Birthful

Great childcare— so, a solution that you can afford, has availability, works with your schedule, and can provide loving and safe care for your child— can be hard to find! Most often than not, you will have to concede some trade-offs. Leslie Borrell explains the different childcare options out there, the reality behind economic subsidy programs, and how to communicate your non-negotiables to those...

You can have a fabulous birth experience at a hospital, but it requires thoughtful preparation. Adriana Lozada helps simplify this process by going through some of the best practices to get you there. Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links listed on its show notes page .   If you liked this episode, listen to this episode about how your place of birth...

Some people say that nursing your baby is "free” — and while there certainly are unique cost savings associated with feeding human milk, there can be expenses associated with it, too. How can you maximize your lactation-related benefits? And what does the law have to say? Adriana shares practical tips about the financial side of infant feeding. Get the most out of this episode by checking out...

Michelle Peterson shares with Adriana a fantastic framework for setting up your postpartum village of support that spreads the responsibility over many people (seven to be exact) so that you are well-resourced beyond the first few weeks of postpartum. She explains how to prepare and why you’ll need a team leader to coordinate it all to make sure you not only receive the care you need, but that you...

Dr. Amber Thornton worked hard for a healthy pregnancy and an unmedicated vaginal birth, but she didn’t expect her water to release before 39 weeks. Despite an early hospital admission, labor progressed right along… until it didn’t. She shares with Adriana the fears she had to contend with while having an unplanned surgical birth, and how having intentionally set up her village of mutual support w...

When it comes to postpartum, EVERYONE needs support. And even after accepting that you WILL need the help, it can be tricky figuring out how to ask for it, especially when most of our friends and family members don’t really know how to help (nor have the time!). Kaitlin McGreyes talks with Adriana about how combining community help with professional support can set you up for the perfect combinati...

Having had two flawless postpartum periods under her belt, Kayla Sanmiguel didn’t know how to cope when postpartum anxiety and severe panic disorder came out of nowhere after her third birth. She shares with Adriana how being blindsided by the experience compelled her to bolster her future postpartum plans, and approach the birth of her fourth baby with new tools and wisdom.  Get the most out of t...

Understanding your parental leave benefits —with all its overwhelming fine print— can be a daunting task! To make the process easier, human resource professional extraordinaire Katy Dahl shares with Adriana how to approach the process so that you can not only maximize your benefits, but also understand if your time off will impact your health insurance, your paycheck, or your retirement age. Katy...

Ivy shares with Adriana the overwhelming challenges of her postpartum experience after being overjoyed by her fast and furious unmedicated hospital birth. She explains the lactation issues that lead her to exclusively pump and the difficulties in healing her pelvic floor, as well as why she recommends everyone have a Pelvic PT assessment and be familiar with their breast pump before their baby arr...

Perinatal health consultant Arianna Taboada goes through the ins and outs of paid and unpaid parental leave in the United States. She shares with Adriana Lozada how to be realistic about your options for the best possible return to work for you and your family, while lessening the overwhelm. To read up on state-by-state paid parental and medical leave laws go to abetterbalance.org Get the most out...

Laura Loos has had two non-medicated vaginal births, with her second one happening so super fast, that it involved birthing while in a moving car! She shares with Adriana how connecting with her inner voice and trusting the abundant preparation she had done during pregnancy allowed her to be calm, present, and pragmatic during the unexpectedness of it all. So much so that, once she got to her hosp...

Babies use a set of coordinated movements and specific reflexes that allow them to participate in the birthing process. Adriana Lozada explains how this fascinating process works, and how it helps get them earthside. Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links listed on its show notes page .   If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on Baby'...

Maya Ehnat was brought up to be comfortable with birth, and so from the get-go, her language and approach weren’t fear-based. Beyond that, much of the preparation she did during pregnancy was guided by a desire to minimize trauma and bring heaps of pleasure and joy into the experience. She shares with Adriana how although her first birth was long and quite challenging, she wouldn’t describe it as...

