Evidence Based Birth® (general)
In this episode, I’m joined by Liesel Teen, a seasoned L&D nurse and childbirth educator and the creator of Mommy Labor Nurse, where she reveals the common myths surrounding pregnancy and birth.
 
Learn about the shocking misconceptions, such as babies running out of room, the impact of baby size on vaginal delivery, the importance of partner education, and the need for postpartum care. She also delves into the unexpected, and rare, scenario of giving birth in the car, and shares essential tips for partners and mothers on how to keep the baby safe and warm during this intense moment. Liesel's valuable insights will empower expectant parents to approach their childbirth journey with knowledge and confidence. Discover the truth behind these myths and how to prepare for a positive birth experience.
 
Content Warnings: emergency car births, risk of stillbirth, gendered language
 
 
Resources:

Listen to an EBB Episode:

 

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com.
 
Follow us on: 
Want to get involved at EBB? 
  • Check out our Professional Membership (including scholarship options) here 
  • Find an EBB Instructor here 
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth®️® Childbirth Class

In this episode, we delve into the latest evidence-based information on skin-to-skin care in the operating room after a Cesarean. I'm joined by co-host Sara Ailshire, a doctoral candidate in anthropology and the 2023 EBB Research Fellow, and we explore the history, benefits, and barriers surrounding this practice. Discover how skin-to-skin care positively influences lactation, stabilizes newborns, and enhances the birth experience, and learn why some hospitals and providers are hesitant to offer it and how these barriers can be overcome.
 
*If you want the Pocket Guides we mention at the beginning of this episode, you can see if we have any in stock here
 
Content Warning: topics related to Cesarean sections, preterm birth, NICU stays, separation of parents and babies, infant mortality rates, and the impact of racism on Cesarean rates and lactation.
 
Resources
  • For a full list of resources and references please visit our Evidence for Skin to Skin Care After a Cesarean page here.
  • To read the full Signature Article on Skin to Skin Care After a Cesarean and download our 1-Page Handout, click here.
  • To read the updated ACOG opinion on 'Optimizing Support for Breastfeeding as Part of Obstetric Practice,' click here.  
Relevant EBB Signature Articles:
Listen to EBB Episodes:
 
For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com.
 
Find us on: 
Want to get involved at EBB? 
  • Find out if our Pocket Guides are currently available by visiting our shop here!
  • Check out our EBB Professional Membership (including scholarship options) here.
  • Find an EBB Instructor here
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth®®️ Childbirth Class.
 
Direct download: EBB_291_-_Cesarean_skin-to-skin_care_with_corrected_url.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am EDT


Direct download: EBB_289_-_Siri_with_Rebecca_edits.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EDT

In this episode, I’m talking with Malisa Dekker, a Postpartum Doula and Chef based in Brooklyn, New York, about her profound journey through two contrasting birth and postpartum experiences that shaped her passion for postpartum wellness.

Malisa’s first birth took place during the tumultuous times of the COVID-19 pandemic, where interventions and a lack of support left her feeling disconnected and overwhelmed. With the desire for change, Malisa embarked on her second pregnancy, seeking empowerment and a holistic approach to birthing. She details her transformational shift to a home birth with the support of a dedicated midwife, her partner Taylor, and a community of friends who understood the importance of empathetic care and emphasized the profound impact having one’s emotional needs addressed during labor can have on a birthing person’s experience. Malisa’s experience led her to become a passionate advocate for postpartum wellness and support, driving her to become a Postpartum Doula. Through her unique combination of skills as a Doula and Chef, she aims to provide nourishment, care, and empathy to new parents during the challenging postpartum period.

Content Warnings: postpartum anxiety, a pandemic birth story with isolation and interventions

 
Resources
  • Follow Malisa’s work on Instagram: @plantedpostpartum
  • Learn more about Malisa’s postpartum nutrition mentor, Alicia Allison: CloverandTimothy.com
  • Check out training opportunities from:
    • the Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings (BADT) website
    • EBB's parent workshops and classes calendar
    • Read “The First Forty Days” book to prepare for postpartum nutrition and self care needs

Listen to EBB Episodes

 
For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com.
Follow us on: 
Want to get involved at EBB? 
  • Check out our Professional Membership (including scholarship options) here 
  • Find an EBB Instructor here 
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth®️® Childbirth Class
Direct download: EBB_288_-_new_MalisaDekker.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EDT

Content Warning: postpartum hemorrhage, GBS Positive, antibiotics for GBS,
 
On this episode of the EBB podcast, I talk with Katrina Hull, a graduate of the EBB childbirth class about her positive hospital water birth story.
 
Katrina Hull is a former high school math and engineering teacher with over a decade of experience in the classroom. Her passion for education and entrepreneurship has led her to her current role as coordinating producer at PBS NewsHour Classroom where she develops lesson materials and resources for integrating invention education into classrooms across the country.
 
Katrina shares her experiences taking the EBB childbirth class and discusses in depth the education and work she put into preparing for her desired hospital water birth. In addition to finding her “Golden Ticket” birth team and desired location, she shares the details of her amazing and empowering birth story, despite having a few complications, including finding out she was Group B Strep Positive and handling a postpartum hemorrhage.
 
Resources:
  • Learn more about Marnellie Bishop’s Evidence Based Birth®️® Childbirth Class here
  • Learn more about the GentleBirth Pregnancy app here
  • Read more about Rebecca’s experience with Hypnobabies®️ in Babies are Not Pizza’s
  • Learn more about the Evidence on Hypnosis for Pain Management here
  • Learn more about the Evidence on water immersion for Pain Management here
  • Learn about the research evidence on combining hypnosis and water immersion for pain: Madden, K., Middleton, P., Cyna, A. M., et al. (2016). Hypnosis for pain management during labour and childbirth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev(5), CD009356.
Listen to Evidence Based Birth®️ Podcasts:
 
Learn more about joining our Pro Membership for birth workers here, to take take our class on emergency management of PPH


On this episode of the EBB Podcast, I interview Jessica Diggs, midwife, doula mentor and co-founder of Centered about creating a sustainable career in birth work.
 
Jessica is a licensed midwife working in a solo practice in Los Angeles. Jessica supports people and families through holistic gynecological care, home birth services, and conception support. Jessica has a skill and love for making childbirth and reproductive education digestible and accessible for all people. She is the co-founder of Centered, a curated community for doulas and she is the former lead educator and curriculum developer at Doula Training International.  
 
Jessica and I discuss not only her career path from doula to midwife but dive deep into a discussion about making birth work sustainable in the long run. Jessica shares a multitude of tips for our audience in avoiding burnout, setting boundaries to better serve yourself and your clients, as well as finding your joy and purpose in birth work outside just attending births. With over 10 years in the field and a thriving career, Jessica practices what she preaches and has a passion for teaching others not only about how to be a doula at a birth, but a doula making a living wage and sustainable career path.
 
Content Warning: Black maternal and Black infant death, Postpartum death, systemic racism
 
Resources
 
Learn about Jessica’s work, including how to join Centered here
 
Follow Jessica’s work: 
Find the book The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker here 
 
For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com.
Find us on: 
Want to get involved at EBB? 
  • Check out our Professional Membership (including scholarship options) here 
  • Find an EBB Instructor here 
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth®️ Childbirth Class.
Direct download: EBB_285_-_new_JessicaDiggs_14Jul23_v2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EDT

In this episode, I'm joined by Hollis Wakefield, also known as The NICU Doula. Join us as we delve into a crucial topic: how to help NICU families find empowerment and healing during their challenging journeys.

Hollis is a former NICU parent turned birth worker, educator, and family advocate, and she shares her own powerful story of navigating a traumatic birth, early delivery, and the emotional roller coaster of having a medically complex baby in the NICU. She sheds light on the critical gaps in support and resources that many NICU families encounter, from the emotional toll to practical challenges, and highlights the importance of empowering NICU families during their transition from the NICU to home and provides insights into her work as an educator for doulas supporting NICU families.

