Evidence Based Birth®

On today’s podcast, we’re going to talk with Stephaney Moody, a Health Equity Ambassador and an advocate for Healthy Birthday and Count the Kicks about the importance of kick counting to prevent stillbirth. Stephaney Moody’s passion for stillbirth prevention came after her family experienced loss, when her sister lost her daughter. Upon learning about the inequities that persist in stillbirth outcomes in the African-American Community, she felt led to join the fight against preventable stillbirth and strive for equity. Stephaney is also the Founder of Black Women's Health and Wellness Webcast which addresses issues that impact the health and wellbeing of African-American women. She also serves in her community as a Pastor at New Beginnings Discipleship Ministries and as a Chaplain to the Des Moines Police Department. We will talk about the importance of kick counting in the third trimester to prevent stillbirth. Stephaney shares how her family has been affected by stillbirth and how she became involved in Kic

On today’s podcast, we have a fun episode where we talk with Labor & Delivery Nurse and the founder of Bundle Birth, Sarah Lavonne, about supporting families so that they can have a confident and empowered birth experience.   Sarah Lavonne, pronouns she/her, a pioneer in nursing and birth education, is the founder & CEO at Bundle Birth, A Nursing Corporation. Sarah is a Registered Nurse Certified in inpatient Obstetric Nursing, a certified childbirth educator, and a certified lactation education counselor. With a vision to unite patients, support persons and medical personnel together through education and support, Sarah and her team at Bundle Birth have fearlessly developed a community of learning and inspiration across labor and birth. Sarah dreams of all birthing people having, not only a healthy birth with safe outcomes, but healthy birth memories. She offers a spectrum of services from support to on-demand classes to a robust online YouTube presence.  In this episode, Sarah shares her journey to

Have you ever thought about what position you would like to use to give birth? Most movies and television series depict birthing positions such as back-lying or semi-sitting in bed. But many people, if given the choice, instinctively choose a more upright position for birthing their baby—such as hands-and-knees, squatting, or kneeling. What is the evidence on the different positions that can be used to help push your baby out? And why are the lying or semi-sitting positions so frequently recommended (or even required) in hospital settings? Join Dr. Rebecca Dekker, the founder of Evidence Based Birth, as we explore in-depth evidence on this topic! To learn more about the research on this topic, and to download a free 1-page handout, visit ebbirth.com/birthingpositions. This podcast is also posted on our YouTube channel in case you want to access the video. Content Note: perineal tears, the lithotomy position, forceps and vacuum deliveries, and obstetric violence related to being coerced or forced to push a

October 5, 2022 – In honor of National Midwifery Week, I am so excited to present to you a podcast replay with the esteemed midwife Jennie Joseph.  Jennie was featured on EBB episode 136 in 2020, and since then she has gone on to become the first Black midwife to own an Accredited Midwifery school (Commonsense Childbirth School of Midwifery) in the U.S.. Jennie was also announced as Time Magazine’s Woman of the Year in 2022! If you haven’t listened to this episode yet, you should!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time Jennie was talking— she blew me away with her passion, her wisdom, her ability to call out nonsense, and her storytelling prowess. So, if you’re interested in learning more about the crisis in U.S. childbirth care, and what we can do about it… please educate yourself with this replay of Episode 136 with Midwife Jennie Joseph, a true change agent! Replay – In this episode I welcome Jennie Joseph, one of the world’s most respected midwives and authorities on women’s health. She’s a true adv

In today’s episode, hosted by Evidence Based Birth® founder, Dr. Rebecca Dekker, along with Doctoral Candidate Tyler Jean Dukes, we talk about the five most surprising findings from compiling the EBB Abortion Research Resource Guide: 5) Research on the demographics of who has abortions as well as statistics on who supports/opposes abortion, 4) Historical research on the last time abortion was illegal in the U.S., and how the historical oppression of midwives relates to past campaigns against abortion, 3) Statistics on why so few people view adoption as a viable "alternative" to abortion, 2) History (past and present) of officials trying to "protect" fetuses while abusing pregnant people in immigrant detention centers, and 1) the funding and goals of crisis pregnancy centers, which outnumber abortion clinics in the U.S. threefold. The Abortion Research Resource Guide that we discuss in this podcast is available at: ebbirth.com/birthjustice. The Birth Justice page also features a video that our team recorded,

