Evidence Based Birth®

On today’s podcast, we’re going to talk with physical therapist and founder of Core Exercise Solutions, Dr. Sarah Duvall (she/her) about connecting with your pelvic floor and preventing dysfunction after birth. 
 
Dr. Sarah Duvall, CPT is the founder of Core Exercise Solutions, a center for continuing education and online programs focusing on the pelvic floor. She uses her platform to share her passion for empowering individuals to connect with their bodies in pregnancy and heal holistically after birth. 

When she's not hanging off the side of a mountain, Sarah is also a wife, mom, and adventure sports athlete who enjoys writing and presenting through her social media platforms and figuring out how her clients can continue to pursue their dreams and lead strong adventurous lives.
 
In this episode, we talk about the importance of pelvic floor physical therapy. Sarah walks us through several pelvic floor exercises to help us understand how to connect with our bodies and understand what types of dysfunction might impact our daily lives. Additionally, Sarah educates us on the importance of connecting with and caring for our bodies after a Cesarean birth.

Trigger warning: pelvic organ prolapse, Cesareans, incontinence, use of gendered language.

Resources:

  • Learn more about Sarah's work here
  • Follow Sarah's work on Instagram here  
  • Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!!

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) here 
  • Find an EBB Instructor here 
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class
Direct download: EBB_256__Sarah_Duvall_-_DIC_05-22.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EST

In today's podcast, we talk with Laurisa Paul, a Registered Nurse, EBB Pro Member and founder of Girls Who Know® about her journey towards teaching girls what they need to know and respect about their bodies.
 
Laurisa was the winner of our EBB Pro Member September Circle Community challenge, where she won the opportunity to have her work featured on the podcast. I am excited to share my conversation with Laurisa where she talks about her passion for helping others love themselves fully and feel their inherent worth and power.

Laurisa resides in Texas where she is a mother of five and an outdoor adventurer. Medically trained, Laurisa stumbled across home birth when she was actively seeking to improve her own birth experiences and since then she has worked as a midwife assistant.
 
Laurisa is a mother of five, a writer, a Registered Nurse, home-birther and midwife advocate. She has a deep passion for diversity and a profound respect for people and their story. She is a lover of outdoor adventure and dreams of being a world traveler and story catcher. 
 
In this episode, she discusses her own journey to motherhood and the experiences from her five births, ranging from high intervention births in a hospital to unmedicated and low intervention homebirths. Each experience shaped who she has become as a mother and as a nurse catapulting Laurisa into her passion of working with the next generation and educating high school students about the physiology of birth, not just how to prevent pregnancy. Laurisa is the founder of the organization Girls Who Know, which inspires girls to love who they are and to know and respect their bodies. Girls Who Know prepares girls with what they need to know to make courageous, informed decisions for their lives.
 
Content Warning: use of forceps & vacuum, episiotomy, forced to push on back, obstetric violence, trauma, suffering, postpartum hemorrhage, gendered language, discussion of a fatal motor vehicle crash

Resources: 

Check out Laurisa's organization Girls Who Know® here 
Follow Laurisa on social media via Instagram here and her Facebook here 

Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!!

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) here 
  • Find an EBB Instructor here 
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.
Direct download: EBB_255__Laurisa_Paul_-_DEC_20-22.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EST

In this episode, we bring you the Evidence on Group B Strep in Pregnancy, in anticipation of the research update to the Signature Article on Group B Strep in Pregnancy.
 
This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. In today’s Part 1, we’ll be talking about:

  1. The evidence on GBS during pregnancy
  2. The evidence on testing for GBS
  3. The evidence on antibiotics, including the pros and cons of giving antibiotics during labor for GBS.

Content Warning: GBS-related stillbirth, infant death, critical illness of newborns, antibiotics, disparities, access to health care.

References and Resources: 

  • For a full list of scientific references, see the blog post that goes along with this episode here.
  • Find the CDC GBS Prevention App for Obstetric Providers here 
  • Find the ACOG GBS Prevention Guidelines here 
  • Listen EBB 87: Cristen Pascucci on How to Disagree on Birth Topics Respectfully! here
  • Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!!
  • 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) here 
  • Find an EBB Instructor here 
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class
Direct download: EBB_254_-_Evidence_Topic_Group_B_Strep_Part_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EST

In this episode we talk with Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class graduate, Leah Bergman about her experiences navigating a recommended 38-week induction due to a diagnosis of Intrauterine Growth Restriction.

Leah Bergman is a new mom and has recently made the decision to leave her full-time job as a church musician to be able to dedicate more time to her family and raising her daughter. When she's not involved in music or busy with the baby, Leah enjoys cooking, knitting, coloring, sewing, and going on walks with her husband, Gunnar, and dog, Winnie.

In this episode Leah shares how she was inspired by a friend to read Babies are Not Pizzas and on the recommendation of her midwife found the EBB Childbirth Class. Leah and her husband were planning for birth with as few interventions as possible, until an ultrasound showed signs of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). In collaboration with their midwifery team, they pivoted their plans and began to prepare for an induction at 38-weeks. Leah walks us through the difficulties in trying to make informed, evidence-based decisions about pregnancy and how they opted to induce at 38-weeks. Additionally, Leah shares her long two-part induction story and insights into how she was able to use the EBB Childbirth Education to advocate for herself during her induction and after delivery. Despite not having the birth she was originally planning, Leah reminds us that with education and preparation, you can achieve the positive and empowering birth you want, even if it isn’t what you originally expected.

Content Warning:
intrauterine growth restriction or fetal growth restriction, risk of stillbirth associated with IUGR, medical interventions to induce labor, labor induction, pregnancy complications, high risk pregnancy, frequent ultrasound and NST testing, mention of risk of Cesarean birth, mention of the risk factors for IUGR: placental insufficiently, genetic and congenital problems in pregnancy, anti-phospholipid antibodies, baby born small for gestational age

Resouces:

Find out more about Anna Sutkowski’s doula practice and EBB Childbirth classes here.
Find out more about Rebecca’s book, Babies are Not Pizzas here.

Intrauterine Growth Restrictions:
Listen to Dr. Nicole Rankin’s podcast in IUGR here.

Access a Medscape article on Fetal Growth Restriction (requires a free account) here.

UpToDate article on Fetal Growth Restriction (requires a paid account) here

Inductions:
Listen to the EBB Podcast Episode 153: The Pros and Cons of the Foley and Dilapan-S for Cervical Ripening During an Induction here.

Listen to the EBB Podcast Episode 222: Navigating Induction and Pregnancy at 35+ with EBB Instructor and Birth Fusion Founder, Jennifer Anderson here.

Obtain a copy of EBB Pocket Guide to Labor Inductions here.

Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!!

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) here 
  • Find an EBB Instructor here 
  • Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.
Direct download: EBB_253_-_Leah_Bergman_CBE_Parent_Graduatenew.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am EST

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