Content Warning: The conversation includes discussions about birth trauma, PTSD, and the potential for distressing experiences in the NICU environment.
 
Follow The NICU Doula on Instagram
Learn more about Hollis and her work below:

Click here for information from March of Dimes on preterm labor and premature birth.

For the Evidence Based Birth® Signature Article on Premature Rupture of Membranes, click here.

Listen to EBB episodes:

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on

Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

 

 

 
Direct download: EBB_284_-_new_Hollis_Wakefield.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EDT

On today's podcast, I talk with Tania Silva Meléndez  and Tamara Trinidad González, CPM, birth workers and Evidence Based Birth®®️ Instructors about giving birth and midwifery care in Puerto Rico.
 
Tania Silva Meléndez  is a certified birth, postpartum, and abortion doula serving families in Puerto Rico since 2009. She's also a certified childbirth educator and breastfeeding/chestfeeding educator and counselor. She is the general coordinator of the team of Caderamen, a nonprofit community-based organization that works towards reducing inequalities in reproductive care, and she also supports Alimentación Segura Infantil, a community-based organization born after the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 to support breastfeeding and chestfeeding families in their lactation journeys, help them relactate their children when needed. Tania is also a human rights activist and advocate in her community and part of the Observatorio de Violencia Obstétrica in Puerto Rico and Las Mingas de Aborto, an abortion doula collective that offers free support in Puerto Rico.
 
Tamara Trinidad González, CPM, is a community parteira/midwife, perinatal educator and herbalist born and raised in Puerto Rico. Tamara is a mother of two children who were born at home with midwives and has been actively involved in birth work for 10 years. She holds a Master of Science in midwifery with foundations in botanical medicine from Bastyr University and is a certified professional midwife. Her midwifery and herbal practice is called Semilla Creciente, Midwifery & Herbalism.
 
In this episode, Tania and Tamara have a very candid conversation about the realities of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care in Puerto Rico. They speak to how Puerto Rico’s birth landscape has been negatively impacted by the island’s history of colonialism, economic crisis’, environmental changes, and changes in political power. This has culminated in a system with far too few midwives and obstetricians, as well as high surgical birth rates, low VBAC rates, high prematurity rates, and more. Both Tania and Tamara educate our listeners on these issues but also raise awareness to the community organizations who have the trust of the pregnant and postpartum families they serve and the work being done to better support the families of Puerto Rico.
 
If you are interested in joining with Tania and Tamara and volunteering your time or skills to help them reform the maternal health system in Puerto Rico, they are currently looking for volunteers with experience in law, public relations, funding, data collection, research, and writing. OR if you have resources, or access to connections that could help fund their work, please email puertoricobirthrights@gmail.com.
 
 
Resources:
Read about the history of Puerto Rico:
 
· Learn more about Caderamen, a nonprofit organization that has a service program that is called SePARE, which offers education and doula services, midwifery services and naturopathic medicine services, social workers, mental health by clicking here.
· Learn more about the Asociación de Parteras of Puerto Rico here.
· Learn more about Alimentación Segura Infantil, a community-based organization born after the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 to support breastfeeding and chestfeeding families in their lactation journeys by clicking here
· Learn more about Observatorio de Violencia Obstétrica in Puerto Rico here.
· Learn more about Las Mingas de Aborto, an abortion doula collective that offers free support in Puerto Rico here
 
Check out the work by Puerto Rican journalist Biana Graulau here: https://www.youtube.com/@BiancaGraulau/videos
 
If you would like to read a transcript of this episode in Spanish, please visit the blog post here or you can watch the captions in Spanish on YouTube.
 
For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com.
Follow us on: 
Want to get involved at EBB? 
  • Check out our Professional Membership (including scholarship options) here 
  • Find an EBB Instructor here 
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth®️® Childbirth Class
Direct download: EBB_283_Tania_Tamara_updated_by_Rebecca.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EDT