Evidence Based Birth®

In this episode I am joined by Erin Wilson, MPH, a research editor at Evidence Based Birth, to discuss the latest research on Big Babies. In this episode, we cover:

What is considered a "big" baby?

• Can we accurately predict if a baby will be born big?
• Does it really matter if a baby is born big? What are the risks?
• Could suspecting that you're pregnant with a big baby be more harmful than helpful?
• Is early induction beneficial for big babies?

RESOURCES:

You can access all of the references for this podcast, as well as a full-length Signature Article and one-page handout on Big Babies by visiting ebbirth.com/bigbaby. Don't forget that we also have several resources for people who are pregnant with gestational diabetes: Diagnosing Gestational Diabetes: ebbirth.com/diagnosinggdm Inducing Labor for Gestational Diabetes: ebbirth.com/inducinggdm For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with Janiya Mitnaul Williams, IBCLC, about becoming a lactation consultant and the importance of Black Breastfeeding Week.

Janiya Mitnaul Williams is an international board certified lactation consultant, a registered lactation consultant, and a certified lactation counselor who has been supporting nursing families since 2007. She holds degrees from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Union Institute & University in Speech, Language Pathology in Audiology, and Health and Wellness with a concentration in Human Lactation.

Janiya is the program director of the Pathway 2 Human Lactation Training Program at North Carolina A&T State University. She also works for the Women's and Children's Center at Cone Health as a perinatal educator researcher, community liaison, and doula services coordinator. In 2015, Janiya created Mahogany Milk Support Group in order to promote, encourage and normalize nursing for Black and Brown families. That same year, Janiya also became the first person of color and non-registered nurse to be hired as a lactation consultant for the hospital system at Cone Health.

Janiya is very passionate about creating diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field of lactation to promote better health outcomes for Black and Brown marginalized and underprivileged families because they have the greatest lactation barriers to overcome.

We will talk about challenges Janiya experienced during her journey to becoming a lactation consultant. We also talk about cultural barriers in lactation, the importance of Black Breastfeeding Week, and creating her own Pathway 2 Human Lactation Training Program at North Carolina A&T State University.

Content warning: We will discuss the cultural barriers and historical trauma (i.e. slavery) in the field of lactation.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Janiya Mitnaul Williams' Pathway 2 Human Lactation Training Program at NC A&T State University here (https://www.ncat.edu/caes/departments/family-and-consumer-sciences/lactation-cert.php). Follow Janiya on Instagram here (https://www.instagram.com/janiyamwilliams). Follow Mahogany Milk on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mahoganymilk/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mahoganymilk).

Learn more about NC A&T State University here (https://www.ncat.edu). Follow NC A&T State University on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ncatsuaggies/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ncatsuaggies).

Learn about Union Institute & University here (https://myunion.edu/).

Learn about the Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative at UNC-Chapel Hill University here (https://sph.unc.edu/cgbi/lactation-consultant-training/).

Learn about International Board of Certified Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBCLE) here (https://iblce.org/).

Learn more about Black Breastfeeding Week here (https://blackbreastfeedingweek.org/). Follow Black Breastfeeding Week on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BlackBreastfeedingWeek), Twitter (https://twitter.com/BlkBfingWeek), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/blkbfingweek/).

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we are talking with Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class parent, Kathryn Remivasan, about her experience giving birth to a posterior-positioned baby. Kathryn and her husband, Dushyant, are graduates of the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class with EBB Instructor and doula, Julie Fors. Dushyant and Kathryn are software engineers. They live in Chicago with their two cats, dog, and now beautiful baby girl, Elakshi, who Kathryn gave birth to in January 2021. We talk about Kathryn's use of a "marathon training" mindset to have an unmedicated birth during the pandemic. We also talk about Kathryn's experience of including medical interventions during her birth, as well as how she coped with postpartum recovery after a long labor.

Content warning: We talk about COVID, infant/labor trauma, the use of medical interventions while in labor, and postpartum anxiety/recovery.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Julie Fors here (https://journeyforwardbirthandparenting.com/).

Learn more about Rush University Medical Center here (https://www.rush.edu/).

Learn more about Spinning Babies here (https://www.spinningbabies.com/).

Listen to EBB 101 episode with Spinning Babies found, Gail Tully here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/ebb-101-gail-tully-of-spinning-babies%ef%b8%8f/).

Listen to EBB 165 episode with Ann Marie Gilligan here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/fetal-position-during-labor-with-ld-nurse-ann-marie-gilligan/).

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we have the pleasure to talk with our honored guests, Dr. Monica McLemore and Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, about postpartum justice and the need for Medicaid coverage for the entire postpartum year. Dr. Monica McLemore is a tenured associate professor at the University of California-San Francisco in the family healthcare nursing department, an affiliated scientist with advancing new standards in reproductive health, and a member of the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. She retired from clinical practice as a public health and staff nurse after a 28-year clinical nursing career in 2019. Dr. McLemore's program of research is focused on understanding reproductive health injustice.

