All Birthful Episodes
Pregnant people get bombarded with all sorts of advice: a lot of it unsolicited, outdated, or just plain wrong. In Birthful, working doula and former journalist Adriana Lozada talks pregnancy, birth, and postpartum with top experts and new parents.
Every episode distills the overload of pregnancy information down to the most relevant and useful stuff.
How to Have a Great Hospital Birth
Adriana Lozada goes through best practices to ensure you have a positive birth experience at a hospital. And why it’s important to be prepared. What steps have you taken to prepare for your hospital birth? Tell us how you made the experience your own on Instagram...
![[Birth Stories] Why a Birth Team Was Key in Overcoming Her Fears](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_0445-e1618350458908-400x250.jpg)
[Birth Stories] Why a Birth Team Was Key in Overcoming Her Fears
Kristina Colangelo visualized a flowing birth, but the reality caught her by surprise. Fortunately, her dad, mom, doula, and midwife supported her through a long labor due to a posterior baby, prolonged hyperemesis gravidarum, and the fear of tearing. She tells...
How to Know If Your Baby Is Getting Enough Milk
Adriana Lozada goes through simple ways to measure how much you’re producing, and shares useful facts that lead to successful breastfeeding. Were you concerned about your baby's intake? Share what helped you go with the flow with our community on Instagram...
What Actually Happens After Giving Birth, Physically and Emotionally
OB-GYN Dr. Meedlen Charles walks us through the common changes you can expect– physically and mentally– during the postpartum period. She and Adriana Lozada break down which symptoms are red flags to discuss with your care provider. How have you cared for yourself in...
Why Your Due Date Is Also an Intervention
Your baby will arrive at the right time, regardless of your due date. Adriana Lozada explains how due dates are influenced by factors out of your control, and why you shouldn’t worry too much about them. How do you take care of yourself during late pregnancy? Share...
![[Birth Stories] Why This Surrogate Lobbied for an Unmedicated Birth](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/unnamed-scaled-e1616549102888-400x250.jpg)
[Birth Stories] Why This Surrogate Lobbied for an Unmedicated Birth
When she became a gestational surrogate, Danellia Arechiga felt strongly about having an unmedicated birth at a birth center. Even as her labor plan derailed into an induction, she pushed for few interventions. She tells Adriana Lozada why doing so was important for...
How You Can Balance the Mental Load
Parents, particularly mothers, and especially during the pandemic, are under extreme psychological pressure. Adriana Lozada gives you a host of helpful tips to protect your mental health and ensure more fair work balance among parenting partners. What are some ways in...
How to Avoid a “Cascade of Interventions”
OB/GYN Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankins breaks down the leading causes of what’s usually called a cascade of labor interventions—like an induction leading to a cesarean. She and Adriana Lozada offer insight into the risks and benefits of interventions, and help inform your...
Know Your Options for Where to Give Birth
Adriana Lozada goes through the pros and cons of three places you can give birth: a hospital, a birth center, and at home. And what you should consider when making an informed decision. Where did you give birth? Did your wishes or needs for birth location change with...
![[Birth Stories] 5-Day Induction Makes for a Very Confusing and Grueling Birth](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Myra-headshot-400x250.jpg)
[Birth Stories] 5-Day Induction Makes for a Very Confusing and Grueling Birth
Myra Flynn set out to have as few interventions as possible during the birth of her daughter. She tells Adriana Lozada what it was like to stand up for herself— and adapt to the circumstances— during her five days in labor. What things have you had to do (with care...
When Morning Sickness Becomes Debilitating
Adriana Lozada lays out how hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is not just a bad case of morning sickness, but a severe and debilitating condition. She also offers practical advice on how to deal with both. Where did you find yourself, on the spectrum of pregnancy sickness?...
How Your Nervous System Impacts Your Pregnancy and Birth
High-risk pregnancy and somatic trauma specialist Parijat Deshpande talks with Adriana Lozada about the importance of connecting with your body to release trauma, increase resiliency, improve pregnancy and birth outcomes, and get out of survival mode so you can truly...
