Down to Birth

Husbands and partners, this is one is for you! Today, on the show we have guest host Krisha of @serenitylifedoula speaking with us about the best ways to support mothers in labor.  Did we mention that Krisha is a birth doula with a 100% vaginal birth rate? And she gives all that credit to the birthing mother AND their partners for doing all the tricks and tips we share with you today!  Birth partners have an important job in labor and knowing the best possible ways to provide support go a long way toward mothers and their partners having the birth experience they desire.  So, tune in today and get the low-down on all things birth support!If you enjoyed this episode of the Down To Birth Show, please subscribe and share with your pregnant and postpartum friends.**********Send us Fan MailNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

In today's "Pregnancy" Minisode, Cynthia discusses six red flags that could mean you're planning to birth with a provider who may not be right for you. After this episode, find us @downtobirthshow on Instagram and share your stories with us. That is, how do you know you are with the wrong - or right - provider?  **********Send us Fan MailNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

When it comes to giving birth, women are too often told a healthy baby is all that matters. And while none of us will argue that a healthy mom and baby are the highest priority, it’s time to give mothers the respect, dignity, and agency they deserve in their birth experiences.Milli Hill is the author of “Give Birth Like a Feminist” and “The Positive Birth Book”, and is here to tell you that women matter, too. Because how we give birth stays with us the rest of our lives. Milli believes birth is a feminist issue and asks women to no longer allow birth to be left in the hands of patriarchal control and dominance. In today’s episode, she offers practical steps you can take to claim your birth power and have your safest, best birth. Give Birth Like a FeministThe Positive Birth BookThe Positive Birth MovementRelated Episodes:  Is a Healthy Mother & Baby All That Matter?**********Send us Fan Mail Needed <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

It's that time of the month! Our May Q&A is here and kicks off with two short, entertaining birth stories followed by excellent questions submitted by our listeners including: Are more babies born under the full moon? If I experience fear in labor will my cervix close or regress?  Do I need a cesarean birth if I have too much or too little amniotic fluid? What is the difference between a birth center and hospital birth? What are the best ways to take care of yourself physically and emotionally after having a baby? How do I handle breastfeeding in front of my toddler? What are the benefits of placental encapsulation? How do I stop peeing when I throw-up in pregnancy? What is the earliest you can get a positive pregnancy test? Is there any benefit to pushing before you are fully dilated? Check the chapter markers to jump to a specific question.  Thank you to all of you who submitted your questions, and please keep them coming! You can call us at 802-GET-DOWN to submit your own question.* * * * * * * * * *Send us Fan Mail Needed <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

As Cynthia always says, no one is more determined to have a good birth than a woman who's already given birth. Meet Rachel: a  mom from Idaho who took Cynthia's live online HypnoBirthing class with her husband prior to having their third baby. After interviewing literally 17 home birth midwives - clearly a resource that's more abundant in Idaho than most states - Rachel felt she hadn't found quite the right provider yet. They ended up hiring a team of midwives in a hospital birth setting. Rachel describes how she felt - and what the midwives said to her - that made her realize she'd chosen the right team. In this birth story minisode, Rachel takes us through the details of her birth, which included having Group B Strep, an induction she had hoped to avoid, and discovering that laboring on her back for a brief moment was just the trick to allow her baby to easily descend. * * * * * * * * * *Send us Fan MailNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

For our 100th episode, we are featuring Barbara Harper:  the leading voice for childbirth and maternity care reform, an author, educator, midwife and internationally recognized expert on the use of warm water immersion for labor and birth.  Today, we are honored to have her join us on the @downtobirthshow to talk to us about the “great liberator” aka water birth and all  the benefits for you and your baby including: hydrostatic pressure, increased oxytocin, immediate and prolonged skin-to-skin contact, delayed cord clamping, and more.  And if you’ve ever wondered why a baby doesn’t breathe under the water, she has the answer—and it’s not what you think!If you've ever been curious about water birth don’t miss this informative interview with Barbara Harper of  @waterbirthint.You can find out more about Barbara Harper at Waterbirth.org.* * F-Bomb Alert in the second half of the episode - we didn’t see it coming and chose to leave it in because if Barbara weren’t so passionate about what she does, she wouldn’t be changing the world one hospital at a time. * ** * * * * * * * * *Send us Fan MailNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

“Push like you are taking a poop!  Pushing is a long, grueling process!” This is what most people are told about pushing in labor. But, is it true? Hehe Stewart, of Tranquility by Hehe, is a doula and maternity coach who grew up on a farm watching animals give birth in an undisturbed and effortless way.  After attending births in hospitals and homes, she realized things looked very different there from what she had seen. This  experience inspired her to start teaching how to birth with faster, uninterrupted labors and easier pushing stages. In today’s episode, Hehe shares her insights on birthing and breaks down her three-point secret sauce to easier pushing and less tearing for your best birth.  * * * * * * * * * *Send us Fan MailNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

In today's mini-episode, Trisha explains how and why we get clogged or plugged ducts and provides guidance on how to recognize them, how to prevent them, and simple steps to resolve them quickly to keep you breastfeeding comfortably.  If your plugged duct does not resolve within 24-48 hours seek the help of a professional lactation consultant.  * * * * * * * * * *Send us Fan MailNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

Amanda Pahls is a mother of four daughters, a blogger, and a home school educator with a passion for honoring  women's birth experiences. She joins us on the show today to walk us thorough her first hospital birth followed by three home-births and the dramatic difference in care she received between the two.  Her fifth pregnancy and most recent birth was a miscarriage, at home, which brought her a depth of grief, sadness, and even guilt that she never expected. She opens up about the hard questions we have to face after a miscarriage, like "what do I do with the remains of my baby?" and explains the importance of bringing more awareness, compassion, and empathy to mothers who've miscarried.  **********Send us Fan MailNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

This month's Q&A kicks off with a couple personal questions of Cynthia and Trisha about their dream travel and what they admire in themselves and in each other. After our little heart-to-heart, we get down to business discussing: Pregnancy & birth risk associated with IVF; why you don't need painful uterine massage after birth; what our "must-have" items are for new moms and baby; tips for preventing pre-term birth; tips for preparing for birth related to teas, supplements, & foods; how to handle a low-lying placenta; and the likelihood of your baby coming early if you were born early. See chapter markers to jump to a specific question. Don't forgot you can submit questions for our Q&A episodes through our website or DM us on Instagram.  We hope you enjoy today's episode and if so, please share with a friend or two:) For more on the active management of third stage labor see episode: #40 | Q&A: The Placenta & Advanced Maternal Age; COVID-19 Silver Lining ; Chapped Nipples & Poor Latch; Who Can Have a Natural Birth; Pitocin Postpartum; Unsolicated Family Advice* * * * * * * * * *Send us Fan MailNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your whole subscription orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTHPostpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits: <--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.