Did Gina get her Homebirth VBAC? Way back last year in episode 21 (link this) I interviewed Gina Giordano about the homebirth cesarean of her daughter. Gina was pregnant with baby number two and preparing for what she hoped would be a homebirth VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). Gina Giordano is a doula, a doula trainer, a co-founder of Doula Trainings International and mom to a 5 year old and a 10 month old. What You’ll Learn In Today’s Episode: Should you cheer for a VBAC? The...

A birth story including nutrition, exercise, fertility, pregnancy fitness and of course a birth! I chat with Tatiana Amico about how a simple squat (ok, maybe not so simple when you are in labor!) affected her birth experience. Tatiana is a mom to two and a woman’s health coach helping moms to have a life that kicks ass. So you’re pregnant, you’ve quit alcohol, sushi, soft cheese, you’re exhausted and then I or another childbirth educator comes along and says that you also really keep up...

You probably love reading some other moms’ writings. Birth stories, the trials and tribulations of motherhood, the funny stuff, the poignant, the very, very sad. And you the mom, you have stories you want to remember. You hope to write that birth story….some day. But who has the time?! This episode, I speak with Chris Kay Fraser from Firefly Creative Writing, and a co-creator of MOMoirs, and online workshop is for women at all stages and shades of motherhood who want to reflect on their...

Birth in Sweden. Birth globally. Birth is a human rights issue. In Sweden, where I live and work, there is a crisis in maternity care happening right now. Pregnant women want to know how it affects them. Families are sad, confused, anxious and upset about what is happening. Out of this rose Födelsevrålet – BirthRoar. A parent-run non-profit with the goal improving maternity care. Kristina Turner, a friend and colleague, author and activist and one of founders of Födelsevrålet and organizing...

Sleeping like a baby the saying goes. But what if you get a baby that doesn’t sleep very much at night? What if you are suffering from lack of sleep? Sleep training has a negative connotation to many of us. Courtney Landin is mom to a baby who cried a lot. She’s a child sleep specialist, a nutritionist and a personal trainer. And Courtney, like me, is an American living in Sweden. She is also an attachment parent who found gentle ways to support her child’s sleep. What You’ll Learn In...

Rebozo techiniques to use during pregnancy, birth andpostpartum,midwives and doulas working together and supportingpregnant momsduring a prolonged first stage of labor. Mix in amimosa and somedancing and trip to the spa and you’ve got my dayone of theMidwifery Today Conference in Bavarian Forest. You mayhave heardTC020 with midwife Robin Lim (if not click right here!),alsorecorded at the conference. This is the second in a four partseriesfrom this incredible conference. I ask three...

Mariana Ruiz was literally upside down at 10 cm for 10 hours waiting to give her premature baby another steroid shot to mature her young lungs. Waiting to be allowed to push, toggling between guilt for her need to push and guilt for not following those very urges. At only 28 weeks gestation, Gabriella was born weighing 2 lbs and was whisked away from her mother. She underwent heart surgery at 2 weeks old and after a 68 day stay at the hospital, was taken home, a breastfeeding preemie champ –...

Men in the birth room. What exactly are these Dads supposed to do to help childbirth along?  Connect to her! Connect to the woman they love. Be there for her. Be present for her. It starts during pregnancy. It can start before that! Mark Harris midwife of 20 years and author of the new book, "Men, Love and Birth" talks with Amy about all this and more. 

Birth usually goes differently than we imagined. And sometimes our own birth story is hard to love. Even for a doula. Gina Giordano is a mom to a five year old who was born by homebirth cesarean. She has done a lot to heal and integrate that experience. Now she is beautifully pregnant with her second child and planning a homebirth VBAC. Gina is a doula, a doula trainer and co-founder of Doula Trainings International. 

What drives us to do what we do? How do we get it all done? What about when it feels impossible? Or like it didn't go as we had planned? Robin Lim shares something positive for everyone in short interview live at the Midwifery Today conference: Teenage pregnancy, single moms, cesarean births, cord clamping connection vs. separation. A mother, grandmother, midwife, CNN hero, disaster relief worker and founder of the Bumi Sehat Organization - a global model of maternity care, Robin's wisdom...

Every women must make the decision that is right for her. That is what ensures her the optimal childbirth experience for just her. Laura Husson, mom to 2, online business architect and strategist, shares with us her process of choosing to birth at home with an independent midwife. She shares her connection to her needs in pregnancy and birth. And she shares her hard but beautiful birth story. 

