In this episode, I cover all the evidence to date on COVID-19 and pregnancy.

This is an uncertain time and many are feeling a range of emotions. Our goal remains the same: to provide you with friendly, accessible, evidence based information so that you can make informed decisions. During a global pandemic, our goal is more important than ever.

I've been working nonstop with Evidence Based Birth Research Editor Anna Bertone, MPH, to stay abreast of new research that comes out nearly every day about COVID-19. This podcast covers the latest as of March 23, 2020.

All Evidence Based Birth research findings and updates on COVID-19 can be found here. Other resources on this page include our virtual doula directory, information on our Virtual Childbirth Class, a full length webinar on this topic, and more. 

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

In this episode I am excited to welcome Nicole Phelps! Nicole is a philanthropist who spends the majority of her volunteering with the Michael Phelps Foundation, which promotes water-safety, healthy living, and the pursuit of dreams. In addition to her efforts with the Foundation, she also supports events and programs with Make-A-Wish and Operation Shower among others. A mother of three boys, Phelps is a “Mommy Advocate” and works to bring awareness to the challenges of motherhood by sharing her personal experiences through content campaigns, social media platforms and speaking engagements. A former marketing professional with YP, Phelps graduated with honors from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism and also cultivated a successful career in pageantry, being named Miss California USA 2010. She currently resides in Paradise Valley, AZ with her husband, Michael, their three sons (Boomer, Beckett, and Maverick) and two French bulldogs (Juno and Legend).

Hear Nicole share her pregnancy and birth stories, and particularly her experience with cholestasis during pregnancy – a liver condition that can cause severe itching and other symptoms, and carries the risk for serious complications including stillbirth. We discuss the evidence on cholestasis, and the vital members of Nicole’s birth team who helped her along the way.

Connect with Nicole Phelps on Instagram and Twitter.

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

In this episode, I talk with certified nurse midwife Liane MacPherson. Liane has been working in women’s health for over 32 years - initially as a labor and delivery nurse, and for the past 19 years as a CNM. She is also a lactation consultant, a childbirth educator, and a midwifery professor with the Georgetown University graduate midwifery program, into which she introduced Evidence Based Birth’s Higher Ed resources. Liane is taking doctorate studies, and she has trained in a variety of places - including Canada, Haiti, Germany, England, Ireland - as well as the U.S. She served in a collaborative private practice in Texas for ten years, and is now currently the certified nurse midwife director for a large OB hospitalist program.

Liane and I discuss the career trajectory of certified nurse midwives in the U.S., and she compares the American systemic viewpoint of midwives to those in other countries. We also talk about options for students pursuing nurse midwifery in today’s health care system, and the evidence surrounding the midwife/physician collaborative model.

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

In this week’s episode I interview Dr. Alyssa Berlin, a clinical psychologist specializing in pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting. She is also creator of the AfterBirth Plan Workshop, a program preparing couples for a physically and emotionally healthy postpartum transition - for the baby, for each partner, and for their evolving relationships. Dr. Berlin has specific expertise working with emotional concerns that may arise before, during, or after birth. She and her husband, Dr. Elliot Berlin, are the co-founders of the Berlin Wellness Group, and are proud parents to four children.

Dr. Berlin offers practical analogies to help put postpartum in perspective as a human experience, as well as strategies for anticipation and prevention of emotional and situational triggers. We also talk about the importance of postpartum doulas and other professional and personal supporters.

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

RESOURCES:

Follow Dr. Alyssa Berlin on Instagram.

Learn about the AfterBirth Plan Workshop here.

Connect with the Berlin Wellness Group on Facebook,  Twitter, Instagram and at doctorberlin.com.

Find Episode 85 of the Evidence Based Birth Podcast with parent Ashely Smith on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher.