Birth Re-Imagined

On this episode, Elle is joined by Jana Smolenski, a birth photographer and doula to talk all about birth photography. They talk about what birth photography is (and what it isn’t), the benefits of having photos taken during labor, the different styles of birth photography, and how to balance being a doula and birth photographer simultaneously (doulatog).

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/04/02/24-the-importance-of-birth-photography-with-jana-smolenski/

On this episode, Elle is joined by Jan Shane Kowalski, who shares about his perspective on the births of his two sons with Coco Cabrel (who joined us on our last episode!). Coco and Jan had two waterbirths, one of which was a sunny-side-up baby, and ended with Coco tandem nursing her new baby and two-year-old together in the birthing pool.

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/03/19/23-jans-birth-story-a-partners-story-of-two-waterbirths-one-sunny-side-up/

On this episode, Elle and Taylor are joined by Dr. Coco Cabrel, a Flamenco choreographer and professor, with an MD from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine to talk about the births of her children, and how flamenco dance affected her during pregnancy and postpartum. She shares the tools she learned through flamenco that assisted her during the births of her 3rd and 4th children, and how each of her births differed from each other. She talks about empowerment, the power of rhythm during labor, how to dig deep emotionally and physically, and how giving birth makes you into a god/goddess!

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/03/12/22-flamenco-dancing-during-pregnancy-and-cocos-birth-story-with-dr-coco-cabrel/

On this episode, Elle and Taylor are joined by Sarah Clark, a life, health, and fertility coach that specializes in helping people get pregnant through functional lab testing and support in diet and lifestyle changes. She shares her own journey through premature ovarian failure, IVF, and how she came to realize that her diet and lifestyle were the root cause of her fertility issues and how she now helps couples to get pregnant naturally.

Sarah talks about all of the testing, dietary, and lifestyle changes she helps her couples go through on their journey to natural pregnancy (and how these can support the couple, even if they ultimately end up using IVF or a surrogate). They discuss everything from the decline in nutritional density of food over the last 50 years to the decline in sperm counts, what supplements most people should be on when trying to conceive, and even how spirituality and religion can help people get pregnant.

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/03/05/21-functional-medicine-for-infertility-with-sarah-clark/

On this episode, Taylor’s mom, Velane Spotville, joins Elle and Taylor to share the story of Taylor entering the world! Velane shares her journey through ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, and Taylor’s birth (with episiotomy). They talk about bedside manner, the importance of individualized care, how things have changed from the 80s to now, pregnancy guilt and expectations, and postpartum depression.

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/02/26/20-velanes-birth-story-ectopic-pregnancy-miscarriage-and-episiotomy/

On today’s episode, Elle and Taylor sit down with Caitlin Francis, a speech language pathologist to talk about speech, language, and communication development in babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, what you should be looking out for, when to think about intervention, and how to get assistance.

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/02/19/19-speech-language-pathology-with-caitlin-francis/

On this episode, Elle sits down with Dr. Jay Warren, a prenatal and pediatric chiropractor in San Diego. He is the host of two popular podcasts, “Healthy Births, Happy Babies,” and “The Dadhood Journey.” He is also an ICPA instructor, and has created online courses to help pregnant women learn prenatal bonding techniques, as well as a New Dads Class that helps men with the transition to fatherhood. Jay comes on the show to talk about how (specifically) men experience their partner going through labor and birth, the male archetypes of Protector and Provider and how these can be translated into the birthing room in a productive manner, and what postpartum depression looks like in men and how to find and look for help and support in your community and friend groups.

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/02/12/18-a-dads-perspective-with-dr-jay-warren/

On this episode, Elle and Taylor sit down with Yaya Atabey Samudra, an Afro-Indigenous Queer + Trans Herbalist, Activist, Full-Spectrum Birthworker, Artist and Initiated Womb Healer based in Los Angeles, CA. They discuss the sacredness of birth, how to initiate ceremony and celebration back into the birth space, the four feminine archetypes period-having people go through, and how to move through our lives following our energy levels during the different phases of our moon cycles to tap into the Divine within us.

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/02/05/17-celebration-of-birth-with-yaya-atabey-samudra/

On this episode, Elle and Taylor sit down with Kate Bean, a mother of 3 lively boys, and former and future foster mom. Kate shares her emotional journey with suspected PCOS, multiple miscarriages, the birth of two biological children, foster care, and adoption.

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/01/29/16-kates-birth-story-miscarriage-infertility-natural-childbirth-foster-care-and-adoption/

On this episode, Elle and Taylor sit down with Dr. Devin Geser, a board certified and licensed acupuncture pediatrician practicing in Los Angeles, California. She specializes in pediatric integrative functional medicine. Devin also teaches yoga and meditation along with volunteering for Acupuncturists Without Borders providing free interventional community crisis care. They discuss acupuncture and how it can help with a myriad of different pregnancy-related symptoms (like morning sickness, breech babies, aches and pains, labor induction, etc) as well as the spiritual nature of pregnancy. They talk about ancestry and how genetics are linked across time and how those links affect our health and the health of our children.

For full shownotes and resources for this episode, please visit: https://ellekennedyphotography.com/2021/01/22/15-acupuncture-during-pregnancy-with-dr-devin-geser/