She’s flat on her back, on a gurney racing down the hospital hallway while screaming for an epidural. Or, she’s lying in a hospital bed with an IV drip of fluids and Pitocin while waiting for labor to start. That’s how women giving birth are often shown on TV. That’s not the reality of normal birth—but it is how it happens in far too many U.S. hospitals. Interventions such as induction, anesthesia, medications, IV fluids, electronic fetal monitoring, and cesarean birth have become a normal part of the landscape of labor for many women, even as research begins to show that they may be detrimental for breastfeeding. Tune in as Marie talks with birth doula and Lamaze educator Barbara Hotelling about the myths and realities of birth practices and potential effects on breastfeeding. Learn what steps may help you get off to the best breastfeeding start, and what you need to know about your newborn to meet your breastfeeding goals. Questions? E-mail [email protected]