InCast InJoy Health Education

While witnessing the miracle of birth can be exhilarating, it is often wrought with circumstances that create stress, confusion, grief—and sometimes even burnout— in nurses, caregivers, doulas, and other birth workers. The COVID and post-COVID period has brought even more tension into the mix with restrictions and staffing issues.  Listen to explore the problems and discover some solutions to make life as a birth worker more resilient and satisfying.  

Nicole Heidbreder has worked as a Hospice Nurse and Labor and Delivery Nurse in various capacities for the last 10 years in the Washington, DC area, in addition to teaching Birth and End of Life Doula Workshops. As a birth worker, Nicole has been attending births as a doula for over 17 years in Washington, DC, New York City, San Francisco, Sumatra, Bali, and Uganda, in addition to working as a labor and delivery nurse at George Washington University Hospital. Currently, she also facilitates independent birth doula workshops and trains nursing students as a Clinical Instructor with the Johns Hopkins University Birth Companions Program. Through her work as a DONA International approved Birth Doula Trainer, she has taught hundreds of women over the past 10 years and truly believes that teaching maternal child health is her life's calling.  

 

Listen and Learn 

Why over 38% of RNs are likely to leave their position in the next 2 years 
What drains birth worker passion 
What support is available to current birth workers to reconnect to the joy of birth work 
How birth workers with different levels of specialty and education working together can create friction 
When birth workers experience PTSD 


How a mindset of post-traumatic growth can be a game changer 
Practical skills for nonviolent communication for high-stress birth situations 
The best ways to use grounding and anchoring practices 
How to set boundaries and avoid saviorism  

Contact Nicole at Nicole@gracefulfusion.com 


 
Resources & Mentions: 

Learn more about Nicole’s Resiliency for Birth Workers workshop here: https://www.gracefulfusion.com/ 

 

Related Products from InJoy: 

Understanding Birth Curriculum 

Newborn babies get their first microbiome from their mother’s vagina during birth.  The baby will become covered with this beneficial bacterial as they come out of the protected environment of the womb, through the birth canal, and to the world beyond.  When the baby is born vaginally, they will have a gut microbiome similar to that of their mother’s vaginal and fecal flora.  This helps set up lifelong gut health.  But for babies not born vaginally, there are other ways to help insure good gut health.  Join us for a thought-provoking discussion of why microbiome is important and how to help families advocate for procedures that will be beneficial for themselves and their baby.  

Toni Harman is a graduate of the London Film School and has produced and directed a number of internationally-distributed documentary films, including: MICROBIRTH (about the origins of the human microbiome), FREEDOM FOR BIRTH (about the struggle for women's rights in childbirth), and DOULA! (about the work of birth and postnatal doulas). Toni’s extensive research for MICROBIRTH led to her co-authoring the books THE MICROBIRTH EFFECT and YOUR BABY’s MICROBIOME. Toni is a professional speaker at international conferences about the science of the microbiome and epigenetics. She also leads the MICROBIOME COURSES online school. Toni combines knowledge gained from researching the subject for ten years with her extensive experience of running educational one-day and multiple-day workshops for adult learners.  

Listen and Learn:

Why microbiome is so necessary for healthy humans, starting at birth 
How initial microbiome is transferred from mother to baby 
What happens with the microbiome if the baby is born by cesarean 
Processes other than birth that can help increase a newborn’s microbiome 
How we can teach these important facts to pregnant and new families 


How mothers can increase the beneficial parts of their microbiome for their own health and their baby’s 

Resources & Mentions: 

https://microbirth.com and https://microbirth.teachable.com 

Get in touch with Toni Harman:  toniharman@hotmail.com  


Related Products from InJoy: 

Understanding Birth Curriculum 

In 2016, when the NYS DOH put out a request for application to receive the Creating Breastfeeding Friendly Communities (CBFC) Grant, the Rockland County Lactation community united to support and work together for this initiative. At that time, 86.6% of new mothers in the state initiated breastfeeding, but only 56% were still breastfeeding at six months, and of those, only 17% were exclusively breastfeeding.  

Patti's organization felt that connecting and supporting breastfeeding families beyond their hospital stay could make a big difference. The CBFC initiatives goal was to include physician practices, daycares, worksites, and public locations in the effort to support breastfeeding families for a longer period. Listen to find out how Patti and her practice made a change in the amount and type of education and support they were offering to their patients and how they involved their whole community in the effort. Consider if your area could benefit from a similar initiative!  

