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In this week’s episode of The Birth Lounge Podcast, we’re tackling one of the biggest elephants in the birthing room: sky-high C-section rates in the U.S. (yep, we’re talking about that 1 in 3 number).

But here’s the good news: you don’t have to just accept that as the norm. I’m sitting down with Juli Pyle, a certified nurse midwife who has helped her small, rural hospital keep their C-section rate at just 12% (I know, jaw drop, right?).

Together, we’re pulling back the curtain on what’s really working—things like midwives and OBs actually collaborating as a team, evidence-based care that puts families first, and a hospital culture that truly values physiological birth.

If you’ve ever wondered what it really takes to lower C-section rates and protect birthing families, this episode is going to light a fire in you.

00:00 Introduction to the Birth Lounge Podcast

01:16 The Nation's C-Section Rate and WHO Recommendations

01:55 Introducing Juli Pyle: A Nurse Midwife with a 12% C-Section Rate

03:26 Achieving Low C-Section Rates: Insights from Juli Pyle

06:18 Challenges and Solutions in Maternity Care

07:29 Encouragement for Large Hospital Systems

09:16 Interview with Juli Pyle Begins

10:41 The Project and Results: Integrating Midwifery into Hospital Practice

12:43 Midwifery Care and Trust Between Providers

19:04 Co-Managing High-Risk Pregnancies

25:56 Ego and Team Dynamics in Maternity Care

29:01 The Importance of Midwifery in Large Hospitals

31:58 Ad for Cozy Earth: Comfort During Pregnancy

34:03 Licensure Structure for Midwives in Pennsylvania

34:56 The Role and Training of Certified Nurse Midwives

35:25 Legislation and Independent Practice for Midwives

38:02 Challenges in Mississippi's Healthcare System

43:13 Midwifery Care Across Different Regions

45:40 Managing Labor and Reducing C-Section Rates

57:49 The Importance of Evidence-Based Practice

01:04:23 Encouragement for Healthcare Advocates

01:06:58 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Guest Bio:

Juli Pyle (she/her) is a certified nurse midwife who practices at a community hospital in rural Pennsylvania. Juli was a stay at mom for many years to five children before deciding to return to school to pursue a degree in nursing. She graduated from Colorado Mesa University with a bachelors of science in nursing degree in 2016 and then began her nursing career as a labor and delivery nurse. She quickly discovered that this was her true passion (as she had suspected since birthing her own children) and rapidly gained a reputation for professionalism, compassion and expertise among colleagues and patients. She then returned to Frontier Nursing University to complete a Master’s degree in Nursing with an emphasis in midwifery. In 2020, she began her career as a certified nurse-midwife at a small community hospital in central Pennsylvania where she has been since that time. Her focus as a CNM is to provide evidence-based education to all birthing families, give true autonomy and informed consent throughout their time with her and to share love, understanding, empathy and true shared-decision making. Juli also currently serves on the Pennsylvania MMRC (maternal mortality review committee). When not immersed in the birthing world, she enjoys spending time refinishing furniture, gardening, raising chickens, hiking and vacationing with her husband and family.

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Keywords: c section rates, lowering c section rates, midwifery care, nurse midwife, birth outcomes, evidence based birth, collaborative maternity care, informed consent in birth, physiological birth, reducing c sections, birth lounge podcast, maternity care reform, midwives and obstetricians, rural hospital birth, empowering birth choices