If you're a healthcare professional, then you've probably heard of HCAHPS and are collectively groaning with your colleagues throughout America. HCAHPS = Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. This is the means by which hospitals are given money and are "rated" on their customer service and overall quality of care for their patients. Liz and Shaina discuss if this is an appropriate measurement of healthcare providers and the hospital system. There are so many nuances to consider and the labor and delivery unit has specific differences to other units that aren't taken into account in the survey. Listen to this episode and let us know YOUR thoughts! We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us what you think. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Have you heard this buzz word: "Evidence-based practice" or "evidence-based birth"? In this episode, Liz and Shaina break down what that actually means and how you can be sure that you are getting evidence-based care prenatally and during labor and delivery. You should never feel bad about asking your healthcare provider "for evidence" or "the research behind" a particular intervention or birth practice. We would like to refer you to an awesome resource called Evidence Based Birth. It's an organization that does all of this work for you! They have done the research and written articles about virtually any birth practice or intervention that you can think of. Check out their website and their podcast! We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Having a hospital birth almost automatically signs you up to have some interventions done during your birth. There's evidence to show, though, that disturbing physiological birth with multiple interventions can lead to even more interventions and perhaps more harm than good. In this episode, Liz and Shaina give you 7 practical tips to follow to help you have a low-intervention birth in the hospital setting. They discuss what some of these interventions are and how to avoid them if you are in the category of a "low-risk pregnancy." Take a listen and please feel free to give us your feedback! Follow our podcast so you don't miss an episode and please leave a review for us on Apple Podcasts. We want the word to get out to all pregnant women that they can have a SMOOTH hospital birth experience. We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Sunny thought she was going to be having her 4th baby in the hospital, just like her first 3 babies, but around 30 weeks along, she changed her mind! You may recognize Sunny's voice because we interviewed her last year toward the beginning of her pregnancy with baby #4. She had never even considered a home birth! Her pregnancy was textbook with no complications, and with everything going on in the world regarding COVID and hospital policies, Sunny decided that she wanted to have a home birth for her 4th baby. Listen to this episode to hear how Sunny made that decision, how her doctor was onboard with concurrent care, and how her home birth was such a pleasant and satisfying experience for her and her whole family. I want to direct you to this article that might be helpful to you as you decide where you'd like to give birth. https://evidencebasedbirth.com/what-is-home-birth/ We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Liz and Shaina discuss how to prepare physically, mentally, and emotionally for birth. We are very strong advocates for taking a birth class, but there are many other ways to prepare your body and your mind for labor and birth too! Listen to the episode to hear how your preparation during pregnancy can directly affect your birth experience. Here are some resources and referrals mentioned in the episode: Heather Valinsky from Nurture Family Chiropractic https://www.nurturefamilychiro.com Dr. Elliot Berlin https://www.doctorberlin.com Rouel Cazanjian https://rouelcazanjian.com Red Raspberry Leaf Tea evidence Date fruit evidence We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth, breastfeeding and newborn care classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Liz and Shaina interview Lindsay Hammond Stoddard in this episode of the Birth Nurses Podcast. Both of her parents are nurses, she has a sister with autism AND she is a mother to two young boys, one of whom was a premature baby. Lindsay shared about what life was like growing up and how that impacted her motherhood journey. 01:30- Lindsay's childhood and growing up with 2 nurse parents as well as an older sister with autism 20:10- Starting a family, experiencing a miscarriage, giving birth to her first son, experiencing postpartum anxiety 28:00- Getting pregnant with baby #2 and having a preterm delivery. Baby in the NICU and Peds unit, going through a pandemic with 2 young children 36:30 Lindsay's closing advice for new parents We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
On this episode, Liz and Shaina talk about how they got into the Birth Education world and why it is so important for a pregnant person (especially if it's your first baby) to take a birth class. Find out what makes Shaina and Liz's classes unique and consider taking one of their classes virtually or in person (if you're in LA)! We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