Nine Things to NOT Worry About During Birth
Adriana Lozada dispels nine common worries of expectant parents, and explains why you can just let them go. Do you have any worries about pregnancy, labor and birth? Tell us on Instagram @birthfulpodcast! Listen directly through our website player,...
![[Birth Stories] Why She Pushed for the Unmedicated Birth of Her Breech Twins](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Emmas-_new_headshot_Emmas-Family-170-scaled-e1611255641541-400x250.jpg)
[Birth Stories] Why She Pushed for the Unmedicated Birth of Her Breech Twins
Emma Parnell was adamant about planning a vaginal birth for her second pregnancy, even though she was having twins—and they were both breech. She tells Adriana Lozada about the strength she gained from her own body’s intuition. What position was your baby in before...
How Long Should You Wait to Clamp the Cord?
Adriana Lozada shares facts about the magnificent protective and self-clamping abilities of the umbilical cord. She also explains why there’s still disagreement in the medical field about how long to wait. Did you know that the umbilical cord is self-clamping? Tell us...
Why You and Your Care Provider Must Decide Everything Together
OB-GYN and maternal fetal medicine specialist Dr. Brad Bootstaylor talks with Adriana Lozada about the ins and outs of shared decision-making with your care provider-- plus practical advice on how to implement your birth plan. How did shared decision-making (or a lack...
![[Best of Birthful] How to Navigate the Identity Shift of Becoming a Mom, with Sophie McEntee](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/SOPHIEJAMIETHEIA-0042-e1512503439536.jpg)
[Best of Birthful] How to Navigate the Identity Shift of Becoming a Mom, with Sophie McEntee
Welcome to the Best of Birthful. Creator and host Adriana Lozada curated and edited each selection in this playlist of the show’s most popular episodes. It's a tailored introduction to the expansive catalog she amassed over the first five years of Birthful's 300+...
![[Best of Birthful] How a Baby’s Position Impacts Labor, with Gail Tully](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Gail-by-Tanya-Villano-e1441153159165.png)
[Best of Birthful] How a Baby’s Position Impacts Labor, with Gail Tully
Welcome to the Best of Birthful. Creator and host Adriana Lozada curated and edited each selection in this playlist of the show’s most popular episodes. It's a tailored introduction to the expansive catalog she amassed over the first five years of Birthful's 300+...
Let’s Tackle Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Adriana Lozada shares facts about the prevalence of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, or PMADs. She encourages us to acknowledge the combined mental health impact of postpartum experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, plus she gives suggestions on the signs to...
![[Postpartum Stories] Lessons from a Life Coach Who Faced Postpartum Depression Three Times](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Rosie-Mercado-portrait-scaled-e1607479157100-400x250.jpg)
[Postpartum Stories] Lessons from a Life Coach Who Faced Postpartum Depression Three Times
Author, life coach, and plus-size model Rosie Mercado experienced postpartum depression with three of her four children, in addition to other personal and physical challenges. She tells Adriana Lozada how she learned to listen to her body, to ask for help, and to...
Eight Questions to Ask Your Care Provider
Adriana Lozada shares what you should know about your provider’s protocols and practices, in order to help you figure out how much shared decision-making and agency you will have in your birth experience. What was the most illuminating question you asked your care...
Lessons in Decolonizing Parenting
Parenting facilitator Leslie Arreola-Hillenbrand talks to Adriana Lozada about starting Latinx Parenting to help families decolonize oppressive parenting practices and jettison cultural discipline techniques their parents used—that many say they’d never use on their...
A Quick Guide to Triage
Adriana Lozada explains the process of triage, which happens before you’re admitted to the hospital to give birth. She covers it all, from the steps to confirm you’re in labor, to potential inconveniences and discomfort, to concrete ways to advocate for yourself and...
![[Birth Stories] How He Prepared to Give Birth](https://birthful.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5794-400x250.jpg)
[Birth Stories] How He Prepared to Give Birth
In honor of the upcoming Transgender Awareness Week (from 11/13 - 11/19) this week's episode is a wonderful birth story with Trystan Reese. Trystan Reese assembled a birth team that included his partner, dad, mother-in-law, and the head nurse at the hospital to ensure...