A Dream Preterm Birth Experience in Brazil with EBB Parents, Luciana Arraes and Jonathan Moyer On today’s podcast, we’re talking with EBB Childbirth Class parents, Luciana Arraes and Jonathan Moyer, about their preterm birth experience in Brazil and how their preparation and knowledge paired with a "Golden Ticket" birth team provided the birth of their dreams. Luciana (she/her) is a Brazilian violinist who plays in the National Theater Symphony in Brasilia, Brasil. Luciana is married to Jonathan (he/him), who is an American pianist who has a large studio of piano students. Together, they welcomed their baby in July at 35 weeks gestation. We talk about their experience taking the EBB Childbirth Class with Ali Buchanan, where they learned how to recognize all the phases of labor, and how having a "Golden Ticket" birth team helped them get exactly what they wanted in the birth of their baby. We also talk about supporting the baby, by providing care for the birthing parents.  Content Warning: Pre-term labor,

On today’s podcast, we’re going to talk with Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Brandon Diggs Williams (he/him), BSW, MSW, LCSW, about Black fatherhood, parenting in partnership, self-care, and fighting anti-Black racism. Mr. Williams currently works full-time at the Durham VA Medical Center (DVAMC), providing individual, couples, and (primarily) group therapy through the VA. He specializes in personal/spiritual development, transformative thinking, and cultural competency with a focus on the Black community. Mr. Williams is involved in multiple efforts that contribute to ally-ship, diversity and inclusion, and anti-Black racism efforts at the departmental and facility level at the Durham VA. He created, developed, and facilitates “The Invisible Struggle” therapeutic group which focuses on providing clinical mental health care for veterans dealing with stress unique to Black people in America. And serves on multiple boards/teams at the DVAMC including: The Antiracism and Black Equity Advisory Board, the Diver

On today’s podcast, we’re going to talk with Nikki Hunter-Greenaway, Nurse Practitioner and IBCLC, about the formula shortage this year and meeting your community at where they are to provide the concierge reproductive health care they deserve. Nikki Hunter-Greenaway, AKA, Nurse Nikki is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Nikki is the proud owner of Bloom Maternal Health, which provides Telehealth and house calls to pregnant and postpartum families in both Texas and Louisiana.  In 2018, she co-founded the New Orleans Breastfeeding Center and Café au Lait Breastfeeding Circle for families of color, and co-founded Nikki and Nikki Lactation Career Consultants to help Black, Indigenous, and People of Color demystify the path to becoming an IBCLC. Her goal is to improve maternal health outcomes through community education, peer mentorship, and patient-centered care. We will talk about challenges and insights Nurse Nikki experienced during her journey

In today’s podcast, we’re going to be talking with EBB Childbirth Class Parent, Katie Kane about the birth of her second baby. Unexpectedly, her second baby was in a breech position, leading to a surgical birth after the unmedicated vaginal birth of her first baby.   Katie Kane is a high school counselor who lives in New Jersey with her two daughters, husband, and dog Roscoe.   Katie is the first EBB Childbirth Class graduate to tell both of her birth stories on the Evidence Based Birth® Podcast!   Katie talks about her journey with a breech baby, including all of the tools and techniques she used for support throughout her pregnancy. Ultimately, the baby persisted in the breech position, and she was able to experience a family-centered cesarean by speaking with her birth team.   Katie’s story is perfect for anyone planning a cesarean or writing a cesarean birth plan. She talks about healing physically, and emotionally, and speaks of advocating for her family’s wishes amid an unplanned surgical birth.     Con

  In today’s episode, hosted by Evidence Based Birth® founder, Dr. Rebecca Dekker, we talk about four major topics related to updated research evidence on IV Fluids: 1) research on how IV Fluids can affect the length of labor, 2) research on how IV Fluids can impact breast/chest/body feeding, 3) the relationship between fluids, newborn weight, and blood sugar levels, and 4) finally, review the current recommendations surrounding IV use in labor. This podcast is also posted on our YouTube channel in case you want to access the video  As a content note, this episode includes a discussion of newborn weight drop, newborn feeding struggles, and Cesareans.  The current episode is taught by Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN (she/her). Dr. Dekker is a nurse with her PhD, who is the founder and CEO of EBB.   Content warning: Cesarean, breastfeeding/chestfeeding struggles, infant weight drop   Resources: For a full list of scientific references, see the blog post that goes along with this episode Check out our Signature Ar

