Down to Birth

Colleen always felt called to birth and was determined to have the birth of her dreams. After two miscarriages, she was so excited to give birth to her first child. When her birth resulted in a cesarean, she knew the next time around she would make sure things went differently.   Despite her mother and husband resisting the idea of a VBAC she went for it anyway.  At 1/2 a centimeter dilated, the h...

Our March Q&A episode is here!  We begin with a discussion around the use of ultrasound measurements in pregnancy to determine your baby's size and weight at birth (hint: a baby that is measuring long is likely to be taller than average not macrosomic); we discuss when you might consider changing providers for your planned VBAC birth; can a mother experience postpartum depression (PPD) wh...

Kimberly always wanted a home birth -- especially the second time around -- but decided to stay with the providers she liked and trusted. She began having doubts during the implementation of Covid protocols, and those doubts only grew when her doctor started talking about induction before she was at 41 weeks. But she declined the induction and implemented some natural means of induction at home, i...

Jamie Davison Ortiz is a mother, doula, and student midwife who birthed her twins naturally during a planned freebirth with her husband and doula. For those who don’t know, a freebirth is a controversial birth movement of giving birth at home without a medical professional in attendance. Jamie’s birth wasn’t without risk and while Jamie says she has no regrets, she’s the first to say that free-bir...

Postpartum rage is among the lesser known perinatal mood and anxiety disorders that can impact  postpartum women and even their partners. Unfortunately, what women don’t understand is that sometimes anger comes more easily than tears, and it doesn’t mean that anything is fundamentally wrong with them or with their character; but rather, they are suffering from one particular manifestation of postp...

In today's minisode, Trisha reviews the three most common challenges that breastfeeding  moms experience: Engorgement, Nipple Pain, and Supply issues. She briefly explains why they occur and offers simple steps to recognize and resolve each issue so that you may comfortably and easily continue your breastfeeding journey. See other episodes on breastfeeding: #33 | Breastfeeding Mini: Out With...

Approximately 1 in 12 women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which can leave them feeling confused ashamed and overwhelmed with questions like, “Have I done something wrong?  What can I eat now? Does this mean I have to be induced?”  In this episode we speak with Leslee Flannery a dietitian from Ohio and founder of @gestational.diabetes.nutrition who loves supporting, educating and empower...

For Lynne, giving birth via Cesarean just didn't feel like giving birth. Learning she was pregnant with her third and having had two prior C-sections, she wanted a different experience. After meeting a friend for lunch who was planning a home birth, she got curious and started exploring options and digging into the research on VBAC.   While giving birth at home felt outside her comfort zone,...

Our February Q&A episode is here!  Today, we discuss a wide variety of topics from the influence of medical rhetoric on our decisions in pregnancy and birth to the implications of being plus-size in pregnancy to the best time to pump your breastmilk.  We have a lengthy discussion on what to wear in pregnancy and seriously question why hospitals still promote the classic hospital gown for birth...

“I would give birth like that ten more times!”  In today’s mini-sode Stefanie tells her story of choosing a homebirth VBAC (HBAC) for her second birth after knowing she would absolutely not return to the hospital to have her next baby. Despite going into to labor just before 37 weeks, Stefanie was fully committed to her HBAC birth and beautifully supported by her midwives, doulas, and partner thro...

Andrea was thirty-three years-old and experiencing a low-risk healthy pregnancy when she went in for her prenatal visit at five days past her guess date and - it just so happened - the week of Christmas and New Year's.  Her OB informed her that she would need to be induced.  In response to her question, "What happens if we wait for labor to begin on its own," he replied, "Your...

Approximately 1 in 5 known pregnancies result in miscarriage before 12 weeks, and 1 in 4 women have experienced a miscarriage in their lifetime.  Despite it being a relatively common experience, it is often left unspoken of, leaving mothers heartbroken and shrouded in feelings of guilt and failure.   Today, Amanda, Nicole and Meghan share their heartfelt stories, expressing the deep emotions surro...

Medical Rhetoric involves language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often lacks sincerity or meaningful content. How can you tell when your obstetrician or medical provider is using rhetoric to persuade, discourage or manipulate you into going along with a particular course of action without first offering you any information or data that would be useful in y...

When Christina showed up at the hospital with ruptured membranes and GBS+ status, the hospital informed her that she was not allowed to leave—not even to return home to get her hospital bag.   According to Christina, every cell in her body told her to run.  She made a few phone calls, started crying while she searched for a way out, and soon found herself driving across state lines to see a home b...

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...