Birth Matters: Recent Episodes
Lisa Taylor - Birth Matters NYC Childbirth Education & Labor Support
The Birth Matters podcast is here to lessen your overwhelm on the journey into parenthood by equipping you on all things birth, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum & parenting. We'll interview parents about their experiences & birth pros on their expertise so that you can have an empowering, CONFIDENT journey into parenthood!
Anastasiya and Eric share their candid journey to parenthood, from conceiving after long-term birth control and facing a surprise gestational diabetes diagnosis, to navigating a sudden job loss just days before their daughter’s early arrival. Their story unfolds with an unexpected start to labor in the Poconos, a fast and empowering unmedicated birth in Manhattan, and the vital role of partner support and childbirth education. They open up about the realities of postpartum life—addressing new parenthood’s emotional and practical challenges, breastfeeding struggles, and the process of finding themselves again.
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Jane & Sam, New Yorkers who met in San Francisco, share the story of their unmedicated, physiologic birth attended by midwives in a Manhattan hospital and supported by a doula. A year or so into being married, they decide to try to conceive with hopes of having a baby in the Year of the Dragon as Jane is Chinese-American. To their surprise, they get pregnant immediately after removing her IUD. Given Jane’s background having previously worked for a women’s healthcare tech company, she had learned enough about the maternal healthcare system to know she wanted to strategically position herself for a safe, unmedicated birth and to be well-supported by a doula. Jane also shares a bit about her breastfeeding journey and being well supported by two IBCLCs to be sure baby is thriving and to support her when she had some temporary initial nipple damage.
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Today’s birth story is shared by Aatreyi, a podcast listener who worked with a wonderful doula from East River Doula Collective. She shares her experience navigating pregnancy and birth in New York City (as is usually the case on this podcast). Aatreyi also talks about the pivotal role acupuncture played in starting her labor right before her due date, helping her avoid a medical induction. We discuss how the constant focus on percentiles and dilation numbers during her pregnancy and labor often added more stress than clarity, and how she learned to look beyond the numbers to trust her own experience. From switching care providers to finding support through her doula and community, this episode offers a candid look at the unexpected twists and turns pregnancy and labor can take as well as the importance of listening to your own instincts.
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In today's episode, we're joined by Priscilla and Micah, who share their deeply personal journey from miscarriage to a blissful home birth experience. They open up about the challenges of navigating their birthing location and provider and how they had their choice to plan a homebirth affirmed in several ways throughout pregnancy, including through their own research, doula, and birth class. They detail the spiritual, emotional and physical rollercoaster of pregnancy after loss as well as the importance of trusting one's body and instincts. Their story is a testament to resilience and the support of a loving community of women. Quick content warning: there is not only mention of 1st trimester pregnancy loss, but also a bit of a scary mention of blood loss after birth when they decide to transfer to the hospital after birth to be sure that the whole placenta was delivered due to its unusual shape (spoiler alert: it ends up being a false alarm, as you might have seen in this episode’s title).
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Following Michelle’s first baby’s unmedicated hospital birth, which she shared in Episode 86, Michelle is surprised to be told at around 39 weeks that she needs to go straight to the hospital to be induced due to gestational hypertension. She advocates to go home to say goodbye to her son and grab her bag. Once she checks into the hospital for the induction, it goes much more efficiently than anticipated and she’s able to give birth again without pain medications and this time without tearing, using all kinds of proactive comfort measures with the support of her husband and doula. She also describes some of the guilt she felt and grief she experienced in having a second baby at different points in pregnancy and beyond. This story will be particularly supportive to folks who have hypertension, are being induced, and/or are having a 2nd baby or are thinking about it for sometime down the road.
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In this episode, Liz and Kevin open up about their journey through pregnancy, sharing their firsthand experience with white coat hypertension and the challenges it brought. They discuss the pressures they faced around induction, their decision to delay an induction in hopes of an unmedicated birth, and the lessons they learned along the way. They also talk a bit about breastfeeding and how identifying and correcting a tongue tie their son had helped resolve issues they had early on. Liz and Kevin offer encouragement and practical advice for others navigating similar choices, highlighting the importance of informed decision-making and self-advocacy in the birthing and early parenthood journey.
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In this episode, we welcome Alaska McFadden—birth doula, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, and occasional home birth midwife assistant—who shares her powerful transition from birthworker to birthing person. Alaska opens up about her path to pregnancy after a previous loss, navigating conception at 37, and the emotional complexities of carrying a baby after supporting so many others in doing the same.
Alaska discusses the challenges of pregnancy, including managing a large fibroid, fears of intrauterine growth restriction, and the emotional weight of going 42 weeks and 5 days—setting a new “record” for this podcast. She shares deep reflections on the mental and emotional toll of late pregnancy, her experiences with Dreambirth visualization, and how her community of birthworkers supported her through it all.
This episode is a raw, reflective look at what it means to trust your body, make nuanced choices around risk, and still feel the full range of vulnerability—even as a seasoned professional. From making a Guinness pie in early labor to the intense moment of not feeling her baby move, Alaska takes us through the physical and emotional terrain of her labor, birth, and transformation into parenthood.
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In this episode, Lisa reconnects with Ann Morris—doula, childbirth educator, and mother of two—to hear the powerful story of her second birth: a planned home birth after a positive hospital experience. Ann shares why she chose midwifery care, how her husband became her “moula,” and how she prepped mentally and physically for a peaceful, water birth at home. From laborade popsicles to postpartum healing and navigating breastfeeding challenges, Ann offers practical tips and emotional insight into birth, motherhood, and trusting your intuition. A must-listen for anyone planning a home birth, considering birth work, or seeking inspiration for informed, empowered choices. If you haven’t heard her first birth story, you can listen to that way back in Episode 25.
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Due to her experience working in Brooklyn hospitals as a social worker, Lindsay chose to work with midwives for a more personalized birthing experience. Her story includes gleaning lots of tips from friends who gave birth shortly before her, some fairly extreme work stress leading up to labor, the confusion of stop-start labor, how she had to wait a long time to get the epidural and then it slowed progress, how multiple visitors prevented her from resting, as well as the magical moment of welcoming her baby to the sounds of Led Zeppelin. We’ll discover the struggles and triumphs of early breastfeeding, the relentless cycles of pumping, and the delightful detail of her baby smelling like a freshly baked cake at birth.
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Today, Donna shares her transformative journey from a first birth experience via C-section to achieving a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) with her second child. She describes her extensive preparations, the critical role of her doula, and the stark differences between her two birth experiences. From facing prodromal labor to making informed choices like hiring a supportive healthcare team and deciding on an epidural, Donna relives the emotional and physical steps that led to her ultimately pulling her own baby onto her chest. Her story highlights the importance of preparation, support, and empowerment in achieving the birth you envision, which has been a theme in many of our stories, if you’ve been listening here for a while.
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In this episode, Rachel, a mother of three boys, a doula, and a passionate advocate for maternal health shares her transformative journey through her three pregnancies and births. She details the challenges of her first traumatic C-section, the struggle and acceptance of her second scheduled C-section, and then her victorious vaginal birth after 2 cesareans with her third baby. We discuss the systemic biases and disparities in healthcare, particularly for Black birthing people, and the importance of trusting one's intuition and seeking supportive providers. Rachel's experience led her to become a doula and an advocate, where she continues to support and educate families. This episode is a testament to resilience, empowerment, and the critical need for improved maternal health practices.
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Today Bea shares her perinatal journey from dealing with unexpected infertility and IVF to the whirlwind experience of a fast labor and delivery. She discusses the realities of fertility treatments and the specific challenges surrounding her fear of needles, the surprise of her water breaking dramatically while she was asleep, and a bit about the great support she got in early breastfeeding, sleep challenges, and an early thyroid imbalance her son had that required medication.
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Today's episode is a combination of 3 birth stories and then a chat with a fellow birth worker named Meagan Heaton, co-founder of The VBAC Link. She's going to share a little bit about her three births, which include two cesareans and one vaginal birth after two cesareans. Then we have a chat about vaginal birth after cesarean. This episode should be interesting and educational even if you are expecting your first baby and haven’t ever had a cesarean. The strategies and information you'll hear us chat about could help you ensure you’re hiring a medical care provider who is only going to intervene and do a cesarean if absolutely necessary. It’ll also help you think about questions you might want to ask as you’re hiring a care provider whether it’s your first time or you’ve had a cesarean and would like to VBAC. A lot of expectant or new parents have told me after having a cesarean they thought it’s “once a cesarean always a cesarean” for any subsequent births. But if someone has a cesarean, it’s evidence-based in the majority of cases to give that person a chance to give birth vaginally if they’d like to. So we’ll do some mythbusting on this today. We’ll also discuss some of the reasons why we don’t believe 39-week inductions that’ve been all the rage since 2018 due to the ARRIVE Trial are leading to fewer cesareans.
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Seanna had a traumatic first birth in 2020. It was an emergency cesarean in 2020 in which she felt completely unempowered. In her 2nd pregnancy, she makes many different decisions in hopes to have a radically different, more empowering birth. She goes to therapy to process and heal from the birth trauma with the help of EMDR. Seanna takes birth class and learns how to advocate for herself and her baby, hires doulas, chooses a truly VBAC-supportive OB at a different hospital, and seeks bodywork from a chiropractor and acupuncturist. This story will hopefully be of encouragement to anyone who’s had a traumatic first birth that a second birth can be healing – but often not without some thoughtful, strategic choices. And for listeners expecting their first baby, this story will drive home how valuable your birth setting, support team, and education can be to protect your experience and your baby’s birth to be as healthy and safe as it can be.
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Today NYC obstetricians Drs. Worth & Mussalli chat with Lisa to discuss all the ins and outs of gentle cesarean as well as the different medical indications for a c-section. They also compare and contrast planned cesareans to emergency cesareans to non-emergent cesareans. You’ll also hear them detail a new collaborative care model pathway in which pregnant folks in NYC can get prenatal care with them and then transfer their care for the big day to midwives at a local hospital. Grab a pen/device and take some notes to develop your belly birth plan, whether it’s being planned or just in case!
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Upper West Sider Diana wanted an unmedicated birth and prepared by hiring doulas and switching from a large OB practice to a hospital midwife in an OB practice that she felt much more comfortable with. As she approaches her due time and her provider starts bringing up scheduling an induction at 40 weeks, she does all the things to try to go into labor. At 39 weeks, her water ruptures spontaneously (and loudly) while sleeping and she has an extremely fast labor, giving birth in only about 4 hours. Josh joins Diana for their baby’s birth story and shares how glad he was they had doulas to help them know they needed to go to the hospital far sooner than they had expected.
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Today we welcome new mom, Chantal. Previously diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, Chantal expected getting pregnant to take a while, so getting pregnant on the first try came as a surprise. On the heels of completing birth class and having a marathon of 3 baby showers, another surprise happens when Chantal’s water breaks prematurely at 35 weeks. When she arrives at the hospital, she learns her hospital has a free doula program, and she gets great support from her assigned doula, alongside her husband. After giving birth prematurely, she faces the emotional rollercoaster of a brief NICU stay for their son. Listen as Chantal navigates the intricacies of early postpartum, breastfeeding challenges, and the invaluable support from her community and medical team. Her story embodies resilience, community, and immense love for her newborn son.
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Today you’ll hear from one of the two homebirth midwives that was highlighted and praised in the last episode. Our guest today is Sorayya Kassamali Rickicki, a New York City-based home birth midwife whose practice is called Taarab Midwifery. Sorayya shares her journey from being a birth doula to becoming a midwife, inspired by her own physiologic, unmedicated births. The conversation emphasizes the importance of respectful care, the role of midwives in providing individualized and consent-based care, and debunks common misconceptions about the safety and financial accessibility of home births. Sorayya also highlights the differences between home and hospital births, particularly focusing on maternal and neonatal safety, and the benefits of having midwife-led postpartum care. Finally, she touches upon her plans to contribute to maternal health in Tanzania through volunteering at a health clinic.
