Optimal Labor Positions for a Shorter and Easier Birth
Overview For most of human history, a mother in labor was free to move around and change…
Your Options for the Third Stage of Labor
Overview The third stage of labor starts after your baby is born and ends with birthing the…
Can Eating Dates Naturally Induce Labor and Shorten Duration?
Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree. While dates are high in sugar, they also…
Placenta Encapsulation: The Evidence on the Risks and Benefits
Overview The thought of eating your placenta might gross you out at first, but once you hear…
Birth Interventions Overview
Overview An intervention is any action taken to alter the course of your labor or birth. Modern…
Using a Rebozo for Pregnancy and Birth
Overview A rebozo is a long rectangular shawl that originated in Mexico. Like many non-western traditions, the…
Hydrotherapy and the Benefits of Water During Labor (Baths, Showers, and Waterbirth)
Overview Hydrotherapy is a broad term that encompasses many different treatments around the physical properties of water…
Other Pain Management Options During Labor
Overview You have several pain management options for labor and birth. The availability of specific methods may…
Nitrous Oxide During Labor
Overview Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, was first used as a labor analgesic in 1881….
Epidural
Overview In this episode, we are talking about epidurals. There are three separate procedures that can be…
Birth Center
Overview A birth center is a middle ground between home birth and a hospital. You get the…
Hospital Birth
Overview About 98% of all births in the United States are in hospitals. Even if you plan…
Why You Need a Backup Plan
Overview This podcast covers a lot about preparing for the birth experience you want. If you listen…
The Evidence on Eating and Drinking During Labor
Overview For a long time, it has been a common rule in hospitals that you could not…
Precipitous Labor and Birth
Overview You have a vision of what you imagine your labor going like. There is always the…
Prodromal Labor
Overview You spend nine months preparing for your labor and birth, and suddenly it is here, and…
Birth Changes for the Foreseeable Future
Overview COVID-19 has caused a lot of changes to birth plans over the past few months and…
The Truth About Pooping During Labor
Overview Whatever you want to call it, everyone goes #2, poops, or has a bowel movement. Spoiler…
Perineal Massage to Prevent Tearing
Overview Your perineum is the area between your vaginal opening and your rectum. This area stretches during…
Timing of Skin-to-Skin Contact & Delayed Cord Clamping
Overview Picture the moment your baby is born. The umbilical cord is still connected on one end…
Delayed Cord Clamping
Overview Your baby’s umbilical cord is their lifeline. The reason for this, is that it is constantly…
What is Pasmo and How Can You Avoid It?
Overview Pasmo is a Spanish word that doesn’t have an English equivalent. It describes the reversal of…
Preparing Your Partner for Birth
Overview Back in the 1950s dads spent labor in hospital waiting rooms, called “stork clubs”, until a…
Breathing During Labor
Overview Breathing is something we are constantly doing and seldom paying much attention to. When you are…