The Tranquility Tribe Podcast

Jen Kamel is the CEO and Founder of VBAC Facts® whose mission is to increase access to vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) through education, legislation, and amplifying the consumer voice. VBAC Facts® helps perinatal professionals, and cesarean parents, achieve clarity on the VBAC evidence through their educational courses, continuing education training programs, and consulting services. As an internationally recognized consumer advocate, Jen supports perinatal professionals around the world through her online professional membership, travels throughout the United States training perinatal professionals, presents Grand Rounds at hospitals, and works as a legislative consultant throughout the US focusing on midwifery legislation and regulations that threaten VBAC access. Over the years she has testified multiple times in front of the California Medical Board and legislative committees, educating legislators on the importance of VBAC access, and has served as an expert witness and consultant in legal proceedin

Episode 2 of 2 with Julia Karol. Today we hear from Julia ALL about her birth! This is an amazing birth story you won't want to miss.   Julia Karol is building a family. Along the way, she is asking anyone and everyone about how they came to make the decisions they did regarding family life. She's opening up an honest, funny, raw, and earnest conversation looking at what creating a family really means and how it might show up differently than expected. Join Julia as she explores the concept of today’s modern family. Episodes feature everyday friends, family, neighbors, and experts sharing their own journey to define and create a family. Julia's Website: www.storkdpodcast.com

Sit down and get cozy! This solo episode with HeHe Stewart dives into the glaring issues with in-hospital childbirth education. So before you sign up for your local hospitals class, make sure to give this one a listen! If you are listening along with us live during the first week of December, be sure to catch The Birth Lounge while doors are open HERE! Link mentioned in episode: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3241518/

Julia Karol is building a family. Along the way, she is asking anyone and everyone about how they came to make the decisions they did regarding family life. She's opening up an honest, funny, raw, and earnest conversation looking at what creating a family really means and how it might show up differently than expected. Join Julia as she explores the concept of today’s modern family. Episodes feature everyday friends, family, neighbors, and experts sharing their own journey to define and create a family. Your Website: www.storkdpodcast.com

Erika is a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist in the state of Massachusetts.  She completed her Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy at Regis College in Weston, MA, and she also received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Brandeis University.  She has a diverse background working with infants, children and teens in school-based settings, early intervention, and private practice.  Erika has trainings in tethered oral tissues, Michelle Emmanuel's Tummy Time! Method, visual-vestibular techniques, reflex integration, feeding, and oral motor skills. Additionally, she is trained in Handwriting without Tears. Erika lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts. She is the mother to Jordan (3) and Lila (infant). In her spare time, she enjoys playing outside with her children, jogging, watching Boston sports and meditating. Erika is a level I Reiki practitioner.

Today HeHe is sitting down with Malia Funk of The POV.  Covering everything you need to know about using this FemTech tool to find a provider that you want and deserve.  The POV is a curated marketplace of modern healthcare offerings designed for women+. Our goal is to help women and uterus-owners choose the best care option available.   Follow along with POV: Thepov.us

How young is too young? The benefits of chiro care, babywearing, the impacts of vaginal vs c section delivery on musculoskeletal structure and development, oral ties and tethers, and how to find a pediatric chiropractor in your area!   Dr. Ashtiani is the owner and treating chiropractor at Essence Chiropractic & Wellness located in San Antonio, Texas. Chiropractors focus on the structure and condition of the body influences and body functions and its ability to heal itself. The mind-body relationship is instrumental in maintaining health and in the healing processes. Dr. A specializes in pediatric and the perinatal period.  www.essence-chiro.com  

Melissa Chappell, LDEM, CPM is a midwife and owner of two birth centers in Utah, as well as a doula trainer of over 20 years. She is passionate about women’s health from a holistic and nourishing perspective, and advocates for women’s wellness in all areas of their lives. She has worked with midwives and birthing women all over the world, including in Haiti, Ethiopia, and Kenya, and loves seeing how women’s lives improve with access to safe and effective midwifery care. She’s the owner of Fresh Melissa, a company dedicated to creating tasty treats that are also healthy. She is the mother of 4 children and 3 grandchildren that she adores. In between catching babies, Melissa loves to explore as much of the world as she can – from international travel to exploring the mountains in her backyard.

