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

Last week I interviewed a great sleep consultant, Mary Vaughn, and we talked about some sleep issues that Kelly was having with her newborn. Today we'll hear more of my conversation with Mary about:

* the most common mistakes parents make with sleep training
and
*how to handle, and think about, the sleep needs of multiple children in the house.

Mary is a certified PCI parent coach and sleep consultant and founder of Mothers Together, a company that offers a number of services to help mothers escape survival mode, induced by lack of sleep, desperate need for more time in the day, and the chaos of having young kids at home.

You can find her at Mother Together

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

Today my guest shares her experiences of two births

Although she'd hoped for a natural birth the first time:, she had

an induced labor that turned into an emergency C section

the second time she hoped for a VBAC, but ended up with another C section

she shares tips for managing 

*epidural headaches

*her challenges with sleep issues with her newborn

 which I discuss with a fabulous sleep consultant who has valuable advice to share.

You can find Mary at Mother Together

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

In today's episode we hear from a fabulous lactation consultant who answers all kinds of questions

* Is breastfeeding supposed to hurt? how much is too much?

*What are the physical changes that have to happen to be able to breastfeed

*Is there a genetic component to breastfeeding?

You can find more about Jennifer Suffin at her website: Care in the Curve

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

In today's episode Colleen shares some of her challenges with breastfeeding, including: 
*managing tongue and lip tie 
*not producing enough milk
(And we hear insights about these issues from the fantastic lactation consultant, Katie Howser). 
She also talks about how significant changes between her first and second pregnancy led to a much better experience.

Basal Body Temperature Info
How to Read Ingredient Labels on Baby Food
A Comparison of US & European Baby Food
Katie Howser, lactation consultant
Dr. Bobby Ghaheri on breastfeeding

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

Today we have a mini episode with a fantastic lactation consultant based in San francisco, Katie Howser.

Katie offered insights on last weeks show, but some of what we talked about didn't fit in the episode. She talks about:
* Signs that you ARE or ARE NOT producing "enough" breast milk

*How to think about your breastfeeding journey relative to the experience of your Mother (or sister)

what follows is part of my conversation with Katie.

You can find Katie here: http://www.katiehowser.com/

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

In today's episode my guest shares some of the things she learned from her first birth

she talks about 

*managing some of the physical struggles of pregnancy, including restless leg syndrome

*all the things she encountered and learned on her breastfeeding journey

We also hear from the fabulous lactation consultant, Katie Howser who has lots of useful information for anyone who is feeling the challenge of breastfeeding.  She has so many great insights that you can put to use immediately, so I'm excited to share what she has to say. I should note that the recording quality of some of our conversation is a bit wonky, but we are going to play through because there is so much value in what she has to share.

To find information about Restless Leg syndrome, you can find papers, here, here, here, and here.

Here is a link to Katie Howser, Lactation Consultant, IBCLC

Hand Expression of Milk Video from Stanford

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

In this mini episode, I talk to a fantastic midwife, who gives us a care providers perspective on some common things that happen in births in medical settings.

Today we talk about :
* the tools doctors and midwives use to predict how a birth will turn out
*  the medical care provided to the baby just after birth 

Tune in and get her great tips!

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

In today's episode, I finish my conversation with Tanya, and we hear about what she learned from the last three births

she shares about:

*managing a shoulder dystocia

*her husband's response to the birth trauma he witnessed

*Her red tent experience--laboring surrounded by a team of women

*one of her secrets to pain relief for an unmedicated birth

We also hear from the fabulous midwife, Ann Richards.

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

In this mini episode:
 I talk to a fantastic midwife, Ann Richards, who gives us a care providers perspective on some common things that happen in births in medical settings. 

Today we talk about 
1. why doctors break your water in the course of a birth 

2. why IVs are often inserted as soon as you cross the threshold of your labor and delivery room (and some good tips on how to manage the situation). 

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.

In this episode we hear from a woman who had five births, each one different in important ways from the one that preceded it.

She shares insights about what she would've done differently in those early births:

* how she would handle the induction
*her experience with pitocin
*what elements of a hospital birth she would change
*what she learned about ovulation in postpartum

I also include the insights of a fantastic midwife who fully explains why some of the hospital procedures are managed in the specific way that they are.

For extended show notes with links, see War Stories from the Womb website

This is a weekly show that highlights real pregnancy, birth & postpartum stories.