Down to Birth

Hermine Hayes-Klein is a fearless legal advocate for sexual and reproductive rights with a particular passion for defending women’s human rights in childbirth, which, she says, are routinely violated in maternity care systems.

You may recall attorney Hermine Hayes-Klein from our previous episodes with her:

Episode #138 | Legal Case Study #1: Traumatized at a Major Teaching Hospital While Interns Watched and Learned
Episode #153 | Legal Case Study #2: Injured by Obstetrics with Nowhere Else to Turn 

In today's episode, we talk to Hermine about provider bias; in particular, the bias hospital-based providers can demonstrate toward (especially home-birth) midwives. However, limiting birth options for mothers does not decrease risk of poor outcomes but rather puts mothers and babies at increased risk. When women choose an alternative birth experience, such as out-of-hospital birth or home birth, the medical bias held by hospital-based providers often results in sub-par or even negligent care of the birthing woman, increasing both her risk and her baby's risk. Hermine Hayes-Klien talks to us today about how United States law fails to protect birth choices and instead excuses obstetricians for biased and negligent care of  women who transfer from home to hospital. 

What if instead, we had a system allowing for collaborative care with continuity of providers...So how do we get over the paradigm clash and create an integrated system to better protect women who choose out of hospital birth? 

This show is sponsored by:
Silverette USA*
DYPER*
Beautiful Births and Beyond*
Postpartum Soothe*
Baby Notebook - Get the App Here
*Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTH
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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
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There are over 85,000 chemicals approved for use in personal care products and fewer than 200 of those have been tested for safety. Carly Hartwig is a home-birth mother of one,  Instagram influencer @cleanlivingwithcarly, and soon-to-be certified endocrine wellness and fertility counselor. Her passion for clean living grew out of her own hormonal havoc when she was told in her twenties she had the hormonal landscape of a post-menopausal woman. She soon realized the products she was using daily in her skincare, make-up and household routines were compromising her health and hormones. After eliminating the most common culprits of toxic living such as heavy metals, Pthalates, and Bisphenols, her health was beautifully restored. Today, she is here to educate us on the lack of FDA-regulation when it comes to the personal-care and household-product industries in the Unites States. She also shares some of the primary sources of endocrine disruptors, teaches how to swap the toxic for clean-and-green products, and explains why this is critical for all mothers who are pregnant or trying to conceive. This episode will have you going "Marie Kondo" on everything in your bathroom, pantry, laundry room, and cleaning products, so get ready for clean living with Carly!

This show is sponsored by:
Silverette USA*
DYPER*
Beautiful Births and Beyond*
Postpartum Soothe*
Baby Notebook - Get the App Here
*Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTH
**********

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.

Hello! It is the last Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means.  We are here with our August Q&A episode. Today, Cynthia & Trisha are discussing weight loss after having a baby--can you lose too much too fast? What tests should be done if you've had multiple miscarriages?  Can you give us the scoop on Evening Primrose oil for getting labor started--is it helpful or hurtful? How do I handle my mother-in-law who keeps giving me keepsakes for the baby that I don't want? Is there a way to safely bed-share with your baby without investing in extra contraptions? What is the best way to create a stash of breastmilk without causing oversupply? And one of everybody's favorite topics: pushing in labor--when should you and when should you not?

Remember you can access the extended, ad-free version of this episode by subscribing on Apple. This month's extended version is jam-packed and includes the following:

Trisha gives one woman the lowdown on all the types of "pain relief" options in labor. Another moms is experiencing some unusual physical symptoms at six-months postpartum and wonders if it means her period is returning. We discuss "failure to descend" versus failure to progress because one listener had a c-section and had never heard of that diagnosis before. We discuss a pregnant woman's high blood pressure questions as she's preparing for her home birth, and Trisha responds to a question about newborn feeding schedules as far as whether there's a time and place for using an alarm. We also discuss short cords, and resources for evidence-based info on induction versus waiting. 

If you don't listen on an Apple device and would like access to our exclusive and extended episodes, email us at [email protected] and put "Extended Episodes" in the subject line.

Thank you as always for your great questions and see you next week! If you would like to submit a question, please call and leave us a message with your question at (802) 438-3696 That's 802-GET-DOWN

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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.

