Pros Talk Pregnancy - Body Ready Method Podcast

with Denise Bolds 9/15/23

In this episode we sit down and chat about birth advocacy, prenatal prep, postpartum healing and much more with experienced doula and BRM® Faculty, Denise Bolds! Denise shares her family history and what brought her into birth work. We discuss what is important to know for your client and for you as a doula, before going into a birth where you are not sure the doctor and the client are on the same page. How do we strategize for an optimal birth outcome? What do we do when we see the provider is going against the client’s wishes? We also discuss birth advocacy. How to actually support your clients to advocate for what they want for their birth. How can we truly shift the paradigm of birth? And, what it looks like to doula through a medically complex birth or in a less than supportive environment. How much is too much advocacy? Should w [read more...]

Website: Bold Doula

Instagram: @bolddoula

with Ja'Neen Jenkins Washington 8/4/2023

Stress and trauma. We hear that we shouldn’t stress during pregnancy. That stress is bad for our health. But how can we take an action-based approach to stress and trauma reduction and nervous system regulation? What are the options provided for someone struggling with Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) apart from medications? How can we, as birth professionals, identify and encourage a client to seek support? Is there a way that we can *actually* address the poor maternal health outcomes that are only getting worse in our society? And, how can we address our own stress and trauma so that we do not take it into our work. In this episode Ja'Neen Jenkins Washington joins us to chat about all things stress and trauma during pregnancy. Touching also on how our society is set up in a way that disproportionately impacts black and brow [read more...]

Website: Covered Doula + Therapy

Instagram: @covered318

with Lauren Ohayon 7/7/2023

Today we chat with Lauren Ohayon, creator of Restore Your Core^® and co-creator of Body Ready Method^®! This is a candid conversation about the embodied approach. How do we meet our clients where they’re at and empower them to experience new patterns in their body? And do that in a way that does not induce shame, blame and negative thought patterns. How do we shift the "right vs. wrong" narrative? Too often, we think we are suppose to rush in, take charge and “save” our clients. This puts them in the same place that the modern industrial medical complex puts them. They end up outsourcing their own inner knowing, wisdom and embodiment to a perceived expert. Diastasis recti during pregnancy is expected, so why do we need core and pelvic floor prehab and rehab work? We talk about how society makes pregnant and po [read more...]

Website: Restore Your Core®

Facebook: Private RYC® Community

Instagram: @thelaurenohayon

with Gail Tully 6/2/2023

If you’ve been around the birth world for any amount of time you have likely heard of Spinning Babies^®. Today Gail Tully, founder and visionary behind Spinning Babies^® joins me at my home to talk all things physiological birth and shifting the paradigm. Gail is truly a trail blazer who has and continues to inspire the next generation of birth professionals, and parents to continue to stay curious, to learn and deepen their awareness, and to heal birth on earth. In this heart to heart episode, Gail goes nostalgic and shares what inspired her to get into this work. She shares the story of her first pregnancy and birth as a teen and how that got her interested in birth work. We get a glimpse of her relationship with her midwife. And, how beautiful a birther's experience can be when we are all on the same side. Gail [read more...]

Website: Spinning Babies®

Facebook: Spinning Babies®

Instagram: Spinning Babies®

with Adrienne Caldwell 5/5/2023

What happens when two longtime birth and body workers get together and hit record? Magic, I tell you! Listen in on a very candid conversation on the evolution of birthwork, bodywork within different populations and breech baby. Adrienne Caldwell is faculty for the Body Ready Method^® our professional training for birth pros and an absolute genius bodyworker. Overall she has helped thousands of families prepare their bodies, find balance, and help breech babies find their best position for birth. We couldn’t be more excited to have her on the podcast for round two! Adrienne and I have been in the same birth circles for over 15 years! Back in the day we would often share clients. They would come to me for doula support and exercise and Adrienne for bodywork. Adrienne was at the top of my list for BRM^® faculty. L [read more...]

Website: Adrienne Bodywork

Facebook: Adrienne Massage Therapy

with Lindsay and Matt McCoy 4/7/2023

My husband, Matt McCoy, joins me again to share all about our 4th (surprise!) birth. Our final birth story unravels as a completely unplanned pregnancy. After our 3rd baby was born with a critical congenital heart defect that required a lot of medical care including open heart surgery at 2 months old, we were surprised to find out we were expecting again. We had to work through the trauma of that 3rd birth experience going into our next experience. We talk through the depression that Matt was struggling with at the time. You'll hear about some strategies we used to be able to come together and support one another during a stressful and challenging season of life. Matt sheds some light on how to support your partner when you are not your best self either. And, we discuss how a good birth team will not only support the birthing person but sup [read more...]

