Alissa describes how birth surprised her by not being the scary event she built it up to be in her head. She shares the story of her first baby's uncomplicated vaginal birth with an epidural, and then shares about how her struggles with breastfeeding led to the difficult decision to switch to bottle-feeding because of the negative effects it was having on her mental health.
Read moreBirth Matters Podcast, Ep 49 - Arriving Just in Time to Push & Pumping on a Train
Kirtan shares her baby's birth story — an unmedicated, vaginal birth in which she shows up at the hospital just in time to push. She also describes the anxiety she experienced with regard to breastfeeding and introducing solids, and also shares an entertaining story about the time she had to pump milk on an NYC subway on her way home from work.
Read moreBirth Matters Podcast, Ep 48 - 3 Birth Stories from 1 Mama
Traci Stahley shares all 3 of her babies’ birth stories, which were fairly uncomplicated, vaginal births — the first being in NYC and the 2nd and 3rd in Indianapolis. She shares how, while her first two had no nursing issues and were actually avid breastfeeders, her third baby surprised them by having pretty significant feeding issues. They soon discovered that he had a condition called Laryngomalacia, where the tissue of the larynx is softer and floppier than normal. This created the challenges with breastfeeding and, later, some speech issues, both of which required some work with a speech therapist.
Read moreBirth Matters Podcast, Ep 47 - A Black Lactation Counselor’s Fast 1st Hospital Birth
Simone Toomer, a Brooklyn-based Black doula, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, sleep educator shares her first baby’s uncomplicated birth story in a hospital in which she shows up pretty much just in time to push and give birth. Simone will also share a bit about the great work she’s doing to improve breastfeeding outcomes for Black families through nursing support groups with Chocolate Milk Cafe.
Read moreBirth Matters Podcast, Ep 46 - Sorry, House Hunters, My Water Broke!
Mila goes into labor before she and her husband, Shawn, can finish shooting an episode of HOUSE HUNTERS. They share details about their hospital induction and their premature baby's stay in the NICU, and Mila shares about ways she addressed her struggles with clinical anxiety in the transition into parenthood.
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