Down to Birth

What if a tongue tie is about much more than breastfeeding? Biological and airway dentist Dr. Hilary Fritch, DMD, joins us to explain how tongue function, jaw development, nasal breathing, and sleep are interconnected, and why problems that begin in infancy can have effects that extend well into adulthood.

We discuss how the tongue helps shape the palate and jaw, why breastfeeding plays such an important role in facial development, what a high or narrow palate can mean for breathing and feeding, and why so many children today have crowded mouths and insufficient room for their wisdom teeth. Hilary explains the relationship between mouth breathing, fragmented sleep, snoring, and symptoms that can look like ADHD, as well as the signs parents can watch for in their own children.

We also get into tongue-tie releases in babies, children, and adults; when a frenulum actually needs to be treated; myofunctional therapy; airway expansion; mouth breathing and mouth taping; the connection between the tongue and fascia throughout the body; and why correcting oral function early can change the way a child's face, jaw, and airway develop.

Plus, we discuss why tongue ties can be both overdiagnosed and undertreated, what parents should look for when evaluating their child's airway, and why an airway dentist may see things that a conventional dental exam does not.

**********

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Welcome to another Breastfeeding Q&A episode. Today, we start with a conversation about breastfeeding advice on social media and ask our community which breastfeeding “rules” they wish they had never heard.

For today's questions, Trisha responds to these listener topics:

•  Getting your period back while breastfeeding and whether you need to wean to conceive 
•  Night nursing at 14 months and how prolactin can affect the return of ovulation 
•  Colic, gas, high-pitched crying, and a baby who suddenly struggles at the breast 
•  What else to consider when a three-month-old is having difficulty nursing 
•  Taking a week-long trip without your 16-month-old and whether time apart could lead to weaning 
•  Maintaining milk supply while traveling and returning to breastfeeding after separation 

For quickies, we tackle waking newborns to feed, infant breast preferences, uneven milk production, when supply regulates, hospital lactation consultants, nipple shields, weaning age, letdown, mastitis and clogged ducts, night sweats, collecting colostrum during pregnancy, and whether a painless, effective latch ever needs fixing.

**********

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

When Victoria learned at 10 weeks that she was carrying MoDi twins, she was immediately placed in high-risk care and told to expect frequent monitoring, an operating-room birth, and potentially a C-section. But as her pregnancy progressed, the fear and anxiety she felt at every appointment led her to reconsider the model of care she had accepted.

Victoria joins us to share how she left her OB and maternal-fetal medicine team midway through pregnancy and found a home birth midwife experienced with twins and vaginal breech birth. She takes us through the pressure she faced when leaving the practice, the surprising moment during labor when she went from one to nine centimeters, and the births of her two healthy boys at home at 38 weeks and one day.

We also discuss preparing nutritionally for a twin pregnancy, the Brewer diet and her focus on protein, navigating fears planted during pregnancy, giving birth to a second baby just minutes after the first, tandem breastfeeding twins while also nursing a toddler, and the role prayer and faith played throughout her pregnancy and birth.

**********

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Welcome to the September Q&A! Today we kick things off with your answers to the question, “What did people say when they found out you were planning a home birth?” From being told you’re putting your baby in danger and that you’ll end up in the ER to family members questioning your midwife, calling you brave, or even threatening to tell your husband not to let you, you had a lot to say.

Then we get into your questions. One mother is seven weeks pregnant after a 12-week miscarriage earlier this year that resulted in significant hemorrhage and an ambulance transfer. Her midwife has recommended a miscarriage prevention protocol that includes baby aspirin, progesterone cream, and supplements. Is there evidence that these interventions prevent miscarriage after a single loss, and are there additional considerations when there’s a history of hemorrhage?

Next, a mother who recently had her first baby at home noticed that her baby’s umbilical cord was quite short, making it difficult to bring her baby fully up to her chest during her water birth. She’s considering a free birth in the future and wants to know whether having a short cord once makes it more likely to happen again, what determines cord length, and whether a short cord poses any particular risks during birth.

