The Birth Ease Podcast

The Birth Ease Podcast

By Michelle SmithParentingKids & Family
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The Birth Ease Podcast episodes

  • 019 Understanding Learning & Processing Styles During Labor
    Listen in as Michelle shares with birth partners how an understanding of the learning styles Visual, Auditory, Tactile-Kinesthetic,and Olfactory-Gustatory  can help them to better provide comfort measures and support their partner during labor and birth. The beauty of this is that the expecting mom and her birth partner can explore what both their learning and processing styles are before labor begins and consider what she thinks would be the most helpful to her at the time of birth. If the mom’s strongest learning style is the birth partner’s weakest, he or she can begin to think of ways to support her that may not naturally occur to them. This basic understanding of learning and processing styles can explain why a laboring mom is so sensitive to certain things in labor such as the feel of monitors on her skin, the sound of the voices at the nurses station, or the smell of that hamburger someone ate for lunch. These suggestions for comfort measures during labor and birth are helpful no matter a birthing mom’s predominant learning and processing style.
     
    Resources:
    Studying Style (https://www.studyingstyle.com/)
    Help Your Student Find Their Learning Style and Succeed (https://www.greenmountainhypnosis.com/blogs/post/Help-Your-Student-Find-Their-Learning-Style-and-Succeed/)
    4 Types of Learning Styles (https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/types-of-learning-styles/)
     
    Connect with Michelle Smith:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com (https://www.birtheaseservices.com)
    Facebook: Birth Ease (https://www.facebook.com/BirthEaseMethod/), The Birth Ease Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/thebirtheasepodcast/)
    Instagram:@ birtheasemichellesmith (https://www.instagram.com/birtheasemichellesmith/)
    Youtube: Birth Ease (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpfTDHpaqRkU2w_GHdGlmQ)
    Show: Birth Ease (https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/birthease.xml)
    32 min
  • 018 Addressing the Fear & Stress Surrounding Breastfeeding with Kathy Bradley
    Listen in as Michelle and Kathy Bradley explore the sources of fear and stress that can create doubts surrounding the ability to breastfeed our babies and trust ourselves as parents. They also discuss the importance of reducing the shame present in our culture regarding breastfeeding and the guilt a mother can feel if she needs to supplement, is unable to breastfeed, or decides to bottle and/or formula feed her baby.
    “We are getting the messages in our culture that breastfeeding is best, but it’s not being modeled. So in an unconscious, non-verbal way we are getting two different messages that we are diabolically opposed.” —Kathy Bradley
    About Kathy Bradley:
    Spanning a 30 year career in the maternal health field, Kathy is the visionary behind Childbirth Concierge. She holds a degree in Communication and Public Relations, and is a Certified Childbirth Consultant as well as a Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
    Kathy’s focus over the years has been providing education and support to women of all income levels. She worked for 14 years in Maternal Health at Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida. As the founder and executive director of the former Childbirth Enhancement Foundation, she developed partnerships and training programs for community based doula programs with 14 hospitals. Kathy developed the Community Outreach Perinatal Educator Program for Commonsense Childbirth, Inc.- a nonprofit institution dedicated eliminating racial and class disparities in perinatal health and improve birth outcomes for all.
    She is strongly motivated to support women no matter how they choose to birth or feed their babies. As a mother of 5, she truly understands the challenges families face preparing for birth and caring for their newborns. A born educator, she is in her element teaching new parents and health professionals.
     
