My obstetrician used to tell me that if I had been born two hundred years ago, with my ability to maintain a milk supply, I would have been a wet nurse.  But I am not the rule. If anything, I am probably the exception. Many women have trouble maintaining milk supply at some point. And […]

A few years ago, while in that happy but anxious limbo of expecting my first baby, I dutifully read up on labor–its stages, birth plans, and the best ways to “achieve” a natural childbirth. On this last point—achieving a natural childbirth—a theme quickly emerged: My mental state was key. Without the proper level of mindfulness, […]

Let’s talk about stress during pregnancy. Don’t worry, I’m not going to launch into a post about all the ways your stress can harm your baby or why you need to stop stressing about stress. Those types of posts are not entirely accurate and not very helpful. Instead, I want to shift the way you […]

A doula offers continuous labor support, a scientifically proven tool for a better birth experience and outcome. So why aren't doulas prescribed?

When a baby is born, anywhere from 25-60% of the fetal blood supply remains in the placenta. Delaying cord clamping allows this extra blood to pump to baby and has been shown to have long-term mental and physical benefits.

Becoming pregnant after 35 comes with some derogatory labels: geriatric pregnancy, advanced maternal age, older mom (wait, what?!) It’s hard to escape the warnings about your pregnancy being at “high risk” for complications, such as birth defects, high blood pressure, and diabetes just because you passed a certain age bracket. But does your age actually […]

Our modern bodies continue to maintain a nocturnal birth rhythm. But are we messing with the natural rhythm by basking in unnatural light in the middle of labor? Why night-time labor could stall when you reach the hospital and what you can do about it.

Vitamin D—The magical vitamin that our body makes when we bask in the sunshine. In an ideal world, every pregnant woman would soak up vitamin D by relaxing her nine months away somewhere tropical and warm. But if you can’t pass your pregnancy at the beach and, like most of us, only manage to squeeze […]

When it comes to prenatal genetic testing, chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis (amnio) are rarely the first types of tests discussed. Most doctors tend to recommend prenatal screenings for women under 35. But screenings have their shortcoming— they miss at least half of certain types of genetic problems and only provide a likelihood of […]

There is one simple difference between Braxton Hicks and labor contractions: the end result. Have a baby?  Those were labor contractions. No baby?  Braxton Hicks. Ok, that’s not very helpful if you are trying to tell the two apart without a crystal ball on hand. But you can use a few tricks to tell Braxton […]

Many women shy away from amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling for fear of miscarriage—but this risk of amniocentesis causing miscarriage has been widely overblown and the evidence is outdated.

Both of my daughters arrived “late” according to the dates in my charts. Both girls seemed to mock the very concept of a “Due Date”. The little one, especially—she showed up a mere 30 minutes before my scheduled induction, 11 days after the day she was clinically expected to arrive. I am not alone. The […]