labor & birth

Today we speak with Ketura’h Edwards-Robinson, a native Bostonian who is currently working in her home city as a Nurse Practitioner, primarily in Women’s Health. In the past year, Ketura’h also trained to become a birth doula and is now serving clients in her community through Accompany Doula Care—a local doula agency that has developed a model of care in which doulas are reimbursed by… Read more

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

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

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

Our guest today is Kelly Bowen, DO, an obstetrician/gynecologist who practices in a community hospital in Central Massachusetts (and used to work with Melissa!).

Today, Dr. Bowen will answer many questions, including:

• What is the difference between a DO and an MD?
• How long should someone wait to get pregnant again?
• What is an IUD and why is it a great option for busy parents?
• Postpartum sex: why…

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 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

Several hospitals across Massachusetts are routinely separating pregnant people from their partners or chosen labor support person — sometimes for hours, days, or even weeks. Discover why this is happening, and why it should never be allowed. Then, make your voice heard: sign our petition urging Governor Baker to issue an Executive Order to end this separation practice.

To read more and sign… 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

In this episode, Melissa Anne DuBois, one of the childbirth educators here at Babies in Common and co-host of this Show, shares her birth story...she gave birth to her first child on Christmas Day 2012.  
Happy Holidays to all! Join us for the holiday edition, some surprises included! Read more

Recorded December 9, 2020

We thought it would be interesting for our audience to hear our birth stories. In this episode, Melissa interviews Jeanette about her births. (You’ll hear one of Melissa’s birth stories later this month.) Read more

Recorded Friday, November 13, 2020 

Today we’ll be talking about the words we choose and why they matter, in the context of infant feeding and parenting. 

Our guest today is my dear friend Renee Beebe, who is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in private practice in Seattle, Washington.  She’s been a lactation consultant for more than 20 years, doing home visits and… Read more

Join us as we talk with Kirsten Kowalski-Lane, CNM, CPM about her journey from birth doula to homebirth midwife to hospital midwife to birth center midwife...and how she managed to co-found and co-own the first midwife-owned birth center in Massachusetts.  

The American Association of Birth Centers defines a birth center as a home-like setting where care providers, usually midwives, provide… Read more

Join us for this special Ask Us Anything episode...today we're answering questions from our community about pregnancy and birth! 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 talk with Kristen Johnson, a mother of two who decided to give a most amazing gift to another couple (who she didn't know) to carry their baby. She shares with us her birth stories, the process of deciding to become a gestational carrier, the matching process with a couple in need, the process of getting pregnant, how she (and her family) felt about her during that pregnancy, the… Read more

Join us as we hear Dr. Emily Garcia Sega’s story of switching maternity providers late in pregnancy to increase her chances of having the birth she wanted, including her experiences with attempts to turn her breech baby. We hope you never feel the need to change maternity care providers—but if you do, remember that it IS your right. In fact, choosing your care provider is often considered the… Read more

Join us as we talk with homebirth midwife, Dina Shea-Fraize, CPM, about how preparation for and the experience of birth is physical, emotional and even spiritual. Read more

Join us as we talk with Justine Leach, PhD, a childbirth educator and advocate for trauma-informed care. After the birth of her two children, she left academia to cofound Resilient Birth, recognizing the profound impact of past experiences on childbirth and the importance of supporting the emotional journey to parenthood. Justine believes that no matter where or how you give birth, it’s… Read more

Join us as we talk with our guests, Jenn Shark, CNM and Stephanie Lee Butler, RN, about their personal and professional experiences of pregnancy and parenting after the age of 40.  We also discuss the pressure some experience to have more medical interventions and Cesarean births due to "advanced maternal age" and whether being older really does put people at higher risk or not.   Read more

In 2015, Kate Damon, CNM, a hospital-based midwife, was planning a vaginal delivery for her first child—but her daughter remained persistently breech despite multiple attempts to turn her, including two external cephalic versions.

Join us in Episode 11 as we talk with Certified Nurse Midwife Kate Damon about her personal and professional experiences with breech babies, turning babies, and… Read more

Join us as we talk with Certified Nurse Midwife Kate Damon about her personal and professional experience of making a Cesarean birth a positive experience. Read more

Join us for a conversation about vaginal birth after cesarean, also known as VBAC. We will be joined by three moms, Linda Barrows, Heather Stanek and Chelsea Levine, who share their experiences learning about, preparing for and ultimately having a VBAC birth. We will discuss how to tell if your provider or hospital is truly VBAC supportive, the research on VBAC safety and obstacles you might face… Read more

Join us as we talk with Chere Jalali, an experienced childbirth educator, HypnoBirthing instructor, yoga teacher and group fitness instructor and with Bec Conant, a long-time yoga teacher, meditation instructor, childbirth educator and Spinning Babies Certified Parent Educator.   Read more

We are joined today by Joyce Kimball, MBA, CPM, RN, CCE, CD.  Joyce is a seasoned homebirth midwife as well as experienced birth doula, childbirth educator, and advocate for families. She's also president of the Massachusetts Midwives Alliance and mother of two.  

Join us as we discuss your legal and human rights related to pregnancy, birth and parenting!  Read more