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Today, we talk with Tiffany Belanger of @cosleepy about some of the challenges that may arise for co-sleeping families, whether you're trying to reduce night feeds, prepare for another baby, or simply want your bed back. We discuss how these transitions often unfold, including moving a child into a crib or floor bed, and why the experience can look completely different from one family to the next, depending on lifestyle, a child’s temperament, and the parents' mental and emotional states, like guilt, anxiety, exhaustion or embarrassment. This is a free-flowing, honest conversation, not a set of rules to apply. The goal of this episode is to prepare you for these transitions, normalize some of the challenges parents face, and offer a range of ways to move from one stage to the next that most resonate with you and your family. Tiffany on Instagram @cosleepy ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

We are back with another breastfeeding-only Q&A episode. In today's conversation, we respond to several listener questions related to nursing, sleep, and fertility after breastfeeding. One mother who is co-sleeping with her 15-month-old, who wakes three to five times per night to nurse, asks how she can help her toddler sleep longer stretches without abruptly stopping breastfeeding. Another listener with a 4.5-month-old who has never taken a bottle is planning to attend a bachelorette party when her baby will be about nine months old and asks how best to prepare. We also hear from a mother who recently weaned her two-year-old and then experienced a very early miscarriage, often called a chemical pregnancy, and wonders whether she should consider hormonal support before trying to conceive again. As for our Quickies: Is it concerning if a 12-week-old drops slightly on the growth curve while still gaining weight, what the issue is with the Boppy pillow for breastfeeding, and can you continue breastfeeding while taking antibiotics for mastitis? We also discuss healing cracked nipples after a tongue-tie release, whether milk will come in normally if you breastfeed during pregnancy, and whether lactation cookies or brewer’s yeast actually increase supply. As also cover oversupply with a second baby, postpartum chills when milk comes in, storing breast milk and keeping pump parts clean on long drives, preventing recurrent mastitis from oversupply, whether a mild tongue tie should be released if breastfeeding is going well, what a “nursing holiday” is and whether it can help supply and latch, and how to help a bottle-fed newborn latch to the breast. Just us on Patreon for our upcoming all-Quickies episode, exclusive to patrons-only. Controversial article we discussed in this episode: My Decision Not to Breastfeed with Elise Hewitt #239 | The Cost of Breastfeeding Versus Formula Feeding with Dr. Rhonda Trust, PhD ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

In today's episode, one of Trisha's clients, Holly, shares the story of two very different births and two equally different breastfeeding experiences, and what shifted between them. Her first labor began spontaneously but ended with a vacuum delivery, and the demoralizing message that her “pushes weren’t productive.”  Breastfeeding was just as difficult, leading to a year of mostly exclusive pumping and undiagnosed postpartum anxiety.  Four years later, she approached birth with real preparation, a clear plan, and a timely transfer of care to a midwife who immediately changed the tone of her birth experience. This episode examines how preparation, autonomy, and the right support can change not only the course of a labor, but the way a mother understands her own strength. ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

Water birth has long been controversial, but more recently, a wave of claims has emerged from the natural birth community that water birth is dangerous for babies and disruptive to the physiologic process of birth. In this episode, we sit down with midwife Barbara Harper, the world's leading expert on water birth and founder of Waterbirth International, to explain the preponderance of evidence supporting the safety of water birth and to dispel circulating fallacies. We talk about the idea that babies can aspirate water, whether the diving reflex can fail, and the claim that water immersion interferes with a mother’s ability to respond to her baby during birth. Barbara explains what actually initiates a baby’s first breath, how the transition from fetal to newborn circulation works, and why arguments that water immersion causes a disruption to physiology that compromises babies don't hold up when you truly understand the physiology.  Join us for yet another educational and fascinating discussion with Barbara. Catch our other episodes with Barbara here: #200 | Physiologic Birth of the Placenta in Water, Optimal Cord Clamping and Preventing Postpartum Hemorrhage with Barbara Harper #122 | Provider Green Lights: Interview with Barbara Harper on Holistic, Respectful & Supportive Birth Providers #100 | The Benefits of Water Birth: Interview With Barbara Harper ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

Welcome to the March Q&A! We begin today’s episode with a conversation about the strange, intrusive, and sometimes downright insulting comments women receive in public while pregnant. We also share a listener story about a home birth that took an unexpected turn when a woman’s mother, meant to support her during labor, ended up creating some chaos after drinking too much wine. Next, we address feeling unusually irritable toward an older child during pregnancy, what to consider after experiencing shoulder dystocia in two previous births, and whether an intact bag of waters could contribute to tearing during a very fast birth. We also discuss whether it ever makes sense to remain in an uncomfortable labor position in hopes of helping labor progress. As for Quickies, we cover questions about nursing pillows, pregnancy spacing, breastfeeding and fertility, bras for labor, sleep regressions, breast pumps, retained placenta, building a freezer stash, one of Cynthia’s favorite homemade salad dressing recipes, and the most famous people we’ve ever met. Thanks for being here, and enjoy today’s episode. PS: Check Patreon for more from Cynthia on salad dressings! ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

