Marilyn and Yvonne are two parents determined to grow their families. When pregnancy loss disrupts their plans, they turn to their faith. Please note, this episode contains graphic details about miscarriage and stillbirth.

In this episode we mention: Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Sleeping Babies, and Black Millennial Marriage Podcast. For resources for coping with pregnancy loss, visit the Mayo Clinic, CDC, and NATAL Resource Hub. For support following a loss, visit Still Birth Day and Sisters in Loss.

Follow NATAL on social media: @natalstories

Join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates.

NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw. Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts.

Today we’re airing a special episode from the Bodies podcast. Their show follows women and non binary folx on their journeys to solve the mysteries of their bodies.  In this episode you’ll hear from Kalalea. After more than a decade of suffering, KalaLea discovers that the cause of her painful periods is common for Black women, but far from normal.

In this episode we mention:

• Fibroids
• Weathering

Follow NATAL on social media: @natalstories

Join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates.

NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw. Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts.

After trying to conceive for 10 years, Shellie was finally having her dream baby, but the challenges of motherhood slowly evolved into a silent struggle with postpartum depression. Reproductive psychiatrist Dr. Sinmi Bamgbose shares how she's working to expand mental health resources for Black birthing parents.

In this episode we mention:

• Mind Over Melanin Podcast
• Dr. Sinmi Bamgboshe of Cedars Sinai Medical Center
• Postpartum depression and reproductive psychiatry

In solidarity with the uprisings, and in honor of the countless victims of police and state-sanctioned violence, we are holding off on publishing this week's episode. We'll return Wednesday, June 10.

In this episode we mention three organizations whose work you should support:

• #FreeBlackMamas
• Survived & Punished
• LGBTQ Freedom Fund,

Follow NATAL on social media: @natalstories

Join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates.

NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw. Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts.

Facing unplanned pregnancies in their 20s, Mikah and Cecilia's hospital births reveal how access to childbirth education, support systems, and the lack of standardization of care shaped their individual journeys to becoming parents for the first time.

In this episode we mention: Birth Stories in Color podcast, The Depo-Provera shot, and Intrauterine Devices (IUDs)

Follow NATAL on social media: @natalstories

Join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates.

NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw. Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts.

Martina explores the historical roots of modern obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Joia Crear-Perry and Dr. Mimi Niles explain how flaws in medical education and research contribute to the Black birthing crisis.

In this episode we mention: Dr. Joia Crear Perry of the National Birth Equity Collaborative;  Dr. Mimi Niles of The Birth Place Lab;  and Healing Circle Podcast.

Visit natalstories.com to learn more about NATAL, access our resource hub, and donate to our production fund.

Follow us social media: @natalstories, and join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates.

NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw. Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts.

Myeshia is a married, 34-year-old cis Black queer woman with a PhD. Two weeks after giving birth to her first child, things take a turn for the worse in a Southern California emergency room.

In this episode we mention: 

* California cuts its maternal mortality rate in half

* CA Senator Holly J. Mitchell's bias training bill

* California as a "global reproductive technology hub"

* Postpartum preeclampsia

* Sisters in Loss podcast

Visit natalstories.com to learn more about NATAL, access our resource hub, and donate to our production fund.

Follow NATAL on social media @natalstories. Join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates.

NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw. Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts.
 

Visit www.natalstories.com to learn more about NATAL, access our resource hub, read our community blog, and donate to our production fund.

Follow NATAL on social media:
www.instagram.com/natalstories
www.twitter.com/natalstories

Join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/natalstories

NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw:

Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts

Visit www.natalstories.com to learn more about NATAL, access our resource hub, read our community blog, and donate to our production fund.

Follow NATAL on social media:
www.instagram.com/natalstories
www.twitter.com/natalstories

Join our Facebook Community to connect with other parents, birth workers, and advocates:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/natalstories

NATAL is produced by You Had Me at Black and The Woodshaw:

Listen to You Had Me at Black wherever you get your podcasts