    Connect with Kathy Bradley:
    Website: childbirthconcierge.com (https://childbirthconcierge.com/)
    Instagram: @childbirthconcierge (https://www.instagram.com/childbirthconcierge/)
    Facebook: Childbirth Concierge (https://www.facebook.com/childbirthconcierge/)
    YouTube: Childbirth Concierge (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_nRUKqIhV24gbRVHOFw_xw)
    Connect with Michelle Smith:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com (http://www.birtheaseservices.com)
    Facebook: Birth Ease (https://www.facebook.com/BirthEaseMethod/), The Birth Ease Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/thebirtheasepodcast/)
    Instagram: @birtheasemichellesmith (https://www.instagram.com/birtheasemichellesmith/)
    YouTube: Birth Ease (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpfTDHpaqRkU2w_GHdGlmQ)
    Show: The Birth Ease Podcast (https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/birthease.xml)
    39 min
  • 017 Learning & Processing Styles with Mitchell Jarrell
    Listen in as Michelle and Mitchell Jarrell discuss the ways our senses impact our learning and processing styles. Mitchell explains how gaining an understanding of the different styles can help you to support your child’s learning. This understanding can also improve communication within your relationships. Together Mitchell and Michelle stress the importance of doing the work of self-growth and cultivating our own self-acceptance. Because we cannot instill self-esteem in our children, if we do not have it to give.
    “Take time to understand someone else. And if you care about them, figure out how they learn. That way you can better communicate." —Mitchell Jarrell
    Resources:
    Studying Style (https://www.studyingstyle.com/)
    Help Your Student Find Their Learning Style and Succeed (https://www.greenmountainhypnosis.com/blogs/post/Help-Your-Student-Find-Their-Learning-Style-and-Succeed/)
    4 Types of Learning Styles (https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/types-of-learning-styles/)
     
     
    Mitchell Jarrell is a former teacher and gifted artist.
    Connect with Mitchell Jarrell (Smith) and learn more about his art:
    Instagram: @handspuntattoos (https://www.instagram.com/handspuntattoos/)
     
     
    Connect with Michelle Smith:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com (https://www.birtheaseservices.com)
    Facebook: Birth Ease (https://www.facebook.com/BirthEaseMethod/), The Birth Ease Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/thebirtheasepodcast/)
    Instagram:@ birtheasemichellesmith (https://www.instagram.com/birtheasemichellesmith/)
    Youtube: Birth Ease (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpfTDHpaqRkU2w_GHdGlmQ)
    Show: Birth Ease (https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/birthease.xml)
    45 min
  • 016 Releasing the Stress of the Holidays Guided Relaxation
    Feeling Stressed this Holiday Season? This time of year can be magical and joyous, and it can also bring a lot of stress and overwhelm. For some of us, we are facing the holiday season without someone we love. The grief can be daunting at times. For others, the holidays are haunted with painful memories that can bring with them anxiety.
    With this in mind, Michelle has created a guided relaxation session geared towards anyone wanting to release the stress and overwhelm this season can bring. The purpose is to help you return to your center to find clarity and peace.
    “It is my sincerest wish [for you] that this holiday season be filled with peace and moments of magic and love.” —Michelle Smith
     
    As a gentle reminder: This guided relaxation recording audio is for just that, relaxation purposes only. It does not constitute medical or mental health advice or treatment, nor does it imply a specific outcome during pregnancy, birth, postpartum, or beyond. Please avoid listening to this guided relaxation while engaging in an activity that requires your full attention. Please stop the podcast and return to it when you can be safely seated or reclining in a supported position. Unless you are the passenger listening to this guided relaxation with headphones on, for everyone’s safety never listen to it while driving or riding in a vehicle.
     
    Connect with Michelle Smith:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com (https://www.birtheaseservices.com)
    Facebook: Birth Ease (https://www.facebook.com/BirthEaseMethod/), The Birth Ease Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/thebirtheasepodcast/)
    Instagram:@ birtheasemichellesmith (https://www.instagram.com/birtheasemichellesmith/)
    Youtube: Birth Ease (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpfTDHpaqRkU2w_GHdGlmQ)
    Show: Birth Ease (https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/birthease.xml)
    36 min
  • 015 Massage & Bodywork are Not a Luxury with April Dawn
    Listen in as April Dawn shares with Michelle the powerful stories that shaped April’s desire to serve families during the childbearing year. Their conversation explores the benefits of bodywork: massage, reflexology, acupressure, healing touch, as well as the ways that our body stores memory and emotion within our very cells. Together they share insights into the selfless gift that adoption brings to families.
    “Sometimes it takes the power of that [healing] touch to release what you're holding. Bringing it up to the surface so that you can recognize it. See it. Sometimes that is all that emotion wants. It just wants you to see it and recognize it; and love it and let it go."  — April Dawn
    About April Dawn:
    April has been attending pregnant, laboring, and newly born families for over 30 years. Having attended her first birth while still in high school, she felt ignited by the calling to support families as they bring their babies Earthside. In this spirit, she has dedicated her life to the study of all things health —nutrition, healing-touch modalities, and the human microbiome — working actively in the naturopathic, chiropractic, and nutritional health arenas. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist, a Food-Healing Instructor, and Master of Culinary Arts. April is a true birth guardian, having worked as both a midwifery birth Assistant, as well as a doula in the home, hospital, and birthing center setting.
     
