Yoga | Birth | Babies

Did you know that the number of babies born to first time parents in the US who are over 35 has been steadily increasing? I see countless parents in the PYC community (including myself) have their first child over 35. So why have we heard that it’s difficult and more dangerous to conceive after 35? What happens (or doesn’t happen) at 35 to the body and how might this affect your pregnancy and birth?  To answer this question I invited Dr. Nicole Rankins back to Yoga|Birth |Babies. This is my third episode with Dr. Rankins. She’s an incredible guest. As an OB/GYN she’s helped over 1,500 babies into the world. She also has an amazing podcast All About Pregnancy & Birth that I turn to for grounded scientific information that feels like it’s coming from a dear friend.  In today’s episode Dr. Nicole and I talk about the risks and benefits of having babies over 35. We talk about fertility, how care may or may not be different for those over 35, and how managed or not managed your birth may need to be. Dr. Nicole dis

Twenty years ago I found a study that stated 1 out of 3 birthing parents experience birth trauma. It’s a pretty shocking statistic. As time has gone by, I wondered if the numbers had improved and perhaps we were seeing fewer parents experience traumatic birth? To answer this and take a deep dive into birth trauma, I invited Kate McReynolds LMHC owner of Root to Rise Counseling onto the podcast. Kate specializes in perinatal mental health and is a mother of two. She is down to earth and gives fantastic support around this topic.  Kate defines what birth trauma is, signs and symptoms someone is suffering from it, how it differs from PMADs, how to recover from birth trauma, and how to prepare for subsequent children after a traumatic birth. Unfortunately the numbers of parents experiencing trauma have not improved. I think this is a really important conversation for you to hear if you are preparing for birth or if you’ve given birth. Kate shares from her personal experiences as a Mom and provides us with an unde

When I heard about the new book The Yoga of Parenting, I knew I had to have author Sarah Ezrin as a guest here on Yoga| Birth| Babies! Now I promise this isn’t a book report, it’s a very lively conversation. I must say that I marked up my copy of this book with stars, highlights, circles, underlines, I resonated with so much. You’ll hear me use that word a lot in our conversation and I mean it, as I read this book something in my body started vibrating in resonance with Sarah’s words.  Sarah is an author, yoga educator, content creator, and Mama of two. In this podcast we cover energy management, boundaries, finding pause and stillness before reacting to our children and our nervous system. There’s a lot yoga can teach us about pausing before we react, how we can really learn from our children, and of course our nervous system moving fight and flight to rest and digest. We cover a lot of material in this conversation. Sarah is an overall fantastic and fun person and I think you’re really going to enjoy this

You’ve probably heard about labor support doulas, the people who help you during your birth, but did you know there are also doulas to help you after your baby is born? They’re called postpartum doulas and they’ll assist you, your family, and your baby. On today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies I’m speaking with Postpartum Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, and mother of three Valerie Trumbower all about postpartum doulas. Valerie guides us through the basics of what a postpartum doula is, what kind of services they provide, and how this differs from the support of friends and family. Valerie works primarily as an overnight doula so we also cover what that looks like for different families.  I had a postpartum doula with both of my children, they’re very practical. From showing a new parent or grandparent the basics of giving baby a bath, to assisting with lactation issues, circumcision care, or helping you unpack your birth postpartum doulas are an incredible resource for you and your family. We even cove

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while you know that the birth stories are one of my favorite things to dive into. I think it’s so important to hear about different experiences. Many times we have an image of birth from movies, or our friends or sister, or even our own experience, and these stories can be limiting, scary, or even set unrealistic expectations about the possibilities of birth. This is why I feel it’s so important to hear many birth stories, following parents who’ve made a variety of choices and whose births have taken a variety of paths. Hearing how and why someone chose to have the support of a doula, change their doctor, birth at home, or have a surgical birth, may help bring you peace around the unpredictable journey of birth. It may strike a chord within you to say, that sounds amazing, or exactly like the experience I want, I didn’t even know that was a possibility. It also shows us how unique and personal the birth journey is, not only from parent to parent but baby to baby.

