40: Natural Birth
Listen Now Episode 40 Content and Overview Natural birth is a birth without medical interventions, particularly anesthesia. It is not some hippie ideology that rejects the advances we have made in…
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46: Natural Hospital Birth
Listen Now Episode 46 Content and Overview If you want to have a natural birth that does not mean that you have to home birth. The majority of natural births…
Continue reading122: Essential Oils for Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum (And Their Safety)
Listen Now Episode 122 Content and Overview An essential oil is the naturally occurring oil that has the fragrance of the plant or other source it is extracted from. These…
Continue reading76: Common Pregnancy, Birth, & Breastfeeding Myths
Listen Now Episode 76 Content and Overview There are a lot of myths surrounding pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. Many of these false beliefs are perpetuated by movies and television, repeated by…
Continue reading49: Your Birth Plan
Listen Now Episode 49 Content and Overview A birth plan is your plan of how you envision your birth and what happens directly following the birth of your baby. A…
Continue reading44: Birth Center
Listen Now Episode 44 Content and Overview A birth center is a middle ground between a home birth and a hospital. You get the benefit of a natural birth in…
Continue reading42: Home Birth
Listen Now Episode 42 Content and Overview It was not too long ago in our history that all births took place at home. Over the last century the number of…
Continue reading37: Hospital Birth
Listen Now Episode 37 Content and Overview Hospitals have become the go to place to give birth in many countries. About 98% of all births in the United States are…
Continue readingEpisode 21: Inducing Labor Naturally
Listen Now Episode 21 Content and Overview There are a lot of rumors about activities you can do or certain foods to eat for inducing labor naturally. Some of these methods…
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Expecting? We've Been Expecting You Hello! I’m Vanessa Merten, and I've been supporting expecting moms and partners with evidence-based information and resources to healthily and safely navigate pregnancy, birth, and...
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Q&A: When is a C-Section Absolutely Necessary?
Question “Hi Vanessa, I want to start by saying that I’ve been hooked on your podcast from day 1 of my pregnancy! I have a question regarding when a C-section…
Continue readingQ&A: Nuchal Cord (Umbilical Cord Wrapped Around Neck)
Question “Hello Vanessa, First off thank you for all that you Do! I am pregnant with my second child and your podcast has been extremely helpful in preparing me for…
Continue reading90: Nitrous Oxide
Listen Now Episode 90 Content and Overview Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, was first used as a labor analgesic in 1881. Today it is commonly used as a…
Continue readingQ&A: Retained Placenta
Question “Hi Vanessa, I have a question about having a retained placenta. I have two girls and their deliveries went great. In 2015 I delivered as a surrogate and had…
Continue reading72: Communicating With Your Doctor or Midwife
Listen Now Episode 72 Content and Overview A recurring issue I hear about from many expecting moms is that you are getting pushback from your care providers on your prenatal care or…
Continue reading71: The Third Trimester (Updated)
Listen Now Episode 71 Content and Overview Welcome to the third and last trimester! The third trimester goes from weeks 28 until your baby’s birth. Your pregnancy is measured in forty weeks,…
Continue readingQ&A: Fentanyl
Question “I absolutely love your podcast! I’ve been listening for a few months and am now 36 weeks pregnant, the end is (somewhat) near! Your podcast has really helped me…
Continue readingQ&A: Pudendal Nerve Block
Question “Is a transvaginal pudendal nerve block recommended? Could it be used as part of a modified natural birth? Will it affect the baby or progression of labor? Are their…
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These resources are must haves! All products are items I swear by and have used or am currently using. Note: some of the links on this page may be affiliate...
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Unsolicited Advice
People give advice because they want to help. They think they have some information that you need to hear. It doesn’t matter if they are educated about…
Continue readingColds & Flu During Pregnancy
Being sick is never fun, but especially not when you are pregnant. There are some additional challenges to the common cold during pregnancy. You are more susceptible…
Continue readingFlu Vaccine During Pregnancy
Flu is short for influenza, an infectious disease caused by the influenza virus. In healthy adults the flu normally isn’t serious and symptoms usually subside in about…
Continue readingCaffeine During Pregnancy
Caffeine is considered a psychoactive drug, meaning that it changes brain function and results in alterations in perception, mood, or consciousness. It is the most widely consumed drug…
Continue readingWeaning Your Child From Breastfeeding
There is not a huge amount of research on quitting breastfeeding. Research is more focused on keeping mothers breastfeeding. This makes sense, but it isn’t a lot…
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