EPISODE 111 | REDUCING MATERNAL FETAL MORTALITY | with Midwife Zulgeil Ruiz Ginés

Zulgeil Ruiz Ginés, born and raised in Puerto Rico, is affectionately known as “Zul”. After the birth of her first daughter, she was forever changed in how she understood pregnancy and birth. Supporting families in their pregnancy, birth and postpartum care became her passion. She has studied with birth workers in Los Angeles, Mexico and now Florida.

Zul is the owner of UMA Midwifery & Homebirth Services assisting families in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and the greater Tampa Bay area.

We discuss challenges women, especially women of color, face while seeking proper birth care.

Description:

There is an alarmingly high maternal mortality rate among women of color in the United States- 40 deaths per 100,000 compared with a 12.4 deaths per 100,000 for white women. This is on par with women experience in developing nations. Why is this continuing to happen in one of the wealthiest nations and no one is talking about it? More importantly- What are the solutions?

Takeaways

[7:05] The pandemic skyrocketed demand for midwives, as some women were being forced to birth at home, or couldn’t have family in the room during the delivery.

[12:07] Not everyone needs a home birth, but everyone can benefit from a midwifery model.

[14:03] Becoming a doula or taking a doula course gives a great introduction into midwifery, and the journey can help us heal from traumatic birth experiences. [19:30] Pain is physical, but suffering is mental. When we anticipate pain, we experience it.

[24:40] Since the pandemic, some women are getting induced as early as 37 weeks, but such early inductions can often lead to caesarian births.

[36:15] Certain areas have hospitals that are understaffed or under equipped to handle certain birth situations, especially for women of color, or people needing translation services.

[45:08] Women of color are often left unheard in hospitals, leading to traumatic experiences that create a distrust and fear of going to hospitals.

[49:19] CDC: 60% of the current US maternal deaths are preventable.

[57:00] The right to choose the type of birth you will have depends on the state you live in.

[67:07]Home births cost around 6k including all pre- and post-partum care. Hospital births range from $8000 to $60000

https://umamidwifery.com

https://www.nacpm.org/

https://www.fertilemindsradio.com/

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2020/maternal-mortality-rates-2020.htm

https://www.who.int/news/item/16-06-2021-caesarean-section-rates-continue-to-rise-amid-growing-inequalities-in-access

https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/who-statement-on-caesarean-section-rates-frequently-asked-questions

https://www.cesareanrates.org/

https://www.consumerreports.org/c-section/biggest-c-section-risk-may-be-your-hospital/

EPISODE 79 | HAPPY HOME BIRTH with Katelyn Fusco

Is Home Birth Safe?

Are you considering having a home birth? This episode is for you. Our guest today loves talking about home birth.

Today, we are joined by Katelyn Fusco. She is the host and creator of Happy Home Birth. As a wife, mother and homebirth advocate, she has a passion for presenting positive, encouraging stories and reliable resources for homebirth mothers. Before becoming a mother, Katelyn worked as a student midwife. She has had two empowering home births, the second of which, she considers to be the birth she wishes for every interested mother: mindful, peaceful and powerful at home.

Key Talking Points

• Katelyn’s introduction

• How Katelyn joined the midwifery journey

• Advantages of having a home birth

• The differences between the two home births that Katelyn has had

• The differences between a midwife and an obstetrician

• Emergency red flags

• Common emergent issues

• How to find a certified professional midwife

• Questions to ask a midwife during an interview

Key milestones of the episode:

(00:00): Katelyn’s Introduction

 (01:02): Katelyn’s journey to midwifery and the birth of her podcast

 (06:35): Advantages of having a home birth

 (13:08): Obstetrician Vs midwife

 (20:00): The difference between Katelyn’s first and the second home birth

 (25:31): Midwives’ special skills

 (30:05): Emergency red flags

 (31:50): Common emergent issues

 (33:49): Finding a certified professional wife

 (34:53): Questions to ask a midwife during an interview

 (36:28): How to find out if you are a good fit for a home birth

Key Quotes from the Episode:

• “People think that we live in an all or nothing society.”