If you want to minimize sensations of pain and even move them into pleasure, this episode is for you! Debra Pascali-Bonaro and Adriana explore how you can bring more pleasure and joy into your birth, and why doing so can help you not only have a better experience, but also help support your birth physiology for a more flowing birth. Debra shares with Adriana a wide range of actionable suggestions...

When Danellia Arechiga became a gestational surrogate, she felt strongly about having an unmedicated birth at a birth center. Even as her labor plan derailed into an induction, she pushed for few interventions and worked with her physiology, ultimately experiencing the elusive Fetal Ejection Reflex. She tells Adriana Lozada why doing so was important for her, the baby, and the intended parents. As...

During labor, you want contractions that are longer, stronger, and closer together. But why? Dr. Sarah Buckley and Adriana take a deep dive into the amazing and fascinating hormonal dance that happens during the birthing process, and how interventions such as synthetic oxytocin or an epidural can lead to a cascade of interventions that negatively impact the process for both the birthing person and...

Celeste and Claudiu Bancos share their perspectives of their son’s birth (who chimes in too!), often surprising each other with moments the other didn’t remember or knew about. Ultimately, Celeste achieved her birth goals of not whining and avoiding getting an epidural, with the help of a veterinarian’s memoir book from the 30s, strong vocalizations, a crisis of confidence, realizing how well her...

Rhea Dempsey is one of the foremost thinkers on the topic of working with pain in childbirth. She shares with Adriana the physiological purpose of pain during labor, why it gets such a bad rap, and suggests the pain relief paradigm is a medical construct that undermines our capacity for peak performance and body potency that ultimately facilitates birth. In other words: bring it on! Get the most o...

Megan Othling explains how birth can happen as much in your head as in your body and how facing the unexpected feelings she was having during the birth of her third child was just what was needed for them to be born. She shares with Adriana the profound growth and transformation she experienced through her four births and postpartum experiences, and how she stepped into the vulnerability of accept...

Pregnancy is a great time to realize what the heck motivates your choices as you venture into the great transformation of birth and becoming a parent. Nekole Malia Shapiro shares with Adriana how using the embodied approach of connecting with yourself and your body can help you find your own best expert birth guide, while also building the awesome habit of bringing more oxytocin into your life.  G...

Hailey McHone’s first birth was what her OB called "a textbook hospital delivery," which came with an epidural-Pitocin combo, and, frankly, little consent. She talks with Adriana about getting more intentional with her wishes and choices for her second birth and ending up with a confidence-boosting, self-affirming, physiological experience that included a concoction of grape juice and papa...

We try to make birth practical by measuring, overseeing, and monitoring it… when really, it’s an experience that flows seamlessly from one stage to another, taking the birthing person deep into their physiology and intuitive altered states. Whapio Diane Bartlett shares with Adriana how to better describe what the laboring person goes through, by explaining the Holistic Stages of Birth. In this sec...

We try to make birth practical by measuring, overseeing, and monitoring it… when really, it’s an experience that flows seamlessly from one stage to another, taking the birthing person deep into their physiology and intuitive altered states. Whapio Diane Bartlett shares with Adriana how to better describe what the laboring person goes through, by explaining the Holistic Stages of Birth. In this fir...

Welcome to the Best of Birthful. Creator and host Adriana Lozada curated and edited each selection in this playlist of the show’s most popular episodes. It's a tailored introduction to the expansive catalog she amassed over the first five years of Birthful's 300+ episodes (which is now in its 9th year!). Whapio, a midwife and founder of The Matrona, explores the modern management of pushin...

Welcome to the Best of Birthful. Creator and host Adriana Lozada curated and edited each selection in this playlist of the show’s most popular episodes. It's a tailored introduction to the expansive catalog she amassed over the first five years of Birthful's 300+ shows (which is now in its 9th year!). Leading high-risk pregnancy expert and mind-body health specialist, Parijat Deshpande, di...