who got their VBACs. There were people who ended in unplanned Cesareans. There were people who at the last minute, decided that they wanted a Cesarean, and everybody was loving and supportive. It was just an awesome vibe. Meagan: It really is. Oh, that makes me so happy because these are exactly the goals that we had when we created these groups. Oh my goodness. Anni, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. Congratulations on your VBAC, and I am so, so happy for you. Anni: Thank you so much, Meagan. It was so awesome to be here. I love this podcast. Thank you for everything that you do, and thank you so much for having me on here today. Oh, do you know what? I had one more thing I wanted to share with Tricare, everybody. I'm a Tricare doula. I work with Tricare here in doula. Definitely talk to your Tricare rep if you're out there listening to see because some of them do offer coverage for doulas. Anni: Yes. Meagan: I just wanted to let you know. Anni: Yes. They just announced a new set of regulations around that. Literally, new laws just came out around that so there are new details around that, but if you are on Tricare Select, you have the option to have your doula be covered by Tricare. Just a quick advocacy plug here, if you're being seen at a military hospital, you cannot access that benefit which is a huge problem because Servicemembers have to give birth at military hospitals, so Servicemembers themselves cannot access this benefit which is a huge problem. That's one of the things MBRNPC is trying to advocate to change coming up. So if you are listening out there and you have any access to any kind of advocacy channels, please get the word out that we need to fix that. Meagan: Yes. It does need to be fixed. Talking about hiring the doulas because it's Select and you go outside, we do have to have referrals from that provider. We have to actually have a referral from that provider for the doula before we can start, and we cannot start before 20 weeks so just to let you know. Even though a lot of people hire doulas early on, Tricare does not allow us to be seen until that 20-week mark. So gear up, plan, know that at 20 weeks, you can start seeing a doula and learn more about it. Oh my gosh. Thank you again so dang much. Anni: Thanks, Meagan. ClosingWould 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

This week, we revisit our conversation with Michael S. Byrd, JD, and Bradford E. Adatto, JD, of national business and health care law firm ByrdAdatto. AmSpa founder and CEO, Alex R. Thiersch, JD, speaks with Byrd and Adatto in a discussion of the latest in aesthetics compliance concerns and what medical spas should know about IV therapy compliance. They cover: Private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and the idea of integrated health care; How the corporate practice of medicine and scope of practice regulations compare for IV bars vs. traditional medical settings; Standing orders and who can use independent medical judgment to make IV therapy treatment determinations; How nursing boards view administering IVs; What the risks are for noncompliance in IV therapy; Delegation and good faith exams in IV bars; How pharmacy boards regulate licensing and compounding IV medication; · What the enforcement atmosphere is at the moment, and more! Listen to these previous episodes to learn about an unfortunate incident at a Texas medical spa, plus the educational resources the industry is building to help aesthetic providers safely perform IV nutrient therapy. Music by Ghost Score

Episode Summary: In this powerful episode, the Tick Boot Camp hosts speak with Kim Strother—celebrity fitness trainer, holistic health coach, yoga instructor, and model for brands like Ford, Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Footlocker, and more. As one of LA's top trainers, Kim shares her transformative journey from undiagnosed Lyme disease to becoming an advocate for holistic health and chronic illness recovery. Her battle with Lyme began with mysterious symptoms from a young age, leading to a 22-year struggle before finally receiving her Lyme diagnosis. Today, she uses her expertise to inspire others with a multi-modal, bio-individual approach to wellness. Key Takeaways: 1. Growing Up in Tick-Endemic New Jersey and Early Symptoms Kim's childhood on a family Christmas tree farm in tick-endemic New Jersey involved frequent tick exposure but little awareness of tick-borne illness risks. She began experiencing fatigue, migraines, GI problems, and chronic infections as a child, but these symptoms were dismissed or misdiagnosed for over two decades, setting the stage for a lengthy, difficult journey before her eventual Lyme diagnosis. 2. Late Diagnosis and Complex Co-Infections By age 28, Kim's health had deteriorated significantly, with debilitating, multi-system symptoms. After years of seeking answers, she was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease along with several co-infections and chronic conditions: Babesia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Bartonella, Candida overgrowth, mold and heavy metal toxicity, parasites, and SIBO. 3. Holistic Healing Journey Kim's recovery involved a multi-pronged approach that combined traditional and alternative treatments: Natural Supplements: Homeopathic herbs and Monolaurin (a natural antifungal) helped combat infections. Diet and Detox Therapies: A Paleo diet centered on greens and protein reduced inflammation, and therapies like glutathione IVs, infrared saunas, colonics, and ozone steam treatments supported detoxification. Innovative Devices: Kim used the FreMedica Wave frequency device, which provided symptom relief through frequency-based therapy. Electromagnetic Acupuncture Testing: This testing helped Kim track her health status and adjust her healing protocol. 4. Patience, Body Awareness, and Resilience Kim emphasizes the importance of tuning into your body, maintaining patience, and finding hope even during setbacks. She underscores that healing from chronic Lyme disease requires resilience and support from knowledgeable communities. 5. Professional Impact and Holistic Coaching Her journey through chronic illness has deeply influenced her approach as a trainer and coach. Kim now focuses on bio-individual health strategies, mindfulness, and sustainable practices, helping clients achieve wellness with a balanced and holistic perspective. Additional Highlights: High-Profile Career: Kim's career has included being a featured trainer on the Melissa Wood Health App and earning recognition as one of the most in-demand fitness models by racked. Advice from Kim Strother: On Lyme Healing: Stay hopeful, be patient, and celebrate small wins. Healing is a long journey, but each step forward is valuable. Connect with Kim Strother: To learn more about Kim's fitness programs and holistic health approach, visit her website and follow her on Instagram.

After having an HSG (hysterosalpingogram) due to infertility, Wyn was diagnosed with having a left-sided unicornuate uterus. A unicornuate uterus is a rare condition in which the uterus is smaller than normal and only has one fallopian tube. Common complications from a unicornuate uterus include infertility, IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), and preterm labor. Wyn had two unsuccessful IVF treatments followed by two miraculous natural pregnancies! Her first pregnancy ended in an unexpected Cesarean due to a fever and tachycardia in her baby. Her placenta was difficult to remove during the surgery and she was told she had placenta accreta. The OB who performed her surgery also said she had “very interesting reproductive anatomy”.Wyn deeply longed for the opportunity to try for a VBAC and experience physiological birth. Her original midwife supported her decision to VBAC and Wyn made sure to prepare physically and emotionally. At 41 weeks and 1 day, she went into spontaneous labor, declined cervical checks and other interventions she wasn't comfortable with, consented to the things she felt good about, and pushed her baby out soon after arriving at the hospital. Wyn also shares her experience with taking Needed products during her pregnancy and postpartum period this time around. Her strongest advice for other women preparing for VBAC is to find a supportive team and really listen to what your intuition is telling you to do. Needed WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, everybody. Welcome to the show. We have our friend, Wyn, from Alaska with us today. She's going to be sharing her VBAC story and Wyn has a pretty unique– and maybe Wyn, you can tell me more. Maybe it's not as unique as it feels but a pretty unique situation where you had a diagnosis of a unicornuate uterus. Tell us a little bit more about that. I feel like we hear some uterine abnormalities. I'm quoting it where it's bicornuate and all of these different things and people say, “Oh, you can't have a vaginal delivery with this type of uterus or this shape of uterus,” but tell us more about what it means for you and what it meant for you back then. Wyn: Yeah, so they found it through an HSG test where they shoot dye up through your uterus and through your fallopian tubes. Basically, just one-half of my uterus formed. I guess when the uterus is forming, it's two tubes that connect and open up so just the one half formed so I have a left-sided with a left fallopian tube. I have both ovaries so you can still conceive but there are less chances because you have just one side. Then once you get pregnant, there are higher chances of miscarriages because the blood flow is less. Intrauterine growth restriction and preterm labor are common and then a lot of time, the breech position is common as well. Meagan: With this one, you did experience IVF as well, right? Wyn: Yep. Meagan: Yeah, we'll have to hear more about that too because there are a lot of people who are getting pregnant via IVF which is amazing but there are some things that come with IVF as well. So we want to talk a little bit more about that before we get too deep into things. I do want to do a Review of the Week, then we'll let Wyn start sharing away. This review is from I think it's Amir, I think. It says, “This podcast was my constant source of reassurance and inspiring stories throughout my last two pregnancies. I achieved my VBAC in 2021 and was so empowered with so much knowledge and mental strength going into this birth because of The VBAC Link. I had my second section in 2022 which was not what I wished for but I do plan on having more children and know that VBA2C (vaginal birth after two Cesareans) is a possibility for me because of this podcast. I continue to listen to your inspiring stories each time I hop in the car and I'm so grateful for all that you share. I hope to share my own redeeming story with you in time too.” Well, Amir, thank you so much for your review. I also wanted to mention that for Amir, not only does VBAC after two Cesareans apply, but there are even risks that are lower because she has had a vaginal birth. So if you have had a vaginal birth and then you want to go on to VBAC, your chances are even higher for a VBAC and lower for things like uterine rupture. I wanted to throw that tip out there. But if you have not left us a review yet, please do so. We love them so much. You can leave it on Google or wherever you listen to your podcasts or you can even email them. Okay, Wyn. Let's get going into this story. Wyn: Okay, thank you. Thank you for having me. I feel like it's come full circle. I listened to The VBAC Link Podcast a lot throughout my pregnancy and even before that and I still do today. So I hope that maybe a little detail from my story resonates with somebody and helps them as well. Meagan: 100%. Wyn: Yeah. A little back story, before I got pregnant, we did try for a while and my cycles were regular. I was healthy. I didn't see anything wrong but we went in and got the test done with bloodwork and they suggested the HSG test. I saw my original OB then I had a second opinion with another one. Both said it was still possible but that IVF was probably going to be more likely. And of course, this is all happening in February and March of 2020. Meagan: Right as the world is in chaos. Wyn: Yeah, so I started researching IVF options. We live in Alaska so there isn't a reproductive endocrinologist here and I found a clinic. Our closest option was Seattle or Portland. I found a clinic in Portland that was willing to work with us. In August 2020, I went down for my first transfer or egg retrieval and transfer. That was a chemical pregnancy or early miscarriage. But also, that was the closest I had ever been to being pregnant. It was a little bit hopeful at the same time. We regrouped and went down in October and had another transfer that didn't take at all. We decided to take the rest of the year off and revisit it after the beginning of the year. That brings me to my first pregnancy which was a little miracle and I got pregnant the cycle after my failed transfer naturally without IVF. Meagan: Yay!Wyn: That was very exciting. I was a little bit in shock like, How can this happen? Because it had been a couple of years of trying. I went back to the second OB who I had a second opinion from. We didn't really vibe very well. I went in early at 6 weeks because I was nervous and she was like, “Why are you here so early?” So I didn't end up rebooking with her but I rebooked with a midwife who some of my friends had seen during their pregnancies and explained my situation and she got me in that week. We did an ultrasound and saw a little heartbeat. It was going well. She had me come in the next week too to just make sure things were progressing and everything was good. Meagan: Yay. So it was IVF treatment, IVF treatment, and spontaneous?Wyn: Yep. Meagan: Yay, that's awesome. Wyn: It was pretty exciting and just gave me some renewed faith in my body too that maybe it could do it. Meagan: Yeah. Wyn: So pregnancy went smoothly. I felt great. I loved being pregnant and I was measuring small consistently from about 30 weeks on about 2-4 weeks behind. I wasn't really worried about it because I figured I had a small uterus but they suggested a growth scan. I went ahead and did that and baby was all fine. She was small and we didn't know it was a she. We didn't find out but then my husband and I did some birth prep. We watched The Business of Being Born and that solidified my desire for a non-medicated birth. I was okay being in the hospital because there were unknowns with the uterus and I just wanted to experience it all. I wanted to experience everything without medication. I have a low tolerance to medication so I didn't want anything to derail the birth. I made it to 40 weeks. I made it to my due date because it's common that you go into preterm labor with a unicornuate uterus but I made it to my due date so that was exciting. I was feeling anxious to meet my baby but I was feeling good. I was just listening to whatever the midwife told me or suggested because I was a little bit nervous so she offered a membrane sweep and I thought, Okay, I'll go ahead and do that. It's not medicated. But still, it was an intervention that I learned later. Then we did a non-stress test at 40.5 weeks and she started suggesting induction. I went into my 41-week appointment and I still didn't want to do any medication but she offered the Foley bulb which he offered to put in there at the office and I would just come back the next day if it didn't come out or if it started things then it started labor. Meagan: Then great, yeah. Wyn: Yeah. She went to put it in and my water broke. Meagan: Oh, change of plans. Wyn: Yep. Yeah. It was just a trickle. It wasn't huge. She sent us home and told us to rest and to come back in the next morning. Come in if labor progressed or come in the next morning to start more induction since my water was broken. I went home and relaxed. I woke up about 2:00 in the morning to my water fully breaking everywhere and contractions started pretty instantly. I had adrenaline and I didn't ease into it. They were 5-6 minutes apart, full-on contractions. Within a couple of hours, they were closer like 3-4 minutes so we went ahead and went to the hospital. There was a lot of rushing around and a lot of nurses coming in and out. I was in my own little world. I was stuck on the bed because they wanted to have the fetal monitor on. I was holding on for the non-medicated. I declined the IV because I thought that would be that much easier. Meagan: Easier access, mhmm. Wyn: But I had spiked a temperature from my water breaking. I couldn't keep any Tylenol down so we went ahead and did the IV which took over an hour to get in because I have bad veins and lots of people tried and they eventually got an ultrasound to find a vein. Meagan: I was going to say for anyone who may have harder veins or situations like that, you can ask for the head anesthesiologist if there are multiple and for an actual ultrasound and it can really help them and get that in a lot faster. Wyn: I wish they had started that sooner. I was just being poked. Meagan: Lots of pokes, mhmm. Wyn: Yeah, and trying to labor through at the same time. They got that in. It didn't really calm down. The baby's heart rate was elevated to 170-180. It wasn't really slowing down at all. Our midwife seemed a bit concerned and started suggesting a C-section. Yeah, just laying there, I was ready to give up. I didn't want to, but she checked me and I was only 5 centimeters so I wasn't even close to getting there.They prepped me for surgery. I went in and baby girl was born in the morning at 8:50. Of course, they took her straight away to the warmer then I didn't get to hold her until the recovery room. I was still shaking from medication. Basically, the birth was completely the opposite of what we had hoped for. Meagan: What you had planned, yeah. Wyn: Then later, the OB who did the surgery came in and told me that I have very interesting reproductive anatomy. He confirmed it was a left-sided unicornuate uterus. There was a small horn on the right side and my uterus, I guess, was really stretched out and almost see-through. Meagan: A uterine window. Wyn: Then the placenta was really attached and they had to work to get that out. They labeled that as placenta accreta. I was advised not to labor again if we ever had another baby and just to plan a C-section. I felt like I went through all of the stages of grief after and in postpartum for my birth. First, I was in denial because I just blocked it out. I was happy to have my baby. Then you add the sleep deprivation and postpartum hormones and I was a bit angry at myself for not advocating but also just all of the suggestions. Baby wouldn't have changed anything. It was just a lot of what if's. Meagan: Which is hard. It's hard to what if this and what if that. Sometimes those what-ifs come up and we don't get answers. Wyn: Yeah, but it just fueled my fire to try for a VBAC. Meagan: Mhmm. Wyn: So that was my first birth and C-section then our second pregnancy which again, we felt like our little girl was a miracle so we just didn't know if we would be able to conceive again naturally or if we would have to go through IVF. We waited a little bit and another little miracle came in September 2023.Meagan: Yay. Wyn: Yeah, that was pretty exciting. Of course, I had been researching VBAC from 6 months postpartum with my daughter. I felt like my best option for a physiological birth or as close to it would be at home. I didn't want to fight the whole time in the hospital so I contacted two home birth midwives and they were both very nice and informative. They felt like I could VBAC but neither were comfortable supporting me at home with my previous birth– Meagan: And your uterus, yeah. Wyn: They both suggested I go back to my original midwife. I was a little upset at first that they wouldn't support it but I also understood. I made an appointment with my original midwife. I went in with my guard up and ready to fight for the VBAC. She surprised me and was actually supportive of it. She said that we would just watch and see how things would go. She said there wasn't any reason why we couldn't try. I was a bit surprised but wondered if she remembered all of the details or had looked at my records. I just went with it at first but eventually, we talked about everything that happened during the birth. She got second opinions from people in her office and it was okay. Meagan: Awesome. Wyn: Yeah. I also reached out and hired a doula, Dawn, who was a wealth of information and super supportive. We met regularly. She gave me exercise assignments and movements for labor and positioning. She was just there to help me debrief after each appointment with my midwife. If anything was brought up, she gave me information or links so I could feel confident going forward. That was really cool. I saw a chiropractor and did massage. I drank Nora tea from about 34 weeks on. I just tried to cover all my bases to get the best outcome. This pregnancy, I actually grew quicker and was measuring ahead, not behind. A growth scan was suggested again, but I respectfully declined because I felt like everything was okay. I was just trying to lean into my intuition and I didn't want to get a big baby diagnosis that could possibly–Meagan: Big baby, small uterus. Yeah. I don't blame you. Wyn: Yeah. Eventually, I ended up evening out at 37 weeks and was measuring right on. I just was a little bit quicker I guess. So I made it to my due date again at 40 weeks and I was offered a membrane sweep. I was offered a cervical check. I declined everything. I was doing good. I knew I went over with my daughter so I was prepared to go over again. 40.5 weeks, induction was brought up. I said I wouldn't talk about it until 42 weeks. Meagan: Good for you. Wyn: We scheduled a non-stress test again at 41 but I didn't make it to that because I was starting to have cramping in the evenings. I wouldn't consider them contractions but they were noticeable. Things were happening. I was trying to walk every day and just stay mentally at ease to keep my body feeling safe. So at 41 weeks exactly, I was having cramping in the evening. That was a bit stronger. I was putting my daughter down. My husband and I watched a show. I didn't say anything to him or anything because I didn't want to jinx it. We went to bed at 11:00. I fell asleep and slept really hard for an hour and a half. I woke up to contractions starting again full-on. I thought my water broke but I don't think it was. I think it was just bloody show originally. Meagan: Yeah.Wyn: I got up. I sat in the bathroom for a little bit and I was just super excited that it was starting on its own. I held out. I tried to time contractions a little bit at first. I knew it was happening so I just moved around the house quietly. I went and laid with my daughter for a half hour while she was sleeping because that was going to be our last time as the three of us. Yeah. I kept moving around for another half hour or so. By then, I needed the extra support. I woke my husband up. We texted our doula, Dawn, and she told me to hop in the shower for a little bit and she would get ready and head over soon.She made it about 3:30 AM and I think I was in pretty full-blown labor. I was mostly sitting on the toilet laboring in there but I came out to the living room when she came and I was on all fours. I made a music playlist. I had the TENS unit. I had all of these coping skills prepared and I didn't use anything. Meagan: You were in the zone. You were in the zone. Hey, but at least you were prepared with it. Wyn: Yeah, so about 4:45-5:00 in the morning, she suggested if we felt ready that maybe we would head into the hospital. My body was kind of bearing down a little bit wanting to push. We called my mom to come over and stay with our daughter. We called our midwife. She actually lives in our neighborhood. We called to give her a heads-up to get ready to meet us at the hospital. We got there at about 5:45. They did intake and called a nurse to bring us up to the room, and that nurse was our only real hurdle in the birth. She was not really supportive of natural birth or physiological birth. She made a couple of comments. She was trying to force me to get checked to admit me. I was obviously in labor because I was kind of pushing. I declined all of that. Eventually, she ended up not coming back in. She switched out with another nurse or maybe they told her to switch out, I'm not sure but that was nice that she removed herself from the situation. Meagan: I was going to say, good for her for realizing that her views didn't align with your views and that she probably wasn't needed at that birth. I don't love when people are that way with clients of mine or whatever, but for her to step away, that says something so that's really good. I'm glad she did for both of you.Wyn: Yeah, before she left, she was trying to get an IV too. She couldn't get an IV. I don't know. Meagan: She was frustrated and you're like, “Yeah, you could go.” Wyn: So yeah. Again, I was noticing all this going on but I was in my own little world. We got there. Our midwife, Christina, showed up. She asked if she could check me. I didn't want to have cervical checks but because I was getting pushy, she didn't want me to not be fully dilated and start pushing. I let her check and she said, “You're complete and baby is right there. Lean into it. If you want to push, start pushing.” I couldn't believe it. I prepared for labor. I had a moment that I had to wrap my mind around it because I couldn't believe we were already there to start pushing.I had requested my records so I was able to see all my time stamps. At about 6:30 was when she checked me. I pushed for about a half hour and the baby was born at 7:09 in the morning. It was exactly 41 weeks and 1 day, the same as my daughter. Meagan: Wow, and a much faster and much better experience. Your body just went into labor and was allowed to go into labor. You helped keep it safe to do what it wanted to do. Wyn: Yeah. Yeah. I was really excited to just be able. My body just did it all on its own which was pretty awesome. It was a pretty awesome feeling. Meagan: Very, very awesome. Do you have any tips for people who may feel strongly about not getting cervical exams or not getting IVs or doing those things but may have a pressuring nurse or someone who is like, “You have to do this. You have to do this. Our policy is this.” Do you have any advice on standing up for yourself and standing your ground?Wyn: Yeah, be respectful but also just be really strong. I had my husband and my doula backing me up. We prepared for things like that. I had a birth plan that had my wishes on it so just yeah, standing strong and keep in with what you want. But also be ready to switch gears. Like I said, I didn't want a cervical check but when my midwife got there and suggested it, I felt like, okay. I can go ahead with that. Meagan: You felt like it was okay at that point. That's such a great thing to bring up. You can have your wishes and desires. You can be standing your ground and then your intuition may switch or your opinion may switch or the situation may switch. You can adapt with how it's going or change your mind at any point both ways. You can be like, “I do want this and I actually decided I don't want this anymore. I changed my mind.” We ask in our form, “What's your best tip for someone preparing for a VBAC?” You said, “Find a great support team. Research all of the facts to make informed decisions and really lean into your motherly intuition.” I feel like through your story, that's what you did. You learned the facts. You said even before you became pregnant, right? Your baby was 6 months old and you were starting to listen to the podcast and learn more about VBAC and what the evidence says and the facts then you got your support team. You just built it up. You knew exactly what you needed to do so you felt confident in saying, “No. I don't want that IV” or “No, I don't want that cervical exam for you to admit me. I'm going to have this baby with or without that cervical exam.” I think the more you are informed, the more likely you feel confident in standing your ground. Wyn: For sure. Meagan: Yeah, for sure. Well, oh my goodness. Huge congrats. Let's just do a little shoutout to your midwife and your doula. Let's see, it's Christina? Where is she at again?Wyn: Interior Women's Health in Fairbanks, Alaska. Meagan: Awesome. So great of her to support you with a more unique situation too. She was like, “Let me do some research. Let me get some opinions. Okay, yes. We're good.” I'm so glad you felt that support. Then your doula, Dawn, yes. Where is she again? Oh, Unspeakable Joy. Wyn: Yes. Yeah. Meagan: That is so awesome. I'm so glad that you had them. We love doulas here as I'm sure you have heard along the podcast. We absolutely love our doulas. We have a VBAC directory as well so you can find a doula at thevbaclink.com/findadoula. Then last but not least, in the form, you said that you took Needed. Wyn: Yes, I did. Meagan: Yes. Can you share your experience with taking Needed through pregnancy? Did you start before pregnancy? Wyn: Yeah. Right as I got pregnant with my second one, I took the prenatal. I took the probiotics and I still take them today postpartum. Then also, the electrolytes or the mineral packets and the nighttime powder that my husband and I take. We put it in our tea every night. Meagan: It's amazing. It really is so amazing, huh? It's kind of weird because I don't have to finish it. I'm just sitting there sipping on it and I can just feel everything relax. I have a busy brain. I call it busy brain and my busy brain is a lot more calm when I take my sleep aid. Wyn: Yeah. I slept amazingly through pregnancy. Normally with my first, I had a lot of insomnia. It was very nice. Meagan: Yeah. Then the probiotics, I want to talk about probiotics in general. We never know how birth is going to go. We could have a Cesarean. We may have a fever and have to be given antibiotics or Tylenol or whatever it may be. If we can have a system that is preloaded essentially with probiotics, it really is going to help us and our gut flora in the end so no matter how that birth outcome it, that probiotic is so good for us because we never know what we are going to get or what we are going to receive in that labor. I'm excited. Wyn: Yeah, what is that stuff that they test you for? Meagan: Group B strep?Wyn: Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I didn't want that because I didn't want to have an IV. Meagan: So, so important. I love it. They usually test for that around 36 weeks so really making sure that you are on the pre and probiotic. What I really love is that it is pre and pro so it really is helping to strengthen our gut flora so much. With GBS, with group B strep, they like to give antibiotics in labor. It's sometimes a lot. They like to give rounds every 4 hours so you really could be impacting your gut flora. I love that you took that. You didn't even have group B strep. Well, thank you so, so much for sharing your story. Is there any other advice or anything else you would like to share with our listeners today?Wyn: Yeah, just again, find your support team and lean into your own intuition. You know what is right for your body and your babies. Meagan: It's so true. I mean, from day one of this podcast, we've talked about that intuition. It is powerful. It is powerful and it can really lead us in the right path. We just have to sometimes stop and listen. Sometimes that's removing yourself from a situation. Go into the bathroom and say, “I have to go to the bathroom.” Go to the bathroom, close your eyes, take a breath, and hear what your intuition is saying. It is so powerful. I couldn't agree more. Thank you so much.ClosingWould 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

