Birthing Instincts

This week, we're setting aside our usual topic-driven format to share something even more meaningful: real stories from our fellow travelers. Join us in reading one of the most moving letters we've ever received. A certified nurse-midwife shares the heartbreaking story of carrying a daughter diagnosed with anencephaly. Although her daughter, Olivia, was stillborn, she describes her birth a...

In this episode of Birthing Instincts, Blyss and Stu take a deep dive into systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in pregnancy. Together they explore what lupus is, how it affects pregnancy, and what current evidence says about risks such as preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, stillbirth, and congenital heart block.  Along the way, Stu revisits the decades-old Hadlock fetal growth c...

This week, Blyss and Stu welcome birth pioneer, author, filmmaker, and educator Suzanne Arms, one of the most influential voices in the natural birth movement of the last half-century. Long before conversations about physiological birth, informed consent, and the over-medicalization of maternity care became mainstream, Suzanne was asking difficult questions. Her groundbreaking 1975 book *Immaculat...

What happens when a birth photographer picks up a camera and decides she can no longer stay silent? This week, Dr. Stu and Midwife Blyss welcome Jacinta Lagos, an award-winning birth photographer, doula, filmmaker, and creator of the powerful new documentary, Allowed to Birth: The Journey of a Global Midwife. Born and raised in Argentina, Jacinta grew up believing cesarean birth was simply "ho...

This week, Blyss and Stu take a deep dive into the increasingly popular recommendation of inducing labor at 38 weeks for suspected “big babies”. Prompted by a recent social media post from a prominent obstetric influencer, they examine two studies being used to justify earlier inductions for "big babies" and ask an important question: do the data actually support the conclusions being prom...

What happens when hospitals decide informed consent no longer applies to breech birth? In this powerful and deeply important episode, Blyss and Stu welcome back attorney and birth rights advocate Hermine Hayes-Klein to unpack a landmark Oregon malpractice trial centered on coercion, informed consent, and the growing normalization of mandatory cesarean sections for breech babies. This is not just a...

This week, Dr. Stu and Blyss break down a recent Substack article reviewing large studies comparing planned home birth and hospital birth for low-risk women. The data? Fewer interventions, lower C-section rates, fewer infections, less hemorrhage, and fewer severe tears with planned home birth. But as always, the conversation goes deeper, into absolute vs. relative risk, the infamous cascade of int...

What happens when a medication designed to stop hemorrhage quietly starts creeping into routine birth care? This week, Dr. Stu and Midwife Blyss take on TXA (tranexamic acid), what it is, when it actually makes sense, and why they’re increasingly concerned about how it’s being used in modern maternity care. From postpartum hemorrhage protocols to the growing push for prophylactic use during cesare...

In this week’s episode, Dr. Stu and Midwife Blyss sit down with Texas midwife Salli Gonzalez and attorney Octavia Martinez to unpack a case that should concern not only licensed midwives, but anyone with a license. Together they discuss what happens when a midwife follows protocol, transfers appropriately, and still becomes the target? What happens when unverified screenshots, incomplete records,...

This week’s podcast Blyss and Stu come to you with no guest and no single topic, just a “hodgepodge” of what’s been piling up in Dr. Stu’s mind attic. From collapsing birth options and disappearing breech skills…to food, fear, and the quiet coercion baked into modern maternity care. It may seem random, but there is a common thread here: Systems replacing skills, policy replacing autonomy, and wome...

The 20-week anatomy scan has become a routine part of modern pregnancy, but is it truly essential, or just another layer of over-monitoring? After receiving a listener question, Dr. Stu and Blyss dissect the purpose, limitations, and unintended consequences of the anatomy scan. From what providers are actually looking for, to why so many women walk away with more anxiety than answers, this episode...

What if the system you trust never did the science you assume it did? In this explosive episode, Dr. Stu and Blyss sit down with Del Bigtree to pull back the curtain on vaccines, medical authority, and the institutions shaping maternal and pediatric care. From ACOG recommendations to the hidden realities behind “safe and effective,” this conversation challenges everything we’re told—and asks the q...

What if infertility isn’t a broken body… but a disconnected one? In this episode, Blyss and Stu sit down with integrative fertility expert Emily Marson to challenge everything you’ve been told about conception, IVF, and what it actually means to “optimize” the body for pregnancy. From the forgotten intelligence of the body to the overreach of modern fertility medicine, this conversation pulls back...

