The Birth Geeks' Podcast

We talk to Denise Bolds of Bold Doula in New York City. They talk about Denise's journey to becoming a doula and being a Black doula and what that makes hospital staff think when she's working with her clients. Denise explains how we're always evolving and shares her outlook going forward. Enjoy our conversation with the amazing Denise Bolds.  

Meagen & Julie from The VBAC Link join us to talk about VBAC in a pandemic, special VBAC doula considerations, and how shifting landscapes make it even more important for processing traumatic past events so you can let go in the moment. 

Hillary & Robin chat from the comfort of their beds at home about their recent experiences working virtually: Hillary as a birth doula and Robin teaching new doulas and childbirth education. How is it easier? What makes it harder? What are we reading to help our mental health right now? Geeking out together from home definitely has its perks!

Intentional movement can help childbirth professionals build strength, release stress, and increase their professional longevity, and Erin Underwood is passionate about helping us do all those things! Self-care doesn't have to stop when you are working with clients either, and she gives some great tips and tricks for things to avoid and to pay attention to especially when working long hours. 

How are you holding up and holding space for yourself as a childbirth professional during this pandemic? Are you pivoting quickly or finding yourself struggling to meet all kinds of new demands? Join us as we talk about what's going on with our businesses and learning as well as our favorite pandemic impulse purchases that are helping us with self-care. Hint: It is NOT toilet paper! 

Shifting your doula services to offer virtual support requires some planning, and Nichole Joy is here to talk specifics! In this special bonus episode we discuss marketing, pricing, and more for your virtual doula services. 

Who knew orgasm was such a divisive word? Debra Pascali-Bonaro joins us for our 27th episode all about her work to bring pleasure back into the birthing and postpartum space. She discusses her newest book that is being released on April 9th too: The Ultimate Guide to Sex After Baby. This is a fantastic episode all about re-framing our thinking and approach to birth, and we just know you're gonna l...

As we talk about the needs of a new family and how dealing with social distancing and various hospital policies make this period harder for families, we also need to address how a postpartum doula can be effective at helping new families when they may not be with them physically. 

Connie Sultana has been a doula for over 900 families and was the Director of Certification for DONA International for many years. Here she shares her thoughts, tips, and tricks on making the act of a virtual doula work for families in your care both during the pandemic and beyond.

Join us as Sharon Muza talks about taking your childbirth classes online in the age of COVID-19, Robin and Hillary share their take on answering the "Did my water break?" question and share their handout for you to use with your clients. There's also links to updated information on maternity care in pandemics.

Certified Professional Midwife Augustine Colebrook talks to Hillary about sustainable midwifery practice, traveling the world, social justice in the birth world, and so much more. She has such an important perspective to share about not just how we can do better in the United States, but also about training, adversity, and why exporting the obstetrical model of care around the world is not a good...

In this short 24th episode of The Birth Geeks Hillary & Robin talk about prodromal labor. How do you tell if it really is prodromal labor? Why is this happening? What can you do about it? We also cover some research about and resources for hyperemesis gravidarum. A free handout about prodromal labor is available for download at thebirthgeeks.com/shop too!! 

Dr. Britta Bushnell joins us to talk about why preparing for childbirth by teaching with a story can help recreate the hormonal state and how the process of becoming parents works and how we can help new parents and her new book, "Transformed by Birth."

Childbirth education deserves to be celebrated! Robin and Hillary talk about how they became educators and the value that parents get from childbirth education. There is also a discussion about International Childbirth Education Week.

Andrea Hewitt talks about her job as a doula agency owner, her skills from life prior to birth work that she still uses today, having an inclusive business model and more at The Birth Geeks.

Robin and Hillary talk about things you should keep in mind as you do a year in review for your birth business. There is a discussion of how to know what data to share, and what to keep private, to whom and how to send thank you notes for your business, the trick to making sure you track what you want to track, words of the year and so much more!

Dr. Robbie Davis-Floyd talks with the Birth Geeks about birth and the medical model and also specifically how doulas and childbirth education play a role in outcomes.  They even tackle the big topics like - why are people so afraid to question obstetrics today and discuss mentorship.

Hillary and Robin have a conversation about the basics of bias in research. You'll hear what some of the most basic forms of bias are and how you can guard against them in your practice. You'll also get to hear Hillary's birth story - trust us, you won't want to miss that! And Robin dishes on some tech tools to help you with remembering key dates in your practice.

In this special bonus collaboration episode Hillary talks to Sara Pixton from the Birth Words Podcast ! This conversation focuses on  3 ways to better communicate for pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period, and we hope you will find it helpful and a thought provoking consideration of language including pronouns, nouns, intention, power, prepositions, and more. If you are interested in the int...

Birth Geeks Drs. Hillary Melchiors and Theresa Morris talk about cesarean birth in the United States, the pressure labor nurses are under, and so much more - including how birth professionals can help shape and change policy.

Robin and Hillary talk about questions new doulas ask about life as a doula, the ABC Expo in Las Vegas, how to change policies, and a bit about triage and the doula - with lots of laughs on their road trip to the Grand Canyon.

Cris Cunningham is an award-winning director and producer and he talks about the types of video that can help you advance your business.

Dr. Amber Price, CNM works in Nashville, TN and she talks to The Birth Geeks about collaboration across specialties, what birth works can do to improve birth no matter where they work, and how disrespect for the birth process happens so easily, particularly on social media. 

Come listen in as Dr. Vanessa Hildebrand and Hillary geek out about birth anthropology. They talk about a wide range of things from Dr. Hildebrand's research on birthing in an Indonesian Village to what anthropology has to say about childbirth education. You even get to figure out what the three basic things are you need to know about cultural competence to bring to your everyday work in birth. An...

Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski joins The Birth Geeks to talk about what birth workers need to know about adolescents, h ow can we turn the conversation about teen pregnancy from doom and gloom statistics into something more proactive, and so much more! Plus Robin discusses the latest article on predicting "failed induction" in pregnant people diagnosed as obese.