The International Partnership for Perinatal Excellence Grand Rounds Podcast

What happens when an OB-GYN brings the perspective of a doula, physician, and mother into the way she cares for patients? In this episode of the IPPE Grand Rounds Podcast, Dr. Alecia Fields shares how her experiences across these roles have shaped her approach to patient advocacy, education, and whole-person care. Lindsey and Dr. Fields discuss navigating pregnancy after loss, building supportive care teams, trusting your instincts, asking the right questions, and why patients deserve more than information—they deserve the tools and confidence to use it.

What if the biggest barriers to fertility are the ones we aren’t routinely looking for? In this episode of the IPPE Grand Rounds Podcast, Dr. Carmel Wiseman, founder of Precision Fertility Care, shares how a personalized, functional medicine approach can help uncover hidden factors affecting fertility, pregnancy, and long-term reproductive health. From microbiome health and inflammation to stress, nutrition, and collaborative care with OBs, reproductive endocrinologists, therapists, doulas, and midwives, this conversation explores how addressing foundational health can empower families with clarity, hope, and a path forward.

What does trauma-informed care actually look like in practice, and why does it matter for every birth?

In this episode, we sit down with Mandy Irby, BSN, RN, board-certified labor and delivery nurse, founder of The Birth Nurse, and expert in trauma-informed birth care. Drawing from her own experiences as both a labor nurse and patient, Mandy shares how healthcare teams can reduce birth-related trauma while creating safer, more compassionate care environments.

In this episode of Perinatal Grand Rounds, hosted by the Star Legacy Foundation, Executive Director Lindsay Wimmer speaks with Cynthia Sparks, RN, certified breastfeeding counselor, case manager, and founder of Mainline Maternity Care in the Baltimore area.

Cynthia shares her powerful journey from becoming a teen mother to building a nurse-led, community-based maternity care model that supports families through pregnancy, birth, postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, and maternal mental health. She discusses the gaps in education and access that families face, the impact of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and the importance of holistic, multidisciplinary care.

The conversation also explores systemic disparities in maternal health, the role of community partnerships, and how organizations like Mainline Maternity Care and the International Partnership for Perinatal Excellence are working to improve outcomes through education, empowerment, and integrated support systems.

In honor of Memorial Day, Star Legacy Foundation and the International Partnership for Perinatal Excellence welcome Dr. Lakeatta Tong, a retired Air Force nurse and founder of Airman’s Angels, for a powerful conversation on perinatal loss within military families. Drawing from over two decades of service in maternal and child health, Dr. Tong shares insights on grief, pregnancy after loss, mental health, military culture, and the importance of compassionate support systems for service members and their families.

In this episode of Perinatal Grand Rounds, Lindsey Wimmer of the Star Legacy Foundation sits down with board-certified OB-GYN Dr. Franziska Haydanek — known to millions as Paging Doctor Fran. Together, they explore how social media is reshaping patient education, the delicate balance between honesty and fear in obstetrics, supporting families through loss, and why informed partnership between patients and providers matters more than ever.

Dr. Louise O’Brien, a leading expert in sleep and maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Michigan, explores the critical role of maternal sleep during pregnancy, its impact on complications like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, fetal growth, and stillbirth, and discuss groundbreaking research on non-invasive interventions like CPAP therapy. From practical sleep hygiene tips to life-changing clinical insights, this conversation is essential listening for healthcare providers, researchers, and anyone interested in improving maternal and infant outcomes.

In this episode of Perinatal Grand Rounds, researcher and bereaved mother Dr. Danielle Pollock shares how her personal loss led to groundbreaking research on stillbirth stigma and its far-reaching impact on families, clinicians, and prevention efforts. Drawing from her work developing the Stillbirth Stigma Scale, Danielle explores how public and self-stigma deepen grief, fuel isolation, and limit open conversations in healthcare and society. She also challenges clinicians and communities to say the word stillbirth, normalize informed risk discussions, and recognize bereaved parents as powerful agents of change. This episode offers critical insight into how reducing stigma can improve both bereavement care and prevention.

In this episode of the Grand Rounds podcast, we sit down with Lynn Ingram of Ingram Screening to explore the critical role of early, consistent, and equitable perinatal mental health screening. Lynn shares how improved screening standards can help clinicians identify risks sooner, support families more effectively, and close long-standing gaps in care.

Through evidence-informed insights and real-world experience, she highlights what’s working, what still needs to change, and how providers can make meaningful improvements in the mental health continuum of care for birthing people. This conversation is a powerful call to strengthen systems, elevate awareness, and prioritize maternal mental health at every touchpoint.

In this deeply moving episode of the Star Legacy Foundation podcast, we sit down with Rachell Dumas, founder of A Light After Nine. Rachell shares her personal journey through the heartbreak of nine pregnancy losses and how she transformed her grief into a mission to support other families navigating the unimaginable. Learn how she created A Light After Nine to honor her children, bring hope, and build a community of comfort and healing for families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss. This conversation is both heart-wrenching and inspiring, offering compassion, insight, and a reminder that even in the darkest moments, light can be found.