Evidence Based Birth®

In this episode, I interview Noel and Joel Smothers, missionaries who gave birth to their first child last fall. They currently live in North Carolina but will be heading back to Brazil soon. Noel felt it was really important to have a vaginal birth if at all possible, so that she could continue to have future vaginal births when she's living in countries with less developed health systems. They took the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class with Instructor Mary Kury. I was so impressed by this couple. They had a very challenging birth. Noel managed a vaginal delivery of a large baby who was presenting face first - a very rare presentation that usually triggers a c-section. Noel also had a difficult pregnancy and intense back labor. We talk about how the EBB Childibrth Class prepared both Noel and Joel to face these challenges successfully. We also discuss postpartum and newborn care. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pintere

In this episode, I am joined by "Mr. EBB" himself, Dan Dekker! Dan is an Accountant with his MBA, the father of 3 children, and also my husband. He has worked for more than 10 years in small business accounting, and five years ago left a successful corporate position to become a full-time stay-at-home dad and to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of Evidence Based Birth. Dan and I dive into the backstory of EBB - including how starting this business has impacted our family. Our Evidence Based Birth Instructors supplied Dan with thoughtful and fun questions for this interview, including what's it like being my birthing partner! We move from the fun and lighthearted to tackling the top mistake we see made by small business owners - especially birth business owners. By the end of this interview you'll learn what Dan is most excited about with the future of EBB - including how we are planning to release more products for parents! And if you've been struggling to keep your birth business afloat, Dan has some wor

In this episode, I am joined by EBB Professional Membership and Higher Ed Program Coordinator Chanté Perryman. Chanté is a certified birth and postpartum doula, a childbirth educator, an Evidence Based Birth Instructor, and will begin training as a midwife in 2020. She is a strong promoter of birth choices - coordinating an annual baby expo, publishing a quarterly magazine for local parents, and volunteering with the Kentucky Home Birth Coalition as an advocate for Certified Professional Midwives.  Together, Chanté and I will tell you all about the Birth Workers of Color Scholarship campaign for the 2019 Evidence Based Birth Conference! Our goal is to raise $25,000 to fund the costs for 30 birth workers of color to attend the conference. We need your help to make this happen! Tune in to hear why this initiative is so important to EBB and our community. We also unveil more news about our EBB Signature Articles, and the language we will use in them going forward to help combat systemic racism.  For more infor

In this episode, I interview certified nurse midwife Olivia Favela-Gary. Olivia has been a CNM for over five years, and has been a registered nurse for 10 years. She currently practices in Los Angeles and Southern California in a Federally Qualified Health Center, and attends births in a hospital setting working mostly with underserved and high risk populations. She also frequently works as a first assistant for cesarean births. Olivia hosts the podcast This American Midwife, and is mom to a daughter and a son.  Olivia reveals what it’s like to give care in the L.A. area, and the special needs required by people in vulnerable populations - such as immigrants, women who are trafficked and abused, or those who are homeless or drug addicted.  We also discuss how to teach doctors about the midwifery model of care, and we cover the evidence on induction of labor. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved?

In this episode, I interview midwife and Evidence Based Birth Professional member Afua Hassan. Afua has practiced as a midwife since 1984. In 2011, she expanded her home birth practice and founded The Birthing Place, Houston’s first freestanding birth center owned and operated by a black midwife. The name “The Birthing Place” was chosen by Afua in response to her observation that many women felt that they needed a hospital and a doctor to deliver babies. In her practice, Afua’s philosophy is that the mother is the captain of the birth, the partner is the co-captain, and she - as midwife - is the advisor. As of today, she has assisted in nearly 1200 births. We discuss Afua’s initiatives to educate women on the hospital system and the medical model of care, as well as the steps she is taking to support the women in her community. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional memb

In this episode, I interview Caley O’Brien about her empowering birth experience and being one of the first parents to take the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class. Caley has been married to her husband Kent for two years, and they live in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She is now a stay-at-home parent to her baby Solomon, and describes herself as a “crunchy hippie”. Caley and Kent took the EBB Childbirth Class with their local Instructor, Cat LaPlante.  We discuss how Caley intentionally and strategically built trust with her hospital birth team, and the impact that had on everyone involved with the experience. While her birth was empowering and positive, Caley also shared some challenges and she and Kent were equipped to handle during labor.  For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructo

In this episode, I interview Nichole Croft and Todd Jackson of New Jersey. Their first baby was born in the summer of 2018, and they were among the first parents to take the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class. They were taught by EBB Instructor Cat LaPlante, and were referred to the class by their doula after inquiring about pain management techniques.  Listen as they describe their birth experience and how they utilized what they learned in their EBB class. From understanding the basics of natural birth, to learning about advocacy, comfort measures, birth planning and building relationship with hospital staff, Nicole and Todd felt confident and prepared for their birth. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth®