Then, a listener asks about a home birth she recently attended where the mother pushed for two to two and a half hours, her contractions eventually stopped, and the baby was not descending. The mother ultimately transferred to the hospital, but could rest have been another option? We discuss what it means when contractions stop during pushing, when a long second stage becomes concerning, and what might help labor get going again.

Quickies this month include suddenly resenting your pets after having a baby, homeschooling, tandem breastfeeding a newborn and three-year-old, normal pumping output, pacifier use while breastfeeding, C-section after a traumatic shoulder dystocia, measuring three days behind on an early ultrasound, trying again after miscarriage, weaning from exclusive pumping, showering and self-care postpartum, postpartum anxiety improving around nine months, postpartum care after stillbirth, sleep versus exercise versus sunlight, postpartum depression and anxiety in fathers, grounding yourself during anxiety, and whether postpartum depression is more likely to recur with subsequent babies.

Call us with your questions, comments or stories at 802-GET-DOWN!

#385 | The Lindsay Clancy Case: Postpartum Psychosis or Psychiatric Drug Reaction? with Dr. Roger McFillin

Postpartum Psychosis: The Signs, Risks, Symptoms and Recovery

Livestream: Should we homeschool? Ask a Mom whose family thrived.

**********

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

When Marine Corps officer Jacob Dubois's wife, Madison, told him she wanted a home birth, he was skeptical. He assumed the hospital was the safest place to have a baby until he began asking questions, researching, and meeting midwives. 

That journey inspired Jacob to write Why Home Birth?, a book written for fathers who want to better understand birth and confidently support the women they love in chooseing birth outside of the medical system.

In this conversation, we discuss why birth experiences shape women long after the baby is born, how our culture has normalized traumatic birth, why fathers often see birth differently than mothers, and how couples can approach birth as a shared experience that strengthens their family for years to come.

If you enjoyed today's episode, you may be interested in these Down to Birth streaming workshops:

Birth Trauma: Recognizing & Overcoming It

Home Birth: Women's Round Table

Jake Dubois on Instagram

**********

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

The tragic case of Lindsay Clancy has ignited a national conversation about postpartum psychosis, maternal mental health, and criminal responsibility. Clinical psychologist Dr. Roger McFillin of The Radically Genuine Podcast believes a critical part of the story has been largely overlooked: the psychiatric care Lindsay received in the months leading up to what happened.

Roger returns to Down to Birth to examine Lindsay’s medical history, severe sleep deprivation, reported reactions to psychiatric drugs, and the extraordinary number of prescriptions she received from multiple providers in a matter of months. We discuss what happens when adverse drug reactions are interpreted as worsening mental illness, why the psychiatric standard of care deserves greater scrutiny, and whether what happened to Lindsay was truly postpartum psychosis at all.

We also confront the difficult question of personal responsibility, and whether the role of psychiatric drugs and medical care can be examined separately from the question of criminal responsibility. Although this is a deeply unsettling topic, we feel families will benefit from the facts of this case, particularly around informed consent, the known side effects of psychiatric drugs, personal accountability, and a medical system Roger believes failed Lindsay Clancy and her family long before she committed this unimaginable tragedy. We hope this conversation offers reassurance to mothers who have been left fearing that postpartum psychosis can simply strike without warning, while encouraging women to trust themselves, ask questions, and understand the risks and benefits of the care they receive. We also hope it helps fathers to better understand what to watch for, what questions to ask, and how to advocate for and protect the women and children they love.

**********
Check out our previous episode with Dr. Roger McFillin here:

Access our workshops on postpartum:

Understanding Postpartum Psychosis

Overcoming Postnatal Depletion

Postpartum Rage: What To Do About It

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Tara was pregnant and stationed with her husband in Sicily, where military rules required her to give birth at the naval hospital on base. What followed was a birth marked by pressure, fear-based counseling, an induction she did not want, repeated talk of a C-section, and a series of interventions that often seemed to create more questions than answers. 

In this episode, Tara shares how late fetal heart rate decelerations led her care team to tell her that refusing induction could result in stillbirth or her child becoming a "vegetable", and how close she came to agreeing to a C-section that, when all was said and done, would have been unnecessary.