In this episode, Abby shares her VBAC birth story following an emergency cesarean. Determined to experience a vaginal birth, she prepared carefully while navigating limited provider options in Alabama. What unfolded during labor and delivery underscores how provider behavior, rather than maternal physiology, often determines birth outcomes. Abby describes how a manual vaginal extraction caused a nearly catastrophic fourth-degree tear, requiring three subsequent surgeries in the months that followed and significantly disrupting her early postpartum period with her newborn. We ask Abby whether she has considered legal action against the doctor and hospital, and we explore how birth trauma shapes future decision-making. Abby explains why she is choosing a repeat cesarean for her third baby after this traumatic vaginal birth, and what autonomy and dignity can still look like within surgical birth. She also reflects on how faith, support, and intentional processing helped her move forward, and what she hopes other women will take from her story. Learn more about Abby here: http://www.abbyevelynphotography.com ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

When Trisha was pregnant with her second baby, she read Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering — a book that completely reframed how she understood labor, and to this day remains her favorite book on pregnancy. Trisha's second birth unfolded in just three hours, a stark contrast to her first. That book was written by Dr. Sarah J. Buckley, and we've long dreamed of getting her on the show. That day has finally come! Dr. Buckley is a New Zealand–trained family physician and leading researcher on the hormonal physiology of childbirth, and today she walks us through the science of oxytocin and why it matters so profoundly in labor. We explore how the maternal brain modulates pain, how safety and privacy influence hormone flow, and why certain features of modern maternity care can unintentionally trigger stress responses that disrupt physiological birth. This episode is a deep dive into the biology of labor — and what women truly need for it to unfold as designed. In this episode, we discuss: The "Safety Triad": Why feeling private, safe, and unobserved is a biological requirement, not a luxury.The Pitocin Paradox: The shocking truth about synthetic "oxytocin", its unknown half-life, and why it doesn't offer the same brain benefits as the real thing.The Epidural Gap: How numbing the sensation of labor interrupts your natural hormonal feedback loop.The Baby’s Experience: What the fetal catecholamine surge is and what it means for your newborn’s first moments after birth.Sarah Buckley Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

Six seasons later, we are revisiting one of our first episodes of this podcast: Using evidence-based care to plan your birth.  Much of what happens in labor is presented as standard, routine, or unavoidable—but that doesn’t mean it’s evidence-based. Birth care hasn’t become more complex because women need more intervention. It’s become more complex because intervention has become the default. If you’ve ever wondered whether what’s happening in labor is truly backed by research—or simply “standard protocol”—this episode is for you. In this conversation, we get back to the basics, examining how modern birth is typically managed, where that approach aligns with evidence, and where it too often doesn’t. This episode gives you an evidenced-based framework, so you can better evaluate the care offered and recognize when something supports physiologic birth or when it may quietly interfere with it. Listen with your partner, take notes, and use this episode as a guide for thinking more clearly about the choices that shape your birth. #9 | Birth Plan 101: Evidence Based Birth as the Safest, Smartest Approach********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

Welcome to the February Q&A!  We begin with a brief reflection on a mother's need to find time for play (not with her children but for herself) and creativity during early parenthood, before diving into your questions. Today’s episode addresses a common pattern in maternity care: past birth experiences being used by providers to justify predetermined interventions in subsequent pregnancies. One listener asked, do women need to get out of the tub for fetal heart rate decels, and is this based on policy or physiology? Is Pitocin given after heavy bleeding in a prior birth justifiable for routine use in a subsequent birth? Additionally, we explore the long-term impact of episiotomies and membrane sweeps performed without consent, and address myths about posterior (OP) babies and whether those conditions are mother-specific or unique to each pregnancy. Finally, we talk about water breaking before labor and how much time most women realistically have before intervention is generally recommended (and whether it is actually needed). As always, we close with quickies, including our best beauty tips (no, it is not a product you can buy). Thank you for the excellent questions. Call us anytime at 802-438-3696. That's 802-GET-DOWN! Oh, yeah, if you loved this episode, leave us a 5-star review, and thank you! ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

