Birthing Instincts

Listen to women. Seems simple enough. And yet, here we are. This week, the stories in our inbox keep bringing us back to the same uncomfortable truth: women know when something feels wrong. They know their bodies. They know their babies. They know their histories. And far too often, instead of being listened to, they're dismissed, frightened, managed, or told that someone else knows better. On...

There are some experiences in life that we simply cannot prepare our hearts for. Pregnancy loss is one of them. This week, we sit down with Kenzie Covarrubias, co-founder of Held in Hope, for a tender conversation about miscarriage, grief, and what it truly means to care for a woman through loss. Because a miscarriage is so much more than a medical event. There was a mother who was full of hopes a...

Blood transfusions can save lives, but when are they actually necessary, and what should you know before you're ever faced with that decision? This week, Blyss and Dr. Stu unpack blood transfusions in birth: postpartum hemorrhage, hemoglobin levels, blood types and compatibility, potential reactions, and why the number on a lab report doesn't always tell the whole story. They also dive int...

Cesarean sections can be lifesaving. But are women actually being told about the potential long-term consequences before they consent to one? This week, Blyss and Stu dig into some of the lesser-discussed risks of cesarean birth, particularly the risks that may not show up until months or even years later. Stu walks through research examining isthmocoeles and the broader long-term outcomes associa...

What can nearly 24 years of birth injury litigation teach us about preventing birth injuries before they happen? This week, Blyss and Stu are joined by nationally recognized trial attorney, bestselling author, and host of The Childbirth Attorney Podcast , Gina Mundy. After spending her career reviewing the births that went wrong—studying medical records, questioning doctors and nurses, and identif...

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny joins Blyss and Dr. Stu for a wide-ranging conversation about vaccines, pregnancy, medical freedom, informed consent, institutional trust, and what it means to question the systems we’ve been taught to rely on. Blyss asks an important question for parents and birth workers: when major medical organizations say there are enormous amounts of data supporting recommendations during...

What if the way we enter the world has consequences that reach far beyond the day we're born? This week, Blyss and Stu dive into “Microbirth”, the 2014 documentary exploring the human microbiome and what happens during the extraordinary biological transition of birth. From exposure to maternal bacteria during vaginal birth to skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, antibiotics, cesarean delivery,...

Thyroid health may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about pregnancy, but thyroid hormones play an important role in both maternal health and fetal development, especially during those early weeks when baby is relying on mom's thyroid hormones. This week, Blyss and Stu take a deep dive into thyroid disease in pregnancy. Stu breaks down the basics of how the thyroid works...

This week, Blyss and Stu run the gamut, from joy and grief to frustration, research, and a whole lot of questions about who really gets to decide what “safe” birth looks like. After sharing personal updates and a moving remembrance of Dr. Rob Biter, Blyss and Stu turn their attention to autonomy in birth. They discuss a mother struggling to find a midwife willing to truly meet her where she is, th...

What happens when the medical record doesn't match the birth experience? This week, Blyss and Stu dive into one of the most uncomfortable, but critically important topics in maternity care: documentation, informed consent, and the ways language can shape a family's entire birth experience. Using real-world examples, published legal cases, hospital consent forms, and an anonymous patient st...

This week, Blyss and Stu welcome Doula Dude, Travis Stroud, whose perspective has captivated millions of viewers in just a few short months. Travis never imagined he'd become one of the loudest voices encouraging fathers to educate themselves about pregnancy and birth. But after preparing for nearly two years, he and his wife chose a wild pregnancy and freebirth at home that forever changed th...

This week, Dr. Stu welcomes Florida midwife Fadwah Halaby for an inspiring conversation about evidence, autonomy, and trusting physiological birth. Before diving into an unforgettable breech twin home birth, Stu takes a deep dive into another one of obstetrics' commonly accepted practices, the "2-centimeter rule" for low-lying placenta, and uncovers the surprisingly weak evidence behin...

What happens when a traumatic first birth becomes the catalyst for a completely different second experience? This week, Blyss and Stu welcome holistic esthetician Michelle Vaughn to share the story of two births that couldn't have been more different, and how those experiences transformed not only the way she views birth, but the way she approaches health, skincare, motherhood, and everyday li...

Postpartum preeclampsia is one of the least talked about, but potentially most serious, complications after birth. This week, Dr. Stu and Midwife Blyss explore what we know, what we don't, and why every new mother should understand the warning signs, even after a healthy pregnancy and birth. Together they review the latest evidence surrounding postpartum hypertension and postpartum preeclampsi...

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...