    Connect with April Dawn:
    Facebook: The Mothered Momma (https://www.facebook.com/themotheredmommalmt/)
    Instagram: @themotheredmomma (https://www.instagram.com/themotheredmomma/)
     
    Connect with Michelle Smith:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com (BirthEaseServices.com)
    Facebook: Birth Ease (https://www.facebook.com/BirthEaseMethod/), The Birth Ease Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/thebirtheasepodcast/)
    Instagram:@ birtheasemichellesmith (https://www.instagram.com/birtheasemichellesmith/)
    Youtube: Birth Ease (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpfTDHpaqRkU2w_GHdGlmQ)
    Show: Birth Ease (https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/birthease.xml)
    49 min
  • 014 The Dance of Parenting with Natasha Solovieff
    Michelle is excited to interview Natasha Solovieff. Together they explore the ways that parenting can be compared to an ongoing dance with your child and the importance of acknowledging needs of both parent and child. Natasha explains the ways your can decrease your stress, filter through all the information and opinions, and connect more fully with your children, your partner, and your own inner wisdom. Natasha shares her L.O.V.V.E. process: Listening, Om-ing (centering yourself), Voicing, Visioning, and Exploring. Her tools are invaluable when planning a pregnancy, during pregnancy and birth, while communicating with medical providers, throughout your parenting years, and even once your children are adults.
    “The challenge of all of this is we don’t live in a listening culture and we, ourselves, haven’t been taught how to listen, let alone, what it is to be listened to. But we have to listen to ourselves and ask to be listened to.” —Natasha Solovieff
    About Natasha Solovieff:
    Natasha is a mom, now to a beautiful twenty something. With a BSN and M.Ed., she has 25+ years as a Maternal Child Health clinical and public health nurse. She is the author of The Dance of Parenting - Finding Your Inner Choreographer, a book that invites you to energize and strengthen your parenting dance by using your parenting L.O.V.V.E. skills. She also writes heartfelt and intriguing science-for-parents blogs.
    Connect with Natasha Solovieff:
    Website: OMGparenting.com (https://omgparenting.com/)
    Twitter: @OParenting (https://twitter.com/oparenting)
    Connect with Michelle Smith:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com (http://www.birtheaseservices.com)
    Facebook: fb.me/birtheasemethod (https://www.facebook.com/BirthEaseMethod/)
    Instagram:@ birtheasemichellesmith (https://www.instagram.com/birtheasemichellesmith/)
    Youtube: Birth Ease (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpfTDHpaqRkU2w_GHdGlmQ)
    Show: Birth Ease (https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/birthease.xml)
    49 min
  • 013 Tips for Loss & Grief During the Holidays
    With Thanksgiving fast approaching, this time of year can be magical, and at the same time there are the images and expectations of happy family get-togethers and the pressure to keep up with the parties, gift giving, and years of tradition. Michelle has created this special episode for those of us facing the holidays after experiencing a loss. The experience of grief may take the form of the death of a loved one, it may be the loss of a relationship through a break up, divorce or separation, it may be a move that now has you far from family and friends, or a major life transition. The grief may be from the wounding we experienced from past painful holidays. This episode is meant to create a space to simply relax into and honor what is there for you. Michelle shares 7 tips for facing the holidays when grieving or facing the challenges of stressful family dynamics. There will be a meditation at the end of this episode to help create a safe haven in a time of loss, grief and/or transition.
    “The holidays feel incredibly daunting... When you are grieving any sort of loss, now more than ever, be kind to yourself. Be patient and compassionate with yourself. You need only do what you feel capable of. Nothing more. It really is okay to put yourself first. I would suggest surrounding yourself when possible with those that can honor your grief and allow you the freedom and vulnerability to cry, laugh, be sad, leave early if you need to. Someone that allows you to be authentic.” —  Michelle Smith
