Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses

On this episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses, Sarah Lavonne and Justine explore the fetal monitoring strip from the baby’s perspective and physiology! They reveal how fetal hemoglobin, baroreceptors and chemoreceptors, autonomic tug-of-war, and stress hormones power a baby’s built-in defense system during labor. They talk about why low O2 saturations are normal, what truly triggers varia...

In this powerful episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah Lavonne and Justine sit down with AFE survivor and trauma therapist Kayleigh Summers, whom you may recognize as @thebirthtraumamama on IG. Kayleigh shares the shocking details of her near-death birth story, the moment everything changed, and the life-saving interventions that brought her back. Now a fierce advocate for trauma-...

In this episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , we dive into the real, raw truths of travel nursing and the challenges of nursing in general. Our guest, Lluvia Cordero shares about her 12-year experience being a travel nurse. She shares about witnessing and supporting challenging situations, the red flags to watch for, and the power of trusting your instincts. We talk about the freedom of...

In this episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah and Justine unpack the fetal oxygen pathway, from maternal lungs to the fetus and why it’s foundational to everything we see on our fetal monitors. If you’ve ever wondered how oxygenation impacts heart rate patterns, variability, decelerations, or why tachysystole matters, this conversation connects the pathophysiology to your practice...

It’s finally here! Birthed into the world our new OB Emergency Pocket Guide titled, Confidence in Crisis: A Nurse's Pocketbook Guide to Master OB Emergencies. Join Sarah Lavonne as she has a celebratory and educational conversation with Bre Clinger. The guide was created by Bre Clinger, a Bundle Birth Nurse Mentor, to provide nurses with quick-reference information on 17 major obstetric emerg...

In this soul-stirring episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah Lavonne and Justine Arechiga dive deep into the powerful shift from content to context—a mindset that invites you to slow down, be present, and choose intentionality in both your personal life and your nursing practice. Together, they explore what it means to stop "should-ing" yourself to death, reclaim your pre...

In this powerful and heartfelt episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah Lavonne sits down with the brilliant and unapologetically real Dr. Monica McLemore for a conversation that will shift the way you think about nursing, reproductive health, and your role in this work. From their first meeting to this moment of connection, Sarah and Monica reflect on humility, curiosity, and the hu...

In this episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah and Justine discuss how nurses can confidently read, interpret, and apply research in clinical practice. They explore common biases in studies, the difference between statistical and clinical significance, and how research can be both empowering and misused at the bedside. We break down a recent meta-analysis on discontinuing Pitocin i...

Think you know birth? In this episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah Lavonne and Justine Arechiga dive into why every nurse should take a childbirth class—no matter where you are in your career. From surprising lessons learned to the gaps in patient and traditional nurse education, they unpack why patients should take a childbirth class and what nurses can learn from childbirth edu...

In this podcast episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses, Justine opens up about a difficult situation she faced at work in her leadership position that tested her values, her role as a nurse, and her connection to her unit. She and Sarah talk candidly about navigating mistakes, managing shame, and the complicated reality of being a nurse leader in a challenging environment. From management...

Welcome back to Season 7 of the podcast Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses with Sarah Lavonne and Justine Arechiga. In this episode as we kick off the new season, we are celebrating Nurses Week! As we celebrate you all year long, we wanted to do an extra special episode highlighting the incredible nurses that were nominated for Starfish Awards. Sarah and Justine share what the Starfish Awards mea...

In this final episode of Season 5 of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah and Justine take a heartfelt and candid look back at the past year of Bundle Birth's journey. This year for Sarah professionally and personally, she describes as the hardest time of her life, and how resilience, community, and determination have fueled her and Bundle Birth’s growth. Together, they chat about navi...

In this episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah and Justine dive into the complex world of adult friendships. From building meaningful connections to navigating the challenges of maintaining them amidst busy schedules, they share personal stories, practical tips, and a few laughs along the way. Whether you're looking to deepen your friendships or simply understand why they feel...