In this episode, I interview Michelle Wilson, one of the first parents to take the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class. Michelle has one son, Matthew, and is a stay-at-home mom in Berea, Kentucky. Michelle and her husband Matt were very passionate about gathering as much information as possible prior to Matthew’s birth. They chose to plan a natural childbirth in a hospital setting, and Michelle labored with non-drug comfort measures for nearly 24 hours. Circumstances eventually led the baby to be born via cesarean.  While Michelle’s c-section was an option she chose and was a good experience for her, she did end up with postpartum hemorrhaging.We discuss the evidence on postpartum hemorrhage in subsequent births, as well as the pros and cons of elective c-sections versus VBAC. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our In

In this episode, I interview AnnaMarie and Drew Stoudenmire of Greenville, South Carolina. They are parents to Otto - their first baby - who at the time of recording was only seven weeks old. AnnaMarie and Drew took one of the first Evidence Based Birth Childbirth classes in the U.S., taught by EBB Instructor Mary Kury. They heard about the class from a nurse practitioner, who recommended Mary as a childbirth education instructor.  Listen as AnnaMarie and Drew tell their exciting water birth story, and how they applied what they learned in their Evidence Based Birth Childbirth class as they rushed to their birth center! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode, I interview EBB Instructors Cat LaPlante, Mary Kury, and Cindy Calvano about their experiences being among the first to teach the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class. Cat is a certified doula and certified childbirth educator serving the southern New Jersey and Philadelphia regions, and is also director of the EBB Instructor program. Cindy is a certified doula, doula trainer, and lactation counselor serving North and Central New Jersey. She also travels around the world to train doulas and other birth professionals. Mary is a certified childbirth educator serving upstate South Carolina.  We discuss the launch of the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class, which is coming to more than 50 communities in the U.S. and around the world. Hear the Instructors share their experiences piloting this innovative approach to childbirth education, and what the parents in their classes had to say after their births! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us

In this episode, we discuss the evidence on diagnosing gestational diabetes, and the use of the Glucola test. Evidence Based Birth just released a new Signature Article on this topic, and it is a subject that people are always wanting to know more about.  Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that develops during pregnancy. In a normal pregnancy, your hormones can make it harder for your body to use insulin. That means you might need up to three times more insulin to overcome the increased resistance, but your body’s insulin response is sufficient to cover this. However, with gestational diabetes there is either too much insulin resistance, or too little insulin response, or a combination of both. Glucose builds up in the blood until it reaches abnormally high levels, called hyperglycemia. It’s those high blood sugar levels that can cause problems for mothers and babies.  Listen as we cover all the latest research, and clarify the terms “screening” and “diagnosis”. We also discuss the oral glucose tolera

In this episode I review all the projects completed at Evidence Based Birth in 2018 - and what a year it was! From launching this podcast and an extensive series and workshop on Comfort Measures, to releasing new Signature Articles, webinars, a Higher Ed curriculum AND developing a new cutting-edge EBB childbirth class - what we accomplished in 2018 gives us incredible momentum for what we have planned in 2019! Join me for a sneak peek into what is on the horizon for the next 12 months. RESOURCES To learn about the new EBB Childbirth Class, click here. Don't miss this behind-the-scenes tour - register here! To get on our mailing list so you don’t miss a single announcement on what we have coming up in 2019, sign up on our home page! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program.

In this episode I interview Courtney Carangian, a native to the Hawai’ian island of O’ahu. Courtney is an Evidence Based Birth Instructor, and is currently undergoing the DONA certification process to be a birth and postpartum doula. A mother of two children, Courtney has been married for seven years. She serves the birth and parenting community on O’ahu with doula services, lactation education, and EBB instruction.  Courtney got involved in birth work via baby wearing. She started a business, Wearing and Caring, and much of her focus is on creating connections in her local birth community. Courtney helps run Birth Processionals of O’ahu, and she also hosts play dates to mix local birth pros and parents. We discuss how native Hawai’ians interface with their local medical community, as well as how research is generated and how evidence is applied in the real world. We also discuss the topic of pain after epidurals. RESOURCES You can connect with Courtney at Wearing and Caring. For more information on Birth P

