The Birth Geeks' Podcast

Certified Professional Midwife Augustine Colebrook talks to Hillary about sustainable midwifery practice, traveling the world, social justice in the birth world, and so much more. She has such an important perspective to share about not just how we can do better in the United States, but also about training, adversity, and why exporting the obstetrical model of care around the world is not a good idea even though it is happening. Robin also discusses what childbirth professionals need to know about the corona virus!

In this short 24th episode of The Birth Geeks Hillary & Robin talk about prodromal labor. How do you tell if it really is prodromal labor? Why is this happening? What can you do about it? We also cover some research about and resources for hyperemesis gravidarum. A free handout about prodromal labor is available for download at thebirthgeeks.com/shop too!!

Dr. Britta Bushnell joins us to talk about why preparing for childbirth by teaching with a story can help recreate the hormonal state and how the process of becoming parents works and how we can help new parents and her new book, "Transformed by Birth."

Childbirth education deserves to be celebrated! Robin and Hillary talk about how they became educators and the value that parents get from childbirth education. There is also a discussion about International Childbirth Education Week.

Andrea Hewitt talks about her job as a doula agency owner, her skills from life prior to birth work that she still uses today, having an inclusive business model and more at The Birth Geeks.

Robin and Hillary talk about things you should keep in mind as you do a year in review for your birth business. There is a discussion of how to know what data to share, and what to keep private, to whom and how to send thank you notes for your business, the trick to making sure you track what you want to track, words of the year and so much more!

Dr. Robbie Davis-Floyd talks with the Birth Geeks about birth and the medical model and also specifically how doulas and childbirth education play a role in outcomes. They even tackle the big topics like - why are people so afraid to question obstetrics today and discuss mentorship.

Hillary and Robin have a conversation about the basics of bias in research. You'll hear what some of the most basic forms of bias are and how you can guard against them in your practice. You'll also get to hear Hillary's birth story - trust us, you won't want to miss that! And Robin dishes on some tech tools to help you with remembering key dates in your practice.

In this special bonus collaboration episode Hillary talks to Sara Pixton from the Birth Words Podcast! This conversation focuses on 3 ways to better communicate for pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period, and we hope you will find it helpful and a thought provoking consideration of language including pronouns, nouns, intention, power, prepositions, and more. If you are interested in the intersection between language, birth, and anthropology, this is a great episode for you. As childbirth professionals the words we choose to use can make a huge difference in our efficacy and how people think about their experience and even themselves sometimes.

Birth Geeks Drs. Hillary Melchiors and Theresa Morris talk about cesarean birth in the United States, the pressure labor nurses are under, and so much more - including how birth professionals can help shape and change policy.