Dr. Aumatma is a holistic fertility expert who, through her own hormonal challenges, became impassioned about supporting and optimizing women's cycles and fertility irrespective of age. Today, she shares with us the three most common myths in infertility and fertility management, explains what tests we must do to better understand our hormones, and walks us through the key lifestyle factors, sleep, stress, and diet, and how they impact our fertility and conception. 

This show is sponsored by:
Silverette USA*
DYPER*
Beautiful Births and Beyond*
Postpartum Soothe*
Baby Notebook - Get the App Here
*Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTH
**********

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.

Matthew Fray's new book "This Is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships" is directed primarily toward a male audience, and asserts most marriages end with a whimper, not a bang. Matthew helps us understand how good people like him "can be terrible husbands" by unknowingly causing harm to their wives. Did you know most divorces are initiated by women? Matthew explains relationships don't tend to end from a single betrayal, but after years of a slow but persistent erosion in trust over seemingly minor marital disputes. Having first-hand experience with a wife who left him when their son was a toddler, Matthew turned to blogging as his outlet for expressing his extreme pain and frustration, initially victimizing himself as a good guy who didn't deserve to lose his family just because he's not perfect. But after hearing from thousands of men and women - particularly after his viral article "She divorced me because I left dishes by the sink" - Matthew experienced a transformation by taking full responsibility for hurting his wife time and time again, having seldom taken seriously her complaints along the way. Matthew says part of the problem is that no one ever taught him how to be a better husband, and he doesn't hold that opinion as an excuse, but as a conviction that men can learn to do better and not end up with wives who'll leave them, as his did. Matthew has been coaching couples for several years before writing his book.

Postpartum is an extremely vulnerable time for mothers and a delicate time for relationships. We hope this episode will shed light on how husbands can best support their wives and avoid the pitfalls of resentment and relationship breakdown over time.  We read Matthew's book and invited him on the show because we believe he understands how to bridge the gap between well-meaning husbands and the wives they unwittingly end up hurting or disappointing.

Matthew - and we - recognize the obvious fact that these conversations don't apply to all men, nor do all relationships follow the heterosexual normative. Nevertheless, we believe this discussion, through all its generalizations, are eye-opening and beneficial for either partner in any relationship.

Send this one to your partner or a friend. We believe they'll thank you for it.

Matthew is the author of "This is How Your Marriage Ends: A Hopeful Approach to Saving Relationships."

Matthew Fray

This show is sponsored by:
Silverette USA*
DYPER*
NOM Maternity*
Vyana Infant Massage*
Wildbird.co*
Beautiful Births and Beyond*
Postpartum Soothe*
*Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTH
**********

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.

Anne Margolis is a Certified Nurse Midwife, author, and trauma specialist who has been catching babies for over twenty-seven years. Anne began as a nurse, whose first birth experience ended in a fourth degree episiotomy and vacuum delivery after being told she needed an emergency cesarean because her baby's heart rate was decelerating.  She was so "checked out" due to stress and shock that Anne describes her first birth as an out-of-body experience. Her baby was born with normal APGARs, which immediately refuted her doctor's fetal distress diagnosis, and she was left completely traumatized in the aftermath. This led her to develop a program for birth trauma healing and turn to home birth midwifery practice, where she could put the mother at the center of the decision-making process. She joins us today to share stories of obstetric violence and redemptive births alike, and to discuss how women can shift their mindsets and make the commitment to birth their babies on their terms, no matter where they choose to give birth.

Instagram: Homesweethomebirth

Natural Birth Secrets: An Insiders Guide on How To Give Birth Holistically, Healthfully and Safely, and Love the Experience!

Trauma Release Formula: The Revolutionary Step by Step Program for Eliminating Effects of Childhood Abuse, Trauma, Emotional Pain and Crippling Inner Stress, ... without Drugs or Therapy 

This show is sponsored by:
Silverette USA*
DYPER*
NOM Maternity*
Vyana Infant Massage*
Wildbird.co*
Beautiful Births and Beyond*
Postpartum Soothe*
*Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTH
**********

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.

Sex and birth are inextricably linked. Both functions operate optimally under the same conditions: trust, safety, security, surrender. Furthermore, they both require oxytocin. So it is no wonder that birth can actually be the biggest oxytocin rush and/or orgasm of your life. But the importance of healthy sexual energy goes far beyond birth. It is also the key to our best relationship and our best life. Kim Anami is a holistic sex and relationship coach whose thirty years' experience has been dedicated toward working with couples to show them how to harness their sexual energy as the ultimate power source of their lives. As Kim states, "When we are disconnected from our sexual energy, we are operating at a deficiency.  Conversely, when we are connected to our sexual energy we are operating on all cylinders. It is our life force." 