We discuss informed consent, fetal monitoring, Pitocin, epidurals, hospital time limits, military maternity care, and just how difficult it can be to hold onto your instincts and decision-making when providers are warning you of the worst possible outcome.

**********

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Birth doula and mother of two Carson Meyer joins us to share the story of her second home birth and the very different emotions that came with approaching birth after such a positive first experience.

Carson talks about the anxiety she carried in the final weeks of pregnancy, the problem with predicting when labor will begin, and her persistent worry that her midwife might not make it to the birth. We also discuss what it means to feel safe enough to be completely uninhibited in labor, why some women are quiet while others are intensely vocal, and the connection between the jaw, throat, pelvic floor, and the sounds women instinctively make in birth.

Carson shares how she prepared her young daughter to be present during labor, what happened when things suddenly began moving much faster than expected, and why her concerns about having her midwife there ultimately proved significant.

This is a conversation about trusting birth without pretending it never requires help and about the difference a calm, skilled provider can make when it does.

Carson Meyer on Instagram

Carson Meyer

Make Your Hospital Birth Feel Like Home

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Welcome to the August Q&A! Today we kick things off with your answers to the question, “What’s one thing that happened during your birth that no one prepared you for?” From 53-hour labors and projectile vomiting to postpartum shakes, swollen labia, running out of hot water during a home birth, and yes, pooping in labor, you had a lot to say.

Then we get into your questions. One mother experienced nearly identical prodromal labors with both of her babies, never dilating beyond five centimeters before ultimately having two C-sections. She wants to know why prodromal labor happens, whether fetal positioning or her anatomy could have played a role, and whether things might have gone differently with more time or rest.

Next, a mother who breastfed her first baby for 16 months is six months into breastfeeding her second, who has multiple food intolerances. Her increasingly restricted diet is affecting her milk supply and her mental health, and she’s considering formula. But how do you make a decision that feels completely at odds with the kind of mother you thought you would be?

Then, one mom asked about her a two-vessel umbilical cord and has been advised to have additional growth scans in the third trimester. With an otherwise normal anatomy scan, how concerning is a single umbilical artery, what are the actual risks, and what information would another ultrasound provide?

Quickies this month include intrusive thoughts after weaning, IVF placentas, having young children present at a home birth, postpartum freezer meals, when an epidural can be useful, lunch meat during pregnancy, establishing breastfeeding at six weeks postpartum, free help for newborn latch problems, white coat syndrome, hemorrhoids after birth, morning sickness, vaginal tear repair, babies staying latched through naps, our favorite cookies, how we bring play into our lives, and whether faith or spirituality plays a role in ours.

Call us with your questions, comments or stories at 802-GET-DOWN!

Be sure to watch our workshops on the following topics we discussed during this episode:

Avoiding Perineal Tearing

Ultrasound in Pregnancy: The Research & the Rhetoric

**********

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Clothing is one of the most overlooked sources of chemical exposure in modern life, and it sits on our skin all day, every day, literally from birth until death.

In this episode, we’re talking with Hannah Dunning, The Clean Clothing Chick, about what no one is regulating, no one is disclosing, and very few are questioning: the chemicals in our clothes and textiles. Many of these chemicals are believed to act like estrogen in the body, binding to receptors and interfering with normal signaling. And no, your skin isn’t the impenetrable barrier you may think it is. We also discuss why washing clothes may reduce exposure to some chemicals while potentially increasing exposure to others, as they get broken down.

We wanted to have this conversation both to learn and to raise awareness. The cumulative chemical exposure we face today is unlike anything previous generations experienced, and clothing may be a larger contributor than most people realize. Most of us care about keeping chemicals out of our food; it’s time to have a conversation about our clothes.

In this episode, you'll learn about certifications that may help consumers make more informed choices, including the difference between labels like “made with organic cotton” and more rigorous textile standards, as well as practical steps you can take to reduce exposure for yourself and your family.

The Clean Clothing Chick

Hannah's petition

Hannah on Instagram

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric

Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow

Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.