Dr. Jamila K. Taylor is a director of health care reform and senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where she leads TCF's work to build on the Affordable Care Act and develop the next generation of health reform to achieve high quality, affordable and universal coverage in America. Dr. Taylor also works on issues related to reproductive rights and justice, focusing on the structural barriers to healthcare access, racial and gender disparities in health outcomes, and the intersections between healthcare and economic justice.

We talk about their collaborative work with additional authors for the article, "We Must Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage," which discusses the importance of extending Medicaid coverage for postpartum individuals. We also talk about the implications for the disruption of postpartum Medicaid coverage 60 days after giving birth and the importance of creating holistic, community-based care in perinatal and postpartum support.

Content warning: We will talk about postpartum, perinatal/postpartum mortality, mental health, substance use disorders, health challenges, and COVID-19.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Dr. McLemore here (https://profiles.ucsf.edu/monica.mclemore). Follow Dr. McLemore on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/mclemoremr) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mclemoremr).

Learn more about Dr. Taylor here (https://tcf.org/experts/jamila-taylor/). Follow Dr. Taylor on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/drtaylor09).

Learn more about the article, "We Must Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage," here (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-must-extend-postpartum-medicaid-coverage/).

Learn more about Scientific American here (https://www.scientificamerican.com/).

Learn more about The Century Foundation here (https://tcf.org/).

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with EBB Childbirth Class parent, Angela Jones, about having an uncomplicated pregnancy and birth when labeled as high risk.

Angela is a macro-level social worker, wife to her husband, Tony, and mom to her son, Alistair, and their cats, Pumpernickel and Lion-O. Angela and Tony graduated from the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class with EBB instructor, Victoria Michonski. Both Victoria and Heather McCullough, who is also an EBB instructor, were Angela and Tony’s doulas for Alistair’s birth. 

We talk about Angela’s birth story and her experience having an easy, uncomplicated pregnancy and birth despite being labeled as high risk for multiple reasons. We also talk about data birth outcomes for people who have multiple high-risk labels.

Content Warning: We talk about ectopic pregnancy, pregnancy losses, high-risk pregnancy complications, and perinatal morbidity. 

Resources:

Learn more about EBB Instructor, Victoria Michonski, here (http://www.vdoula.com/). Follow Victoria on Facebook here (https://www.facebook.com/312doulas/). 

Learn more about EBB Instructor, Heather McCullough, here (https://www.hmbirth.com/). Follow Heather on Facebook here (https://www.facebook.com/hmbirth). Follow Heather on Instagram here (https://www.instagram.com/hmbirth/). Follow Heather on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/hmbirth). 

Sheen, J. J., Wright, J. D., Goffman, D., et al. (2018). Maternal age and risk for adverse outcomes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Oct;219(4):390.e1-390.e15. Click here.

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we will be talking with Tyler Jean Dukes, my doctoral fellow intern. Tyler (she/her) is a doctoral candidate and graduate instructor at Texas Christian University. Over this past year, Tyler has been working with me as part of a graduate fellowship program. Tyler specializes in the medical humanities and early British literature. She is also a trained childbirth doula, which informs her scholarly and personal interests. Tyler teaches many classes at TCU, including "Introduction to Literature, Fiction, and Narrative Medicine," and she is one year away from graduating with her Ph.D.

We talk about her research with integrating childbirth and birth work into her doctoral studies in literature. We also talk about what Tyler discovered about the history of prenatal ultrasounds and pelvic exams.

I encourage everyone to listen to EBB 174 with The Black OBGYN Project and EBB 180 with Stephanie Tillman, who is an expert on trauma-informed pelvic care.

Content warning: We talk about the history of obstetric abuse and trauma, as well as emotional and physical trauma.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Tyler by following her on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/birthandbooks).

Learn more about DFW Narrative Medicine here (https://dfwnarrativemedicine.com/).

Learn more aboutAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) here (https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/ultrasound-exams).

Learn more about Listening to Mother's (LTM) here (https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/health/maternity/listening-to-mothers.html).

Learn more about World Health Organization (WHO) here (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259946/WHO-RHR-18.01-eng.pdf;jsessionid=6D347E8AC8A769FE8E922B68675407BA?sequence=1).

Learn more about Ultrasound Industry Reports here (https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001451.pub4/full).

Learn more about Value Penguin here (https://www.valuepenguin.com/cost-sonogram-ultrasound-pregnancy).

Learn more about Fortune Business Insights here (https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/ultrasound-equipment-market-100515).

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we talk about how to evaluate clinical research and how it is actually carried out. We are currently in the midst of a free 30-day trial of the EBB Pro Membership, and this podcast episode is a sample part of a class series inside the membership! Have you ever wondered how research is carried out, and why certain things are studied... but why other aspects of birth and midwifery care are not? Do you know how many billions of dollars are spent in the U.S. research industry each year, and what that money is spent on?

In this podcast, Dr. Dekker will walk you through the timeline of how research is carried out, who decides what research gets funded, and why so much research has come from a racist and patriarchal lens. You'll also learn about the importance of one of the newest fields of science called "clinical and translational research."