If you were to describe your ideal birth, I’m guessing that you would describe your care as centered and individualized for you and your family’s needs. Many of you would probably talk about trauma informed care, and more than anything I think everyone wants a safe birth. You probably wouldn’t describe being treated like a new car on an assembly line but did you know that the US hospital system follows procedures outlined by Toyota to streamline your experience?  On today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies I speak with board certified labor nurse Mandy Irby about how to create a safe, patient centered, and trauma informed birth. Mandy offers incredible tactics that you can walk away from this episode with. She describes ways that you can advocate for yourself and she highlights the systemic issues of the current birth culture. She explains what individualized care is and how you can create that standard of care for yourself within a hospital. If you are pregnant or just had a baby and this is something that res

Have you ever wondered why some babies naturally go head down around 34 weeks and others don’t? Or why some births progress quicker than others? A lot of it has to do with what’s happening inside your body! For a variety of reasons there might be constrictions or imbalances limiting baby’s movement. Today on Yoga | Birth | Babies we’re taking a dive into understanding how chiropractic care works, how it benefits baby, pregnancy, and your body. As well as the Webster technique, what it is and how it can encourage baby to go head down. We’re also going to talk about how chiropractic work can help those planning a VBAC, and we’ll be talking about the importance of informed choices and decision making.  For this lively and interesting conversation my guest today is Dr. Elliot Berlin prenatal chiropractor, childbirth educator, labor support bodyworker, and cofounder of Berlin Wellness Group. You may also have heard his podcast The Informed Pregnancy Podcast (which I had the honor of being a guest on). He is deligh

It’s 4:45pm on a beautiful spring day, as you walk past the playground you notice an exasperated mother force her wailing toddler into a stroller. Did you shudder as you walked past grateful this wasn’t you? Or maybe at times, it’s been you. To be perfectly honest with all of you, at times it’s been me.  On today’s episode of Yoga| Birth | Babies we’re going to talk about anxiety and the need to control your child (or children). When I came across this topic from our guest, psychotherapist and parent coach Olivia Bergeron I thought wow, I totally relate to that. Have I felt the need to control things? Yes. Have I let my anxiety run my desire to control things? Yes. Have I gone head to head or (will to will) with both of my children? Yes.  So when I was introduced to Olivia and this topic, I thought this is something I really relate to and I think many other parents do as well. Olivia provides fantastic information. In our conversation she answers questions like does controlling really help? Or does the strate

We have a hot topic on the podcast today, sex after baby. For many couples this aspect of the relationship can be strained or even nonexistent. From birth trauma, to fear, pain, feeling uncomfortable in your body, or completely disconnected from your partner, postpartum sex is a complicated issue. To take on this issue, I invited Ashley Mariani MSW RSW onto today’s episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies. Ashley is a clinical social worker specializing in couple’s perinatal mental, emotional, and sexual health and is a fierce advocate against obstetric violence.  We start our conversation discussing how newborns impact the relationship of parents. Then we talk about attunement between the parents aka reconnecting outside of sex. Then we jump into how new parents can navigate sex and sexuality. It’s a conversation that I feel is incredibly important for the relationship.  Ashley explains the hierarchy of needs in a relationship. This may or may not surprise you, but sex is at the top. She gives incredible advice and

Sunday is Mother’s Day and we have a very special 2 part episode this week in celebration! In honor and gratitude to all of the mothers and mother figures in our community we put together an episode filled with insight and advice from some of my favorite episodes about motherhood.  In this best of episode we talk about self care as a mother, finding community and friendship, avoiding burnout, and how to have a kid and a life. As a Mother’s Day bonus we have a 2nd episode dropping tomorrow! Tune back in for the second part when we’ll talk about feeling sexy, overcoming shame, guilt, and more! In this episode:  Ups & Downs In Motherhood with Dayna Kurtz: Author, speaker and licensed social worker Dayna Kurtz speaks about her new book, Mother Matters: A Holistic Guide to Being a Happy, Healthy Mom.  We have a very fun and lively conversation about “mother care”, the ever-changing role of a mother, and “fair fighting” with your partner as well as many of the ups and downs new parents face on the parenthood adv