Episode 335: Ultrasound-Guided IV Placement in the Oncology Setting “Much like many experienced oncology nurses, I learned how to do IVs with palpation. I got really good at it. And so I thought, there's no way I need this ultrasound. But we know now that our patients are sicker. There are more DIVA patients, or difficult IV access patients. We've got to put the patient first, and we've got to use the best technology. So I've really come full circle with my thinking. In fact, now it's like driving a car without a seatbelt,” MiKaela Olsen, DNP, APRN-CNS, AOCNS®, FAAN, clinical program director of oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Health System told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about ultrasound-guided IV placement. Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at courses.ons.org by November 1, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Learning outcome: The learner will report an increase in knowledge related to ultrasound-guided peripheral IV placement in the oncology setting. Episode Notes  Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast™ episodes: Episode 127: Reduce and Manage Extravasation When Administering Antineoplastic Agents ONS Voice articles: Access Devices and Central Lines: New Evidence and Innovations Are Changing Practice, but Individual Patient Needs Always Come First Standardizing Venous Access Assessment and Validating Safe Chemo Administration Drastically Lowers Rates of Adverse Venous Events ONS book: Access Device Guidelines: Recommendations for Nursing Practice and Education (Fourth Edition) ONS courses: Complications of Vascular Access Devices (VAD) and Intravenous (IV) Therapy Vascular Access Devices Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing article: Standardized Venous Access Assessment and Safe Chemotherapy Administration to Reduce Adverse Venous Events StatPearls Video: Forearm Anatomy Review and Ultrasound Probing Infusion Nurses Society: Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice (Ninth Edition) To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities. To find resources for creating an Oncology Nursing Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. Highlights From This Episode “The benefit of having an ultrasound, it allows you to see through. You're no longer sort of bound by, ‘Can I feel it? Are there skin discolorations or skin colors that are affecting my ability to see the vein clearly?' You don't have to worry about any of that. Is there edema? Is there lots of tissue? You can actually directly visualize the veins to assess not only the health of the vein, but some of the complications that could be there, like a thrombus in the vein or sclerosis or tortuous anatomy, arteries, nerve bundles. Those are things that you can now see with your machine.” TS 8:55 “I think that the most important part of [training] is having a really good didactic session where nurses come in and they learn reminders about the anatomy. Where are these veins? Where are the best veins to canulate when you're using ultrasound? And we like to avoid the veins above the antecube for regular long peripheral IVs that we insert with ultrasound because we want to preserve those veins up higher for our [peripherally inserted central catheter] lines and midline. So we want to teach to try to use the forearm. The cephalic vein in the forearm is a really excellent vein to choose.” TS 17:24 “[Patients] are usually kind of impressed with the machine and the technology, and I explain that ‘We're not able to get it without being able to see better, so I'm going to use my machine so that I can see better.' And almost every time after I'm done, the patient is like, ‘Wow, are you done?' … It's the initial little puncture that hurts the patient. But unlike when we do it blindly and maybe we don't get it right in the vein, and we're having to dig around and reposition ourselves and get into that vein, we're not doing that with ultrasound because you're going to go into the vein, and then you're starting to do the threading, and you're pulling your probe up as you go to get that catheter in the vein. The patient doesn't feel that part. So they often comment about how they barely felt it and they can't believe it's over.” TS 21:21 “This is kind of my measure of success when we're no longer kind of putting this on the patient. We're not saying, ‘You have difficult veins. Your veins roll. You're not drinking enough.' That's not okay anymore. We've got to take responsibility and use technology to do this more successfully.” TS 30:24