In today's episode, mother of two, Samantha Collignon, joins us to share two very different birth experiences separated by thirteen years. She gave birth to her first baby at 18 with minimal support and limited understanding of her options. At 31, married and deeply informed, she approached birth with education, confidence, and a strong sense of autonomy, resulting in a profoundly different and blissful birth experience. Samantha reflects on how age and life stage shaped the way she was perceived by medical providers, shares how IVF factored into decision-making during her second pregnancy, and why an induced labor can still be a everything you wished for in birth.  ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

In this episode, we talk to Moran of @2lifedoula, a doula whose journey into birth work was born from her own harrowing transition into motherhood. Moran candidly shares the story of her first birth—a clinical, disconnected experience where lack of preparation and resurfaced childhood trauma led to a "full-blown panic attack" and postpartum depression. Knowing that wasn't how birth was meant to be, Moran transformed her approach for her subsequent birth, ultimately having a euphoric, spontaneous home birth. This transformation sparked her 14-year career as a doula and inspired her new book, Before You Give Birth, written for the woman she once was: unprepared, overwhelmed, and unaware of her own strength. Moran explains why birth is a portal of transformation, regardless of the outcome, and offers a roadmap for women to heal and advocate for themselves, whether you are a first-time mother or a birth professional. 2lifedoula Birthing Without Trauma & Fear ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

Tearing is one of the most common fears around birth—and one of the most misunderstood. In this episode, we talk about what really causes tearing, what the research shows, and what you can do to reduce your risk. We cover perineal massage, positions for birth, breathing and pacing, water birth, warm compresses, and what makes recovery smoother. Through the episode, we review our followers' real-life "tearing" stories, and provide our commentary, which includes labial tears, scar tissue, pelvic floor recovery, over-stitching and unnecessary repairs, how beliefs and fear affect pushing, poor suturing techniques, the harm caused by routine episiotomies and the so-called, absolutely outrageous, “husband stitch”.  This is an honest, evidence-based conversation about the perineum—how to protect it, how to heal, and what every woman can know before giving birth. Watch our full Preventing Perineal Tears workshop on Patreon.com/DownToBirthShow. ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

Welcome to our first monthly Q&A episode of Season 7! In today's episode, we discuss why C-sections are sometimes framed as “prevention,” how fear around tearing, fetal monitoring, or cord concerns impacts clinical decision-making, and why breaking the bag of waters is still routine practice despite clear risks and limited benefit. We explain what delayed cord clamping looks like during a cesarean and why vague language like “misplaced cord insertion” can unknowingly lead to unnecessary intervention. Additionally, we talk about nursing while pregnant, early breastfeeding challenges, frozen breastmilk, feeding to sleep, and other common postpartum concerns. Lastly, Barbara Harper joins us to dispel the fear around water birth by explaining the exact physiology of newborn transition under the water.  As always, thanks for calling in with your questions. Call us anytime at 802-GET-DOWN (that's 802-438-3696). ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

In this episode, Jessica shares the breastfeeding journey she never expected. After a smooth birth at a birth center, feeding quickly became complicated: flat nipples, an early nipple shield, a missed first feeding window, a significant tongue tie, and a baby who grew increasingly sleepy and underweight. What followed was weeks of pumping, weighted feeds, donor milk, tongue-tie revision, and the ongoing effort to understand why breastfeeding wasn’t working despite doing everything “right.” Jessica describes the emotional strain of those early weeks, from feeling inadequate to questioning her own anatomy, and the constant fear she was letting her daughter down. This conversation brings needed attention to the realities behind many breastfeeding challenges and the gaps that leave mothers without the support they need.  ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.

In today’s breastfeeding Q&A, we take calls from mothers facing the challenges that often arise well beyond the newborn phase. We begin with a question about nursing an eighteen-month-old who lifts his mother’s shirt the moment she sits down, and what healthy boundaries can look like when a toddler is still deeply attached to nursing. From there, we address concerns about forceful letdowns, oversupply, pumping routines, and the role of pacifiers when feeding becomes overstimulating for the baby. We also take a call from a mother with a three-week-old who experiences gas and discomfort at the breast, and we discuss the differences between oversupply, fast flow, and the possibility of oral restrictions. Today's conversation highlights how individual feeding dynamics are and why a tailored approach is always necessary. Thank you for your thoughtful questions and for your continued support of the show. To submit your questions for a future episode, call our hotline at 802-438-3696, that's (802) GET-DOWN. ********** Send us Fan Mail Needed -- this link for 20% off your whole subscription order DrinkLMNT --  this link for FREE 8-day supply Primally Pure:  ingredients good for you and the earth. Promo code: DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTH ENERGYBits: --this link for 20% off Join Patreon for our exclusive content IG @downtobirthshow Down to Birth Show Call 802-GET-DOWN Watch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.