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In this episode, Sheyda and her partner Corentin (who goes by Coco) share their experience of having a home birth for their son, Hugo. They discuss their prenatal journey in choosing to give birth at home with a midwife team and doula team and how ideal their birth team was for them because they prioritized consent-based, connected care. They share how, while the labor and birth went pretty smoothly, Sheyda chose to transfer to the hospital due to heavy bleeding afterwards in order to recover more quickly. Coco reflects on the hours he had alone as a new dad with their newborn while Sheyda was in the hospital for just shy of a day. You’ll hear Sheyda & Coco emphasize the value of postpartum support from both friends and professionals such as a postpartum doula and pelvic floor therapist. Sheyda shares how these experiences inspired her to become a postpartum doula, stressing the significance of emotional and practical support for new parents.
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Tracy’s second pregnancy surprises her by being much more challenging than the first. Toward the end of pregnancy, baby #2 is persistently transverse (or sideways) and her OB recommends manually turning the baby. Tracy isn’t fond of that idea, so she does some research and goes to a chiropractor who specializes in helping with this using the Webster technique. Baby successfully flips and Tracy’s able to have the vaginal birth she wanted. However, she needs to put the self-advocacy skills she learned in birth class to good use when the hospital staff starts pressuring her for interventions she didn’t want due to holiday overcrowding and not due to medical necessity.
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Brooklyn-based craniosacral therapist Regina Patane (BabioCranioNY) joins Lisa to provide some educational insights into this alternative modality of bodywork that can support babies and parents in their recovery from the birthing process. She not only explains the technique itself but also gives specific examples of how powerfully it can help a baby and parent receive gentle adjustments from the physically arduous experience they’ve just gone through together including for both physiologic/vaginal birth and also belly birth/cesarean.
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Personal trainer Leia wanted a homebirth, but because her husband wasn’t comfortable with that idea hired hospital midwives instead. She did lots of prenatal education and prep, and hired doulas who were the perfect fit for her. In hindsight she’s very glad she did that because she knew how to both advocate for herself and had an advocate there to help her navigate the unexpected twists and turns of her birth. Things like her water breaking as the first sign of labor as well as labor going on for longer than she anticipated. She’s able to have the birth without pain meds that she hoped for, but certain hospital pressures require some strong self-advocacy all along the way. You’ll also hear her describe how indispensable postpartum support was with her doulas, a lactation consultant, a virtual postpartum support group, and bodywork for her baby.
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Taylor and her husband never expected to have kids, and if ever maybe around 40. Then one day when Taylor was only 30, surprise! She was pregnant. In today’s episode, Taylor, who identifies as a biracial Black woman, shares how she went from working with a hospital OB to planning a homebirth with midwives and a doula. Her beloved doula, Chana, joins in today’s sharing, too. Taylor shares how getting off her mental health meds in her pregnancy wasn’t a good idea and how she had never realized that prenatal depression is a real thing until she experienced it. She also shares how well-supported she felt, how everyone deserves to feel safe and supported in their births, and what a gamechanger her choice of birth setting and team has been in supporting her mental health every step of the way. And of course, she shares all the juicy details of her homebirth story, which will include a passionate dislike of castor oil’s unpleasant side effects and an in-home visit from an acupuncturist to help move labor along.
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Ellen, who shared her first two babies’ birth stories in Episode 26, returns to share her son’s preterm birth story following a relocation from NYC to California where they are now homesteaders growing toward self-sustainability. She had wanted an unmedicated birth with midwives, but due to her history of two premature births, she stays with a high-risk OB who provides midwife-like, compassionate care. At the 20-week scan, Ellen learns their son has a cleft lip, like his dad. Despite this, he ends up being the only one of the 3 for whom breastfeeding comes easily. Ellen lays low and stays pregnant a bit longer than with her daughters, and despite her son being born a preemie, he doesn’t need the NICU after birth. She shares how much she struggled in the first month, despite all her preparation for and support in the postpartum period. The details of Ellen’s story drive home the importance of being quick to speak up if you’re ever not okay in the journey into parenthood. And stay tuned for some mental health resources that may be a lifeline for anyone who might be struggling; those will be shared in the commentary after Ellen shares her story.
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Donna and Sandy share their 7-year-old daughter’s birth story. They had hopes for an unmedicated birth, and investigate switching from a hospital OB to a homebirth midwife toward the end of pregnancy. Ultimately, due to it being so soon before baby was coming, they end up sticking with their OB despite increasing signs of misalignment. Fortunately for them, they labor at home and arrive at the hospital just in time for pushing and the birth of their daughter, who was born en caul, or without the bag of waters releasing. You’ll hear some reflections on pregnancy, birth and parenting from Donna & Sandy specifically from the perspective of parents who have a very dedicated meditation practice and who are on the older end of the reproductive spectrum – as is often the case for New Yorkers.
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Today, a Nigerian-American doula based in New York named Theresa Lasbrey-Peters shares her two experiences giving birth in her 40s in a hospital without medication or interventions. As she narrates her journey through two pregnancies, she explains how important research, informed decision-making, and self-advocacy were for her. She exudes a refreshing level of confidence in refusing medical interventions during births. She also details a bit on her experience using Hypnobabies. Losing her mother during her 2nd pregnancy reframed what mattered and what didn’t. Theresa came to doula work as she realized the value of providing support for the birthing parent during the postpartum phase. She also shares about the critical role of oxytocin and her work as an Orgasmic Birth Practitioner, highlighting the potential for birth to be an empowering and beautiful experience.
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In a bustling city teeming with ambition and dreams, Alexis - an actress, dreamer, and now mother takes us on her journey into motherhood. From the grand stages of New York City to the intimate confines of a 5-story Harlem walk-up, Alexis prepares for the role of a lifetime. As she immerses herself in prenatal yoga, pores over all the books, and engages in birth classes, her transition is magnified by music, art, and deep-rooted determination. Facing an accelerated birth amid apprehensive paramedics, the ties of sisterhood bring comfort as her doula holds the fort. In the midst of chaos, Alexis gives birth at home, keeping her resilience flowing like a quiet undercurrent and a new star, baby Anita, is born. A tale of dreams, drama, and the divine journey into motherhood... This is the mesmerizing story of Alexis Field giving birth to baby Anita.
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In this 2nd episode of a 2-parter, Kaitlin shares her 2nd and 3rd babies’ birth stories. After having a traumatic first birth, Kaitlin finds her voice and makes every effort to help things go differently. This includes finding a VBAC-supportive provider since she was aiming to have a vaginal birth after cesarean, seeking out lots of education and hiring a doula for support. She contrasts the ways in which her 2nd baby’s birth was redemptive and empowering, and then shares her very efficient homebirth with her 3rd. Kaitlin explains how her experiences were what not only drew her to becoming a birth doula but also motivated her to start Be Her Village as a way to help birthing families access the support they need whether they can afford it or not through a gift registry for support and education.
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Today’s story is the 1st episode of a 2-parter. In it, the founder of Be Her Village, a baby registry that provides a way to give the gift of support instead of far less important baby gear, shares her first of 3 babies’ birth stories. Kaitlin’s 3 births couldn’t be more different from each other. In this episode, Kaitlin shares planning for a birthing center birth with midwives that shifted to a hospital induction and, ultimately, an unplanned cesarean. She shares how it was traumatic not because of the mode of birth, but largely because of the way she was treated. This first story lays the foundation for both why she made different choices for births 2 and 3, which will be shared in the next episode, and why she started Be Her Village as a way to help folks access the support they need for a great birth and postpartum period. Sneak peek into the next episode: she has a transformative, healing 2nd vaginal birth after cesarean (or VBAC) in a hospital with an OB and doula, and with her third a much faster labor and birth at home.
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Melissa had her first baby as a teen but second baby 15 years later with a different partner and with an early pregnancy loss in between. Each journey was very different, and she shares in today’s episode how and why she made quite different choices for her most recent birthing process. This included switching from obstetrical care to hospital midwifery care to, ultimately, have an unmedicated birth in a freestanding birthing center in Washington state. She shares feeling instant love for her firstborn, like she’d never known. She then details experiencing grief stemming from her previous early pregnancy loss during her 3rd pregnancy and shares how that loss created anxiety and hesitation to bond with baby during pregnancy. But then Melissa shares a reclamation of confidence in her body through birthing her second son. Melissa also shares a bit about how easy breastfeeding was with her first son, yet how much more challenging both breastfeeding and pumping was her second time around.
And, just a quick content warning, though you probably already picked up on it in the description: pregnancy loss will be mentioned and detailed in this story.
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In part 2 of this 2-episode birth story, Jessica shares the rest of her unmedicated birth story with midwives in an NYC hospital. She details the contrast of her very positive birth experience to the postpartum care experience, discusses some initial breastfeeding challenges in which an IBCLC provides stellar support and addresses a lip tie & tongue tie her son had. She also shares how important a postpartum virtual support group the our doula collective offered was for her as a new parent and the essential community of support she discovered there.
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Jessica learned about midwives and doulas in a college class, which planted the seed for her desire once becoming pregnant for an unmedicated birth. As a runner, she made connections between how empowering and satisfying running a race can be to her desire to have an unmedicated birth. In this episode, Jessica shares her story of alternative conception while planning a wedding, switching care providers twice to find an ideal match with hospital midwives, hiring a doula and educating herself all with the goal of achieving the unmedicated birth she very much hoped for and was able to achieve. This is part 1 of a 2 part birth story, and fun sneak peek for the next episode: you’ll hear details of how her son was born en caul (with the amniotic sac intact).
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Bettina prides herself on being a thorough researcher. She carries that into pregnancy and interviews 6 doulas before choosing one, switches from an OB to midwifery care when she doesn’t feel aligned, gets prenatal breastfeeding support due to having inverted nipples, and more. At the end of pregnancy, talk of induction arises due to concerns of fetal growth restriction due to baby measuring small. Knowing that she and her partner are healthy but fairly petite people, she trusts her baby is healthy, advocates for more time, even signing an Against Medical Advice form to not be induced at 39 weeks, and meanwhile tries all the natural induction techniques. Her proactive measures pay off and help her have a respectful, well-supported, unmedicated hospital birth. Bettina also shares some about the breastfeeding challenges she faced and the expert support she received from both lactation consultants and a chiropractor who specializes in the Webster technique for newborns.
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Following an early pregnancy scare, Taylor proceeds to have a healthy pregnancy. Feeling frustrated when she passes her due date and isn’t showing much change toward going into labor, Taylor tries all the things to start labor and avoid induction. Once her water breaks, she has a super efficient unmedicated birth in which she labors at home for as long as possible until she starts feeling pressure and arrives at the hospital just in time to push and give birth. She and Joey share how educating themselves made a big difference in not feeling the need to rush to the hospital when her water broke, and how her empowering birth experience has awakened an interest in moving into birth work.
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Sierra envisioned a waterbirth for her baby, but was disheartened to find it’s hard to find a birthing location where that’s possible and also hard to find birthing center options in NYC. With the help of her doula, she finds the one birthing center in all of NYC and switches her care. Working with midwives, Sierra immediately feels much more cared about, seen and heard than she ever did with her hospital OB. Listen to hear this exciting story of how Sierra’s son had very different plans for where he wanted to be born at 39 weeks!