In this episode I interview Ms. Charlotte Marie Shilo-Goudeau, one of three African American women in the state of Louisiana to hold the title of Licensed Certified Professional Midwife. She is the founder of “P.Y.O.B.E. (Pick Your Own Birthing Experience) with Mama CHAR’s Birthing Service,” located in the rural area of Maringouin, LA. Ms. Charlotte has committed her life work to serving women who lack resources needed to ensure positive and healthy prenatal and perinatal outcomes. By coining and implementing her “CPM’s Preventative Cup of TEA Philosophy”, she uses strategies of training, evidence-based education, and advocating to help bring awareness to the disparities found in misrepresented and underserved communities. Her “TEA Philosophy” helps to prevent negative health outcomes and brings awareness to the institutionalized limitations placed on all women of childbearing years, especially minorities. With her hard work and dedication she bridges the gap of communication between midwives, clients, and o

In this episode, I interview Carissa Hipsher, a parent who was pressured into a cesarean for breech positioning. Carissa lives with her husband and three month old baby in Columbus, Ohio, and is working on obtaining her PhD in environmental science. She had a surprise breech positioning at the end of her pregnancy, and was pressured into a cesarean very quickly. After that experience, she decided to become more involved in examining the evidence on breech positioning and its different delivery options, as well as advocating for pregnant families’ rights. After compiling the evidence on breech delivery and asking to present it to her hospital management to help future families have more choices in birth, Carissa received little response. Now she is working on getting a modified version of the letter she sent to the hospital published in a national obstetrics journal. She is also focusing on processing her birth, including talking to other women who had unplanned c-sections. Find our more about the Internation

In this episode I interview Krysta Dancy, licensed marriage and family therapist, certified birth doula, and Evidence Based Birth Instructor. Krysta has over 15 years of experience in the field of psychology. In her office in Roseville, CA, she provides compassionate and evidence-based care for a variety of fertility-related mental health issues, with special emphasis on trauma and birth (for both providers and patients). She also serves as Co-Director and Clinical Supervisor at The Place Within, a nonprofit that makes counseling affordable for those who may not otherwise have access.  As a longtime friend to the birth community, Krysta has had the opportunity to intimately experience the birth process and its many complexities. She brings a deeply held optimism to her work and holds space for the contributions of each person in the birth room. Her warmth, passion, expertise, experience and background in professional public speaking combine to make her workshops both informative and meaningful. We discuss t

In this episode, I interview certified birth doula, postpartum doula, parent educator and breastfeeding counselor Nubia Jones. Nubia is a mother of five, and her journey of supporting women and families began 18 years ago during the birth of her first child. She went on to become involved in her local birth community, determined to help many families have positive and peaceful births, especially in hospital settings. Now, she serves a diverse population throughout New York City. As an Evidence Based Birth Instructor, Nubia’s mission is to support families by respecting their personal choices and providing evidence based information. She also serves as a Certified Attachment Parenting International Educator, and a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, so she has much information to offer her clients and members of the community. Among her main areas of focus are guiding families on paths to avoid preventable cesarians, as well as supporting young mothers and mothers of color. Her most recent endeavor

Lisa Marie Sanchez Oxenham has been a birth worker for over 25 years, serving the last 10 as a licensed midwife. She works full time with her husband, Richard, who is currently pursuing his CPM. They specialize in water birth and past trauma, and travel all over Southern California to provide in-home care. Together, they work to include the partner in birth - especially men, who are often mis-portrayed in birth environments in the media. Lisa and Richard support all birthing parties with comprehensive relationship building with a focus on trust. They find that utilizing both men and women in birth seems to really help men - which helps their birthing partners - and dispels the belief that brith belongs only to women. They also believe that water birth is particularly helpful for victims of rape and sexual abuse. Listen in as we discuss Lisa’s journey and mission, as well as the evidence on misoprostol for induction and details about water birth. Contact Lisa Marie on Instagram, Facebook, and at sacredjourneym

This week, I discuss the concept of due dates - as well as the free webinar I am hosting soon, the Evidence on Induction at 39 Weeks! I want to provide an overview on this topic so you can be prepped for the webinar, which will include discussions on the controversial ARRIVE study. Tune in as we discuss what it means to be full term, the accuracy of due dates, and how they are calculated. This is important, because inductions for non-medical reasons have been rising globally in the last 30 years. Studies show that inducing labor because the pregnancy is full term, close to the due date, is the number one reason for induction in the United States. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Read EBB’s Signature Article, The Evidence on Due Dates (link: ebbirth.com/duedates) Register for our webinar, The Ev

In this podcast we discuss inducing labor in someone who is 35 and older. Over time in the United States, for the past four decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people who are giving birth for the first time at age 35 and older. Today, roughly one in ten first time mothers is now considered advanced maternal age.  We will examine the risks and the evidence for induction in this population. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program.