Down to Birth Down to Birth +

Welcome to the April Q&A episode with Cynthia & Trisha. Today, we invite you to guess the two things that Cynthia and Trisha will never talk about on the podcast. Hint: They are not scandalous or controversial. Shoot us a DM with your guesses! Next, hear the most annoying habits from our podcast community regarding their partners. As for our questions this month, here we go:
I had a pain-free breech vaginal birth. Why do some women experience pain at birth and others don't?My second baby was born precipitously at home. Should I plan for my third to be the same and when should I call the midwife?Does learning hypnobirthing techniques lead to a more peaceful birth experience?I have white-coat hypertension. Will this risk me out of a birth center birth and do I need to take aspirin in pregnancy?What percentage of women whose water breaks before labor begins will start labor within an hour or two?Are prenatal vitamins really necessary and if so, which ones?In our extended version of today's episode, we answer questions regarding breaking your tailbone in labor, whether you should tell your neighbors if you are planning a home birth, whether it's expected or appropriate to plan on feeding your home-birth midwives, and if it is necessary to be catheterized in labor if you can't void while in labor.

In our quickie segment, we discuss the necessity or not of ovulation tracking apps, male versus female sperm, the midwives' brew, and how loud the music is in our cars while driving.

Thank you as always for your wonderful questions! Please call in your question to 802-GET-DOWN or 802-438-3696. To get the extended version of today's episode (and all episodes 100% ad-free) just click the subscribe button on Apple podcasts or download the Patreon App and join any tier.
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Down to Birth is sponsored by:
Vitality: An athleisure brand made for women, by women, designed with style and comfort for pregnancy and beyond.
Davin & Adley-- The perfect nursing and pumping bra combined
Silverette Nursing Cups -- Soothe and heal sore nipples with 925 silver nursing cups.
Postpartum Soothe -- Herbs and padsicles to heal and comfort.
Needed -- Our favorite nutritional products to nourish yourself before, during, and after pregnancy.
Use promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH for all of the above sponsors.

DrinkLMNT -- Purchase LMNT with this unique link and receive a free 8-day supply. Be sure to use the unique link to buy yours today.




Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.
Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.com
Instagram @downtobirthshow
Call us at 802-GET-DOWN
Work with Cynthia:
203-952-7299
HypnoBirthingCT.com
Work with Trisha:
734-649-6294
Please remember we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.

Emma Armstrong,  author of The Fearless Birth Book, and Instagram birth influencer at @thenakeddoulaofficial, joins us today to delve into the meaning of pleasurable birth. We ask the questions, "Why should a woman want a pleasurable birth, what does it even mean, and what holds women back from experiencing pleasure instead of pain?" In this enlightening and off-the-record-style conversation, we uncover the emotions holding us back from ecstatic, pleasurable, even orgasmic birth. Emma opens up about her unexpected cesarean birth and how a woman who teaches other women about vaginal birth can feel confident in doing so despite her never experiencing a vaginal birth herself. This is about healing, letting go and experiencing deep, ecstatic pleasure.

The Naked Doula on Instagram
The Fearless Birth Book
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Down to Birth is sponsored by:
Vitality: An athleisure brand made for women, by women, designed with style and comfort for pregnancy and beyond.
Davin & Adley-- The perfect nursing and pumping bra combined.
Silverette Nursing Cups -- Soothe and heal sore nipples with 925 silver nursing cups.
Postpartum Soothe -- Herbs and padsicles to heal and comfort.
Needed -- Our favorite nutritional products to nourish yourself before, during, and after pregnancy.
Use promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH for all of the above sponsors.

DrinkLMNT -- Purchase LMNT with this unique link and receive a free 8-day supply. Be sure to use the unique link to buy yours today.
Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.
Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.com
Instagram @downtobirthshow
Call us at 802-GET-DOWN
Work with Cynthia:
203-952-7299
HypnoBirthingCT.com
Work with Trisha:
734-649-6294
Please remember we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.

You won't find an obstetrician anywhere in the United States who will birth triplets vaginally in the hospital, but today you'll hear the story of traditional midwife Kristine Lauria who welcomed them at home with the respect and reverence for birth every woman deserves.  Kristine witnesses some of the most "high risk" births around the world in her midwifery work for Doctors Without Borders. She has attended over 500 breech, twin, and triplets births! 

In this episode, you will hear the story of a mother in her 7th pregnancy birthing three babies at home as told by Kristine.  We discuss what it means to be a traditional midwife, what happens in a triplet homebirth, the dying art of midwifery skills, and how to manually extract a baby at home. You'll hear how the mother's own mother received the first baby and how this mother avoided preterm birth by leaving the hospital AMA after an episode of bleeding and went on to naturally birth her babies at 38 weeks with perfect APGAR scores! This story is a beautiful example of the true midwifery model of care, a fiercely dedicated mother, and a birth team who deeply trust the innate process of physiologic birth regardless of the number of babies or their positions. 
Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.
Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.com
Instagram @downtobirthshow
Call us at 802-GET-DOWN
Work with Cynthia:
203-952-7299
HypnoBirthingCT.com
Work with Trisha:
734-649-6294
Please remember we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.

