On today’s podcast, we will be sharing with you an excerpt from a live webinar featuring Dr. Rebecca Dekker all about debunking the myths of Premature Rupture of Membranes, GBS, & Waterbirth.  We discuss the following topics: The Updated Evidence on Premature Rupture of Membranes - There are two new meta-analyses on GBS-- but they have limitations and cannot be applied to countries that screen and treat GBS. New guidelines are included from ACNM, ACOG & the Association of Ontario Midwives. The myths on GBS - We review what the microbiome is, the influence of probiotics, and why antibiotics are used. How Waterbirth can be used for labor - We covered the differences in association guidelines of waterbirth, as well as, reviewed the significant results for the risks and benefits of waterbirth from the largest and highest-quality study on waterbirth to date! This is podcast breaks down the topics for parents and professionals to be informed and empowered! LECTURE HANDOUTS For lecture handouts from the webinar, click here: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/GBS-PROM-Waterbirth-Webinar-April-2023-for-Handout.pdf  EBB SIGNATURE ARTICLES Evidence on Premature Rupture of Membranes https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-inducing-labor-water-breaks-term/   Evidence on Group B Strep: https://evidencebasedbirth.com/groupbstrep/  Evidence on Inducing for Due Dates https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-inducin... Evidence on Waterbirth https://evidencebasedbirth.com/waterbirth/ EBB PODCASTS EBB 230 – An Inspirational Home Waterbirth Story with EBB Childbirth Class Parent Shelitha Owens EBB 223 – An Empowering Hospital Water Birth Story with Samantha Parker and Justin Fontaine EBB 261 – Mini Q&A on Group B Strep  EBB 257 –  The Evidence on Group B Strep in Pregnancy: Part 2 EBB 254 – The Evidence on Group B Strep in Pregnancy: Part 1    ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Association of Ontario Midwives on PROM: https://www.ontariomidwives.ca/prom-term  Full list of References can be found on our blog post here. Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class. Content warning: We will mention labor, medical interventions (i.e. antibiotics, epidural), hospital transfer, waterbirth, pain, premature rupture of membranes, gendered language, medications in labor, vaginal/pelvic birth, Group B Strep, inductions, cervical exams

May 17, 2023 - On today's episode we are honoring Pelvic Floor Awareness Month with a replay episode from one of our most popular episodes, an interview with Dr. Juan Michelle Martin all about pelvic floor health in both pregnancy and postpartum. Content warning: discussion of sexual function and dysfunctions in plain terms. In this episode, I will be talking with Dr. Juan Michelle Martin. Dr. Martin is a pelvic floor specialist for 13 years and now an Evidence Based Birth® Instructor. Dr. Martin is the owner and founder of JMM Health Solutions. She's created a few programs for pregnant individuals as well as two coaching programs, one of them being a 12-week program for people with endometriosis, and the other being a four-week program for individuals suffering from dyspareunia. We talk about the benefits of pelvic floor therapy for pregnancy and postpartum. We also talk about the importance of advocating for accessible pelvic care services. Learn more about Dr. Juan Michelle Martin here (https://www.jmmhealthsolutions.com/). Follow Dr. Martin on Instagram here (www.instagram.com/thepelvicperspective). View Dr. Martin’s pelvic floor topic videos on YouTube for JMM Health Solutions here (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKNEkVefn_wLgrqlf4wyXHw).  Learn more about Academy of Pelvic Health (APH) here (https://aptapelvichealth.org/). Follow APH on Facebook here (https://www.facebook.com/aptapelvic/).  Learn more about Herman & Wallace here (https://hermanwallace.com/). Follow Herman & Wallace on Facebook here (https://www.facebook.com/HermanandWallace/).  Listen to recent EBB episodes about Pelvic Floor Health & Postpartum: EBB 256 - Top 3 Recommendations for Preventing Pelvic Floor Dysfunction after Birth with Dr. Sarah Duvall EBB 264 - Top 3 Tips for Exercise in Pregnancy with Mamastefit For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), Click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On this episode of the Evidence Base Birth® Podcast, we talk with Barbie Christianson, RN all about fundal massage. We discuss what the evidence actually says about this routine procedure versus what happens in everyday practice, and why this practice continues to persist in routine preventative care.   Barbie Christianson is a nurse, community educator and advocate, as well as a parent of four young children. Their mission is to communally dismantle oppressive structures specifically in reproductive/perinatal healthcare while contributing to the expansion of existing Black and/or Indigenous led community-based care structures. Barbie’s special focus is on addressing and eliminating obstetric violence using trauma informed perinatal advocacy, care, and education.   Barbie shares her passion and skills in trauma informed care with our audience by sharing useful scripts for obtaining informed consent, explaining how to guide patients in their own assessments and massage, and offers many ways to maintain a calm and compassionate nature to a procedure known as the “devil’s massage.” Content Warnings: Uterine/fundal massage, obstetric violence and assault, pospartum hemorrgage    Resources: Learn more about active management in the thrid stage of labor in our Signature Article: The Evidence on Pitocin During the Thrird Stage of Labor here Follow the BadAssMotherBirther in Instagram here Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.  