A home birth. A tragic outcome. And a midwife the state tried to make an example of. In this episode, Blyss and Stu talk with Angee Hock to unpack what it’s really like to be prosecuted for birth work. From a traumatic breech birth to jail time, national headlines, and a courtroom battle that could have changed everything, this conversation goes where most won’t. But what came out of her trial may...

What happens when we monitor birth too much? In this episode, Blyss and Stu pull back the curtain on one of the most normalized, and least questioned, practices in modern obstetrics: continuous monitoring. What starts as “safety” can quietly become interference, and the consequences aren’t small. Together, they break down how over-monitoring can derail physiologic birth, increase unnecessary inter...

What happens when a skeptical dad starts asking real questions about birth? Dr. Stu and Midwife Blyss sit down with Dad Jacob Dubois, author of Why Home Birth, to talk about how he went from doubter to outspoken home birth advocate, and why fathers may be one of the missing voices in the fight to reclaim birth from the medical system. About Jacob Jacob Dubois is a devoted husband to Madison and a...

Is every positive urine culture in pregnancy a problem that needs antibiotics? Dr. Stu and midwife Blyss explore ACOG’s UTI guidelines, the evidence behind screening, and the growing concern about microbiome disruption and antibiotic resistance. References: Motherhood Equipped Podcast: 62. Birth Freedom, Breech Truth, and Why Physiologic Birth Matters with Dr. Stuart Fischbein Patreon.com/Birthing...

On this week’s episode Blyss and Stu introduce guest Abigail Iovine, a Pennsylvania traditional midwife, and her mission to create legislation to protect traditional midwifery through her organization The National Alliance for Traditional Birth Rights. Iovine discusses how legislation and institutional credentialing can criminalize basic midwifery care and shrink options. This episode outlines har...

With Blyss away, Stu sits down with Phoenix OB-GYN Michael Hervey II to explore what true physician–midwife partnership looks like in real time. Together, an OB and midwife team delivered a remarkable set of hospital triplets born in rapid succession within minutes, totaling just over fifteen pounds. It’s a conversation about collaboration over hierarchy, shared skill, and how complex physiologic...

Blyss and Stu are joined by guest Barbara Harper, founder of Waterbirth International, an internationally recognized expert on water birth and gentle birth. Join us for a roller coaster of an episode where we dig into the history of water birth, tell stories about how society lost its way in the world of birth, and dive into the physiology of birthing in water. Truly an episode you won’t forget. A...

In this week’s episode of the Birthing Instincts podcast, Blyss Stu challenge one of the most ignored questions in modern obstetrics: what does birth actually do to a human being? Joined by midwife and pre- and perinatal psychology educator Mary Jackson, they explore how experiences from conception through early childhood leave lasting imprints on the nervous system, emotional development, and lif...

In this episode, Blyss and Stu are joined by Nathan Riley and Carol Gautschi to discuss the profound importance of in-person gatherings within the birth work community. The conversation covers the unique value of face-to-face interactions, the differences between organic and inorganic communication, and the challenges and rewards of organizing birth-related events. They reflect on the impact of be...

This week on the podcast, Blyss and Stu take a hard look at what’s happening to the world of doula support as insurance and institutions move in. They’re joined by two seasoned doulas, Ivy Joeva and Shellie Poulter, who bring decades of experience advocating for women in birth. Together, they unpack how policy, regulation, and insurance reimbursement can quietly shift doula care away from individu...

In this week’s episode, Blyss and Stu explore the history, benefits, and controversies surrounding fluoride in drinking water, highlighting different perspectives and potential health implications.  References: The Way Forward Podcast: Ep 213: The Corrupted World of Medicalized Birth with Dr. Stu Fischbein The Highwire: EPA LOSES HISTORIC FLUORIDE CASE The Tennessean: Fluoride has been a public he...

This week Dr. Stu and Midwife Blyss welcome special guest Dr. Poppy Daniels, a holistic OB-GYN with over 22 years of private practice experience. They discuss the severe side effects of Depo-Provera, revealing alarming risks like bone loss, weight gain, immune suppression, and even brain tumors. She advocates for a more informed and individualized approach to female health, emphasizing the need fo...