In this episode, Sarah welcomes Heather Bradford, a certified nurse-midwife, assistant professor, and researcher, to discuss the critical issue of weight bias in healthcare. Heather shares her journey from clinical practice to academia, where her experiences and observations inspired her groundbreaking research into how weight bias impacts patient care and outcomes, particularly in obstetrics. Tog...

On this podcast episode, Happy with Bundle Birth Nurses, Sarah is joined with some of our Bundle Birth educators and National Certification Corporation (NCC) item writer and subject matter expert, Whitney Wells for a conversation about the RNC-OB exam development process. As experts on the Registered Nurse Certified (RNC) Obstetric exam, they discuss the process and strategies for preparing for th...

In this heartfelt episode, Sarah sits down with Justine to debrief her birth experience and reflect on the whirlwind of the past six weeks. Justine shares her decision to opt for a repeat C-section and the emotional and physical journey leading up to, during, and after delivery. From navigating the intricacies of maternal-assisted C-sections to the unexpected challenges of the postpartum period, J...

In this episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses, Sarah Lavonne dives into the transformative power of skin-to-skin in the OR (operating room). From improved thermoregulation and breastfeeding success to reduced postpartum depression and enhanced bonding. The benefits of skin-to-skin are undeniable. But why does it matter so much? And, how can nurses protect this essential time for families?...

In this gripping episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah Lavonne sits down with Amy the Good Nurse (Amy Loughren), the nurse whose incredible bravery take down America’s most prolific serial killer. Amy shares her deeply personal story of uncovering the shocking truth about her best friend and colleague, a trusted ICU nurse who was secretly murdering patients. From the moment detect...

In another solo episode, Sarah teaches you about how to use a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) as a non-pharmacological pain management option for labor. TENS provides low-voltage electrical stimulation to the skin, which activates the "gate control theory" by blocking pain signals from reaching the brain. Sarah dives deep into what the research suggests, how it can be...

This episode on Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses, Sarah Lavonne dives into an analysis of cord gas essentials. Understanding cord gas results is essential in guiding newborn care, particularly for identifying infants at risk of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) who may need therapeutic cooling. Sarah breaks down the basics of interpreting arterial and venous cord gases, explaining why param...

This week on Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses, Sarah has a candid conversation with Dr. Nathan Riley an OB-GYN, home birth doctor and holistic gynecologist about challenging hospital births versus home birth. Dr. Riley was initially trained in the standard medical model but became disillusioned with the overly interventionist approach to childbirth. So, he started attending home births to provi...

In this episode of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses , Sarah Lavonne dives into the journey behind the creation of the Physiologic Birth Class . From working in a highly medicalized L&D unit to later experiencing a contrasting approach in a more affluent hospital, Sarah's nursing career shaped her vision for promoting physiologic birth. Driven by a desire to empower nurses, she designed...

Season 5 premiere of Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses is here! In this special bts episode, Justine and Sarah Lavonne dive into Justine's upcoming birth plan. Justine shares her preferences in deciding between a scheduled c-section or a VBAC through prioritizing her well-being and reflecting on her first birth experience. Justine and Sarah discuss the logistics, from selecting her birth te...

In this last podcast of the season, Justine and Sarah Lavonne discuss the importance of lifelong learning and how it can benefit nurses in their practice and life. They share personal examples of things they have learned recently, as well as some new OB insights. They encourage you to find your passion and pursue learning in it! Thanks for listening and don’t forget to subscribe! We will see you n...

In this episode of "Happy Hour with Bundle Birth Nurses," Sarah Lavonne chats with Dr. Rebecca Dekker, the founder of Evidence Based Birth. They discuss the benefits of non-lithotomy birthing positions and the misconceptions surrounding them. Dekker shares research findings that show upright positions can lead to shorter pushing phases, lower rates of severe perineal trauma, and decrease...