On this episode of the EBB Podcast, we talked with EBB Childbirth Class Graduates, Priscilla and Nathan Layman about how the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class prepared them for a home birth and their unexpected hospital transfer with a NICU stay.     Nathan and Priscilla are happy parents who live and work in San Antonio, Texas. Nathan is a pipeline engineer and Priscilla splits her time between caring for their 19-month-old daughter and providing part-time psychotherapy services, as a licensed clinical psychologist.     Join us as Nathan and Priscilla share their experience learning advocacy skills reviewed in the EBB Childbirth class and how they were used during their daughter’s unexpected NICU stay after their homebirth transfer. We also talk about their birth experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and how empowered they felt with their support team in birth and postpartum.     Content Warnings: 911 call, emergency transfer to the hospital for low oxygen state in a newborn, respiratory support for an infant in a neonatal intensive care stay.     Resources: Access EBB's Signature Article on The Evidence on: Waterbirth here Learn more about Deborah Persyn and Leche and Mimi lactation services here Find the book Bringing Home Baby and other resources by Gottman here Learn more about Lea-ann Goettsch's Evidence Based Birth Childbirth class and other services here  References: Bovbjerg, M.L., Cheyney, M., Caughey, A. B. (2022). “Maternal and neonatal outcomes following waterbirth: a cohort study of 17,530 waterbirths and 17,530 propensity score-matched land births.” BJOG 129 (6): 950-958.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34773367/ Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episodes listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today’s episode we are celebrating the release of Part 3 of our BRAND NEW Signature Article, "The Evidence on: Anti-Racism in Health Care and Birth Work!" EBB Research Editor Ihotu Ali, the lead author on this paper, talks with Rebecca Dekker about how  Evidence-Based Equity Tools are solutions that can collectively move Black and Brown voices, leaders, innovative programs, accountability conversations, supportive funding, and legislation from the sidelines to the mainstream. You can find all three parts of our NEW Signature Article, The Evidence on: Anti-Racism in Health Care and Birth Work here: www.evidencebasedbirth.com/antiracism Join the conversation to learn more about: Equity vs equality and diversity vs mending broken relationships The Evidence Based Equity Triad The Midwifery Model of Care - What about midwives in birth centers or other community spaces Community-Based Doulas - Support and mentor a doula of color and expand sustainability of the doula profession through employee benefit models Reparations and Transformative Justice - Transformative Justice in Leadership Challenges Additionally, learn how you can answer the call as a birth worker and become an ally in the fight for reproductive justice.  Resources:  Find the Black Birthing Bill of Rights® from the NAABB here    Find The Evidence on: Anti-Racism in Health Care and Birth Work here    All of our Free Handouts, including "Getting Started," "Quiz on Anti-Racism," "Afrofuturism in Birth" and "Fighting Anti-Black Racism in Birth" are available here Listen to EBB Episodes: EBB 136 – Solutions for the Crisis in American Maternity Care with Jennie Joseph here EBB 161 – Addressing Maternity Bias and Infant Care with Irth App Founder, Kimberly Seals Allers  Here EBB 170 Addressing Mistreatment in Childbirth Care with Birth Monopoly Founder, Cristen Pascucci here EBB 220 – Fighting Bias in the Birth Room with Irth App Founder, Kimberly Seals Allers Here EBB 229 Evidence on Doulas: Community-Based Models, the Pandemic and Reimbursement with the Research Team Here EBB 251 – Naseema McElroy, Founder of Financially Intentional, Shares her Courageous Story of Speaking up as a Labor and Delivery Nurse Here  Watch videos on Tranformative Justice:  Watch Adrienne Maree Brown discuss transformative justice here An example of Restorative Justice: (the Tinkerbell story) told in a YouTube video here  Find the Article, "Are corporations psychopaths?" here    Find the book on defensiveness: Why Do I Do That? Psychological Defense Mechanisms and the Hidden Ways They Shape Our Livesby Joseph Burgo here    Find a black birth worker near you at www.systemmidwife.com   Learn more about:  The Sheppard Towner Act of 1921 here Maternal Mortality Review Commissions here The life and legacy of Loretha Weisinger , the mother and founder of the community-based doula here About HealthConnect One, who offers trainings for community-based doulas around the country The Birth Sanctuary  Earth's Natural Touch doulas National Black Midwives Alliance Melanated Midwives The National Association for the Advancement of Black Birth Commonsense Childbirth  A Wombman's Way Warrior Midwife training Jamaa Birth Village Birth Center Equity Kentucky Birth Coalition  Learn Birthing Place BX and Womb Bus Follow Ihotu Ali’s work on Instagram here Follow the Oshun Center for Intercultural Healing and their work in Minneapolis here Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Want to get involved at EBB?  Check out our Professional Membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode, we talk with Gina and Roxanne, the sister duo behind Mamastefit about how fitness can keep you comfortable and pain-free during pregnancy and birth.   