Yoga Birth Babies

If you’re confused or overwhelmed not knowing what you should or shouldn’t eat while pregnant, how to work around nausea or cravings, and making peace with weight gain during pregnancy this conversation will bring you clarity!  In this episode of Yoga| Birth|Babies I speak with registered dietician, podcaster, and founder of the online education center Nourishing Minds Nutrition, Victoria Myers. V...

I would venture to bet you've been pretty mindful about what you eat and drink through out your pregnancy and postpartum, but have you thought much about your skincare regimen and how it may need to be adjusted? Certain products are simply not safe to use while pregnant or breastfeeding.  In this episode of Yoga|Birth|Babies, I speak with board-certified dermatologist, Marisa Garshick, MD, FAAD. M...

There’s a reason this podcast caught your eye, likely because you're feeling a bit stressed and want to know how this could affect your pregnancy and baby. While stress is a normal part of life, especially at times of great change, like pregnancy and new parenthood, it could create imbalances in the nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system.  In this episode of Yoga| Birth|Babies, I spea...

Approximately 1 in 4 pregnant people will be induced. With rates this high, understanding induction and all it entails can help demystify the induction process and reduce fear, which can make your whole birth more satisfying.  In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, I speak with Labor and Delivery nurse, childbirth educator and mother of 7, Trish Ware. Trish shares everything you need to know ab...

Do you remember the Saturday Night Live skit about “Mom Jeans”? It pokes fun at “moms” and emphasizes that once someone becomes a mother they trade in the sexy body, cute clothes, and sense of self for a frumpy bodied person with poor fashion sense who is fully family focused. Why does society accept the deeply embedded belief that mothers can’t be sexy?  This is one of my favorite episodes of Yog...

J came back to postnatal yoga and shared that she faced two monumentous moments of struggle and surrender during her birth. Having had the chance to get to know J through out her pregnancy, I was deeply curious about her birth story. J, was a regular in prenatal yoga and the topic of fear and control was often something she often expressed. How do you enter a situation that is out of your control...

You may have seen the February 2021 Congressional Report stating there are toxic metals in commercial baby. It definitely made me stop in my tracks when I first learned about this. Interestingly enough, toxic heavy metals in baby food in not new news. (Yes, even the organic baby foods!) So what does all this even mean? Are you now making all your own baby food? Before you toss all your jarred baby...

When working to heal diastasis recti, most people think of physical exercises to repair the damage. However, nutrition can also play a role in this recovery.  In this episode of Yoga|Birth |Babies, I speak with Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and founder of Thrive and Bloom Nutrition, Alexandra Paetow. Alexandra explains how food and nutrition can support the healing of weak connective tissue. S...

What do you do when your birth is going well then very suddenly isn’t? That's the path Cindy's birth took.  To give you some peace of mind, Cindy and her son are healthy and well, but they had a very unusual turn of events in their birth journey. In my 20 years working with pregnant folks, this one made my jaw drop. In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies I speak with new mother, Cindy Walters. C...

Failure to progress in labor. Can we all agree this is a horrible name and can impact someone’s view of their ability to give birth! For years, birthing people have been expected to follow “Freidman’s Curve” a standard set by a trial of only 500 participants conducted nearly 50 years ago. Recently, ACOG has set new standards. Unfortunately many hospitals and practices have been slow to put these n...

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the first 40 days after birth is honored by “sitting the month.” It’s a time of confinement and healing believed to be crucial to the future health of the new parent and newborn. I first heard about this tradition from one of my students and was immediately intrigued. As a person who barely waited 10 days to resume life, the idea of hunkering down, resting, being c...

We all have certain character traits that define our nature and help us predict how we will respond in different situations. When it comes to birth, understanding these characteristics can allow us to foresee how we may respond to the flow and turns of labor. These insights can help in preparing the kind of support you desire in labor.  In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, I speak with certif...

