In this episode, I am joined by reproductive justice advocate Danielle Jackson. Danielle is a wife, mother, doula, and co-host of the podcast Birth Stories in Color. She works to empower women to birth without fear, and has focused her career on helping families recognize their strengths and build healthy support systems. She became a doula in 2016. Issues in her community of Columbus, Ohio drew Danielle to the organization Restoring Our Own Through Transformation, as a change agent in the ongoi...
Nov 13, 2019•41 min
In this episode, I am joined by Bess English, a mother of two who lives near Pensacola, Florida. Bess describes her first hospital birth experience as traumatic. When she was pregnant with her second child, she and her husband took the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class to learn more about advocacy tools and comfort measures. Bess’ attempted VBAC home birth did not go as planned - and she and her husband found themselves back in the hospital setting making some difficult choices. But this tim...
Nov 06, 2019•54 min
In this episode, I am joined by Gail Tully - author, childbirth educator, midwife and creator of Spinning Babies. The Spinning Babies approach connects understanding of birth anatomy to fetal rotation and easier childbirth, and is recognized around the world by midwives, nurses, childbirth educators, doulas, and parents. Gail’s ability to recognize the spatial relationships between the soft tissue pelvis and the baby has contributed to a paradigm shift in childbirth care and education. She began...
Oct 30, 2019•55 min
In this episode I am joined by Ngozi Tibbs, a certified childbirth trainer and educator through Lamaze International, an international board certified lactation consultant, and co-founder of the Pittsburgh Black Breastfeeding Circle. With a Bachelor’s degree in maternal child health and a Master’s in public health, Ngozi has served as a private and community based doula, currently provides childbirth education and lactation consulting, and is involved with the non-profit Healthy Start. Often kno...
Oct 23, 2019•43 min
In this episode I am joined by Jen McLellan, author, speaker, and founder of the website Plus Size Birth and the Plus Mommy blog. She is also host of the popular podcast Plus Mommy, and is a certified childbirth educator, wife, and mother. With more than four million page views on her blog, Jen is passionate about helping others navigate the bumps along the road of motherhood. Jen notes that her doula’s recommendation to look into the midwife model of care changed the course of her first pregnan...
Oct 16, 2019•42 min
In this episode, I am joined by Taiwo (Tia) Ajao and her husband Dr. Wale Ajao. Tia is an RN with a Master’s in Public Health, a Lamaze certified childbirth educator, and a DONA-trained birth doula. Wale is a medical doctor as well as a communication professional, specializing in film and video production. He is also a Lamaze certified childbirth educator, DONA-trained birth doula, and a certified professional photographer. Tia and Wale lead Hello Baby Baltimore, a health communications initiati...
Oct 09, 2019•34 min
In this episode, I am joined by one of our Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class parents, Bethany Clay. Bethany has an 11-month old son, and lives in South Carolina. She works part time as a music teacher, and is passionate about sustainability and gardening. She was one of the first people to take the EBB Childbirth Class in 2018, with Instructor Mary Kury. Bethany describes her birth experience as long, peaceful, and wonderful, all at the same time! Hear how her birth preparation helped her fo...
Oct 02, 2019•39 min
In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Stephanie Edmonds and Dr. Nicole Loew, both PhDs in nursing. Stephanie (who also has a Masters in Public Health) specializes in pre-conception health, family planning, health services quality improvement, and veterans. Nicole has more than five years of sexual and reproductive health research experience, including the topics of responsible sexual behavior, risk communication and health communication. Together Stephanie and Nicole are hosts of The Woman Centere...
Sep 25, 2019•47 min
In this episode, I am joined by bestselling author and award-winning blogger Leonie Dawson to discuss her experience with hyperemesis and postpartum depression and anxiety. Leonie is an artist and entrepreneur based in Australia with a huge following. I asked her to join me on the EBB podcast because she’s blogged extensively about her experiences with hyperemesis and her difficult postpartum journey. Leonie details her pregnancy and birth experiences, as well as what she learned about herself t...
Sep 11, 2019•57 min
In this episode, I am joined by Melissa Cassity to talk about her experience taking the Evidence Based Birth Childbirth Class, and how it came into play during her unexpected pre-term birth. Melissa has a 13-month old son and lives in South Carolina with her husband, Kelby. She works as an instructional designer for an educational technology company. She and Kelby were among the first students of the EBB Childbirth Class, which they took with EBB Instructor Mary Kury. Melissa has a longstanding ...
