postpartum

In this episode (a continuation of Episode 63), our guest, Arlene Lammy, birth and postpartum doula, elaborates on how she would like to “change the narrative of the fourth trimester” and how postpartum is actually forever…and how we need to embrace a longer recovery and a new phase of life.

We discuss how comparing our experiences to the experiences of others and comparing our baby’s… Read more

In this episode we're talking with birth and postpartum doula Arlene Lammy of New Wave Perinatal Services. Warning: this episode is full of beautiful stories and laughter!

Arlene shares how she came to be invited to her nephew’s birth, the loss of her mother to breast cancer, the moment during her nephew’s birth which inspired her to start working in the birth world and the concept of… Read more

Recorded Sunday, April 11, 2021. We are talking with Liz Sheehan Castro about the legislative effort that has been launched to get childcare to be FREE in Massachusetts.

Liz works for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Education and Support Fund (ESF), a 501(C)3 non-profit organization founded for the purpose of developing and managing worker-centered education, training and… 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 20,  2021. 

Our guest today is Dr. Prakash-Zawisza, an obstetrician-gynecologist who currently serves as the Medical Director of the MassHealth Payment and Care Delivery Innovation Division and is the president-elect of the National Perinatal Association.

She joins us to discuss being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic—she is expecting her second baby—and… Read more

Today is Wednesday, January 13th, 2021. Our guest is Kara Coffin, a mother of three who specializes in guiding pregnant people to co-create a personalized toolkit of physical, emotional, chemical, and spiritual supports to draw upon throughout pregnancy, labor, and postpartum—always honoring their autonomy.

Kara holds a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and previously worked with… 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

Hear how our guest—an anesthesiologist and mother of four—endured birth trauma and navigated the system to file formal complaints against those responsible. She shares what she did to prepare for her births, what happened, and the trauma she experienced at the hands of a doctor and nurse. She also discusses the steps she’s taking to heal and offers recommendations for how others can help… Read more

Join us as we talk with postpartum doula and trainer Rachel Hess about how queer parents can empower themselves when interacting with care providers and other parents, as well as how those outside the queer community can help stop oppressive actions and comments during the perinatal period. Rachel offers virtual support groups for queer parents, and you can learn more about them at Rachel Hess… Read more

Join us as we speak with Rachel Gaillard Smook, PhD, a clinical psychologist in private practice, about how parents can navigate the communication struggles that come up as one is expecting a new baby and as couples have a new baby in the family. She shares some valuable wisdom and answers some questions sent in by members of the Babies in Common Community.

Rachel specializes in working with women… Read more

Join us as we talk with two moms—Marlena Shaffer, who works in a corporate setting, and Julie Longchamps, a nurse in a surgical intensive care unit—about preparing to return to work and pumping on the job. We discuss their early breastfeeding experiences, tips for approaching bosses and human resources, finding an appropriate space to pump, workplace pumping laws, making sure you have the… 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

Find out how the law and corporations influence child safety—and what YOU can do to protect children. Join us as we dive deep into childproofing: practical recommendations, trusted brands, available services, and how regulations and corporate decisions affect what products are sold, recalled, and when. You might be surprised!

Our guest is Kimberly Amato—a physical therapist, CPR instructor,… 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

Join us in this riveting 2-part interview with Teresa Stewart, sleep consultant and child development specialist.  She has 20 years experience educating, empowering, and supporting women and their families prenatally through their child’s adolescence. She is a child development specialist, maternal/ child health educator, family sleep consultant, first aid and CPR instructor, childbirth… Read more

Guest: Teresa Stewart, MS, MPH, sleep consultant
 
Our Videocasts are now called a SHOW!  Our conversation with Teresa is a two-parter! Be sure to watch Part One (SHOW #16) also!  Teresa has 20 years experience educating, empowering, and supporting women and their families prenatally through their child’s adolescence. She is a child development specialist, maternal/ child health educator,… Read more

Join us as we talk with visiting nurses Amanda Jessee and Amy Gallant about what a postpartum visiting nurse does during a postpartum visiting nurse visit.  Our guests, Amanda Jessee, RN, BSn and Amy Gallant, RN, IBCLC, are will share with us why this type of visit is important and how to get one.  Read more

Join us as we talk with psychiatric nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife Jill Fieleke about what it truly feels like to experience PPD, PPA, or perinatal OCD. We’ll explore why perinatal mood disorders go beyond just depression, how to get help, finding a therapist, and options for medication that are safe while breastfeeding. Plus, Jill will answer your questions! Read more

Join us as we talk with Melanie Salort, a pediatric occupational therapist with 18 years of experience. For most of her career, she has specialized in sensory processing, both in clinical work and teaching. In 2017, Melanie completed a fellowship in Infant Parent Mental Health and has a particular interest in supporting the parent-child relationship. She works at a sensory integration clinic in… Read more

Join us as we talk with Heather Chiancola, a birth & postpartum doula and a Reiki II certified energy worker who holds a degree in Nutrition/Dietetics with a focus on pregnancy, lactation, and children’s eating patterns from birth to age 5.  Read more