This time of year can bring a sense of magic and joy and at the same time, the holidays can also bring feelings of overwhelm and stress.  Michelle airs this special holiday relaxation each year session which is designed to help release the stress and strain you may be feeling and gain a sense of clarity regarding what you value in your life as you prepare to enter the New Year. As a gentle reminder: This guided relaxation recording audio is for just that, relaxation purposes only. It does...

Natasha Solovieff and Michelle discuss Natasha’s signature strategy which helps parents to stay engaged with their children and each other. Her L.O.V.V.E. Way invites families to begin Listening, Om-ing (centering yourself), Voicing, Visioning, and Exploring in order to unwind any difficult feelings, emotions, and situations and determine what is of value to them as a family. The L.O.V.V.E. Way creates a solid path in this time of uncertainty and provides relationship and self-reflection...

Michelle is excited to interview Natasha Solovieff and Michelle explore the ways that parenting can be compared to an ongoing dance with your child and the importance of acknowledging the needs of both parent and child. Natasha explains the ways you can decrease your stress, filter through all the information and opinions, and connect more fully with your children, your partner, and your own inner wisdom. Natasha shares her L.O.V.V.E. process: Listening, Om-ing (centering yourself), Voicing,...

If and when your water might break in labor is often confusing and stressful for expecting parents. Michelle explains when this can happen, what to expect, what to look for, and a helpful acronym to remember- MTACOS, Movement of baby, Time, Amount, Color, Odor, and Status of Group B Strep. Michelle recommends also listening to episode 132 featuring Heidi Snyderburn of Birth Story podcast regarding some recent research on rupture of membranes and labor. You can connect with Michelle at...

Each year in October, Michelle is honors Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month. This year she shares an episode from her Birth Ease Loss Support Podcast featuring samples of the Calm Birth meditations for perinatal loss. "The loss of a pregnancy or infant is an incredibly common heartbreak. Yet, we are given so few opportunities to grieve a loss that is often invisible to those around us. Calm Birth for Pregnancy and Infant Loss presents an opportunity to move through emotions and to...

The Calm Birth prenatal meditation program now has an app for easier access to the meditations. Michelle shares samples of the meditations for listeners to experience. You can learn more about Calm Birth and the practices in episodes 76-80 and about the similarities and differences between Hypnobirthing and Calm Birth in episode 86. Michelle includes the introduction for each meditation beginning with this 7-minute version of Womb Breathing or Breather as it is named on the App. She also...

Michelle and Keshia Lockett are celebrating the release of Keshia's book, Birth Undisturbed: How to Have an Undisturbed Unmedicated Hospital Birth, on Amazon and the success of her Black Doula Tour as well as the release of Calm Birth's new meditation app for pregnancy, birth, and parenting which features Michelle's voice in the audios. Keshia shares all about The Black Doula Tour and her book. Together, they discuss the sacredness and sanctity of birth and why knowledge, education, and...

Michelle is incredibly honored to have midwife Jennie Joseph share what is in her heart and on her mind- holding space for families following the birth of their baby.  Jennie explains why the United States is dismal in regard to postpartum care practices and support. Jennie stresses that we must listen and hold space for families and each other as birth professionals. We must learn and understand how to do it well so that we are helping and not adding to any potential pain and trauma to what...

Michelle shares provides an overview of the 4 stages of labor. She sharess that the first stage of labor involves contractions that get longer, stronger, closer together and that it is divided into 3 phases: early labor, active labor, and transition. Michelle also explains braxton hicks contractions and labor contractions and the different ways in which laboring moms may experience their contractions or surges, especially if they are using hypnobirthing. Michelle also shares that the...

World Breastfeeding Week 2022 is August 1-7 and to celebrate Michelle shares the Calm Birth prenatal meditation childbirth program's Calm Parents Meditation for breastfeeding. This meditation is a part of the Calm Parent's collection of postpartum meditations which includes versions of this Breath Feeding meditation- whether that is breastfeeding, pumping, bottle feeding, or chestfeeding. Feeding a new baby can have its joys and its challenges. Breath Feeding helps parents appreciate that...

Michelle and Sunni VonMutius continue their conversation from S2 E1 The Grief and Loss of Placing a Child for Adoption on the Birth Ease Loss podcast. Sunni courageously shares how the circumstances, trauma, fear, and shame from her first child's birth impacted the birth of her second child 20 years later and her experience of postpartum depression. Together they discuss the importance of trauma-informed care, exploring unconscious biases, the mind-body connection, informed consent,...

