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Today's guest, Dr. Nathan Riley, The Holistic Obgyn shares with us the birth story of his second child during the pandemic. Nathan shares with us his thoughts on holistic women’s healthcare and what that journey has looked like throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for his wife, Stephanie, and their family. As a provider, Nathan's goal is to provide patient-centered, freedom-focused practices helping women find their healing signal through the noise.  Nathan's Bio: Hi, I’m Nathan, and I’m a recovering conventional doctor. I was in school for most of life, trained in two medical specialties, then looked back and found myself disillusioned with the conventional maternity care model. Now, instead of serving the medical industrial complex, I serve women and their partners in achieving vitality. I have done extensive study in holistic lifestyle medicine, and my practice is based on the midwifery model. I borrow from Eastern traditions like Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and I provide holistic support to healing and pregnancy long before I recommend surgery, hormonal contraception, or other pharmaceuticals. Follow Nathan: www.belovedholistics.com

HeHe sits down with Allison Carlson of The Good Birth.  Allison is a mother of 2, a midwife apprentice, a childbirth doula, and the founder of The Good Birth.  Her first birth was an induction resulting in a 19 hour labor within a hospital setting. Her second birth was a 39 minute labor and birth at home (accidentally a free birth)! I'm so excited to share Allison's story with you!  Follow Along: @thegoodbirth

Jen McLellan is a published author, founder of Plus Size Birth, and host of the Plus Mommy Podcast. She helps people navigate the world of plus size pregnancy, shares tips for embracing your body, and laughs her way through the adventures of parenthood. Jen has grown a community of over 230,000 via the Plus Mommy Facebook page. Her work has been featured in major publications such as The New York Times, Glamour, Today's Parent, Huffington Post, and International Doula. She authored the My Plus Size Pregnancy Guide and co-wrote the Amazon bestseller, The Peachie Moms Guide to Body Love for Moms. She also has an essay in Jes Baker's book Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls. As a public speaker, Jen has spoken at numerous events, including presenting at the National Institutes of Health. Jen is also a certified childbirth educator, wife, and mother to a charismatic eleven-year-old. Follow along with Jen: https://plussizebirth.com/ Use code: 'birthlounge' for 20% off the 'My Plus Size Pregnancy Guide'

HeHe sits down with M'Kaela Tremaine who shares the story of her firstborn and her experience with Bandl's Ring. A Bandl’s ring is a rare birth complication in which a constricting ring forms from thickened muscle tissue between the upper and lower segments of the uterus. The baby becomes trapped by the ring and cannot descend. It creates a risk of uterine rupture as well as significant trauma to the baby if the ring is not diagnosed and a Cesarean performed to deliver the baby.  Thank you M'Kaela for sharing your story with us!

Britt Pados is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner & Nurse Researcher AND founder of Infant Feeding Care.  Britt is a neonatal nurse practitioner with a clinical background in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). She has a PhD in Nursing focused on feeding in infants and has done research on flow rates from bottle nipples. She owns Infant Feeding Care where she provides breastfeeding and bottle-feeding support to infants in Massachusetts. Follow along with Britt here: www.infantfeedingcare.com

Today HeHe is chatting with Dr. Sarah Leahy, of Birth Uprising.  Sarah is sharing the story of her unassisted birth at home. You DO NOT want to miss this one!  Sarah is the founder of Birth Uprising.  Birth Uprising provides both inspirational birth art & re-education, helping you to take back control of your pregnancy and birth. Follow along:  www.birthuprising.com www.instagram.com/birthuprising

HeHe sits down with Sarah King to discuss navigating pregnancy after an eating disorder.  Sarah and her team of allied health professionals specialize in helping women ditch disordered eating, recover their period from hypothalamic amenorrhea, and improve their body image so they can regain their health and their life.   Follow Sarah: www.sarahlizking.com

