This episode is your invitation for a softer season, a clearer mind, or just a moment to breathe before the year ends. It will feel like a nice warm exhale.

In this reflective end-of-year episode, I’m sharing the milestones, challenges, and growth that shaped my 2025 — from sending my NICU graduate to college, to navigating perimenopause, to choosing rest over hustle. I’m also walking you through the non-negotiable holiday boundaries that matter most during pregnancy and postpartum, and how to give yourself permission to honor what you need this season.

You’ll learn:

– Why rest is a necessary part of preparing for birth, postpartum, and motherhood

– How I’m protecting my peace during the holidays — and how you can too

– Simple, clear scripts for setting boundaries with family and visitors

– What my family milestones taught me about growth, identity, and motherhood

– Why I’m stepping back for the remainder of December (and how you can build your own pause)

Resources Mentioned:

Instagram: @drnicolerankins

Free Resources to Help You Birth With Power

Get the support, clarity, and confidence you deserve. Download any of my free tools designed to help you prepare for a calmer, confident, and more empowered hospital birth:

• Hospital Tour Scorecard — Know exactly what to look for so you can choose the right hospital

• How to Tell If Your OB Is Right for You — Ask the right questions and spot red flags early

• Labor Pain Management Playbook — Learn the tools and strategies I teach my own patients

Hospital birth may not be the right path for every OB/GYN.

This week, I’m in conversation with Dr. Nathan Riley, an OB-GYN and palliative care physician who left conventional medicine to support home birth and midwifery-led care. We talk about what the system gets wrong, what it does right, and how honoring true autonomy can transform the birth experience.

You’ll hear two OBs with very different paths, get real about training gaps, liability fears, and what actually supports healthy birth. Whether you’re planning a home birth, a hospital birth, or you’re just curious about your options, this is an episode that challenges assumptions and opens possibilities.

You’ll learn:

• Why Dr. Riley left the hospital system — and what he does now
• How hospital training limits women’s birth choices
• What really happens during an emergency C-section
• The untold truth about vaginal breech birth
• What autonomy actually looks like in labor (and how to prepare for it)

Resources mentioned:

• Dr. Nathan Riley on Instagram
• Born Free Method
• Beloved Holistics

Today’s episode is a little different. I’m sharing a home birth story! Home birth can be safe, supported, and deeply empowering when planned well.

In this birth story, I’m joined by Leah, a writer, mom of two, and aspiring childbirth educator who planned a home birth after a positive but impersonal hospital birth with her first child. Despite navigating insurance barriers, and anticipating a large baby, Leah created the low-intervention experience she wanted, and welcomed her 11-pound daughter after just a three-and-a-half-hour labor.

Her story is full of advocacy, intuition, humor (yes, she was poked in the eye mid-contraction), and practical insights you’ll walk away with.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What made Leah choose a planned home birth after a hospital birth
• How she advocated for weight-inclusive prenatal care
• The realities of insurance challenges for home birth families
• How she prepared mentally and physically for a fast, intense labor
• Why her postpartum experience at home was dramatically different — and better
• What she wants every pregnant person to know about big babies and birth options

Resources Mentioned:

• Bradley Method book: Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way

Free Resources to Help You Birth With Power

Get the support, clarity, and confidence you deserve. Download any of my free tools designed to help you prepare for a calmer, confident, and more empowered hospital birth:

• Hospital Tour Scorecard — Know exactly what to look for so you can choose the right hospital

• How to Tell If Your OB Is Right for You — Ask the right questions and spot red flags early

• Labor Pain Management Playbook — Learn the tools and strategies I teach my own patients

This Thanksgiving, I’m inviting you into my heart.

After more than two decades in obstetrics, raising a family, and building this platform — I’m pausing to name what I’m deeply grateful for. It’s more than a holiday checklist. This is about honoring the anchors that carry me through birth work and life.

Whether you’re cooking, commuting, or just catching your breath, I hope this episode reminds you to reconnect with what’s holding you up this season.

In this special episode, I share:

• How my body is still showing up strong at 51 (yoga poses included!)
• What I’ve learned from 20 years of marriage and motherhood
• Why my OB-GYN skills go beyond technique — and why that matters
• The power of a team that truly supports women
• How you — yes, you — keep this platform alive and impactful

Resources Mentioned:

Serial Season 1 (my first podcast love!)

Get the support, clarity, and confidence you deserve. Download any of my free tools designed to help you prepare for a calmer, confident, and more empowered hospital birth:

• Hospital Tour Scorecard — Know exactly what to look for so you can choose the right hospital

• How to Tell If Your OB Is Right for You — Ask the right questions and spot red flags early

• Labor Pain Management Playbook — Learn the tools and strategies I teach my own patients

What if the key to your fertility isn’t just in your hormones—but in your mouth?

