Birthful

Welcome to the Best of Birthful. Creator and host Adriana Lozada curated and edited each selection in this playlist of the show’s most popular episodes. It's a tailored introduction to the expansive catalog she amassed over the first five years of Birthful's 300+ shows (which is now in its 9th year!).

Midwife Gail Tully, founder of the Spinning Babies approach, explains how a baby’s position can dictate the flow and ease of a birth. Learn how to prepare your body for labor with personalized exercises and belly-mapping techniques.

Here's the original episode in full.

For more Birthful, visit our website. For new episodes each week, follow to Birthful. You can connect with us on Instagram @birthfulpodcast and email us at [email protected].

Download Birthful's Postpartum Plan FREE when you sign up for our weekly newsletter! Don't miss even more tips, insights, and news from Adriana and her guests! 

Erin Patterson’s birth was in many ways, the reverse of what she expected: It started strong from the get-go when she was expecting it to be slow and sporadic, she loved the car ride even though she had been dreading it, and when it came to pushing, she never imagined she’d be on her back. She shares with Adriana how the most unexpected thing was ending up with pelvic floor muscular trauma that made for a slow and difficult recovery requiring months of PT work, and how laid-back breastfeeding saved her nights. 

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 "Laid-back" Breastfeeding and our short episode on Real Talk About Vaginal Tears and Episiotomies

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.

It’s estimated that 1 in 5 pregnant people will experience urinary incontinence during their first year postpartum! Exercise physiologist and perinatal educator Lindsay McCoy talks with Adriana about how noticing your habitual body movements and establishing easy, daily-life habits to increase your body’s responsiveness can lead to a healthier and happier pelvic floor. They also highlight the mind-blowing connection between your pelvic soft tissues and your nervous system. 

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 Baby’s Position and Labor Flow and our episode on How Your Nervous System Impacts Your Pregnancy and Birth. You can also listen to the episode I did with Lindsay for her Pros Talk Pregnancy podcast about Demystifying the World of Physiological Pregnancy and Birth

You can connect with Lindsay on Instagram @bodyreadymethod. 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.

Adriana Aleman Crane’s first birth involved several days of prodromal labor— and if you don’t know what that is, you really want to listen to this episode! But her second birth? Her husband almost missed it! She shares with Adriana Lozada that sleep is glorious, acupuncture is worth it, and how releasing control (and her bag of waters!) gets her labors to flow. 

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 Rethinking the Pushing Stage and our episode on Why the Golden Hour Matters for Your Baby. 

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast and 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.

Acupuncture can help alleviate nausea, constipation, and back pain. It can encourage breech babies to flip and labor to start. But how does it work, and what does it feel like? 

Acupuncturist, massage therapist, and birth doula Dr. Patrick Boswell talks with Adriana about how acupuncture gets to the root of the issue, with the happy result of improving more than the symptoms you came in for!

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 The Induction Process and our short episode on Ways to Deal With Morning Sickness— Whether It’s Mild or Debilitating.

Learn more about Dr. Patrick Boswell at ANewLifeAcupuncture.com. You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast and 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.

After giving birth twice before, Victoria Wilson thought she had “life with a newborn” pretty much figured out. But when her third daughter was born fussy, frustrated, and just wouldn’t settle, Victoria was thrown for a loop. Was this just who her baby was? Or was something wrong?

Victoria shares with Adriana how making her own wellness a priority during pregnancy allowed her the strength to navigate and surrender to this extremely difficult experience from a place where she was well-resourced. 

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 the Effects of Stress During Pregnancy, and if you want to hear Victoria’s first two birth stories, listen to our episode titled Support Beats Stubbornness.

You can connect with Victoria on Instagram @motherwelldoula. You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast and 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.

It’s estimated that about 80% of pregnant people experience insomnia by their third trimester, and newer research is showing how melatonin and circadian rhythms may impact fertility, implantation, miscarriage, risk of preeclampsia and postpartum depression. 

Mar De Carlo shares with Adriana how small and mindful changes to your sleep habits can help you tap into more rest and improve your family’s sleep— before and after the baby arrives. 

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 the Effects of sleep deprivation and our other episode with Mar De Carlo on Taking Care of You.

You can connect with Mar on Instagram @mar_decarlo. You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast and 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.

After a difficult first labor with interventions she was unsure about, Alyssa Jennings was determined that her next birth would be on her terms. Little did she know that she’d be having to contain the fetal ejection reflex until her doctor arrived! Alyssa shares with Adriana the magic words her husband used to help her wait (no, they didn’t have anything to do with the doctor), along with a great solution to when you don’t want to labor in the hospital but you want to be close by (even though you live half an hour away). 

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 short episode titled Straight Talk About the Effects of Electronic Fetal Monitoring on You and Your Baby and our episode on Connecting With Your Baby in Utero. 

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast and 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.

You’ve probably been told to do prenatal yoga, but is it really for you? Trauma-informed yoga teacher Abigail Lauren Geller says not if it’s another overwhelming thing on your to-do list! 

But if you are curious about the benefits of prenatal yoga for your body, your mind, your pregnancy, and your labor, and want to create a space of self-reflection to better connect with your body and protect your energy, then prenatal yoga may be just what you need. 

Abigail also shares with Adriana how lying on your back while pregnant may not be as problematic as we’ve been led to believe. 

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 Diastasis and Tummy Fitness and our legacy episode titled Why Do Prenatal Yoga?

You can connect with Abigail on Instagram @1unusualpearl. You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast and 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.

Anya Cutler had originally planned to give birth at a birth center with midwives, then at nearly 37 weeks (and after trying practically everything possible to encourage her baby to flip) she ended up transferring care to an OB/GYN experienced in vaginal breech delivery. Anya shares with Adriana how even though this challenged her need for control, having an OB who was comfortable with breech and confident in her ability to give birth made all the difference.

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 Getting a Good Latch and our episode on Family-Centered Cesareans. 

You can connect with Birthful @BirthfulPodcast and 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.