Gina Conley and Roxanne Albert are the sister duo of MamasteFit. Together they offer childbirth education, specializing in labor and pelvic biomechanics and pre and postnatal fitness programming. Located in Aberdeen, North Carolina, you can train with them in person or you learn from them all over the world with their Instagram account and online classes. Additionally, Gina, has her master's in exercise science, runs the MamasteFit in-person perinatal fitness training facility and she discusses how she supports families as a birth doula. Roxanne, is a labor and delivery nurse, recently serving as a birth assistant in a freestanding birth center and tells us how being a student midwife influences her understanding of the body in birth.   Today, we talk with Gina and Roxanne about their own experiences being pregnant and how it inspired the creation of Mamaste Fit. They explain how an understanding of one's body during pregnancy and birth can impact the birth experience. We talk about fitness and how movement and pelvic biomechanics can minimalize pregnancy-related discomfort and prepare your body for labor.     Check out the resources below to follow along and learn more! Resources: Find MamasteFit on social media:  Instagram  Facebook  YouTube  For more information about their courses and offerings, check out their website here Listen to EBB Episode EBB 256 - Top 3 Recommendations for Preventing Pelvic Floor Dysfunction after Birth with Dr. Sarah Duvall, Found of Core Exercise Solutions here EBB 155 - Pelvic Floor Health in Pregnancy and Postpartum with Dr. Juan Michelle Martin here EBB 196 - Pelvic Biomechanics and movement in Labor with Brittany Sharpe McCollum here  EBB 224 - Failure to Progress or Failure to Wait with Ihotu Ali, Erin Wilson, and Rebecca Dekker here  Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.  

In this episode we talk with Sabia Wade about her new book, Birthing Liberation: How Reproductive Justice Can Set Us Free.   Sabia Wade (she/ they) is the founder of Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings, an accessible and inclusive training program for community care workers, and the founder of For the Village, a nonprofit providing doulas at no or low cost to low-income and marginalized communities in San Diego, California, as a coach, board member, investor, educator, and programming development consultant for organizations throughout the birth and reproductive health space. Every part of Sabia's work centers on liberation of all people through Reproductive Justice.   Sabia talks with us about the process of writing a book for birth workers about Reproductive Justice and how we can create the future we want for all birth people. Sabia introduces us to the ideas of Birth Neoterism and Black Luxury. Through these key concepts, Sabia shares how we can learn from our history, find hope in our present and recreate the future of birth in America. Sabia’s hope for the readers of their book, is that they are able to engage on their own journey in interacting with the book and connecting through the storytelling and working through the somatic exercises to work through trauma and towards healing. In those spaces of healing and caring for ourselves can we begin the process of collective liberation.                                                                                                                                        Resources: Find Sabia’s book Birthing Liberation: How Reproductive Justice Can Set Us Free here Follow Sabia’s work here  Follow Sabia on Instagram here Sign up for The Birth Neoterist Newsletter here  Listen to EBB’s previous interview with Sabia, EBB 124 - Health Disparities, Advocacy and the Coronavirus with Sabia Wade here Listen to EBB 251 - Nasmeea McElroy, Founder of Financially Intentional, Shares her Courageous Story of Speaking up as a Labor and Delivery Nurse Find the book, Transformed by Birth by Brita Buchnell here Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode we talk with Emily Chandler and Taylor Washburn, EBB Childbirth Class graduates about their experiences in the childbirth class; their informed and empowered hospital birth; and how they navigated an extended hospital stay for newborn jaundice.   Emily, is a marine scientist, and Taylor, is a teacher and rowing coach in the Boston area. Together, they love hiking, biking, rowing, and taking advantage of the great outdoors. And they're also very busy taking care of their baby. While pregnant, Emily dove headfirst into learning about pregnancy, birth, and the state of maternity care in the United States. Emily and Taylor took the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class with EBB instructor Chanté Perryman.   