Well Rounded Birth Prep

08/30/2026

Quick flip to adjust the seatbelt to safely secure a pregnant belly

08/20/2026

Yup

08/18/2026

She was so brave for sharing her story about PPD.

We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Hayden Panettiere 💙

Hayden used her platform to speak about her experience with postpartum depression at a time when few public figures did. Her honesty about the stress, the anxiety, the isolation of feeling like "nobody around understood" gave voice to what so many new parents feel but rarely say out loud.

By sharing her story, Hayden helped normalize the conversation around perinatal mental health and let countless parents know they weren't alone in their struggle. That kind of courage leaves a lasting impact.

Our thoughts are with her family, her daughter, and everyone who loved her.

If you are struggling, please know help is available and you don't have to carry it alone. We are here for you, always.
🔵 Call or text the PSI HelpLine: 800-944-4773
🔵 Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-852-6262
🔵 In a crisis situation, call or text the National Su***de & Crisis Lifeline at 988
🔵 Visit Postpartum.net for free perinatal mental health resources and support programs
🔵 Download the Connect by PSI app

08/14/2026

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Despite what one MFM tried to tell me, food has everything to do with pregnancy outcomes — from GBS, to cholestasis, to blood volume expansion, to the size of the baby, to preventing perineal tearing, to neural protection from PTSD, and all things in-between.

When the industry fails to learn nutrition beyond the agraspeak “balanced”, they fail to learn the most fundamental aspect of pregnancy care and maternal wellness. Of course we know it’s a sick-care system rather than a health-care system. And lack of basic knowledge on what makes people healthy is part of it.

If we want to reclaim birth, we’re going to have to reclaim the basic knowledge of what contributes to a healthy woman, man, pregnancy, postpartum, baby, child, family, and community.

Reclaiming birth is about so much more than just the act of releasing a child from a womb. It’s about building healthy communities that spend less time in the sick-care system.

And this is at the core of what I teach in Becoming a Traditional Birth Companion from preconception through parenting. How we nourish ourselves is fundamental to how much we can reclaim from the sick-care system.

Reply TBC2026 for the link to learn more and to begin your application.

08/06/2026

The first time I remember seeing historic footage of twilight birth (as pictured here) was in the 2007 documentary The Business of Being Born. I feel that documentary is a must-see for anyone.

This is a human rights issue. Saying that a mom MUST accept any particular intervention or medication is no different from this. Autonomy is a MUST and needs to be respected!

Have you heard of twilight birth? Did your grandparents, great grandparents, experience this?

Once upon a time, THIS was normal. Intially, preferred by some women because the ability to birth without pain is appealing. However, the reality wasn't actually birthing without pain, it was birthing without memory.

What was once celebrated as an advancement, shifted to a fight for autonomy in birth.

For those with positive experiences, they simply had no memory of the birth. For others, they woke with marks on their wrists from being restrained. Restraining garments like the one pictured were used to keep women from harming themselves and staff.

Twilight birth wasn't a calm pain free birth. Twilight birth was being restrained because women were blacked out while still moving, having no way to consciously find ways to cope with labor.

Twilight birth meant restraint. It meant no support people. It meant no personal comfort, support or autonomy. Forceps, episiotomies, etc., became necessary and impacted obstetrical practices long after twilight birth ended.

Morphine and scopolamine were used to induce a state of semiconscious, amnesic labor as late as the 1960s.

What does this mean for birthing people today? It's a reminder that it is not just okay but important to ask questions. It's okay to not accept policy or status quo. It is about asking for EVIDENCE-BASED care and practices.

Autonomy in birth matters.

08/03/2026

07/19/2026

I love the approach outlined in these slides, for how to handle our little one’s questions on sensitive topics, especially when openness wasn’t modeled in our own childhood.

When our little kids ask questions, they need to know it’s safe to ask us anything and know we will be honest with them (at at age appropriate level) and not shame them.

I remember being in kindergarten and asking a relative out of genuine curiosity how in*******al marriages worked (“how can they be married when she is x and he is y?”). I was asking out of honest wanting to know, with no judgment at all. The relative smacked me across the face so hard that I was stunned, and shouted at me to NEVER say that again. I deserved an honest and compassionate answer, and the next generation does as well. I tried my best to do better by my own children.

07/14/2026

Have any of you seen this beautiful ad promoting the midwifery model? 😍