Evidence Based Birth®

In this week's podcast, I interview new parents Heather Hyden and Jimmy Earley. They live in Lexington, Kentucky, and were one of the first couples to take the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class in 2018. Heather works at a local university, and Jimmy works at a local nonprofit. Their son Kess turned 9 months on the day we recorded this episode. Theirs is a unique story in that this pregnancy was actually their second. Their first baby had a fatal condition and that first pregnancy was not considered to be viable. Finding care appropriate for their family was difficult. Heather looked forward to a healing home birth, but plans changed. At 34 weeks Heather no longer felt that home was the right environment for them for a variety of reasons. Thanks to the EBB Childbirth Class, the couple felt a shift in their confidence and no longer feared a hospital birth as they did before. What followed was a winding, 30+ hour journey to meeting their baby. Heather and Jimmy found out about the EBB Childbirth Class through multiple recommendations from their doula, a local friend, AND their OBGYN. They were attracted to the online flexibility, the tactile learning tools, and the role playing aspects of the class. What I love about Heather's story is how she and Jimmy had tools to advocate for themselves. They were able to utilize a variety of options in labor, including one of my new favorite techniques - a pre-pushing 'huddle' with the staff! We discuss how to keep a supportive birth team and entering parenthood free from the judgement of others. (And certainly not least, the reminder to have a food plan and proper nourishment!) RESOURCES Click here for information on the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. Click here to see the book The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother. Click here to find an EBB Childbirth Class near you.

In this episode, I interview Ben Atkinson. Ben has been married for 20 years, and has four children and one angel baby. He attended all five of his children's births, and caught the last two himself. He has been exploring the masculine role in birth since his first child was born. With encouragement from a group of birth professionals, he developed a course for expectant fathers, to help them use this vulnerable time in their lives to explore and activate positive masculine traits and step into their best selves. Ben believes that modern society has knocked down most of the signposts for healthy masculinity, and he believes by accessing the wisdom of older men and practicing some time-honored traits, expectant fathers can become the men their families truly need. We discuss the start of Ben's teaching journey in a local correctional center - the lessons he learned on what men take through life via their experiences and relationships - and the course he is developing for young and first-time fathers. We also cover the research on the experience of childbirth for fathers and partners, how they are regarded in the health care system, and how they can be supported. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: For more information on Ben's course, click here. To access his resources for birth professionals, click here.

In this episode, I interview Noel and Joel Smothers, missionaries who gave birth to their first child last fall. They currently live in North Carolina but will be heading back to Brazil soon. Noel felt it was really important to have a vaginal birth if at all possible, so that she could continue to have future vaginal births when she's living in countries with less developed health systems. They took the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class with Instructor Mary Kury. I was so impressed by this couple. They had a very challenging birth. Noel managed a vaginal delivery of a large baby who was presenting face first - a very rare presentation that usually triggers a c-section. Noel also had a difficult pregnancy and intense back labor. We talk about how the EBB Childibrth Class prepared both Noel and Joel to face these challenges successfully. We also discuss postpartum and newborn care. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: Check out the Evidence Based Birth® blog to read our free Signature Articles on gestational diabetes, big babies, water birth, and more!

In this episode, I am joined by "Mr. EBB" himself, Dan Dekker! Dan is an Accountant with his MBA, the father of 3 children, and also my husband. He has worked for more than 10 years in small business accounting, and five years ago left a successful corporate position to become a full-time stay-at-home dad and to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of Evidence Based Birth. Dan and I dive into the backstory of EBB - including how starting this business has impacted our family. Our Evidence Based Birth Instructors supplied Dan with thoughtful and fun questions for this interview, including what's it like being my birthing partner! We move from the fun and lighthearted to tackling the top mistake we see made by small business owners - especially birth business owners. By the end of this interview you'll learn what Dan is most excited about with the future of EBB - including how we are planning to release more products for parents! And if you've been struggling to keep your birth business afloat, Dan has some words of wisdom and encouragement for you. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I loved recording it with him! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: For more information about Dan's new class, Birth Business Teacher, click here. To learn more about becoming an Evidence Based Birth Instructor, click here. For information on Hypnobabies, click here. To see Dan in action as our birthing partner role model via the EBB Childbirth Class, click here!

In this episode, I am joined by EBB Professional Membership and Higher Ed Program Coordinator Chanté Perryman. Chanté is a certified birth and postpartum doula, a childbirth educator, an Evidence Based Birth Instructor, and will begin training as a midwife in 2020. She is a strong promoter of birth choices - coordinating an annual baby expo, publishing a quarterly magazine for local parents, and volunteering with the Kentucky Home Birth Coalition as an advocate for Certified Professional Midwives. Together, Chanté and I will tell you all about the Birth Workers of Color Scholarship campaign for the 2019 Evidence Based Birth Conference! Our goal is to raise $25,000 to fund the costs for 30 birth workers of color to attend the conference. We need your help to make this happen! Tune in to hear why this initiative is so important to EBB and our community. We also unveil more news about our EBB Signature Articles, and the language we will use in them going forward to help combat systemic racism. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: For more information on the EBB Birth Worker of Color Conference Scholarship Campaign, click here! You can donate through March 11. No amount is too small! All donations are tax deductible, and 100% of all donations will go directly to fund the scholarships. For more on the 2019 Evidence Based Birth Conference - Bringing Evidence to Life, click here. For information on the Evidence Based Birth® Professional membership, including scholarship options, click here. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD Setting the Standard for Holistic Care of and for Black Women - The Black Paper, April 2018 by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance MotheringJustice.org - White Women School TheGrandChallenge.org

