It's officially week 1 of The 12 Days of Birth! This week on The Mommy Labor Nurse Podcast, I have a really exciting birth story to share with you guys! I actually had a personal friend of mine, Tess Camp, come on the show to tell the story of her three very different deliveries, with an emphasis on her extremely precipitous labor and second birth!

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Have an even better birth!

CLICK HERE to learn more about our online birth classes that will help you feel prepared and in control - no matter how you deliver.

And be sure to follow @mommy.labornurse on Instagram to join our community of over half a million for education, tips, and solidarity on all things pregnancy, birth, and postpartum!

This week I interviewed Maranda Bower, CEO and Founder of Postpartum University®. Maranda lives in her beautiful homestead in Alaska with her husband, 4 children, and many unruly chickens! She’s had 4 home births, each of which has uniquely taught her about herself, and her postpartum experiences. Maranda has such a unique, beautiful story and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Not sure how to care for yourself down there after birth?

Access our FREE Postpartum Essentials Checklist to know you’ve got what you need to feel clean and comfortable while you’re healing from birth.

CLICK HERE to learn more about our online birth classes that will help you feel prepared and in control - no matter how you deliver.

And be sure to follow @mommy.labornurse on Instagram to join our community of over half a million for education, tips, and solidarity on all things pregnancy, birth, and postpartum!

Maranda Bower is the CEO and Founder of Postpartum University®, dedicated to empowering both mothers and professionals in redefining maternal well-being. With her extensive expertise in biology, nutrition, and perinatal mental health, she stands as a pioneering figure in the field.

Maranda possesses a profound understanding of the intricate physiological processes that underpin postpartum well-being. As a prolific researcher and accomplished author, including the bestselling book "Reclaiming Postpartum Wellness," her impactful work extends globally. She’s also the founder of the Postpartum Nutrition Certification Program, the only functional nutrition certification dedicated to the unique period that is postpartum!

Learn More & Connect With Maranda Here:

www.PostpartumU.com/Podcast

Today, we talk about that golden hour after birth and what to expect in the first 48 hours of your hospital stay.

The golden hour is the uninterrupted first hour of a baby's life and is filled with such great evidence base benefits for both baby and mama, that it’s becoming standard practice in more and more hospitals around the country. We’ll discuss those benefits and after we talk about what to expect from the first 48 hours after birth, because it’s a critical time of recovery for the mom and baby.

It's important to remember that while the golden hour can be beneficial, it should only be pursued if it’s safe. Safety and stability are always the top priorities, and there should be no guilt if the golden hour cannot be achieved due to medical reasons.

Access our FREE Postpartum Essentials Checklist to know you’ve got what you need to feel clean and comfortable while you’re healing from birth.

CLICK HERE to learn more about our online birth classes that will help you feel prepared and in control - no matter how you deliver.

And be sure to follow @mommy.labornurse on Instagram to join our community of over half a million for education, tips, and solidarity on all things pregnancy, birth, and postpartum!

EP114: C-Section vs. Vaginal Birth: What is the Better Option?

Welcome back to part 2 of my interview with the amazing Gail Tully! This is an episode we have aired before and are publishing again, because it is just that good of an episode.

In part 2, we are talking about inductions, and how spinning babies can help support you if you're having an induction. We also talk about VBACs, special considerations regarding VBACs and Belly Mapping.

If you haven’t heard of belly mapping before, it is a concept created by Spinning Babies to figure out where your baby is positioned in your pelvis. Super interesting!

If you haven’t listened to last week's episode, you might want to hold off on this one and listen to last week's episode first, as that is the first part of this interview. Otherwise, jump right in and enjoy Part 2 of ‘How to have an easier birth’

Use our FREE Birth Plan Templates to take the first step towards the birth experience you desire.

CLICK HERE to learn more about our online birth classes that will help you feel prepared and in control - no matter how you deliver.

And be sure to follow @mommy.labornurse on Instagram to join our community of over half a million for education, tips, and solidarity on all things pregnancy, birth, and postpartum!

• Spinning Babies techniques and resources

Gail Tully is a Midwife, renowned author and educator and creator of the Spinning Babies® approach that has contributed to a paradigm shift in childbirth care around the world.

In her home town of Minneapolis, USA, Gail has been coordinator and consultant to multiple well known Doula Programs and is a founding mother of the Childbirth Collective, one of the largest doula organizations in the USA.

Books by Gail Tully
Breech Birth Quick Guide
Spinning Babies® Quick Reference
Belly Mapping® Workbook

Videos by Gail Tully
Spinning Babies® Parent Class
Daily Essentials (with Sarah Longacre of Blooma)
Resolving Shoulder Dystocia

This week, I’ve got a special treat for you guys! We are traveling back in time and re-airing the most popular episode in the history of this podcast.

I'm so excited to put this out again for you guys because I’m talking to Gail Tulley (full bio below) and she is such a wealth of knowledge! She is the founder of Spinning Babies, which talks about the physiology of your baby in the womb and the importance of creating as much space in the pelvis as possible.