Michelle chats with Barbara Decker, one of the pioneers in the childbirth education movement. With a half-century of experience, Barbara shares her journey, including being one of the firsts to certify as a Lamaze instructor (before it was even called Lamaze) and certify as a doula with Penny Simpkin. Barbara is a long-time HypnoBirthing® Instructor and expert in prenatal & perinatal psychology.  She provides a simple breathing technique to help calm and settle our nervous system....

Often there is so much focus on the pregnancy and the birth, families may find themselves woefully unprepared for the realities that having a new baby can bring to their lives. Having a new baby can feel overwhelming and isolating for many families and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the stress families may feel. Michelle explains helpful self-care tips for new parents and provides an overview of what the postpartum experience can be like. She distinguishes between baby blues and...

Adam Angel, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, explains the importance of inclusion and recognition for fathers as the baby's parent, as the support person for their partner or spouse, as well as a separate individual by medical professionals and birth professionals. Adam and Michelle discuss that 10% of men can experience perinatal mood disorders such as depression and anxiety and how that can manifest in fathers. Adam also shares the online parenting workshops that he founded and...

Kinsey Phifer, doula and the author of "Variations of Normal: The Labors of Love", and Michelle explore the complex feelings and emotions that having a breech baby can bring. They discuss the barriers to breech birth access, the difficulties that come with finding a VBAC friendly hospital- especially when the baby is breech, the unhelpful things people say and how damaging they can be, and why it isn’t as simple as doing "all the right things to turn a breech baby" or "just give birth at...

A birth plan is a way for you to communicate your wishes to your health care team during your labor and after the birth of your baby. Each birth is a unique experience. Creating a birth plan empowers you to become informed of all your options during labor and Michelle provides helpful tips to consider when writing a birth plan.

Beth Sandlin, NCPT explains the Pilates method and its benefits during pregnancy,  postpartum, and parenthood. She emphasizes maintaining a flexible routine and restorative movements and exercises, especially when recovering after birth and caring for a new baby and small children. Beth also explains the similarities and differences between pilates and yoga. Michelle and Beth discuss her Trauma Informed Pilates Approach (TIPA) program for Pilates teachers worldwide who want to use a Trauma...

Michelle shares one of her favorite episodes of the Doula Diaries podcast hosted by Heidi Snyderburn. In her episode,  Heidi digs into expectant management (aka doing nothing) and induction when you experience PROM-Premature Rupture Of the Membranes (water breaking). Heidi shares her doula advice partnered with the Hanah et al TERM PROM trial and the data. So, want to know what Heidi would tell you do if she was your doula and you experienced PROM? Take a listen. There are also some scripts...

With 60 years of combined experience between them, Michelle and Kathy Bradley discuss the key things for parents to consider when hiring a doula. Doulas provide non-medical educational and emotional support to birthing families. Doulas can help navigate information overload and differing opinions that expectant parents often face.

March is birth psychology month. Michelle and Sarah Dickey, Pre & Perinatal Psychology Educator and fellow Calm Birth Teacher, discuss the consciousness of babies. Together they explore the importance of prenatal bonding to help babies in the womb feel welcome, loved, and safe, especially when as a parent you may be feeling stressed or overwhelmed. "It can just be as simple as if you have had a day that is overwhelming, that you just pause and maybe place your hand on your abdomen....

Becoming quiet, going within, eliciting the relaxation response, and accessing inner peace is even more crucial during these stressful times we are in. Multiple studies have the benefits of meditation and the relaxation response. This response reduces the impacts of stress and inflammation within the body, and reducing stress is one of the recommended actions to take to help strengthen your immune system. In this special replay episode, Michelle has created this guided imagery meditation to...

Having a student doula that is completing their required number of births for certification can be a great option for families looking for additional education and support that doulas bring to expecting families. However, Michelle cautions parents against paying a student doula for their certifying births—especially if they have little to no experience attending births or caring for postpartum families—at the same rate as a seasoned certified doula. "A certifying doula has much to learn...

Michelle chats with Gina Alemán about being a doula, providing postpartum support and education to new families, and the Dancing For Birth program. Together, they discuss the benefits of movement and dance for pregnancy, birth, postpartum, babies, and healing trauma. Gina shares how Dancing For Birth helps birth partners to feel better equipped for labor, as well.  "A big part of the time that I spend with the participants and my clients in these classes, the Dancing For Birth classes, is...

Michelle discusses how she has observed that the hormonal surges in pregnancy can impact a pregnant person’s emotional state at pivotal points in pregnancy, especially at 35-36 weeks.  "And part of this phenomenon too, instead of it being a physical nesting, it is a more mental-emotional nesting. And so, part of that overwhelm can also be how am I going to balance going back to work and having a new baby? How am I going to balance caring for 2 children or 3 children? And it's like...