Emily and Taylor share their experiences in the EBB Childbirth Class and how that informed many of the decisions they made regarding their birth plan, including Taylor being both inspired and empowered to “catch” their baby. They also share how they used the advocacy skills learned in class to better communicate with their providers and each other. After experiencing the birth they desired, complications arose when Emily experienced difficulty breastfeeding and inadequate lactation support. Difficulty was further exasperated when their newborn was diagnosed with jaundice leading to an extended hospital stay. Content Warnings: extended hospital stay due to newborn jaundice, “yellow baby,” difficulty breastfeeding, syringe feeding, lack of lactation support poor latch, heel pricks and bilirubin testing, treatment for elevated bilirubin, poor outcomes for Black and Brown infants with jaundice Resources: Access the CDC article on Jaundcie here Access the Evidence Based Birth® Signautre Articles on:  The Evidence on Premature Rupture of Membranes here  The Evidence on Group B Strep here  The Evidence on Pitocin® in the Third Stage here Listen to EBB 145- Fatherhood and Advocacy in Birth with JacMichael Perryman here Listen to EBB 244 - Evidence on AROM, AVD and Internal Monitoring here  Learn more about Chanté Perryman's EBB Childbirth Class and services here or on her Instagram account @babydreamsmc Learn more about The Nest Collaborative for lacation support here References:  Here are the scientific references on jaundice for the blog article: ·      Dunn, P. M. (2003). Dr Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802) of Lichfield and placental respiration. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed;88:F346– 8. ·      Katheria, A. C., Lakshminrusimha, S., Rabe, H., et al. (2017). Placental transfusion: a review. Journal of Perinatology; 37:105-111. ·      McDonald, S. J., Middleton, P., Dowswell, T., et al. (2013). Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping of term infants on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD004074 ·      Ashish, K. C., Rana, N., Malqvist, M., et al. (2017). Effects of Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping vs. Early Clamping on Anemia in Infants at 8 and 12 months: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr;171(3):264-270. ·      Mercer, J. S., Erickson-Owens, D. A., Deoni, S. C. L., et al. (2018). Effects of Delayed Cord Clamping on Four-Month Ferritin Levels, Brain Myselin Content, and Neurodevelopment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. ·      Andersson, O., Lindquist, B., Lindgren, M., et al. (2015). Effect of delayed cord clamping on neurodevelopment at 4 years of age: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatr;169:631–8. ·      CDC article on Jaundice: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/jaundice/facts.html   Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.  

In this bonus episode, we wrap up our 2-part series on Group B Strep in Pregnancy, where I answer some of your questions following the first two episodes. Here are the questions answered in this bonus episode: Is it possible to retest between an initial GBS swab and going into labor? Are there things that can be done to get a negative test before labor occurs? If you are GBS positive in one pregnancy, are you likely to be positive in subsequent pregnancies? Discussion about an important limitation to one of the studies in our GBS update. Discussion about risk factors and the “Other Risk Factor” approach vs the Universal Screening approach Is there evidence for screening for GBS twice in the same pregnancy? Make sure you listen to Part 1 and Part 2  to review the updated GBS research. Resources: Listen to EBB 254: Group B Strep in Pregnancy Part 1 here Listen to EBB 257: Group B Strep in Pregnancy Part 2 here Listen EBB 87: Cristen Pascucci on How to Disagree on Birth Topics Respectfully! here Learn more about the use of antibiotics in labor in our Pocket Guide to Labor Interventions  References: Parente V, Clark RH, Ku L, Fennell C, Johnson M, Morris E, Romaine A, Utin U, Benjamin DK, Messina JA, Smith PB, Greenberg RG. Risk factors for group B streptococcal disease in neonates of mothers with negative antenatal testing. J Perinatol. 2017 Feb;37(2):157-161. doi: 10.1038/jp.2016.201. Epub 2016 Nov 17. PMID: 27853322; PMCID: PMC5280520. Kabiri D, Hants Y, Yarkoni TR, Shaulof E, Friedman SE, Paltiel O, Nir-Paz R, Aljamal WE, Ezra Y. Antepartum Membrane Stripping in GBS Carriers, Is It Safe? (The STRIP-G Study). PLoS One. 2015 Dec 31;10(12):e0145905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145905. PMID: 26719985; PMCID: PMC4697801. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode, we’re going to talk with Ms. Divine Bailey-Nicholas, midwife apprentice, doula, certified lactation counselor, and master herbalist about her career in birth work, advocacy and plant medicine in Louisiana. We learn how she utilizes a community model of care that brings resources and education to combat maternal health deserts in the Deep South of the US.   Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Ms. Divine is proud of her Delta, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia roots. Her cultural foundation breathes through her plant medicine and birth work. Currently, Ms. Divine is a charter member of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Louisiana chapter, where her role is historian. She’s a member of the Healthy St. Landry Steering Committee and member of the Community Partners Advisory Sub-Community for the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative. Divine is also the founder and executive director of Community Birth Companion, a nonprofit organization working to decrease infant and maternal mortality rates through childbirth education, breastfeeding support, and community doula support in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, where she resides with her husband and four children.   