Nani, my maternal grandmother was always in the village, up north of India. She has six children, five girls and one boy, quite classic of the traditional households. The first two , my mum and my aunt (masi) were born in a hospital outside the village where my Nanaji, maternal grandfather was a homeopath doctor. The other four children were born at home with a traditional birth attendant (Local Daima) . All were born in a sitting position. This episode gives a cultural perspective on how birth ...
Jul 08, 2023•24 min•Ep. 77
Madhuri and Praneswara Das are Krishna devotees from Mayapur, Kolkata. Madhuri was always scared of needles. When she learnt she is pregnant which she was expecting , she was terrified on how to go about it. Initially, they did go to the doctor for checkups but there was a point when after an ultrasound they decided to do, the doctor said the liver of the baby is not functioning. This was a huge blow but they were not held or emotionally supported at the hospital. Their faith and birth education...
Jun 25, 2023•51 min•Ep. 76
Rani Didi is my house help. She has four children, 1 girl and three boys, the oldest being the girl who is sixteen now. When I asked Rani didi, how did you birth, she nonchalantly mentions, ‘At home!. We all birth at home’. Her description of labor is not too detailed but the story has a cultural significance. More so , it is empowering to see the ease in her voice and the confidence about her body , birth and nature. She may not use the modern Gen Z language to describe her experience but the m...
Jun 15, 2023•18 min•Ep. 75
Becca knew she wanted a home birth and researched her options to explore what was best for her in this spiritual journey of pregnancy. In the absense of a midwifery care model around her in Kerala, she decided to free birth with her partner and went on to have a transcendental experience. Tune in to her story now to hear what was the experience with a local private hospital, the preparation needed to birth safely at home and the experience of labor and birth itself. Becca is a coach, cognitive h...
Jun 07, 2023•45 min•Ep. 74
If you have not heard Part I of this episode , please do to learn about the details of Namrita's empowering hospital birth that will help you connect the dots in this one. This episode discusses Why did Namrita choose a homebirth after the first empowering hospital birth experience? What is the difference in care between a Gynaecologist or Midwife What does laboring in a home birth set up look like? How does leaving a vaginal tear to heal on its own look like as against a stiches? Find out the a...
Jun 01, 2023•53 min•Ep. 73
Namrita's first birth was at a hospital. This was her first exposure to childbirth education and her intuitive power in Birth. She changed doctors thrice eventually to build a team that supported her vision of birth. Yet, labour which cannot be tamed, took its own twisted path. How did Namrita traverse the labor land and came out euphoric is discussed in this part of her story? The experience was so powerful that she became a birth worker herself. Namrita is the founder of The Nesting Heart (@th...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 72
Indian ecosystem greatly lacks the wisdom to support natural or normal births. Big cities are catching up with fancy equipments , packages and rooms. The issue of Surgical births remains big still in India. What then are someone's options to birth naturally ? I often hear women say , " I understand all that you are saying but there are no doctors here who can support me" . We answer this for you ! Tune in to listen now. If you have any questions leave them on our mail or website or answer the qu...
May 17, 2023•21 min•Ep. 71
Birth Education is crucial to a positive , women centric birth experience, every birth worker would say that! In India, the industrialization of birth is rampant. The wave is being supported by hospitals where the birth classes are often filtered to suit the different commercial scenarios that may be taken into consideration during your Labor. I often, still see a lot of confusion on what birth looks like, "what can I do? Are my fears going to interfere with the process", asked a mother inspite ...
May 10, 2023•38 min•Ep. 70
Nurturing a mother goes beyond the physical aspects of dimming the lights during labor. While that is beneficial, listening to her throughout the pregnancy, her fears, dreams, aspirations, visions and views about her new life are crucial to her feeling empowered in her body and ability to birth. Feeling held and special during pregnancy also ensures the well being of the baby. The idea is to look at pregnancy as a wholesome experience, physical as well as emotional. The baby and the mother are a...
May 02, 2023•26 min•Ep. 69
This is the second episode of the Birth Better Series which talks about 1. How Prenatal Care is affected by Fear 2. Our body's physiological response to trying to fix a perceived fear. 3. The Nocebo Effect 4. Bringing back Positivity and Spiritual Value to Prenatal Care 5. The cocktail of hormones that enable to woman to go on 6. Creating your emotional and physical birth space to go as natural as possible for labor and birth In the next episode, we talk about how do we nurture this birth space ...
