Growing

If you’re currently pregnant you are probably being told to ‘prepare’ for birth… and you might be thinking… I want to prepare but honestly, where do I start? What’s important?

This episode provides practical strategies you can use to get ready for the birth of your baby. As a midwife and childbirth educator I’m super excited about this episode. Supporting parents to feel informed and equipped for the birth process (and beyond) is what I’m allll about.

Tune in and make sure you hit subscribe to have future episodes of Growing drop straight into your poddy app.

Keen for more? You can checkout my birth preparation courses at www.birthwithbeth.com.au and visit my IG @birthwithbeth_

Today’s episode looks at 5 popularly suggested strategies for getting labour started. If you are heavily pregnant and willing labour to begin, or perhaps you just want to learn more, this episode is for you!

This episode of Growing is sponsored by Sleepybelly. Sleepybelly’s pregnancy pillow is honestly a game changer for pregnant women everywhere!

It is no secret that getting comfortable in bed when you are pregnant becomes increasingly difficult as the months tick on. Sleepybelly’s unique design provides support for your back, side and tummy helping you to drift off and achieve a deeper, more restful sleep. As a midwife I absolutely love that this product helps you stay in the recommended side-lying position.

Sleepybelly are so confident that you will love their pillow that they offer a 30-night money back guarantee! You can get 10% off your pillow with the code ‘BWB10’ and visit www.sleepybelly.com.au to shop now.

Thank you Sleepybelly for making this episode of Growing possible and for helping uncomfortable mums everywhere get some rest!

Keen for more?

Head to www.birthwithbeth.com.au or come and say hello on IG @birthwithbeth_

This episode looks at what whooping cough is, why the vaccine is suggested for all pregnant people and what we can do to protect newborns from whooping cough prior to their 6 week immunisations.

Keen for more?

Jump over to www.birthwithbeth.com.au to learn how I can support you in pregnancy or visit @birthwithbeth_ for heaps more educational content!

In our first episode of Growing for 2023, I sat down with Vaughne Geary (@vaughne.geary) for a big beautiful chat about…life! Vaughne is a Melbourne based naturopath, birth & postpartum doula, co-founder of Mama Goodness and Co-Author of newly published book, Life After Birth.

Vaughne shares generously about her experience with studying a degree she eventually knew wasn’t for her, the decision to study naturopathy and her eventual journey into  the birth space.

I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it. Thank you Vaughne.

Keen for more?

Jump over to www.birthwithbeth.com.au to learn how I can support you in pregnancy or visit @birthwithbeth_ for heaps more educational content!

In our final episode for 2022, I deep dive into our experience with starting daycare including questions submitted by the Birth With Beth Community. This episode is intended as a big virtual hug to anyone taking this step in the near future. I understand how daunting it can be but also know it can be a wonderful step for the whole family unit.

Questions addressed include:

And lots more.

Thank you for joining me over the last couple of months. I will be BACK early next year with more Growing goodness. Enjoy your break, stay safe and I’ll see you in 2023.

On this episode of Growing we are joined by Claire Andrews. Claire is a midwife, maternal child health nurse, mum and owner of Safe Hands Early Parenting. Her resources are incredible and I highly recommend jumping over to her instagram @safehandsparenting

With the festive season among us, we sat down to talk…Christmas and babies. As JOYFUL as Christmas events are, navigating them with a new baby can feel daunting.

We talk about setting expectations, tips for maintaining routine, managing sleep, hard conversations with family and more.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas - we hope this episode helps! x

Ahh nap transitions! IYKYK, they can be so tough.

We recently dropped from 2 naps down to 1 so in this episode I chat through how we knew it was time to make a change, some of the things we did to navigate that shift. We’ve come through the other side (yay!) so I hope these tips help you or at least demonstrate solidarity in the ever-changing game that is motherhood.

Remember to hit SUBSCRIBE so that Growing automatically drops into your podcast app every Monday and Wednesday with more bite-sized insight to pregnancy, postpartum and beyond.

If you’ve followed me on instagram for a while, or you’ve engaged in any of my courses, you know i’m super passionate about creating environments that support physiological birth. This episode let’s you in on 5 things that can influence your birth as well as the evidence to support them.

Below are the key references I mention if you feel like digging a little deeper!

Lawrence A, Lewis L, Hofmeyr GJ, Dowswell T, Styles C. Maternal positions and mobility during first stage labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2.

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003934.pub2/full/es#

Cluett ER, Burns E, Cuthbert A. Immersion in water during labour and birth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018, Issue 5. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD000111.pub4/full?contentLanguage=en

Wrønding T, Argyraki A, Petersen JF, Topsøe MF, Petersen PM, Løkkegaard ECL. The aesthetic nature of the birthing room environment may alter the need for obstetrical interventions - an observational retrospective cohort study. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):303.

Keen for more? Follow @birthwithbeth_ on instagram for education, updates and insights. Consider it midwifery with a side of motherhood.

Do you know that sleeping on your back in late pregnancy is not recommended?

This episode runs through some facts and myths around sleep position in pregnancy and provides a quick overview of what is safest, the “why” behind the recommendations and some tips on getting comfy.

Are you preparing to give birth?

If you want to feel excited and empowered to birth (leave the nerves behind!) my online birth preparation course might be PERFECT fit. Jump over to my website www.birthwithbeth.com.au to learn more about how it can support you to feel ready!

Keen for more? Follow @birthwithbeth_ on instagram for education, updates and insights. Consider it midwifery with a side of motherhood.

Welcome back to Growing! Today we're talking about three conversations to have with your partner in pregnancy. When a newborn joins the family, sleep is in short supply, emotions are high (the good and challenging) and it's hard to have productive, considered conversations. 

Tune in to learn how you have big conversations ahead of time and what you might like to chat about. 

Keen for more? Follow @birthwithbeth_ on instagram for education, updates and insights. Consider it midwifery with a side of motherhood.