Birth Matters Podcast, Ep 45 - Birth Team Story Circle: Optimal Support, Unmedicated Hospital Birth

First-time mom and preschool teacher Kelsey -- along with her midwife, Jenna Sood of Central Park Midwifery, and her doula, Christine Gibson -- shares her baby's unmedicated Manhattan hospital birth story.

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Birth Matters Podcast, Ep 44 - A psychotherapist's strategies for quick induction w/o pain meds

A psychotherapist shares the story of her first baby's induction just past her due date due to elevated blood pressure. Toni uses strategies from her professional expertise in mindfulness & meditation to labor and give birth without pain medications and with the support of a doula, her husband, candles, dancing, celebration...and even a drum.

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Birth Matters Podcast, Ep 43 - A Black Mom's Care Team Choices for Baby's Cleft Diagnosis

Today you’ll hear a story shared by Amayra, a Black woman living in NYC who initially planned to give birth at home due to her knowledge about the poor outcomes for Black birthing folks in hospitals. Things took an unexpected turn when she learned her baby had a cleft diagnosis so that she needed to switch to a hospital birth attended by midwives. Amayra shares how she intentionally chose Black care providers not only for her birth support team, including her doula, but also as she selected a surgeon during pregnancy to correct the cleft soon after birth. Amayra also provides a bunch of excellent tips for expectant and new parents toward the end, too, so be sure to listen to the whole episode.

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Birth Matters Podcast, Ep 42 - A NYC midwife's quick first labor

Local NYC hospital midwife, Elaine Keller-Duemig, shares her own baby's birth story on this episode. Elaine was the care provider in last episode's 2 birth stories. In this episode, she shares her own baby’s birth story, attended by a midwife at her practice, Central Park Midwifery. This is a story of a shorter than average first-time labor and an unmedicated, vaginal birth.

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Birth Matters Podcast, Ep 41 - Two Induced Births with Hospital Midwives

Yuliya shares both of her babies’ birth stories of medically-indicated inductions with midwives & a doula and without pain medications. She shares how her background as a clinical psychologist helped her do the cognitive work needed to cope in natural ways with the intensity of labor and how working with a team who provide compassionate, patient-center care made a big difference.

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