Facebook: BRM Private Community

Instagram: @bodyreadymethod

with Lindsay and Matt McCoy 3/3/2023

Yes! You read that right, 43+ weeks pregnant and, true story, a news crew capturing the whole experience for the local news! In this episode I am joined by my husband, Matt McCoy to share the story of our 3rd birth. This was my first birth after having become a birth professional. It was my longest pregnancy and birth process, but also the birth I consider my easiest birth (although, postpartum was a completely different story. But, that’s a story for a different day!). This story is really a journey into trust and intuition. Something I consider crucial throughout pregnancy and especially when due date arrives. Listen in as Matt and I talk through making decisions that were right for us, especially as we went weeks past our guess date. How important the “bubble of peace” was in remaining calm and confident. And, what Matt as a [read more...]

Facebook: BRM Private Community

Instagram: @bodyreadymethod

with Lindsay and Matt McCoy 2/3/2023

In this episode we talk all about birth partner support with my husband, Matt McCoy! We often forget about how overwhelming the journey to baby can be for the partners. Pregnancy, birth and recovery are huge physiological events and it’s really easy for birth partners to feel like a deer caught in headlights and freeze or sink into a corner when things get intense. Many partners want to be involved, but just don’t know how or what to do and just need a bit of extra support and encouragement. But what if we empowered the birth partners? Prepare partners so that they could show up in the way the birther needs them to. What if working together in this way could be a catalyst for even deeper connection. What if it could be a catalyst for your partner finding their flow as a parent (if your birth partner is also your parenting partner). [read more...]

Facebook: BRM Private Community

Instagram: @bodyreadymethod

with Lindsay and Matt McCoy 1/13/2023

On this episode Matt and I chat about our second birth. What a different experience it was! Have you ever had an experience that altered the course of your life so deeply? So profoundly that you knew your life would not be the same without it? Our first wasn’t the experience we’d hoped for. And after this birth, in our own ways, we became obsessed with figuring out why and what could be done differently. Matt, as my birth partner, dived into research to learn more about partner support. I really got into reading and learning more about pregnancy and birth. And, how I could incorporate my background in exercise science into it. This led us to make very different choices for our second birth experience two and a half years later.  And, it led to a profoundly different experience. An experience so deep and profound, an experience so au [read more...]

Facebook: BRM Community

Instagram: @bodyreadymethod

with Lindsay and Matt McCoy 12/9/2022

Join me and my amazing husband, Matt McCoy, as we recount the story of our first pregnancy and birth, from 2006/2007. Picture two young adults who thought they had it all figured out. Who figured “people have been having babies forever, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” Who wanted a natural first birth, but didn’t really have a plan as to how to get there. At the time, I was finishing up my Exercise Science degree and was teaching almost every fitness class possible. From bootcamp to water aerobics to spinning. You name it, I was teaching it. I read all the right books and even googled “doula near me,” but found none nearby. Needless to say, our first birth didn’t go the way we had hoped. We ended up at the hospital, tubes everywhere and I ended up getting an epidural. When this happened, being the research nerd that I am, I [read more...]

Facebook: OSM Community

Instagram: @bodyreadymethod

with Lindsay McCoy 11/4/2022

Have you ever heard of the flow state? Have you ever felt “in the zone?” That zone where you seem to have effortless momentum. Where time seems to melt away and you are just flowing? Maybe you were running a race, writing, or doing artwork. Maybe you’ve also felt what it feels like to be out of “the zone”. Where everything just feels more challenging and you just can’t seem to find your flow. This is a researched state of being known as the flow state. Research has identified how to get into the flow and stay in the flow. It has also identified what keeps us out of the flow. Also, did you know that we can use the flow state and the research behind it to have a better birth? When we are able to get in and stay in our labor flow state during birth, not only do we have more access to our intuition to know what to do, we also have a [read more...]

Facebook: OSM Community

Instagram: @bodyreadymethod

with Monika Patel 10/7/2022

Have you ever thought or heard that the best way to have an easier birth is to stretch a lot? Or that flexibility = better birth? Sometimes being too flexible can actually create some problems. While yes, it is important to be mobile, there is a difference between mobility and flexibility. This episode is all about being “too flexible” during pregnancy. We are joined by Physical Therapist and creator of Train4Birth, Monika Patel. Did you know joint laxity increases by about 10% during pregnancy? In this episode, Monika talks about the lack of information on the musculoskeletal changes in pregnancy available to expectant parents especially if they are hypermobile. We chatted about what hypermobility is, how much of a culprit relaxing is, issues that can present themselves during pregnancy and birth, and what we should do about it. Mon [read more...]

