Welcome to this episode all about baby's position in utero. Chloé and I spoke about the different positions that the baby could have during the pregnancy and especially at the end. We made the connection between your baby's position and the labor that you might have, recognizing the importance of the baby's position in that. We explained how the way that we move and sit during pregnancy is related to our baby's position and spoke about the importance of creating room for the baby in the front...

This episode of the podcast starts the conversation about the baby's experience of birth and the way in which babies too want to tell their birth story. Heli shared the ways in which Zone Therapy can support the parenting journey from conception to postpartum as well as how it can help the babies after they are born. By helping the baby relax and ease tension in their body, Heli helps families who deal with belly aches, unexplained crying, sleep challenges, and more. We spoke about the...

On today’s episode Rosalia and I talk about preparing for birth with nutrition. We get into exactly why nutrition plays such an important part and what are some of the problems it can help you overcome or avoid. Rosalia explains the connection between the food we eat, suggesting that one thing influences the other and depends upon the other for smooth operation, which is why a holistic approach is often the one she prefers. She explains how she works with her clients and some of the amazing...

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Anu Lampinen once again. Today’s episode with Anu will focus on the postpartum time after birth. The 40 days after the birth where your body and mind go through so many changes and your baby is adjusting to life outside the womb. There is so much to say about the postpartum and in this episode we just scratch the surface. If you are pregnant, don’t shy away from this episode as it is so important to start preparing for your postpartum recovery already...

Welcome back to the Birthing in Finland podcast and to today’s episode with our nest doula Maria Fernandez! This episode will be all about breastfeeding in the early days of newborn life. You’ll find out what a pregnancy person needs to know about breastfeeding, whether or not you should prepare the body for breastfeeding, prenatal colostrum expression, the most common issues in the first weeks, and how to know if the baby is getting enough milk. We then moved into talking about getting...

Welcome to this episode about Maria's postpartum story. In this episode Maria shares her experience of having Danielle Bensky (myself) as her postpartum doula. We spoke about what was meaningful to her, how preparing for postpartum assisted her and her partner in getting aligned on their expectations, allowed them to see their blind spots and feel more ready. Maria also spoke about the way in which having me as her postpartum doula helped her transition to motherhood in a more mindful and...

This episode introduces  you to Ria Malva, a home birth midwife. I will be asking Ria all the questions that parents want to know when considering the option of a home birth in Finland. From worries about what happens if a transfer to the hospital is needed, to how much home birth might cost. We go into different worries and concerns that parents have including the mess at home, the safety of homebirth, the tools that Ria brings to the birth, having a backup midwife, and more… I hope that...

Welcome to another episode of birthing in Finland. On this episode I sat down with our nest doula Sona Jany Louhivuori, to have a really casual and fun conversation about how having sex and pooping can give us clues about the ideal environment to have a baby. Are you getting curious? Haha this is a great episode with many golden nuggets that im sure you’ll enjoy. We spoke about how some of the birth preparation methods are also used when training for professional sports, and why we think that...

Welcome to my conversation with Hanna Grankvist. Hanna is a birth and postpartum doula as well as a babywearing instructor living right here in Finland. Hanna is also so gifted and talented that she weaves her own baby carriers made locally under the name of Tyykityy. In our chat we talk about the importance of choosing an ergonomic carrier and how to spot if it is indeed ergonomic, why you might need more than one carrier for your family, and how you can continue to wear your baby also...

On today’s episode I share with you my conversation with Gabriela Ariana. Gabriela is an ecological artist, body therapist, ecosomatic practitioner, dancer and singer. She has been working with mothers and women on their feminine journey for over 20 years. Gabriela also trains postpartum doulas right here in Finland together with Anu Lampinen who has also been a guest on the podcast. In our conversation today we dive into the path of motherhood. We talk about the way motherhood is seen in our...

On today’s episode I’ll be chatting with Sari Tjurin-Zeiger. Sari is an acupuncturist specializing in gynecology, obstetrics, and reproductive medicine. In this episode you will find out what kinds of challenges Sari can help people with, why scientific research is so important to inform the working practice, and how it supports reproductive health including secondary subfertility. We spoke about how secondary infertility sometimes receives less attention and those who are experiencing it may...

Welcome back to the Birthing in Finland podcast! Today I am talking about a topic I love so much - conscious parenting. My guest is Clara Vazquez, a conscious parenting guide and psychologist who facilitates conscious parenting trainings right here in Finland. In this episode we explored how conscious parenting is actually much more about discovering who we are more than about our children, why it’s a philosophy more than a method, how the way in which we were parented influences the way we...

Welcome back to the birthing in Finland podcast. This is another special episode that was recorded a little over one year ago to capture the special moment. Today I have Maria Fernandez with me again along with her then 4 week old newborn baby. We got to talking about baby brain in the immediate postpartum, the use of mantras or affirmations also for postpartum, what you can do to help support your baby brain, why the hormone oxytocin continues to be important also after birth, and why...

