Down to Birth

This month's Q&A is packed with valuable information!  Check it out below: Did you Co-Sleep with your babies? I am thinking about leaving my provider. What do you recommend I say or do? Do you have any tips for prodromal labor? Is it common to have vaginal dryness while breastfeeding? Is it true that the 3rd baby can be a "wild card?" And if so, is there anything I can do? Do I...

After losing her first baby in utero at five months, Tara and her husband became pregnant again and quickly realized they were with a large group of rotating obstetricians who didn't feel quite right for them. After switching to a midwifery practice and preparing with HypnoBirthing, Tara had a beautiful birth amid COVID protocols, but not without some obstacles along the way, including dehydr...

To monitor or not monitor: that is the question.  More specifically, how to best monitor your baby in labor without causing undue worry and intervention is the question of today's episode.  Author, midwife, and researcher Amy Romano MBA, MSN, CNM tells us that a large body of evidence on fetal heart rate monitoring indicates that we are likely looking for and finding problems that don't...

When Ted Yang learned his wife was pregnant, life felt amazing!  He was married to the love of his life, had a fulfilling and lucrative career, and was expecting not one but three babies. But his world was turned upside down when he found himself facing the reality of premature birth, one infant loss, and two premature babies fighting for their lives. His experience as a loss father left him feeli...

The six week postpartum visit is generally the time when new moms get the green light to return to having sex, yet so many (more than 80%) are not ready to do so.  In today's mini-sode Trisha digs into the meaning of the six week postpartum visit and discusses how we can do better in supporting mothers in the postpartum transition.  * * * * * * * * * * If you enjoyed this episode of the Down...

You may remember professional dancer and choreographer Claude Racine-Valinsky from episode #28.  Claude came back on the show today to talk about her postpartum experience – the battle she’s having with the body she’s always counted on; the resentment she feels toward the husband she adores; and the knowledge that her son’s physical and emotional wellness has not merely integrated into her life bu...

Our last episode of 2020 is here and it's loaded with great questions!  Have you wondered why so many women experience significant hair loss postpartum? How much does a mother's experience of stress impact her baby? Why do I feel so resentful toward my husband?  My OB wants to induce me for a past history of high blood pressure even though my blood pressure is currently normal. What&apos...

On  a little island off the coast of Maine, reside only sixty-five year round residents.  The last woman to give birth on the island was Erin's grandmother ninety-three years ago. On September 26th, Azalea Belle Gray was born peacefully at home with her five siblings nearby, after a long and tiring prodromal labor followed by a swift and sudden active stage. Today's home birth story is a...

In this birth story mini episode, Courtney shares the story of her second son's birth, which involved managing her pregnancy with a RhoGam shot due to her Rh incompatibility (which occurs when a mother's blood type is negative and her baby's is positive).  Courtney's birth took place during the earlier part of the Covid pandemic and despite these unforeseen obstacles, particula...

While we still have a few more episodes going live before the end of the year, Trisha and Cynthia spend this episode looking back at the 67 episodes published thus far in season one, since the launch of Down To Birth last New Year's. Disclaimer: One of the episodes may not be suitable for everyone, as it deals with stillbirth. But check out why we selected these as our top five, and hear snip...

Leah’s first-birth trauma began the moment she arrived at the hospital and continued during an unusually difficult, even dangerous  postpartum recovery period. She was the last person to believe her second baby would arrive quickly, vaginally and naturally among a joyful staff of midwives and nurses. In this episode, Leah discusses the details around her first birth: What happened, how she was tre...

Dr. Elliot Berlin is a chiropractor and doula who has a knack for getting babies to assume the best position for birth.  He's become an integral part of the Los Angeles county natural birth community and is the host of the Informed Pregnancy Podcast.  He believes every woman should have the birth they desire and provides the tools and knowledge he feels make all the difference. In this episod...