Sep 04, 2019•50 min
In this episode I am joined by Aza Nedhari, co-founder and executive director of Mamatoto Village, a non-profit training and deploying community health workers to support women through pregnancy, childbirth, and the first months of parenting. Nearly 90 percent of the organization’s clients are African American women who, as a group, suffer dramatically worse maternal health outcomes than other women. Aza pioneered the organization’s comprehensive perinatal health worker training, which uses the ...
Aug 28, 2019•46 min
In this episode, I am joined by my midwife, Karen Brown. Karen is a certified professional midwife, located in Central Kentucky, who practicing in 2007. She is a mother of four children; her youngest was born at home. In 2011 and 2013 Karen attended the home births of two of my children, which are featured in my new book, Babies are Not Pizzas! I’m excited to talk to Karen about her career, as well as my own birth experiences. I wrote and published Babies are Not Pizzas to address the preventabl...
Aug 21, 2019•35 min
My new book, Babies Are Not Pizzas, is slated for release next week! To get ready for this exciting event, I want to share with you the first chapter from the book. Listen as I read Chapter One: Naive, and get a first glimpse into my story. You'll hear the details of my first daughter's birth, how it sparked the passion for what I do, and how it started me on the road to founding Evidence Based Birth. For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth ® , visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on ...
Aug 14, 2019•33 min
In this episode, I am joined by Reid Johnson, a former student of mine! Reid graduated from university this past May with honors, majoring in biology. During his course of study he took my seminar on childbirth, called Babies Are Not Pizzas. I was honored to be asked to write his reference letter for medical school, and was so excited to hear that he was accepted. He starts his program this fall. I invited him to the EBB podcast to talk about what it's like to be a med student. Reid shares his...
Aug 07, 2019•32 min
Evidence Based Birth has just released a new Signature Article about routine male newborn circumcision. We have been receiving requests to cover this topic for years; I know that opinions on newborn circumcision are diverse and very emotionally charged. In this podcast episode I explore circumcision in detail, including discussion on relevant human anatomy, where circumcision came from, why some parents choose non-religious circumcision today, how common it is around the world, and the procedure...
Jul 31, 2019•1 hr 15 min
In this week's Bonus Book Update podcast, I cover the overarching theme of Babies Are Not Pizzas. It was a surprising realization for me at the end of the writing process! What is the book about? Mainly, preventable birth trauma in a broken health care system. This is a complex topic. Listen as I cover all the nuances of this theme, and reveal to you some of the other areas of exploration in the story. RESOURCES: Get all the updates on my new book, Babies Are Not Pizzas! Click here to get on the...
Jul 26, 2019•6 min
In this episode, I interview Cristen Pascucci, founder of Birth Monopoly, about respectful disagreement when talking about childbirth topics. After the birth of her son in 2011, Cristen left a career in public affairs to study American maternity care and women’s rights. From 2012 to 2016, she served as vice president of Improving Birth, spearheading a multi-year grassroots media strategy to get America’s maternity care crisis into the national news. She also created a legal advocacy hotline for ...
Jul 24, 2019•53 min
I am thrilled to announce that we have released the cover image for my upcoming book, Babies are Not Pizzas! Check it out on Facebook and Instagram! In this week's Bonus Book Update podcast, I reveal some of the final details of the production process - and the start of our book launch! Listen to hear the official targeted release date... RESOURCES: Get all the updates on my new book, Babies Are Not Pizzas! Click here to get on the wait list. Follow Evidence Based Birth on Facebook and Instagram...
Jul 12, 2019•4 min
In this week's Bonus Book Update podcast, I tell you all about the route I chose to publish Babies Are Not Pizzas. These days, book publishing has been democratized, and anyone can self-publish a book outside of the traditional system. You know me - I did all the research to determine the best publication route for me and for Evidence Based Birth. I'll tell you what I decided on, and how I came to my conclusions. If you are thinking of writing a book someday, what I tell you here may inspire you...
Jul 05, 2019•9 min
In this episode, I talk with Ashely Smith about her awe-inspiring and peaceful experience giving birth to twins. Ashley and her partner Trevor live in Lexington, Kentucky. They are both local business owners active in their community. As first time parents, they took time to equip themselves to have a smooth birth experience. Ashley always found herself describing the role of a doula to her friends and family, and finally got to experience having doula herself! She worked with Chanté Perryman, a...