Patrícia Soriano Guzmán is an Allied Healthcare Professional specializing in Perinatal Support services. She has pursued advanced education with leading organizations, first in Lactation followed by Perinatal  Mental Health, Prepared Childbirth, and Infant Development. Patrícia is currently an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® at Montefiore Nyack Hospital and is responsible for outpatient Clinical Lactation services provided in English and Spanish, as well as leading several perinatal-related programs and events. Since 2020, Patrícia has been featured as guest speaker for a variety of virtual events, and most recently, led a 20-Hour Lactation Education training as the sole-presenter of 11 live, interactive sessions for 89 healthcare workers. This program was part of the NYS DOH Creating Breastfeeding-Friendly Communities initiative.  

Listen and Learn:  

Why families need continued support outside the hospital at all touchpoints 
Where parents are likely to connect with those who can support them 
How NYS increased the knowledge and skills of community-based organizations, primary care providers, childcare directors and staff, and employers 
How out-of-hospital facilities or programs signed up for participation in the program  
What Patti did to help implement the first obstetric practice in the area to achieve NYS DOH 10 Steps to Breastfeeding-Friendly Designation 
How Baby Cafes and similar types of gatherings helped 


 
Resources & Mentions: 

Creating Breastfeeding Friendly Communities (CBFC) (ny.gov)

Get in touch with Patti: Send her an email at psguzmanibclc@gmail.com or Info@perinatalsupportgroup.com 

 

Related Products from InJoy: 

Understanding Breastfeeding Curriculum 

Practices to Increase Exclusive Breastfeeding: Core Concepts eCourse 

Practices to Increase Exclusive Breastfeeding: Managing Common Challenges eCourse 

Listen in as we discuss promoting Vaginal Nulliparous Term Singleton Vertex (NTSV) birth to decrease the risk of maternal morbidity and mortality. Dr. Lagrew agrees with a past president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Vincenzo Berghella, who said, “Physicians do need to balance risks and benefits, and for some clinical conditions, cesarean is definitely the best mode of delivery. But for most (NTSV) pregnancies that are low risk, a cesarean delivery may pose greater risk than vaginal delivery, especially risks related to future pregnancies.” Working to decrease the number of cesareans that are not strictly for clinical conditions is something we can all work on. Educators, nurses, community health workers, and others can use the information Dr. Lagrew shares to help people avoid the first cesarean.  This will not only lower unintended outcomes of the initial cesarean like hemorrhage and infection but also prevent problems in subsequent pregnancies.   

Dr. Lagrew is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and physician informaticist with a particular interest in maternal quality improvement. He recently retired as Medical Director of Women’s and Children’s services for Providence St. Joseph-Southern California and as a Providence System Provider Informaticist in Obstetrics. He has started his new role as Chief of Service, Maternal Fetal Medicine at Hoag Healthcare. He holds triple board certification in Obstetrics/Gynecology, Maternal Fetal Medicine, and Clinical Informatics. In addition to these administrative and leadership roles, he continues to actively author numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. He is a clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UC Irvine. He is the immediate past chair of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s Clinical Informatics Committee. 

 

Listen and Learn:  

That the absolute lowest risk delivery is a vaginal delivery after a previous vaginal delivery  The rate of cesarean birth compared to vaginal births in the US now  How an NTSV protects the woman’s long-term health, especially if she plans to have more children   How midwives may have a lower cesarean rate due to their practice of admitting to the hospital later during labor  How the shared decisions help prevent primary cesarean births   How having a wide range of cesarean rates, state by state, is actually a good thing  A sneak preview of the US’s ARRIVE Study compared to an upcoming study out of Canada  That robust childbirth education about risks and benefits including an explanation of complications and outcomes will benefit parents and will likely decrease the cesarean rate 
 

Resources & Mentions:  

Nation’s Ob-Gyns Take Aim at Preventing Cesareans Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery Childbirth Connection info on cesarean resources  California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (many states have similar organizations)  Email Dr. David Lagrew: David.Lagrew@hoag.org
 

Related Products from InJoy:  