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Despite the fact that EmJ has always had a self-professed low pain tolerance, she finds instinctive coping mechanisms that work for her to have the unmedicated birth that she had hoped to have in a Manhattan hospital. Part of what helps this happen was how EmJ receives uncommonly doula-like support that helps her to manage well when things were at the most intense points. After the birth story, EmJ details navigating breastfeeding, and ultimately, exclusive pumping, in light of having had previous breast reduction surgery. She seeks out pelvic PT and finds it incredibly valuable to do an initial phone consult shortly after birth, particularly since she had experienced a fairly significant tear. Finally, EmJ gives some lesser known info on how she learned as a solo business owner that she could participate in the NY State Paid Parental Leave program and give us some tricks for small business owners.
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As a teenager, Crystal learned she has a bicornuate uterus which significantly affected her menstrual cycle. So it’s no small miracle years later when she conceives naturally twice after being told she’d probably need to use IUI or IVF. When her son doesn’t seem to have room to flip from breech to vertex (or head up to head down), and because doctors are rarely trained to deliver a breech baby vaginally, Crystal has a belly birth. She shares a few bumps along the way including an allergic reaction to the pre-op antibiotics, challenges with healing from major abdominal surgery and initial breastfeeding, but also shares how overall it was a positive experience. So much so that only 14 weeks into parenthood, she’s already feeling ready to give it another go. She also shares some details about her son’s hip dysplasia, which is more common in babies who are persistently breech.
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Cally’s hopes were high for an unmedicated birth. She gets thrown a curve ball when her membranes rupture as the first sign of labor. Knowing that an important strategy for a healthy birth is to labor at home for as long as possible, she doesn’t rush to the hospital. When she does go many hours later, she bravely signs an AMA (“against medical advice”) form in order to go back home after learning she’s barely dilated or effaced and baby is still high. When she later goes to the hospital and agrees to be induced, she’s ultimately very happy to have a vaginal birth with shorter-than-average length of induction, epidural for just a couple of hours, and an efficient pushing stage. She also shares some about her experiences with clinical anxiety and strategies to manage it, challenges with breastfeeding, and experiencing tendonitis due to repetitive stress in holding baby.
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As a doctor of physical therapy specializing in pelvic health, Nidhi is quite well-informed during her pregnancy, and had hoped to have an unmedicated birth with limited or no interventions. As her pregnancy develops, Nidhi learns she has gestational diabetes and goes on insulin and baby has an abnormal quad screen. In light of these things, her OB pushes to induce at 39 weeks, but she advocates to delay the induction until the fluid tests low a day before her estimated due date. She agrees to the induction at that point, but is thankful on the other side of birth to have bought more time because her son actually measured small at the time of birth, contrary to what often happens with gestational diabetes. Nidhi also shares about her severe tearing due to the use of the vacuum, and details her frustration with the lack of helpfulness of medical care in the postpartum period.
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In today’s episode, Jewish doula and mental health therapist Chana Diamond returns to share her 2nd and 3rd babies’ birth stories. She shares the details of two more unmedicated, uncomplicated vaginal births in a hospital attended by the same midwife as her first. Her babies were born healthy, despite a bit of concern due to identifying the rare Kidd antibody for both her 2nd and 3rd pregnancies. Chana also reflects on and describes some of the meaningful Jewish customs and rituals she observed in her pregnancies. (If you missed her first birth story, you can find that in Episode 87.)
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Millennials & die-hard Queens natives Suzanne & Edgar share the many smart things they did to prepare for the journey into parenthood and in hopes of having a healthy pregnancy & unmedicated birth: pre-conception couples therapy, going back on mental health meds in the journey to conceive, physical prep with exercise including yoga, nutritional support, chiropractic, acupuncture, meditation & mindfulness practices, hiring a doula, carefully choosing care provider, taking birth class, attending lactation support meetings during pregnancy, books, and more. Their birth story starts with being told they need an immediate induction due to low fluid. They decide to buy a bit of time by going to Suzanne’s “lucky diner” for a good meal beforehand, and her labor starts spontaneously. Suzanne experiences a faster-than-average 1st stage of labor but longer-than-average pushing stage. When the doctor says a cesarean might be needed after 3 hours of pushing, Suzanne is determined to give birth vaginally. Going into parenthood, she experiences some breastfeeding challenges that hit her mental health and shares about the hard decisions she had to make along the way. This story powerfully demonstrates how strong self-advocacy is often a gamechanger in many hospitals to have a physiologic birth and avoid unnecessary interventions. It also highlights how important supporting our mental health is in the journey into parenthood - directly from a parent who works in the mental health field.
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Hallie and Eric had a long 3-year journey to conceive their son. Along the way, previously undiagnosed conditions PCOS and Hashimoto’s are identified. Hallie eventually decides to seek out complementary therapies in her pursuit to conceive such as acupuncture, which seems to make a big difference. She conceives on the first IVF transfer and immediately seeks out doula support and an OB who specializes in endocrinology. She also dives into research to develop her preferences. Though she desired an undisturbed, low-intervention birth, she ends up needing an immediate induction at 38 weeks due to preeclampsia. Despite this not being the preferred path, she still has a positive experience because of the birth team she so carefully chose. Hallie also shares about working with an infant care & feeding specialist as well as a mohel for their son’s bris ceremony.
Full show notes at: birthmattersnyc.com/blog/ep93
Whenever Hannah tried to reconcile her background as a professional dancer with the idea of pregnancy and birth, it felt like the two were incompatible. Yet when she does get pregnant, she finds ways to beautifully integrate the two. While pregnant, Hannah obtains a grant to both create and perform a dance work that tells the story of her journey into parenthood and to hold dance & journaling classes to create a community of support for fellow pregnant people. Ultimately, she chooses to give birth at home. Today’s birth story shares all the details of how Hannah hires a great midwife and doula birth team to support her and her husband in their Upper West Side home birth.
Kelly eagerly educated herself and prepared for giving birth in all the ways – prenatal yoga, hiring doulas and a midwife, taking birth class, strategic nutrition, acupuncture, seeing a pelvic floor therapist. Because she’s a self-professed “jaded” professional working in the medical field, she made very intentional choices surrounding her care provider and support team. Kelly’s surprised when, just before her due date, her water breaks during a prenatal visit with her midwife. From there, listen to hear how quickly Kelly’s labor progresses after her midwife sends her home, how instinctively she labors, and how showing up just in time to push contributed to an easier-than-she-expected birthing process. Kelly also shares a bit about her early breastfeeding experience and how getting her daughter’s tongue-tie oral restrictions released helped lead to gradual improvements.
Read show notes/resources, transcript, see photos at birthmattersshow.com
Kaley did everything she could to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle throughout her pregnancy. She continued her running habit, then around 20 weeks she needed to shift to swimming and also did prenatal yoga.
Toward the end of her healthy pregnancy, she’s told that her cervix is already 4 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced, yet her labor wouldn't start for another 3 weeks.
When she experiences some bleeding at nearly 40 weeks, she checks into the hospital to get checked out. They tell her they’d like to induce, but before they can start the induction, her water breaks with a big gush. She buys a bit of time, and is grateful that her contractions started on their own about an hour later.
Kaley shares all of the details about how both fast and positive her labor was, but what very scary complications she experiences after the birth. She also explains how it has helped her to separate the birth from the 3rd stage into distinct events in order to protect the memory of her baby’s birth as a positive one.
She then shares a bit about the experience of being a bit disoriented in her postpartum physical body, as well as some of the breastfeeding challenges she faced due to low milk supply caused by having lost so much blood.
Full show notes at: birthmattersshow.com
Mara & Dylan did lots of great prep for birth in pregnancy – acupuncture, massage, birth class, hiring a doula, yoga, and more. Having heard her stepmom share how beautiful her own home birth was, this planted a seed of trust in the birthing process. When the time comes for her own baby’s birth, she feels most in her element laboring at home, using the shower for hydrotherapy almost nonstop. In fact, she was so in her element that she labored at home almost too long, and their doula diverts them to a different hospital when Mara starts getting the urge to push in the car. Listen to today’s story to hear how things play out from there. This story carries some striking similarities to a story shared earlier this season in Episode 83 by Nadia. So while we have two last-minute detours in this season, please don’t get it into your head that this is common because it’s not common at all – it’s quite an uncommon coincidence. She also shares a bit about some initial challenges she had with breastfeeding.
Show notes (links to resources, transcript, photos, etc.): birthmattersshow.com
Lauren’s first time giving birth was pre-pandemic in Australia in a very different healthcare system. So when she and her husband Shaun relocated to the NYC area to suburban New Jersey and wanted to conceive again, she began listening to this podcast as a way to get to know the local birth environment. Today she shares her experience of having an unmedicated birth for a second time but in a New Jersey hospital. Lauren tells us she gleaned wisdom from listening to some of the birth stories shared on this podcast that helped her to more confidently advocate for herself to have the unmedicated birth she hoped for when a nurse was pushing to start pitocin. Then you’ll hear her compare and contrast the Australian birthing environment to that of the NYC area – particularly along the lines of lactation support.
Jewish doula and mental health therapist Chana decides to get off medications for depression and anxiety during her pregnancy. This results in a recurrence of both, including pretty severe insomnia and her family strongly encourages her to get back on medications. She gets back to feeling more well for the rest of her pregnancy, but then her beloved grandmother dies when Chana’s 38 weeks pregnant, closely followed by Passover. Chana goes into labor at a large Seder family gathering and goes on to have a waterbirth at a Long Island hospital attended by a doula and Jewish midwife. Then she identifies her daughter’s gender at birth and names her after her grandmother.
Michelle knew all of her life that she experiences medical anxiety and convulsive syncope. So, when she started thinking about her deep desire to grow a family, she started educating herself and preparing strategically. Knowing herself and her anxiety challenges, she started planning for an unmedicated birth. Along the way, her strategies included eventually changing OBs who would be more supportive of her preferences and needs, hiring a doula, doing lots of research and taking birth class. This is a story of how this preparation contributed to her well-supported, uncomplicated, unmedicated hospital birth.
When Brooklynites Megan & Ted decide to try to get pregnant around the beginning of the pandemic, they’re surprised to conceive immediately. After seeing an OB and desiring less rushed time and more holistic care, they eventually land on giving birth at Brooklyn Birthing Center with midwives and a doula. Megan’s taken aback and challenged when she experiences 3 days of prodromal early labor with very little sleep. Eventually, labor kicks into gear once her water breaks. After pushing for 3+ hours and being told she may need to transfer to the hospital, their doula smartly encourages Megan to try an asymmetrical position that helps the baby get past the pelvic brim and finally be born. Megan & Ted also share about how well-supported they were not only in labor but after birth, too, and how important that was when Megan experienced some baby blues, surfacing in temporary anxiety and uncharacteristic irritability.
When Becky and her transgender husband decide to grow their family, it’s a long, winding road to meeting their baby. First step: make very careful adjustments to her depression & anxiety meds in order to conceive as safely as possible. Next step: the tedious process of seeking out a sperm donor. Then they had to go through 7 emotional rounds of IUI and finally IVF before they could even start a viable pregnancy. Today Becky shares all of those details plus her baby’s birth story, which starts with contractions in the middle of the night, being told she’s not actually in labor when she clearly was, augmenting with pitocin, Becky advocating to have her preferences be honored, and an otherwise fairly uncomplicated birth. She also shares a bit about her breastfeeding journey and how postpartum anxiety started around 3 months out from birth when baby went on a nursing strike.
Please always curate for yourself which episodes you feel will build your confidence and not your anxiety. This is one of the more challenging stories in that Becky was the unfortunate recipient of patient gaslighting, which could be upsetting or triggering for some listeners. However, you’ll hear how smartly Becky advocates for her voice to be heard and her preferences to be respected, so this is one reason we feel this story could be very useful for expectant parents to hear.
If you do choose to skip the story, I highly recommend tuning in to the teaching portion at the end because I’ll go over some simple but powerful self-advocacy strategies that are a glimpse of what you’ll also learn if you come to birth class.