Krystle Howald DPT educates and empowers women to take hold of their physical health. She specializes in orthopedic and women's health- treating patients in her clinic Empower Movement Physical Therapy in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. She also owns Expecting and Empowered- a prenatal and postpartum business aimed at helping women navigate both periods with safe and effective workouts. E + E also disseminates as much free information as possible to help every single woman understand the pregnancy and postpartum process better.  Krystle is the co-founder of Expecting and Empowered. After going through our first pregnancies (our first kiddos are 6 months apart) we realized that women were being told, "Just listen to your body and do whatever you were doing before pregnancy." This type of message wasn't going to cut it, and women deserve better. Our DREAM was to use our professional expertise to help women thrive from their pregnancy journey through postpartum. We created a roadmap for each period - one that accounts for all the changes and modifications that need to come with each phase of motherhood. We know that mamas are short on time, so our guides are made with that in mind to help you exercise efficiently to feel your best! We are mamas who are passionate about giving ALL women the knowledge and tools to empower them to feel confident in keeping their baby safe during pregnancy and to heal properly during recovery from a c-section or vaginal birth. Your Website:: Www.expectingandempowered.com

Mandy Major is on a mission to change how America handles the fourth trimester. After learning first-hand how little we support and inform new parents during postpartum, she left her 10+ year career in digital media to dedicate herself to birth work and closing the gap in postpartum care. Today, she’s a certified postpartum doula PCD(DONA), founder of virtual postpartum care company Major Care, and creator of the My Fourth app, the first daily tracker devoted to postpartum parents. She has been a spokesperson for Philips Avent and currently serves as the postpartum expert for BabyCenter’s medical advisory board. She holds a M.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and has written as a perinatal expert for HuffPost, Healthline, Motherly and more. Socials Instagram @DoulaMandy and @MajorCareDoulas Links My Fourth: https://www.majorcaredoulas.com/my-fourth  MomStrong culture article: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/postpartum-support-mothers-united-states_n_60f42d83e4b01ba8eed7084b Code for your community: LOUNGE30 Download app with link above, head to Subscribe and enter the code for 1 free month of our doula texting plan/premium subscription.

Kaytee Crawford supports families in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum as a childbirth educator, birth and postpartum doula, and babywearing educator. She uses her training, combined with a wealth of experience parenting four boys, to create personalized care as well as fun, insightful social media content. Kaytee is passionate about sharing her experiences in pregnancy and as a Black woman and a person living in a larger body in order to create safer, trauma-free experiences for others. Kaytee lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband and four sons. She owns and operates Doula Kaytee, her birthwork business, as well as Ahava Creative Co, where she creates art and graphic design. Follow along with Kaytee: Www.DoulaKaytee.com Special offer: $5 off a babywearing consult. Sign up on Kaytee's website and put “podcast” in the notes during checkout!

HeHe sits down with Dr. Nidhi Kotak, pediatric dentist to discuss taking your baby in the dentist for the first time. We break down when, where to find a dentist, how to talk to your child about the dentist to get them prepared, etc.  Dr. Nidhi Kotak discusses when to start brushing, how we should be using toothpaste, types of brushing, teething, and so much more! Follow Along with Dr. Nidhi Kotak: @babytoothdentist

HeHe sits down to chat with Tatiana Koontz- Licensed Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife, monitrice (advanced birth doula), postpartum doula, placenta encapsulator, and childbirth educator. Tatiana owns a home birth practice in San Diego, CA. Tatiana and HeHe have PLENTY in common as birth workers, but today they are connecting on their shared experiences as birth workers without children or personal birth experience.  Tatiana has devoted her life to birth and postpartum work since she trained as a doula in 2006 and has been privileged to walk with hundreds of families on parts of their special journeys. She has a deep love for postpartum support, helping families transition as they integrate their babies and overcome challenges. Tatiana has a passion for birth options, informed consent, improving connections within families, and aiding them in building their community both before and after birth.  Tatiana is a dog lover that is fluent in Spanish after living in South America for several years. She loves to travel whenever possible, watch movies outdoors, and enjoy the sunshine.   Follow along with Tatiana: https://www.birthwavesmidwifery.com/ Facebook or Instagram