Hello and welcome back to the show. This episode with Maria Fernandez about birth brain is brought to you by the Positive Birth Helsinki meetups. Our free upcoming session will take place on Saturday September 10th at LillaLuckan near Kamppi from 10 to 12am. The topic of this meetup will be “induction”. When might you be offered one and how to know if your body is ready for it? Meet our Nest doulas there, get to know other expecting families, and learn more on this topic. If you have a...

On today’s episode I’m bringing you my conversation with Anna Perälä, a doula, homeopath, reiki healer, clinical hypnotherapist and hypnobirthing practitioner. Anna lives in Seinäjoki and has been supporting both Finnish and international families. Anna has a lot of knowledge and expertise to share but for today, we’ve decided to dive deep into hypnobirthing. Today’s episode is brought to you by Rosalia’s Pihlajasaari’s pain coping for labor 1hr workshop on Sep 1st 2022. This workshop will...

On today’s episode of Birthing In Finland I will be chatting with Clara Vazquez about her role as a family expert and psychologist with Mielen Portti. Clara facilitates and leads events and gatherings for families with immigrant background, with the focus of mental health and well being. In this episode, you’ll hear more on what Mielen Portti has to offer your family and why Clara is such a fantastic person to know! We spoke about the challenges of foreign families living here and how having...

On this episode of Birthing in Finland I am going to tell you about a sweet little, almost secret oasis for parents at the heart of Helsinki. It’s a place called Albert’s Living Room and in this episode you’ll get to meet the main coordinator of this space, Olavi Karvonen. Albert’s Living Room is run by HelsinkiMissio, an organization with the mission to reduce loneliness. Olavi and I got to talking about the values of the place, how it started and how you can benefit from coming over there....

On this episode of Birthing in Finland I will be speaking with the wonderful midwife Johanna Sarlio-Nieminen. Johanna has been working as a midwife for 25 years in the hospital as well as home birth setting. She is active in efforts to improve maternity services and is a passionate doctoral researcher. Before getting into the details of the episode i want to use this opportunity to share some exciting things that are happening. On Thursday I will be starting the August group of Milky...

In today's episode I’m bringing you my conversation with Silja Seppänen, a midwife and childbirth educator. Silja discovered her passion for midwifery when she was just 9 years old and living in Kenya with her family. Our conversation today will take a deeper look into the topic of informed choice and informed consent of the birther and everything that comes with that. We spoke about informed choice as the building block for a positive birth experience, the difference between informed choice...

On today’s episode I’m chatting with Mirjam Solomon. Mirjam is a psychologist who has spent the last 6 years working in Terapeuttinen vauvaperhetyö which is a public service provided by the city municipality. Mirjam specializes in psychological therapy that helps parents who feel that they are struggling to build a bond with the baby in pregnancy and or afterwards. In this episode we speak about why it may be beneficial to apply for this kind of service already during pregnancy, how cultural...

On today’s episode I’m chatting with Giuliano Valentini about communication and vulnerability. Giuliano facilitates a peer support group and a workshop through the organization Mielen Portti. The peer group is called “Men Talk” and is a safe space for men to openly discuss their struggles, and the workshop is called “Communication Talk” and is centered around non-violent communication. In this episode Giuliano explains about these two initiatives in more detail. We get to talking about the...

On today’s episode you will meet Anna-Riitta Kässi, a doula, owner of Doula Akatemia a center for doula training, as well as a sex educator and therapist. Our conversation focused on the topic of sex and sexuality along the journey of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Anna-Riitta goes into the sensitivities around sex and intimacy at each of these very different times in the relationship and in each one of the partners separately as well. We explore body image issues after birth, how a...

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Anu Lampinen, a seasoned midwife of over 30 years. Anu has worked as a hospital and home birth midwife throughout her career. She also has knowledge in Chinese medicine and acupuncture as well as breastfeeding consultancy and postpartum recovery. In this episode Anu and I talk about what a positive birth means for the birthing person, what kind of changes Anu has seen in the Finnish birth culture and what she still hopes will improve. We speak about...

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Brenda Miquiztli. When I asked Brenda how she would describe herself, she said “medicine woman”. In the first part of the episode you’ll hear what this means to Brenda and why she chose this description. Brenda grew up in Mexico surrounded by natural remedies, witnessing the traditional care women receive especially in pregnancy and postpartum. When she moved to Finland in 2011, Brenda noticed the gaping hole that exists especially with postpartum...

On today’s episode I bring you my conversation with Chloe Bernard who is a birth and postpartum doula. In this episode we talk about the difference between the role of the birth doula and partner. We speak about the doula’s job in bringing evidence based information to the family to help them make informed choices, the continuity of care that a doula provides, and why having a doula can be reassuring for the partner just as much. We also speak about what the birthing partner might feel and...