In this week's podcast I interview Cheri Grant RN, ICCE, CLC, ICD, CLD, CD BDT(DONA), known in the birth world as "the peanut ball lady.” She is the founder, chief contributor and inspiration for Premier Birth Tools. For over 45 years, she has served women as a labor and delivery nurse, childbirth educator, lactation consultant, national speaker, author, doula, and doula trainer. She has helped with well over 2,700 deliveries in the span of her career. Cheri is also the founder of Tulsa Doulas, a community group that has helped train and support doulas for over 20 years. Cheri’s interest in peanut balls began when she first saw their use in labor in 1985. At that time, they were just straddled. In the 2000’s, the usage of peanut balls was refined to the side-lying position, and interest in them began to grow among birth professionals. They are used with and without an epidural, and can be effective in shortening labor. Premier Birth Tools promotes education via its website, as well as Peanut Ball Ambassadors

On today’s podcast, we’re going to talk with the founder of Every Baby Eats, licensed clinical social worker, and IBCLC, Kristin Cavuto Kristin Cavuto, pronouns she/they, is a licensed clinical social worker in IBCLC and private practice in central New Jersey. Her practice specialties are low supply, parental and infant mental health, and the intersection of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender in the care of the new family.   Kristin is the mother of two children who nursed full-time despite maternal insufficient glandular tissue (IGT) and who are now 16 and 13. Kristin is also an anti-racist activist and an LGBT+ activist, a member of Transformative Works fandoms, and makes fighting for a better world part of their daily life. We talk to Kristin about supporting families struggling with feeding infants in a realistic, family-centered, and non-disparaging way. We also talk about fatphobia as a form of oppression and marginalization in medicine and birth and what we can all do to challenge bias and mod

Today, we are going to explore brand new updates to the Evidence Based Birth® Signature Article, Evidence on: Eating during Labor!We talk about four major topics:  Nutritional needs during labor New info on gestational or pre-gestational diabetes and eating during labor New research on anesthesiology and its relationship to eating and drinking during labor, and Finally, how body mass index and fatphobia relate to anesthesia concerns, and what that has to do with eating during labor.   In this exciting podcast episode, hosted by EBB founder Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN (she/her). Dr. Dekker is a nurse with her PhD.   Content Warning: pregnancy related death, anesthesia related death, fatphobia and anesthesia, microaggressions related to health care workers reaction to ethnic foods   Resources: Refer to previous podcast episode: EBB 198 - Evidence on Eating & Drinking (linked on blog post below) Check out our Signature Article… Evidence on: Eating and Drinking during Labor at Check out our Signature Article..

Today, I am so excited to present to you a replay of one of our most popular episodes on the Evidence Based Birth® podcast, and that is an episode from 2020 with special guest, Shafia Monroe. Before we get started with the replay, I wanted to let you know that this episode contains discussion of Black infant and maternal mortality related to racism, slavery and Jim Crow, and racism that continues to affect people’s lives today.   Shafia gave us such an inspirational episode in 2020, that we wanted to bring it back for those of you who are new to EBB, or for those of you who’ve listened to it before. Whenever I listen to this episode, it fills me with a sense of awe for Black traditional midwives, and it gives me hope while it reminds me of the tenacity of the human spirit. So join us today as we replay this episode and you go on a storytelling journey with Mama Shafia Monroe about spirituality and traditional midwives. In today’s podcast episode, we’re going to talk with Shafia Monroe about the role of the

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with Melek Öz about vaginal birth after Cesarean (VBAC), advocacy, and becoming a home birth midwife! Content note: Mention of weight loss and racism. Melek Öz (she/her) is a home birth midwife living with her family in South Austin, Texas. She moved to Austin in 2001 to attend the University of Texas, where she completed both her undergraduate studies and law school before transitioning to birth work. Melek has been active in birth advocacy for more than a decade throughout her childbearing years and now as a home birth midwife. With her first pregnancy, Melek was told by her OB that her pelvis was "too small." She was pressured into an early induction that turned into a preventable Cesarean. Fresh out of surgery, Melek's OB told her, "Now that you've had one Cesarean, all your babies will have to be born by Cesarean." In this podcast episode, Melek goes on to share her subsequent birth stories, in which she had a CBAC (Cesarean Birth after Cesarean) under general a

