The Ordinary Doula Podcast
Welcome to The Ordinary Doula Podcast with Angie Rosier, hosted by Birth Learning. We help folks prepare for labor and birth with expertise coming from 20 years of experience in a busy doula practice, helping thousands of people prepare for labor, providing essential knowledge and tools for positive and empowering birth experiences.
Episodes
112 episodes
E109: Prepare, Stay Open, Find Power In Any Path
Birth keeps us honest. Patterns suggest what might happen, then a baby turns face-first or a parent breathes through transition so quietly the room barely moves. We walk through three recent stories—a first-time labor that stretched across days...
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Episode 109
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20:34
E108: Why Chiropractic Care Helps Labor Feel Smoother with Dr Kristina Kill
Birth doesn’t have to feel like a sprint against the clock or a battle with your own body. Angie sits down with Dr. Kristina Kill, a family wellness chiropractor with 22 years of experience, to unpack how alignment and nervous system clarity ca...
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Episode 108
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30:11
E107: Building Better Black Maternal Health with Hakima Payne
Birth should feel safe, familiar, and centered on the family—yet too often the system delivers the opposite. We sit down with nurse, doula, educator, and Uzazi Village founder Hakima Payne to trace how personal experience scales into community ...
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Episode 107
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40:23
E106: Morning Sickness, Made Understandable
Nausea that won’t quit can turn early pregnancy into a maze of guesswork, guilt, and survival tactics. We’re pulling that experience into the light with a clear look at what drives “morning” sickness, why it rarely sticks to mornings, and how t...
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Episode 106
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25:02
E105: Complete Childbirth Prep vs Scrolling with Andrea Lythgoe
The internet gives you a million opinions on birth; we give you a map. Angie sits down with veteran childbirth educator and doula Andrea Lythgoe to unpack how a thoughtful class can transform uncertainty into confidence, whether you’re planning...
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Episode 105
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32:32
E104: From Birth Center Plans To NICU Reality
What happens when a carefully planned birth center delivery is suddenly rerouted by preeclampsia, a hospital admission, and a 34-week induction? We sit down with Andrea and Joakim to tell the full story of Magnus’s early arrival: the shock of a...
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Episode 104
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39:48
E103: A Series of 19 Unmedicated Births
Nineteen cousins, all born without medication, and not a single birth story was copy-pasted. Angie opens up about how a simple desire for unmedicated labor grew into a family pattern shaped by childbirth education, midwifery care, and steady pa...
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Episode 103
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13:58
E102: Sacred Birth International with Anna Lundqvist
What if birth is a rite of passage, not a procedure? Angie sits down with Swedish mentor and former midwife Anna Lundqvist to explore how intuition, preparation, and grounded advocacy can transform pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. Anna traces ...
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Episode 102
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38:34
E101: Babies Scheduled My Week
The calendar looks like dropped spaghetti, but every twist tells a story. We walk you through two real weeks of on-call life as a doula and lactation consultant—spontaneous labors that stall and surge, VBAC momentum at 3 a.m., and the quiet, st...
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Episode 101
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22:39
E100: A Conversation with My Four Daughters
A hundred episodes felt like the right moment to gather around the kitchen table and pull back the curtain on what it’s like to grow up with a doula mom. Angie sits down with her four daughters for an honest, funny, and moving conversation abou...
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Episode 100
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43:19
E99: Embrace The Wabi-Sabi Of Birth
Birth rarely reads the script we write for it—and that can be a source of strength rather than stress. We dig into the wabi-sabi mindset, a Japanese aesthetic that celebrates imperfection and impermanence, and translate it into a practical phil...
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Episode 99
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17:55
E98: Fueling A Healthy Pregnancy
Building a baby is the most intense construction project your body will ever take on, and it runs twenty-four seven. Angie shares a practical, judgment-free roadmap for fueling that work with simple foods, steady hydration, and small habits tha...
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Episode 98
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21:01
E97: 23 Lessons From 23 Years Of Birth Work
Birth rarely follows a script, but patterns emerge when you’ve walked alongside thousands of families. Angie marks her 23rd year as a doula by distilling 23 honest lessons about labor, from the mental game that steadies you through transition t...
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Episode 97
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18:37
E96: Postpartum, For Real
We reset the cultural script on early postpartum, naming the gap between glossy images and real recovery and offering practical ways to rest, plan, and get help. Joy and struggle can sit side by side, and that truth makes room for healing, team...
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Episode 96
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19:20
E95: Burnout, Boundaries, and The Birth Worker
We explore burnout and boundaries in birth work with candor and care, from compassion fatigue to practical systems that protect energy and improve outcomes. We share tools for communication, caseload limits, backup plans, debriefing, rest, and ...
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Episode 95
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23:34
E94: The Confident Birth Partner: Simple Ways to Show Up and Steady the Room
We share how non‑doula support—partners, friends, and family—can steady the room, shorten labor, and raise confidence through simple, human tools. Presence beats perfection as we lay out physical comfort, emotional grounding, and clean advocacy...
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Episode 94
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25:44
E93: Understanding Preeclampsia: Warning Signs, Risks, and Real Stories
Preeclampsia can appear without warning and reshape a birth plan overnight. We explain the signs, risks, and care decisions with real stories from the hospital and straightforward steps to lower risk and catch problems early.• what pree...
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Episode 93
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20:47
E92: Role of an OB on a Birth Team
We dive deep into the often-misunderstood role of obstetricians during labor and birth, revealing why they're typically not present throughout the entire process despite their crucial medical expertise. Understanding the true role of each birth...
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Episode 92
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23:21
E91: Utah's Journey of Birth Laws with Guest Holly Richardson
Twenty years ago, having a baby at home in Utah could land your midwife in jail with felony charges. Today, Utah boasts the most flexible midwifery laws in the nation. What happened in between is a remarkable story of determination, political s...
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Episode 91
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28:35
E90: Shoulder Dystocia
Shoulder dystocia is a rare but significant birth complication where the baby's head is delivered but a shoulder gets stuck behind the mother's pubic bone, similar to moving furniture through a doorway. • Occurs in only 0.5-1% of b...
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Episode 90
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14:27
E89: Doula Do's & Doula Don'ts
Angie Rosier shares insights on doula guidelines at hospitals, exploring the delicate balance between supporting clients and collaborating with medical staff.• Hospitals will sometimes provide doula guidelines that outline appropriate r...
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Episode 89
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20:11
E88: Lights, Camera...Panic! How Media Shapes Our View of Childbirth
Media portrayals of childbirth shape our cultural beliefs and personal expectations, often presenting inaccurate, dramatic versions that instill fear rather than confidence. Our perceptions about birth are influenced by family, education, and e...
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Episode 88
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23:20
E87: Flange Fitting Fundamentals
A well-fitted breast pump flange is crucial for comfort, breast tissue protection, and maximum milk supply. The flange—the part of the pump that covers the areola and nipple—should be sized to match your exact nipple diameter measurement, not 2...
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Episode 87
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11:07
E86: Corporate Calls: Who's Checking On You?
Making personal connections with new parents is vital, especially in the clinical healthcare environment where postpartum families often feel lost in the system.• Phone calls to postpartum patients create essential connection points dur...
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Episode 86
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10:16
E85: Holding the Heavy: When Birth Gets Hard
Birth work involves witnessing both beautiful and difficult moments, creating an emotional weight that doulas carry alongside their clients. After 23 years as a birth doula, I've learned that acknowledging the challenging aspects of birth is es...
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Episode 85
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18:44