The Birth Lounge Podcast

Traci is a doula in Alabama who is teaching doulas how to keep your power during birth! This episode is for all the doulas in the house that get nervous when speaking up for clients! She and I  will dive into how to identify coercive care in your pregnancy and birth! Then Traci is stepping us through how to navigate the medical system and how to ensure you are getting consensual care that is suppo...

Arielle Speigel is the co-founder of CoFertility which is a platform that aims to un-complicate the fertility journey by answering every fertility question out there with its content, resources and tools. Arielle not only has poured her heart and soul into making Co-Fertility a safe-space for anyone on the fertility journey, but she also walked her own path with fertility and she shares some the e...

Dr. Nathan Riley, OBGYN and Palliative Care Physician who sees birth as a natural process rather than a disease process. He is dedicated to changing attitudes around birth along with the treatment of birthing women. As the host of OBGyno Wino, not only does he have on the most amazing guests, but he also breaks down the ACOG Bulletins in everyday terms so that we can all understand it! It’s great...

Marissa is mom of two, wife and registered dietitian balancing a full-time career and motherhood while striving to stay healthy & happy. She empowers women with realistic nutrition education to confidently navigate pregnancy & postpartum. Even as a registered dietitian, she struggled in the first year knowing when, what and how to properly breastfeed, introduce solids to her baby, or transition to...

Anna McMillan is the founder and owner of Little Winks Sleep. She is a Certified Pediatric Sleep Coach. Anna uses a parent-present gentle approach and is here to walk with you through your little one’s sleeping journey, using her experience and training. Use code: 'Hehe' for 10% off her sleep packages.   Connect with Anna / Little Winks: Instagram / Facebook www.littlewinkssleep.com Resources for...

We are sitting down with Jenn Wirth, of Mom's Maternal Health.  Jen is a wife and mother of two girls (3.5 & 1.5) & one Angel baby in Heaven.  Jenn is a postpartum depression & anxiety survivor.  She has founded Mom’s Maternal Health to help educate & provide support to moms that may be suffering, along with normalizing the hardships of motherhood. Connect with Jenn: Website: momsmaternalhealth.co...

We're chatting Respectful Parenting with Dr. Aliza Pressman, developmental psychologist, parent educator, asst. clinical professor.  Dr. Pressman is a Co-founding Director of the Mount Sinai Parenting Center. Dr. Pressman is also the Co-founder of Seedlings Group, a New York City and Los Angeles parent education group that uses evidence-based research and information to educate and guide families...

Keisha Reaves has been in the mental health field for more than ten years. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Human Services from Clayton State University. She then completed her Master’s Degree in Counseling and Psychology at the University of West Alabama. Keisha has worked with children and adolescents in the DFCS setting, children and adults with developmental disabilities, a...

Sarah Martin is a mother of 9, an experienced OB nurse, and founder of Traditional Motherhood.  Sarah has taken her passion, knowledge and experience in pregnancy, birth and postpartum to create a community dedicated to education, empowerment and support of expectant and new mamas to take them from feeling scared to confidently prepared! Traditional Motherhood is taking expectant and new mamas fro...

Bryce Reddy is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and mom of 2 living in coastal New England. When she's not hanging out with her kids, you can find her supporting mothers around the world on her social media platform @mombrain.therapist. There she shares information that is easy to understand and accessible so that it can be applied to everyday mom-life. You can learn more about her curren...

Your bladder plays a huge role in labor! If it is full, it is taking up valuable space that baby needs to continue their descent down and out. You should be emptying your bladder frequently during labor—and that’s exactly what this episode is about! HeHe is diving into the why and when behind peeing often in labor. A 2017 study stated that postpartum hemorrhage occurs in 3% of births, but the CDC...

When Jaclyn Coy had her first daughter, she was opened up to the world of unmedicated labor. As she dove in, she navigated switching providers and exploring her options to have an unmedicated labor without the ‘hippie dippie’ aspect she had always envisioned being innately connected to unmedicated labor. Through her birth experiences and motherhood journey, Jaclyn created the Minimal Intervention...