In today's mini-episode, Jen shares the story of her first of two VBACs - that is, vaginal birth after Cesarean. Jen's first birth was a scheduled Cesarean due to placenta previa, and having been cleared of that condition the second time around, Jen switched providers when her doctor didn't seem 100% on board with the idea of a VBAC. The midwives she hired believed in her every step...

We are back with our monthly Q&A! This week we discuss the just right temp for laboring in the water, understanding why it is so hard to ask for help postpartum, how to best breathe in labor, what to do about morning sickness and nausea in early pregnancy; and finally, we bring in physical therapist, Tara Gibson, to help us better understand the impact of pubic symphysis dysfunction during lab...

What does it take to have a successful VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)?  In this episode, we hear from several women about their successful VBAC stories followed by a discussion between Cynthia and Trisha on what it takes to get there. If 60-80% of VBAC attempts are successful and only 13% of candidates are having them, what is holding them back or standing in their way?  Tune in to hear our t...

I've been doing this work a long time. And from where I sit, I have the unique advantage of being able to observe trends and societal patterns. And there's something I've been trying to figure out for a long time: What's up with postpartum women telling us their partners - especially when those partners are men/husbands - are "supportive"? This doesn't quite sit...

Breastfeeding aversion is a little known and little discussed phenomenon that more than a few mothers experience. Zainab, author of “When Breastfeeding Sucks” and advocate for women who experience breastfeeding as less than wonderful at best and seriously shitty at worst, is here to explain what it is, what it means, and how to work with it...or not because sometimes breast is not best. If you&apo...

We are never more receptive to love (thank you, oxytocin) than in the early months after having a baby. For every couple, bringing home a baby for the first time brings up massive amounts of emotion; and, how we recognize and process these emotions with our partner determines whether we grow closer or more distant during this unique and highly vulnerable life transition. In today's episode, M...

In this episode, one of Cynthia's HypnoBirthing clients, Andrea, shares her pregnancy and birth experience. She wanted a happy, natural birth and describes her process in achieving one, but the predominant thing she feels she learned is that she - and all women - should feel they have choice along the way. That all decisions belong to the birthing mother.  * * * * * * * * * * If you enjoyed t...

What does it mean if my baby won't stay head down in late pregnancy? Can I prepare my perineum for birth by taking a sitz bath during pregnancy?  Let's talk about VBAC/VBA2C and why Failure To Progress (FTP) is NOT a risk factor for another cesarean birth. Here's the biggest worry for new mothers planning to breastfeed: making enough milk and how to do it. What if I get the urge to...

Joni Stone is a homebirth midwife of twenty years. After studying neuroscience in undergrad, she earned a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology with a focus in Spirituality from Columbia. Her work explored the physical changes our brains go through in becoming mothers, and how these changes are akin to the same brain changes that occur after an intense life experience, which may result in sp...

It's not your boobs! It's your baby. One of the biggest misconceptions that new mothers have around breastfeeding is that they won't be able to produce enough milk to meet their baby's needs. And one of the top three reasons that mothers stop breastfeeding is a sense of insufficient milk production, leaving mothers feeling that their bodies and breasts have failed them. In toda...

When it came to having the birth experience she desired, Jasmine was not giving up. After two prior C-sections, she was determined to have a VBAC.  More than forty-eight hours into her third labor with a failed epidural she was exhausted, afraid....and nine centimeters. Three pushes later, despite many odds, her baby was in her arms. Tune in today to hear this inspiring VBA2C birth story. * * * *...

Do you know why some vaginal births are fast and others slow? Some easy and others difficult, if not impossible? Optimal fetal positioning is the answer and despite what we've been led to believe, head-down is not the whole story. Gail Tully, the world's foremost expert on fetal positioning and founder of Spinning Babies is here with us today to explain how your everyday activities from...

Today's Birth Story Mini-Episode features Candra, a first-time Mom who had GBS (Group B Strep), release of membranes, antibiotics, vomiting and intense back labor. Despite everything her birth was natural and as soon as her daughter came out, she said she was ready to have another. Candra's story is a great example of how birth can be a good and fulfilling experience even when it's...