As a person working in both the wellness and fashion fields, Nadia had intentionally pursued a healthy, fit lifestyle with an active meditation and breathwork practice. However, she discovered she had to ease up on those expectations in pregnancy and be gentle with herself. Early on in her pregnancy and at the recommendation of a friend, she hired both a doula and switched from working with an OB to a hospital midwife practice to feel more nurtured and heard. Soon after graduating from birth class and before her due date, she’s surprised to go into labor. Everyone around her encourages her to rest and relax thinking she probably had a long time ahead of her. However, for Nadia labor progressed unusually quickly. She shares very specific ways that her doula helped keep her and her husband calm, how her doula pivoted and did some quick, smart thinking when it became necessary to switch hospital destinations, and how she strongly advocated for her and her husband to have the best birth possible, including being sure Nadia’s partner didn’t miss the birth!
Today, Bronx-based Dominican couple, Ana Rosario & Josmar Rojas, share their son’s uncomplicated homebirth story. Ana’s background as a social worker had opened her eyes to the challenges Black/BIPOC folks face giving birth in a hospital setting, so she’d decided previously in her first pregnancy, which unfortunately resulted in loss, to give birth at home. They detail specifics of the holistic, nurturing, very safe care their homebirth midwife provided through their journey of pregnancy loss and then through her 4th pregnancy, labor and birth, and share about the indispensable support their doula also provided. Ana also reflects on some of the very specific cultural, nutritional, and herbal aspects of that support and how those factors contributed to having the kind of healthy, empowering birth she preferred.
Liza & Jon are surprised when they conceive much more quickly than expected. Toward the end of an uneventful, happy pregnancy, they learn their son is breech. They try almost everything to get their breech baby to flip, but baby was happy as a clam sitting on her bladder. With cesarean scheduled, Liza goes into labor spontaneously a week early and labors for a day and a half before heading to the hospital for the cesarean surgery. She shares about the beautifully respectful care they received throughout, ways that it felt like the beautiful birth it should feel like including holding hands during the surgery, playing music they wanted to hear and getting to hold their son almost immediately. Finally, Liza reflects on how grateful she is to have been able to nurse her son for a solid 2 months even though she had breast reduction surgery on one side and an implant on the other as a teen, and also describes how difficult a decision it was around 2 months to stop breastfeeding and shift to formula feeding. Liza & Jon are both quite charismatic; I think you’ll love hearing the entertaining way they share their story and encourage expectant parents to go with the flow and embrace their unique weird.
After Amber experienced both a pregnancy loss and subsequent challenges conceiving a second time, she and her husband eventually conceive their rainbow baby on the first try with IUI. At 18 weeks, they learn their baby is breech, and she continues to be persistently breech, despite trying a number of things to help baby flip. Amber has to make a mental shift in expectations from desiring a physiologic birth to normalizing the necessary cesarean and comes to the realization that it can also be a beautiful way for a baby to be born. She also shares the importance of actively seeking out support through fellow expectant and new parents and some of the specific ways she found that support.
Today, Joanna & Tony share their son Felix’s birth story. They were due after the Covid shutdown in NYC but, fortuitously, gave birth just shy of 37 weeks shortly before the shutdown. They show up to a prenatal visit almost 6 cm dilated (technically called “active labor”) yet not even feeling any labor sensations. Their doc tells them they need to go straight to the hospital, where they spend many hours in the waiting room and triage but then proceed to have an unmedicated labor and birth. Joanna & Tony are the only couple thus far to take Birth Matters class, give birth before graduating, and return to class with their newborn in tow to share the birth story with their own cohort!
As a pelvic PT, Helene started off pregnancy with unique and applicable skills that informed her decision to pursue an unmedicated delivery in a hospital. She shares about the various things that helped her have mostly the kind of labor and birth she had hoped for, including support from her husband and doula, breathwork, a peanut ball, hydrotherapy, and more. When it comes time for pushing, both the position and the technique she ends up using are not ones she ever would have guessed she’d do nor would she recommend to clients, but that felt necessary due to both exhaustion and a medical concern for the baby. Helene also shares about her early breastfeeding and healing challenges, and how going through this process personally inspired her to start a fully virtual pelvic PT and other perinatal care support service offering.
Jaymie started off her pregnancy under OB care but came to realize that the medical setting wasn’t the right choice for her birth, so she transferred her care to a home birth midwifery team. She shares about what helped her prepare for her physically demanding labor at home and how her husband and team of midwives supported her throughout labor. She also shares about her experience breastfeeding and working with some lactation consultant friends.
Astoria resident Eileen chose her birth place on Long Island because it was where her Labor & Delivery nurse mother works and had relationships that would lend themselves to things going as well as possible and having her preferences honored. She also did all the things to prepare as best as possible for a healthy pregnancy and birthing experience. Today, she shares the details of a surprisingly long and intense 36-hour labor which included thinking her water broke early on, laboring a long time at home and at her mother’s house, going to be checked and advocating to not be admitted too early. Eileen also shares how she managed to transition into postpartum after a less-than-seamless discharge from the hospital following what she calls “poop trauma”.
Lisa and Clint share the details of their unexpectedly fast first labor experience that results in Clint catching their baby on the sidewalk right outside Weill Cornell hospital in Manhattan in the dead of winter. They also discuss the realities of navigating postpartum at the start of a global pandemic and the importance of giving yourself lots of grace and flexibility when parenting in these challenging times.
Sophia’s first birth was a planned homebirth that needed to transfer to the hospital for a cesarean due to baby’s position. Today she shares how she was determined to try for a vaginal birth after cesarean, also known as VBAC, at home. Sophia details lots of smart insights based on both her own journey as well as her knowledge as a doula. We talk about kinds of things that can help both parent and baby thrive through the journey to, through and beyond birth such as acupuncture & moxibustion, chiropractic, cranial sacral therapy, pelvic physical therapy, Spinning Babies techniques, emotional support, and more.
Today’s season 3 premiere episode shares a birth story with birth class students and podcast listeners, Lucy & Cam. They share how Lucy had hoped for a physiological birth and how surprised she was in coming to the U.S. from the UK that midwifery isn’t the default standard of care. As she goes through her pregnancy working with an OB, over time she realizes she’d prefer more patient-centered care so she switches from OB care to a hospital midwifery practice. Once she has something to compare to, she breathes a huge sigh of relief and feels like she’s found someone she can totally trust to hear and respect her birth choices and not intervene unnecessarily. When Lucy’s told she needs to go to the hospital immediately to be induced for low fluids at 41 weeks, it becomes clear things won’t fully go as she had hoped. However, you’ll hear Lucy share how it was still a positive, empowering experience overall because of her careful choice of a care provider with whom she felt truly aligned and who helped her discern each step of the way when interventions were truly medically indicated.
In this final episode of Season 2, we'll hear a theme of gratitude. Laura communicates lots of it in today’s birth story as she shares the story of a well-supported metamorphosis into motherhood, her matrescence. Laura’s story is another pandemic birth story in which she equipped herself and her partner with birth doula support early in pregnancy and then also hired a great postpartum doula to support her for several weeks afterwards. She shares how, while the birth didn’t play out totally as she had hoped, it was still a positive experience largely because she had great support and received respectful care. Then in postpartum, only 9 days after birth, she and her husband start having Covid symptoms and find out he tested positive while their birth doula was visiting them. She describes some details of that challenging time. Finally, Laura shares how her eyes were opened to some of the terrible racial injustices and disparities that exist in our maternal health care system and how she wants to do her part to effect change.
When Evelyn & James conceive their baby, they have no idea they’ll be giving birth during a pandemic. As a dancer and trainer, she even keeps touring for a while with her dance company and teaching Pilates classes for part of pregnancy and just before Covid gets real. Once the pandemic hits, they decide to abruptly leave NYC to be closer to Evelyn’s family to give birth down in Houston, never thinking that it might just be a permanent move away from NYC. Ultimately, they decide to give birth at a freestanding birthing center, not wanting to give birth in a hospital given the risks of Covid-19, and then they have a postdates waterbirth supported by doulas, her husband and midwives. Evelyn and James share their son's birth story today but then Evelyn also shares a bit about her postpartum healing journey, and describes some of the work she’s doing now to virtually support pregnant and postpartum parents as a physical trainer.
Scharisse felt like she was getting lackluster care in her pregnancy at a hospital under Medicaid but thought she just had to deal. She was being told she should just schedule a cesarean because of her age and being overweight, and it didn’t sit right with her. Then one day, when she was around 30 weeks pregnant, she encountered a doula who encouraged her that she deserves to have respectful care and a great birth. This empowered her to switch to giving birth at home -- something she never thought someone on Medicaid could do, thanks to some flexibility on the part of her midwives and a community birth fund. She shares today about the radically better, deeply respectful care she received when she switched to working with homebirth midwives and doulas and details specific ways in which she felt heard and safe.
Actor-singer Aimée discovers she’s pregnant right after her and her husband’s honeymoon, which they returned from just before the pandemic shutdown and experiences both a healthy pregnancy but also sadness of not being seen by friends or family throughout her pregnancy. Today Aimée will share her baby's birth story in which she intentionally labors at home for a good, long time and then gives birth in a Manhattan hospital with the support of her husband and doula and without pain medications. Despite the fact that she had a great birth, you’ll hear how she began experiencing postpartum anxiety & depression around 4 weeks out from birth, how the anxiety skyrocketed around 6 weeks when her son became colicky and began having long crying spells, and how critically helpful it was when she sought out a therapist at the Motherhood Center who specializes in the perinatal period.
Sasha planned to give birth with a midwife and developed a birth plan for a peaceful, unmedicated birth. Some of her plans necessarily go out the window when, at 37 weeks Sasha is diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and has to immediately come to the hospital in the snow to be induced for the safety of her and her daughter. This story will help expectant parents think through their choices in care providers both in pregnancy as well as for baby, and also drives home the value of hiring a doula.
Today Emily shares her two pregnancy stories and a birth story. First, she describes experiencing pregnancy loss at 11 weeks. It surprises her when the grief was longer-lasting and more complex than she expected, but shares the essential support she discovered to help her through the journey of loss. Then Emily tells the story of conceiving her rainbow baby shortly after the Covid-19 shutdown and the many ways she and Scott prepared for giving birth, including hiring a team of 2 virtual doulas. She provides detailed strategies that helped her have the kind of birth she had hoped for (an unmedicated vaginal birth), including not only support from her husband, virtual doulas and nurses, but also laboring at home for most of labor, experimenting with a variety of positions, music, hydrotherapy, and more.
So it was a very stressful situation to be sent to the hospital and be told if you can't get your blood pressure down, you're being induced today. It's sort of the worst thing you could tell somebody who's trying to -- but what I found was I would put my headphones on, I would lie down on my left side and I would start to listen to my Hypnobirthing tape and I would just really focus on the relaxation and my breathing. And my blood pressure numbers would just drop. And they would come in and sort of shake their heads and say, "Okay, I've never seen this work before, but I guess you can go home." And this actually happened a couple of times. It was really instructive to me to see how that kind of relaxation and breathing could affect my body in these really significant ways. And honestly it gave me a lot more practice too, for the hypnobirthing techniques.
What happens when you grow your family from an only child to two children? Today Danuta & Jacek share two birth stories -- one hospital birth with an obstetrician and one birthing center birth with a midwife, both so fast they barely make it to the birthplace in time. They compare and contrast the two birthing environments and care provider models, which will be helpful for anyone trying to make these choices before or during pregnancy. You’ll note that last week’s and this week’s episode titles both center on grief. Grief is a necessary process in any life change, and all kinds of grief can be challenging. Last week you heard about grief of losing a parent whereas this week you’ll hear a mother describe the surprising sadness she experienced toward the end of her second pregnancy as well as into postpartum in the transition from having just one child to focus on to having to divide attention between two. You’ll hear how important support was for Danuta as she expresses gratitude for the ways in which her doula and fellow moms normalized and validated her feelings of grief along the way.