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Melvin Nario, MD, HMD, an integrative and homeopathic medical doctor with a diverse background that spans conventional and alternative medicine. With his training in both traditional Western medicine and homeopathy, Dr. Nario takes a holistic approach to healthcare, focusing on personalized treatments that address the root causes of illness. He is particularly known for his expertise in peptide therapies, anti-aging medicine, and integrative oncology, combining cutting-edge science with natural healing methods.  Episode Highlights: Dr. Nario's Medical Journey**: Learn about Dr. Nario's unique path, from his medical degree at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines to becoming a licensed homeopathic doctor in Nevada, integrating both worlds of medicine. Peptide Therapy**: Discover the exciting potential of peptide therapies in enhancing healing, boosting immune function, and supporting anti-aging. Dr. Nario shares how these therapies can regulate hormones, improve cognitive function, and promote tissue repair. Integrative Oncology**: Dr. Nario discusses his work at Forsythe Cancer Center and Bio Integrative Health Center, where he uses a holistic approach in treating cancer, combining integrative methods such as IV nutrient therapies and botanicals with conventional treatments. IV Nutrient Therapies**: Learn about the powerful effects of IV therapies, including NAD+ for cellular repair and anti-aging, chelation for detoxification, and nutritional IVs for overall health optimization. Homeopathy & Classical Medicine**: How Dr. Nario blends homeopathy with acute and chronic care, giving patients personalized, non-toxic options for healing and long-term wellness. Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine**: Dr. Nario shares insights from his work in the field of anti-aging, discussing how modern advancements like peptide therapies and IV nutrients are transforming the landscape of longevity medicine. Key Takeaways: - The science behind **peptide therapies** and their role in anti-aging, cognitive enhancement, and immune support. - How Dr. Nario combines **traditional Western medicine** with **holistic approaches** to provide a comprehensive care plan for his patients. - The potential of **integrative oncology** to enhance conventional cancer treatments with natural and supportive therapies. - Why **IV nutrient therapies** are growing in popularity for both disease treatment and preventive health. es. Connect with Dr. Melvin Nario: - Bio Integrative Health Center: https://www.facebook.com/biointegrativereno/ - Forsythe Cancer Center:  https://www.drforsythe.com/ - Clearfield Medical Group: https://drclearfield.net/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb Be sure to subscribe to our channel for more insightful conversations with experts in integrative and longevity medicine!   BIO Nario, Melvin Ibarra MD HMD Current Address: 6292 Dog Hollow Court Reno NV 89519, melvin_nario@yahoo.com Main Credentials: 1.)    M. D. Degree Doctor of Medicine – University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines 2.)    Licensed Homeopathic Medical Doctor (MD HMD) – State of Nevada 3.)    Internship - Residency Program in University of North Dakota, Bismarck Family Medicine 4.)    Internship in University Of Santo Tomas Hospital, Philippines 5.)    Doctor Of Medicine and B.S. Degree in Nursing, University of Santo Tomas, Manila 6.)    Degree in Acute and Chronic Classical Homeopathy, British Institute of Homeopathy 7.)    Former Medical Director – The Vitality Bar in Fitness For 10 Sparks, Nevada 8.)    Former Medical Director of Bio Integrative Health Center International Reno, Nevada 9.)    Visiting Physician – Forsythe Cancer Center and Clearfield Medical - Reno, Nevada 10.)    Junior faculty physician – American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) Women's Hormone Course 11.)    Vice President of the Nevada Homeopathic Board Of Examiners 12.)    Licensed Advanced Nurse Practitioner and RN, Nevada 13.)    Licensed RN – Philippines Certifications: 1.)    ECFMG Certified 2.)    Certified in the Fundamentals/Advanced Clinical Applications of IV Nutrient Therapies 3.)    Certified Shoemaker Proficiency Partner practitioner for CIRS 4.)    Academy of American Anti Aging Medicine Certifications – Peptide Therapy, integrative oncology, CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) 5.)    IV Therapeutics Certified – NAD, Integrative Oncology, Botanicals, Antiaging, Chelation, Nutritional 6.)    Institute for Functional Medicine  -  Member  Work Experience  8/8/2023 – present: Visiting Physician Clearfield Medical, Reno, Nevada 6/2015 – present: Bio Integrative Health Center International Reno – Health Care Provider (MD HMD) 6/2018 – present: Visiting Physician – Forsythe Cancer Center - Forsythe Cancer Care Center Reno, Nevada   Personalised Health Optimisation Consulting with Lisa Tamati Lisa offers solution focused coaching sessions to help you find the right answers to your challenges. Topics Lisa can help with:  Lisa is a Genetics Practitioner, Health Optimisation Coach, High Performance and Mindset Coach. She is a qualified Ph360 Epigenetics coach and a clinician with The DNA Company and has done years of research into brain rehabilitation, neurodegenerative diseases and biohacking. She has extensive knowledge on such therapies as hyperbaric oxygen,  intravenous vitamin C, sports performance, functional genomics, Thyroid, Hormones, Cancer and much more. She can assist with all functional medicine testing. Testing Options Comprehensive Thyroid testing DUTCH Hormone testing Adrenal Testing Organic Acid Testing Microbiome Testing Cell Blueprint Testing Epigenetics Testing DNA testing Basic Blood Test analysis Heavy Metals  Nutristat Omega 3 to 6 status and more  Lisa and her functional medicine colleagues in the practice can help you navigate the confusing world of health and medicine . She can also advise on the latest research and where to get help if mainstream medicine hasn't got the answers you are searching for whatever the  challenge you are facing from cancer to gut issues, from depression and anxiety, weight loss issues, from head injuries to burn out to hormone optimisation to the latest in longevity science. Book your consultation with Lisa    Join our Patron program and support the show Pushing the Limits' has been free to air for over 8 years. Providing leading edge information to anyone who needs it. But we need help on our mission.  Please join our patron community and get exclusive member benefits (more to roll out later this year) and support this educational platform for the price of a coffee or two You can join by going to  Lisa's Patron Community Or if you just want to support Lisa with a "coffee" go to  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LisaT to donate $3   Lisa's Anti-Aging and Longevity Supplements  Lisa has spent years curating a very specialized range of exclusive longevity, health optimizing supplements from leading scientists, researchers and companies all around the world.  This is an unprecedented collection. The stuff Lisa wanted for her family but couldn't get in NZ that's what it's in her range. Lisa is constantly researching and interviewing the top scientists and researchers in the world to get you the best cutting edge supplements to optimize your life.   Subscribe to our popular Youtube channel  with over 600 videos, millions of views, a number of full length documentaries, and much more. You don't want to miss out on all the great content on our Lisa's youtube channel. Youtube   Order Lisa's Books Lisa has published 5 books: Running Hot, Running to Extremes, Relentless, What your oncologist isn't telling you and her latest "Thriving on the Edge"  Check them all out at  https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/books   Perfect Amino Supplement by Dr David Minkoff Introducing PerfectAmino PerfectAmino is an amino acid supplement that is 99% utilized by the body to make protein. PerfectAmino is 3-6x the protein of other sources with almost no calories. 100% vegan and non-GMO. The coated PerfectAmino tablets are a slightly different shape and have a natural, non-GMO, certified organic vegan coating on them so they will glide down your throat easily. Fully absorbed within 20-30 minutes! No other form of protein comes close to PerfectAminos Listen to the episode with Dr Minkoff here:    Use code "tamati" at checkout to get a 10% discount on any of their devices.   Red Light Therapy: Lisa is a huge fan of Red Light Therapy and runs a Hyperbaric and Red Light Therapy clinic. If you are wanting to get the best products try Flexbeam: A wearable Red Light Device https://recharge.health/product/flexbeam-aff/?ref=A9svb6YLz79r38   Or Try Vielights' advanced Photobiomodulation Devices Vielight brain photobiomodulation devices combine electrical engineering and neuroscience. To find out more about photobiomodulation, current studies underway and already completed and for the devices mentioned in this video go to www.vielight.com and use code “tamati” to get 10% off     Enjoyed This Podcast? If you did, subscribe and share it with your friends! If you enjoyed tuning in, then leave us a review and share this with your family and friends. Have any questions? You can contact my team through email (support@lisatamati.com) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. For more episode updates, visit my website. You may also tune in on Apple Podcasts.  To pushing the limits, Lisa and team  

In this episode, we explore the often-overlooked world of cellular health with Dr. Mike Belkowski, examining the critical roles that mitochondria and water play in supporting our bodies. Many people associate cellular support with complex treatments like IVs and glutathione, but Dr. Mike simplifies these concepts, making them accessible for everyone. We'll discuss how to enhance mitochondrial health, the impact of environmental factors, and the fascinating research behind red light therapy. Join us for part one of this enlightening conversation, and don't forget to check the show notes for Dr. Mike's resources and information! Click here to check out BioLight and use code: SarahK at checkout  Is Red Light A Scam Or The Real Deal | Dr. Mike Belkowski  Sponsored By:  SiPhox Health Visit siphoxhealth.com/sarah to get 20% off at-home cortisol and blood testing and begin working toward a healthier you. Black Lotus Shilajit Visit: www.blacklotusshilajit.com and Use Code: SARAHK for 15% the entire site! Upgraded Formulas  Use code YOGI for 10% off at www.upgradedformulas.com/ Viva Rays Go to vivarays.com & use code: YOGI to save 15% Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Introduction  00:04:44 - Dr. Mike's background 00:11:28 - Exclusion zone water production 00:13:25 - Red light therapy research  00:15:45 - The role of mitochondria  00:18:20 - Making mitochondrial health mainstream 00:21:30 - Environmental dysfunction  00:26:11 - Biohacking and EMF 00:30:01 - Plants don't lie  00:32:41 - C60 overview   00:37:09 - Biolight  00:38:45 - C60 and mitochondrial health  Check Out Dr. Mike: Instagram Website Check Out BioLight This video is not medical advice & as a supporter to you and your health journey - I encourage you to monitor your labs and work with a professional! ________________________________________ Get all my free guides and product recommendations to get started on your journey! https://www.sarahkleinerwellness.com/all-free-resources Check out all my courses to understand how to improve your mitochondrial health & experience long lasting health! (Use code PODCAST to save 10%) -  https://www.sarahkleinerwellness.com/courses Sign up for my newsletter to get special offers in the future! -https://www.sarahkleinerwellness.com/contact Free Guide to Building your perfect quantum day (start here) - https://www.sarahkleinerwellness.com/opt-in-9d5f6918-77a8-40d7-bedf-93ca2ec8387f My free product guide with all product recommendations and discount codes: https://www.sarahkleinerwellness.com/resource_redirect/downloads/file-uploads/sites/2147573344/themes/2150788813/downloads/84c82fa-f201-42eb-5466-0524b41f6b18_2024_SKW_Affiliate_Guide_1_.pdf My Circadian App - Apple My Circadian App - Android My Circadian App - Youtube

Trish covers all the critical aspects of medical interventions during pregnancy and birth, and how you can navigate these medical interventions with confidence, like a birth boss. She discusses essential interventions such as movement restriction, IV administration, and cervical exams, while emphasizing the necessity of informed consent and understanding procedures like induction methods, assisted birth interventions, and cesarean sections. Trish stresses the importance of being educated to gain knowledge, enhance your mindset, to be able to navigate medical interventions during birth like a boss. Labor Nurse Mama's classes offer expert workshops, interactive sessions, a supportive community of birth workers and moms, and unique features like the 'labor bat signal' for personal support from Trish and her team of doulas. Preparing mothers to take control of their birth experience, Trish invites moms and mamas to be to become empowered, calm, and confident 'queens' of their birth journeys, supported by a community.01:02 Understanding Medical Interventions in Pregnancy and Birth02:47 Movement Restriction During Labor05:10 The Role of IVs in Labor06:40 Fetal Monitoring Explained08:51 Cervical Exams: Necessity and Risks11:34 Induction and Augmentation of Labor16:05 Assisted Birth Interventions18:07 Empowering Birth Education19:17 Navigating Medical Interventions19:51 The VBAC Lab Experience21:14 Understanding Cesarean Sections22:59 Common Labor Interventions25:48 Becoming the Birth Queen27:16 Join the Community29:51 Final Thoughts and ResourcesResources: Grab a Free Pregnancy/Postpartum Checklist BundleConnect w/ Trish: On InstagramOn FacebookOn YouTubeOn Pinterest On TikTokFor more pregnancy & birth education, subscribe to The Birth Experience on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Next Steps with LNM:If you are ready to invest in your pregnancy & postpartum journey, you are in the right place. I would love to take your hand and support you in your virtual labor room!If you are ready to dive into a birth class and have your best and most powerful birth story, then Calm Labor Confident Birth or The VBAC Lab is your next step.If you have a scheduled cesarean, take our Belly Birth Masterclass and own that experience. If you are a newly pregnant mama or just had the babe, you want to join our private pregnancy and postpartum membership, Calm Mama Society.Remember, my advice is not medical advice....

THIS solo episode comes from my car during my lunch break.I talk about:Reading Black Metal Rainbows and the uncanny experience of enjoying reading about an art form more than the art form itself, though I'm still enjoying Dawn Treader's Bloom & DecayThe images of Shaaban Ahmad via @letstalkpalestine and so many other places: a 19-year-old software engineering student burning alive in his bed in a hospital tent with IVs still attached to his arms as a result of IOF attacks on GazaWhy I refuse to make work that only looks inwardThis Instagram carousel from @visualizing_palestineHanif Abdurraqib's and Johnny Cash's three themes of their work, and my ownBeing done coddling people with my speech, whether about the genocide in Palestine or the reality of long COVID and necessity of maskingServing you the meal while explaining the recipeBizhiki's incredible album, Unbound, which I think I've recommended beforeThe content of next month's solo episode!I hope this episode can provide you some obsession in the best way. Thanks for listening. Please donate to a fund in the @fundsforgaza Linktree if you can. And follow/donate to the @scholarships4gh4zza initiative.If you believe in This Is Your Afterlife and want the uncut conversations and bonus episodes, become a patron for $5 or $15/month at patreon.com/davemaher. Follow this show on IG: @thisisyourafterlife, and get more info at thisisyourafterlife.com. Have thoughts on the show? Email thisisyourafterlifepodcast@gmail.com.Follow me @thisisdavemaher on Instagram and Twitter.All music by This Is Your Afterlife house band Lake Mary.Check out my other podcast, Genre Reveal Party!, where I analyze TV and movies with my friend, writer and cultural critic Madeline Lane-McKinley.