We had so much fun interviewing Lori Hammond, RN and learning about her nursing journey! She started off her nursing career kind of standing on the sidelines, but by the end she had found her voice for her patients, amongst her colleagues, and the nurses in her whole community! Listen to this episode to hear her thoughts on how nursing changed over her 35 year career and what nurses can do about it today. We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Liz and Shaina talk about the new phenomenon they've noticed over the past couple of years of many new nurses transferring from other departments to the Labor and Delivery unit. Listen to this episode to hear their advice to these new nurses. We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina--virtual birth and breastfeeding classes, lactation consults in LA instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz--virtual and in person birth and c-section classes in LA/Santa Monica instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Shaina and Liz interviewed Shaina's friend and fellow labor and delivery nurse, Jessica who works in Los Angeles, CA. With 7 years of nursing under her belt, she shares with such wisdom about what drew her to labor and delivery nursing and what keeps her there and what she'd like to see change. Take a listen and learn what is the appeal of hospital bedside nursing as opposed to being a nurse administrator, manager, researcher, or in any other avenue of nursing. We invite you to join in the conversation with us about the profession of nursing. If you have any questions, comments, or want to be a guest on our podcast, email shaina@preparented.com! For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Are you in a completely different profession from healthcare, but you've been thinking about becoming a nurse? Well, we have THE episode for you! We interviewed one of Liz's friends who did just that. From contractor to ER RN, Fred Hammond changed it up at age 40! This is also our first episode with a male guest! (not sure how that didn't happen sooner) So make sure to take a listen. You will definitely learn something new. We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Intro to our new season! We're switching gears a bit and we're going to be talking about nursing in general, and of course we'll add in our experience as labor and delivery nurses too. If you're a new nurse (no matter the department/specialty), you're going to want to listen to this new season! What drew each of us to nursing? What drew us to labor and delivery? And what is expected of nurses in 2021? We are asking each other these questions and we'll also be interviewing other nurses about their experiences. We have a couple soap boxes to stand on in regards to nursing practice and we hope you'll give us your input too. We invite you to email us, DM us on instagram, or find some other way to contact us and tell us your thoughts. For more information about us, our birth education businesses, and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles: Shaina instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
We interviewed Bre Stuhlmuller PT, DPT about pelvic floor physical therapy, especially as it relates to labor and birth. Bre works at Origin in Brentwood, CA. You can go to their website www.theoriginway.com for in person or virtual appointments that are covered by insurance. You can also check out their instagram page for informational posts! We answer some important questions in this episode. What is the pelvic floor? How is it involved in the pushing stage of labor? Is peeing yourself normal after you've given birth? Listen to this episode to learn all of these things and more! I encourage everyone to see a pelvic floor therapist if you're currently pregnant, have had a baby already, or you are experiencing abnormal symptoms like incontinence, painful pooping, painful sex, perineal scar or c-section scar sensitivity, sciatica pain, etc. You will learn so much!! Breakdown of the Episode What is pelvic the pelvic floor? 01:36 What is pelvic floor PT and what can pelvic PT help with? 02:41 What a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy appointment is like 07:31 C-Sections, scars, and the pelvic floor 15:08 perineal stretching vs perineal massage 25:18 Pushing positions 30:30 Bre’s experience in her birth 33:40 How to push correctly in labor and delivery 38:48 When to see a pelvic floor PT? 43:26 Final statement 44:45 Unpacking of the episode: 46:55 Research Article about Perineal Massage/Stretching: Read ARTICLE Here As always, we want to hear from you, our listeners! To contact us and chat, please find us on Instagram, email us, or check out our websites! Liz: @birthnurseliz liz@birthandbeyond.net www.birthandbeyond.net Shaina: @preparented shaina@preparented.com www.preparented.com
Dr. Paula Shulman graciously joined our podcast so that we could interview her about collaborative care--what is it? Who is a part of it? And why is it so important when we're talking about labor and delivery in the hospital setting? Listen to this episode and let us know your thoughts! We want to hear from you. Did you experience collaborative care during your labor and delivery experience? Message us on instagram, email us, or fill out a contact form on our website www.podpage.com/the-birth-nurses/. We are also looking for nurses (any department) to be guests on our podcast for our new season "Nurses on Nursing." If you are interested, please reach out! To contact us, find us on Instagram, email us, or check out our websites! www.podpage.com/the-birth-nurses/ Liz: @birthnurseliz liz@birthandbeyond.net www.birthandbeyond.net Shaina: @preparented shaina@preparented.com www.preparented.com
We continued our interview with one of Liz's friends Sunny Barach. She lives in Los Angeles and is pregnant with her 4th baby! We wanted to hear from a "real life mom" about how she dealt with the difficult postpartum/newborn period. Listen to this episode and you'll hear her raw, real life experience. Liz and Shaina are labor and delivery nurses and childbirth educators in Los Angeles. To contact us, find us on Instagram, email us, or check out our websites! Liz: @birthnurseliz liz@birthandbeyond.net www.birthandbeyond.net Shaina: @preparented shaina@preparented.com www.preparented.com
