The BirthGuide Podcast
Experts, providers, advocates and families share resources to help you build your circle of support in the childbearing year. Find the care you need — before you conceive, while you’re pregnant, and after your baby is born. Chicago-focused but helpful to expectant families everywhere.
Episodes
20 episodes
Managing morning sickness and hyperemesis
Most women experience some degree of digestive upset during pregnancy, and an unfortunate few suffer from the serious condition, hyperemesis gravidarum. Our guests today -- two certified nurse midwives and two acupuncturists with expertise in C...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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1:05:15
Home birth
Wisdom from three midwives who have collectively attended nearly 3500 births at home.
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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44:46
Advocating for yourself in pregnancy & childbirth
Alicia Fishbein and Meredith Nelson, from Intentional Birth, are doulas, doula-trainers, and childbirth educators. They explain how self-advocacy -- which includes knowing your values, surrounding yourself with a team that is aligned with them,...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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52:25
Managing anxiety in pregnancy
If you’re feeling anxious in pregnancy, you’re not alone . . . and you don’t have to gut it out. Featuring insights from a panel of experts — including a licensed clinical social worker, acupuncturist, and two doulas — this episode covers commo...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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42:12
Coping with a NICU stay
This episode is for families whose newborn requires a stay in the NICU. Whether anticipated or unexpected, a NICU stay is challenging. If this is your first baby, you're becoming a parent but are reliant on others to care for your newborn. If y...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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42:26
Hospital protocols vary! Here are six to learn about before deciding where to have your baby
By the time you take childbirth classes and make a birth plan, it's typically pretty late to switch providers. That means there are things you need to know now, in your first or second trimester, BEFORE you make a final decision about where to ...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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9:49
Anne's take: "No Regrets Birth"
Host Anne Nicholson Weber shares her thoughts on how to have a "no-regrets birth".
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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13:27
Chiropractic for the newborn
Chiropractic care for your newborn may not be something you've considered. In this episode, two pediatric chiropractors explain what treatment for a newborn looks like, how gentle adjustments can impact the functioning of your baby's vagus nerv...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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31:42
Aligning with your partner on decisions around pregnancy and childbirth
A couple needs to make many decisions in pregnancy, and patterns of decisionmaking established now can impact your family’s life for decades. In this episode, two couples counselors and two doulas explore some of the common areas for conflict i...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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49:50
Navigating birth trauma, from preparation to reintegration
Chidlbirth can be traumatic. In this episode, two psychotherapists and a doula talk about what trauma is, how preparing for birth may help, and how to heal from a traumatic birth.
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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45:20
Plan now for a flourishing 4th trimester
It can be hard to think past childbirth, but the postpartum period will be a more satisfying time if you’ve made the connections you’ll need ahead of time. Four Chicago-area providers who support postpartum mothers and their families share th...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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49:50
Better pediatric care outside-the-box.
Imagine a pediatrician who seems to have all the time in the world to answer your questions. Imagine being able to text her directly any time, day or night. Imagine not having to pack your baby up for a newborn visit because your doctor is comi...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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37:52
All about prenatal yoga
Whether you already have a regular yoga practice or have never tried yoga at all, prenatal yoga may help you deal with anxiety and depression, prepare your body for labor and ease some of the discomforts of pregnancy -- not to mention provide a...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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44:07
What three experienced doulas want you to know about VBAC
If you’re pregnant again after a prior c-section, you may be considering whether to try for a vaginal birth this time around. There are some common misconceptions about VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and lots to know about how to pre...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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57:20
Pelvic PT for every postpartum mother
Women often assume that minor impairments and annoyances following pregnancy are an unavoidable cost of motherhood. But common doesn't mean normal, as our four guests stress. Learn what pelvic floor therapy actually looks like, what it ca...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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31:35
Birth satisfaction and your personality
Dr. Elizabeth Pearce is a licensed clinical psychologist, DONA-certified birth doula, and Lamaze-Certified Childbirth Educator. She is the creator of the Birth Profile Assessment and the The Beyond the Birth Plan course, a childbirth preparatio...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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32:52
Dads & Doulas
Five Chicago-area fathers share their experiences working with a birth doula. These generous and candid conversations cover attitudes towards doulas and the decision to hire a doula; what it's like to support labor in partnership with a d...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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30:58
How family and friends can help fund your circle of support
Kaitlin McGreyes is the founder of BeHerVillage, a new kind of baby registry that allows friends and family to help you fund your circle of support. She joins Anne Nicholson Weber to talk about the cultural trends that drive her vision for BeHe...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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28:45
Chiropractic care for a more effective labor
Dr. Stephanie Maj is a chiropractor with 26 years of experience caring for pregnant women and their babies. She joins us to explain how chiropractic care in pregnancy can help prepare your body for a more effective labor and easier childbirth.<...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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17:19
Midwifery care in a freestanding birth center
Host Anne Nicholson Weber interviews three Certified Nurse Midwives from the Chicago area who are deeply knowledgeable about the model of care offered at freestanding birth centers. Learn why an increasing number of families are choosing this h...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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37:48