If not highlighted during pregnancy, some mother's may not know the impact of cord clamping on their newborn's long term health.  In this episode we talk to Hannah Tizard, student midwife and founder of Blood To Baby, about the choices of delayed and optimal cord clamping. 

We grow up hearing that if we aren't "careful" we'll "fall" pregnant. As if, left unwatched, our bodies will just go make a baby. But getting pregnant takes a combination of quite a few factors. Infertility is a struggle for many women. Hormonal birth control, diet and mental health can contribute to our ability to conceive our babies. Caroline Zwickson, a mom of a 6 month, struggled for over a year to g3t her menstrual cycle back on track after years of hormonal birth control. As a woman's...

"A good birth is worth two years of psychotherapy." Penny Simkin & Phyllis Klaus Your fears matter. Learn how to have your needs respected in birth. Penny Simkin is a physical therapist, childbirth educator and doula. She has co-authored some of the best childbirth books including "The Birth Partner", "Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn" and "When Survivors Give Birth".  In this episode we discuss the importance of respectful, compassionate care for survivors of childhood sexual...

Moms are the real experts when it comes to pregnancy, birth, postpartum and parenting. Ellie Scarborough Brett, a former broadcast journalist for NBC and founder of Media Bombshell didn't realize that "letting go"would be such a theme in parenting. Or that being a mom and working less hours would actually mean more ease and higher revenues! Ellie shares her powerful birth for the the first time - a story of making choices and letting go of choices. A story of practicing for parenthood by...

I need a nap! Any other moms out there need a nap? We are busy moms and we are tired. And many of us are pregnant or breastfeeding. Did you know there are layers of exhaustion? Have you considered that you too need a bedtime routine? When we are depleted it's hard to care for everyone else. Karen Brody, author, mentor, speaker, birth activist, attributes her success to Yoga Nidra - sleep-based mediation or conscious napping. Karen is the founder of the BOLD Tranquility movement for women to...

How long does labor and birth take? Why do I have to buy time at the hospital? And how exactly do I do that? Birth takes time. The hospital is likely basing your progress on an obsolete graph called the Friedman curve. "Failure to progress", based on this curve, leads to 35% of the C-sections in the US. Find out how to buy time at the hospital. 

Your can trust your body. You can trust your baby. You can trust birth. Your hormones are optimized to ensure ease, pleasure and safety in birth. Dr. Sarah Buckley is a family physician with qualifications in obstetrics and family planning. The best-selling author of "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering", she has release the incredible report titled, "Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing - Evidence and Implications for Women, Babies and Maternity Care." Amy and Sarah get down to how awesome you...

Many marriages end in the 18 months after childbirth. Sleep may be a factor. No one sleeping solution is right for every family but knowing the evidence about the options can let you sleep more easily. Your newborn needs to breastfeed at night and you need to sleep. New research shows that you and baby are designed to do this perfectly so everybody gets what they need in the postpartum period and beyond. Listen in to find out about if/why co-sleeping could be right for your family. 

How do we bring more grace and ease to pregnancy, birth and parenting? Stephanie is the creator of the Sacred Birth Workbook and is a Spiritual Business Strategist and Mentor working with visionaires to transform the dominant birth paradigm from fear to love.

I doula'd a birth where the partner researched microphones on his smart phone in the early hours of an induction. I sat with the mom while she sang and rocked on her birthing ball. That dad's support would be needed later in the form of hours of counter pressure and verbal support when mom was so very tired. Every partner, every family has unique needs. So what is a birth doula? And what do the doula and the partner each bring to birth that is so crucial for the birthing mother?

Suzy Ashworth of The Calm Birth School talks to us about giving yourself permission to focus on pregnancy and birth in a world that is concerned with results and what happens next. Learn how fear of birth keeps us distracted from how awesome we are. Every women's experience is unique.  "Never justify. Do not judge." -Suzy Ashworth

Labor has started! The end of pregnancy! It's time to meet your baby and you can't wait to get to the hospital. But when you get there, your contractions slow down - or STOP. Why do we hear this story again and again and what can we do? 

Karen Strange, professional midwife and expert lecturer in neonatal resuscitation, takes us on a journey of the baby's experience of birth. From conception, through pregnancy and into birth your baby is learning. What are you teaching her about handling emotions? 

What is going on with breastfeeding and birth today? Why are so many women perceived as having low milk supply? Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Phd, lactation consultant and author, comes with whys and hows to empower you and your baby to get breastfeeding started right (including how to keep a sleepy baby interested at the breast and how to know if baby is getting enough milk). Feel informed and at peace with what you are meant to do. Know that breastfeeding is a full-time job and that you - Mom...