breastfeeding & lactation

Today we’re talking about Placenta Encapsulation! Our guest today is Michaela Shaw, the woman behind Ostara Birthwork & Botanicals. Michaela is a full spectrum doula serving families in Central & Eastern Massachusetts as well as Rhode Island.

Michaela is also a graduate of the Holistic Herbalism Program at Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine, Asheville, NC and has studied permaculture +… Read more

In this episode, we talk with mother of two, Danielle Blanchard, about navigating pregnancy, Cesarean births, NICU stays and breastfeeding as a Type 1 diabetic.  After discussing the difference between gestational diabetes and Type 1 diabetes and then Danielle shares the interesting story of how she was diagnosed as toddler. 

We discuss advice she received while planning to get pregnant,… Read more

Today we are talking with our friend Emma O’Brien, long-time birth and postpartum doula and clinical herbalist. In this episode, we talk with Emma about how her interest in herbs started and her journey to become a clinical herbalist.

We discuss contraindications for herbal use, important facts about using medicinal herbs, and specifically herbs in pregnancy like red raspberry leaf and black and… Read more

On today’s Babies in Common Show, we interview our friend Brittany Falcone, a chiropractor in Worcester, Massachusetts, who specializes in pregnancy and pediatric care.

Brittany shares the story that inspired her to become a chiropractor, and we discuss what chiropractic care is—and isn’t. We also explore what certain chiropractors with specialized training can do for pregnancy, including… Read more

Today we spoke with two special guests about the new Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Law (abbreviated PFML) and how to best prepare for parental leave after the birth of your baby! Our guests are Amanda Hemm and Sarah Douglas from Soutiens.

QUESTIONS we asked Amanda and Sarah:

While this law offers a variety of family and medical leave benefits, today we’re going to focus… Read more

Recorded Saturday, February 13, 2021. Our guest today is Caitlin Calonge (pronounced Ca-LAWN-gee).

Caitlin grew up in Cambridge and Everett, MA. She found out she was pregnant with her first baby the summer after high school, at just 18 years old.

She jokes that she has “literally had almost every job in the world.” Over the years, she’s worked as a waitress, in sales, as a public housing… Read more

Recorded Wednesday, February 3, 2021. 

Our guest is Jessica Shephard, who shares her experiences with two homebirths and how choosing homebirth came as a big surprise to her Ecuadorian family.

Jess was born in Ecuador and moved to the United States just before her tenth birthday. She now lives in Central Massachusetts with her husband and their two daughters, Gianna (2) and Lucia (7 months), both… Read more

Recorded Wednesday, January 27, 2021. Our guest today is Alicia Randall, a local nurse, homebirth mom, and friend!

Alicia grew up an Army brat and later served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army, providing medical care for wounded soldiers during two tours in Iraq (2006 and 2010). She met her husband, also a veteran, while serving in Iraq, and they married in 2009.

Alicia is now a mom to three… Read more

Recorded Wednesday, January 6th, 2021.

Our guest today is Yasmin is an IBCLC-lactation consultant in private practice in Mumbai, India. Yasmin is also a biodynamic craniosacral practitioner, international speaker, and filmmaker.   

In this episode, we learn what inspired her to make her film, Untying Breastfeeding, and discuss topics such as tongue ties, breastfeeding support, the role of care… Read more

Recorded 12/30/20

Join us as we interview Aline Bourdeau, Melissa's Memere! Aline, a mother of four, shares her experiences learning about menstruation, getting pregnant, and giving birth, before taking us back to what childbirth was like in the 1950s and 1960s.

You won’t want to miss this episode—she’s a wonderful storyteller and an absolute hoot! Yes, it’s a bit longer than usual, but… Read more

The words we use matter! Join us today as we explore the words we use when talking about feeding and parenting.  We're joined by International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Renee Beebe, who lives and works in Seattle, Washington. You can find out more about her at http://www.second9months.com Read more

Listen in as Emily—a nursing mom of more than five years—shares her experience planning to breastfeed while taking a significant medication, navigating postpartum depression, nursing the same child for five years, and exploring the concept of respectful parenting. Emily has been a middle school English teacher for 14 years and recently completed her second master’s degree in Counseling… Read more

In this episode we continue answering listener questions about feeding babies. Read more

Today is Wednesday, October 21, 2020, and we are discussing the TummyTime™ Method with its creator, occupational therapist Michelle Emanuel. Michelle brings more than 20 years of experience as an occupational therapist working with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit and in pediatrics. Over time, she recognized the need for a private practice where she could also integrate her passion for… Read more

Recorded on Wednesday, October 14, 2020.  

Melissa and I answer questions from the Babies in Common community about feeding babies...breast, bottle and solid foods.  We put the word out we would be doing this and had folks in our Facebook groups contribute!
 
We dispel myths that exist about feeding babies and share information that every expectant and new parent should know.  

If you have… Read more

Join us as we learn from Sejal Fichadia, a certified infant massage instructor and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, who is also an experienced postpartum doula and certified TummyTime™ Method instructor. Originally from India, Sejal now lives in Oregon with her husband and children. She currently offers online infant massage and TummyTime™ Method classes—visit her website,… Read more

Join us as we discuss inducing lactation with private practice lactation consultant Alyssa Schnell, IBCLC, author of Breastfeeding Without Birthing: A Breastfeeding Guide for Mothers Through Adoption, Surrogacy, and Other Special Circumstances.

To learn more about Alyssa's services, book and offerings for parents and professionals, see Breastfeeding without birthing. Read more

Join us as we talk with Dr. Amy Brown, professor and prolific author, about the many factors that influence how we feed our babies—breast, formula, and solid foods!

Amy Brown, PhD, is a professor at Swansea University in Wales, where she oversees the Master of Science program in Child Public Health. She began her studies in psychology, and the arrival of her first baby sparked her interest in… Read more

Join us as we talk with Kelly Shultz, mom of two, about how she navigated through a challenging year (and more) of nursing, continued through her pregnancy, had an unusual birth with her daughter and then tandem and extended nursing with both of them. Read more

Join us as we talk with Cynthia Cohen, Director of Client Relations for the Mother's Milk Bank Northeast, about human milk banking--why it's needed, how donors are screened, how milk is processed, how families can receive banked donor milk and how you can support the work of the milk bank.   Read more