Birth With Power

This is a really fun episode all about choosing your baby’s name. Jennifer Moss is the founder & CEO of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names workbook, and co-host of The Baby Names podcast with her sister Mallory. In the past 25 years since the launch of BabyNames.com Jennifer has worked with thousands of parents to find their perfect name, and has been featured on CNN, The Today Show, The...

On today’s episode of the podcast we have Casie. Casie wanted to share her story because she is striving to passionately empower others based on her experience. I’m going to give away the ending of this birth story: Casie wound up pushing for 5 ½ hours, she had a forceps birth, a fourth degree tear, and a fistula. She keeps it real about some touchy subjects in this episode, including some slightl...

Sara Lyon is the founder of Glow Birth & Body, creator of The Birth Deck, and author of You’ve Got This: Your Guide to Getting Comfortable with Labor. With more than 15 years experience serving as a doula, childbirth educator, prenatal massage therapist and mother, Sara has supported tens of thousands of families through their birthing journeys. Sara's work is grounded in her belief that q...

Today’s episode is an important one about postpartum hemorrhage. Postpartum hemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. We’ve gotten better over the past several years but it still happens. Postpartum hemorrhage can be scary because you’re entirely dependent on the hospital staff to promptly recognize and treat the situation. Depending on how severe it is you may have troubl...

On today’s episode we have Kassie. Kassie recently became a first time mom and is a self-described “grateful recovering addict.” Though she’s been in recovery for over 5 ½ years her birth story shows how her addiction affected not only her experience but her daughter’s experience as well. This is an important topic and one that isn’t discussed enough due to shame. I’m grateful Kassie came on to sh...

On today’s episode I’m chatting with Rita Black. Rita is a clinical hypnotherapist and smoking cessation specialist who has helped over 10,000 smokers become non-smokers with her Smokefree123 method. She also is a weight loss expert and the author of "From Fat to Thin Thinking: Unlock Your Mind for Permanent Weight Loss".   Find full show notes at  drnicolerankins.com/episode121  and check...

In this episode you’re going to get an overview of midwifery care. I was inspired to do this episode after hearing Heidi ( episode 119 ) talk about how her midwife worked so well with a physician in order to help her have a beautiful birth.  I’ve been working with midwives since my residency training and currently work with midwives today. I fully support working collaboratively with midwives to h...

This is a delightful birth story episode. Today Heidi joins me to share the story of her vaginal birth. In her own words “Nothing went as planned for my birth but it was still beautiful.” Heidi endured many scares in her first trimester including an episode of heavy bleeding and alcohol exposure before she realized she was pregnant. She also discovered that she had something called a velamentous c...

Warning: This episode includes loss Samantha Busch is a wife, mother, author, entrepreneur, lifestyle blogger, infertility warrior, philanthropist and co-owner of a professional race team. As a woman in leadership, Samantha is driven to empower all women to become their own fiercest advocates. In Busch’s first book, Fighting Infertility, she shares a raw account of her infertility journey. Today w...

In this episode I’m revisiting the important topic of maternal morbidity and mortality and how you can keep yourself safe. Pregnancy related morbidity (health related conditions that have a negative effect on the woman’s well-being) and pregnancy related mortality (death related to pregnancy) are on the rise in The US. This is truly a public health crisis, especially for black women. Find full sho...

Warning: this episode includes loss This is a birth story episode and it’s a bit of a different one. Today we have Eileen Robertson Hamra on the podcast. After having 3 children with her first husband, Brian, Eileen had a tubal ligation because she was certain she did not want any more children. However, Brian was tragically killed in a plane crash when their children were 4, 7, and 8 and Eileen w...

You are in for a treat today with my conversation with Valerie Trumbower. Valarie is a DONA Certified Postpartum Doula and a Certified Lactation Counselor. Her online courses Expecting 101™ and Expecting 101...You’re Adopting™ have helped hundreds of families prepare for life with their newborns. Valerie’s love for her work really shines through in our conversation. Find full show notes at  drnico...