“Labor is supposed to happen naturally. It's not this big medical intervention that occasionally happens naturally. It's this natural process that occasionally needs medical intervention.”Paige Boran is a certified nurse-midwife from Fort Collins, Colorado. She and her colleague, Jess, practice independently at A Woman's Place. They have rights to deliver babies at the hospital but are not employed through the hospital system so they are not subject to physician oversight. Their patients benefit from a low-intervention environment within a hospital setting but without the restriction of hospital policies.Lily Wyn, our Content Creator and Social Media Admin, joins us today as well! Lily shares why she chose Paige to support her through her current VBAC pregnancy. Lily is a beautiful example of how to diligently interview providers, keep an open mind, process past fears with the provider you choose, and what developing a relationship looks like to create an empowering birthing experience. Paige shows us just how valuable midwifery care can be, especially when going for a VBAC. If you're looking for a truly VBAC-supportive provider, this is a great episode on how to do it! The VBAC Link's VBAC Supportive Provider ListA Woman's PlaceHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Paige: Yeah, so I'm a certified nurse-midwife. I work in northern Colorado in Fort Collins at A Woman's Place. We're a small midwifery-owned practice. Right now, there are just two CNMs. That's the whole practice. It's just me and my colleague, Jess, who owns it which is really cool because we get to push the boundaries because we are not really locked into the hospital system. We are able to catch babies there but we are not actually employed through the bigger hospital systems which is nice because we don't have that physician oversight and stuff like that. I think we are able to do a lot more and honor that midwifery care model which is really cool. Sometimes people feel locked into policies and their overseeing physician and things like that but when it's just two midwives, we get to do what we want and what feels best for the patient. I really like that. That was a big thing when I first got into the certified nurse midwifery world. I was like, where do I want to work? I had offers from bigger hospital systems and it just didn't feel like the right fit so working at a small, privately-owned practice felt like the right answer for me so I was able to practice in a way I felt was right for people. I didn't want to be locked in by a policy and overseeing physicians. I just wanted to grow with other midwives. Meagan: Yes. I love that so much. I don't know. Maybe I should say I know it feels to me– I don't know it as an actual fact, but that feels like a unique situation and a unique setup to me. We don't really have that that I know of here in Utah. We either have out-of-hospital CPMs or we have in-hospital CNMs who are just hospital. I know that one hospital system is trying to do the attached birth center, but it is still very different. They are still the hospital umbrella midwives I guess I could say. So is that unique or is that just something that feels like it?Paige: I think it's unique because where I came from in Florida, if you were a CNM, you 100% practiced in the hospital which we do but it was that you were owned by a larger group of physicians essentially. Florida was working towards independent practice when I was there. Colorado is an independent-practiced state for nurse practitioners which is really cool because we don't have to have that oversight. I don't know if Florida ever got there but I know it varies state to state on if you have to be overseen by a physician or not. Honestly, that's why a lot of people when they are ready to become a midwife, if they don't have independent practice rights as a CNM even if they are a nurse, they will go for a CPM which is a certified professional midwife because they actually have more autonomy to do what they want outside of the hospital because they are not bound by all of the laws and stipulations which is interesting. Meagan: Exactly. I think that's a big thing– the CPM/CNM thing when people are looking for midwives. Do you have any suggestions about CPM versus CNM? If a VBAC mom is looking at a CPM, is that a safe and reasonable option?Paige: Absolutely. Yes. I think CPMs and CNMs are both reasonable, safe options. They both have training in that. They both can honor your holistic journey. I would say the biggest thing is who you feel most connected to because I think trusting your team, you will have people who have the worst birthing outcome and horrible stories but they are like, “I look back and I feel so good about it because I trusted my team.” I think that is what's important. If a CPM seems like your person and that's who you are going to trust, then that's who you should go for whereas a CNM, if that seems like that's your person and who you trust, I think that would be a good route too. I think a lot of people think, “Oh, they do home births. They must catch babies in a barn and there is no regulation. Even sometimes when I say, “midwife,” people are like, “What? Do you dress like a nun and catch babies in a barn?”Meagan: Yes, this is real though. These are real thoughts. If you are listening, and not to make fun of you if you think this, this is a real thing. This is a myth surrounding midwifery care, especially out-of-hospital midwives where a lot of people think a lot of different things. Paige: Absolutely. Meagan: I think I had a chicken chaser or something where a dad was like, “Do you chase chickens?” I was like, “What?” He said, “Well, that's what the midwives do so that's what the doulas do.” I'm like, “What? No, we don't chase chickens.” Paige: That is such old-school thinking but realistically, midwives started in the home and that was their history. It's cool that they've been able to step into the hospital and bring some of that back into the hospital because I think that is needed. Meagan: It is needed, yeah. Paige: We are starting to see that physicians are starting to be a little bit more holistic and see things in the whole picture, but I'm glad that the midwives did step into the hospital because I think that needed to be there but I'm so glad that people are still doing it at home because I think that is such a good option for people. Meagan: Yeah, so talking abou the midwives in the hospital, a lot of people are talking about how they are overseen by OBs. Is this common? Does this happen where you are at? You kind of said you are separated but do the hospital midwives in your area or in most areas, are they always overseen by OBs? Paige: Not necessarily. It would vary state to state and hospital to hospital. We actually just got privileges and admitting privileges a couple of years ago. Actually, my boss, Jess, who owns the practice where I work, had worked in Denver where they were allowed to admit their patients and everything. They didn't have to have any physician oversight but when she was there, she had to have physician oversight. She was like, “It's an hour drive north, why would that make a difference?” It was the same hospital system so she fought when she bought the practice and the physician who owned it prior left, she was alone and she had to have that physician oversight so she fought for independent practice privileges and she got it. Some of the midwives at first weren't so happy about it because they had liked being overseen by the doctor and someone signing off on all of their things. Some of the midwives were like, “Finally. We should be able to practice independently.” It's going to vary at each place. But I think that's a good thing to ask, “If something is going wrong, will a physician just come unannounced into my room in the hospital?” That's not the case with ours. We have to invite them in and if we are inviting them in, we've probably had a conversation multiple times with the patient where it's like, we need to have this. Meagan: Yeah. For the patients who do have the oversight of the OBs, do you have any suggestions? I feel like sometimes, at least here in Utah with my own doula clients when we have that situation, it can get a little confusing and hard when we've got an OB over here saying one thing but then we've got a midwife saying another. For instance with a VBAC candidate, “Oh, you really have a lower chance of having a VBAC. I'll support it. I'll sign off, but you have a really low chance,” but then the midwife is like, “Don't worry about that. You actually have a great chance. It is totally possible.” It gets confusing. Paige: Yeah, and it's like, who do you trust in that scenario? I think that's where evidence comes in because I think midwives and physicians both practice evidence-based but some people may have newer evidence than others. I've worked with OBs who probably roll over in their grave when I say certain things because it wasn't the old way but it is the new way. If somebody can come in with their own evidence and they're like, “I've looked into this and I think I'm a good candidate for x, y, and z,” I think physicians respond well to that because they are like, “Okay, they've done their research. Maybe I need to do some research.” Meagan: Yeah. Paige: When they have that thought, they know that this is an educated person and I can't just say whatever I want and they're going to take my word as the Holy Bible. Meagan: Yeah. No, really. Exactly. It always comes down to education and the more information we can have in our toolbelt or in our toolbox or whatever it may be, it's powerful so I love that you point that out. I think it's also important to note that if you do have two providers saying different things, that it's okay to ask for that evidence. “Hey, you had mentioned this. Can you tell me where you got that from or why you are saying that?” Then you can discuss that with your other provider. Paige: Yeah, and following intuition too. I think you can have all of the evidence in the world. What is your gut telling you too? Who do you trust more and what feels right in your body in the moment? I think we are all experts of our own bodies and there's a lot that goes into a VBAC and stuff like that. It's more than just the evidence. People have to feel mentally and physically ready for it too. I wish more people focused sometimes on the mental and spiritual aspect of it because I think a lot of people get ready physically but maybe mentally they weren't prepared for the emotional switch there. Meagan: Totally. Thinking about that, Paige, I mean Lily, tell us a little bit about why you went the midwifery route. I know you really wanted to find the right provider. Lily: Yeah. So I think for me, I have always been drawn to midwifery care. I was a little bit of a birth nerd prior to even working for The VBAC Link or even having my own kiddos. Prior to my son, we had a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy so I experienced OB care with my ectopic. I was bounced around a lot in a practice and had OBs who were great and equally some OBs where it was such a rushed visit that I had an OB miss an infection in my incisions because my pain was dismissed and just some really tough stuff. When it came to getting our rainbow rainbow baby, I was like, I really don't want to be in a hospital at all. I want midwives. That's the route that we went. The very brief story of my son is that he flipped breech 44 hours into labor and that's when we legally had to transfer to the hospital and I had my Cesarean. So in planning my VBAC, I planned to go back to the birth center and was a little devastated when it was out of our financial means this time. I was so panicked. I remember texting you, Meagan, and being like, “What do I do? I can't be at the birth center anymore and I don't want to be in a hospital.” We interviewed another birth center that's about an hour away that is in network with our insurance and talk about trusting your gut, it just didn't feel right. It didn't feel warm and fuzzy. Those are the feelings I got with our first birth center. I loved them so much and I still do. Then I met with Paige and her practice partner, Jess, and I came in loaded to the teeth. I was prepared to fight with someone because that's what I had in my brain and that's what I expected. I sat down with them. They met me after hours after clinic. I sat down with my three pages of questions and by the way, if you are listening and you have questions, we have a great blog on it and some social media posts of the questions that I specifically used. We talked for over an hour and every question I asked, they just had the ultimate answer to. I felt so at peace after talking with both of them and I remember telling my husband going into it, “I'm really worried that I'm going to like these people because I don't want to deliver at a hospital and then I'm going to have to choose a far away birth center that is out-of-hospital or providers that I like but it's a hospital.” It just feels like everything has been serendipitous for us. Our hospital opened a low-intervention portion of their birth floor so I'll still get to have the birth tub and all of the things, but truly have just been blow away by Paige and have just buddied up. She's dealt with all of my anxiety in pregnancy and VBAC and all of my questions. It just feels like such holistic care compared to my experience with OBs in the past. Meagan: That is so amazing and I was actually going to ask how has your care been during this pregnancy? It sounds like it's just been absolutely incredible and exactly what you needed. I remember you texting me and feeling that, oh crap. I don't know what to do. What do I do? You know? I just think it's so great that you have found Paige. Did you say that Jess is your partner? Paige: Yes. Meagan: Jess, yeah. I'm so glad that you found them because it really does sound like you are exactly where you need to be. Lily: Yeah. It made a huge difference for me and I just tell Paige all the time I truly didn't know that care in a hospital setting could look the way that it does. I feel like I'm getting– I experienced birth center care. I had an out-of-hospital experience until we transferred and I can say with confidence that my care has been the same if not better with Paige and just having the conversations and the good stuff and feeling really safe and confident. One thing that they pointed out that I thought was great when I went in and asked all of my questions is that Jess looked at me and she was like, “Okay, it sounds like you have a lot of anxiety around hospital transfer.” And I did. With my son, that was my worst fear and it came true. I had a lot of anxious, what if I have to transfer? She was like, “The thing is there is no transferring. We can induce you if you need to be induced and we can come with you into the OR with your Cesarean if that ever happened to be another thing.” For me, that brought a lot of peace to know that no matter what, the provider that I know and feel comfortable with is going to be with me. I again, didn't expect to feel that way, but it's been a really great reassurance for me personally. Meagan: Yeah. It's the same with a doula. Knowing that there's someone in your corner that you know who you've established care with who can follow you to your birth with you in your journey is just so comforting. So Paige, I wanted to talk about midwifery care and also just lowering the chance of Cesarean. Sometimes people do choose midwifery care specifically because they are like, “I think I have a lower chance of a Cesarean if I go the midwifery route.” Can we talk to that a little bit?Paige: Yes, that's true. A lot of people know that there are benefits to midwives but I think when people think of midwives, it's just like, “Oh, it's just a better experience. I trust my team more.” That's definitely there. There have been studies and people felt more at peace and empowered through their birthing journeys with midwives than they did with OBs. It's been studied but there is also a decrease in C-section risk. Your C-section risk drops 30-40% when you have a midwife which I think is a pretty significant drop. Meagan: Yeah. Paige: Yeah, especially when we look at the United States at our birthing outcomes and birthing mortality and C-section rates, it is way too high for as developed of a country as we are. I think that's really where midwifery care is stepping in and starting to help lower those rates to get it down to where it should be. The World Health Organization has been nominating and promoting midwifery care because it really is the answer to how we get these C-section rates lowered and these bad outcomes lowered. Midwives also have lower chance of an operative vaginal birth. That would be with forceps or a vacuum or an episiotomy so lower chances of those things as well. Lower chance of preterm birth which is interesting and probably because one, we do take lower-risk people. I think that's true but also because we are looking at it holistically. We are looking at everything. We are not just looking at you as a sick person. A lot of people look at pregnancy as an illness and pregnancy is not an illness. It's just a natural part of life and we've got to look at the whole picture of life if we're just going to look at the one thing too. I think that helps to reduce preterm birth risk. We also have lower interventions just overall. We're more in tune with people's bodies and we want to honor what their bodies are meant to do. Labor is supposed to happen naturally. It's not this big medical intervention that occasionally happens naturally. It's this natural process that occasionally needs medical intervention. The midwifery model is so important. I think when you go to the traditional medical model, you look at the present illness so they see pregnancy as an illness. What can go wrong? Don't get me wrong. There are a sleu of things that can go wrong in pregnancy and you do have to watch for them. But I think with midwifery care, you know when to use your hands but you also know when to sit on them. Meagan: Yes. Oh my gosh. I love that so much. I feel like we need– we used to get quotes from our podcast episodes and turn them into t-shirts and I feel like that is a t-shirt podcast quote-worthy. Oh my gosh. It's a worthy quote. That is amazing and it's so true though. Paige: It is. Meagan: It's not to rag on OBs. You guys, OBs are amazing. They are wonderful. They do an amazing job. We love the. But there is something different with midwifery care. You mentioned preterm birth. I remember when I was going through my interview process to have my VBAC after two C-section baby and I finally established care mid-pregnancy because I switched. That was one of the things in the very beginning that my midwife was like, “Let's talk about things. Let's talk about nutrition. Let's talk about supplements. Let's talk about where you are at.” It was just honing in on that which I was surprised by because I figured she'd be like, “Let's talk about your history. Let's talk about this,” but it was like, “No. Let's talk about what we can do to make sure you have the healthiest pregnancy,” but also started commentingo n mental stuff. It helped me get healthy in my mind. I just would never have had that experience with OB where they wanted to learn what I was scared about and what I was feeling and all of those things. Not only was I learning how to nourish myself physically, but mentally and it was just a really big deal. I do feel like it played a big impact in my labor. Paige: Yeah. A lot of people discredit how much nutrition and debunking fears and stuff like that can go because I think a lot of that– I mean, we look at nutrition-wise and we could avoid almost all of preeclampsia with nutrition alone which is incredible. I'm like, “I really think you should read Real Food for Pregnancy and people are like, “Oh, but it's such a big book,” and I'm like, “But it's so important to know this information about what we should be putting in our bodies.” 100 grams of protein– you've already got it. Meagan: I want to see how many pages for it. It's got, okay. We've got 300 pages but it has recipes and all of these amazing things in the end so it's not even a full book. Paige: Yes. People are like, “Oh man, I don't know if I want to read the whole thing,” but I'm like, “It's so important.” I think when people do read it, they come back and are like, “Did you know that I could decrease my risk of this if I ate more Vitamin A?” I'm like, “Yes. That's why I wanted you to read this book.” It is a wealth of information and I have such healthier pregnancy outcomes when people follow that high protein diet and looking at micronutrients with their Vitamin A, their choline, and all sorts of things. Meagan: Yeah. All of the things that we talk about a lot here on the podcast because we are partnered with Needed and we love them so much because we talk about the choline and the Vitamin A and the Vitamin B's and the Vitamin D's. Lily Nichols, not this Lily on the podcast today, she also wrote Real Food for Gestational Diabetes and that's another really powerful book as well. But yeah. It's just hard because OBs don't tend to have the time. I think some OBs would actually love the time to sit down and dig deep into this but they don't have the time either. I do think that's a big difference between OBs and midwives. What does your standard prenatal look like? When a mom comes in, a patient comes in, what do you guys do through a visit? Paige: Yeah. We follow the standard what everywhere in America does like once a month roughly in the first trimester and second trimester then when you hit 28 weeks, every 2 weeks, and then when you hit 36 weeks, every week. If you go to 41, we'll see you twice in that week. We follow those stipulations but our appointments are a little bit longer. When you are in a big practice, a lot of time it's driven by RVU use so the more patients somebody can see, the more they are going to get paid and the bigger their bonus is at the end of year. A lot of people feel like they are running through the cattle herd and they've been in and out in 15 minutes if that. At my practice, it's a little bit different because we are not RVU based. We're not getting any bonus. We're not trying to see as many patients as we can. Will we ever be the richest at what we do? No, but that's okay with me and Jess. We are small on purpose and we love to take the time. At Lily's appointments, we always book her for at least 30 minutes because we know that me and her like to talk. We've done an hour for some people because we know there is always going to be that long conversation. Don't get me wrong though, that fourth mom whose had three vaginal births and going for her fourth, she may be like, “Paige, there's really nothing to talk about today and that's okay.” Sometimes they are 15 minutes. Sometimes they are 30. Sometimes they are an hour. Our first appointment is always an hour because there is just so much to dive into with how we can be preparing ourselves, what does your history look like especially if they are brand new to our practice and we've never met them before, starting to build that relationship early on. It just depends on how far along they are, who the person is, and those things. But I do like that I can spend as much time as I need. Sometimes I tell my people, “Bring a book because I tend to get behind because I tend to talk to people longer than I book for,” but that's okay. We know that we can do that because we are a smaller practice. I think when people are thinking about what kind of care they want, they should probably consider how are these people paid? Is it by how many they can see in a day? Because you're probably going to get a different level of care than a practice that isn't drive by those RVUs. Yeah, that's a really good point. I feel like my shortest visit with my midwife was 20 minutes. Paige: Yeah. Lily: Yeah. Meagan: Which to me is pretty dang long because when I was going with my other two daughters, I think it was probably 6-7 minutes if that with my provider. I mean, it was get in. My nurse would check my fundal height and all of that and then oh, the doctor will be in here. Then came in, quick out. Yeah. It is really, really different. Lily: I know for me too, I love that we don't just talk about nutrition and things like that but even in my last appointment, I was talking with Paige about the things that can be triggering coming back into labor and going back into a hospital so my ectopic pregnancy was at the hospital that I'll be delivering at and I had to go into the emergency room and the way that you go to labor and delivery after hours is through the ER so Paige and I were talking. She was like, “I can just meet you outside. We will badge you in and we will avoid the emergency room if that feels triggering.” It's just those things that you don't get with an OB necessarily to talk through tiny little triggers. They are probably generally less accommodating to those little things of, “Well that's just the standard. You're going to have to get over that and just go through the ED and come on up.” I think that's been huge. I also have a dear friend who is going to school to be an OB. I told Paige at my last appointment that she may possibly be at my birth. She's my crunchy friend so she'll be a great OB but I have such a desire to be like, “Come see a VBAC. Come see it so that you have it in your brain and you know that they can be safe and look at what can be done,” so I think that is so huge too as we continue to train and uplift our next generation of providers. What does that look like to show them? I think her internship or something is going to be a midwife and OB partnership practice which is really cool but I'm like, “Yes. Come. Come to my birth. Please. I want you to see all the things.” That's really cool too and that Paige is open to, “My friend might be there.” Meagan: Yeah. Paige: Bring whoever. Meagan: I love that. I love that you were pointing out too this next generation of providers. Let's see that birth and VBAC is actually very normal and very possible because there's a lot of people who have maybe seen trauma or an unfortunate situation which could have happened because we blasted them with interventions or could have happened out of a fluke thing. You don't know all of the time. But I do think if we can keep trying to get these providers, these new provider to see a different light, we will also see that Cesarean rate drop a little bit. We really, I always tell people that we have a problem. They're like, “It's really not that big of a deal.” I'm like, “No, it's a very big deal. It's a very, very big deal. We have a problem in this medical world.” I do believe that it needs to change and midwifery care is definitely going to impact that. I hope that what you were saying in the beginning how policies don't trump a lot of the midwives. I wanted to ask you. This isn't something we talked about, but is it possible to ask your midwife, “Hey, what policies do you lie under?” Is that appropriate? Paige: Yes. Actually, that was one of my favorite things when Lily came in to meet and greet us. She came and she was like, “What are the policies for a VBAC?” We dove into that. We've been diving into that and what are we going to be okay with and what are we not going to be okay with? That's the beauty is that I'm not employed by the larger hospital system that I work under so I feel like a policy is not a law. I feel like there is informed consent and I think informed consent is so important but at the same time, there is informed declination and you should be able to decline anything. That's true. We can never force anybody into surgery. We can never force anybody into anything. I think a lot of people aren't having those conversations where it's actually informed so then people are like, “Oh, they are just refusing everything.” I hate the word refuse because no, they are not refusing it. They are declining it because they are informed. They know the risk. They have all the information at their fingertips and they know that this is the best decision for them and their baby and we have to honor that. That's why I'm really glad that I'm able to practice in that way, but I do know I've met and I've worked with people who feel like they are boxed in and have to follow those policies. We've started to talk about what our policies are with TOLACs and VBACs and things like that. One of them is that they are supposed to have two IVs. I've already gone against that before and I've had a beautiful, unmedicated VBAC. She walked in. I said, “We've talked about it. She was also laboring outside when we talked about it. It's not an issue when you come in. You know what? When we get up there, I'm just going to tell them that you know why they recommend two IVs and you are declining.” She walks in and she's clearly going to have this baby within the hour. I told the nurse, “We're not doing the IVs. We've talked about it. We're going to decline them.” That was the end of the discussion. We didn't have to talk about it again which was nice. She shouldn't have had to advocate in that moment for herself. We've already had those conversations. Meagan: Yes. Paige: Another one is continuous monitoring and the whole idea is if you start to rupture, that's how we are going to catch it. The baby is going to tank and that's how we are going to save the baby's life. Don't get me wrong. I think continuous monitoring can be really valuable for a lot of things but it's actually not evidence-based. We have not improved neonatal outcomes with continuous fetal monitoring. We've talked about that with Lily and she's going to opt for intermittent oscillation and I think that's very appropriate because she plans to go unmedicated. Let's be honest, if you are unmedicated and your uterus starts to rupture, moms will tell me that something is not right. This is beyond labor. Her saying that and being aware of that, we would notice it a lot sooner than we would the baby tanking kind of thing. Meagan: Yeah. I do know that with uterine rupture, we can have decelerations but like you were saying, there's usually so many other signs before baby is actually even struggling and I know a couple of uterine rupture stories where providers didn't believe the mom that something was going on because that one thing wasn't happening. The baby wasn't struggling. Paige: Yes. Meagan: It's like, you guys! When it comes to continuous fetal monitoring in the hospital, people have to fight to have that intermittent. It's yeah. Anyway. These policies are not law. I love that you said that too. There's another t-shirt quote. Paige: I think people should start asking if they are planning a VBAC, start asking what is the policy and start thinking, is that what they want? I do have some moms who are like, “No, I want the two IVs because it's hard for me to get a stick,” and they need that backup in case. That makes them feel more at peace but other people are like, “It makes me feel like a patient. I don't like it.” People don't like needles and that's okay. They have that right to say no. I tell people that in a true emergency, we will get an IV in you if something really, really bad were to be happening. That's part of training if somebody walks in off the street. We're not going to be like, “Oh, when was the last time you ate? Sorry, you can't have the surgery.” We know something bad is happening right now. We will get the IVs. We will do all of the things. Getting the IVs really won't save as much time as people think it will. Meagan: Yeah, and there are other things. Say we are having our baby and we are having higher blood loss than we would like or we have some concern of some hemorrhaging, there are other things that we can do. We can put Pitocin in a leg. We can do Cytotec rectally. There are things that we can do. We can get that baby to our breast and start stimulating and try to help that way. There are things that we can do while we are waiting for an IV, right? Paige: Yes. I tell people that all the time. Most of the postpartum hemorrhage meds that we use can be given without an IV. There is only one that truly has to be given through an IV and that's TXA but the rest can all be given other routes. A lot of times, those work better than IV Pitocin. Sometimes the ion Pitocin works better. Sometimes the ion Methergine works better. It's not this, oh we have to have a little just in case kind of thing because if there was a just in case moment, yes. We can be working on the IV and doing other things. I have to be kind of secretive about it. I have tinctures and stuff with shepherd's purse and yarrow. Those things actually have great evidence. They are really helpful for postpartum blood loss. I have a lot of moms who are more interested in doing something more holistic and natural before they try medication. Cypress essential oil, you can rub that in. I'll have doulas use my cypress roller and give them a massage while I'm trying to manage the hemorrhage and that cypress oil can help a lot too. Sometimes going back to our instinctual, old medicine that we have been using well before medicine was used for birth. Meagan: Yeah. This is a random question for both of you. Lil, I really wonder if you have seen it or heard about this too because you are so heavily in our DMs. This is going to be weird. People are going to be like, what? But I did this. We did this because we weren't sure. We cut the umbilical cord and put it in our mouth. It's really weird. Paige is like, what? You put it down in the gum area like in between your teeth and your cheek. It sits there. Okay, you guys. I've seen it just a couple of times, myself included. Yes, I put my umbilical cord in my mouth. Yes, it's weird. Paige: That's okay. Meagan: It felt like a little gummy. It was fine. I wasn't chewing on it. It was just sitting there. But anyway, it's weird but with my other client too we did it and all of her hemorrhaging symptoms just went away. Paige: That's cool. Meagan: I know this is really random but we just cut a little piece of our umbilical cord and put it in their mouth. Paige: That's so interesting. So a piece of the umbilical cord or the entire thing once it's clamped and cut and still attached? Meagan: They clamped and cut it, cut a piece, and put it in my mouth. Paige: I would be so willing to try that. I mean, what is there in that nun? Meagan: I don't know. I don't know, but it did diminish the hemorrhaging symptoms. Paige: Cool. Meagan: So very interesting, right? Okay, so are midwives restricted when it comes to VBAC on what they can accept? Lily, you are a VBAC. I was a VBAC after two C-sections. You can obviously take Lily. Could you accept me?Paige: Yes. Luckily in midwifery care, at least in Colorado, there is a lot of gray for certified nurse midwives. It's not always black and white. VBACs are okay but there is no direct, “Oh, if you have this many C-sections, we can't do it.” I think that's because ACOG also strangely doesn't have an opinion on that. They actually agree. There is limited evidence beyond one C-section. My practice has done several VBACs after two Cesareans. I don't think we've ever done one for a third or greater than two probably because I think those people a lot of times don't even consider VBAC and they just already have been seeing their doctor for their repeat C-section with each pregnancy. But I'd love to see more people going for a VBAC after multiple Cesareans because I think VBACs after two Cesareans have a whole different level of feeling empowered after that. I thin that's really cool and even special scars and stuff, there is really limited evidence on all of these things and I'd like to see more people pushing the limits a little bit. Especially since I am in a hospital, I do have an OB hospitalist on call 24/7 at the disposal of my fingertips if I need them. We are close to an OR so I think if for somebody the fear is there and they are like, “I just don't know if it's more risky because of this,” I think it's worth it to try because the more people who go for it and are successful, the better evidence we're going to get from it. Meagan: Yeah. That is exactly what I am thinking. There's not a lot of evidence after two Cesareans because it's just not happening. It hasn't really been studied and a lot of that is because people aren't even given the option. Paige: Yeah. I'll have people where it is their third or fourth C-section and they were never even given that option. They were told, “Oh, I was told I have CPD.” I'm like, “The chances of you actually having CPD are low.” Then you look at their records and it was fetal distress or something like that. Yeah. CPD is so rare. I've heard it so many times. “Baby is never going to come out of that pelvis ever.” That breaks my heart every time I hear it because there are times when I'm like, I don't know and then an 8-pound baby comes out. We can't go off of those things because the body does what it's supposed to in those moments. Don't get me wrong. Things do go wrong and C-sections do happen sometimes but yeah. To hear everybody has CPD just because they've had three C-sections, I'm like, I don't know. That would be quite a few people. Way more than we know are true. Meagan: Yeah. We're all walking around with tiny pelvises. That's just what everyone thinks anyway.Lily, being in our DMs, hearing the podcast, understanding and seeing so many of these people and what they say, do you have any advice for them when they are looking for their provider or just any advice in general? Do you have any advice from a VBAC-prepping mom? Lily: Yeah, I think for me, it is to go into it open-handed. I think we hear so many horror stories about providers often and I think that's why I went into looking for a provider with both fists up ready to fight and what has surprised me the most is just I think I said earlier that I didn't know hospital care could look like this. I remember we even posted something and I had posted on The VBAC Link that a hospital birth can be equally as beautiful as an out-of-hospital birth and there were people arguing and people saying, “No, absolutely that's not possible. That's not a thing.” Gosh, how discouraging if we go into things thinking that we can't have beautiful outcomes in different settings. Certainly, there are areas around our country that need improvement. There's not a low-intervention floor at every hospital and there are not midwives who are doing what Paige is doing everywhere but I think the more that we seek out that care and look for that care and advocate for that care, the more we will see it. As much as it sucks that we have to be our advocates, it's also a really cool opportunity that we pave the way for VBAC moms and the moms who have never had a C-section that we are paving the way for care that doesn't end up in a Cesarean. I would just say to be open-handed and yes. You can be prepared to fight and you can be prepared with your statistics. Be prepared to ask the why behind questions, but ultimately, I think that care can be so much more than we expected if we go into it thinking, Gosh, well what can I get out of this and how can I make these things happen? Like Paige said, we've had lots of conversations around, Well, this is the policy, but the policy is not the law. I'm here to support you in that. At our last appointment, she was like, “Hey, make sure you bring your doula to your appointment where we are going to talk about your birth plan because I want to make sure that she is there, that we all hear each other, that we are on the same page.” I think that's helpful too. And then having a doula. My doula was my doula with my C-section. She was with us. She was whoever was on call at the birth center actually and again, I think it was so serendipitous because she is a VBAC mom. I think I needed her then and I'm so stoked to have her now that she is just a really special human who I know is also always in my corner and constantly texting her like, “Oh my gosh, look at the new birth rooms. Oh my gosh, I had this great conversation. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.” I think having your doula there to be your partner in advocacy is really helpful too. Meagan: Yes. Okay, that's a good question too when it comes to doulas and midwives. Sometimes I think people think that if I'm hiring a midwife, I don't need a doula and then we of course know that a lot of people just mistake doulas and midwives together. But Paige, how do you feel about doula care and working with doula care? Is it necessary? How do you work together as doula and midwife?Paige: Yes. I love doulas. I wish everybody had access to a doula truly because doulas, just like midwives, have been studied and they have better birth outcomes, more empowered births, and all of the things. Doulas are so important and doulas and midwives work really closely. I think a doula is there with that constant presence, that constant helping with anything and a really good advocate which I think is important especially if you don't have a good relationship with your provider maybe or you don't know who you're going to get. Maybe you see 7 different providers and you get who you're going to get when you're in labor. So to have that doula there to constantly be advocating for you is such an important piece. Yeah, I really wish everybody could have access to a doula because it just makes a world of difference. I can't think of any bad outcomes I've ever had when a doula was present. It's just a different level of care. Usually, people who have sought out a doula have also taken the time to seek out and do all of the things that are going to make a healthier pregnancy and a better birthing outcome. It's why I think everybody deserves doula care. It's because it does lead to better outcomes. Midwives are always known to work closely with doulas and really support them. It's a team effort. Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. We love our relationships with our midwives here. It's really great to just know how we work and know how we need to support the client and it is sometimes hard when we go to a hospital and we don't know who we are getting. And sometimes that OB or that midwife we have worked with before and sometimes it's a whole new face so it does bring us comfort to know that the client and the family know us and we know them and we can all work together. I love that. Okay, do either of you guys have anything else that you would like to say to our beautiful VBAC community before we go? Paige: I don't think so. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. This was wonderful and I just hope that everybody who is thinking about a VBAC really does their research and looks for the best provider and really finds that perfect fit because there are so many good providers out there– OBs, midwives, professional midwives, all the things. Meagan: I agree. It's okay to interview multiple people. It's also okay that if mid-pregnancy, the end of pregnancy, during, and even in labor that if something is not feeling right, you can request a different provider. You can go out and start interviewing again and find that provider that is right for you. Paige: Yes. Meagan: Well, thank you Paige and Lily for joining us today, and thank you so much for doing so much in your community. I really love your setup and hope that we can see that type of setup happening in the US because it just feels perfect in a lot of ways. Yeah. Yes. I'm loving it. Okay, ladies. Well, thank you so much. Paige: Thank you. Lily: Yeah, thanks, Meagan. Meagan: Bye. Lily: Bye!ClosingWould 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

