Ep 139: Farewell, 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! 

**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 birthing experiences with us. Enjoy! --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR! Get a subscription for Hiya Health’s bestselling children’s multivitamins to ensure your kiddos are getting the nutrients they need without all the unhealthy additives usually found in kids vitamins! Go to HiyaHealth.com/KWEENS and use the code KWEENS at checkout to get 50% off your first order.  --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.

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 Ritual Vitamins today! Get your daily multivitamin or prenatal delivered right to your door by visiting Ritual.com/kweens. Use the promo code KWEENS at checkout for 10% off during your first 3 months! Get a monthly subscription box from KiwiCo and do some fun, hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) projects with your kids! Get 50% off plus free shipping on any crate line with the code KWEENS at KiwiCo.com/KWEENS. Get a subscription for Hiya Health’s bestselling children’s multivitamins to ensure your kiddos are getting the nutrients they need without all the unhealthy additives usually found in kids vitamins! Go to HiyaHealth.com/KWEENS and use the code KWEENS at checkout to get 50% off your first order.  --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.

In this episode we’re talking with Ryann Kipling about nutrition during preconception and pregnancy. Ryann is a clinically trained Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Lactation Educator, and Author of The Feel-Good Pregnancy Cookbook. 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 popular Instagram account @prenatalnutritionist. Click here to check out the Prenatal Nutrition Library and pregnancy grocery shopping guide. This is the article Ryann mentioned about protein intake in the preconception and pregnancy periods. --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR! Get a subscription for Hiya Health’s bestselling children’s multivitamins to ensure your kiddos are getting the nutrients they need without all the unhealthy additives usually found in kids vitamins! Go to HiyaHealth.com/KWEENS and use the code KWEENS at checkout to get 50% off your first order.  --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.

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 from Newton Baby! Go to NewtonBaby.com and enter code KWEENS to get $50 off and free shipping. Sign up for a subscription with Ritual Vitamins today! Get your daily multivitamin or prenatal delivered right to your door by visiting Ritual.com/kweens. Use the promo code KWEENS at checkout for 10% off during your first 3 months! Get a monthly subscription box from KiwiCo and do some fun, hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) projects with your kids! Get 50% off plus free shipping on any crate line with the code KWEENS at KiwiCo.com/KWEENS. --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.

Today we’re talking with Dr. Melinda Elliott about preterm birth and navigating an unexpected NICU stay. Dr. Elliott is chief medical officer of Prolacta Bioscience 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) for extremely low birth weight premature infants in the NICU. In this episode we discuss how common it is to have a premature baby, the various classifications of prematurity, and some of the most common challenges that premature babies face. Dr. Elliott shares some amazing tips about how to navigate a NICU stay, what questions to ask, and what you should know about a premature baby’s diet. --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Get a high quality, fully breathable, washable, and recyclable baby mattress from Newton Baby! Go to NewtonBaby.com and enter code KWEENS to get $50 off and free shipping. If you’re in need of perinatal mental health therapy or life coaching services from a highly experienced provider who specializes in supporting families throughout the childbearing years, contact Sade Cutler of My Empowering Impact. Therapy is limited to residents of Maryland and Virginia. Coaching services available nationwide. Get a subscription for Hiya Health’s bestselling children’s multivitamins to ensure your kiddos are getting the nutrients they need without all the unhealthy additives usually found in kids vitamins! Go to HiyaHealth.com/KWEENS and use the code KWEENS at checkout to get 50% off your first order.  --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.

Chloë Lubell of Cosmos Midwifery 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 Newton Baby! Go to NewtonBaby.com and enter code KWEENS to get $50 off and free shipping.   Get comprehensive online childbirth education classes and 1:1 new parent support from Arrow Birth! Go to ArrowBirth.com and enter code BIRTHKWEENS for 20% off your birth course.   Public Goods is your one-stop-shop for affordable, sustainable, healthy household products. Go to PublicGoods.com/KWEENS and use code KWEENS at checkout to get $15 off your first order! --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.  

In this episode we’re talking with Cheyenne Varner of The Educated Birth 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 Everyday Birth Magazine, 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 why she’s on a mission to change that. We also discuss equity vs. equality and what she considers to be some best practices for equity work in the birth world. Click here to check out the blog post about community support and redistribution of wealth in the birth world that Cheyenne mentions in the interview and be sure to follow The Educated Birth and Everyday Birth Magazine on Instagram. --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Public Goods is your one-stop-shop for affordable, sustainable, healthy household products. Go to PublicGoods.com/KWEENS and use code KWEENS at checkout to get $15 off your first order!   Sign up for a subscription with Ritual Vitamins today! Get your daily multivitamin or prenatal delivered right to your door by visiting Ritual.com/kweens. Use the promo code KWEENS at checkout for 10% off during your first 3 months!   Get a monthly subscription box from KiwiCo and do some fun, hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) projects with your kids! Pick the box that’s right for you by going to KiwiCo.com/KWEENS. Your first month is free on select crates!  --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.  

Johanna Penn 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, Mama is Well). Enjoy! --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Get a subscription for Hiya Health’s bestselling children’s multivitamins to ensure your kiddos are getting the nutrients they need without all the unhealthy additives usually found in kids vitamins! Go to HiyaHealth.com/KWEENS and use the code KWEENS at checkout to get 50% off your first order.  Get a jar of 8 Sheep Organics Sleepy Lotion to help you sleep better and prevent cramps and restless legs all night! Go to 8Sheep.com and use code KWEENS to get free shipping on your order! Public Goods is your one-stop-shop for affordable, sustainable, healthy household products. Go to PublicGoods.com/KWEENS and use code KWEENS at checkout to get $15 off your first order! --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.

In this episode we’re talking with Jessie Harrold of MotherSHIFT 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 2020 MotherSHIFT program begins on September 1, 2020. Click here to access her free Momifesto Workbook. --- SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! Get a high quality, fully breathable, washable, and recyclable baby mattress from Newton Baby! Go to NewtonBaby.com and enter code KWEENS to get $50 off and free shipping. Public Goods is your one-stop-shop for affordable, sustainable, healthy household products. Go to PublicGoods.com/KWEENS and use code KWEENS at checkout to get $15 off your first order! Get a subscription for Hiya Health’s bestselling children’s multivitamins to ensure your kiddos are getting the nutrients they need without all the unhealthy additives usually found in kids vitamins! Go to HiyaHealth.com/KWEENS and use the code KWEENS at checkout to get 50% off your first order.  --- If you liked this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, tell your friends! And go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Spotify to rate/review/subscribe to the show. For more from us, visit www.BirthKweens.com to sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens, join our Facebook group the Birth Kweens Podcast Community, and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.