In this episode, I interview certified nurse midwife Olivia Favela-Gary. Olivia has been a CNM for over five years, and has been a registered nurse for 10 years. She currently practices in Los Angeles and Southern California in a Federally Qualified Health Center, and attends births in a hospital setting working mostly with underserved and high risk populations. She also frequently works as a first assistant for cesarean births. Olivia hosts the podcast This American Midwife, and is mom to a daughter and a son. Olivia reveals what it's like to give care in the L.A. area, and the special needs required by people in vulnerable populations - such as immigrants, women who are trafficked and abused, or those who are homeless or drug addicted. We also discuss how to teach doctors about the midwifery model of care, and we cover the evidence on induction of labor. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: Contact Olivia via email (olivia@thisamericanmidwife.com) or Instagram. Check out Olivia's podcast, This American Midwife, on iTunes and at messy.fm. For more information on inductions, visit the Evidence Based Birth® blog article on The ARRIVE Trial, as well as our Natural Labor Induction Series.

In this episode, I interview midwife and Evidence Based Birth Professional member Afua Hassan. Afua has practiced as a midwife since 1984. In 2011, she expanded her home birth practice and founded The Birthing Place, Houston's first freestanding birth center owned and operated by a black midwife. The name "The Birthing Place" was chosen by Afua in response to her observation that many women felt that they needed a hospital and a doctor to deliver babies. In her practice, Afua's philosophy is that the mother is the captain of the birth, the partner is the co-captain, and she - as midwife - is the advisor. As of today, she has assisted in nearly 1200 births. We discuss Afua's initiatives to educate women on the hospital system and the medical model of care, as well as the steps she is taking to support the women in her community. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: Learn more about Afua and The Birthing Place here. Check out her recent feature on the Today Show at the same link! You can also find The Birthing Place on Facebook and Instagram.

In this episode, I interview Caley O'Brien about her empowering birth experience and being one of the first parents to take the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class. Caley has been married to her husband Kent for two years, and they live in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She is now a stay-at-home parent to her baby Solomon, and describes herself as a "crunchy hippie". Caley and Kent took the EBB Childbirth Class with their local Instructor, Cat LaPlante. We discuss how Caley intentionally and strategically built trust with her hospital birth team, and the impact that had on everyone involved with the experience. While her birth was empowering and positive, Caley also shared some challenges and she and Kent were equipped to handle during labor. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. We're hosting free webinars all about the EBB Childbirth Class on February 5 (for parents) and February 6 (for birth pros). Don't miss this behind-the-scenes tour - register here! To learn more about the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class, click here. To find an EBB Childbirth Class and Instructor near you, click here.

In this episode, I interview Nichole Croft and Todd Jackson of New Jersey. Their first baby was born in the summer of 2018, and they were among the first parents to take the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class. They were taught by EBB Instructor Cat LaPlante, and were referred to the class by their doula after inquiring about pain management techniques. Listen as they describe their birth experience and how they utilized what they learned in their EBB class. From understanding the basics of natural birth, to learning about advocacy, comfort measures, birth planning and building relationship with hospital staff, Nicole and Todd felt confident and prepared for their birth. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: We're hosting free webinars all about the EBB Childbirth Class on February 5 (for parents) and February 6 (for birth pros). Don't miss this behind-the-scenes tour - register here! To learn more about the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class, click here. To find an EBB Childbirth Class and Instructor near you, click here.

In this episode, I interview Michelle Wilson, one of the first parents to take the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class. Michelle has one son, Matthew, and is a stay-at-home mom in Berea, Kentucky. Michelle and her husband Matt were very passionate about gathering as much information as possible prior to Matthew's birth. They chose to plan a natural childbirth in a hospital setting, and Michelle labored with non-drug comfort measures for nearly 24 hours. Circumstances eventually led the baby to be born via cesarean. While Michelle's c-section was an option she chose and was a good experience for her, she did end up with postpartum hemorrhaging.We discuss the evidence on postpartum hemorrhage in subsequent births, as well as the pros and cons of elective c-sections versus VBAC. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) and our Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. RESOURCES: We're hosting free webinars all about the EBB Childbirth Class on February 5 (for parents) and February 6 (for birth pros). Don't miss this behind-the-scenes tour - register here! To learn more about the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class, click here. To find an EBB Childbirth Class and Instructor near you, click here. California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative OB Hemorrhage Toolkit VBAC Facts Further studies to explore: Postpartum Hemorrhage: Prevention and Treatment Risk Factors for Severe Postpartum Hemorrhage After Cesarean Delivery: Case-Control Studies Guise 2010 meta-analysis for the AHRQ Landon et al. (2017) NIH (2010) Consensus Statement Association of Ontario Midwives VBAC Guidelines Landon et al. (2016). "What We Have Learned About Trial of Labor After Cesarean Delivery from the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Cesarean Registry." Seminar Perinatol Aug;40(5):281-6 Landon et al. (2004) Smith et al. (2002)