It's time to assess the goals you set for your practice this year. In this episode, Tiff and Dana discuss taking a good look at those 2024 goals, considering the averages and trends in order to project out, starting to think about 2025, and more. Episode resources: Reach out to Tiff and Dana Tune Into DAT's Monthly Webinar Practice Momentum Group Consulting Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Become Dental A-Team Platinum! Review the podcast Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00.761) Hello, Dental A Team. We are back. have Dana here with me today again, and I'm so excited. Dana, I truly do love the time that we get together. feel like, like right before we podcast, we prep and then that's like when we get jam our personal life, conversation in there real quick. the only time we get that's just one -on -one, which is crazy because we could create that at any point, but it just, it pops up podcasts. You know, we do it a couple of times a month and it's perfect. So   Thanks for being here. Thanks for giving me that time and gifting me with your presence. How are you today? You got like hot stuff coming up, like literally heat.   Dana (00:38.06) Yeah, yeah like literally heat wave stuff so, you know, everybody send me your love and I don't melt this weekend   The Dental A Team (00:46.475) Yeah, yeah, I was just in Oregon and I was there with a practice and the office manager was like, gosh, I just don't understand like how you guys do sports. Like you can't, how do you do football? And I was like, the kids are out there dying. My son refuses to play summer lacrosse. He does, he only plays ball ball and spring ball and spring ball is a, is a push because it doesn't end till middle of May. But spring ball starts in February, but your kids are doing year round sport.   So your son has football this weekend, tournaments in Phoenix. I'm in Phoenix and I'm standing here podcasting sweating in my home in Phoenix because it's 102 outside right now, maybe 105. I'm not sure, you know, at the end of August. So bring lots of water, lots of sunblock, lots of shade. That sun gets intense and I will be praying for you, Dana.   Dana (01:18.707) Yes.   Dana (01:44.307) Thanks so much. appreciate it. think we're going to need it. That and buckets of water, like you said.   The Dental A Team (01:47.286) Yeah.   And Gatorade, like lots of electrolytes or the Costco liquid IVs or something. Like, yeah, yeah. But you're in Arizona. I'm gonna call you a native at this point. You've been here for so freaking long, but you're an Arizona gal. You're from southern, you know, more southern Arizona, but you get very similar heat. So you guys are ready for it. It's just not, it's just not, still not fun. I live here constantly. And when I come back from trips like Oregon was beautiful and Colorado was gorgeous this week.   Dana (01:56.116) me.   Dana (02:12.735) Mm -hmm.   The Dental A Team (02:19.723) And that practice, was like, dang, if I could stay here longer, I totally would. It was like 82 degrees, it was beautiful. And then I land last night and I was like, back to the 105. Here we go, a 20 degree swing. Well, we are nearing towards the end of the year, so Phoenix will start pouring off soon. So for all of you who love to come visit Scottsdale in the winter, I'll see you soon. It's right around the corner. And I, know, I air quote winter. I don't feel like we actually get to celebrate winter here, but.   Dana (02:29.619) Yep.   Dana (02:42.558) Yeah.   The Dental A Team (02:49.771) In about six weeks, it'll finally be 90. So we'll see you guys soon. Nearing the end of the year also makes me reminded that we really need to check in on where you guys are at for the year. Like, what are you trending towards? Where are your practices going? We talk a lot about KPIs, key performance indicators, because they're incredibly important to the success of your practice, your team. Like we talk about how a team should be involved. A team should know these numbers.   This is the time of year you guys that you really need to make sure that team is behind these KPIs 100 % and that we're pushing towards them. Now, Dana, I know you've had a lot of practices recently really push on you to like ramp up that business side of what you guys are doing together. You are fantastic at everything, but systems are your jam. So you always, I know start.   with all the systems and making sure that like we've got that foundational piece. But then once we're ready, we're really looking at are those foundational pieces progressing the business side and watching those KPIs. So I know production collections, new patients, like everybody knows those three. If you're not looking at those three, I don't know what the heck you're looking at. But I also push a lot for overhead. And I've really been paying close attention to active patient count because as new patients are coming in, we've got patients attritioning out. And if our new patients aren't   you know, compensating for our attrition and still adding to our active patient count, we're really not growing. So to be able to find that growth. But like I said, I know you've had a few practices recently, they're like, okay, we're ready, we're ready, which is great, because we're towards the end of the year, we need to make sure that we're progressing. Where do you start them for clients, maybe who haven't been watching their KPIs, and they haven't been looking at the trends, or if they're going to make it? Where do you baseline them?   once they're done with systems and ready to move on to that business piece.   Dana (04:43.323) Yeah, and I think this is a great time of year. If you haven't done it, this is a great time of year because there is still a little bit more than a whole quarter left. And so this is a good time to and really where I say at this point in the year with my clients who when we're ready to look at numbers, we know we have goals, we've got goals established, right? Now it's time to look at the gap.   Where are we for the year? And where are we? Where do we want to be? And what's the gap? And how do we make that up? So if we've hit our goal every month, great, right? There's not a gap there. But if we haven't, which in most practices, we might have had a month or two where we were off, where's our gap? And how can we successfully plan on each of those numbers with what we've got left as far as the year number of working days? What does that look like? So sometimes that is reassessing our goals or shifting our goals because we have a gap to make up. But this is the time of year   to really look at that and say, okay, we've maybe been on track some months, off track some months, what do we have left to make up for the end of the year? And how can we just ensure at this point that we crush it by the time we get to December 31st?   The Dental A Team (05:45.159) Beautiful, beautiful and figuring out that gap and then adding it back into your goals. So if you're, you know, off by $200 a month or whatever a day, that really allows you then like you're saying to really backtrack, see what that goal needs to be, and then adjust all the pieces. And I think right now, like you said, we're nearing like the last quarter, this is the time when we're pushing you to send end of year letters, we're pushing you to get all those patients in for   re -cares and get the crowns done. And like, we want a busy schedule. We want a full schedule for the end of the year. But if we don't know what our gap is and what we need to schedule to, we might start filling that in advance and then not be prepared to actually make the goals that we wanted to, because we didn't know what they really needed to be. So I think that's really smart of you to, really look at that and figure out that gap ahead of time so that we can plan for it. Because   We can then change, right Dana? You can change your blocks on your schedule. You can change your goals. You can change what hygiene openings there are. And maybe you're like, gosh, we need X amount of new patients to get the case acceptance we have based on the trends of the case acceptance we've seen this year. So if we know we need a certain dollar amount produced on the schedule, we can look at what our case acceptance trends are. What's our average case acceptance. And then we can calculate how many new patients it might take   to get to that diagnosis amount, to get that case acceptance, to get the schedule full. So I think when we really consider KPIs and we really consider looking at where the business is going, backtracking in those ways is something that we often miss when we're on our own or sometimes consultants don't catch it or coaches or business partners, sometimes they don't catch that where you can really take the trends that you've had so far this year and the averages and then project.   what you need so that you can make the changes to hopefully hit those goals at the end of the year, or at least to get really freaking close if you're too far off. Now, Dana, how do you suggest they do like, if they're tracking and they're like, my gosh, this is great, we actually might go over, do they stick with it? Or do they then reduce their goals?   Dana (07:59.295) So I'm never ever an advocate of reducing goals. We want to the best year that we can. And so like, let's rock out what's left with the team. And no, I'd say keep it absolutely the same. And let's just see if at the end of the year, we can again, make it the best year we've ever had, make it the best quarter we've ever had. So I'm never an advocate of reducing goals. I feel like let's look for the gap in anywhere that we're under.   The Dental A Team (08:22.755) Yeah, I agree. I agree. And I don't like to bank on things. if we're doing really well right now, fantastic. We're trending towards our goals. We're trending to maybe go over our goals. But then guess what? What if something falls off the schedule next Thursday and it was this $30 ,000 cosmetic case or a $50 ,000 full arch case that you finally got and they fall off and they weren't prepaid and they decide not to come back. Now we've got a gap.   Now we've got now we've got room to make up for stuff. So I agree whenever we're ahead on things I think just stay the course Keep scheduling the way that you're scheduling is obviously working and then next year we know hey I think we were a little low on our goals and what we thought we could do and we can ramp those goals up a little bit more so looking for the gap looking to Manipulate the schedule and manipulate whatever we need to manipulate and change now so that we can hit those goals don't change things to backtrack but   make sure we can hit and surpass those goals for the end of the year. And then also start looking at your KPIs that you're tracking to make sure you're trending. Start looking at what those need to look like next year. Because here in about two months, two and a half months, we're going to push you to start setting those goals for next year, for 2025, based on what you're doing for 2024. The reason we don't wait till January is because if we waited till January, if we didn't do it in November, December time frame, if you wait till January, you're already scheduled.   January should be about 50 % full going into the month, 50 % to goal going into the month. So if we don't have an all team meeting until mid January to set 2025 goals, we're already a month behind on our goals. There's already a gap because most of the time, let's face it, we're not, we're not hitting what we needed to hit. If we're going to increase goals, we're hitting what we're used to hitting.   And it's just going to create a gap. So start projecting and start getting ready to see what are those goals need to be next year and start looking at them in like November, December. So start right now. When you hear this podcast today, I want you to go pull your numbers, pull your production, your collections, your new patients, your overhead, your active patient count, whatever it is that you decided this year. These are the trends we're going to watch. Go pull the numbers that support those and show you if you're on track or an off track practice growth. A lot of people will say,   The Dental A Team (10:47.711) see 10 % practice growth this year. fantastic. What does that mean? How do you know that you've had 10 % practice growth this year? I agree, you should have at least 10 % practice growth, seven to 10%. That's what we push for. I love the 10 % mark. I agree, you should, but how do you know that you've experienced 10 % practice growth? So Dana, looking at trends, figuring that out, looking at, okay, what do we need next year to look like?   What kind of KPIs do you have your practices watching and going through? And I can speak on my behalf too, with the practices I work with, what kind of KPIs do you have them measuring to see, yes, I grew by 10%.   Dana (11:30.335) Yeah, typically the big ones that I'm looking at are production and collections for that and just saying, hey, if where I'm at this year compared to where I was last year, are those numbers 10 % higher?   The Dental A Team (11:42.206) Yeah, I agree. I totally agree. Production collections are huge, you guys. And we say those like in tandem because you can you can produce all you want. But if you're not collecting them, like I don't I you're just wasting your time. So production collections go in tandem. And then on top of that watching your overhead because if you're increasing production collections, and you're saying we're going to grow by 10%, you really want your profitability to be growing as well might not be a profitability growth of 10%. Okay, but   It might be based off of last year. You might be 10 % more profitable dollar for dollar, not percentage wise, than you were last year. That may be true. You might not go from 20 % profitability to 30%, but the dollars in the bank of profitability should be about a 10 % growth, just to the same as your practice is growing, as long as your overhead is staying where you want it to be, or staying at least relatively similar to last year. So overhead, production collections overhead.   And then I throw in there the new patients and the active patient count, because if we don't watch our active patient count, we're only watching the dollars that are coming in. Oftentimes we'll get ourselves in a situation where we start seeing, why is my recare schedule falling apart? Why aren't we booked out six months? What's happening here? Well, we spent so much time on new patients, investing in marketing for new patients and getting all these new people in the door. We forgot about the people that weren't coming back for their cleanings.   Now, Recare kind of stinks. We're clamoring for new patients and we're trying to fill a schedule. And so our productivity really goes down and that 10 % growth can go down. So watching also that your active patient count is growing with the production and collections by that 10 % mark as well is gonna make sure that all of that is in line. Cause if you did X amount with the amount of patients you had, but you wanna do 10 % more, you need 10 % more patient base too.   or you need 10 % more reimbursement rates on your fees. So whichever way it goes, I know I do have a lot of practices right now, I'm gonna put this caveat in there, that are like struggling to see the number of patients that they have. They're in a situation where they just don't have the chair space, they don't have the providers, they're struggling to see all of the patients, but we need growth. So when that happens, it's gonna come into the space of the fee schedules, right? It's gonna come into the space of   The Dental A Team (14:06.651) your reimbursements. So are we in network with insurances? Have we requested fee schedule increases? This is the time of year to do those those pieces as well. So as you're looking at your trends, look at what your reimbursements have been. Are you seeing that growth? And to continue seeing that growth? it mean we need more patients? Or could we see that growth within the reimbursement as well? So right now this time of year, get those requests out there to your insurance companies, start pulling the information. We've got a ton of podcasts on this.   Start pulling the information for the insurances and what their reimbursements are, the ones that you're in network with. Are there some that maybe beginning of next year, you're like, hey, actually, like, we don't get more reimbursement, we're just gonna go ahead and get out of network because it makes sense for our practice. That's how you're gonna see that growth as well. So Dana, I agree, pulling all the information, making sure we're on trend or on track, trending in the right direction and that we're filling that gap is imperative right now because it's giving the time.   to make sure that that's happening. And then at the same time, really looking at, what would 10 % more be next year? Dana, what have you seen recently? I know you had a few practices that are like, the money, what does the money look like? What have you seen recently really work for practices to track with their teams? you still, for me, it's the production collections. Is that what you're seeing with the?   practice team members as well as like that production collections and new patients is the easiest space for them to see what are you working on?   Dana (15:38.407) Yeah, I think it's the easiest space for them to see. But then I also think like take a look at if collections numbers are low, then think about the numbers that impact that. then take a look at your AR as a secondary number, take a look at maybe just a portion of it and say, Hey, how's our over the counter collections? Is that an area where if we buttoned up on that, just that piece of it?   it would help have more of a massive impact. I think looking at those as overarching numbers, absolutely. But when one of those is off track or when one of those we have a fairly big gap to make up, then let's look at the other numbers that help.   push that if production numbers, there's a big gap. Let's take a look at our case acceptance. What does our case acceptance tell us for those things? And even sometimes having practices look at if our gap now means we need to hit 120 instead of 100, go back and see what was the month where we were closest to that.   And what did those other numbers look like? So knowing to say, to hit 120, we have to have case acceptance at about 80%. To hit 120, we need 15 to 20 new patients. What did that look like in the months that you were close to kind of telling you, what do we have to do to hit some of these gap numbers that we're building out for the rest of the year?   The Dental A Team (16:33.652) I that.   The Dental A Team (16:51.187) I think that's brilliant. I love that you said, look at what will look at what worked and duplicate that. I love that theory instead of reinventing the wheel, look at what worked before and duplicate that. But also look at the overarching maybe production collections, new patients, and then look at what's feeding it. Because that's the piece I think the team really has a lot of control in and when they're like, I don't know what to tell you like I'm doing everything I can. Well, no, it's not you the person. It's the system. So there's a system.   that you're using or not using that isn't working. And if you're using it 100 % of the system is supposed to be, then we change the system because it's not working. It's not you, it's the system. But if we're not tracking these things and looking at those feeder systems that feed into that ultimate goal, we're never gonna know where we can do better or what's not working. And then it does become personal and it's like, gosh, my billing department's gotta go. Maybe it's not the billing department. We don't know that yet. Maybe they do, I don't know.   But we don't know that yet because we haven't checked the system. So the stats are what's gonna show you if the people, the systems that people are using are working. And if the systems aren't being used and it's just lazy, fine, for sure, have that conversation. But sometimes it's like, I don't know, I call and call and call and nobody answers. Well, have we tried text? Have we tried text to pay? Have we tried these other methods that like, what if we just bring in an alternative method that we haven't tried yet and see if that gets us results?   Now's the time you guys go pull those stats, start looking at the feeder pieces, go pull what's been working well for you, what's not working well for you, are you on track, what's your gap? And then start really looking at what am I gonna project and need for next year to really see that seven and 10 % growth? I think now is the time of the year, pull your fee schedules, there's a lot to do guys, pull your fee schedules, pull your stats, like now you're looking at how do I finish this year strong? How do I start next year strong? So go do the things, I love it, Dana.   Thank you for your words of wisdom. know that you have been working really hard with a lot of your practices recently on really generating a lot of movement on the business side with overhead collections, all of those pieces. So I thought this was just perfect for us. So thank you for being here. Thanks for your words of wisdom. And I truly love when I get this time with you. Okay, awesome guys. Let us know how much you love this. Write in Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. If you need help really like.   Dana (19:04.755) Same, same.   The Dental A Team (19:13.191) figuring this out or you need reminders or whatever, we're here for you guys. really do. and I and Britt and Kiera, we really are the ones that usually are providing responses when our admin team gets those questions or in our social settings or on the review below. So hit us up, let us know. We can't wait to talk to you then.