In this eye-opening episode, I sit down with Dr. Katie Lee, dentist, entrepreneur, and author of Saved by the Mouth, to uncover the powerful connection between oral health and reproductive outcomes. We break down how bacteria in your mouth can influence conditions like PCOS, endometriosis, and even stillbirth—and what you can do to protect your fertility, pregnancy, and long-term health.

You’ll Learn:

• How oral bacteria affect fertility and pregnancy outcomes
• Why inflammation in your gums triggers inflammation throughout your body
• The truth about dental care during pregnancy (and why skipping the dentist could backfire)
• How salivary testing works—and what it can reveal about your reproductive health
• Everyday oral care habits that protect your fertility
• 
  

Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Katie Lee: collectivehealthsociety.com
• Saved by the Mouth by Dr. Katie Lee
• Follow Dr. Lee on Instagram

Get the support, clarity, and confidence you deserve. Download any of my free tools designed to help you prepare for a calmer, confident, and more empowered hospital birth:

• Hospital Tour Scorecard — Know exactly what to look for so you can choose the right hospital

• How to Tell If Your OB Is Right for You — Ask the right questions and spot red flags early

• Labor Pain Management Playbook — Learn the tools and strategies I teach my own patients

Bleeding early in pregnancy can be terrifying — but in many (even most) cases, it’s not as dangerous as it seems.

In this short episode, I’m unpacking what it means when you’re told there’s a subchorionic hematoma. I’ll walk you through what’s actually happening in your body, how it’s diagnosed, what it means for your baby, and — most importantly — why it’s usually not your fault.

You’ll learn:

• What a subchorionic hematoma is and how common it really is
• Why it happens (and why you didn’t cause it)
• How doctors monitor it over time
• What to expect with follow-up ultrasounds
• Practical tips to protect your peace during the waiting period
• 
  

Resources Mentioned:

• Follow me on Instagram for more pregnancy education: @drnicolerankins

Get the support, clarity, and confidence you deserve. Download any of my free tools designed to help you prepare for a calmer, confident, and more empowered hospital birth:

• Hospital Tour Scorecard — Know exactly what to look for so you can choose the right hospital

• How to Tell If Your OB Is Right for You — Ask the right questions and spot red flags early

• Labor Pain Management Playbook — Learn the tools and strategies I teach my own patients

What happens when a perinatal psychologist — who supports women through fertility and birth trauma — becomes the patient herself?

In this honest and heartfelt episode, I chat with Dr. Allison Altman, a Bay Area psychologist who specializes in women’s mental health and trauma, about her deeply personal journey through infertility, IVF, and an unexpectedly fast hospital birth. Allison opens up about the emotional rollercoaster of pregnancy after infertility, how her professional training shaped her experience, and why advocacy and flexibility made all the difference.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What it’s really like to go through IVF — and how uncertainty takes a toll on your mental health
• How anxiety can show up during pregnancy after infertility (and what helps)
• What an IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) diagnosis means and how to navigate induction decisions
• How Allison balanced her birth preferences with hospital protocols — and why she said “no” to breaking her water early
• The surprising speed of her labor (from 4 cm to baby in 20 minutes!) and how she processed it afterward
• Why setting up postpartum support before birth matters more than you think
• 
  

Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Allison Altman’s website
• The Birth With Power Pathway — my online childbirth class

Get the support, clarity, and confidence you deserve. Download any of my free tools designed to help you prepare for a calmer, confident, and more empowered hospital birth:

• Hospital Tour Scorecard — Know exactly what to look for so you can choose the right hospital

• How to Tell If Your OB Is Right for You — Ask the right questions and spot red flags early

• Labor Pain Management Playbook — Learn the tools and strategies I teach my own patients

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by medical jargon or unsure what’s really in the medications you’re offered — you’re not alone.

In this episode, I sit down with Alexandra Galaska, founder of Just the Inserts, to talk about what true informed consent looks like and how to decode medical product information with confidence. From navigating medication inserts to advocating for yourself in pregnancy and postpartum, this conversation will help you feel grounded — not fearful — in your choices.

You’ll Learn:

• What informed consent really means (and why it’s more than signing a form)
• How to find and read medication and vaccine inserts
• The CLEAR framework for informed decision-making
• How to balance medical recommendations with your personal values
• How to ask your provider informed, respectful questions during pregnancy and birth



Resources Mentioned:

• Just the Inserts – Free Training & Resources
• Is Your Doctor Right For Your Birth? - Dr. Nicole’s Question Guide

Get the support, clarity, and confidence you deserve. Download any of my free tools designed to help you prepare for a calmer, confident, and more empowered hospital birth:

• Hospital Tour Scorecard — Know exactly what to look for so you can choose the right hospital

• How to Tell If Your OB Is Right for You — Ask the right questions and spot red flags early

• Labor Pain Management Playbook — Learn the tools and strategies I teach my own patients