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with EBB Childbirth Class Parents, Lisa Mangini and Anand Swaminathan about their high-intervention birth story! So many people have negative associations with interventions— but Lisa and Anand's story shows how you can still experience a joyful, empowering birth, even in the midst of complications! Lisa Mangini is a writer living in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, Anand and young son. She teaches English and creative writing at a university and is in the early stages of writing a book about becoming a parent. I think Lisa is the first person I've heard of who found the EBB Childbirth Class through a neurologist! During her first pregnancy (which ended in a miscarriage), Lisa had her first tonic-clonic seizure. Lisa had to dive into a journey to manage her seizure disorder and several other health conditions, all while trying to conceive and then eventually getting pregnant. Lisa and Anand's story is perfect for anyone who is facing a high-risk pregnancy or su

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with EBB Childbirth Class Parent, Shelitha Owens about her inspirational home waterbirth story. Shelitha Owens (she/her) is an environmental policy manager who lives in Oaklawn Illinois, a suburb of Chicago with her husband Bobby, their dog, Reeses and their new baby, Alexander, who was born on June 18, 2021. Having a biology background, Shelitha has always been fascinated with anatomy and was curious about pregnancy and birth. After having her son at home with a planned water birth, Shelitha’s interest in birth work skyrocketed as she enjoys talking to new and expecting parents about their birth stories. We talk about how her experience in the EBB Childbirth Class supported her positive mindset related to the stages of labor and birth. She felt confident with the knowledge helping her and her partner prepare for their home waterbirth. Content note: We mention grief, implicit bias/racism, and medical trauma, and there is gendered language related to finding out baby'

In today's episode, hosted by the EBB Research Team, we are sharing the audio from a private livestream we did with our Pro Members at Evidence Based Birth. We talk about three major topics related to updated research evidence on doulas: 1) research on the pandemic's effect on the doula profession around the world, 2) research on the difference between community-based doulas and private or traditional doulas, and 3) new info on paying or getting reimbursement for doula care in the U.S. [NOTE FOR LIBSYN ONLY]: This podcast is also posted on our YouTube channel in case you want to access the video of our team teaching, and a screenshare of some of the evidence we're talking about! As a content note, this episode includes discussion of COVID-19, racism, and how a lack of postpartum coverage is in some cases tied to the same places that have abortion bans. Today's episode is taught by Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN (she/her), Ihotu Ali, MPH (she/her), and Erin Wilson, MPH (she/her). Dr. Dekker is a nurse with her PhD

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with the founder of The Pocket Doula, Anna Balagtas, about uplifting queer, and trans-care.  Anna Balagtas (she/siya) is a queer, Pinay full circle birth worker, educator, facilitator, energy worker, and pleasure advocate. Her practice is rooted in the decolonization of birth work, radical QTBIPOC care, and queer reproductive justice, taught to her by king yaa. Anna's deepest joy comes from witnessing her communities thrive through community care, mutual aid, and abolition work.  We talk about how Anna started The Pocket Doula and her journey to decolonized birth work. We also talk about Anna’s experience with radicalizing perinatal care for QTBIPOC communities by creating empowering spaces centered on queer reproductive justice.  Content warning: We mention abortion, the upcoming Supreme Court decision on abortion, queerphobia, transphobia, medical trauma, medical racism, death, miscarriage, and loss.  Learn more about the founder of The Pocket Doula, Anna Balagtas

On today's podcast, we're going to talk with the founder of Dandy Doula, Xian Brooks, MPH, about the importance of intersectional birth work and amplifying the need for intersectional birth support for queer, trans, and BIPOC birthing bodies. Xian Brooks (he/him) is a public health professional from Louisville, Kentucky, where he is a community-based birth doula and a Master of Science in Nursing student. Xian completed his Bachelor's of Science in Public Health Education at North Carolina Central University and his Master's of Public Health in Community and Behavioral Health at the University of Colorado. Over time, Xian has accumulated a lot of experience in queer, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming reproductive health education. Xian's training has equipped him to understand the root causes of perinatal death rates among Black individuals, especially how race, gender, sexual orientation, and class are not mutually exclusive when it comes to health disparities. Xian's lived experience recognizes t