Today Sarah & Steve share their daughter Molly’s birth story as a special way to celebrate and honor her on her 13th birthday, which is the day this story is airing. It’s a story of an unmedicated vaginal birth at home with a homebirth midwife in Brooklyn. Interesting, perhaps, to note that Molly has recently become interested in becoming a midwife and has listened to every single episode of this podcast! Sarah shares how giving birth and becoming a mother stirred up a new wave of grief over the loss of her mother, which was about 7 years before she became a mother. This sharing was also a special way to commemorate the 20th anniversary of losing her mother as it was recorded the day after it. She’ll mention a couple of things that happened during pregnancy that seemed like messages sent from her mother. As a professional in literacy as well as an anti-racist educator, Sarah provides a number of great book recommendations, including the recommendation to expose little ones to diversity and representation in books that you read to them as early as possible.
Today Simone Toomer joins us again to share her second baby’s birth story. Simone is a Black perinatal professional who serves birthing folks and families in a number of capacities, but at this point in time is mostly focusing on supporting nursing parents. In today’s story she shares how she again chose a Black support team and how her decision to give birth at home was a very logical choice following attending many births as a doula in various birth settings after her first baby’s birth. Simone had a quick first birth, and this one is even shorter, lasting only a couple of hours from her noticing the first labor contraction to meeting her son. She then shares being surprised by some of the breastfeeding challenges she experienced with her 2nd, since her first experience had been much easier. She explains how taking her son for bodywork and then getting his tongue tie released made all the difference. Simone also details some of how the challenges she experienced inform the professional lactation support she provides now, and talks again about the nursing support groups she’s doing for nursing parents who identify as Black through Chocolate Milk Cafe as well as for all nursing parents with La Leche League.
What happens when you’ve planned a peaceful, undisturbed birthing center birth but are diagnosed at 37 weeks with a rare form of preeclampsia called HELLP Syndrome? Jennifer shares how this unexpected news threw her for a loop but how she calmly drove herself to the hospital to check in for an induction in which she had the pressure of needing to give birth within a few limited hours or else a cesarean would be necessary. Tune in to hear how uncharacteristically efficient Jennifer’s labor was and how ready for giving birth her body and baby were. She also shares the number of ways she prepared for giving birth in light of her background as a clinical nutritionist, postpartum chef and yoga teacher with training as a doula.
In this last episode in our fertility journey series, we share a fertility journey story (2, actually), that may be particularly useful for folks who identify as queer and who are on the TTC path. Trigger alert: pregnancy loss is mentioned in this episode.
Ashley tells her and her wife’s story of overlapping pregnancies via IVF using 1 anonymous sperm donor for both of them so their children could be genetically half-siblings. Ashley’s pregnancy followed enduring 6 failed IUI’s, a 7th IUI that resulted in an ectopic pregnancy as well as one IVF transfer that resulted in an early miscarriage at 5 weeks. Her wife conceived via IVF on the first try following 6 failed IUIs and in Ashley’s 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Ashley details some the research she needed to do in order to advocate for herself, the benefits of acupuncture, and the valuable community she discovered as well as family support she and her wife had. She also reflects on aspects of the emotional journey & mindset shifts she needed to make for this journey to meet their daughter, Ava, to feel like a successful and positive one.
In today’s episode, fertility coach Lisa Hendrickson-Jack joins us to explain how the fertility awareness method can be used for the TTC fertility journey as well as for postpartum and lifelong bodily awareness. Lisa is a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner who teaches women to chart their menstrual cycles for natural birth control, conception, and monitoring overall health. In her book The Fifth Vital Sign, Lisa debunks the myth that regular ovulation is only important when you want children by recognizing the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Drawing heavily from the current scientific literature, Lisa presents an evidence-based approach to fertility awareness and menstrual cycle optimization. She hosts the Fertility Friday Podcast, a weekly radio show devoted to helping women connect to their fifth vital sign by uncovering the connection between menstrual cycle health, fertility, and overall health.
We’re nearing the end of our fertility journey series before we return to birth stories; this week we have a bit of both.
In the last couple of weeks of Jenn’s pregnancy and with the deadline set to induce labor, Jenn’s desperate to avoid induction and pulls out all the stops trying everything from bouncing on a yoga ball to red raspberry leaf tea because she had hoped for an unmedicated birth. Finally, sex seems to do the trick and her water breaks. When they show up to the hospital thinking they’d get to go home but instead get checked in, things play out in such a way that induction, epidural, and ultimately the assistance of a vacuum are needed for the over 24-hour labor.
Also unexpected (and disappointing) twists were getting a different OB and different doula than planned. Jenn & Zach also share details about their fertility journey and about their son’s bris with a mohel.
Heads up: this story is one of the more challenging stories shared on this podcast, but it’s one that’s educational in ways that haven’t been shared thus far. Please always check out the description here at the beginning of each episode or in the show notes over at birthmattersshow.com and decide for yourself which episodes you think will help you feel more confident and relaxed in the journey toward parenthood and leave the rest. Everyone’s preferences are different on this, so that’s why we're providing a fairly broad range of educational stories on this podcast.
Today you’ll hear the story of fertility warrior Jasmine Katatikarn, who struggled to have a child for six years. After multiple IUIs and her 2nd IVF, she was told that she had a less than 1% chance of having a baby and to stop trying. However, Jasmine didn’t give up.
Using her background as an artist, she applied an artist’s mindset to overcome her roadblocks and design a life that gave control of her fertility journey and life moving forward. Using her designer point of view and tools, Jasmine shows you how to take control of your own fertility journey as well.
As a result, she became pregnant within months of being told she had less than a 1% chance. Jasmine now has two kids, both through IVF. Today, you’ll hear details about her fertility journey, what led her into encouraging others along similar paths, and she’ll share a bit about the work she does to support parents who are on the TTC journey.
Trigger alert: pregnancy loss is mentioned/described in this episode.
Early in the podcast’s first season, in episode 5, Julie shared her baby’s birth story. She returns today to share her fertility journey whereby it took several years of perseverance to successfully conceive and give birth to her healthy baby boy.
The path to conceiving her son via IVF included unsuccessful IUIs, a chemical pregnancy, early loss of twins, and switching care providers and hospitals along the way. She explains how her Christian faith created a bit of conflict within her at first about this pursuit, and she also describes some different opinions her family had about trying to conceive in alternative ways. Julie also goes into other emotional and relational aspects of the journey and for her, how valuable it was when she was able to shift toward feeling at peace with whatever the outcome. She wanted to share her journey in hopes that it can encourage others on a similar path.
Today we continue our fertility journey series and share the second part of fertility doula Alison Wehr’s 2 IVF and birth stories. Alison’s second path to conception was a smoother one; today she shares how quickly IVF worked this time around, how she wasn’t nearly as anxious this time, and will detail her second born’s birth story that started with her water breaking a few days before her estimated due date. After she shares her son’s birth story, she discusses how she got into fertility doula as well as birth and postpartum work.
Today, we continue our fertility journey series. In this and next week's episode, birth and fertility doula Alison Wehr shares the story of her two babies’ IVF conception and birth stories. Just need to give another trigger alert that this first story includes some stories of loss in the process of trying to conceive. If you listened to Episode 47, you heard a birth story that happened on the heels of Hurricane Sandy. Alison’s first baby’s birth that she’ll share today occurred immediately before the same hurricane hit. Alison’s first birth story is one of an efficient first labor and unmedicated vaginal birth in a hospital setting. The labor was seemingly caused by her OB sweeping her membranes around 38 weeks and begins the day she and her husband had tickets to attend the Broadway play Glengarry, Glen Ross starring Al Pacino. She also shares how Hurricane Sandy hit the day after they came home and how the blackout the hurricane caused created some interesting memories.
Today, Marise Angibeau-Gray, a Black mother and full-spectrum doula, shares the story of 3 pregnancy losses -- one in each trimester -- that led up to her 4th baby’s birth story. (Please note that this episode may be triggering for anyone who has experienced pregnancy loss or trauma.) Marise shares aspects of the emotional journey as well as how she selected each of her care providers and eventually found an optimal fit who would give her customized care. She also shares insights on a couple of things that are NOT helpful to say to someone who has experienced pregnancy loss and the ways in which she planned ahead for support for the postpartum period, knowing that this time could be particularly risky with all the grief she had already endured. Finally, Marise shares about the important work she and a fellow NYC doula are doing to better support Black birthing folx who might experience loss in their journey into parenthood.
Today is part 2 of the birth story that we started last week with Adriane Stare, so if you didn’t listen last week, be sure to listen to that first. To review, this is Adriane’s 2nd IVF and birth story to share. The first story was shared back at the top of Season 2 in episode 40 and was a birth at home. This birth story didn’t go quite the same way due to the fact that her baby was in an awkward position, and we left off last week just before Adriane’s midwife advises them to transfer to the hospital. Today she shares how she was still able to have a vaginal birth, but also shares some of the challenges she faced in the hospital environment, particularly after the birth.
In today’s episode, we kick off our fertility journey series as postpartum doula and babywearing educator Adriane Stare, who shared her first baby’s conception and birth story in Episode 40, returns to share her 2nd baby’s Christmas Day birth story. This is a story of a frozen embryo IVF conception and then a planned home birth that needed to transfer to the hospital in the pushing stage that results in a vaginal birth. In contrast to her first birth at home, Adriane shares some challenging aspects of her hospital stay including feeling unsupported, feeling unnecessarily shamed for attempting a homebirth, not getting the pain meds she needed for her very strong afterpains, struggling to get discharged early, and more. This episode drives home both the need for support in postpartum as well as the need for improvement in homebirth transfer relationships and education for hospital personnel on the safety of homebirth.
When Erin shows up for her weekly prenatal appointment around 37 weeks without her partner due to Covid restrictions, she is caught by surprise when she’s told an immediate induction is necessary because they don’t detect enough fetal movement. They’re not even packed at this point, so Mike goes home to grab a few things. Birth intentions out the window, Erin finds new perspective and resolve to give birth with confidence when a couple of things happen to help her re-center and adjust. This is a birth story of a smooth induction with a necessary epidural in which baby needs to go to the NICU for a bit due to low birth weight. Mike joins and shares a partner’s perspectives on support, bonding, and being surprised by the way he felt when their son was born.
Today’s birth story was one that took place back in May in the first couple of months of the pandemic in a Manhattan hospital, and it was recorded mid-June. Alissa initially hired a doula to help her remain calm, but due to the pandemic the hospital wasn’t allowing more than one support person, so she shifted that support to postpartum virtual support. Despite not having doula support for the labor, Alissa is surprised when she finds most of her 8-hour labor so manageable that she questions being in labor at all for much of it. She also explains how surprised she was at how wonderfully everything went and how her fears were unnecessary, and will also share some of the surprising ways the pandemic positively affected her experience. From there, Alissa goes on to share how deeply challenging breastfeeding was for her. When she realized it was having a hugely negative impact on her mental health and hurting her relationship with both her daughter and her husband, she ultimately decides to stop nursing and switch to bottle feeding. She’ll explain how, while it was a very difficult decision, ultimately it was an important and wise one to protect the wellness of their whole family.
Almost 2 years after her daughter was born, and following a cross-country move closer to family in California, Kirtan shares the details of her firstborn’s birth. She has an unusually quick, 6-hour unmedicated labor and arrives at the hospital just in time to push, similarly to Simone a couple of episodes ago, in Episode 47. Kirtan will then share quite a bit about her struggles with breastfeeding, including experiencing a painful letdown as well as anxiety she experienced surrounding not only breastfeeding but also in introducing solids. As a bonus, you’ll hear about an intentional ritual her husband, Brendan, initiated for both parents to get good chunks of sleep in the early weeks -- one that supported healthy nursing rhythms. Second bonus: an entertaining story on Kirtan pumping on a subway home from work!