Ms. Divine shares the reality of maternity care in the Southern US, including high rates of morbidity, mortality, and poor infant outcomes, especially among Black women. Ms. Divine shares how she has been inspired by the work of Grand Midwife Shafia Monroe to become a resource to her community and is working to improve birth outcomes and combat maternal health deserts through her perinatal safe space, the Community Birth Companion. Through a community model of care, Ms. Divine is providing education and empowerment to the families she serves. Additionally, Ms. Divine shares insight into her work as a Master Herbalist and teaches courses to support families in pregnancy and postpartum.   Content warning: maternal mortality, maternal morbidity, maternal care deserts, health care inequalities, racism  Resources Follow Ms. Divine’s work on her social media channels: Instagram  Facebook Learn about Ms. Divine’s services or sign up for Ms. Divine’s courses on plant medicine on her website here Learn more about Ms. Divine’s work with Community Birth Companion on their website here    Follow the Community Birth Compnaion on social media:  Instagram Facebook Additional Resources: Listen to EBB 152 – Shafia Monroe on Traditional Black Midwifery, Spirituality, and Community Advocacy here Learn more about Safia Monroe on her webite and follow her work on Instagram  Listen to EBB 56 – Listening to Black Midwives: Ms. Charlotte Shilo-Goudeau here Listen to EBB 156 – Nicole Deggins of Sista Midwife Productions on Navigating Systemic Racism in Birth Work here Read Kelena Reid Maxwell’s  Dissertation Birth Behind the Veil: African American Midwives and Mothers in the Rural South here Find the Black Birthing Bill of Rights here Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.  

In this episode, we're going to talk with Ruth Greene, birth doula, Evidence Based Birth® Pro Member, and Co-owner of Having a Baby in China Consulting Services, about the challenges of giving birth in a foreign country and how pregnancy and childbirth can unite us despite our unique cultural & lived experiences.   After the birth of her second baby in a local hospital in China, Ruth began volunteering to support other foreigners as they struggled to navigate an unfamiliar healthcare system. Ruth's passion drove her to seek formal training as a doula and childbirth educator. In May 2022, Ruth partnered with the creators of havingababyinchina.com to open an official Chinese company that offers breastfeeding, doula, and consulting services. Ruth’s clients hail from every corner of the earth, from South Africa to Brazil, to England, to Iran, and, of course, China. No matter the cultural or personal background, Ruth considers it an absolute privilege to be invited into the sacred space of pregnancy and birth.   Ruth shares her own experiences giving birth in China and how she came to find herself immersed in birth work and making a career of helping similar families navigate the process themselves. Ruth highlights the many differences and unique cultural traditions around having a baby in China, like the Zuo Yue Zi, or the “sitting month.” Despite the differences, Ruth has found that experiences of pregnancy and birth unite us all.   Resources: Check out Ruth's website here  Email Ruth directly at ruth@havingababyinchina.com Follow Ruth on Instagram - Having a Baby in China  Find Ruth on WeChat - ID: GirlTravelor Listen to her Podcast: Having a Baby in China  You can also find Having a Baby in China on WeChat from her podcast page linked above Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode we talk with Samantha Reisz, EBB Childbirth Class graduate about her experiences taking the class and preparing for a waterbirth in a hospital with her “Golden Ticket” birth team, who were skilled and prepared to manage a placental cord avulsion also known as cord snapping.   Samantha Reisz, she/her, is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Human Development at Washington State University in Vancouver, Washington, just outside of the Portland, Oregon area. She completed her bachelor's in Psychology and master's in Infant Mental Health from Mills College in Oakland, California when she first began studying childbirth. Samantha then earned her PhD in Human Development and Family Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied infant parent relationships and the transition to parenthood. Samantha is a passionate scholar and educator. After years of studying these topics academically, she finally was able to live her own research with the birth of her first child. Samantha lives in Vancouver, Washington with her baby, partner, and two dogs.    Samantha shares how she prepared to give birth for the first time with the use of a doula who recommended the EBB Childbirth Course. Samantha and her partner planned for a waterbirth in a hospital with an OBGYN attending the birth. After experiencing the beautiful waterbirth she had desired, complications arose in the 3rd stage with a placental cord avulsion. Her “Golden Ticket Birth Team” was skilled and prepared to support her through this experience. Content & Trigger warning: complications in the third stage of labor, active management of the third phase, umbilical cord snapping or avulsion, excessive blood loss Resources: Find out more about Samantha’s work and research here. Find out about Scarlett Lynsky’s EBB Childbirth Education class here and listen to her EBB Podcast interview here. Read the EBB Sigature Article on The Evidence on Waterbirth here Read the EBB Signature Article on Eating & Drinking here Listen to the EBB Natural Induction series here Find out more