Dr. Robert Young rose to prominence in the world of holistic medicine claiming cancer was not a cell, but rather poisonous acid in the body, so a diet rich in alkaline would neutralize it. The charismatic practitioner opened the so-called Miracle Ranch, where sick people sought expensive treatments to balance their pH. Though he doled out advice and performed baking soda IVs, Young had never been to medical school. And as his devoted followers favored vegetable smoothies instead of chemotherapy, their conditions worsened. “Chameleon: Dr. Miracle” is the latest season of the podcast from Campside Media, Sony Music Entertainment, and Dorothy Street Pictures. Host Larrison Campbell recounts Young's pseudoscientific alkaline diet and talks to ranch employees and patients who received his quack treatments. It also looks into the difficulty of holding Young accountable - and where he is today.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CHAMELEON: DR. MIRACLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Behind iron(y) bars. Donate to Kevin's Walk-a-Mile: ERAS fundraiser for the Crisis Center of Ctr NH.For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

Zack Peter joins me this week, I'm recapping my amazing birthday weekend, IVs, and even meeting a new guy! I dive into my latest Hinge dating adventures (with a surprising 10/10 date!), and share a wild Kabbalah moment that proves I'm in sync with the universe. Plus, we break down all the drama from Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and Orange County. This is another Hurrdat Media Production. Hurrdat Media is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat Media Network by going to HurrdatMedia.com or the Hurrdat Media YouTube channel! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rich and Uncle Free are back stateside dropping off another episode fresh from Sao Paolo, Brazil. The fellas start off recapping their exquisite tour of Brazil checking out the first NFL game in the country featuring the Eagles vs. Packers. A trip for the books. Next, the fellas dive into the Diddy arrest news which is taking over all culture conversations. Thats a lot of baby oil and IVs for the freak offs. WTF going on? In international news, Hezbollah pagers across Lebanon explode. The middle east is out of control...still. The fellas get into Rubi Rose calling out Druski's PR stunt of relationship and Shaq getting caught up with a super petite, twin bed having woman. Free drops off the Drip Report and Rich drops a new Elite Scumbag of the week. After the break, the fellas discuss the Kendrick Super bowl halftime selection and whther Lil Wayne should be upset. After that, the fellas discuss the crazy beginning to the NFL with Bryce already benched and Tua almost dying from a hit from....Damar Hamlin. Real life is always crazier than fiction. The fellas end the show with a new We're All Set segment as they always do. Tap in, like and leave a comment. Podcast Audio links Apple -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-all-set/id1476457304 Spotify - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/weare-allset Google Pods -https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnNvdW5kY2xvdWQuY29tL3VzZXJzL3NvdW5kY2xvdWQ6dXNlcnM6NTQ4NTIzNTAxL3NvdW5kcy5yc3M Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Were-All-Set/dp/B08JJR8DSF Pandora - https://www.pandora.com/podcast/were-all-set/PC:1000430306 ListenNotes.com - https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/were-all-set-all-set-media-K73x2ck58fg/ Overcast - https://overcast.fm/itunes1476457304/were-all-set Pocket Casts - https://pca.st/cwq90uyd Radio Public - https://radiopublic.com/were-all-set-8jOkel www.youtube.com/c/WereAllSetPod

in this episode i'm talking about Diddy Being Denied Bond+Old Video shows Diddy & Janice Hydrating with IVs after hanging out all night

