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Many people refer to the postpartum period as the fourth trimester. The first three months after your baby is born will be the most significant adjustment period. In reality, recovering from birth takes longer for many new parents. You are healing and navigating how to take care of yourself and a tiny human. This is a big transition from pregnancy and an even bigger transition from pre-pregnancy....

Our focus is on our health, baby, and planning for birth during pregnancy. We often overlook what happens after birth and what we will experience postpartum. Your body needs time to recover after nine months of pregnancy, giving birth, and establishing breastfeeding. Many things happen after you have your baby that no one talks to you about ahead of time. Let's normalize talking about the regular...

Your pregnancy journey starts with a positive pregnancy test. That is the first of many tests offered throughout your prenatal care. Some tests diagnose conditions you may have during pregnancy, and others look for genetic abnormalities in your baby. Results from some tests may even impact your birth. Tests are valuable tools, but they can also create anxiety and stress during your pregnancy. This...

Vitamin D is sometimes referred to as a hormone because the activated forms are hormones. You utilize this essential vitamin in nearly all parts of your body. Vitamin D is crucial for absorbing other nutrients like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate, and zinc. Vitamin D also regulates immune function, cell growth, neuromuscular function and affects thousands of genes. Your baby relies on you to s...

This episode aims to get you to rethink taking care of yourself, especially after you have a baby. As parents, we put our children first. In many ways, this is our job, but we also need to take care of ourselves. Your identity as a parent does not mean that you should lose yourself as an individual. The healthier you are physically and mentally, the better parent you will be. Start making yourself...

We all deal with some level of stress daily. Pregnancy can be a time of additional stress as you are experiencing many physical changes and preparing for birth and a new baby. In a sense, everything you expose yourself to during pregnancy also can affect your baby, and stress is not an exception. Stress during pregnancy can affect your baby in many ways. Physiological changes can impact your devel...

Consumption of the placenta by a mother after birth has been taboo, but it has been gaining popularity in recent years. The thought of eating your placenta might gross you out at first, but once you hear about some of the fantastic benefits women claim it has, you might be willing to consider it. This is not another pregnancy podcast solely focused on all of the wonderful things placenta encapsula...

You will have many opportunities to opt-in or out of interventions in your pregnancy, birth, or with your newborn. In a perfect world, every procedure comes along with informed consent, and you have all of the information you need to make an informed decision confidently. In the real world, constraints like limited time available for appointments make proper informed consent a challenge. One of th...

A rebozo is a long rectangular shawl that originated in Mexico. Like many non-western traditions, the art of rebozo is more than a tool. The use of a rebozo has grown in the midwife and doula communities because of the teachings from traditional Mexican midwives. This is a practice that has been passed through generations of midwives and birth workers over centuries. In addition to the cultural an...

The placenta is an organ with a highly specialized purpose, and that is to support the normal growth and development of your baby. Before the widespread use of ultrasounds, few expecting mothers knew what position their placenta was in or if it was considered "normal." When you have your anatomy scan ultrasound, usually between weeks 18-22, the ultrasound technician will examine your placenta. The...

In the United States, the average cost of vaginal birth is over $9,000, and the average price for a cesarean section is almost $13,000. There are tools and strategies you can use to save money on your medical bills. Insurance can help cover the cost of prenatal care and birth. Tax-advantaged accounts like a flexible spending account or a health savings account can save you money on the expenses yo...

A fever is part of your body's immune response as a natural defense to infection. The risks and benefits of fever during pregnancy are different than those of someone who is not pregnant. Running a fever during your pregnancy can be scary. Studies have linked maternal fevers to complications like autism, neural tube defects, oral clefts, and congenital heart defects. The best way to alleviate any...

The severity and spread of COVID-19 drove demand to create vaccines and get them to the public in record time. In the United States, the FDA has approved three vaccines; two of them are still under an emergency use authorization. We know from real-world data that pregnancy can increase your risks for severe illness from COVID-19. Despite pregnancy increasing COVID-19 risks, clinical trials did not...