In this episode, we interviewed one of Liz's friends Sunny Barach. She lives in Los Angeles and is pregnant with her 4th baby! We wanted to hear from a "real life mom" about how she prepared for parenthood, prepared for birth, and how her birth experiences were. The first part of the episode, we hear a lot about Sunny's life pre-kids and how she and her husband developed a sweet friendship and love for each other. Once she found out she was pregnant, she and her husband realized they needed to prepare! The second half of the episode is all about Sunny's fast and furious birth experiences with Liz as her doula and birth coach. We hope you enjoy this episode!! Please "follow" us, rate, and review us on Apple Podcasts! It would mean so much to us. For more information about us and the classes we teach, visit our websites and instagram profiles Shaina instagram.com/preparented www.preparented.com Liz instagram.com/birthnurseliz www.birthandbeyond.net
Dr. Phabillia Afflack (Dr. Phabby!) is an OBGYN that is on her way to changing the world of obstetrics through her holistic and family-centered care. She is what's called a "Concierge OB," which means that she makes house calls to do your prenatal appointments! Her goal isn't only to monitor the mother and baby's health through pregnancy; it's to help you transition, trimester by trimester, into the new role of parenthood. Listen to this episode and you will fall in love with Dr. Afflack. She is fun, kind-hearted, and you'll want her on your team for birth! You can find Dr. Phabby online at www.phabulouscare.com or on instagram @phabulouscare Liz and Shaina are labor and delivery nurses and childbirth educators in Los Angeles. To contact us, find us on Instagram, email us, or check out our websites! Liz: @birthnurseliz liz@birthandbeyond.net www.birthandbeyond.net Shaina: @preparented shaina@preparented.com www.preparented.com
What an honor to interview Brittany Sharpe McCollum of @blossomingbelliesbirth! She is based in the Philadelphia area and is a doula, childbirth educator, mother of 4, and an expert at pelvic biomechanics--which in lay terms means how the bones and ligaments of the pelvis move. Of course, she relates her knowledge on this subject to labor and birth. Brittany helps us understand ways that the laboring patient as well as the labor and delivery nurse and other support people can help encourage physiologic birth, especially in the hospital setting using these skills of movement and position changes. You can find Brittany on instagram @blossomingbelliesbirth and Online www.blossomingbelliesbirth.com Liz and Shaina are labor and delivery nurses and childbirth educators in Los Angeles. To contact us, find us on Instagram, email us, or check out our websites! Liz: @birthnurseliz liz@birthandbeyond.net www.birthandbeyond.net Shaina: @preparented shaina@preparented.com www.preparented.com
In this episode, Liz and Shaina interview Nicole Barkhordari of @nicolecolleencoach and focus more on the postpartum period. How do you talk to your partner about sex after you have a baby? Nicole brings her expertise as a sex therapist and psychotherapist, as well as her personal experience of being a wife and a mom to the conversation. Her simple techniques and strategies on how to talk to your partner will empower you to reach a deeper level of intimacy with your partner when you are postpartum. Nicole would love to connect with you. You can reach out to her if you'd like her help to level up your relationship with your partner while you're in the trenches of new parenthood. You can find Nicole on instagram @nicolecolleencoach or email her nicole@nicolecolleen.com Liz and Shaina are labor and delivery nurses and childbirth educators in Los Angeles. To contact us, find us on Instagram, email us, or check out our websites! Liz: @birthnurseliz liz@birthandbeyond.net www.birthandbeyond.net Shaina: @preparented shaina@preparented.com www.preparented.com
In this episode, Liz and Shaina interview Nicole Barkhordari--an LMFT/sex therapist in LA County. She specializes in helping couples "Level Up" their relationships, especially after going through major life transitions like having a baby! Before adding a new baby to your family, your relationship with your partner should be set on a firm foundation. During pregnancy, most people focus on the day of labor (which is important), but then they forget about parenthood being for the rest of their lives! How can you establish a strong foundation with your partner so that when you have your baby, you don't lose that "spark" between you two? Listen to this episode to hear Nicole's suggestions and reach out to her if you'd like her help to level up your relationship with your partner while you're in the trenches of new parenthood. This is Part 1 of our interview with Nicole mainly focusing on BEFORE baby is born. Part 2 is focused on the postpartum stage. Stay tuned for the release of that episode soon! You can find Nicole on instagram @nicolecolleencoach or email her nicole@nicolecolleen or visit her website www.choosingtomorrowcounseling.com She is also offering a free resource! Go to https://nicolecolleen.com/30-daychallenge Stay tuned and follow her on instagram for access to another free resource "How to Talk to Your Partner About Sex" coming out next week. Liz and Shaina are labor and delivery nurses and childbirth educators in Los Angeles. To contact us, find us on Instagram, email us, or check out our websites! Liz Baker Wade: @birthnurseliz liz@birthandbeyond.net www.birthandbeyond.net Shaina Brickner: @preparented shaina@preparented.com www.preparented.com