The holiday season can be hard for those who have experienced a loss this year. At a time of year that people are expected to automatically be happy and be cheery and bright-eyed, it can be painful to have to pretend to be enjoying yourself while you are dying inside. One mother described it as “a dark place of heartbreak and anger.” Through my work with Mothers’ who have experienced loss (or any...

Today, HeHe is joined by Ryann Kipping, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Lactation Educator, and Author of The Feel-Good Pregnancy Cookbook. Ryann and HeHe break down how to get the majority of your crucial vitamins and minerals from food first! So many foods can be solutions to problems that pop up in pregnancy--constipation, nausea, heartburn. Ryann is sharing how to find the perfe...

I get asked A LOT about The ARRIVE Study . It’s a hot topic. For some people they are thrilled to hear there is science backing up an induction and some folks are terrified because they feel pressure from their provider and don’t feel aligned with a 39-week induction. Before we dive into the issues with this study. Let’s take a look at the history that you should know. It’s ultimately up to you! Y...

Inductions are one of the most common interventions when it comes to birthing a baby. Some people welcome inductions, and some want to avoid it at all cost! Today,  I am joined by Certified Nurse Midwife, Becca Helie, to discuss inductions, the methods in which you can be induced, and how to evaluate the risks and benefits of each option. Becca and I are going to dive into 'failed inductions,' too...

Today I am sharing the 7 tools that will change your breastfeeding life! Feeding your baby can be tough--cracked nipples, mastitis, clogged ducts, over supply, undersupply! This list goes on and on! The tools I share in this episode will aid in a smooth feeding journey for you and your baby. I'm going to share why I chose these specific things and when you would use them!    You can find all the p...

In today's episode, HeHe is joined by Certified Nurse Midwife, Skyler Jacobs, to discuss how the current US postpartum care schedule sorely fails birthing people in getting them appropriate support after having a baby! Skyler is a big proponent of every birthing person getting a 2-week follow-up in addition to the expected 6-week check-up! We chat about how beneficial both visits would be and for...

I recently attended a birth where the provider was forcibly suggesting that my client allow for an IV hep-lock to be placed. The issue arose when my client asked if there was any medical reason to have the IV placed at that time and the provider began to spew fear-based rhetoric and painted the picture (actually, just confirmed) that the placement of an IV was 'just in case' something bad happened...

Let’s rewind the clock—and I means AGES— I want to talk about how we used to birth—before we moved it to hospitals. Lets go all the way back to how physiological birth is expected to work. Today, Katelyn Fusco, Host of Happy Homebirth Podcast, is going HeHe to chat about home birth and how birth has transformed over the years. Katelyn is sharing who is right for home birth and the top home birth m...

Today is all about inductions and how to know if you are a 'good candidate' for one. HeHe is diving into a tool that the women's health field uses to rate a a pregnant person’s cervix in order to determine their readiness for induction. The original Bishop score (Developed by Dr. Bishop, OBGYN in 1964)  is based on 5 criteria: dilation, effacement, station of baby, position of cervix, consistency...

This episode is all about your child’s physical development in the first year of life! Pediatric Physical Therapist, Kara Masse, joins HeHe on the show to take about muscle development, rolling, crawling, and walking! What if your child’s physical development appears to be behind? What constitutes behind? Where do you go from there? What specialists do you see? Can you self refer? Kara is sharing...

Inside The Birth Lounge, HeHe does a weekly group prenatal visit with our members! We chat about all things pregnancy, planning for birth, and preparing for postpartum. This week's episode of The Birth Lounge Podcast is a blurb from last week's prenatal inside the membership! After supporting over 200 birthing people, HeHe has a keen eye for things that hinder the birth process and disrupt the bir...

Today’s guest is a dear friend of mine and a fitness expert specializing in prenatal and postnatal corrective exercise! Kayla Mehr, Founder of Your Fit Mom, is joining HeHe in an episode that is getting down and dirty about the truth of exercise in pregnancy and postpartum! Kayla is sharing how to determine who is qualified to help support your fitness goals during pregnancy (an unqualified instru...

When people check in with us, it's generally done with good intention, but sometimes "checking in" can do more harm than good! There are multiple places in women's health and birth work where this rings true! When it comes to checking in with a pregnant person at the end of their pregnancy, it can be tricky! You can easily cross into the territory of annoying, overwhelming, and sometimes infuriati...