Welcome back for part 2 of our Mother’s Day Special! Over the years I have had the honor of speaking to some truly incredible professionals in the perinatal field. Choosing my favorite episodes was a difficult task so we decided to release a second episode as our gift to you! In this best of episode we talk about feeling sexy as a mother, overcoming shame, the value of postpartum education, mom guilt, martyr mode and perfectionism, and going back to work as a mom.  These conversations were often sparked by my own challenges as a mother. I hope that the insights shared help you as much as they helped me. In this episode:  The Ultimate Guide To Sex After Baby with Debra Pascali Bonaro: Documentarian, author, speaker and doula, Debra Pascali-Bonaro and I have a fun and lively conversation about her new book, The Ultimate Guide to Sex After Baby: Secrets to Love and Intimacy. Debra explains why so many people put sexuality and motherhood into two very different realms and how motherhood figures can reclaim their

Today we’re talking about one of my all time favorite hobbies, sleep! Sleep (or lack thereof) is a very hot topic among new parents. Recently in one of my Postnatal Yoga classes a mom shared about her experience as the only parent who could successfully soothe her baby to sleep. This was leaving her feeling incredibly burnt out and exhausted. Her sentiment was shared by many members of the community.  On this episode of Yoga|Birth| Babies I’m speaking with Sarah Skiles, pediatric sleep consultant, doula, and advanced newborn care specialist. Sarah’s personal experience with spiraling health and postpartum mood disorders due to sleep deprivation is her driving force behind the passionate way she serves, supports, and guides new parents. Sarah shares tools to help your family build healthy sleep habits from birth, as well as what new parents should prepare to expect and for those with toddler’s Sarah has you covered too! I couldn’t be more excited to share this episode with all of you. If you’re preparing for

Sometimes after baby your “O” can stand for ouch! Yes, today we’re talking about sex after baby. For many pelvic floor dysfunction turns what was once a pleasurable part of life into something painful. This pain doesn’t have to be permanent though and with the help of a PT you can have a better quality of life.  On today’s episode of Yoga| Birth | Babies I speak with Christina Walsh a physical therapist specializing in integrative manual therapy and co-creator of Tighten Your Tinkler to take a very deep dive (pun intended) into the pelvic floor. If you’ve been listening to the podcast you might be surprised that we’re talking about “tightening” the tinkler because you’ve likely heard me rant against over tightening. However, Christina beautifully talks about the balance needed for a strong pelvic floor and what she means when she says “tighten.” Christina and I talk about what new parents should expect when it comes to sex after baby, solutions for painful sex, kegels (how they might contribute to pelvic floo

There are a lot of genetic tests out there for those planning a family and those expecting their little one. It can be rather confusing which tests you should get and why. Many families are also concerned about how invasive the tests are and how accurate the tests are, and what they should be doing with their results.  To dive into this conversation of prenatal and preconception genetic testing on Yoga| Birth| Babies I have Kira Dineen MS, LCGC, CG(ASCP)CM a certified genetic counselor who has been specializing working with pregnant folks and helping people planning pregnancy to obtain family history and to explore genetic testing options. She’s also the host and producer of the podcast DNA Today.  Kira helps demystify a lot of the genetic tests out there and how to decide which tests might be best for you and your family. She is incredibly fun. I had such a great time. Even though this can feel like a very heavy topic, the way that Kira explains it and her enthusiasm, will help set you at ease and provide yo

If you’ve begun or are about to begin the process of weaning your baby, food allergies might be at the top of your mind. With so many people having serious reactions to common foods such as milk, eggs, shrimp, and peanuts you might find yourself wanting to put off giving these foods to your baby. But is that a good idea? And even if you’re ready to test these foods out, you might be wondering how a choking hazard like peanut butter can safely be given to an infant.  On today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies we’re going to talk about how to introduce allergenic foods to your baby through baby-led weaning. To have this conversation I invited Katie Ferraro, a registered dietician specializing in baby-led weaning and host of the podcast Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy. We’ll be talking about when one can ideally introduce allergens to a baby, the nine foods that account for ninety percent of food allergies, how to introduce these foods, and what to look for in an allergic reaction.  If you’re about to begin the journe