The renowned holistic plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn on the show where we discuss all the ways you can look younger without going under the knife. We could have talked for hours and our conversation was fire until the very end as we discussed hot topics beyond just surgery and injectables, but also why we should NOT get hydration IVs and the complications down the road we could get when regularly getting IVs, we talk about chemical peels and other non-surgical treatments for anti-aging, supplements that help reduce aging, an even how intermittent fasting can not only el stop aging but even reverse the signs and how that even works to begin with. Tony gives valuable information that no other plastic surgeon would freely give out to the public and that's why I love him so much and I know you'll love him too after you listen. Topics Covered: Plastic Surgery Breast Implant Illness Botox Filler Non-surgical procedures to look younger Laser Treatments What NOT to get done to your face Chemical peels Fat transfer surgery NAD supplements Does collagen really work? Red light therapy Sun exposure & sunscreen Why many plastic surgery doctors won't speak up Why hydration IV's are NOT a good idea As always, if you have any questions for the show please email us at digestthispod@gmail.com.  And if you like this show, please share it, rate it, review it and subscribe to it on your favorite podcast app.  Sponsored By:  Timeline Nutrition Go to timeline.com/DIGEST and use code DIGEST for 10% off Pique Tea piquelife.com/digest for up to 15% OFF and freebies Our Place Go to fromourplace.com and use code DIGEST for 10% Bite  For 20% off, use code DIGEST at trybite.com/digest  Connect with Dr. Anthony Youn Instagram TikTok YouTube Podcast Buy his book Younger For Life Website Check Out Bethany: Bethany's Instagram: @lilsipper YouTube Bethany's Website My Digestive Support Protein Powder Gut Reset Book  Get my Newsletters (Friday Finds)