Melissa Chappell, LDEM, CPM is a midwife and owner of two birth centers in Utah, as well as a doula trainer of over 20 years. She is passionate about women’s health from a holistic and nourishing perspective, and advocates for women’s wellness in all areas of their lives. She has worked with midwives and birthing women all over the world, including in Haiti, Ethiopia, and Kenya, and loves seeing how women’s lives improve with access to safe and effective midwifery care. She’s the owner of Fresh Melissa, a company dedicated to creating tasty treats that are also healthy. She is the mother of 4 children and 3 grandchildren that she adores. In between catching babies, Melissa loves to explore as much of the world as she can – from international travel to exploring the mountains in her backyard.

A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and Birth Monopoly's Doula Power group, co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Project, and, from 2012 to 2016, vice president of national advocacy organization Improving Birth. She has run an emergency hotline for women facing threats to their legal rights in childbirth, created a viral consumer campaign to “Break the Silence” on trauma and abuse in childbirth, and helped put obstetric violence and the maternity care crisis in national media. Today, she is a leading voice for women giving birth, speaking around the country and consulting privately for consumers and professionals on issues related to birth rights and options. Cristen​ ​is also the host of Birth Allowed Radio as well as executive producer of a documentary film planned for release in 2020 to start a national conversation on obstetric violence, birth trauma, and women's rights in birth. facebook.com/birthmonop

THIS IS OUR 200TH EPISODE!! I can not believe that we have had 200 hang outs, 200 conversations about your rights and 200 times that you prioritized yourself and your birth so you can have a better birth! This is the way to a world that has no birth trauma and women are truly in control of their birth experiences again!   Exciting news in that The Birth Lounge doors are open! They are open September 5th-9th! You can join at https://www.thebirthlounge.com/join   In this episode, I will teach you how to can respectfully navigate the conversations around your birth goals and have your preferences honored! We are going to talk about declining routine cervical exams, declining an IV and continuous fetal monitoring as a low risk laborer, advocating for pushing in any other position than on your back and how to decline an unnecessary induction that does not feel aligned with you.    Links mentioned in the episode:  Evidence-Based Induction Guide: https://www.thebirthlounge.com/induction History of Lithotomy position

Leslee is a registered dietitian who specializes in gestational diabetes. She has been working with pregnant moms for eight years and is passionate about women advocating for their health. Lesley founded the better blood sugar Method coaching program for Gestational diabetic moms in January 2020. In the program Leslee teaches women how to enjoy the foods they love while managing blood sugars confidently! She also has a husband and two young boys that keep her very busy! Leslee enjoys to be outdoors in her free time either hiking, gardening, or watching her boys play sports!  She also has a husband and two young boys that keep her very busy! Leslee enjoys to be outdoors in her free time either hiking, gardening, or watching her boys play sports! Follow along: @gestational.diabetes.nutrition

HeHe sits down with Cassidy Piney to share Cassidy's breech birth story. Cassidy is a mother of two daughters, a 2 year old and a 1 year old. Her first baby was born at home with midwives. Her second baby was breech and was born vaginally in hospital with a team of midwives.  You don't want to miss this one!

HeHe is sharing carseat safety with Dahlia Rizk of Buckle Me Baby Coats. About Dahlia: My 3 kids, 2 cats, dog and I live in New Hampshire where winter is long and cold and like you our lives are super busy. I want my kids to be safe and warm in the winter but I found myself too tired to wrestle their winter coats off in the car seat every single trip. One day, feeling overwhelmed with all the taking the coat off - put the coat on, I thought if the zipper wasn’t in the middle this wouldn't be a problem… and I realized I had a super simple and easy fix to the winter coat problem!! Excited, I spoke with every coat manufacturer imaginable. I thought they would jump on the idea and together we would quickly get the coat out to all parents but none of them believed that coats needed to be redesigned for the car seat. They weren’t in the trenches though – I was – and I knew other parents needed car seat coats too but this was pre-social media and I didn't have a way to talk to parents directly so I focused on my gro

Bianca Snyder, Founder of High Society Mama and Society's Plant High Society Mama inspires CannaMoms to feel comfortable and confident in their choice to use plant medicine, while also laughing and having fun in the process.  Society's Plant is a seed to smoke artisanal hemp company that is grown with love by High Society Mama and High Society Papa. They have the mission to introduce society to the healing benefits of cannabis through smoking CBD flower. Follow Along: Www.societysplant.com Save with code: Tranquility30

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 su

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