158 episodes

Creating a family is a life transforming event that’s a lot harder than the culturally-generated marketing suggests. Relying on the glossy media depictions of this transition leaves many women feeling like they are broken or failing when their actual experience doesn’t match their expectation. I tripped over every step of this process: getting pregnant, being pregnant and giving birth on my way to having two kids. 
This podcast showcases the really, really of people’s experiences: * what they didn’t expect when they were expecting * what they wish they’d known. You’ll hear shareable insights gleaned from time in the IVF gauntlet, ways to manage the flattening nausea and fatigue of pregnancy, 40 hour labors and much more including expert medical insights to remake our expectations, making them more real, more human and more useful.

What You Didn't Expect in Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth: Real Stories & Expert Insights Paulette Kamenecka

    • Kids & Family

Creating a family is a life transforming event that’s a lot harder than the culturally-generated marketing suggests. Relying on the glossy media depictions of this transition leaves many women feeling like they are broken or failing when their actual experience doesn’t match their expectation. I tripped over every step of this process: getting pregnant, being pregnant and giving birth on my way to having two kids. 
This podcast showcases the really, really of people’s experiences: * what they didn’t expect when they were expecting * what they wish they’d known. You’ll hear shareable insights gleaned from time in the IVF gauntlet, ways to manage the flattening nausea and fatigue of pregnancy, 40 hour labors and much more including expert medical insights to remake our expectations, making them more real, more human and more useful.

    What happens when you overcome your PCOS diagnosis? Caitlin's birth story, Part II

    What happens when you overcome your PCOS diagnosis? Caitlin's birth story, Part II

    Today I finish my conversation with Caitlin, the registered dietician who focuses on women's fertility issues. 

    She shares the rest of her story about managing the challenges of PCOS.
    She addresses changes she made to:
    *her diet
    *her exercise
    *her mindset
    *her ability to manage stress

     and how these changes led to  three children (and stay tuned, maybe more?)...we pick up where we left off last week, Caitlin is about to share the very specific things that she did to overcome her diagnosis.

    • 23 min
    What happens when you have to manage your Fertility with a PCOS diagnosis? Caitlin's birth story, Part I

    What happens when you have to manage your Fertility with a PCOS diagnosis? Caitlin's birth story, Part I

    Today's guest shares her journey through infertility generated by Poly cycstic ovarian syndrome.

    She is a clinical dietitian and talks about things to consider when taking birth control.

     She gives a number of tips on what you can do to improve your fertility, but note: this is not medical advice. What follows is the first part of our conversation.

    possible side effects of hormonal birth control:
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9842494/#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20side%20effect,some%20point%20in%20their%20life.


    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159123003331?via%3Dihub
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10347535/#:~:text=Hormone%2Dbased%20contraception%20disrupts%20hormonal%20balance%2C%20creating%20artificial%20states%20of%20anovulation%20and%20threatening%20women's%20health.
    https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.00603/full
    To find Caitlin's podcast, Food Freedom & Fertility, click here

    • 33 min
    What happens when Motherhood show you how to Craft a Better Postpartum: Jess's birth story, Part II

    What happens when Motherhood show you how to Craft a Better Postpartum: Jess's birth story, Part II

    In today's episode:
     I finish my conversation with Jess. 

    We talk about :
    * how her research prior to the third postpartum set her up for a significantly better experience.
    She describes concepts like constructive rest and matrescence
    * practical tips on how much physical work should be done in the early weeks
    * a useful time line to set your expectations 
    we pick up where we left off last week, where jess is reflecting on all the advocacy she did on her daughter's behalf and how that might be applied to her own experience in a future pregnancy

    What can you do naturally to induce labor (spoiler: not much)
    https://www.webmd.com/baby/does-pineapple-induce-labor
    https://www.nct.org.uk/pregnancy/your-pregnancy-week-week/third-trimester/can-i-make-myself-go-labour-myths-or-truths

    Find Jess at:
    https://www.instagram.com/motherme.io/

    • 34 min
    What Happens when Your Postpartum teaches you about Advocating for yourself? Jess's Birth Story, Part I

    What Happens when Your Postpartum teaches you about Advocating for yourself? Jess's Birth Story, Part I

    I talk to a woman who shares the story of her transformative births:
     in particular :
    how the postpartum and aftermath of the second birth changed the way she viewed herself and her career. 

    Its an impactful and inspirational story that I think many of us can relate to. What follows is the first part of our conversation.
    hyperemesis and anxiety
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14767058.2022.2089550
    https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1471-0528.14180

    affect of fetal sex on pregnancy outcome
    https://bsd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13293-020-00299-3
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-75969-8
    https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2017.00144/full
    to find Jess's company: https://www.instagram.com/motherme.io/

    • 32 min
    What Can be Done about Premature Birth? A conversation with Dr. Carl Weiner, MD, MBA

    What Can be Done about Premature Birth? A conversation with Dr. Carl Weiner, MD, MBA

    Today we'll talk with Dr. Carl Weiner, MD, MBA

    He has been working on  developing testing that can PREDICT PREMATURITY and EARLY ONSET PREECLAMPSIA as early as 12 weeks into the pregnancy.

    *If it is detected, WHAT can be done?

    *What  are his hopes for the FUTURE of PREGNANCY

    You can find Dr. Weiner here: https://www.creighton.edu/campus-directory/weiner-carl-p

    • 43 min
    What Happens when your Preemie spends 5 months in the NICU? Hannah's birth story + OB insights, Part II

    What Happens when your Preemie spends 5 months in the NICU? Hannah's birth story + OB insights, Part II

    In this week's episode we hear the rest of Hannah's story: 

    *we hear about the premature birth of her son 

    * how she manages his care during his long stay in the NICU

    and
    *how he's doing now.

    We also hear more from Dr. Weiner, who is working on a test that can predict both prematurity and early onset preeclampsia to try to prevent these issues from arising in a pregnancy. 

    We pick up where we left off last week; Hannah has checked into the hospital at 23 weeks five days because she's having contractions and doesn't know if this is the birth or Braxton Hicks..

    • 33 min

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