In this episode of “The VBAC Link Podcast,” Meagan is joined by Lauren from Alabama. Lauren's first birth was a Cesarean due to breech presentation where she really wasn't given any alternative options. Her second was a VBAC with a head-down baby, and her third was a breech VBAC with a provider who was not only supportive but advocated on her behalf!Though each of her births had twists and turns including PROM, the urge to push before complete, frequent contractions early on, and NICU time, Lauren is a great example of the power that comes from being an active decision maker in birth. She evaluated pros and cons and assumed the risks she was comfortable with. Thank you, Lauren, for your courage and vulnerability in sharing not only your birth stories with us but also your incredible birth video!Lauren's YouTube ChannelCleveland Clinic Breech ArticleThe VBAC Link Blog: ECV ExplainedNeeded WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, Women of Strength. If you have ever wondered if a breech vaginal birth or a breech VBAC is possible, let me just tell you right now, the answer is yes and our friend Lauren today is going to share her story to confirm that it is 100% possible. Obviously, we do have some breech VBAC stories on the podcast but they are few and far between. I mean, Lauren, when you were going through it, did you hear a lot of breech births in general let alone VBAC? Did you hear a lot of people having those? Lauren: No. I had heard a few on The VBAC Link but that was really it. I did a lot of research. Meagan: Yes and it's so unfortunate. This story is a double VBAC story but also a breech VBAC which we know a lot of people seek the stories for this because as she just said, there is not a lot of support out there when it comes to breech birth in general. We have a client right now who was just told that her baby was breech and they've already said, “We're going to try to flip this baby but if not, it's a C-section.” They didn't even talk about breech vaginal birth being an option and it makes me so sad. I'm really, really excited to get into your episode. You are in Alabama. Is that correct? Lauren: I am. Meagan: Awesome. So any Alabama mamas, listen up especially if you have a breech VBAC but VBAC in general. If someone is willing to support a breech VBAC, I'm going to guess that they are pretty supportive of VBAC in general. We do have a Review of the Week so we will get into that. This is by sarahinalaska. It says, “HBA2C attempt”. It says, “Thank you, thank you. Your podcast came to me at such an amazing time. You ladies are doing something amazing here. I'm planning on (I'm going to) have an HBAC after two C-sections in February. I look forward to listening to your podcast on repeat to fuel my confidence, ability, and knowledge.” Sarahinalaska, this has been just a minute so if you had your VBAC or just in general, if you are still listening, let us know how things went and congratulations. Late congratulations because this was a couple of years ago. Meagan: Okay, everybody. Lauren, thank you again for being here. Lauren: Thank you for having me. Meagan: Yes, so okay. Obviously, every VBAC journey starts with a C-section so if you want to start right there. Lauren: Yeah. So my first son was about 7 years ago. He was born by C-section. He was also breech. Meagan: Oh, interesting. Okay. Lauren: He was breech through the entire pregnancy. We had talked to my doctor about doing the version but at 36 weeks, my water broke. Meagan: Okay. Lauren: So once your water breaks, you can't attempt a version. I went to the hospital and they said that it would have to be a C-section at that point. I really didn't have the knowledge that I do now and basically, it was worded as “I don't have an option” and that's just it. So that's what we did. Meagan: Yeah. It's so common. Even with non-breech, there are so many times when we come into our birth experience and we are left feeling like we don't have an option. Lauren: Yeah. Meagan: It's just so hard to know. Obviously, that's why we created this podcast so you know all of your options. And then talking about flipping a baby and doing an ECV after your water broke, that is something I've only seen one time in 10 years of practicing so most providers will be like, “Nope. I won't even attempt it.” I was actually floored when my client was actually offered that. Obviously, it's a more difficult experience and it can be stressful on the baby as well so there's that to consider. She ended up trying it. He tried it twice and it didn't happen and then they ended up going into the OR. So okay. Baby was breech. Do you know why baby was breech? Did they say anything about your uterus or any abnormalities there? Lauren: No. They said sometimes it just happens. They knew how badly I wanted to have a vaginal birth and they said, “You are an excellent candidate for a VBAC.” So I was like, “Okay, great.” Meagan: Awesome. Lauren: That's when I really took a deep dive into birth in general because the stuff that they were saying just didn't sound right to me. Meagan: They said you were a candidate. So where did your VBAC journey start as you were diving in? How did that begin? Did you do that before pregnancy or after you fell pregnant? Lauren: Before pregnancy. Probably before the time I came home from the hospital with my son, I was already researching. Meagan: Baby was a couple of days old and you're like, “And let's figure this out.” Listen, I get that. That's exactly how I was too with becoming a doula. It was literally two days after I had my C-section. I signed up to become a doula. Okay. You started diving in and what did you find? Lauren: It was very shocking to me how most providers don't practice evidence-based. I found out the difference between evidence-based versus the standard of care. I was shocked about that too. I was just like, How can you do that as a doctor when you've got all this evidence here? But another doctor is practicing this way so it's okay for you to do that. Meagan: Right. It becomes the norm or it has become the norm. Yeah. Okay. So you get pregnant and you know VBAC is possible. Tell us that VBAC story. Lauren: So that was just a wonderful experience but part of my research, I joined ICAN and I wanted the most VBAC-supportive provider out there. I did switch providers and I switched even before I was pregnant. Right when we were trying, I was like, I need to get in with a provider who is supportive. I found a wonderful provider. The pregnancy was great. I did all the things. I sat on the birth ball instead of on the couches. I made sure to take walks every day. I kept up with my chiropractic care. All of that were just tips that I had seen so I did that. She was head down by 20 weeks so I was super excited about that and she waited until 40+3 which was also a big thing for me because with my first son, they took him to the NICU so I did not want the NICU. The NICU was a horrible experience. I was like, Please, please, please hold on until 37 weeks. 40 would be great.She did. She held on until 40. It was funny too. It was like a switch flipped at that point and I was like, okay. Now I want to get her out. I was eating the spicy food and everything to try to get labor started. But 40+3, my water broke with her as well before labor started. I panicked a little bit because I didn't want to be on a clock. Although I felt that I was with a good provider, I still hadn't birthed with her yet and I've heard stories about people having this doctor who tells them everything they want to hear and then they get in the birth room and it's completely different. Meagan: The bait-and-switch, yeah. It's so hard because they talk about how we have to have this proven pelvis to be considered the best candidate or to have full faith in our ability, but at the same time, I feel like sometimes from us at a patient's standpoint, they need to prove to us. They need to prove to us that they are supportive throughout. Lauren: Yes. For sure. So pretty quickly after my water broke, I started pumping and while I was pumping, the contractions started so I felt so much better. I was like, Okay, good. Now we've got contractions going. I had a doula at that point as well because I felt like having a doula was going to be extremely important for a VBAC. I called her and let her know. She came over and she just hung out a little bit. We did a henna on my belly and we just talked and talked through some fears and excitement and stuff like that. Then she said, “Well, I'm going to go get my stuff. Why don't you lay down and take a nap and see if once things pick up, we can go to the hospital?” I said, “That sounds great.” This was my first time experiencing labor because with my son, even though my water broke, I never had contractions. They just went straight to the C-section. I went upstairs and I laid down on my left side. Within a minute, I was just like, Whoa, these feel totally different. This is crazy. Probably within 30 minutes or so, I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. Meagan: Whoa!Lauren: Yeah. I was just like, This just picked up really fast. I think I was supposed to already go in by now. Meagan: Were they intense as well on top of being close or were they not as intense but just close? Lauren: In hindsight, they were not intense but it was my first time having labor and they were more intense than the beginning contractions. “Okay, they are more intense. They are close together. I've got to go now.” I was panicking. We made it to the hospital. They checked me and I was 2 centimeters. Meagan: Okay. Lauren: I was like, “You've got to be kidding me.” Meagan: Yes. That's the hardest thing because we are so focused on the time. We are told if they are this close together, it's time to come in but we sometimes forget about the other factors of intensity and length and what's the word I'm looking for? I was going to say continuous but they are that pattern always. They are sticking to that pattern. They are consistent. They are consistent, yeah. Okay, so you're 2 centimeters which is great by the way. It's still great. Lauren: Yes. Oh, and I forgot to mention too that another that was like, Okay, I probably am with a good provider, I did call her after my water broke and she said, “What are your plans?” I just said, “I'd like to stay home as long as possible and contractions haven't started yet but I'm going to try to start pumping and get them started.” I said, “I'd like to wait until tomorrow morning to come in if nothing has started.” She was like, “Okay. Sounds like a good plan. Just let me know what you need.” I was like, Wow. She let me go past 24 hours. Meagan: Yeah. I just love that she started out, “What's your plan?” Lauren: Yes. Meagan: Versus, “This is what you have to do now.” Lauren: Yes. Exactly. She is wonderful and you'll see through the story how amazing she is too. But anyway, we get to the hospital and I actually started out with a wonderful nurse. The hospital policy is continuous monitoring. Meagan: Yeah, very common. Lauren: But I did not want that. I was so lucky because the nurse who started, she was about to leave. Her shift was about to end but she let me start on intermittent monitoring so I was able to get up, walk around, get on the birth ball just to help things moving. Shortly after that, she left and the next nurse was not so nice about it. She told me, “It's our policy. Yada yada.” I said, “Look. I've been doing the intermittent. I'm fine with the intermittent. That's what I'm going to stick with.” She said, “You're going to have to sign a form.” I said, “Bring it on.” Meagan: Yeah. Lauren: I signed the form and I was just like, “That's fine. I have no problem signing a form to say this is my choice.” Then we labored in the hospital room for several hours and my doula suggested I got in the shower at one point and that was amazing. It was euphoric. It felt so good to get in the hot shower and I was progressing slightly more than a centimeter an hour which I know is what they look for so things just progressed pretty slowly and then that night at around– oh, well actually once I hit 6 centimeters, my body started pushing. Meagan: Oh, yes. That can happen. Lauren: I was terrified when I found out I was only 6 centimeters because they kept saying, “You need to stop pushing or you're going to the OR.” I was like, “You don't understand. I'm not pushing. My body is doing it.” It was several hours of working with my doula to try to stop my body from pushing. Every time I had a contraction, and they were still going every 2 minutes–Meagan: Did they give you any tips on how to cope with that or how to avoid pushing like horse lips or things like that?Lauren: The thing that worked best for me was opening my mouth and saying, “Ahhhh.” So that helped a lot but I would still say that 50% of the time I could not stop the pushes. I still remember that nurse saying which was not helpful at all, “Are you pushing? That's the quickest way to the OR.” Meagan: Ugh. Not very kind. You're like, “I'm trying not to. Can you see what I'm doing here?”Lauren: Yes. Then my doctor came in around 11:00 that night to check me and she said, “Oh, you're complete.” I just remember being like, “Thank God.” I said, “Does that mean I can push now?” They're like, “Yes.” That was the best thing I had heard because that was all I wanted to do was push. I was already in the bed because they had me on the monitor at that point. I was on my back so they just leaned the bed back. I didn't really want to push on my back but at that point, I was like, “I'm not moving. I'm just going to push how I am.” I pushed. It took about 20 minutes and she just slowly came out. It was– oh, I'm going to get emotional. It was wonderful. My doula was also my birth photographer and she got some pictures. She got a picture of my husband. It's really sweet. I hope he's okay with me telling this but she got a picture of him crying. It was when she was almost out. I asked him about it and he said, “I just knew at that point you were going to do it. I knew how important it was to you.” Sorry. Meagan: I'm sure he had that overwhelming flood of emotions like, “I know this is important and I can see it. She's there. She's going to do this.” Lauren: Yes. It was wonderful too and then I got to hold her on my chest for a while but they weren't too thrilled with her breathing so they never took her out of the room but they did take her over to the table and they were suctioning her and stuff like that. I started feeling a little panicky because with my son, what happened was after my C-section, they showed him to me. I got to kiss him and touch him and all that but then they started leaving the room with him. I was like, “Whoa, where are you going?” They were like, “Oh, we've got to take him to the NICU because he's having trouble breathing,” but nobody told me anything. They just started leaving with him. I was panicking thinking that was going to happen with my daughter. I was like, “Please, please, please just give her to me. All she needs is me. She's going to be fine. Just give her to me.” The nurse was like, “No. She needs suction. We need to do our job,” but my doctor was so wonderful. She came over and said, “What they're doing right now is suctioning her because they are not happy with her oxygen level.” She sat there and she told me, “Okay, now she's at 94.1%. Now she's at 94.2%. Now she's at 94.3%.” Every time that thing went up, she would tell me. She was just so calm and it was like she got me. She understood. Meagan: She understood what you needed in that moment. Lauren: Yes. Yes. Another thing too which I thought was really interesting is that first off, she did ask before she did anything. We got half of my daughter's head out but she got a little stuck so the doctor was like, “You know, we really want to get her out.” She said, “I think the vacuum might help or are you okay with me manually helping you?” I said, “What do you mean by that?” She said, “I could just insert my fingers and tilt her chin. I think that will get her out.” I said, “Yeah. Let's do that one.” So she did. She went in and popped her little chin and then she came out.Meagan: Awesome. Lauren: But it was nice to be asked instead of told what needed to be done. Meagan: Well not even told and just have it done. Lauren: Yeah, just do it. I've heard that a lot and it was crazy because that actually was going to happen with my first son. Before my nurses knew I was breech, they came in and they started. They were about to put medicine in my IV and I said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?” She's like, “Oh, this is Pitocin. We need to get your contractions started.” I was like, “No, I don't want Pitocin.” She's like, “We need to birth him within 24 hours or he's going to be a C-section.” So it was just crazy the difference in being told what was going to happen and being asked for not only my opinion but my consent. Meagan: Yeah, absolutely. That's so important. Women of Strength, if you are listening to this, please, please, please I beg of you to help you know. I don't know how we can let you know even more but you guys have the power to say no and consent is so important. Your consent is so important with anything, even just getting Pitocin drips. If anything is happening to your body, you have the right to say no and you always can question. You can pause and say, “Tell me all of the risks here” or whatever. You don't just have to have it be done to you. You do not have to. Lauren: Yes. Meagan: It's hard to say no in that moment. Lauren: It is. It is. Meagan: It's hard to say no especially when they are coming in and making it sound like something you need. Whether it's something you need or not, you still deserve to have consent. Lauren: Yes, exactly. Then they throw that at you where it's like, “Oh, the baby will be in danger.” You're like, if you're not knowledgable then you'll be like, “Okay, then. I don't want my baby in danger.”Meagan: Exactly. Of course, we don't. Duh. Of course, we do not want our baby in danger but most of the time rarely is our baby in danger if we are not starting Pitocin right away. Yeah. Awesome. So you had this beautiful vaginal birth with support. It was a way different experience with good, true informed consent even into the postpartum period which should keep continuing anytime you are under care with anyone like this no matter in hospital or out of hospital. This kind of consent should continue. Lauren: Yes, for sure. Meagan: Awesome. Awesome. And then baby number three. Cute little baby. I don't know if I'm allowed to say his name so I won't. Lauren: Oh, yeah. You're fine. Ollie, yeah.Meagan: I was going to say I got to see on the recording just before we got started that he was another breechie. Lauren: Yes, he was. I was just like, Oh my goodness. His pregnancy was so similar to my first son. It was a little freaky. I had a lot of anxiety to work through because of that. I was like, This can't happen again. He was breech the entire time and basically stayed in the same position. He moved his little head around and that was about it. This time, I was I guess a little more– I don't know if cocky is the right word but confident that everything would be fine. I was a little more lazy. I didn't do as many walks as I should have. I sat on the couch a little more than the birth ball and things like that. I was like, Oh, he'll be fine. So at about 20 weeks when he was still breech, I was like, Maybe it won't be fine. Maybe I need to get this going. I started trying to do a little more of that stuff. Also, my doula had moved out of state so I was like, Oh no. Meagan: Dang it yeah. Lauren: I know it's so important and having a doula was definitely important for me. I started the search for a new doula which ended up turning out great. I loved both doulas so I was very pleased but I was very nervous. But yeah. I found my doula while I was pregnant and then I just had so much anxiety about my first son's birth that I needed a plan ahead of time basically. I talked to my doctor about it and I went in there just nervous to even bring it up. I said, “So he's still breech. I know that he's got plenty of time to turn but I am nervous because I have a history of this with my first son. He was breech and I had to have a C-section.” I said, “What are your thoughts on a breech vaginal?” She goes, “Well, I don't see why we couldn't.” I was like, “What?”Meagan: You're like, “I wasn't expecting that.” Lauren: She's like, “You've already had a VBAC. You did fine. He can't be sideways. He's got to be to where he could actually come out breech. It's just something that we'll talk about.” She did mention an ECV as well and she was like, “We've got a long way away but I don't have a problem doing a breech VBAC with you.” I immediately just felt so much relief. Meagan: I bet. Lauren: Yes. So we went along the pregnancy like that and then at 37+3 at 5:00 in the morning, my water broke. Meagan: 3 for 3 water breaking, you and I. They say 10% but when you're 3 for 3, you're like, “Hmm.”Lauren: That's what I was thinking and the breech stuff is only 3-4% are breech and I had it twice. It's like, How is this possible? But yeah, my water broke around 5:00 AM and me running to the bathroom, I woke my son up and he came in. It was really sweet. He got in bed with me and we just cuddled for about an hour and I talked to him about how his baby brother was going to come today. It was just a really nice moment to cuddle with him. Meagan: Oh yeah. Those moments are so precious because you're like, these are the last moments of just us as a family of 4 and now we're adding a 5th and these are the last little moments together without little siblings. I'll always remember that. So we did that. We cuddled for about an hour and then the contractions actually started without me having to pump. This time, I was going to wait a little bit longer before pumping because I wondered if the contractions every 2 hours with my daughter for the whole labor was maybe because of the pumping. Having contractions that close made things really difficult. Meagan: Oh yeah. Not a lot of a break. Every 2 minutes, there's not a ton of a break especially when they were a minute long. Not a lot there. Lauren: No. So I was like, Maybe that will change. I knew I could handle it but I was like, If I don't have to, that would be great. They started pretty slow about 6 minutes apart or so really gently. At around 6:00, I went ahead and woke my husband up and let him know. I called my parents. I had texted my doula but I went ahead and called her just to let her know. I called my doctor. She again just asked me, “What are your plans?” I just said, “Stay here to let things pick up and then head to the hospital.” She was like, “Okay, that sounds good.” I just labored at home. My parents live 2 hours away but they were coming to get our older two kids. I was going to try to pack the hospital bag because I had not done that yet. Meagan: Well, at 37 weeks. Lauren: That was the plan for that weekend. I kept having to sit down because of the contractions. My husband said, “Let me do it. Tell me what you need.” I would just give him the instructions as I just bounced on the birth ball. We got that done and my parents showed up. They brought me a big smoothie because I was like, “I want to eat but I don't want to chew so get me a smoothie.” That was really nice just to have something in my stomach and give me some energy and stuff. They got here at around 9:30 and at around almost 11:00, I was like, “These contractions are starting to feel real.” I had a first birth reference at that point. Meagan: Yeah, like more intense and frequent and strong. Lauren: Exactly. Oh, but I will say by 7:30 again, at 7:30 that morning, I was back at 2 minutes apart. Meagan: Oh man. It's just something your body does. Lauren: That's just me, yeah. But they weren't intense and this time, I knew. I was like, Okay. I know this is not intense. I'm still able to talk through them. I'm able to recover very well, but then right around 11:00, I was like, “Things are getting really intense now so I think we need to go.”We left for the hospital and let my doula know. I called my doctor as well and it was really wonderful talking to her too because she said, “You know, when you go in there, make sure you are confident. Tell them this is the plan. You are going to do a breech VBAC. We have already discussed this.” I think she was worried too. The hospital, I will say, I do not feel was supportive. I think it was mainly that they were scared. I think she knew that too, but having her in my corner was what I needed. Meagan: Yeah, very huge. Lauren: We got to the hospital and she had gone ahead and called them to directly admit me so I didn't have to do triage and all that. That made it so much quicker. We got there probably around 11:40 or so and we were already in our room and the doctor was coming in by 12:00. She came in and she checked me. She was like, “All right. You're already at about a 5 or a 6 so you're doing great.” She's like, “I'll be in the hospital for a while so they'll just call me when you need me. Just do your thing. I was like, “All right. Here we go.” I did get in the bed for a little while so they could do the IVs and stuff like that. I told them I wanted the wireless monitor. They were having trouble working it but they still never made me do any monitors because I told them I can't do continuous unless it is wireless because I need to be able to move. They didn't argue with that so that was nice. Once they got all that done, I got on the birth ball. We played some music that I had preplanned and my doula and my husband both helped me work through the contractions then it was 12:58 which was less than an hour when my body started pushing again. I'm like, You've got to be kidding me. I can't do this.They called the nurse in because I was like–Meagan: Last time this happened at 6 centimeters. Please don't tell me. Lauren: They came to check and she was like, “Oh my gosh, she's complete and he's right there.” I was like, “What?” Meagan: Yay!Lauren: Yes. They called my doctor. I was panicking a little bit but she wasn't there. She was in the hospital but because she wasn't in my room and I went from a 5 to complete in less than an hour, I'm like, “Is this baby just going to shoot out of me?” I was like, “I need her to be here.” Anyway, she got there very quickly and this time, I knew I didn't want to be on my back so they had me just try some different positions but I really liked when the bed was sat up and I was facing the back and leaned over it so I was upright. Then I was able to move my pelvis around and just find a comfortable position. I really liked that. I started pushing because I could. He just very, very slowly came out and my doula was recording because I wanted a recording of my last birth but I was just too out of it to even ask for it so I had let my husband and doula ahead of time that I wanted it so my doula took care of that. She was there recording it. Meagan: Awesome. Lauren: Yeah. I was pushing I remember this one hurt a lot more than my daughter. I think they stretch you differently. I remember panicking to my husband, “Oh my gosh. This hurts.” He was just slowly coming out but I couldn't see what was going on. With my daughter, they rolled out a mirror so I could see what was going on. I felt like I was pushing wine. I didn't ask him to but my husband stepped in and he was like, “Okay, I see a leg now. Oh, there goes the other leg.” He started just telling me body parts and I was able to get a visual which was so helpful to be able to know how much was coming out. When it got to his chest, it felt like my body was just like, Okay, we're done. The contractions just stopped and I was like, “What's going on? They were coming so fast and now they're just chilling out or whatever.” They were like, “It's fine. We'll just wait until the next contraction.” They did start coming back but it didn't feel as strong and it felt slower. I don't know what that was about. It could have just been my perception too. He came all the way out up to his neck and then he wasn't really coming much further after he got to his neck. The doctor was turning him because he had the cord wrapped around his neck twice. He just didn't seem to be moving like he was supposed to. She said, “I need to check and see if his head is flexed,” and it was not. She had to put both hands inside to flex his head so that it was in the correct position and she had turned him over to try and get some of the cord off as well. It got a little intense there for a minute. She said, “Okay. I need you to get on your hands and knees,” so I did that and that wasn't working. She said, “Okay, mom. I want to get you to flip over. I just need a different angle to get him out.” I flipped over on my back which I was completely fine with at that point. I wasn't panicked. I had a little bit of anxiety and fear but I wasn't really scared because my doctor seemed so confident in that she's got this. We just need to do something a little different to get him out. We flipped on my back and she got his head exactly where it needed to be. I did two more pushes and he came out. He had gotten stuck longer than they wanted him to so she said, “We're going to go ahead and cut the cord and get him to the nursery team who was coming in” because they needed to resuscitate him just from the time it took. Meagan: He was shocked Lauren: She said too, “He's going to be okay. He's trying to cry but he needs help.” I said, “Okay.” I felt good at that point. I knew that if he was trying to cry that he was still conscious. The NICU team– it was charted wrong how long he was stuck. I think they panicked a little bit because they just went and they intubated him immediately and they said, “Okay, we need to get him to the NICU.” I hadn't even touched him at that point. I said, “Can I touch him or kiss him or talk to him before you take him?” I asked my doctor that and she said, “Can you bring him over here so she can give him a little pat before you take him?” The nurse looked over and she goes, “She can see him from where she's at,” and they left with him. Meagan: Oh. Oh. Oh boy. Lauren: To me, it did feel like a punishment for doing a breech. They went back and looked and they charted that he was stuck for 5 minutes. We had a video and he was stuck for a minute and 40 seconds. Huge difference. Meagan: Very big, yeah. Lauren: They went immediately to what they would do with a baby who had been stuck for 5 minutes. They charted his APGAR as 0 but my doctor said, “It can't be because he whimpered when he got out so he's got to have at least something.” It was all just a big overreaction at that point. They were supposed to monitor him for 4 hours to make a decision and they immediately just made the decision to admit him to the NICU which meant he was stuck in NICU for at least 3 days. Then within– when I went to go see him, it was within 2 hours. They had already extubated him. He was already breathing on his own with no problems whatsoever. Meagan: He was fine. Lauren: Yeah, he was fine.The next morning, my doctor went and talked to the doctors–Meagan: The pediatricians? Lauren: Yeah. Yeah at the NICU and just let them know, “This is wrong in the chart. This is wrong in the chart,” educating them about breech VBAC. She also did talk to them about the behavior of the nurse and she said, “It was unacceptable.” They talked about that. Oh, because that same nurse, when I finally got up to the NICU to see him, she had her back turned and she didn't see me coming and I heard her talk. She goes, “Well, you know, he came out the wrong way.” Then she realized that I was behind her and she walked away. I never saw her after that. Meagan: She probably was avoiding you. Lauren: I was like, Oh my goodness. I can't believe that just happened. Meagan: Seriously. Obviously, she's got a chip on her shoulder toward people who are doing things that are actually normal, just a different variation. Lauren: After my doctor talked to them that morning, as soon as she left, they called me and they weren't going to let me breastfeed or hold him or anything like that because he had a central line in his umbilical cord and they said, “It's too risky. It could fall out.” As soon as she left, they were like, “We're going to actually let you try to latch and hold him. We'll just have to be really careful.” Meagan: Good for your doctor for advocating for you guys. Lauren: That was one of my things that I just really love about her. That's not something that she had to do. She took the time out to review everything that night. I had him on a Saturday so she reviewed everything that night, got up early the next morning, went to the NICU, advocated for me, and I'll just never forget her for that. She's my angel.Meagan: Yeah. That's how it should be. That's really how it should be. Are you willing to share her name for anyone looking for VBAC support and especially for breech? Lauren: Yeah. Her name is Dr. Robinson and she's at Alabama Women's Wellness Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Meagan: Awesome. Lauren: Yes. It's really hard to find a VBAC-supportive provider in Alabama but breech VBAC? That's hard anywhere. Meagan: I have Alabama Women's Wellness Center because we have our supportive provider list that we are working on right now to perfect so everybody can get access to that in a better way and we don't have her on there so I'll make sure to add her. Lauren: Yes. Thank you. Yeah. She's amazing. That's probably an understatement. Meagan: She sounds absolutely incredible. I'm just so happy for you. I'm so glad that you had that advocate through a provider and it sounds like the second time, it was a little bit more of that informed consent, truly wanting to incorporate you into this experience with a little less of that the second time, but holy cow. Amazing. A minute and 40 seconds, that might feel like an eternity to someone watching, but really, that's actually pretty quick and your provider knew, “Okay, let's change positions. Let's move. Let's get this going,” and baby's out. It can be common for babies to come out a little stunned breech or not breech. Sometimes they come out a little stunned and you also had a really fast transition so you went from a 5 to a 10 really fast. There are a lot of things to take into consideration there for sure. Lauren: Yeah. I think she said that they charted from the time his butt came out is what they told her and with a breech, you're supposed to chart once the shoulders are out. Meagan: Yeah, the shoulders and the neck. That makes sense that they got that mixed up. Well, I wanted to go over the different types of breech. You already said this earlier that it's kind of crazy that 3-4% of people will have a full-term breech and I know baby number one was 36 weeks but pretty much right there right around the corner of full-term. But 3-4% and you've had two so it's pretty low but we know that breech is happening. It's just not being supported. I wanted to talk about a couple of different things.There are different types of breech and that is something that I think is important to know. We've got frank breech and that's where the baby's butt is down into the vaginal canal or down and the legs are sticking right up where the baby's feet are in front. Do you know if your baby was frank breech? Lauren: Yeah, they were both frank. Meagan: Yeah. That's typically where a provider, if they are supportive, will allow a vaginal birth, and then complete breech is where the butt is down and both the hips and knees are flexed. Footling is where one or sometimes both– it's like they are either standing inside or where they are being a flamingo and doing a one-foot thing facing down. Or we know that there is transverse where the baby is sideways. Footling and transverse– I mean, transverse for sure cannot come out vaginally. Footling has some more concerns so most providers will not support that. Anyway, overall, my suggestion is if you have a breech, one, know the options to try to help rotate a baby. If you so choose, there are also risks to ECVs. We have a blog around ECV and we want to make sure it's in the show notes. We are going to link some more about breech babies as well but know that you have options. You do have options. It's not like Lauren's first where she walked in and was felt that she was stripped away of all the options. If you're looking for a VBAC-supportive provider, something that I always tell my clients and I need to suggest this more on the podcast is while you are asking questions like, “How do you support VBAC?” and all of these questions talk about, one of those questions is “What if my baby's breech? What does that look like?” I think that's a really great question to add in there because then you can know, “Okay, not only is this provider VBAC-supportive, but they are even breech-supportive.” We never know. Sometimes babies just flip and sometimes they flip in the very end. It's very rare but it happens so it's just really important to know. Add that to your list of questions as you are going through and asking for support for VBAC how they are for breech. Do you have any other things that you would suggest for someone maybe going to have or deciding to have a breech birth in general? Lauren: Just try to be as knowledgeable as you can about it because that gave me a lot of peace just knowing all the facts and just the knowledge. It made me feel a lot more comfortable with it all. Meagan: Absolutely. It sounds like you did. You just told me a stat just barely so it sounds like you are very confident and you know about breech. I would suggest the same thing. Know the pros and the cons of all three– ECV, breech vaginal, and Cesarean. Let's learn all of them. Well, thank you so much for being here with me today and sharing all of your beautiful birth stories and letting me meet your sweet Ollie via Zoom and sharing these stories to empower other Women of Strength to make the best choice for them. Lauren: Yes. I really appreciate it. I was very excited when you asked me to come on. Meagan: Oh my gosh. We are so happy to have you. Lauren: Thank you. ClosingWould 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

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