In this episode Erica takes us through her somewhat unconventional journey to becoming a professional midwife. She shares her perspective on how to create a career that is uniquely ours, and aligns with our goals and values. Erica is building something truly beautiful, and so needed for her community, and this episode gives us an intimate view into her practice.

Episode Highlights:

• Where Erica's career path began, and the drastic change she made early on
• How Erica almost decided to attend medical school to become on OB and why she decided to pursue midwifery instead
• How Erica came to specialize in pelvic health and why she is so passionate that women receive this type of care
• Advice for navigating a not so straightforward career path
• Erica's vision for her practice and what she wants for her community

Resources Mentioned:
Functional Progression 

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On today's episode we're chatting with Kit, founder of Kitara, a brand devoted to womb space health and healing through yoni steaming. Kit has been an activist, academic, and entrepreneur in the gender equity space for more than 20 years. She has a passion for helping women connect to the feminine through the practice of yoni steaming, and her company carries everything needed to incorporate it into a personal care routine. 

Episode highlights:

• How Kit learned about yoni steaming and her initial reaction to the idea
• The history of the current medical model and why it can be so challenging for women in particular
• How we are seeing a renaissance of divine feminine practices and how that is helping women reclaim their health and autonomy
• What we know about yoni steaming as a traditional practice
• The specific benefits of yoni steaming 
• Kit's journey to motherhood and how steaming supported her
• Kit's favorite herbs to call upon in her steam practice

Save on the Kitara steam set up with the BLOOMLOVE

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Episode Highlights:

• What led to the common practice of c-section delivery for breech babies
• What does the research say about vaginal breech delivery
• Why it's difficult to study breech birth
• What factors can contribute to a breech presentation
• How having a c-section impacts future health and births
• What experienced providers look for to gauge how a breech baby is tolerating birth

In today's episode Erica shares about her recent experience at the Twins-Breech conference in Louisville, KY. We dive deep into the discussion about breech and birth in general. This is a great conversation for birth workers and expectant parents alike.

Resources:

Term Breech Trial: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11052579/

Maternal and fetal risks of planned vaginal breech delivery vs planned caesarean section for term breech birth: A systematic review and meta-analysis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9284475/

Breech without borders

Spinning Babies

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Episode Highlights:

• Britt shares about where she travelled in Italy and what made this trip particularly special
• How sacred work has impacted Britt's personal and professional life
• The challenges of the honoring Divine Feminine and how we navigate them
• How honoring our innate gifts can help us really step into who we're meant to be
• Ways to begin tapping into your feminine energy

In today's episode Britt shares highlights from her recent trip to Italy and about the sacred work she's been doing over the last year. We discuss the benefits and challenges of sacred practice, and what it's like coming back to "normal" life. We also discuss how this work can impact our partners and our children, and why we believe it's so important for women in particular.

Resources:
My Human Design
Birth Chart

Want to listen to more about our birth stories? Listen to Episode 5 Opening Up to Home Birth

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This episode features a conversation with Certified Nurse Midwife Beth Conors. Beth is passionate about educating and empowering women and their partners to have the hospital birth of their dreams. After two very different hospital birth experiences herself, and her clinical experience, she decided to create an online childbirth education class to help families become their own best advocates.

This episode is full of wisdom and is a great listen for expectant parents and providers alike.  

Episode Highlights:

• How Beth's first birth changed her perspective on the hospital birth experience
• What Beth saw in her clinical practice that made her want to better prepare women for birth
• What lead's to traumatic birth experiences in the hospital
• 99% of births are happening in the hospital so how can we improve these experiences?
• What Beth teaches her clients versus what is being taught in hospital-based childbirth education classes
• How interventions start well before delivery and how to make informed choices for yourself
• Why Beth decided to become an educator and "virtual midwife" and step away from clinical practice
• The reality of working in the conventional medicine system and how it conflicts with the way many nurses want to practice
• How educating and empowering yourself is the key to having the birth you desire

Resources Mentioned:
https://www.bethconnors.com/birthcourse

Join us over on Patreon to access the full episode and a discount code to Beth's Course!

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Episode Highlights:

• Why our toxin exposures need to be on our radar
• Where conventional medicine falls short when addressing this issue
• Which toxins Britt tested high for on her recent labs
• Where to start when tackling your toxic load
• Easy ways to support your innate detoxification capabilities 
• How diaphragmatic breath supports detoxification
• How pelvic floor dysfunction and toxic load are connected
• What your body odor may be telling you about your health
• The history of glyphosate, and the surprising ways it's used
• Considerations for your food and drinking water
• Why movement is so critical when it comes to supporting detox

Resources we mention in this episode:

• See how your water checks out: https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/
• EWG guides: https://www.ewg.org/consumer-guides

Shop clean personal care products


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Episode Highlights:

• How Britt utilized a CGM in her last pregnancy and what she learned
• Why a personalized approach is so important when it comes to pregnancy health 
• What labs can give us a deeper understanding of metabolic health
• Why "normal" lab references ranges might not be indicative of health
• How many pregnancies are impacted by gestational diabetes and how it's diagnosed
• How using a CGM can help combat symptoms like nausea
• When and how to utilize a CGM and who they can be most helpful for
• How pregnancy health impacts postpartum and beyond
• What Erica noticed about her own health when she made some dietary shifts
• How using a CGM helps us get a deeper understanding of how our bodies responds to specific foods
• How blood sugar dysregulation impacts the nervous system
• What is the difference between the glucose testing methods
• The surprising foods that spiked Britt's blood sugar and what worked best for her
• What Erica sees in her clients and how she plans to monitor glucose  in her practice
• How elevated blood sugar in pregnancy impacts both mom and baby 
• Why we need to shift the focus from baby's health and Mom's

In this episode Erica and Britt dive into glucose testing for pregnancy and where current practice can fall short. They discuss the use of continuous glucose monitors and the implications for pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond.

Resources we mention:
CGM, Pregnancy, and Remote Monitoring: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5467097/

Real Food for Pregnancy and Real Food for Gestational Diabetes

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Episode Highlights:

• How Courtney found herself pregnant at 45 and how that influenced her life's path
• How we've normalized symptoms and what this does to long-term health
• The basics of Ayurvedic principles and understanding your constitution 
• How our conditioning keeps us from achieving health and healing
• Steps we can take to begin our healing journey

Courtney is the founder of Mothersource, and a certified Holistic Nutrition Coach, Wellness advisor & Ayurvedic Postpartum doula. She lives in Los Angeles, California with her family.

Her love for the healing arts and Motherhood has inspired her to support others on their journey to better health.

 Her mission is to support women on a  holistic level to heal from the inside out. Whether you are preparing to have a baby or heading into postpartum.

This is an incredibly juicy conversation and we know you will love hearing Courtney's wisdom!

Listen to the extended episode HERE

Contact Courtney:
https://mothersource.com/
www.instagram.com/mothersource_

Dosha Quiz: https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/dosha-quiz/

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