True Birth

One of the most asked questions during an office visit is: "Doc, how do I prevent tearing?"  In this episode, we discuss how to prevent perineal tearing during delivery. Tearing and Contractions [1:56] When Kristin was pregnant, her biggest fear wasn't the tearing but the contractions. Seeing other women with contractions made her feel that it was painful. She says that tearing is more of having a...

  A woman's weight and BMI during and after pregnancy is often discussed and debated. This is especially true in the case of high-weight women, who, as research shows, have a  higher risk of complications like cesarean birth.  Today's episode is to discuss high weight women in pregnancy and when we need to concerned and when we don't  PLUS, we also discuss some very questionable myths and treatmen...

Face presentation is when the baby's face is presenting through the cervix first. Normally, the baby's head is flexed so that the chin tucked.  Non-head down positions (including breech, transverse lie, face, brow, and compound presentations) do happen too are account for less than 4% babys at term. When the baby is coming out face first, the baby's head and neck are hyperextended creating a more...

Going to the dentist in pregnancy is not only allowed but its recommended.  Regular dental check ups and good dental hygiene are advisable in pregnancy.  This episode also contains a bit about: The Count. www.truebirthpodcast.com Maternal Resources Social Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/maternalresourceshackensack |nstagram:  @maternalresources Subscribe to the podcast on  Apple Podcasts, Spot...

There are two main types Types of Twins twins when it comes to pregnancy, dizygotic twins and monozygotic twins.  In this episode, we review these different types. Types of Twins [0:45] There are two types of twins: Monozygotic and Dizygotic. Each has its own subcategories. (Di) means two; (Mono) means one; Zygote is a fertilized egg. Dizygotic means two fertilized eggs, and Monozygotic means one...

Placental abruption (aka abruptio placentae) is where there is  a partial or complete detachment of the placenta from the uterine wall prior to delivery of the baby. In this episode we discuss how the terminology changes by trimester.  A placental abruption is an obstetrical emergency and can cause injury to both the mom and baby.  Check us out on our website or social media! www.truebirthpodcast....

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP or IHCP) is characterized by itching and an elevation in blood bile acids, that usually develops in the late second and/or third trimester and can be a high risk issue in pregnancy.  Check us out on our website or social media! www.truebirthpodcast.com Maternal Resources Social Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/maternalresourceshackensack |nstagram:  @m...

The best time to predict the due date of a pregnancy is at the beginning.    Early ultrasound is now routinely performed and exceptionally helpful since it increases the accuracy of predicting a due date over menstrual dating alone.  The accuracy of a due date helps to prevent an error when labeling a pregnancy overdue or postterm.  In this episode, we discuss what happens when a pregnancy goes ov...

Uterine tilt is a term that you won't find in the text books but comes from working day to day in labor and delivery. It refers to the tilt a uterus can have that can obstruct labor. This episode defines uterine tilt and explains what to do about it.    Check us out on our website or social media! www.truebirthpodcast.com Maternal Resources Social Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/maternalresour...

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is typically defined as more than one pregnancy loss at any point in the pregnancy, but most often is associated with first trimester loss. It can be extremely emotionally upsetting experience, and many women report that it is similar to women who experience a  stillbirth or neonatal death.  This episode reviews the evaluation, why and what of RPL.

The story of a courageous family and their journey to have 4 healthy children despite multiple complications: preterm labor, bleeding, cord prolapse, and uterine rupture.    As always, we'd love to hear from you! Please get in touch with us on our website at  TrueBirthPodcast.com  or reach out on any of our social channels.  Integrative OBSTETRICS Social Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Integrat...

Dr. Abdelhak expounds on what makes a patient high risk in pregnancy.    As always, we'd love to hear from you! Please get in touch with us on our website at  TrueBirthPodcast.com  or reach out on any of our social channels.  Integrative OBSTETRICS Social Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/IntegrativeOB Instagram  @integrativeobgyn Maternal Resources Social Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mate...

In this episode, our hosts review how the screening for Down syndrome and other chromosome abnormalities has changed over the last few decades.  They go in depth about the latest technology such as SNP*-based technology tests which deliver the most accurate non-invasive prenatal testing available.  This is often referred to as (Non-invasive perinatal testing) NIPT or (Non-invasive perinatal screen...

Decreased fetal movement (DFM) is when a woman is perceiving less movement than usual in her pregnancy in the second half of the second trimester or the third trimester.  Movement is a sign of fetal well being and a decrease in movement can be associated with sleep cycles but it can also be a first sign of fetal distress. IN this episode, we help a woman distinguish between when a decrease in move...

When the umbilical cord slips out of the cervix before the head or the breech, this is a true obstetrical emergency. The cord is the baby's life supply and when it is out of the uterus it is vulnerable to compression, spasm, occlusion which can compromise the baby's blood and oxygen supply.   In the episode, we discuss topic what happens in cord prolapse, how the baby is usually completely fine in...

For many centuries physicians have been trying to understand why some women give birth with relative expediency while other women can have long drawn out labors.  In an effort to understand this discrepancy, two physicians (Caldwell & Malloy) studied cadavers and classified the shape of a woman's pelvics. According to Caldwell & Malloy, there are 4 types of female pelvises all with a distinct shap...

Palpitations in Pregnancy are a common phenomenon due to the increase blood flow and cardiac workload.  Dr. Abdlehak reviews when they are normal and when you need to be concerned. As always, we'd love to hear from you! Please get in touch with us on our website at TrueBirthPodcast.com or reach out on any of our social channels.  Integrative OBSTETRICS Social Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Int...

This episode is all about what happens when you think you are signing up for one type of obstetrical care only to find out you have gotten something completely different.  Unfortunately, this is a phenomenon that happens often in the field of OB/GYN.  A woman will have her first visit with a physician and review her plan for VBAC or twin vaginal breech, only to find out too late in the third trime...

This episode is all about what happens when you think you are signing up for one type of obstetrical care only to find out you have gotten something completely different.  Unfortunately, this is a phenomenon that happens often in the field of OB/GYN.  A woman will have her first visit with a physician and review her plan for VBAC or twin vaginal breech, only to find out too late in the third trime...

The Case of the Didelphys Uterus and the Vaginal Delivery After Cesarean Breech Delivery.  A uterine didelphys is a type of mullein duct abnormality (class III) where there is an actual duplication of the uterus. The uterus has two horns. Most often there is a duplication of the cervix as well and there is no communication between them ... until now.  We'd love to hear from you! Please get in touc...

Ultrasounds are an essential prenatal tool, using sound waves to create images of your baby, placenta, and amniotic sac, offering a safe, non-invasive way to monitor development from as early as 6 to 7 weeks with a dating ultrasound to confirm your due date, through the 20-week anatomy scan checking organs and gender, and into the third trimester with growth ultrasounds or a biophysical profile to...

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication that affects multiple organs and is progressive. It is generally characterized by new high blood pressure and proteinuria or the new high blood pressure with significant end-organ dysfunction with or without proteinuria in the last half of pregnancy or in the postpartum period. It is important the pre-eclampsia is caught early so it does not progress to ecl...

Uterine rupture is a complication of labor and delivery that is most often associated with women who are undergoing a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) or a trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC).   The incidence of uterine rupture is approximately 0.3 percent (300 ruptures per 100,000 deliveries) and in a hospital setting are associated with excellent outcomes in which the mother and baby are bo...

Acid reflux or "gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)" pregnancy is when the acid that is normally found in your stomach backs up into your esophagus. The esophagus is the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. This is a common condition in pregnancy that tends to be found in the second and third trimesters primarily. The good news is it goes away shortly after birth and there ar...