• “If we can just be mindful and let nature happen it, it’s beautiful, and it works wonderfully, and it’s something to be enjoyed, not something to be feared.”

• “So often in our culture see birth as this medical event, and it’s heartbreaking when it could be so much more, and we don’t realize it.”

• “A lot of moms are low risk and don’t even realize that home birth is an option on the table.”

• “Home birth isn’t for everybody.”

• “We live in a society often driven by fear.”

• “If I can help pregnant women learn to eat better and take care of themselves, then I’m not only setting them up for success, but also the future generation.”

Connect with Katelyn:

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

Disclaimer *

You must not rely on the information in this podcast as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website or in this podcast.

EPISODE 45 | THE WHAT, WHY, AND HOW TO GO ABOUT DECIDING IF & WHEN YOU NEED A DOULA | Adriana Lozada

Being Born Into Parenthood

This week, we welcome Adriana Lozada, a woman of many accomplishments and talents including the remarkable brand Birthful, and assisting in over 150 births as a doula. Adriana sheds some light on what exactly a doula is, why a couple may want one, the benefits of having a doula, and how to decide which doula is right for your specific needs and desires.

Takeaway:

[1:52] Along with creating and running Birthful, Adriana is a birth doula, a postpartum educator, a sleep consultant, and co-author of Soy de Pura Madre, a half autobiography (written by well-known Venezuela actress and radio host, Ana María Simón), half pregnancy guide (written by Adriana), in Spanish.

[5:14] Adriana has been a doula for 13 years and loves sharing information on what it entails and the possibilities it provides that may help the birth experience.

[5:17] There are many types of doulas (birth, fertility, postpartum — to name a few), and they all have the core value of giving physical, emotional, and informational support. Adriana likes to liven up the definition, and thinks of doulas as “birth fairies that have research to back it up.”

[10:56] Adriana’s goal is to have the woman/couple have the best birth experience depending on their personal vision and foster the feeling of consent and empowerment in their own decisions.

[16:52] Doulas create space for the couple to empower themselves and make their own decisions, as opposed to feeling that things were chosen and done for them.

[19:04] There is a doula out there for everybody, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. The most important thing is how you feel and ‘click’ with the person. In the organization Adriana has her certification under, DONA, speaking and deciding for the woman is out-of-scope.

[23:02] If your medical provider is not recommending you have a doula, dig deeper and find out why they feel that way and what their hesitations are.

[24:46] It’s never too late to get a doula, but the earlier you can do it the more benefits you gain. Adriana prefers contacting your potential doula 12-20 weeks to develop a relationship and discuss fears, hopes, and desires.

[28:36] Adriana describes her philosophy on nonlinear birthing and the physiological stages that come with a safe and protected birthing environment.

[33:36] Adriana assigns “homework” using a four-stage birth model to give women a tangible way to support and trust their body. The four stages of her model are: physical, chemical, mental, and emotional.

[35:46] The skills we value in our professional and everyday life such as being effective, organized, clean, and tidy in our ‘everyday,’ aren’t the top ones that help us for birthing and parenting. Instead, messiness, uncertainty, patience, intuition, and trust in the process are key.

[42:10] Adriana discusses the “pregnancy hangover” in postpartum when we are over-touched, and undervalued. She has created a postpartum vacation plan, where women and couples can focus on getting to know and taking care of their baby.

[55:38] Adriana’s one piece of advice for expecting couples “explore things with curiosity.”

 References:

Fertile Minds on LibSyn

Fertile Minds on iTunes

Adriana Lozada

Birthful Podcast

Birthful Courses

Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery

ACOG

Approaches to Limit Intervention During Labor and Birth

DONA International

Doula Match

Tampa Bay Birth Network

Rethinking the Pushing Stage, with Whapio

Thrive with Your Newborn — use the code FERTILITY for 25% discount. Along with creating and running Birthful, Adriana is a birth doula, a postpartum educator, a sleep consultant, and co-author of Soy de Pura Madre, a half autobiography (written by well-known Venezuela actress and radio host, Ana María Simón), half pregnancy guide (written by Adriana), in Spanish.

Disclaimer * You must not rely on the information in this podcast as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website or in this podcast.