Understanding Pregnancy Understanding Birth  The Stages of Labor

Pregnancy and birth are often portrayed with a single brush as if all these experiences are basically the same for every birthing person. But for Lauren and her family, that was far from the truth. The anticipation of the ideal birth ended abruptly and unexpectedly when her husband arrived home early with flowers one day, finding her looking unwell. He talked Lauren into going to the doctor for a “just in case” checkup, which turned into a totally unexpected outcome for Lauren.  
We will explore Lauren’s story to understand how preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome impacted not just her birth but continue to impact Lauren’s life to this day. In sharing her story, we will discover the tenacity of all those involved in her experience, including Lauren. During the conversation, we will discuss what, if any, warning signs were there that she didn’t recognize at the time. She will give us ideas for ways to speak to our students and patients about this still largely mysterious malady that affects 5 to 8% of pregnant people (and of these, 15% of these develop HELLP syndrome). Overcoming  preeclampsia/HELLP syndrome takes not just a team but an entire village—and that is just what happened in Lauren’s journey.  
Lauren Ward Larsen is a storyteller, writer, speaker, advocate, and former corporate and nonprofit executive. As a professional speaker, Lauren has delivered hundreds of keynote addresses at corporate meetings, conferences, nonprofit events, and fundraisers in the U.S and Europe.  Based on her birth experience with Clare, she has added another type of storytelling to her repertoire. Educating pregnant families and medical care providers about her experience with preeclampsia has become a key component of her life.  
 
Listen and Learn: 
How the lack of information caused big trouble for Lauren: “I didn’t know what I didn’t know The signs to look out for regarding preeclampsia, including upper right abdominal pain How things changed for Lauren so quickly 3 days after a “normal” appointment  How her husband’s unusual mid-day personal flower delivery likely saved her life While pre-existing health conditions like high blood pressure can be a predictor, others can be affected, including   Lauren, who is an active athlete How important it is for everyone in the hospital and medical community to understand the signs of preeclampsia, including the Emergency Department The importance of listening to your intuition and not taking possible symptoms lightly Zuzu’s Petals is not a book for pregnant people    
Resources & Mentions: 
Eclampsia Foundation 
Hear Her
Zuzu's Petals: A True Story of Second Chances by Lauren Ward Larsen (on Amazon or other book sellers)  
Lauren’s website: https://laurenwardlarsen.com  
 
Related Products from InJoy:
Discussion and Warning signs in: 
Understanding Birth 
Understanding Postpartum Health & Baby Care 

Edit: When we originally uploaded this podcast, the wrong file was included. Oops! The correct file has been added, and we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do!
Adriane Burgess PhD, RNC-OB, CCE, CNE, C-ONQS (she/hers)  
Director, Quality Improvement-Service Lines (Women and Children, Primary Care, Oncology)  Ob/Gyn Residency Research Director  
 
Awareness of preeclampsia can reduce its impact for families.  Two to eight percent of birthing parents have preeclampsia.  The old adage that “delivery is the cure for preeclampsia” can no longer be used because we know that preeclampsia exits in postpartum, too. In this episode, we will explore current research on preeclampsia and how parents and providers can use open communication about the topic to create the best outcomes.  Listen in to discover more about this hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and postpartum.   
Our guest, Adriane Burgess, has been a nurse for 25 years in a variety of maternal-child health settings, including labor and delivery and postpartum units, maternal fetal medicine practices, and childbirth education classes. She is certified in inpatient obstetrical nursing, as a childbirth educator,  in nursing education, and most recently, in obstetric and neonatal quality and safety. She completed her PhD in Nursing in 2017 and her dissertation research was a case control study that explored ABO blood phenotype and factors associated with preeclampsia subtype. Dr. Burgess works to actively publish and present her research and has won several awards. Her research interests include preeclampsia and cardiovascular risk and protective factors, innovative nursing education strategies, and maternal quality initiatives. 
 
Listen and Learn: 
Research on the current protocol to prevent preeclampsia   How chronic hypertension impacts chances of getting preeclampsia  How pre-pregnancy habits may decrease the risk   The importance of “knowing your numbers” (blood pressure) even before pregnancy The importance of creating a postpartum connection for women with eclampsia, including mental and emotional support Lifelong health implications of preeclampsia for women  The impact of breastfeeding on cardiovascular health and helping parents initiate and sustain breastfeeding, even if experiencing preeclampsia  The program at Adriane’s facility that gives each woman who has preeclampsia a blood pressure cuff and app    
Resources & Mentions: 
Preeclampsia Foundation Hear Her Adriane Burgess - for additional information aburgess2@wellspan.org   Zuzu’s Petals by Lauren Ward Larsen, publisher - In The Telling Press   
Related Products from InJoy: 
Discussion and Warning signs in: 
Understanding Pregnancy  Understanding Birth  Understanding Postpartum Health & Baby Care