about the Evidence on Nitrous Oxide in EBB Episode 15 here Listen to all the EBB Podcast Episodes on Waterbirth and Cord Avulsion:  Find EBB 4 – Waterbirth and the Newborn Microbiome here Find EBB 11 – Evidence on: Waterbirth here  Find EBB 202 - A Fast First Time Birth Expereince with Childbirth Class Graduate, Haley Grachico here  Find EBB 223 – An Empowering Hospital Water Birth Story with Samantha Parker and Justin Fontaine here  Find EBB 230 – An Inspirational Home Waterbirth Story with EBB Childbirth Class Parent Shelitha Owens here Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! References:   Bovbjerg, M.L., Cheyney, M., Caughey, A. B. (2022). “Maternal and neonatal outcomes following waterbirth: a cohort study of 17,530 waterbirths and 17,530 propensity score-matched land births.” BJOG 129 (6): 950-958. Access the article here     Burns, E. E., Boulton, M.G., Cluett, E., et al. (2012). “Characteristics, interventions, and outcomes of women who used a birthing pool: a prospective observational study.” Birth 39(3): 192-202. Access the article here     Schafer, R. (2014). “Umbilical cord avulsion in waterbirth.” J Midwifery Womens Health 59(1): 91-94. Access the article here     Sidebottom, A.C., Vacquier, M., Simon, K., et al. (2020). “Maternal and neonatal outcomes in hospital-based deliveries with water immersion.” Obstet GYnecol 136(4): 707-715. Access the article here  For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode, we continue to bring you the Updated Evidence on Group B Strep in Pregnancy. This is Part 2 of a 2-part series, where we talk about the evidence on alternative treatments for GBS and answer some of your FAQs about this hot topic.   In Part 2, we’ll be talking about: The “Other Risk Factor approach,” Alternatives to antibiotics for GBS, including Chlorhexidine and garlic, Vaccines, Probiotics, Topical use of human milk, Address frequently asked questions Review the Guidelines from 3 countries We wrap up with the Bottom Line on the Updated Evidence on Group B Strep in Pregnancy.   Content Warning: GBS-related stillbirth, infant death, critical illness of newborns, vaccines, antibiotics, and racial disparities in GBS positive results and GBS disease in newborns.   References and Resources: For a full list of scientific references, see the blog post that goes along with this episode here. Find about more about colloidal silver here  Learn more about Neonatal Sepsis here  Learn more about the National Guidelines for screening and treating GBS in the USA, UK, and Canada:  Guidelines in America: ACOG Recommendations for Prevention of Group B Strep Early Onset Disease in Newborns  AAP Guidelines for Management of Infants at Risk for Group B Strep Disease Guidelines in the United Kingdom:  United Kingdom National Screening Committee Recommedations  Recommendations from the Royal College of Obstetrians Guidelines in Canada  Recommendations from the Society of Obstetrians and Gynaecologists  Recommendations from the Association of Ontario Midwives  Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today’s podcast, we’re going to talk with physical therapist and founder of Core Exercise Solutions, Dr. Sarah Duvall (she/her) about connecting with your pelvic floor and preventing dysfunction after birth.    Dr. Sarah Duvall, CPT is the founder of Core Exercise Solutions, a center for continuing education and online programs focusing on the pelvic floor. She uses her platform to share her passion for empowering individuals to connect with their bodies in pregnancy and heal holistically after birth.  When she's not hanging off the side of a mountain, Sarah is also a wife, mom, and adventure sports athlete who enjoys writing and presenting through her social media platforms and figuring out how her clients can continue to pursue their dreams and lead strong adventurous lives.   In this episode, we talk about the importance of pelvic floor physical therapy. Sarah walks us through several pelvic floor exercises to help us understand how to connect with our bodies and understand what types of dysfunction might impact our daily lives. Additionally, Sarah educates us on the importance of connecting with and caring for our bodies after a Cesarean birth. Trigger warning: pelvic organ prolapse, Cesareans, incontinence, use of gendered language. Resources: Learn more about Sarah's work here Follow Sarah's work on Instagram here   Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class

In today's podcast, we talk with Laurisa Paul, a Registered Nurse, EBB Pro Member and founder of Girls Who Know® about her journey towards teaching girls what they need to know and respect about their bodies.   Laurisa was the winner of our EBB Pro Member September Circle Community challenge, where she won the opportunity to have her work featured on the podcast. I am excited to share my conversation with Laurisa where she talks about her passion for helping others love themselves fully and feel their inherent worth and power. Laurisa resides in Texas where she is a mother of five and an outdoor adventurer. Medically trained, Laurisa stumbled across home birth when she was actively seeking to improve her own birth experiences and since then she has worked as a midwife assistant.   Laurisa is a mother of five, a writer, a Registered Nurse, home-birther and midwife advocate. She has a deep passion for diversity and a profound respect for people and their story. She is a lover of outdoor adventure and dreams of being a world traveler and story catcher.    