Apr 26, 2023•30 min•Ep. 68
Ask a mother what she has heard about labor and she will quickly tell you, "It is a pain that is capable of breaking many bones". "It is the worst kind of pain any human can undertake" "My mum said it was horrible." Moreso, this is exactly what is shown in movies, media, print or social because we all love sensationalizing things. Our mothers, a generation ago were birthing in the hospitals, even if they had a normal birth, their experience may not be good because it was not a natural, physiolog...
Apr 18, 2023•31 min•Ep. 67
The podcast has been running for over 2.5 years with over 60 episodes spread across Perinatal Education, Maternal Health and Family Dynamics. With a new name comes a newer approach to spreading awareness about Women Centric and Respectful Birth Experiences. This podcast will cover everything around Birth and Women's Health. All kinds of birth stories will be featured , stories of birth back in the days from our parents and grandparents, stories of home and hospital births and a special coverage ...
Apr 10, 2023•3 min•Ep. 66
Season 3 has come to an end. It covered a full blown knowledge resource with segments such as the Bitesize Pregnancy Series, interview episodes with experts such as Pelvic Floor Physios, Sexual Health doctors, Birth Educators, Doulas, Doctors etc. As we end this season, there are various changes that are planned to come out with the next Season, major being the name of the podcast. Newer segments such as Birth Stories will be added. Pregnancy series with shorter episodes will continue..... Liste...
Feb 02, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 27
What are the secrets in Pregnancy Yoga -is it the mindfulness or slowing down? When can a mother start yoga in pregnancy if she has never exercised before? Does Pregnancy Yoga really aid natural delivery? Every woman has a very different question on this , we all enquire situations and decisions from a personal need and experiences. We sit down on numerous such questions with Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga instructor Megha Jaggi (M.A in Yoga) who is also the founder of the Wellness Cocoon practisin...
Nov 09, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 26
What happened when a mother in law did not let the mother feed her baby after delivery? Sanvita lying on a hospital bed waiting for the crying baby to find some comfort through her, anxious and guilty. She did not know what to do ! There was a chaos and in that chaos a Lactation Counselor was stuck with her duty to get the baby inititated on Breastfeeding as early as possible. Today's story has been inspired by a post from Yogyata Gandhi, a lactation counselor from Gurgram, India. The story alth...
Sep 21, 2022•10 min•Season 3Ep. 25
What makes a birthing experience Respectful and Positive? Is everything out of control when you birth? Would you rather plan things? Do we know how a positive birth experience really looks like? Our guest on today's podcast , Dr Janhavi Nilekani , a development economist, Founder and Chairperson of Aastrika Foundation - A Nilekani Philanthropies initiative that aims to bring respectful maternity care as a women's right to all sectors of the country through various entities, speaks to us about he...
Aug 31, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 24
This World Breastfeeding Awareness Week, Two Lactation Counselors, Sharadha Raman from Coimbatore and myself sit down to discuss the common breastfeeding problems mother's face and what is the ultimate solution. Sharadha is a visiting counselor with two hospitals in Coimbatore and runs her own service by the name of 'Mom's Space' , a safe forum for the mothers and pregnant women to share and learn about the ways to embrace the challenges during their pregnancy and post delivery. She frequently c...
Aug 18, 2022•48 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Some people describe Birth as Healing , Magical and Orgasmic. Some describe it as Uncomfortable, Tiring and Endured. Others describe it as painful and traumatic. What makes Birth what? And how do you learn what you want your Birth to look like? Is it possible to have these desires and work on creating an experience? Keesha, takes on these questions. She answers for us , 'how can one involve their families in Birth- partner or parents?' , the question we left Part I of this conversation on. Keesh...
Aug 11, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 23
I would not be surprised when those who had immesely transformative births say that birth needs a lot of inner work, causes emotional stir and heals you in different ways. Consequently, Birth work also brings changes for the people involved in those birth stories like Keesha says as a doula the inner work has translated into various aspects and relationships of her life. Dive into the conversation to learn- 1) What does a Doula Do? 2) How does birth look like with guidence under a Doula? 3) Emot...
Jul 28, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Another episode for the Yearly Segment of Fatherhood Stories on the Podcast. This is about Postpartum Anxiety in Men during Pregnancy and Postpartum. Our Guest Today, Joshua Maze is the Dad Coordinator for Postpartum Support International, a nature connected coach and a bachelor's in social work. Joshua learnt how his experiences rounded up to Postpartum Anxiety and started helping new dads through his efforts on various platforms in recognizing and finding support during this emotionally heavy ...