So why do so many of us struggle with sexual desire, especially post-baby? How many of us are going through the motions of sex as opposed to building intimacy and fueling our maximum sexual life force? And how can we keep this sexual power alive as we go through postpartum, early parenthood and old age? Kim is emphatic that everyone can - and should - be experiencing earth-shattering, life-altering orgasms as an integral component of a whole, healthy lifestyle. Tune in today - for sure at a lower volume if the kids are around - to hear Kim's roadmap to keeping your sex life and relationship thriving...and if you ever wondered what "birth rape" means or what a cervical orgasm feels like, now is your chance to learn.

This show is sponsored by:
Silverette USA*
DYPER*
NOM Maternity*
Vyana Infant Massage*
Wildbird.co*
Beautiful Births and Beyond*
Postpartum Soothe*
*Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTH
**********

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.

It's the last Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means!  We are back with our monthly Q&A episode. Today, we are discussing how long it is safe to go after your bag of waters releases (see link to our amazing birth story below); What can be done to treat or prevent Hyperemesis Gravidarum? Is Aspirin in pregnancy really necessary and what does ACOG have to say about it? When your hospital says waterbirth increases the risk of infection and is harmful to the baby--is that true? The world-expert in water birthing, Barbara Harper, founder of Waterbirth International, steps in to answer this one. And one woman was told her uterus wouldn't be "safe" to have another baby for one year. Also, is it normal to have nipple pain in pregnancy and how will this impact breastfeeding...and quickies!

Remember you can access the extended, ad-free version of this episode by subscribing on Apple. This month's extended version includes:

Severe carpel tunnel in pregnancy and what can be done about it; Fetal scalp electrode monitoring: what is it, and do the benefits ever outweigh the risks? You'll hear our thoughts on this "extreme" intervention; Having a two-vessel umbilical cord that was identified during the 20-week anatomy scan; What's the lowdown on red raspberry leaf tea? What are the benefits, and when/how much to consume during pregnancy.

Thank you as always for your excellent questions and see you next week! If you would like to submit a question, please call and leave us a message with your question at (802) 438-3696 That's 802-GET-DOWN. (Cute, right?)

#78 | Christina's Run From Induction to a Home Birth with Group B Strep

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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.

Nicole Alfred the @csectionrecoverycoach is a cesarean recovery coach, massage therapist, and mother of two. She has given birth two times by C-section: one emergent and traumatic, the other empowered and planned. Her different experiences opened her eyes to the abject lack of support mothers receive post-operatively. Nicole sees a need for much more emotional and physical attention. In today's episode, she shares with us the key steps she believes mothers must take, beginning immediately after surgery and through the first 12 weeks postpartum for optimizing  recovery. These steps include restoring healthy digestive function, wound & scar healing, pelvic floor recovery, and connecting with the incision scar to facilitate emotional processing and healing.

This show is sponsored by:
Silverette USA*
DYPER*
NOM Maternity*
Vyana Infant Massage*
Wildbird.co*
Beautiful Births and Beyond*
Postpartum Soothe*
*Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTH
**********

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.

Should we really be treating fevers in young children? Why are babies so gassy? Are germs helpful or harmful for our kids?  Do kids actually need cows' milk?  What is the problem with dairy?  Dr. Joel Gator Warsh , an integrative pediatrician in Los Angeles, CA, joins us today to discuss what is happening in our environment that is contributing to making kids sicker in the past generation rather than healthier, despite all the resources of modern society.  He answers our most pressing questions as new parents, gives us tips on how to make our households healthier and teaches us the most important step we can take to protect our children's health for the long term.

Integrative Pediatrics and Medicine

* * * * * * * * * *
Connect with us on Instagram @DownToBirthShow, where we post new information daily related to pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. You can reach us at [email protected]. We are always happy to hear from our listeners and appreciate questions for our monthly Q&A episodes. To submit a question, visit the Down To Birth website or send us a voice memo through Instagram messenger.

This show is sponsored by:
Silverette USA*
DYPER*
NOM Maternity*
Vyana Infant Massage*
Wildbird.co*
Beautiful Births and Beyond*
Postpartum Soothe*
*Use promo code DOWNTOBIRTH
**********

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.