When Carolyn was pregnant with her first baby, she went past her "due date." After declining an induction at 41+6, her doctor questioned her integrity as a mother, stating, "I am surprised your motherly instinct (to protect your baby) hasn't kicked in yet."  Knowing that she and her baby were ok, she continued to wait despite heavy pressure from her OB. When she passed the 42-week mark, feeling out of options and having been told she was going to have a ten-pound baby, Carolyn accepted an induction on her 31st birthday. Her baby was born vaginally, weighing seven pounds and five ounces.  Looking back at her conception date, her baby was more likely closer to just forty weeks.  Carolyn's entertaining story highlights the inexcusable emotional abuse of her OB while demonstrating Carolyn's remarkable trust and faith in her baby and her body.

Follow Carolyn on Instagram @carolynnmarrone

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Down to Birth is sponsored by:
Needed -- Optimal nutritional products to nourish yourself before, during, and after pregnancy
DrinkLMNT -- Purchase LMNT today and receive a free sample kit. Stay salty.
Silverette Nursing Cups -- Soothe and heal sore nipples with 925 silver nursing cups.
Postpartum Soothe -- Herbs and padsicles to heal and comfort after vaginal birth. 
Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.
Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.com
Instagram @downtobirthshow
Call us at 802-GET-DOWN
Work with Cynthia:
203-952-7299
HypnoBirthingCT.com
Work with Trisha:
734-649-6294
Please remember we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.

We are back with the March Q&A episode with Cynthia & Trisha.  We kick off today's episode with an unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime story of an OB who holds off a mother's pushing to tie a bow in the baby's hair before being born! Next, we get into our questions beginning with a mother who wants to offer important birth advice to her friend's daughter but doesn't know if it is her place or how to not overstep boundaries. Also, what questions to ask at a late third-trimester ultrasound to best avoid unnecessary interventions? Then, Barbara Harper of Waterbirth International answers the question of why it takes a baby longer to "come to" after a water birth. Another mother inquires about how much her energy and anxieties can influence her baby's arrival--is her stress causing her baby to be born "late?" 

In the extended version of today's episode, available on Apple subscriptions or Patreon, we discuss whether or not a pregnancy is easier or harder based on which gender baby you are carrying, how to navigate boundaries with a mother-in-law who has been blatantly disrespectful but planning to help you postpartum. Finally, how do breast implants impact the ability to exclusively breastfeed?  We also have doula Colleen Myatt, a spinning babies instructor, answer a mother's question about posterior babies.

As always, we close with a round of rapid-fire quickies covering tongue ties, evening primrose oil, delivery time for the placenta, setting boundaries, soothing crying babies, and more! 

Thank you for your excellent questions and keep them coming at 802-GET-DOWN or 802-438-3696. For the extended version of today's episode please join our Patreon page or subscribe on Apple podcasts.
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Down to Birth is sponsored by:
David & Adley -- Nursing bras that are stylish and allow hands-free pumping
Needed -- Optimal nutritional products to nourish yourself before, during, and after pregnancy
DrinkLMNT -- Purchase LMNT with this link today and receive a free sample kit.
Silverette Nursing Cups -- Soothe and heal sore nipples with 925 silver nursing cups.
Postpartum Soothe -- Herbs and padsicles to heal and comfort.


Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.
Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.com
Instagram @downtobirthshow
Call us at 802-GET-DOWN
Work with Cynthia:
203-952-7299
HypnoBirthingCT.com
Work with Trisha:
734-649-6294
Please remember we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.

In today's episode, three current and former L&D nurses join us in a roundtable-style conversation to share their behind-the-scenes experiences on the L&D floor. These three women get raw, real, and honest about what pulled them to this line of work and for one, what forced her to leave. They share their experiences and that of the women they serve on how birthing mothers are manipulated, coerced, and betrayed by their providers and the system. You'll hear astonishing quotes such as "Well that's what she gets for refusing Pitocin yesterday," when a mother ends up with an unexpected cesarean birth, and you'll hear answers to our questions:
Why did  you choose to become an L&D nurse? In your mind, who do you work for? Why do OBs get so upset when they "miss" the delivery?What do you think is driving unnecessary cesarean sections? What is the most outrageous thing you've heard a provider say to a woman?In the end, you'll gain insight into the culture of hospital-based birth and learn ways to best support your birth goals when having a baby at the hospital. 
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Down to Birth is sponsored by:
DrinkLMNT -- Purchase LMNT with this link today and receive a free sample kit.
Silverette Nursing Cups -- Soothe and heal sore nipples with 925 silver nursing cups.
Postpartum Soothe -- Herbs and padsicles to heal and comfort.
Needed -- Optimal nutritional products to nourish yourself before, during, and after pregnancy


Connect with us on Patreon for our exclusive content.
Email Contact@DownToBirthShow.com
Instagram @downtobirthshow
Call us at 802-GET-DOWN
Work with Cynthia:
203-952-7299
HypnoBirthingCT.com
Work with Trisha:
734-649-6294
Please remember we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed medical provider for all your healthcare matters.