    Connect with Michelle:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com//loss-support (https://www.birtheaseservices.com/loss-support)
    Facebook:  fb.me/thebirtheasepodcast (https://www.facebook.com/thebirtheasepodcast/)
    Instagram: @birtheaselosssupport (https://www.instagram.com/birtheaselosssupport/)
    Youtube: Birth Ease (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpfTDHpaqRkU2w_GHdGlmQ)
    Show: Birth Ease (https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/birthease.xml)
    Episode references:
    http://www.legacy.com/news/advice-and-support/article/david-kesslers-top-4-tips-for-dealing-with-holiday-grief
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/7-tips-for-those-dealing-with-grief-during-the-holidays_b_13688346
    https://mindfulnessandgrief.com/7-tips-to-support-grieving-children-during-the-holidays/
    https://www.grief.com (https://www.grief.com)
    49 min
  • 012 Doula Services with Kathy Bradley
    Michelle is incredibly honored to feature another one of her mentors in the birth field, Kathy Bradley. With 50 years of combined experience between them, Michelle and Kathy discuss the ways that a doula can reduce stress and fear during the childbearing year. Kathy explains what a doula is, the history of the profession, and the continuity of care doulas provide. She stresses the importance of taking into consideration a doula’s birth philosophy as it compares to your desires for your birth, as well as the value her years of experience can bring to you. Kathy shares a powerful technique to help release any negative and limiting beliefs someone may have regarding their ability to give birth.
    “There is so much fear and so much unrest. And I believe we are in process of women recognizing that through the ages somewhere our voice has been diminished. Our ability to believe in ourselves has been stolen. And so we are working to reclaim that we are powerful human beings. That we can chose powerfully. That we know what our body needs... Because our ability to believe in ourselves and our ability to give birth has been stolen from us. We are in the process of reclaiming that back.”— Kathy Bradley
    About Kathy Bradley:
    Spanning a 30 year career in the maternal health field, Kathy is the visionary behind Childbirth Concierge. She holds a degree in Communication and Public Relations, and is a Certified Childbirth Consultant as well as a Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
    Kathy’s focus over the years has been providing education and support to women of all income levels. She worked for 14 years in Maternal Health at Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida. As the founder and executive director of the former Childbirth Enhancement Foundation, she developed partnerships and training programs for community based doula programs with 14 hospitals. Kathy developed the Community Outreach Perinatal Educator Program for Commonsense Childbirth, Inc.- a nonprofit institution dedicated eliminating racial and class disparities in perinatal health and improve birth outcomes for all.
    She is strongly motivated to support women no matter how they choose to birth or feed their babies. As a mother of 5, she truly understands the challenges families face preparing for birth and caring for their newborns. A born educator, she is in her element teaching new parents and health professionals.
    Connect with Kathy Bradley:
    Website: childbirthconcierge.com (https://childbirthconcierge.com/)
    Instagram: @childbirthconcierge (https://www.instagram.com/childbirthconcierge/)
    Facebook: Childbirth Concierge (https://www.facebook.com/childbirthconcierge/)
    YouTube: Childbirth Concierge (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_nRUKqIhV24gbRVHOFw_xw)
    Connect with Michelle Smith:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com (http://www.birtheaseservices.com)
    Facebook: Birth Ease (https://www.facebook.com/BirthEaseMethod/)
    Instagram: @birtheasemichellesmith (https://www.instagram.com/birtheasemichellesmith/)
    Youtube: Birth Ease (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcpfTDHpaqRkU2w_GHdGlmQ)
    Show:
    44 min
  • 011 Choosing Your Caregiver with Meg Folsom