Amanda Janzen is a registered nurse and international board-certified lactation consultant. With 8 years of L&D, postpartum, and special care nursery experience she has worked in a hospital setting, free-standing birth center, and now in private practice as a birth/postpartum doula and lactation consultant. As a mom of two, she knows the realities of postpartum and honors every parents "intuitive knowing" when something "feels off." She strives to bring all options to the table so parents can feel confident in their choices even if they go against the grain. Amanda landed a job as a new graduate in labor and delivery and began to recognize patterns that led to the rarest/scariest birth complications. She questioned the "norm" early in her career and now realizes these experiences have shaped her into the practitioner she is today. These same questions carried over into her postpartum nurse role when educating parents about the "ABCs" of sleep at hospital discharge. She was secretly bed-sharing (safely) with her own baby at home, yet telling parents this was not an option for them with a hospital "gag order" in place. She refuses to teach abstinence only education when parents want more information on bed-sharing and believes lives can be saved when we intentionally teach parents how to make this a safer practice. Follow along with Amanda: www.midwestmommacollective.com Generously, Amanda has offered $25 off a virtual safe sleep consult. These consults look at each families unique medical histories, feeding practice, sleep situations, and home/bedroom setups to help determine if bed-sharing is right for you. Mention you heard the podcast on The Birth Lounge!

Join in today as HeHe sits down to discuss homebirth with Anne Margolis, CNM, LM, MSN, BSN, RN. Anne Margolis is a Licensed Certified Nurse Midwife, Licensed Femme! Teacher, Certified Clarity Breathwork Practitioner, Yoga Teacher and practitioner. She is a 3rd generation guide to mommas birthing babies in her family. Anne has helped thousands of families in her 25+ year midwifery practice and has personally ushered the births of over 1000 healthy babies into the world. She has also guided countless human beings to heal from emotional pain, inner stress and trauma, tap into their strength and power, live fully and vibrantly, and reclaim their radiance, joyfulness, calm and overall sense of well-being. Through her online childbirth course 'Love Your Birth', her online and in-person midwifery for pregnancy and postpartum support coaching, her birth professional mentoring, holistic gynecology, Clarity Breathwork, Yoga and Femme! experience offerings she infuses wisdom, compassion, inspiration, and joy into the entire process of women’s health care from teenaged years to menopause, as well as facilitating incredible healing and wellness for both men and women of all ages. Anne is a two times number one national and international best selling author of 'Natural Birth Secrets: An Insiders Guide How To Give Birth Holistically, Healthfully and Safely, and Love the Experience', and also 'Trauma Release Formula: The Revolutionary Step by Step Program for Eliminating Effects of Childhood Abuse, Trauma, Emotional Pain and Crippling Inner Stress, to Living in Joy without Drugs or Therapy' both out in second edition. Anne’s work, insights and advice have been seen on TV shows and movies including 4 episodes of 'A Baby Story' on TLC Discovery Channel, and the award winning feature documentary, 'Orgasmic Birth' and 'The Human Longevity Project.' She has been interviewed for multiple local, national and international radio programs, shows and podcasts. Anne has also been a featured speaker and expert panelist at distinguished events for Weil-Cornell School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, RCC State University of New York School of Nursing, and Birthnet Association of Childbirth Professionals and Hudson Valley Birth Network to name a few. Anne's Clarity Breathwork and Femme! healing movement workshops have been hosted at numerous private events, as well as several yoga studios and wellness centers, including the conscious, high vibration and transformational community at The Assemblage in NYC. Anne is a proud founding member of The Health and Wellness Business Association, which was created to promote initiatives that support better collaboration, interaction and ethical business practices within the health and wellness business community. She has midwifed mommas and babies for over two decades, and guides individuals to birth themselves as healthy and whole human beings capable of immense joy and inner peace. Her clients describe her as “passionate, sensitive, big hearted, and a playful ball of light.” When she’s not helping mommas around the world you can find her doing yoga (anywhere and everywhere), dancing, riding her bike, paddle boarding, swimming, taking or facilitating powerful growth and healing workshops, enjoying family time and watching comedy and historical drama. Follow Along with Anne: https://homesweethomebirth.com

Today HeHe sits down with Kayla Bitten to discuss Diversity in Lactation Support.  Kayla Bitten is a black, queer medical racism and equity activist, educator, and writer with over ten years in the world of birth work and her work in rooted in tradition, advocacy, and her Southern culture. She is a student midwife in Alabama and working to provide equitable support and options for BIPOC families and educate fellow birth workers on the importance of skills and cultural humility through her business The Southern Midwife. She is also the owner of Alabama’s first black-owned lactation clinic, The Postpartum Clinic, providing accessible lactation and postpartum care that goes beyond the American standard and prioritizes the uninsured and BIPOC postpartum families. Follow along with Kayla here: www.thesouthernmidwife.work

