What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights

In today's episode I speak with a woman who worked in the field of mother and infant health before she became pregnant.

She shares the challenges she encountered in her birth--going from a planned birth center birth to a C section, what she might have done differently in that process,

and how she managed that challenge.

She also shares what led her to become a holistic sleep consultant, a story continued into the next episode.

You can find Kim here: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/

The Responsive Family Sleep Podcast: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc/

https://www.facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

 
And some references for infant sleep:
Dr. James McKenna’s work and Baby Sleep Info Source, a wonderful website out of the UK: https://www.basisonline.org.uk/

Kim's blogpost on infant sleep:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/blog/2018/7/6/developmentally-appropriate-sleep-expectations-birth-to-age-5

In today's episode I finish my conversation with Shri.

She shares her experience of birth, and the things that made postpartum a challenge--in particular Covid and the isolation it involved

She shares the ayurvedic approach to both the preconception period, and to postpartum to help restore balance in the body

including topics on:
movement
stress management
food/herbs in the postpartum

We pick up where we left off last week, with lessons Shri learned from her experience of a stroke before she got pregnant.

To find More from Shri:
you can check out her website: https://vivabyshri.cohere.live/about
Her Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/vivabyshri/
and her Facebook Page :   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554924608066

In today's episode I speak with a woman who had her whole life turned around by an unexpected health crisis when she was in her early thirties.

She shares

*what she did to reclaim her health
* how it influenced her fertility and pregnancy journey
* the wisdom she gained in this effort to regain her health and her life
* insights from the ayurvedic approach to life

 What follows is the first part of our conversation

You can find Shri at her:
Website : https://vivabyshri.cohere.live/about
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/vivabyshri/
Facebook Page :   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554924608066

This is the THIRD and last part of Amy's story. 

In this episode she talks about 
* the importance of accurate ultrasound in utero 

* her experience of navigating a surgery on her newborn

* the challenges they encounter in the hospital 

* her son's amazing recovery. 

This is a beautiful story of overcoming, and what she learned in the process. We pick up where we left off last week. Amy is talking about an organization that works to draw attention to the important work of sonographers--in particular focused on congenital heart issues

In today's episode we hear part 2 (of 3) of Amy's story--she talks about her induction and her experience becoming the parent of a baby with a significant heart condition, the operation that saved his life, and tips for parents who might find themselves the new minders of a fetus with a congenital heart defect. 

I also include the insights of a doctor who performs fetal cardiac ultrasound to understand that technology better. 

And the last thing I'll add in the interest of transparency, is that like Amy, my partner and I had a child with a significant congenital heart defect that required emergency surgery when she was born, so a lot of what she says really resonates with my experience. 

We pick up where we left off last week. Amy is learning about her future son's congenital heart defect from her doctor.

In today's episode I speak with a woman who talks about her experience:
* growing her family as part of a same sex couple
* her experience with miscarriage and how that changed the way she approached her next pregnancy
* issues with breastfeeding when her supply didn't match her newborn's demand
* problems with thawed and refrozen sperm
* and IUI surprise (not common for same sex couples)  

 What follows is the first part or our conversation., 

This week we hear the rest of Jelena's story:

* How she manages a postpartum period marked by the mental and emotional struggles of her partner and a new baby. 

* Her use of Montessori Parenting

We pick up where we left off last week. Jelena was sharing that her partner was really impacted by the birth of the child and how he came to parenting with things that might have increased his risk for developing something like postpartum depression as well. 

In today's episode I speak with a woman who enjoyed a completely healthy pregnancy...until she didn't-- when cholestasis shows up.

 Cholestasis of pregnancy, I learned this week, is an issue with the liver that sometimes arrives in the second or third trimester.

We hear about how it's managed outside the hospital, and some of the surprises that awaited her in the postpartum. 

What follows is the first part of our conversation.

Today I finish my conversation with Dr. Brandy Cummings, who has an advanced degree in clinical nutrition. 

We talk about 
*all the challenges of her first birth in the hospital in contrast to her home birth and what it taught her

*how both experiences led her to her mission to change the standard of care for birthing people, including some specific ideas about eating in postpartum.

We pick up where we left off last week. Brandy is in the hospital, in the pushing phase of labor with her first child.

In today's episode I interview a woman who was in graduate school studying nutrition during her first sustained pregnancy; she experiences a lot of lapses in care, both for the miscarriage that precedes her first pregnancy, for the first trimester, and more during her first labor; but she learns a great deal about herself and the process.

She shares:
* What she thinks first trimester care should look like
*The concept of "Trimester Zero" and the panatal period
* What she wishes she'd done differently

You Can find Brandy's company, Pivotal Origins, here
Evidence Based Reasons for Never Ending Symptoms