Today on Yoga| Birth | Babies we have an absolutely gripping, fascinating, and very NYC birth story. As my guest Alexis Field puts it, “It was the wildest night of my life and the birth I had always hoped for.”  I’ve listened to birth stories for years and I love each and every one. What I absolutely love about Alexis’ birth story is that in addition to being a fantastic, empowering, and exciting tale, Alexis (the parent who gave birth), is a performer. She knows how to hold the space and really tell a story. You are going to be thrilled as you hear Alexis share how her labor and birth experience unfolded, it really is wild.  For those of you based here in NYC, I know you’ll be able to envision the five floor walk up that she lives in (and how her husband has to help people in and out of the building). Alexis will have you on the edge of your seat. I’m so excited for you to feel inspired and excited and root for Alexis throughout her story. Get the most out of each episode by checking out the show notes wit

When you think about preparing your home for the arrival of your new baby your mind might go to a place of baby-proofing and purchasing toys and gear like cribs and high chairs. However, what if you home didn't need more stuff? Today we're looking at how to create an environment that encourages your baby's growth and honors their developmental stages through the Montessori lens To have this conversation, I invited Jeanne-Marie Paynel onto Yoga | Birth | Babies. Jeanne-Marie is a parenting mentor, Montessori home consultant, a doula, host of The Art of Parenting podcast and founder of Your Parenting Mentor. We have a fantastic conversation and in full disclosure I drink the Montessori punch. Both my kids went to Montessori preschools. We took a lot of their offerings and brought them home, so this topic and approach really resonated with me. I deeply value what is being discussed about the idea that we need to get more and more and more to better support our child's growth but often it's actually about being m

Have you been struggling to name your baby? Maybe there’s a name you love but your partner hates, or maybe you’ve named your baby and you think you made a mistake, what can you do? Listen to today’s podcast! We have such have such a fun show for this week’s episode of Yoga | Birth| Babies. I invited Sophie Kihm, baby naming expert and editor in chief of Nameberry to join me. She has such an interesting approach to choosing baby names. Though I’ve already named my children, I found the baby naming quiz to provide some pretty accurate results. I fell into the Bohemian name category, no surprise to me with children named Shay and Sage. We go over how the Nameberry DNA quiz works, use Sophie’s expertise as a therapist to discuss working through a name dispute with your partner, how and when to change your baby’s name, the history and popularity of names and more. I think you’re going to get a lot out of this episode and hopefully even lift some of the stress of choosing your baby’s name. Get the most out of e

Pumping is a pretty hot topic among new parents. As a matter of fact, when I polled my postnatal yoga students on what their current concerns were and what they needed support with, nearly everyone had a pumping question. Whether they were getting ready to go back to work or just wanted to spend a little time away from baby, the questions were pretty similar. From how often they should pump, to how much they should pump, to the best pump, and taking care of their pump, everyone felt uncertain about what they were doing. While I pumped to feed my children, this is not my specialty. So, I invited Heather ONeal and Maureen Farrell back onto Yoga | Birth | Babies. We had an excellent chat last year about PPA/PPD medication and breastfeeding and I suspected they would have a lot of expertise to share around pumping, did they ever! Heather and Maureen and midwives and lactation professionals, they host a fantastic podcast called The Milk Minute. On today’s episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies they share practical tips

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a bit, you likely know that something I’m incredibly passionate about is optimal fetal positioning. In part it’s because of my own experiences with birth going from a very long first birth to a much more efficient second birth. When a baby is better aligned in the body, birth can be more efficient. So how do we set ourselves and our babiess up for this more optimal positioning and a more efficient labor? Well there are a few things one can do, today we’re going to dive into something I recently learned about called Gilligan’s Guide.  On today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies I’m speaking with Ann Gilligan, creator of Gilligan’s Guide and a labor and delivery nurse (as well as prenatal yoga teacher) with over 33 years experience of working in delivery rooms. Ann explains what malposition is and how it affects birth flow. We go into why more babies are presenting in incorrect positions (ROT) these days and how to help get these baby’s into a more optimal position. We