Today Bea shares her perinatal journey from dealing with unexpected infertility and IVF to the whirlwind experience of a fast labor and delivery. Listen in as she discusses the realities of fertility treatments and the specific challenges surrounding her fear of needles, the surprise of a rapid labor, and a bit about the great support she got in early breastfeeding, sleep challenges, and an early thyroid imbalance her son had that required medication.
Read moreBirth Matters Podcast, Ep 122 - From 2 C-Sections to VBA2C Success: The VBAC Link with Meagan Heaton
Meagan Heaton of The VBAC Link shares her 3 birth stories including 2 cesareans and a VBA2C, and then we discuss strategies for finding a vaginal birth after cesarean supportive provider, safety, and other aspects of VBAC.
Read moreBirth Matters Podcast, Ep 121 - Finding Her Voice in a VBAC
Seanna shares the story of her healing VBAC and the strategies that helped her achieve this and heal from her traumatic first baby’s birth.
Read moreSavvy Self Advocacy in Birth: The BRAIN Acronym
If you’ve taken my class, you’ve learned more than one acronym for self-advocacy strategies in not just labor/birth, but in any medical scenario — prenatal, at the pediatrician, with your GP/PCP — really, anytime you want to make an informed decision. In my years of doing this work, these strategies have been a gamechanger for countless people I’ve worked with as well as for myself in my own first birth. Because it’s so powerful, I wanted to share it on the blog in a clear and concise way today.
So here’s the acronym and what each letter stands for. I talk about this acronym on episode 84 of the BIRTH MATTERS podcast (starting in the endnotes at around 49:00), so tune in there if you’d like to hear a detailed, more compelling explanation.
The BRAIN acronym for medical self-advocacy
Birth Matters Podcast, Ep 119 - Rapid Arrival: An Unmedicated Hospital Birth After Switch to Midwife
Upper West Sider Diana’s rapid, unmedicated birth story unfolds with her and partner Josh navigating spontaneous water rupture, fast labor, and timely hospital arrival with the help of doulas after switching from a large OB practice to much more personable midwife support.
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