For the majority of people, pregnancy won't cause your career to come to a screeching halt. Now imagine that your body is the instrument your career centers around. That's exactly what happened for Megan Fairchild, principal dancer with New York City Ballet. For her pregnancy meant a quick pivot and stepping back from her career for at least a year.  In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, Megan...

During pregnancy and birth a certain level of anxiety is to be expected as much is unknown and many things change. However it's important to note ways depression and anxiety can manifest. A common way for it to appear during this time of life is a lack of trust in one’s self, one's body, ability to birth and parent, and a desire to take control of all aspects of the experiences. For many this gets...

“Beautiful things may be on the other side of fear and discomfort.” This is Mirror trainer, birth doula and prenatal yoga teacher Rachel Nicks' life philosophy. And it certainly served her well as she quickly had to rework her whole birth team and plans as she recently became a second time mother.  In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies I speak with Rachel Nicks about her work, pregnancies and b...

Parenting has been a very humbling experience. My children are incredible teachers showing me where I lack patience and need to adjust my behavior in order to help them self regulate and defuse tense moments. I’ve found myself being more REactive to their behavior rather than PROactive which often elevates tantrums, defiance, and frustration. If you can relate to any of this, today’s podcast episo...

There are so many resources to gather information about pregnancy, labor and birth. How do you know what's accurate and what's misleading? In this episode of Yoga| Birth|Babies, I speak with double board certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist, Shannon M. Clark, MD, MMS, FACOG about the myths and realities of many pregnancy and birth debated topics. Shannon c...

Sixty percent of new parents don't breastfeed for as long as they intended, according to the CDC. The top reason being issues with lactation or latch. It's easy to understand why people would discontinue without support or solutions for breastfeeding issues. In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, I speak with International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist...

The birth of a child not only represents the start of a new life for the baby, but a new life for the parent as well. While this “birth” may not be recognizable to others and on the surface the new parent looks the same, they emerge a different person on the inside. In this episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies, I speak with new parent and actor, Melissa Macleod about her transformation as a new mother...

It was a year ago this week, that the US shuttered by the force of COVID-19, leaving in it’s wake thousands of mothers who feel crushed by an unequal share of the pandemic burden. However, many mothers already felt massive burn out from daily life, the pandemic just highlighted the unrealistic expectations and pressures put on mothers. “I’ll go to my grave fighting for mothers.” are the words of M...

Watching one’s body change dramatically over a matter of months can feel disconcerting. Combine that with a history of disordered eating and body image challenges, and navigating pregnancy and postpartum may feel overwhelming and out of control. In this episode of Yoga|Birth|Babies, I speak with licensed social worker, Catie Lynch, who specializes in eating disorders, body image, and the postpartu...

Sharing community birth stories offers an intimate connection between one parent and another. Sharing birth stories can be a form of childbirth education, as it helps to remove fear of the unknown and bring confidence, power and courage to those awaiting the transition from pregnancy to parenthood.  In this episode of Yoga| Birth |Babies, we hear the birth story of community member, yoga teacher,...

As parents, we aim to raise our children to be good people. Inclusive, respectful people that help move humanity forward. To do this, we have to have open, honest and sometimes difficult conversations about issues that our country and society faces. Simply stating “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you” is not enough. In this episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies, I speak with clinical psycho...

The term “core” is thrown around a lot in the fitness and yoga world. But what does it really mean? What muscles are involved and how does someone prepare for pregnancy and postpartum?  In this episode of Yoga|Birth|Babies, I speak with licensed physical therapist and author, Patricia Ladis. Patricia explains what we mean when we say “core” and how the breath plays an intricate role in the core op...

The reality of birth inequities in the US is not merely an opinion; it is a fact. Women of color are dying at higher rates than their white counterparts, and in some parts of the country that rate is up to 12 times higher. In this episode of Yoga|Birth|Babies, I speak with Rhea Williams, Certified Nurse Midwife and Director of Professional Education and Programing for Spinning Babies® about birth...