Today’s episode is the first time for this podcast to have one mother on the show to share all three of her babies’ birth stories. As a mom of 3, you’ll see how efficiently Traci shares her stories as this is, ironically, one of our shortest episodes. (We suspect that’s because when you’re a mom of 3 you learn to be as time-efficient as possible!) Traci shares how all 3 of her babies’ births were fairly uncomplicated, vaginal births, the first being in NYC and the 2nd and 3rd in Indianapolis. Traci shares how, while her first two had no nursing issues and were actually avid breastfeeders, her third baby surprised them by having pretty significant feeding issues. They soon discovered that he had a condition called Laryngomalacia, where the tissue of the larynx is softer and floppier than normal. This created the challenges with breastfeeding and, later, some speech issues, both of which required some work with a speech therapist.
Today, we’re excited to have a local colleague on the show to share her first baby’s birth story. Simone Toomer is a Brooklyn-based Black mother of two as well as a perinatal professional who wears many hats -- she’s a doula, childbirth educator, sleep educator, lactation counselor and soon-to-be lactation consultant. At this point, Simone is mostly focusing on nursing support, serving as a leader for La Leche League International and for Chocolate Milk Cafe, a now-national organization that specifically provides nursing support groups for nursing parents who identify with the African diaspora. In addition to sharing her first baby’s uncomplicated birth story in a hospital in which she shows up pretty much just in time to push and give birth, Simone will also share a bit about the great work she’s doing to improve breastfeeding outcomes for Black families.
Today, Mila & Shawn share their baby’s pre-pandemic, premature birth story. In the weeks leading up to Mila’s labor, the couple had been chosen to be on the tv show HOUSE HUNTERS. However, Mila’s water breaks at 36 weeks before they even finish shooting the episode. While Mila, who had done a lot of work to reduce her anxiety and build trust in the birth process, had hoped for an unmedicated labor, the way things play out induction and then pain medications ended up being needed. They share how Mila pushed for 3 hours, and just as things were headed for a c-section, Shawn asked if the vacuum was an option because Mila really wanted to avoid a surgical birth. So, a vacuum was used to assist with the delivery. Then they explain how baby went to the NICU for 6 days due to some breathing issues and needing phototherapy for jaundice. Mila discusses the helpful early breastfeeding support she received in the hospital, and also shares already preferring to having an out-of-hospital birth attended by a midwife and a doula for the next time around.
For the first time on this podcast, an almost-complete birth team is joining us today for a birth circle of sorts. Kelsey shares her firstborn’s story, with her midwife, Jenna Sood & her doula, Christine Gibson, providing their perspectives and filling in gaps where Kelsey’s memory becomes foggy. Kelsey had spent a lot of time in pregnancy envisioning and planning for the kind of birth she desired, which was an unmedicated birth in which she felt connected and well-supported. Her labor surprises her, similarly to Elaine’s story earlier this season and Toni in the last episode, in being a shorter-than-average first-time labor. This episode really drives home in a new way the power of surrounding yourself with compassionate care providers and support toward an amazing birth.
In today’s episode, Toni & Peter share their firstborn’s birth story only about 6 weeks after the big day. Originally they had hoped for a completely unmedicated birth. They share how, as they approached and passed the due date, they tried everything under the sun to go into labor spontaneously, to no effect. The unexpected development of needing induction just after 40 weeks due to developing borderline preeclampsia then required some adjusted expectations. You’ll hear how strong self-advocacy techniques were game-changers that Toni & Peter used to delay and, ultimately, avoid using pitocin for labor. They also share how their doula and Peter set up the hospital room in a way that was both meditative and celebratory, including the use of battery-operated candles, aromatherapy, music, and even a hand drum and dancing. As a psychotherapist who specializes in meditation and mindfulness, Toni details how she used those skills and tools to have an almost completely unmedicated, quick 5-hour induced labor in which she pushes the baby out in only 4 pushes. In light of the fact that most inductions are expected to take, on average, 24 hours, and even spontaneous first-time labors take 18 hours on average, this was doubly fast and efficient. Toni gives a couple of insights and recommendations to listeners for early breastfeeding, and they both reflect on the moment of meeting their daughter as well as the monumental transition into parenthood.
Today you’ll hear a story shared by Amayra, a black woman living in NYC who initially planned to give birth at home due to her knowledge about the poor outcomes for black birthing folks in hospitals.
Things took an unexpected turn when Amayra learned her baby had a cleft diagnosis so that she needed to switch to a hospital birth attended by midwives. Amayra shares how she intentionally chose black care providers not only for her birth support team, including her doula, but also as she selected a surgeon during pregnancy to correct the cleft soon after birth. Amayra also provides a bunch of excellent tips for expectant and new parents toward the end, too, so be sure to listen to the whole episode.
After Amayra shares her story, you'll hear about these poor outcomes further, and Lisa will share specific ways you can help improve the state of maternal health in our city and country.
Today we're excited to have a wonderful NYC midwife, Elaine Keller-Duemig, on the show.
Elaine was the care provider in last episode's 2 birth stories and, in this episode, shares her own baby’s birth story. She chose to gave birth at the hospital where she works with a midwife at her practice, Central Park Midwifery.
This is a story of a shorter than average first-time labor in which she gets to the hospital in the nick of time. Elaine shares how, experientially, the unpredictability of how labor can go felt kind of surprising. It’s amazing how, no matter your level of expertise, birth will always feel mysterious and unknowable and we can’t get into our heads too much.
Elaine also shares about her journey into her work as a midwife and a bit about the midwifery model of care.
In this episode, Yuliya shares both of her babies’ birth stories. She explains how she made the intentional choice of working with a practice of in-hospital midwives as well as hired a doula for both births, as this was the kind of birth team that she felt could help her have the kind of physiological births she hoped for.
While she didn’t plan or hope to have 2 inductions, that’s how things played out given unexpected circumstances in each pregnancy of low amniotic fluid and then the pandemic.
She details how she was able to cope with both medical inductions with non-pharmacological pain coping techniques using some of the techniques she knows intuitively and as a clinical psychologist as well as with the support of the team she so carefully chose.
Adriane shares her very unusual fertility journey story as well as her distinctive choice to, following IVF, give birth to her first baby at home. Adriane is not only a mom of two, but is also a babywearing expert, postpartum doula, breastfeeding counselor, and the former owner of a baby boutique in Greenpoint, Brooklyn now called The Wild. She’ll share her 2nd IVF and birth story later on the season as we begin the series on fertility journey challenges.
SEASON 1 FINALE!
Today we have another home birth story for you. Actually, this episode is two home birth stories. And it’s shared by the dear friends of the couple from the last story whom Sarah mentioned.
The day before Nora’s & Michael’s firstborn’s 4th birthday, and about a week before their 2nd born turns 1, they share both of their stories of uncomplicated births at home. Listen to hear details of thoughtfully choosing the birth location and birth team that would be most likely to honor their hopes to have a peaceful and physiological birth both times. You’ll hear the benefits of prenatal physical training through the lens of Michael’s expertise as a personal perinatal trainer. They will both share the specific benefits of hiring a doula for both births, and will advise listeners to think carefully about what family members or others you’ll invite to be present for your labor through the tense dynamics they experienced the second time around.
Today, we continue our cesarean birth stories series; this episode completes a 2-part story and is the grand finale to the series. We continue this EPIC birth warrior story that goes in all kinds of unexpected directions told by Sarah and Chris. This story feels like several birth stories wrapped into one. Sarah & Chris share their story of a very long, planned home birth that eventually transfers to the hospital and after DAYS of labor (literally, days) ultimately, Sarah gives birth via c-section after her waters have been ruptured for 90+hours. Get ready for a taste of how unknowable and unpredictable birth can be, and listen to the amazingly positive attitude this couple has through it and on the other side of it. These episodes provide a poignant lesson in how important mindset and flexibility are, keeping in mind it’s your baby’s birth, not yours, choosing a great birth team that hears you and gives you choices, among many other valuable lessons. Even if birth doesn’t go “as planned”--which it hardly ever does, but this one goes off-plan in almost every possible way!--Sarah & Chris share strategies for averting feelings of trauma and for, instead, still feeling good about the birth.
Today, we continue our cesarean birth stories series; this episode begins a 2-parter and grand finale to the series. You’re in for an EPIC birth warrior story that goes in all kinds of unexpected directions told by Sarah and Chris. Quite honestly, this story feels like several birth stories wrapped into one. Sarah & Chris share their story of a very long, planned home birth that eventually transfers to the hospital and after DAYS of labor (literally, days) ultimately, Sarah gives birth via c-section after her waters have been ruptured for 90+hours. Get ready for a taste of how unknowable and unpredictable birth can be, and listen to the amazingly positive attitude this couple has through it and on the other side of it. These episodes provide a poignant lesson in how important mindset and flexibility are, keeping in mind it’s your baby’s birth, not yours, choosing a great birth team that hears you and gives you choices, among many other valuable lessons. Even if birth doesn’t go “as planned”--which it hardly ever does, but this one goes off-plan in almost every possible way!--Sarah & Chris share strategies for averting feelings of trauma and for, instead, still feeling good about the birth.
In today’s episode, we return to our cesarean birth stories that were scheduled for last month’s Cesarean Awareness Month following our 3-week detour to share birth stories taking place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Do be sure to give us a follow over on Instagram or Facebook (both @birthmattersnyc) for some educational content on this topic that we posted last month. The month of May will be the last few episodes of our first season, as we'll be going on hiatus for the summer to prepare lots more great content for the fall.
Today, Amanda & Grant share their firstborn’s birth story. Amanda describes how she developed cholestasis during her pregnancy, which is a medical indication for induction. She’ll describe the reasons that the way her labor played out led to baby needing to be born via cesarean. While this was not what Amanda had wanted after she had planned for an unmedicated birth with a midwife and doula, it was still an overall positive birth experience for her due to the compassionate care she received from everyone around her, including her partner, Grant. Get ready for all the feels when you hear both Grant and Amanda express love, admiration, and appreciation for each other throughout this momentous life experience and how this aspect helped everything feel like an overall sweet memory. Amanda will also share a bit about the early challenges she and baby faced as they started breastfeeding.
Just before their due date, Sarah & Spencer receive an urgent call from their obstetrician saying they need to be induced immediately if they want Spencer to allowed to support Sarah in labor. Not wanting to give birth without support, they heed the call and head to NYC’s NY Pres Weill Cornell for an uncomplicated vaginal birth. They describe the ways in which the environment was different in light of the pandemic, including testing, wearing masks, the hospital feeling quieter than normal, and more. They both share that, while they were grateful that Spencer was able to be present to support Sarah through labor and to be present for the birth of their baby, it was very disappointing that Spencer wasn’t allowed to go with her and baby to the postpartum unit and how Sarah regretted agreeing to the default shared room after birth. Sarah also shares how she would have gone home with baby sooner, but baby didn’t pass the first hearing test so she did have to stay for the standard 2 days before being reunited with Spencer at home. They share a bit, too, about the first ~3 weeks of parenthood and adjusting to life with baby.
Amidst the growing Covid-19 pandemic and stay at home orders, Natalie & Jackson share the stress they experienced late in her 3rd trimester when they learn that their hospital is no longer allowing partners to accompany the laboring person. They scramble to advocate for the decision to be reversed at Mt. Sinai East and are interviewed by multiple reporters along the way. They share how they were surprised when Natalie’s water broke a few weeks before the due date. Thankfully, baby waited to come just long enough for Governor Cuomo to issue an executive order requiring partners to be allowed in labor & the immediate postpartum. They’ll share aspects of the hospital environment across Natalie’s time in the hospital that will be relevant to anyone giving birth during a pandemic, such as there being very little traffic getting to the hospital, being tested for Covid upon admission, the hospital being uncrowded, and having to wear a mask the whole time they were there.