In this episode, she discusses her own journey to motherhood and the experiences from her five births, ranging from high intervention births in a hospital to unmedicated and low intervention homebirths. Each experience shaped who she has become as a mother and as a nurse catapulting Laurisa into her passion of working with the next generation and educating high school students about the physiology of birth, not just how to prevent pregnancy. Laurisa is the founder of the organization Girls Who Know, which inspires girls to love who they are and to know and respect their bodies. Girls Who Know prepares girls with what they need to know to make courageous, informed decisions for their lives.   Content Warning: use of forceps & vacuum, episiotomy, forced to push on back, obstetric violence, trauma, suffering, postpartum hemorrhage, gendered language, discussion of a fatal motor vehicle crash Resources:  Check out Laurisa's organization Girls Who Know® here  Follow Laurisa on social media via Instagram here and her Facebook here  Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode, we bring you the Evidence on Group B Strep in Pregnancy, in anticipation of the research update to the Signature Article on Group B Strep in Pregnancy.   This is Part 1 of a 2-part series. In today’s Part 1, we’ll be talking about: The evidence on GBS during pregnancy The evidence on testing for GBS The evidence on antibiotics, including the pros and cons of giving antibiotics during labor for GBS. Content Warning: GBS-related stillbirth, infant death, critical illness of newborns, antibiotics, disparities, access to health care. References and Resources:  For a full list of scientific references, see the blog post that goes along with this episode here. Find the CDC GBS Prevention App for Obstetric Providers here  Find the ACOG GBS Prevention Guidelines here  Listen EBB 87: Cristen Pascucci on How to Disagree on Birth Topics Respectfully! here Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class

In this episode we talk with Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class graduate, Leah Bergman about her experiences navigating a recommended 38-week induction due to a diagnosis of Intrauterine Growth Restriction. Leah Bergman is a new mom and has recently made the decision to leave her full-time job as a church musician to be able to dedicate more time to her family and raising her daughter. When she's not involved in music or busy with the baby, Leah enjoys cooking, knitting, coloring, sewing, and going on walks with her husband, Gunnar, and dog, Winnie. In this episode Leah shares how she was inspired by a friend to read Babies are Not Pizzas and on the recommendation of her midwife found the EBB Childbirth Class. Leah and her husband were planning for birth with as few interventions as possible, until an ultrasound showed signs of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). In collaboration with their midwifery team, they pivoted their plans and began to prepare for an induction at 38-weeks. Leah walks us through the difficulties in trying to make informed, evidence-based decisions about pregnancy and how they opted to induce at 38-weeks. Additionally, Leah shares her long two-part induction story and insights into how she was able to use the EBB Childbirth Education to advocate for herself during her induction and after delivery. Despite not having the birth she was originally planning, Leah reminds us that with education and preparation, you can achieve the positive and empowering birth you want, even if it isn’t what you originally expected. Content Warning: intrauterine growth restriction or fetal growth restriction, risk of stillbirth associated with IUGR, medical interventions to induce labor, labor induction, pregnancy complications, high risk pregnancy, frequent ultrasound and NST testing, mention of risk of Cesarean birth, mention of the risk factors for IUGR: placental insufficiently, genetic and congenital problems in pregnancy, anti-phospholipid antibodies, baby born small for gestational age Resouces: Find out more about Anna Sutkowski’s doula practice and EBB Childbirth classes here. Find out more about Rebecca’s book, Babies are Not Pizzas here. Intrauterine Growth Restrictions: Listen to Dr. Nicole Rankin’s podcast in IUGR here. Access a Medscape article on Fetal Growth Restriction (requires a free account) here. UpToDate article on Fetal Growth Restriction (requires a paid account) here Inductions: Listen to the EBB Podcast Episode 153: The Pros and Cons of the Foley and Dilapan-S for Cervical Ripening During an Induction here. Listen to the EBB Podcast Episode 222: Navigating Induction and Pregnancy at 35+ with EBB Instructor and Birth Fusion Founder, Jennifer Anderson here. Obtain a copy of EBB Pocket Guide to Labor Inductions here. Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode we talk with EBB Instructor Leslie Greene, about doula advocacy and empowering families through the EBB Childbirth education class.   Leslie Greene, pronouns, she/her, is a birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, baby wearing consultant and Evidence Based Birth Instructor and founder of Peridot Births. Leslie's work reflects her passion for birth justice, and she has a special interest in supporting Black and brown birthing families and members of the LBGTQIA+ community. Leslie is also the mom of a rising first grader and loves to spend her time with her adopted Shih Tzu and tabby kitten when not working.   