Birth Kweens
After 3+ years and 138 episodes, the Birth Kweens Podcast is coming to an end! Listen to this final episode to hear Karly and Ali wrap things up. Thank you all for supporting us and listening to the show over the past few years. We love and appreciate all of you!
info_outline Ep 138: Four Birth Stories with Jeanette FantBirth Kweens
**TRIGGER WARNING: Infant Loss** Today we’re talking with Jeanette Fant about the births of her four babies. Jeanette has had a wide variety of birth experiences including medicated hospital births, a home birth, and the birth of her stillborn daughter, Natalie. Jeanette shares about how her approach to preparing for birth has changed over the years, what prompted her to choose a home birth for her youngest baby Nayeli, and how the devastating loss of her second baby Natalie has impacted her and her family’s lives. We’re so thankful Jeanette was willing to come on the show and share her...
info_outline Ep 137: An Unmedicated Hospital Birth Story with Angie PonceBirth Kweens
Angie Ponce is with us today to share the story of the birth of her first baby! Earlier this year, Angie had an unmedicated hospital birth with the support of her husband and doula. We hope you enjoy Angie’s wonderful birth story! --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Sign up for a subscription with today! Get your daily multivitamin or prenatal delivered right to your door by visiting . Use the promo code KWEENS at checkout for 10% off during your first 3 months! Get a monthly subscription box from and do some fun, hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) projects with your...
info_outline Ep 136: Preconception & Prenatal Nutrition with Ryann Kipping, RDN, CLECBirth Kweens
In this episode we’re talking with about nutrition during preconception and pregnancy. Ryann is a clinically trained Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Lactation Educator, and Author of . She is the founder of The Prenatal Nutritionist, a virtual nutrition private practice, which focuses on preparing women for pregnancy and conquering nutrition during and after pregnancy. She helps women feel confident in their ability to properly nourish a growing baby through a real food approach. Aside from one on one nutrition counseling, Ryann is a nutrition writer and content creator on her...
info_outline Ep 135: VBAC Success Story with Anissa BallesterosBirth Kweens
Anissa Ballesteros is here today to share her two birth stories with us. For her first baby, Anissa had planned and prepared for an unmedicated hospital birth but her baby was breech so she ended up having a cesarean. When she got pregnant with her second baby, she knew she wanted a different experience so she hired Karly and planned a home birth. Anissa shares about how difficult her cesarean birth was for her and how healing and positive her HBAC (home birth after cesarean) experience was. --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Get a high quality, fully breathable, washable, and recyclable baby mattress...
info_outline Ep 134: Preterm Birth and NICU Stays with Dr. Melinda ElliottBirth Kweens
Today we’re talking with Dr. Melinda Elliott about preterm birth and navigating an unexpected NICU stay. Dr. Elliott is chief medical officer of where she serves as the voice of the patient, working to ensure that the needs of critically ill and premature infants are being articulated and that the relevant treatment and product opportunities are identified. As an experienced neonatologist and researcher in neonatal intensive care, Dr. Elliott has committed her career to the care of vulnerable, premature infants and has researched the benefits of an Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD)...
info_outline Ep 133: A Midwife’s Birth Story with Chloë LubellBirth Kweens
of is here to share her birth story with us! Chloë had been a midwife for many years before becoming pregnant with her first child. She shares in depth about her pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences, including what it was like to have an ultra-fast labor and lots of other surprises along the way. Enjoy! --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Get a high quality, fully breathable, washable, and recyclable baby mattress from ! Go to and enter code KWEENS to get $50 off and free shipping. Get comprehensive online childbirth education classes and 1:1 new parent support from ! Go to and enter...
info_outline Ep 132: Representation and Inclusivity in Birth Work with Cheyenne VarnerBirth Kweens
In this episode we’re talking with of about representation and inclusivity in the birth world. Cheyenne is a birth and postpartum doula and graphic designer in Richmond, VA. She started The Educated Birth, a collection of childbirth education materials including , in 2016, when she couldn't find materials with representation of families of color. She has been learning, creating, and partnering with other professionals to provide more inclusive and accessible health education materials ever since. Cheyenne shares about how inclusivity and representation are lacking in the birth world and...