In this episode, we talked about ample fetal positioning and why it’s so important to consider which way the baby is facing and how flexed the head is. Gail makes all this really, really easy to understand.

We also talked about exercises and movements, posterior babies, what to do when your baby is breech and so much more!

Enjoy part one of this super informative episode on how to have an easier birth.

Get our FREE Natural Birth Prep Pack to gain the confidence you need - because simply wanting it might not be enough!

CLICK HERE to learn more about our online birth classes that will help you feel prepared and in control - no matter how you deliver.

And be sure to follow @mommy.labornurse on Instagram to join our community of over half a million for education, tips, and solidarity on all things pregnancy, birth, and postpartum!

• Spinning Babies techniques and resources
• Optimal Fetal Positioning book by Jean Sutton and Pauline Scott
• Ina May Gaskin's book about orgasmic birth
• Debra Pascali-Bonaro's work on orgasmic birth

Gail Tully is a Midwife, renowned author and educator and creator of the Spinning Babies® approach that has contributed to a paradigm shift in childbirth care around the world.

In her home town of Minneapolis, USA, Gail has been coordinator and consultant to multiple well known Doula Programs and is a founding mother of the Childbirth Collective, one of the largest doula organizations in the USA.

Books by Gail Tully
Breech Birth Quick Guide
Spinning Babies® Quick Reference
Belly Mapping® Workbook

Videos by Gail Tully
Spinning Babies® Parent Class
Daily Essentials (with Sarah Longacre of Blooma)
Resolving Shoulder Dystocia

In today's episode, I will dive into the critical topic of improving maternal health outcomes for black women and the promising programs that are making a difference.

Black women often face discrimination and stress during their pregnancies, birth and postpartum, leading to the highest rates of maternal mortality and health complications in the US.

However, there is hope on the horizon and Dr. Venice Haynes and Natalie Davis are joining me today to discuss the positive changes that are happening around this topic!

Venice is the Senior Director of Research and community engagement at United States of Care and brings over 14 years of public health experience. And Natalie is the CEO and co-founder of United States of care with nearly two decades of shaping American health care policies.

I'm so thrilled to share this interview in honor of black maternal health week as a means to help raise awareness and support wider adoptions of these crucial programs and practices. And if you want to keep listening to learn more about the realities of black maternal health, I encourage you to listen to Episode 73 after this one.

• "Bright Spots" Report from United States of Care

• Nurse Family Partnerships - Provides resources and support for first-time moms.

• Black Mom of Glowing - Peer support group for maternal mental health.

• Family Solutions - Provides resources and support for parents and children in rural communities in South Carolina

• Maven Clinic - Provides reproductive and family healthcare for members.

• Ocean Family Center - Has a program that gives free virtual psychotherapy appointments for mothers.

• Shades of Blue Project - Offers a postpartum support group through journaling in Houston, Texas.

• Spinning Babies - Provide resources on a physiological approach to preparing for and caring for birth.

• EP73: The Realities of Black Maternal Health

In this week's episode, I’m talking to Katie who shares her powerful twin birth story with a surprise gender reveal in the end!

She struggled to find relatable experiences during her own pregnancy, so she decided to share her birth story with us today! Katie talks about her surprising discovery that she was carrying identical twins, the medical complications she faced and a long labor that ended in a vaginal twin delivery.

Katie even shares postpartum challenges and hopes her story helps other twin moms feel less alone. Tune in for this intimate look into one mother's twin birth journey.

Get the FREE Epidural Birth Prep Pack to gain a sense of control before the big day!

CLICK HERE to learn more about our online birth classes that will help you feel prepared and in control - no matter how you deliver.

And be sure to follow @mommy.labornurse on Instagram to join our community of over half a million for education, tips, and solidarity on all things pregnancy, birth, and postpartum!

Today we're talking all about SEX during pregnancy. It's one of those things that feels a little taboo to talk about, but it shouldn’t be!

The benefits of having sex during pregnancy are huge (which we’ll talk about in the episode!) and doctors all over the world are recommending pregnant women to continue their usual sexual activities.

But there is a lot of confusing and contradicting information out there – so I took the top pregnancy sex questions asked among pregnant mamas and compiled them here for you today!

After this episode, I recommend listening to my interview with The Down There Doctors in Episode 211 - we did a pelvic floor deep dive that totally complements everything you're going to learn in this episode!

CLICK HERE to get helpful and supportive tips, info, and resources from an L&D nurse sent straight to your inbox every week, and never sort through search results again!

CLICK HERE to learn more about our online birth classes that will help you feel prepared and in control - no matter how you deliver.

And be sure to follow @mommy.labornurse on Instagram to join our community of over half a million for education, tips, and solidarity on all things pregnancy, birth, and postpartum!

Related Episodes

EP211: A Pelvic Floor Deep Dive with the Down There Doctors