Today, HeHe is sitting down to chat childcare options with Carole Kramer Arsenault, RN, author of the award-winning book Newborn 101 and founder of Boston Baby Nurse & Nanny As a labor and delivery nurse and parent educator working in Boston, Carole interacted with many families and saw that there was a need for top-notch newborn care. She founded Boston Baby Nurse & Nanny over a decade ago to support new and expecting parents. Over the years families have trusted and relied on BBN&N for high-end newborn care. In the last few years they have received many inquires for additional childcare options so they expanded their services to include nanny placements. Given the new demands brought on by Covid-19 and remote learning, they recently added Nanny Educator and Tutor Services so parents can feel confident that their children are getting the education they deserve. BBN&N prides itself in educating and providing in-home consultations to families and on-going trainings to their childcare providers. they are excited to serve families in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Reach out to the BBN&N team today for an individual consultation to determine which service will best meet the needs of your family.

Rixa Freeze, PhD studied at the U of Iowa and is a researcher, professor, and mother of 4 children. Her current research specialization is vaginal breech birth. She is president of Breech Without Borders, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. She blogs at Stand and Deliver (rixarixa.blogspot.com) and is passionate about all things birth- and breastfeeding-related.    Content Warning: We discuss statistics of infant and maternal mortality.

HeHe is sitting down with Lara and Sarah, co-owners of Dynamic Doulas of London. Together, they are sitting down to share and dish about the secrets they have learned as doulas!  Dynamic Doulas of London work with birthing people and their families to direct them to the best sources for information, support, and health care and encourage them to grow into confident, strong, happy humans. For more about HeHe follow along: @tranquilitybyhehe / @the.birth.lounge For more about Dynamic Doulas of London follow along: @dynamicdoulas

With the return of The Birth Lounge podcast in 2022 - HeHe is SO excited to dive right into things with Dr. Jen Morgan.  Join us as Jen explains all things prolapse! Jen Morgan is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy, who specializes in treating pelvic health conditions. As a pelvic Health physical therapist, Jen specializes in treating all dysfunctions of the pelvis, across the  gender & age spectrums. Diagnoses often are related to the bowel, bladder, sexual health, pelvic pain, or musculoskeletal changes during pregnancy or postpartum; these conditions (like incontinence or pain with intercourse) may be “common” but are not normal & can be addressed! Jen has a continued commitment to patient care that is individualized and person-first. Her goal is to always have her patient’s feeling educated and empowered about their health and healing plans. Her plans of care blend hands-on techniques (including those that are self-taught), movement & breathwork to improve range of motion, gaining strength, decrease pain, and regulating  the nervous system to facilitate your body’s healing.  Jen has earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from A.T. Still University, completed countless hours of continuing education & has focused her efforts on being a teaching assistant for pelvic health & specialized manual techniques of visceral and neural manipulation, as well as her yoga certification (ERYT200) through yoga alliance.  When not working, Jen is spending lots of time working on house projects with her husband, drinking coffee & loving on her pup. You can always follow along on Instagram @doc_jenmorgan for more of the fun.   

Inside the halls of American hospitals, millions of people find comfort, healing, and support. But for many doctors and nurses, this couldn’t be further from the truth.    This podcast will dive into the shadows of American healthcare to investigate and uncover the abuse, control, and political power plays that leave the very people responsible for our nation's health, broken and battered.   We’re sharing stories of professionals in medicine that have experienced horrendous treatment at the hands of a broken system that does nothing to stop the trauma. As the Association of American Medical Colleges states, “Long before the #MeToo movement, women in medicine have instinctively banded together to counter a culture that too often tolerated harassment.”   From systemic trauma to abuse of power to the unspoken rules of cover-ups and corruption, Mandy Irby and HeHe will take you to the darkest corners of healthcare in America so you can have an inside look at bringing humanity back to medicine! Sensitive Content Warning: This podcast will share details of triggering subjects such as sexual assault and workplace violence, so if you aren’t in a space to listen, respect your mental health and tune in again at another time.   Connect with us on Instagram: @pulsecheck.podcast