We talk about the importance of doula advocacy. Leslie talks about her personal journey to becoming a childbirth educator and a doula, as a form of activism to address the Black maternal health crisis in American. She describes how to step into the birthing space as a collaborative advocate to center the parent's experience for their birth.    Content Warning: discussion of the murder of George Floyd, maternal mortality for African Americans, Black maternal health crisis, systemic racism, politics, obstetric violence, racism, forced cervical exams, perineal massage with baby shampoo, poverty, substance use, teen pregnancy, lack of prenatal care, colonization, slavery, and the COVID-19 pandemic Resources: Listen to EBB 218 – The Evidence on Perineal Massage during Labor with Dr. Rebecca Dekker here   Check out and follow all of Leslie’s work: o   Leslie’s Evidence Based Childbirth Education site can be found here o   Leslie’s Doula Services can be found here o   Follow Leslie’s work on Instagram here Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

Today, I am excited to share a replay of one of my favorite birth stories featured on the Evidence Based Birth® podcast. EBB childbirth class graduates, Brooklyn and Hoang Pham, share their power and miraculous birth story, which became an instant classic and truly touched my heart.   As a content warning, we talk about the significantly high rates of maternal mortality among Black and Brown individuals and racism in birth work.  On today’s podcast, we will be talking with Brooklynn and Hoang Pham. Brooklynn and Hoang currently live in Davis, California, and are the parents to Marvel, who turned seven months last December. Brooklynn is the senior managing director of Teach For America in Sacramento, and Hoang is finishing up his final year of law school at UC Davis School of Law. They took the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth class with EBB instructor, Shalin Butterworth, and are here to share their birth story. We will talk about Brooklynn’s and Hoang’s empowering experience when they attended the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth class and how it prepared them to feel ready for their powerful and miraculous birth with their doula and EBB instructor, Shalin.  Resources:  Sign up for the EBB Newsletter here.  Learn more about the EBB Instructor program here and find an instructor or course here.  Hoang and Brooklyn's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOBNp5cuEQpBDY3-3Bnl6eQ/ Instagram: @_hoangpham Twitter: @_hoangpham Birthplace Lab: You can explore the maps at https://www.birthplacelab.org/maps/. There is a How To video with tips on using the interactive maps: https://www.birthplacelab.org/how-to-explore-the-maps/. Visit BirthPlaceLab.org to learn about your state’s score! Research References: Balde, M. D., Nasiri, K., Mehrtash, H., et al. (2020). Labour companionship and women's experiences of mistreatment during childbirth: results from a multi-country community-based survey. BMJ Glob Health. 2020 Nov;5(Suppl 2):e003564. Click here.   Bohren, M. A., Berger, B. O., Munthe-Kaas, H., et al. (2019). Perceptions and experiences of labour companionship: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD012449. Click here.   Bohren, M. A., Hofmeyr, G. J., Sakala, C., et al. (2017). Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Jul 6;7(7):CD003766. Click here.   Vedam, S., Stoll, K., MacDorman, M., et al. (2018). Mapping integration of midwives across the United States: Impact on access, equity, and outcomes. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 21;13(2):e0192523. Click here. Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

On today’s podcast we talk with Naseema McElroy, Labor and Delivery nurse and the Founder of Financially Intentional about racism, workplace trauma, and inequities in the US healthcare system. We also discuss how to find your voice and stand up for human rights within the system.   Naseema McElroy started as a Labor and Delivery nurse and later became the Founder of Financially Intentional, a personal finance platform normalizing Black wealth. Naseema is the mother of two daughters and loves sharing her passion for financial independence and nursing with her followers on Instagram and through her Financially Intentional Podcast: Nurses on Fire.   Naeema discusses her personal experiences in raising concerns about patient safety within a hospital system and how to protect yourself, legally and financially, in the process. She also shares her story regarding her viral Instagram video about the importance of representation in healthcare and the potentially far-reaching consequences when representation is lacking.  Trigger Warnings: mental health, workplace trauma, obstetric violence, systemic racism, racism and inequities in the US healthcare system, patient safety, Black mortality, Black morbidity Resources:  Follow Naseema's Instagram account Financially Intentional here Learn more about Financially Intentional here Listen to Naseema's Podcast, Financially Intentional Podcast (formerly Nurses of Fire) here Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!! For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on:  TikTok Instagram Pinterest Ready to get involved?  Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here  Find an EBB Instructor here  Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.