When the Covid-19 pandemic starts getting real in March, Jackie & Michael try everything they can near their due date to help labor to start when their doctor wouldn't agree to induce until after her due date. A few days before her due date, Jackie's surprised when her water breaks. Because she sees meconium in the fluid and she was Group B Strep positive, they head to the hospital. They describe how both the induction and the pushing stage surprise them when it progresses more quickly than most. You'll hear the different ways that, in mid-March when Jackie gave birth, hospital precautions were ramping up moment-by-moment in one particular way that directly affected them. They also share the ways their pediatrician office's protocols changed across their first 3 visits. Jackie & Michael also talk about how valuable hiring doulas was through this journey into parenthood, even when it had to be virtual support for the actual labor.
In today’s episode, Christine learns in her 33rd week of pregnancy that her baby has flipped to breech, or heads up, position. She scrambles to change care providers in hopes of having closer to the kind of birth she and her husband, Omri, wanted. While she wasn’t able to have the vaginal, unmedicated birth she had hoped for -- because it’s nearly impossible to find any care providers who are trained to safely deliver breech babies vaginally -- she opts out of the recommended scheduled cesarean and waits for labor to start spontaneously before having a surgical birth at Metropolitan Hospital (NYC). She and Omri advocate for specific things in the surgery that mattered to them, and their doula helps them know the smart questions to ask along the way. This is a story of strong self-advocacy and making informed choices, as well as building in support, to have as positive and healthy a birth as possible.
A few days before celebrating their daughter’s first birthday, Nissa & Brit share the story of an unexpectedly quick first labor with the support of a doula. You'll hear about how a preexisting condition Nissa has, Crohn's Disease, caused confusion when she actually went into labor. She shares the emotional challenges of a cancer diagnosis her mom got in the middle of Nissa’s pregnancy and mentions a therapeutic method that was helpful to her. She details how she thinks her background and training in acting was helpful in giving birth, while Brit explains how being a parent has helped him become a better, more present professional actor. They describe what it was like to meet their daughter for the first time, go through some of the ways they worked together as a team in the early weeks, and point out strengths they've seen in each other as they've become parents.
Today, Birth Matters alums Jess & Rich share the story of their firstborn son’s birth. Jess explains how super-prepared she was, reading up on everything she could get her hands on, hiring a doula in the 2nd trimester, focusing on eating nutrient-dense foods, taking prenatal yoga classes and childbirth education classes. She proceeds to share how, while she had very much hoped for a completely unmedicated birth, she and Rich were able to swing with the curve balls they were dealt toward a satisfying, great birth experience. They go into details about being induced at 41 weeks 6 days after refusing to be scheduled for several days leading up to that, and proceeding with an induction using cytotec, a foley balloon, and artificially rupturing the membranes. This story is an example of an induction in which pitocin wasn’t needed (not the most common road for an induction to take, but can happen), for which Jess was very thankful. They’ll also share about how they chose a doula, how Rich and doula Tia worked together optimally, and about early breastfeeding challenges and receiving the support of both Tia and then an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). Finally, they’ll share a couple of tips for the journey into parenthood.
Today, Alicia shares details about her hospital induction, which she was able to manage without pain medications. Before she gets into that, she talks about the various ways she equipped herself with as much knowledge as she needed to feel confident going into the process of giving birth. Because her blood pressure read high and amniotic fluid looked borderline low at 39½ weeks, the decision was made to induce labor. She describes the many hours that proceed from there, how their doula provided comfort measures, and how praying helped center her through to the pushing stage. Alicia also shares some details of early breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and her tips for expectant parents on building support and a knowledge base.
In today's story, Nicole shares about an unexpectedly brief, 6-hour, unmedicated first labor in a Long Island hospital with midwives and with the support of her husband and a doula. Before she goes into her birth story, she describes her background as a child life specialist in a hospital setting as well as her love for teaching prenatal yoga and pursuit of education in aromatherapy. She also details the ways she learned to really listen to and honor her body in slowing down, reflecting and journaling to connect with her baby. Listen to hear how, after her water breaks at home, Nicole decides to calmly make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast for not only her and her husband, but for a house guest from Japan whom JP brings home from the airport the very morning she goes into labor. They join up with their doula for the hour-long drive out on Long Island to their hospital, arriving simultaneously with their midwife pretty much just in time to push and give birth. She goes over newborn protocols and special requests she made and provides details about early challenges she and her baby faced in breastfeeding. Learn about a model of care that Nicole found to be super supportive, whereby a lactation consultant was in-house at her pediatrician’s office. Finally, Nicole shares about the benefits of prenatal yoga from the perspective of both a yoga teacher as well as from having continued the practice as a pregnant person.
Today, Desire shares her son’s birth story just a few weeks after the birth, which was a 3-day long hospital induction at Forest Hills Hospital in Queens. She was determined to do it without pain medications and was able to do just that. Also determined to breastfeed, Desire shares the varied experiences she had with hospital staff trying to support her in breastfeeding, and how disempowering language was not helpful. With some perseverance and professional lactation support at home once she and baby were discharged, she details how things improved fairly quickly. Desi explains a few ways that her mother expresses strong opinions, and how Desi has to be confident and do what she believes is best for her baby. She shares about her very unpleasant early first experience trying to change her son’s diaper and breastfeed at a shopping mall, and how she identified a store that was a much better environment for young families. Finally, she’ll provide some smart insights on speaking up when you need help and regularly checking in to be sure your partner is doing okay in early parenthood.
Today Ellen shares the birth stories of her two daughters, who were both born prematurely. We discuss the benefits of midwifery care and why Ellen chose midwives for both of her births, as well as some of the insurance challenges that we face when attempting to choose midwives. She details how both of her daughters were not only preemies but also how her bag of waters broke as the first sign of labor both times.
You'll hear Ellen describe a difficult 2nd pregnancy and how seeing a chiropractor who was expert in this phase of life helped eliminate all of the severe pain she had experienced. She also shares coping strategies for her second (induced) birth that really helped her cope in a way that enabled her to opt out of the epidural. She discusses the various ways that her midwives advocated for her in both births to avoid a cesarean in the first birth and to push the way she wanted to her in her second.
Ellen tells how her husband, Lo, almost missed the 2nd birth when he ran out briefly to grab food. She also shares details on having both babies in the NICU for jaundice and ways she advocated for her daughters, along with the nuances of being a pediatric nurse as a new parent and how that dynamic played into the advocacy.
Ellen describes specific ways she coped with the challenges of labor and how her training as a prenatal yoga teacher and meditation habits as a couple informed her strategies. Finally, she shares about early breastfeeding challenges and both of her daughters’ diagnoses with and treatment for tongue tie.
In today’s episode, Ann shares details of her experience giving birth for the first time. Her labor progresses more quickly than most first labors, and she explains how they called an ambulance when she thought she felt the baby’s head. She’ll describe that she was, indeed, very close to pushing upon arrival at the hospital, though not quite as far along as she had thought. After she shares her birth story, she’ll also explain how her birth inspired her to move into birth and postpartum doula work as she relocated to be closer to family in southwest Florida. She also talks a bit about her Christian faith and her favorite song for labor, which is linked in the show notes for this episode at birthmattersshow.com.
Today, Stephanie, who’s an attorney for an organization called Protect Democracy, shares the story of her daughter Kimathi’s birth, which was an induced labor that Stephanie was able to move through without any pain meds and with the support of a doula. She shares how she chose a doula who was Latina as she wanted someone who could understand her background and experience as a Puerto Rican woman and help her most effectively advocate for herself as needed. She also describes some of the creative ways she found much-needed support through social media, especially after birth, and will also touch on the challenges and changes in the nature of her relationship with Kimathi’s dad toward co-parenting early on in their daughter’s life and how much more support she needed as a result.
Today Kate & AJ, the dear friends whom Dee & Sam mentioned meeting in birth class in the past couple of episodes, share their 2nd daughter’s birth story. Following a challenging first birth, Kate shares the specific ways that her 2nd pregnancy and birth was very healing. As Kate has a bit of a long, confusing early labor, they share details of a visit to both Trader Joe’s and to a chapel near their hospital, as well as multiple modes of transport including an Uber Pool, a ferry, another Uber, and a couple of subway rides. They also share the ways they received more optimal support this time around, including from not only the hospital staff, but also their doula, toward the uncomplicated, unmedicated vaginal birth Kate had hoped for. Hold on to the end to hear a few great tips they have for expectant parents regarding building in support, staying flexible, and equipping yourself with information during pregnancy.
Today we have part 2 of Dee’s & Sam’s 2 birth stories. They’ll share about an even more premature birth of their second daughter, Luna. Due to the identification of an intra-uterine hemorrhage in late pregnancy, the decision is made to induce several weeks before the due date. Hear Dee share how surprised she was that she was able to cope with her induced labor without requesting the epidural, which was something she never thought she’d be able to do. She’ll also share how the use of a squatting bar helped her in the pushing stage and will detail the amazing sense of euphoria she had when her daughter was born. Then Dee & Sam will reflect on Luna’s 2-week stay in the NICU as well as provide some tips on staying flexible in labor and birth. Finally, they’ll discuss the special friendship they made in birth class and how having the support of friends has been essential, particularly during the NICU stay when they had another little one at home.
For today's and next week’s episodes, we have another 2-parter for you as Dee & Sam share their two daughters’ preemie birth stories. You’ll hear these two soulful parents share some pretty incredible details about their two hospital births. In this episode, labor begins prematurely, several weeks before the due time, and soon after one of the biggest snowstorms New York has seen in many years. I might add it happens all while Dee’s husband, Sam, is having fun down in Austin for South by Southwest with his brother, and he makes it back in the nick of time. Hear how Dee’s best friend comes up to visit while Sam’s away thinking they’ll get some girl time, but little did they know her girlfriend would be a labor support partner until Sam could get on the next flight to return! Due to the amount of bleeding she had, they ended up admitting her earlier than they normally would. Dee’s water breaks right around the time that Sam arrives from the airport, and her contractions immediately get much stronger, which leads her to opt for the epidural, which she always thought she would opt for. Hear how she details the ways in which having a doula made a huge difference in how her labor went, especially in light of having so much back labor due to the baby not quite being in an optimal position. She also describes how quickly the pushing stage went for her, and Sam will give a few of his reflections on being present for the birth.
Today, Meredith & Thomas share their story of an uncomplicated, unmedicated vaginal birth in Atlanta, Georgia. Hear these 5-week old parents give tips for moving during pregnancy as they describe their last-minute, third trimester move from Brooklyn to Atlanta, moving in with Meredith’s parents. You’ll hear the ways in which they believe they received care that was more aligned with their preferences than they might have received in New York. They’ll also share about early breastfeeding, including how the laid-back breastfeeding position (detailed in the Natural Breastfeeding online course she’ll refer to) was so much less painful and easier than other positions, how getting a bit overzealous with pumping in the early days backfired, and how receiving expert support from a lactation consultant made a difference for the better. Finally, they’ll describe how they tag-teamed the baby responsibilities in the first few weeks and briefly discuss soothing techniques that have worked for their daughter.