Jun 19, 2022•43 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Rajat Mittal is the founder of ' Boyish ' - a monthly newsletter expanding the discourse on masculinity in India. Boyish aims to break Gender Stereotypes by talking about the impact of patriarchy on all genders of the society. Rajat's take on Boyish is fresh and intuitive. He is also a former co-founder of Menstrupedia. As a Father's day special, an yearly segment of Fatherhood stories on the Podcast, I was particularly driven to get him on board and learn from him precisely in what ways Parenti...
Jun 16, 2022•49 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Delayed-----To be out later--- 6th July 2022 So many things boomeranged together and I realized I had by mistake announced that the next episode will be Part II of the Dental health episode with Dr Pooja, however there is no second part to it. The coming episode will be released thisFriday -10th Feb 2022 , which is all about the emotional aspect of Birth and its translation into a birth worker's life. This is with Doula Keesha, a part of the Doula Stories theme. Stay tuned for it! Pregnancy Seri...
Jun 06, 2022•1 min•Season 3Ep. 18
This is a sequel to '#18- Birth Health- What is that one ingredient that matters'. Consider listening to it first as a bonus in terms of context! You asked me this- 'On the roller coaster journey of postpartum, how do I know if I am carrying the seat belt?' We discover this and go through the various ways postpartum hits us emotionally. At the end of this episode I share an activity for you to prepare yourself for the emotionally turbulant postartum days by asking yourself some potent questions!...
May 18, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Brushing is often seen as the most overlooked aspect of our life and yet when we face the camera , we flash all of them that make to the smile curve, to the photographer. With our little ones , we are overcautious of how the teeth appear as they categorically sum up to the beauty quotient. But are we teaching them the right brushing skills or do we know them ourselves? It was fun to figure that out in this conversation. Additionaly, how and what to do to protect teeth from cavities, decay and mu...
May 04, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Starting with a great news here, I am now an Internationally Certified Lactation Counselor. I would now be able to extend this education and the aim to bring awareness about Breast feeding to a greater periphery. Thankyou so much for your love on the podcast. I look forward to be able to serve you one to one too! In this episode , we explore how Birth Health- your seat belt for pregnancy and the period after you become a new mother called 'Postpartum' affects your journey. I forgot carrying my s...
Apr 17, 2022•13 min•Season 3Ep. 14
This Episode is close to my heart because here in a listener reached out to me about her experience with 'Vaginismus' and said that so little is spoken and even done to bring about a respectable acceptance of the condition and so wishes more was spoken about the condition. In 2022, here we are with Dr Niveditha trying to learn about the condition that 'Vaginismus' is and when one thinks they may have it, how do they approach the situation. Dr Niveditha is an Indian Venereologist and a clinician ...
Mar 30, 2022•39 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Part II of our conversation is centered at Pregnancy Exercise and its effect on Postpartum recovery. Dr Divya Gaur helps us approach the early postpartum in a more guided and structured way. Speaks about 1)The significance of prenatal exercises on Postnatal recovery. 2) Causes of Urinary Incontinence 3) Prevention and treatment of urinary incontinence. 4) Approaching pregnancy fitness and Postpartum Recovery. Tune in to listen to the story of a woman laboring with a positive pain perception and ...
Mar 03, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Million dollar question ! If you are in India, and you say "Doctor! I read somewhere I need to have a Birth Plan? I am going to very soon share one with you". You are so excited and the doctor says, " We do not do Birth Plans. What are they really?" Your hopes of doing your best in Pregnancy and Birth are first shattered here and the little hopes of participation are also snatched away. Anyway, I would as a Birth Educator tell you , You should still make a birth plan! Why? Tune in darlings! List...
Feb 17, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 11
'The two lines' that set you on a journey to become 'three' . The happy positive for many of us where soon after the news , we start surfing the online world for what to do to prepare ourself in Pregnancy and for Birth. The sooner you write 'Baby' in your google search, the faster Internet starts bombarding you with information on Pregnancy, Exercise, Fitness, Yoga , Baby Care, Baby Care Products etc. One of the most nasty questions a lot of us have is , should we start exercising now? Is it oka...
Feb 02, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Disclaimer- No, you may not want to listen to it as it is not education based, but is a trip back in time to help you find a perspective into 'What is a natural Birth' ? It is nothing like you know it! We go back in time and through the references from two textbooks to understand what it is. The content of this episode is my perspective as a birth professional. It may give you that one hook you need to hang on to. Next up on Season 3 is an episode with a Physiotherapist on the importance of exer...
Jan 26, 2022•10 min•Season 3Ep. 9