Content Warning: We will be talking about racism and sexism in research, and how this has led to an increase in heart disease deaths among women. And I share a personal story related to heart disease and mortality.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about our Pro Membership here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/).

Learn more about biomedical translation here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnHLo-hCssg).

Learn more about the NIH Reporter here (https://reporter.nih.gov/).

Learn more about Eunice Kennedy Shriver NIH here (https://www.nichd.nih.gov/).

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with Mary Kathryn DeLodder about licensing certified professional midwives in Kentucky. Mary Kathryn DeLodder (she/her) is a consumer advocate and leader of the Kentucky Birth Coalition. From 2012 through 2019 she worked on efforts to license certified professional midwives in Kentucky. She is now working on legislation to improve access to birth centers in Kentucky.

We will talk about how Mary Kathryn first became interested in helping pass the midwifery licensure bill in Kentucky and the beginnings of forming the Kentucky Home Birth Coalition. We will also talk about the challenges that were against legalizing certified professional midwives to practice in Kentucky and the wave of collective support that helped to push the bill to get passed.

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Mary Kathyrn DeLodder and the Kentucky Birth Coalition here (https://www.kentuckybirth.org). Follow the Kentucky Birth Coalition on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KentuckyBirthCoalition/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/kybirthcoalition/).

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we have an exciting takeover in celebration of Pride Month. We have Mystique Hargrove, Kortney Lapeyrolerie, and Nadine Ashby to talk about their experiences as Black queer and trans birth workers.

Mystique (She/They) is the radical femme CEO, and creator of "The Black Birth Healer." Mystique is a holistic birth and postpartum wellness specialist who is certified as a full spectrum doula, a lactation educator, a childbirth educator, and a Diaspora death doula. Mystique is a Pathway 3 IBCLC mentee, and an Evidence Based Birth Instructor®. Currently, Mystique is a Ph.D. student with a research focus on inclusive services and advocacy in perinatal mental health for Black LGBTQ+ individuals.

Kortney (She/They) is a queer Black healing justice activist, birth worker, conflict mediator, and content creator. She is the founder and organizer of the Queer Doula Network, which maintains a digital LGBTQIA+ birth work and birth work-adjacent directory, provides workshops, and holds community spaces for LGBTQIA+ birth workers to find support. Kortney has worked with the Black Health (formerly the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS) and the Latino Commission on AIDS, providing capacity building around communications and sexual and reproductive health.

Nadine (They/Them) is a queer trans birth doula and doula educator. Nadine's work is built on a foundation of social justice and equity. Nadine's birth work journey started with their mother taking them to the births of family members and friends. Nadine leaned into the incredible transformative power that birthing people unearthed at each birth they attended. This reverence led Nadine to earn a degree in Biology with the intention of becoming a nurse-midwife.

They talk about what Pride Month means to them as Black queer and trans birth workers and their past experiences which lead them to their roles to advocate for birth and reproductive rights of queer and trans bodies of color. They also talk about the challenges they face in their communities as Black queer and trans birth workers and the hopeful futures they envision for their communities.

**Content Warning: They will talk about racism, misgendering, homophobia, transphobia, and trauma.**

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Mystique here (https://www.theblackbirthhealer.com). Follow Mystique on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theblackbirthhealer) and on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/blackbirthhealer). Learn more about Mystique's fundraiser project on Black-led birth and postpartum services here (https://ifundwomen.com/projects/black-led-birth-and-postpartum-wellness).

Learn more about Kortney and The Queer Doula Network here (https://queerdoulanetwork.com/). Follow The Queer Doula Network on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/QueerDoulaNetwork/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/queerdoulas/). Learn more about the Queer Doula Network membership here (https://www.patreon.com/queerdoulanetwork). Connect with the Queer Doula Network by email here ([email protected]).

Learn more about Nadie here (https://www.doula4all.com/). Learn more about Roots Community Birth Center here (https://www.rootsbirthcenter.com/). Follow Nadine on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Doula4all) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/Doula4all/). Learn more about Birth Revolution here (https://thebirthrevolution.org/).

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with Dr. Stephanie Mitchell about starting a midwifery-led birth center.

Dr. Mitchell is a certified nurse-midwife who earned her BSN from Curry College, along with her MSN and her doctorate of Nursing Practice from Frontier Nursing University. Dr. Mitchell is the founder of The Birth Sanctuary of Gainesville, Alabama, a freestanding birth center under development that will be the first Black-owned birth center in the state. She is actively involved in teaching others on Instagram as @doctor_midwife.

We will talk about Dr. Mitchell's journey to becoming a nurse-midwife and her passion for restoring Black-led midwifery care to the people of Alabama. We also talk about how Dr. Mitchell calls out harmful obstetric practices against Black birthing bodies, and how she advocates for the importance of creating safer and affirmative services in perinatal healthcare.

**Content warning: We talk about implicit bias and racism.**

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Stephanie Mitchell and The Birth Sanctuary here (https://thebirthsanctuary.com/). Follow Stephanie on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/doctor_midwife/).

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.