info_outline Ep 131: Hospital and Home Birth Stories with Johanna PennBirth Kweens
shares her two birth stories with us in this episode. Her first son was born in the hospital after a long, difficult labor. This birth experience really impacted Johanna and it inspired her to go into birth work. It also caused her to make an entirely different birth plan for her second son who was born quickly at home. Johanna shares what her two very different labors were like for her, what she learned from them, and what kind of birth work she’s doing now (including her new podcast, ). Enjoy! --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Get a subscription for bestselling children’s multivitamins to...
info_outline Ep 130: The Identity Shift of Motherhood with Jessie Harrold of MotherSHIFTBirth Kweens
In this episode we’re talking with of about how pregnancy and birth are rites of passage and what an enormous identity shift it is to become a parent. Jessie is a coach, women’s mentor and doula who supports women to traverse radical life transformation and other rites of passage. She is the founder of MotherSHIFT, a program to support women through the identity shift of motherhood, and author of a forthcoming book of the same name. Registration for her begins on September 1, 2020. Click here to access her free . --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Get a high quality, fully breathable,...
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In this episode we’re talking with Emily E. Little, Ph.D. all about babywearing/carrying.
Emily completed her Ph.D. at University of California, San Diego in developmental psychology with a specialization in anthropogeny, which is the study of human origins. Her research program examines maternal-infant health behavior from a cultural and psychological perspective, focusing on the intersection of physical contact, breastfeeding, and communication. She has used her skills as a Certified Lactation Educator Counselor (CLEC) and a Volunteer Babywearing Educator (VBE) to conduct health outreach programs internationally, including lactation education programs for community health centers in Bolivia and Kangaroo Mother Care training programs for maternal health centers in Guatemala.
Emily is the founder and director of the nonprofit organization Nurturely. She was inspired to start Nurturely to promote increased collaboration between researchers, physicians, community health workers, and caregivers in conducting impactful, interdisciplinary research and implementing evidence-based outreach programs to support the health and development of infants and their caregivers.
Here's an overview of what’s covered in this episode:
- Emily’s background and how she became interested in babywearing and infant attachment
- When/why research began on the topic
- How babywearing can positively impact preterm babies
- How babywearing is different in the US versus other cultural contexts
- The relationship between babywearing and infant feeding
- Emily’s current research projects
- Babywearing and infant development
- Babywearing and hip dysplasia
- How early you can start wearing your baby and how long you can continue
- A little info about different types of carriers
- Notes on babywearing safety
- Info about the work that Emily’s non-profit, Nurturely, is doing and how it ties into babywearing
- Some links to the resources that were mentioned in this episode:
- Just one example of the cultural uniqueness of the US with regard to our relatively little amount of physical contact with infants: mothers in the US are in physical contact with 3- to 4-month-old infants for 18% of a 24-hour period in comparison with communities in Africa where mothers are in physical contact with infants 79%-99% of the time
- Benefits of direct skin-to-skin contact for preterm/term infants in the hours immediately after birth (just a few of my favorites, definitely not an exhaustive list!): lower infant cortisol reactivity, decreased postpartum depression symptoms, increased infant alertness, improved infant motor and cognitive development, increased breastfeeding duration, decreased time to deliver the placenta, analgesic effects, improved sleep cycles, increased neural development, improved social engagement/reciprocity in childhood
- Benefits of babywearing/carrying (without direct skin-to-skin) in the months postpartum: increased likelihood of secure attachment to caregivers, decreased crying, associated with increased responsiveness to infant hunger cues, breastfeeding duration, connection to decreased incidence of hip dysplasia
- Connection between responsive feeding and childhood obesity and development of infant hunger cues (potentially also related to the responsiveness that is facilitated by direct breastfeeding versus bottle feeding, another cool study on this here)
- Nurturely and link to donate if anyone wants to support more babywearing/breastfeeding research!