Pregnant people, new moms, birth workers, birth nerds and birth geeks will all love this conversation with The Doula Darcy and Hillary A. Melchiors Ph.D., MPH, LCCE, CD(DONA). In addition to having all those letters after her name, Hillary is the down-to-earth co-host of The Birth Geeks Podcast. She's also an anthropologist, birth doula, and childbirth educator who lives in Newburgh, IN. She holds a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology and a Master’s in Public Health from Case Western Reserve University and has been working as a doula and childbirth educator since 2014. Darcy and Hillary chat about t ..read more

Pregnant in a Pandemic: Tips and Silver Linings It’s an intense time to be giving birth right now due to COVID-19.  If you are pregnant or home with a newborn, you will definitely want to listen in to this episode. Taylor and Darcy share some ways to feel more empowered and in control during your pregnancy, labor and the first weeks home with your baby.  Taylor shares tips for pregnancy and birth that are especially helpful right now.  Darcy talks about things you can do while pregnant to prepare for your maternity leave while social distancing.  And, the doulas also share ..read more

Today, Darcy is chatting with long time friend and fellow postpartum doula, Krista Maltais.  Krista has been a doula for 14 years, and is now also a DONA Postpartum Doula Trainer as well.  Darcy and Krista bond over their love of their work supporting new mothers.  They also share their history of working together to build awareness of postpartum doulas in their community.  In this episode, they discuss the importance of finding other doulas for support and focusing on collaboration over competition. If you’ve ever considered being a doula, then this episode is for YOU! &nb ..read more

Darcy is on the podcast today having a discussion with Dr. Kat about the mental health issues surrounding pregnancy and post partum. Katayune Kaeni, Psy.D. PMH-C, is a psychologist certified in perinatal mental health and the creator and host of the Mom & Mind Podcast. She was drawn to this specialty after going through Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Anxiety and Postpartum OCD with her first child.  Dr. Kat supports mothers and families in her private practice in Southern California. She is a trainer and board member for Postpartum Support International. Dr. Kat offers training and ..read more

Today, Darcy is solocasting about the lack of community surrounding breastfeeding. Women in our country are struggling with beastfeeding because they haven’t been taught how to beastfeed by the women in their communities, i.e. their mothers, grandmas, cousins, aunts etc.. This causes a lot of guilt and shame in new moms. In this episode Darcy sets out to destigmatize breastfeeding for new moms and provides some resources and tips to ease your breastfeeding journey.   Key Takeaway: We need to build stronger communities to support new moms in their breastfeeding journey.   Highlights ..read more

In today’s episode, Taylor offers her 5 steps to overcoming and managing your VBAC fears. After seeing the popularity of the previous VBAC episodes, Taylor decided to devote an entire episode to make sure you all felt prepared when planning your next VBAC. We seem to forget that it is absolutely normal to get scared sometimes. It’s necessary for our evolution and personal development to experience fear and anxiety after/before stressful situations. That being said, we do have a responsibility to process this pain it in order to manage it and eventually grow from it. Giving yourself permission ..read more

Today, Darcy welcomes Kimberly Johnson to the show. Kimberly is the author of the book “The Fourth Trimester”. The book is a holistic guide that offers practical advice to support women through postpartum healing on the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual levels—and provides women with a roadmap to this very important transition that can last from a few months to a few years. In this conversation and her work, Kimberly draws from her vast professional experience as a doula, postpartum consultant, yoga teacher, body worker, and women’s health care advocate, and from the healing tradi ..read more

In today’s episode, Darcy spoke with Lindsey Mathews, the founder and CEO of BirthFit. Lindsey is also a Doctor of Chiropractic, Birth Doula, Strength and Conditioning Coach, NLP Practitioner and a Yoga Instructor. BirthFit is a revolutionary company that supports and educates women throughout their transition into motherhood. With an array of online and in-person programs, experiences, and workshops, BirthFit strives to give women access to free information so they can make informed decisions regarding their pregnancy. Lindsey was inspired to create BirthFit when she realized that the medical ..read more

Taylor and Darcy are back together today, discussing breastfeeding. They both share some personal stories about their breastfeeding journeys. They discuss the benefits of breastfeeding, pumping, the guilt and shame surrounding the choice to either breastfeed or not. They share tips for breastfeeding as well. It’s important to remember that your personal journey through breastfeeding is uniquely your own and the choices you make surrounding your baby and breastfeeding don’t make you a good or bad parent.   Key Takeaway: Your worth isn’t determined by the details of your breastfeeding journ ..read more

In today’s episode, Darcy welcomes Kasey Mathews who gave birth to a baby girl at only 25 weeks in 2010 to the show. Kasey is also a book writing coach, transformational life coach, and author. In her book “Preemie: Lessons in Love, Life and Motherhood” Kasey talks candidly about how her seemingly perfect life was disrupted when she went into labor four months early, delivering her one-pound, eleven-ounce daughter, Andie. In this riveting, honest, and often humorous memoir, Preemie chronicles the journey of one tiny baby’s tenacious struggle to hold on to life and the mother who ultimately gre ..read more