EPISODE 11 | EMPOWERED BIRTH PT 1 | Labor Positions, Stages & Breath w/ Dawn Herring

Labor Positions, Stages of Labor, and Breathing During Birth with Dawn Herring of the Empowered Birth Series Pt. 1

Description:

Today I welcome special guest Dawn Herring, wife and mama of two beautiful babies and Happy Birth Way (HBW) Certified Childbirth Educator. Dawn shares with us how she became a childbirth educator and what inspires her to educate couples on evidence to have the most empowered birth experience possible. We cover three very important lessons that Dawn teaches in her class recording breath and movement, the stages and phases of labor, support techniques, the role of mindfulness, intuition and movement, and some practical tips to be armed with information throughout their journey.

Takeaways

We welcome to the show our special guest, Dawn Herring.

[4:45] Dawn knew when she was pregnant with her first baby and sitting in her HBW (Happy Birth Way) birth education class — and marketing the training — that she wanted to teach. She herself had some healing to do — both of her births were beautiful water births but ended in transfers to the hospital due to complications from a retained placenta. It took her taking her own training to really begin to heal from the self-judgment, doubt, and disappointment that she was carrying with her because things didn’t go quite as planned.

[5:40] Giving women and their partners the education AND open space to have a conversation of compassion, empathy, and understanding is her catalyst and passion.

[10:20] Radical self-acceptance and love is the place to start in the process of an empowered birth. Accept and forgive knowing you did the best you could, and practice mindfulness with being present with your loved ones.

[12:08] Dawn shares what an empowered birth and labor experience looks like. Knowledge is power and the more meaningful dialogue a mom has prior to the labor the more set up they are and the easier to navigate through the process, should things change.

[17:04] The ability to connect with our babies early on in pregnancy helps to foster a sense of trust in the process and to surrender to the perfection in what’s happening.

[18:47] Her first class is “Breath and Movement.” We kick off our series by understanding how important breath and movement are during labor. Breath during labor is so important because how we breathe is directly correlate to how our nervous system and hormonal system respond in labor. Using the breath to cope during labor helps to keep our minds “right” and our body to do what it needs to do to keep labor progressing. 

[25:43] The second class is “The Letting Go of Labor – Stages and Phases and Labor Support Techniques.” 

This includes how knowing what’s happening in your body during labor, and what your baby is doing, is key to setting yourself up for an empowered experience. In this class, the focus is on what’s happening during Stage

1 labor — early, active and transition. In this class, Moms will learn how to use movement to bring awareness to what you and your baby need during labor. This also empowers labor partners to give practical tips on how to help the mom.

[35:02] Attending birth classes is a very important part of men being empowered, because this is new to them, too. Giving them as much info as possible can help set them up and make them feel comfortable with what lies ahead.

[40:22] “Learning Labor Positions.” The third class is practicing some labor positions in an environment that simulates the intensity of a contraction that can help moms and dads practice their breath along with movement and get some of the “awkwardness” out so that they can remember it when the time comes.

[49:40] For any of Dawn’s students where interventions became part of the equation, they have ALL said that they felt in charge of those choices, informed, empowered and less scared about them. We can also tell you that where you labor makes a huge difference vs. birth center, home, etc.

[56:57] We don’t want to be in fear or defensive, and the more we can dialogue — the earlier possible — the better. It’s a good idea to get everyone involved with the birth on board before the actual labor begins.

[66:30] We give information on Dawn’s classes and how you can take them if you are currently in the Tampa area. 

Links to take you further

To Reach out to Dawn for private sessions

empoweredbirthseries@gmail.com

Link to register for Dec 7th Class - if  you don't have a mindbody account, it will take a brief minute to create one. 

http://bit.ly/2y384df

Links on induction - I will preface this with that these are for women who enjoy reading statistics and lots of detailed info. I find them fascinating but also get taken out sometimes with all the dates, etc.  But for the most part, Evidence Based Birth does a great job of compiling data and getting to a bottom line:

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/friedmans-curve-and-failure-to-progress-a-leading-cause-of-unplanned-c-sections/

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-on-inducing-labor-for-going-past-your-due-date/

Maternal Age:

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/advanced-maternal-age/