Jul 03, 2019•36 min
In this week's Book Bonus podcast, I give you a glimpse of all the steps we took to make sure my book, Babies Are Not Pizzas, is accurate and polished! I'll take you through the multiple steps of the editing process - including a team of over 30 EBB supporters who have read the book and provided feedback! From fact checking to research, and fine-tuning the stories of all the people mentioned in the book, this process was intense and we were so excited to send it off for the final editing phase! ...
Jun 28, 2019•6 min
This episode from 2019 has been replaced with updated audio from the February 2025 revision of the Evidence Based Birth® Signature Article on Vitamin K (EBB 347). RESOURCES: Click here to read the updated Evidence Based Birth® Signature Article, The Evidence on the Vitamin K Shot in Newborns - as well as the updated one-page handout!
Jun 26, 2019•47 min
On this week's Bonus Book Update podcast, I want to take you inside the final mile of my writing process. When I was just a few chapters shy of finishing my draft and life was just too crazy to find the time to tap into my creative energy, I decided I needed a few days to get away and concentrate completely on my book! And you know what? It was a great idea. I'll tell you all about the inspiring place I was able to retreat to, all the resources I brought with me to keep me on task (have you ever...
Jun 21, 2019•6 min
In this episode, I am joined by Natalie Telyatnikov, founder and creator of the online holistic program Better Postpartum. She is a certified postpartum support specialist trained in perinatal mood and anxiety disorder support, as well as innate traditions of postpartum care. Natalie shares her personal journey of postpartum depression and anxiety, and the discoveries she made about how these issues are handled in the health care system. We also discuss the evidence on postpartum education, as w...
Jun 19, 2019•40 min
My weekly EBB Book Podcast updates are bringing you a behind-the-scenes look at my new book, Babies are Not Pizzas, which will launch this August! This week, I want to share with you some personal insights about my emotional journey during the writing process. This book tells my story and I needed to share it just the right way. I also had to take a deep examination of some very difficult times in my life. As many of you know - that kind of introspection is not easy! I learned so much along the ...
Jun 14, 2019•7 min
In this episode, we’ll listen to my husband Dan Dekker and our brother-in-law Ryan talk about their experiences on becoming fathers and watching the births of their children. As we are approaching Father’s Day in the U.S., I wanted to do something special and share this interview that I recorded when I was teaching a college class on childbirth. We were discussing the importance of not only listening to the stories of people who give birth, but also their partners - because birth can be a life-a...
Jun 12, 2019•35 min
In this special bonus episode of the Evidence Based Birth Book Update podcast, I'm going to take you behind the scenes for the most adorable (and the most chaotic) part of the book production process - the photo shoot! I got the chance to work with some of the sweetest babies - but things didn't quite go according to plan... To hear the whole story, download this week's Book Update podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify! Resources: Get all the latest news on my upcoming book via the Evidence Bas...
Jun 07, 2019•4 min
I'm so excited to release my new book this August, Babies are Not Pizzas! I will admit, I spent a long considering how to craft this book... I needed to really think about my message and how it should be written to offer the biggest impact! Is this a guide to pregnancy - or something else? Well, I am happy to tell you what kind of book this is - and how I decided on the genre! RESOURCES: Get added to the Evidence Based Birth mailing list here , so you don't miss any updates!...
May 31, 2019•5 min
In this episode I interview Cat LaPlante about her empowering birth experiences and her life as a birth professional. Cat is a certified doula and childbirth educator, and was also one of the first EBB Instructors. She has a passion for teaching expectant parents and birth professionals about evidence based care - she loves when parents get excited about the labor process! Cat lives with her husband and four boys. Learn how Cat’s fourth birth at home was different in many ways to her previous bi...
May 29, 2019•23 min
My new book is coming out this August, and I think you're going to love the title... Download this podcast to hear it! This book is truly a labor of love, and it's been a fascinating journey crafting the story and message. I am releasing a special podcast series all about it. Download a new episode each Friday - you'll get sneak peeks and announcements, as well as behind the scenes insights into producing this book! RESOURCES: Get added to the Evidence Based Birth mailing list here , so you don'...
May 24, 2019•3 min