    Michelle has a candid conversation with Meg Folsom, a fellow birth guardian, about the importance of choosing your caregiver and place of birth as an expectant family. Meg shares her personal birth stories and how that shaped her journey as a birth professional. Together, they want women to understand they have options in their maternity care, as well as rights and autonomy over their bodies and their babies. Meg stresses the importance of asking questions and requesting the pros and cons of a protocol or medical procedure. She counsels women to stop frightening and judging one another. People need to respect everyone’s right to chose what is best for their own family, regardless of their own preferences. The journey into motherhood forever changes a woman. Meg and Michelle advise women to learn to listen to and trust their babies, their bodies, and themselves.

    "It is all about being informed. But there are so many other things to take into consideration with birth. Women that have had sexual trauma. Women who have experienced sexual abuse, rape. It is a whole different ball game for them. And, for those women, they need that extra level of care and understanding. Unless you've been in that position, you can't know how that woman is feeling. And if you can't empathize with her, then you owe to that woman to at least listen." —  Meg Folsom

     

    About Meg Folsom:

    Meg has been protecting the sanctity of birth as a doula, midwifery birth assistant, birth center manager, childbirth educator, lactation counselor, and placenta encapsulation specialist for over 20 years. The depth of Meg’s knowledge, insight, and her compassionate heart have touched the lives of hundreds of families in Central Florida.

     

    Connect with Meg Folsom:

    Facebook: mommeg

     

    Connect with Michelle Smith:

    Website: BirthEaseServices.com

    Facebook: Birth Ease

    Instagram: @birtheasemichellesmith

    Youtube: Birth Ease

    Show: Birth Ease


     

    53 min
  • 010 Benefits of Oriental Medicine with Amy Gendron, AP
    Michelle talks with Amy Gendron about the incredible advantages Oriental medicine can provide throughout a woman's lifetime. Oriental medicine's very tenet it seeks to maintain health and treat the whole person versus focusing on just a set of symptoms. Michelle and Amy discuss the the ways that Oriental medicine is a powerful adjunct to a woman and her partner when they are ready to conceive a child, throughout each trimester of pregnancy, during labor, postpartum, and beyond. Amy explains how acupuncture can help bring a woman into balance by addressing blood quality, stress levels, and stimulating the immune system. Stress is a major contributor to pregnancy complications. Oriental medicine helps mitigate pregnancy symptoms and ease the transition into motherhood. It supports the recovery and replenishment of a women in all aspects from the many depleting factors of pregnancy and birth.
    "Most women have a strange relationship with their menstrual cycle, and that is the foundation, the backbone... If you can tell me what your menstrual cycle is like, I know everything about you because it is a very transparent window that can give us a lot of information about a woman's mind and body." —  Amy Gendron
    About Amy Gendron:
    Amy began her journey in holistic health as a personal trainer, mentored by a black belt martial artist. Amy specializes in sports medicine, cosmetic acupuncture, and women’s health. She has trained as a doula, and in 2013 she traveled to China completed an externship which included herbal medicine for women’s health with nationally renowned Dr. Shui. Last year, Amy was one of the few American physicians invited to attend a Physiological Regulating Medicine program in Milan, Italy. Amy’s approach to healing empowers her patients to live with vitality, by integrating the best wellness and medical practices. She works as a specialty physician in several clinics in Central Florida area.
    Connect with Amy Gendron:
    Instagram: acu_amy_g/
    Facebook: AmyGendronAP
    Website: amygendron.com/
    Connect with Michelle Smith:
    Website: BirthEaseServices.com
    Facebook: Birth Ease
    Instagram: @birtheasemichellesmith
    Youtube: Birth Ease
    Show: Birth Ease
    31 min

About The Birth Ease Podcast

From the publisher's feed

How do you filter through all of the uninvited opinions that suddenly come your way when you decide to have a child? How do you know what's trustworthy information and what's a myth or just plain…