In this episode you’re going to learn about the important topic of postpartum contraception. This is a little more mature content so use your best judgement as to whether or not you want younger folks to listen. It is vital to be prepared to make the right contraceptive choice for yourself. No one method is perfect for everyone. Each comes with its own perks and pitfalls not to mention varying deg...

I am super excited to have a birth story episode for you from a student in the BPC! Elvira joins us today to share the story of her beautiful, unmedicated birth. Elvira has an amazing story for her birth. Even though things didn’t go exactly as planned she still had a beautiful birth and was happy about her experience. There are so many wonderful moments and lessons in her story and I know you’re...

In today’s episode of the podcast we are talking all about happiness with Kim Strobel. Kim is a leadership and happiness coach who helps businesses and organizations prioritize their health and well-being so they can reach new levels in their personal and professional lives. As a nationally-recognized speaker, she is all about empowering others to take control of their health, wellness, and happin...

It’s been almost 4 months since I did a COVID update and I figured it’s time to revisit the subject. I get lots of questions about the vaccine so let’s talk about the COVID vaccine in relation to fertility, pregnancy, and lactation.  On today’s episode I cover the data we have so far including what I get the most questions about: the CDC V-safe COVID-19 Vaccine Pregnancy Registry. And as always I...

In today’s episode we have a birth story from a dad’s perspective. Mike and his wife listened during their pregnancy (thank you!). He reached out because he felt they had an interesting story to share and I agree. He also wanted to contribute to having more dads share their perspective of birth which I appreciate as well. We’re going to hear about their New Year’s Day baby which was not at all exp...

In this episode you’re going to learn about a really important topic: pregnancy associated breast cancer and breast imaging in pregnancy and while lactating.  On today’s episode we have Dr. Kristin Robinson, a board certified radiologist specializing in breast imaging. She educates women about their breast health, including breast density and personal breast cancer risk to help them make informed...

In this episode I’m updating you on what you need to know when choosing a hospital to give birth. I’ve delivered babies at 6 different hospitals during my career. One thing I’ve learned is that the hospital where you deliver has a big influence on your experience giving birth. And specifically you want to know how the hospital approaches birth. Find full show notes at  drnicolerankins.com/episode1...

On today’s episode of the podcast we have a unique birth story episode from Kalishia. Warning: This episode includes pregnancy loss. Kailishia had a transabdominal cerclage and a successful full term pregnancy after exepreicing a miscarriage at 16 weeks and then a stillbirth at 21 weeks. In this episode, Kalishia walks us through her experience. This episode is a bit longer because you really have...

Bryn Huntpalmer is the founder of The Birth Hour podcast which was featured as one of the 'Top 50 Podcasts" by Time Magazine and has over 13 million downloads to date. She is passionate about helping pregnant people prepare for childbirth through the sharing of empowering and informative birth stories as well as her online evidence-based childbirth course called "Know Your Options"...

This is a very requested episode on the various models of care during pregnancy and birth. Today I am going to break down all the various options for prenatal care and care during birth in the hospital. There is tremendous variation and you really have to ask your own provider about how it works in their practice. This is important to know, especially for when it comes time for your birth, so you...

It’s another birth story episode today and this one is a completely unmedicated hospital birth in a military hospital. Emilie is a registered nurse and military spouse currently living in Guam. She and her husband Chris have been married for 5 years and have two precious babies, Liam who is 2 and baby Adeleine whose birth story we are going to hear today. In this episode Emilie shares how differen...

In today’s episode I’m happy to welcome back Parijat Deshpande. Her unique neurobiological approach has served hundreds of women to manage pregnancy complications and reclaim a safety and trust in their bodies that they thought was eroded forever. Parijat is the author of bestselling book Pregnancy Brain: A Mind-Body Approach to Stress Management During a High-Risk Pregnancy. She is also the host...

Today you’re going to learn about fibroids in pregnancy In this episode, you’ll first learn a bit about fibroids outside of pregnancy because it’s important to understand that in order to understand how they impact pregnancy. After that I’ll explain the risk factors and symptoms associated. I will also explain the safest options for symptom management. Find full show notes at  drnicolerankins.com/...