Today we welcome to the show a Birth Matters alum and professional model, Lauren Deckert, to share her birth story. Lauren’s work as a model has been featured in Harpers Bazaar China, Vogue Italia, Brides, Women’s Health, and Muscle & Fitness, hers. She’s walked the runway for top designers at New York Fashion Week, Miami Beach Swim Week, and New York Bridal Fashion Week every year for almost a decade. She’s also been a vegetarian since childhood and studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a drugless practitioner and certified health & nutrition coach. Her faith & philanthropic efforts are both important values for her and her family, and she founded a nonprofit called “Models Doing More”, which provides volunteer opportunities for Model Ambassadors wishing to offer assistance to underprivileged school children and orphaned elephants in Sri Lanka. While Lauren was pregnant in 2016, she launched a coaching program called “THE MODEL MENTOR” to empower, develop and consult aspiring models, women and model mamas and to act as a guide for those who wish to make positive changes in their lives. Three of the main principles of her coaching are Transformative thinking, Mindfulness or Mindful Eating, and Movement (which, not coincidentally, spell out the initials of The Model Mentor).
You'll hear Lauren share her son’s birth story, in which she chose to leave New York to give birth in her hometown in Maryland in the hospital where she was born. She’ll share details about this and other holistic strategies that helped her to have the unmedicated vaginal birth that she had hoped for, and will also share nuggets of wisdom on prenatal nutrition and will share a little bit about the coach she does with models and moms.
Today, Emily & Paul share the story of how their “spirited” son was in breech position, or head up, and how the many proactive things they tried to encourage him to flip didn’t work. Because the vast majority of OBs aren’t trained these days in vaginal breech birthing techniques, their practice included, their birth needed to be a scheduled c-section. While this wasn’t even close to their original vision for the way birth would go, they’ll share how the overall compassionate and proactive care their family received made all the difference in the world toward a positive experience. Then things took an unexpected turn when their son needed to go to the NICU when his low blood sugar couldn’t be improved with skin-to-skin or supplementation. Almost simultaneously, Emily was diagnosed with the rare HELLP syndrome, which is a variant of preeclampsia and is fairly rare but very serious, in the hours after birth. Emily shares how she received mostly compassionate care both in the hospital as well as expert care both at the hospital and at home once discharged, with a few bumps along the way.
Today, Birth Matters alums Liz & Matt will share the details of what they call their “grumpy old Scotsman” son’s uncomplicated birth at Manhattan’s New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell. Liz will share how she had lots of back labor and how the epidural only worked partially and temporarily. Later, she’ll share about her early breastfeeding challenges of oversupply and a food sensitivity they discovered their son has. Matt & Liz will also share some tips for partners and for the postpartum period. Then they’ll reflect on the transition into life with their son, after Matt had a daughter many years ago with another partner.
Want to hear a birth story in which an almost 10-pound baby boy is born safe and sound at home after 22 hours of labor? Ready or not, that’s what you'll hear today! Hear all about Alishia’s 2nd birth following her first birth in a hospital 15 years prior. Alishia also shares about her journey into birth & lactation work as a woman of color and her hopes of serving underserved populations in central Queens.
Today you get a 2-for-1 -- 2 birth stories from one mama. Melissa has an almost 3-year-old, Segovia, and a 6-week old, Adelina. She shares her first 1st birth story, which was an unusually quick, 6-hour induction with no pain meds and with doula support. Then she shares her rationale for switching care providers from an OB over to working with a hospital midwife for her 2nd baby’s birth, which was an even faster, 4-hour, unmedicated labor.
In today's birth story, Amy's labor begins with a spontaneous rupture of the membranes, laboring at home for a number of hours, eventually transferring to the hospital where the labor continues with induction and epidural. As Amy and her husband are both actors, she describes the ways in which their acting training, specifically breath work & bodywork, helped her find her groove in her 3-hour pushing stage with a fairly large baby. She shares about some postpartum struggles with pelvic floor health. Finally, she details some compelling things to consider in partner communication and establishing healthy boundaries entering parenthood, particularly in light of the hormonal roller coaster we experience after birth.
Today’s birth story, which is the 2nd part of two consecutive episodes, will be especially helpful for expectant parents whose baby gets a clubfoot diagnosis. Joe & Beckie share their journey of their son, Elliot, getting this diagnosis early in pregnancy. They also detail their birth story of a long, 30-hour induction several weeks before their due date due to low amniotic fluid. Beckie shares lots of details about the ways that her OB helped her feel involved and informed in the decision-making process every step of the way. Because she was not even quite 37 weeks when the induction took place, there are particular challenges to the induction, as well as early breastfeeding, that Beckie shares.
Today’s birth story, which will be broken up into two consecutive episodes, will be especially helpful for expectant parents whose baby gets a clubfoot diagnosis. Joe & Beckie share their journey of their son, Elliot, getting this diagnosis early in pregnancy. They also detail their birth story of a long, 30-hour induction several weeks before their due date due to low amniotic fluid. Beckie shares lots of details about the ways that her OB helped her feel involved and informed in the decision-making process every step of the way. Because she was not even quite 37 weeks when the induction took place, there are particular challenges to the induction, as well as early breastfeeding, that Beckie shares.
Jennifer shares her story of an IVF-conceived pregnancy in which more than one doctor suggested scheduling a cesarean due to the size of her baby. She shares about her journey toward the decision to at least have what we call a “trial of labor” toward the vaginal birth that she desired. You'll hear how she impresses everyone by giving birth vaginally to an almost 9-pound baby. Listen to hear the smart ways she advocates for herself and makes the choices that were preferred and ideal for her & her baby along the way of her induced labor with an epidural at Long Island’s LIJ Katz Hospital. Jenn will also share a bit about how easy initial breastfeeding was, but then how things got a little trickier after that.
This episode will be the shortest interview we’ve shared thus far. In this birth story, Dara describes her experience of giving birth as “magical & frustrating”. This is the story of a first-time labor and vaginal birth working with a midwifery practice at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Hospital. She shares about using nitrous oxide (or laughing gas) for pain relief, very briefly, and then getting an epidural. Listen to hear the magical way mama Dara instinctively helps her baby come closer to being born. Here’s a hint: If you like music, you’ll enjoy this one! We had a musician dad featured a couple of episodes ago, and now we have a professional singer mom and massage therapist sharing her perspectives. You’ll also hear how a fever Dara developed led to baby having to go to the NICU (or neonatal intensive care unit), and how having a baby in the NICU can be challenging for new parents and baby.
Today you’ll hear Mariko’s & Rick’s story of hiring a doula very well-suited to them for Mariko’s labor and who served them in very practical and holistic ways throughout pregnancy, labor, and into postpartum. Right around 40 weeks, Mariko’s OB decides there’s a bit of concern about baby’s well-being due to lack of movement, so they check into their Long Island hospital, Winthrop, for an induction. She shares the ways in which she was able to find coping strategies that rendered an epidural or other pain meds unnecessary. They also talk a bit about how they believe their meditation practice translated into labor. They’re also going to share a few parenting strategies they’ve found useful that could be really helpful for parenting your newborn.
Show notes at birthmattersshow.com
Today you’ll hear a birth story told by Leah & Trevor, first-time parents. Leah is a hospitalist physician, and she’ll detail how her professional background informed the way she approached assembling her birth & pediatrician team. Her partner, Trevor, will share his insights about the experience of supporting her through labor. Leah & Trevor will talk about their uncomplicated birth with an epidural and a bit of pitocin when things weren’t progressing as readily as it seemed they should. She’ll also discuss how she couldn’t bear to be on her back for pushing and was encouraged to push in whatever way felt instinctive to her. You’ll also hear about some of her frustrations with the lack of anticipatory guidance in the breastfeeding support at her hospital as well as a few tips for expectant or new parents.
Show notes at birthmattersshow.com
In this episode, Kat & Tom share their positive, empowering story of their 2nd son’s rather efficient birth at home with midwife Cara Muhlhahn (who just happens to both have been host Lisa's midwife for my 2nd baby in Ep. 3 and also is the main midwife featured in the documentary THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN). Other birth support team members were their doula and a friend, who just happens to also be a doula. This birth followed their much more challenging first birth in a hospital environment, which largely informed their decision to give birth at home the second time around. Do keep in mind that this is a 2nd birth, and 2nd births tend to go more quickly and unpredictably than the vast majority of 1st births.
Ariel’s birth story includes laboring at home for a good, long time until active labor (6cm), then moving on to epidural once at the hospital, and an efficient pushing stage. She also details the importance of doula support and taking birth classes. Finally, Ariel describes her experience with breastfeeding, highlighting the importance of reaching out for lactation consultant support, shares her struggles with low milk supply, and explains her daughter’s diagnosis and correction of tongue-tie. // Birth Matters Complete Online Course: birthmattersonline.com // Show notes with pictures, transcript & resources: birthmattersshow.com
On today’s episode, Julie shares the story of struggles to conceive for 6 years and ultimately conceiving via IVF, and then goes on to tell her son Cian’s birth story. Her water breaks as the first sign of labor and she proceeds to have a 22-hour induced, but otherwise unmedicated, labor. This is a great birth story to learn some of the benefits of hiring a doula -- also known as professional labor support -- toward strategically avoiding unnecessary interventions. You’ll also hear the smart ways in which Julie advocates for herself to help get the kind of communication she needs to feel confident and peaceful along the way. Show notes with photos, transcript, and resources at www.birthmattersshow.com // free packing list: https://birthmattersonline.com/pack
This birth story is one of Lisa's favorites because it was the very first time a student’s water broke in class, right in the middle of a meditation/relaxation exercise! It’s the story of a 5-hour, unmedicated vaginal birth, with some complications and a necessary surgical procedure after the birth due to how quickly the labor progressed. Listen as Brooke shares details about the overall compassionate care she received through the complications and how, when the staff clearly communicated with her what was going on, she felt taken care of and, overall, really positive about the way things went. After she shares her birth story, Brooke also discusses how her partner is enjoying being a stay-at-home for the first time after having 2 children in a previous relationship and not having the opportunity to stay home. She’ll also share insights about the surprising things you sometimes learn about yourself as you become a parent as well as tips for maintaining a healthy identity. Birth Matters NYC Astoria group birth class info: birthmattersnyc.com/group-classes; show notes w/ full written birth story, transcript, photos, and resources at birthmattersshow.com
On Episode 3, you’ll hear host Lisa's second (kinda crazy, and by that we mean crazy wonderful) birth story, in which Lisa changed care providers several times and switched from planning to give birth in an in-hospital birthing center to giving birth at home in her 3rd trimester. You’ll hear quite a bit of talk about the perks of working with a midwife and will hear about a couple of different types of midwives, so this episode will provide some education on that topic. As you can deduce from the episode title, things play out in a very surprising way. // BIRTH MATTERS COMPLETE ONLINE COURSE: birthmattersonline.com // SHOW NOTES page with full written birth story, transcript, resources, and photos: birthmattersshow.com
In this episode, Host Lisa and her husband, Bryan, share their first baby’s birth story. It’s a story of giving birth in an in-hospital birthing center in Manhattan at Mt. Sinai West in 2005. You’ll hear about a textbook-length 20+ hr labor with the expert labor support of a doula, and you’ll hear about the gamechanger self-advocacy tips and strategies that they used (and you can use!) to avoid interventions that were strategically avoidable and rendered unnecessary. These strategies helped us achieve what Lisa had very much hoped for, which was an unmedicated, vaginal birth. // Birth Matters NYC group & private childbirth classes: birthmattersnyc.com // SHOW NOTES with written birth story, transcript, resources & photos: birthmattersshow.com
This episode provides a brief introduction to the podcast and your host. Lisa explains the vision for this podcast and the topics you'll hear -- parents' shared journeys on all things birth, breastfeeding, trying to conceive/fertility, pregnancy, parenting, and postpartum.
Be sure to grab your free "Pack for Your Best Birth" packing list at birthmattersonline.com/pack -- you'll be given the option to take our free "11 Steps for Your Best Birth" mini-course that will lay an ideal foundation for a shorter, easier, healthier birth experience.