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Pregnant people get bombarded with all sorts of advice: a lot of it unsolicited, outdated, or just plain wrong.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.
Vaginal Premie Birth Without Interventions, with Bernice Good
Bernice Good went into preterm labor when her water broke at 31 weeks. Though the circumstances were less than ideal, she had what she describes as a lovely vaginal hospital birth with no interventions. The struggles continued during the 19-day NICU stay, and she...
Talking Pelvic Health with a PT, with Sara Reardon
Adriana talks with Pelvic Health Physical Therapist Sara Reardon about what optimal pelvic health looks like. They go into the details about what to do -and not do- when peeing or pooping, discuss common issues such as leakage, painful intercourse, and abdominal...
Overcoming Breastfeeding Problems, with Melissa Statler
Melissa Statler had a quick and mostly flowing birth. Feeling elated, she placed her newborn to her breast, only to be met with excruciating pain and instant damage to her nipples. As her confidence drained, she was informed that because her baby was large for...
Cultural Ideals That Impact Your Birth, with Britta Bushnell
Do you have a need for control and certainty? Are you a perfectionist? Do you highly value knowledge and technology? Do you resist things getting wild? Do you strive to do it all? If any of these resonate with you, you’re going to want to pay close attention to this...
From Hospital to Homebirth in 3 Births, with Krista Thompson
Krista Thompson shares her progression from a prodromal labor that ended with her baby being taken to the NICU, to a precipitous second hospital birth with Fetal Ejection Reflex, and finally an unassisted-like homebirth experience. She also gives us a glimpse into her...
Your Anxious Mind During Pregnancy, with Parijat Deshpande
When you’re expecting, anxiety and worrying seem to take center stage, especially if you are categorized as high-risk. What can you do with these feelings? Can they affect your and your baby’s health? How do you make the mind-body connection work for you, to put this...
Vaginal Birth with Non-Emergency Placental Abruption, with Alaina Gay
Alaina Gay woke up excited and happy, thinking her water had broken, only to discover it was blood. Her planned birth center birth turned into an induction at the hospital, but thanks to compassionate care providers, that focused on her wellbeing as well as on a...
Cannabis use During Pregnancy & Breastfeeding, with Heather Thompson
With the legalization of cannabis expanding around the world, it’s time to have a nuanced conversation about its use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. What do we know about the health risks? What about the legal risks? Is a non-biased risk-benefit analysis centered...
Overcoming Feelings of Brokenness and Fear, with Anne-Marie Shumaker
Anne-Marie Shumaker’s story is epic no matter how you approach it. Her fertility process was a long road involving surgery, multiple rounds of IUI, and a devastating miscarriage. The birth itself included persistent back labor, stalling for hours at 8 cm, and a long...
Can Exercise During Pregnancy Make Labor Harder?, Deb Flashenberg
Today we're exploring if there is such a thing as too much exercise during pregnancy. It’s common knowledge that you should stay active while expecting. Walking, swimming, and doing prenatal yoga can all be super helpful, but what about barre, CrossFit, and...
Proactive Birth after Trauma, with Toni DeAztlan Smith
Toni DeAztlan Smith went into her first birth without doing much research and naively trusting the system. After an eye-opening traumatic experience that took over 6 years to process, Toni was finally ready to take birth into her own hands and proactively turn it from...
Restoring Your Uterus, with Valerie Lynn
More and more, we’re acknowledging the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Let’s take it one step further, to consider how the uterus connects to general health: What happens to the uterus during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum? Why is it important to restore the uterus...
2 cms to Baby in No Time 2VBAC Story, with Kristen Bowles
For her second VBAC, Kristen Bowles was almost sent home from the hospital, when she wasn’t progressing past 2 cm after more than 4 hours. As they were getting ready to leave, her water broke, and then she went from 4 cm to pushing unexpectedly fast, never mind if she...
Updates in What You Should Eat during Pregnancy, with Lily Nichols
Updates in What You Should Eat during Pregnancy, with Lily Nichols You’ve probably heard you should stay away from raw fish, soft cheeses, deli meats, and runny eggs during pregnancy - but is this really the case? Does avoiding these foods keep you from getting...
Breech Vaginal Birth, with Anya Cutler
Anya Cutler had originally planned to give birth at a birth center with midwives, then at 36.5 weeks and after trying practically everything possible to encourage her baby to flip, she ended up transferring care to an OB-GYN that was experienced in vaginal breech...
Insider Tips From a Labor and Delivery Nurse, with Mandy Irby
During a hospital birth, labor and delivery nurses are an essential part of your birth team, even though you may have never met them before. In this episode, Mandy Irby and I talk about ways to foster that connection. We also discuss why nurses may love and hate birth...
Birth Center Birth After 3 Miscarriages, with Shea Cole
For Shea Cole, getting pregnant was easy, the trick was staying pregnant. After 3 miscarriages, getting to the end of a pregnancy was a huge mix of happiness and relief, yet it brought along its own set of unusual circumstances, like Shea breaking her leg, having a...
Better Pregnancy Sleep, with Mar Oscategui
Between body aches, a mind that won’t quiet down, heartburn, and the never-ending trips to the bathroom, getting a good night sleep while pregnant can seem like an impossible goal. So what can you do to make it better, and will doing these things improve your family’s...
When the Waters Break Before Labor Starts, with Hailey McHone
When Hailey’s water broke, and contractions didn’t follow, she felt the clock ticking. She proceeded to try all the things, including a natural induction method suggested by her midwife that did the trick. However, she also had an immense desire for chicken nuggets....
Why Optimal Baby Oral Function Matters, with Michelle Emanuel
Does your baby sleep with an open mouth? Do they make noise when breathing? Are they copious droolers? Do they have lip blisters? Do they hate tummy time, or have a lot of reflux? These are signs that oral function may need to be evaluated, but why does optimal oral...
GD, Shoulder Dystocia, Induction, Waterbirth Birth Stories!, with Jessica Bower
Through her four vaginal birth experiences, Jessica Bower has had a bit of everything including her water breaking without labor, inductions, navigating gestational diabetes, shoulder dystocia, back labor, sterile water injection, and more. For her 4th birth, Jessica...
Informed Consent, with Cristen Pascucci
During pregnancy and birth, it has somehow become OK for others to tell those giving birth, what they can and cannot do with their bodies, even when being subjected to unsafe care and in violation of their human and legal rights. So what can you do about it? Cristen...
An Unmedicated Birth with a Side of Virtual Reality, with Alena LeSchack
Alena LeShack went from not knowing anything about birth and considering a scheduled cesarean to preparing for -and having- an unmedicated birth. She had a flowing and empowering hospital birth, fueled by her confidence, the support of her team, and even a little dose...
Evidence Based Care, Castor Oil and More, with Rebecca Dekker
Adriana talks with Rebecca Dekker about evidence-based care, how it relates to Florence Nightingale, why it matters and how to bring its three components into your maternity care. We also talk about the evidence for using Castor oil as an induction method and much...
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