Flu is an infectious disease caused by the influenza virus. The flu typically isn't severe in healthy adults, and symptoms usually subside in about a week. When you are pregnant, your body's inflammatory response to the flu during pregnancy puts you at a higher risk for some complications. The medical community recommends that pregnant women get the flu vaccine to protect them and give their babie...

A vaccine contains a weakened or killed form of a disease-causing micro-organism that causes your body to produce antibodies. This provides immunity without actually inducing the disease. Vaccines are a very controversial topic. This episode introduces what vaccines are and gets into specifics on the Tdap vaccine during pregnancy. In addition to different types of vaccines, they contain many ingre...

Ophthalmia neonatorum is a newborn eye infection and in the United States occurs in 1-2% of newborns. This infection can be caused by sexually transmitted infections, viruses, and bacteria. Administering erythromycin eye ointment to newborns is standard procedure in the United States to prevent ophthalmia neonatorum. As with any intervention, there are pros and cons to consider. This article exami...

At birth, babies naturally have low levels of vitamin K. The danger in having low levels of vitamin K is the risk of vitamin K deficiency bleeding. This is a rare but serious complication. You can decrease the risk for vitamin k deficiency bleeding with the vitamin K shot. Administering the vitamin K shot to newborns is standard procedure in the United States and many other countries. As with any...

Prenatal care is healthcare from a medical professional for you and your baby during pregnancy. It is well established that women who receive prenatal care are more likely to have healthy infants. Your doctor or midwife is your trusted partner and has education about all of the intricacies of pregnancy and birth. An important point to keep in mind is that you are in complete control over what happ...

Some of the best breastfeeding resources lack great information on weaning. What you find instead is information on why you should keep breastfeeding and anxiety-inducing articles on all of the things that can go wrong when you stop nursing. Breastfeeding is important and thankfully there are many resources for this, but it can be stressful when you are ready to wean and have limited evidence of h...

Even if you plan to breastfeed exclusively, there is value in learning about bottles and formula if you decide or need to incorporate them to feed your baby at some point. If you pump breast milk, you will be using a bottle to feed your baby. If you stop breastfeeding before your baby's first birthday, you will need to supplement with formula. You have many options for bottles and formula, and cho...

Breast milk is liquid gold. It is so valuable and amazing that scientists cannot reproduce it in a lab, and only you can make it. Your body perfectly formulates your milk for your baby, and pumping allows you to provide milk for your baby even when you are not there. This episode covers the fundamentals of pumping breastmilk to meet your goals, whether an occasional pumping session or building a s...

Your newborn is hard-wired to breastfeed and is born with instincts to help them latch right after birth. Despite these instincts, breastfeeding doesn't always come naturally or go perfectly right from the start. In reality, breastfeeding can take practice and patience as you and your baby navigate your nursing relationship. Many issues can come up during breastfeeding in the first few days and ev...

The evidence in support of breastfeeding is overwhelming. There are decades of documentation on the positive effects of breastfeeding on immunity, health, and the connection between mother and baby. Despite all of the evidence supporting breastfeeding, most parents supplement or switch to infant formula within the first year. Many factors contribute to a lack of encouragement for exclusive breastf...

All of the changes your body is going through during pregnancy may give you a beautiful glow. For many expecting moms, pregnancy can cause some challenging skin issues. The good news is the majority of these skin issues are temporary and will disappear after your baby is born. This episode examines common skin issues during pregnancy like skin sensitivity, stretch marks, acne, melasma, linea nigra...

Think about everything you put on your skin and hair, from when you step in the shower to when you step out your front door. We use a ton of products every single day; shampoo, conditioner, body wash, shaving cream, lotions, face wash, toner, moisturizer, deodorant, sunscreen, makeup, hair products. All of those products you use add up to a very long list of chemicals you introduce to your body. P...