Birthful

Doula and perinatal dance instructor Kemeera Nimahat has given birth four times and is the self-proclaimed queen of ignoring early labor. She shares with Adriana how tuning into her intuition has been pivotal in deciding where and with whom to give birth (she switched from homebirth to hospital for her first) and the deep work she did in preparation for her most recent birth, which was surprisingly fast, and pain-free. 

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Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our episode on Is Homebirth for You? and our interview on Big Babies and Shoulder Dystocia. 

You can connect with Kemeera on Instagram @MammaJammaDance. You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

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Danielle Fetty-Lovell has been through a lot in her births! But probably the most unexpected moment was when her first daughter had the hiccups while she was crowning for a really long time (making it both comical and excruciating). She shares with Adriana how being deeply focused on her labor meant that she didn’t care they got her dilation wrong (going from 8 cms back to 4!) and how trying to make sure her 34.5-week preemie gained weight, along with a stressful job and a neverending pumping regime contributed to her postpartum depression and mood disorders (PMADs).

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• NEEDED - Get 20% off at ThisIsNeeded.com with code BIRTHFUL

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on Can Exercise During Pregnancy Make Labor Harder? and our breastfeeding episode on Figuring Out How To Suck, Swallow, And Breathe.

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Toni Shama’s first birth asked for movement, and her third birth asked for much vocalization. Her second birth, however, asked for tons of intimacy with her husband. She shares with Adriana how when they fueled that passion, labor became so fast they barely had a chance to call their midwife before their baby was born. And how if any of them had known the baby was breech, it would have been a very different –and much less blissful– birth. 

Sponsor offers - TIME SENSITIVE! 

• NEEDED - Get 20% off at ThisIsNeeded.com with code BIRTHFUL

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on Why An OB/GYN Chose To Have A Midwife and our episode on How To Bring More Pleasure And Joy Into Your Birth (And Why It Makes A Difference!)

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Emily Salahuddin set out to have an unmedicated birth at a birth center, but trying to remain within the risk boundaries of that facility turned into an all-consuming mind game, bringing with it an onslaught of non-medical interventions. Ironically, it was after being transferred to the hospital that she was able to have a more hands-off experience… until the baby was born. She shares with Adriana how it was then that she and her husband had to lean into their advocacy skills to minimize unnecessary interventions for both her and her baby.

Sponsor offers - TIME SENSITIVE! 

• NEEDED - Get 20% off at ThisIsNeeded.com with code BIRTHFUL

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on The Problem with Due Dates and our episode on Evidence-Based Care, Castor Oil and More.

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Given that Pitocin contractions can be so intense, most people who have inductions also tend to have epidurals – but not Meredith Finch! Listen as she shares with Adriana how her preparation, flexibility, the crucial support from her husband and her doula, and a profound emotional release with her careprovider helped her through her two inductions, ultimately letting her experience the fetal ejection reflex.

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on The Induction Process and our episode on Rethinking the Pushing Stage. 

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

What’s more stressful: a panic attack right before a surgical birth that takes your breath away and leaves you with memory gaps, or your baby’s shoulders getting stuck on the pubic bone after the head is out and needing a manual placental extraction? 

For today’s birth story, doula, lactation specialist, and childbirth educator Morgan Moy shares with Adriana how she prepared (or didn’t) for her first birth that left her with significant trauma, and how being very intentional in her preparation to have a VBAC made for a healing and redemptive experience, despite having unusual immediate postpartum complications. 

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on VBAC Facts and our episode on Immediate Postpartum Hemorrhages.

You can connect with Morgan on Instagram @thedouladuoroc. You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Figuring out a newborn’s needs can be tricky, and sometimes a baby will cry no matter what you do. Wouldn’t it be great to have a tool to help you automatically soothe your child? One that also reduces your stress? Join Adriana in this In Memoriam episode, as she revisits her conversation with the renowned Penny Simkin to discuss the profound impact of singing to your baby in utero. Discover this invaluable life-long bonding tool that’s fully portable and affordable!

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on the Effects of Stress During Pregnancy and our episode on Healing Your Birth Story and Birth Trauma. 

You can learn more about Penny at PennySimkin.com. You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

A former labor and delivery nurse and childbirth educator, Vanessa Janek thought she knew what to expect from birth. Going into it, she was a bit leery of transition… but nothing could really prepare her for the exhaustion, fear, and overwhelm she felt when contractions went away, just after she got to 10 cms. She shares with Adriana how she was able to get past those feelings to push her baby out just in the nick of time, despite being taken to her edge. 

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on Rethinking the Pushing Stage and our episode on The Power in Writing Your Story.

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Even though you may not have met them before, labor and delivery nurses are an essential part of your hospital birth team. In this episode, Registered L&D Nurse Mandy Irby talks with Adriana about why nurses may love and hate birth plans, how to navigate triage, the difference between hospital rules and body rules, why IV sticks can be so tricky, the poorly named “fundal massage,” how to foster a connection with your nurses, and oh, so much more!

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on  Cesarean Risk: What’s Your Place of Birth Got to Do With It? and our episode on Informed Consent.

You can connect with Mandy on Instagram @thebirthnurse. You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Mandy Alexander got pregnant at 40, having had bariatric surgery 7 years before that. During what she describes as her ‘bariatric-geriatric’ pregnancy, she worked through her fear of childbirth and ended up with the unmedicated and collaborative birth experience she was looking for. However, breastfeeding was a whole other beast. Mandy was prepared for many difficulties, but not that her body might just not make milk. 

Get the most out of this episode by checking out the resources, transcript, and links listed on its show notes page.  

If you liked this episode, listen to our interview on Gestational Diabetes and our episode on Shaking and the Primal Nature of Birth.

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast on Instagram or email us at [email protected]. 

If you enjoy what you hear, download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! You can also sign up for Adriana’s Own Your Birth online BIRTH preparation classes and her Thrive with Your Newborn online POSTPARTUM preparation course at BirthfulCourses.com.

Follow us on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and anywhere you listen to podcasts.