Website: Train4birth

Facebook: Train4Birth

Instagram: @train4birth

with Nikki Johnston Beaudoin 9/9/2022

In this episode we talk about the twists and turns of becoming a parent with Nikki Johnston Beaudoin. Nikki is a Body Ready Method® pro, expecting mom, and collaborating author of the newly released The Mom Babes, An Anthology of Motherhood. Nikki gets really vulnerable as she talks through her unique journey to becoming a parent. She discusses her fertility, pregnancy, birth, and recovery journey. She sheds light on the taboo of discussing fertility issues openly and why she thought sharing her own journey will help other people. What does it look like to use holistic support alongside the need for medical intervention? And, how do we as a birth pro and/or birthing person live in that space between? Do we have to choose between one of the two paths, or is there a middle ground? Nikki is also a pre and post-natal Fitness Speci [read more...]

Website: Nikki Fitness

Instagram: @SeaToSkyFitness

with Ashley Makan 8/5/2022

Navigating stress. Trauma. Drama... We all deal with it in one way or another. How do our lived experiences and that of our ancestors impact our bodies, our births, and even what we pass on to kids? When we are living in a prolonged state of stress it can become our baseline. Maybe we always feel rushed. Or on edge. This not only impacts our mental health, it impacts our physical health as well. And that of our children. Our brains are powerful. And learning how to hone the power of our brains can allow us to change our world (including our pregnancies, births, recoveries, and even the stress response of our kids). Yet too often we may feel like our brains are working against us. Navigating stress can be difficult, especially when we have negative coping mechanisms that we can’t seem to take control of. We yell, freak out, or sometimes we [read more...]

Website: The Mind Body Birth

with Amanda Gorman 7/8/2022

On this episode we speak to Amanda Gorman all about postpartum planning. While getting ready for a baby, oftentimes we miss one of the most important pieces of postpartum; planning for the 4th trimester. That immediate recovery time can be intense and incredibly overwhelming, especially if we aren’t ready for it. Having to care for a newborn baby within a day is a huge transition for many. We spend a good deal of time getting ready for birth, and that’s important too. However, not preparing adequately for postpartum is akin to preparing for the wedding, but not the marriage. The wedding is very important, don’t get me wrong. But without preparing for the marriage, there is likely to be more struggle. We must take the time and the forethought to get ourselves ready for the big transition into caring for a tiny human while also recoveri [read more...]

Website: Finding Your Village

Instagram: @FindingYourVillage

with Brooke Patmor 6/17/2022

Let’s face it, we live in a culture that allows for fatphobia. Where mocking larger bodies is socially acceptable. A culture that glorifies a certain body type as the epitome of “health.” This has created a lot of issues in maternal health care, and healthcare as a whole. This also makes those living in larger bodies feel as if their size correlates to their health. This causes internalized fatphobia, thinking that all their ailments are due to their size. “Just lose weight,” they are often told. The weight stigma in the medical system often shames larger bodied folks into not receiving the care they really need. Brooke discusses how fatphobia affects not only larger people, but all of us in some way or the other. A lot of people constantly live under the stress of gaining weight and often may resort to fad diets to fit in, causin [read more...]

Website: BORN Collective

Instagram: @thedykedoula

with Lindsay McCoy 05/13/2022

Join me, Lindsay McCoy as I hit “record” and jam out on all things professional birth support, including doula support during birth. There is a revolution in birth support. While holding the space and offering sips of water and a cool cloth is really important, there’s also so much more a doula can be doing! In this episode, I talk about the role of a doula and their impact on the client’s birth experience, and what it really looks like to support birth physiology as a doula. I believe we can do more than just randomly using comfort measures. If a doula knows the biomechanics of labor and birth; the science of what to do when in labor and the “whys” of it, they can really make a difference in the client’s birth experience! What do clients really need in a doula? Our job is to help the clients protect their space, help them [read more...]

Facebook: OSM Community

Instagram: @bodyreadymethod

with Jacoby Ballard 04/08/2022

On this episode we speak with Jacoby Ballard on LGBTQ+ healthcare and transgender pregnancy and birth. What does it mean to be transgender or non-binary? And what would it be like to go through pregnancy, birth and recovery being transgender male or non-binary? We dive into the real-lived experience of pregnancy, birth, and recovery while trans or non-binary with the incredible Jacoby. He opens up about his own experiences. He shares about his work in the perinatal space as a prenatal yoga instructor. As birth professionals, it is our job to support our clients and patients through the transformative journey of pregnancy, birth and recovery. Jacoby talks about the vocabulary of inclusivity in the perinatal space. He also discusses options to self-educate about working with queer expecting parents. We also discuss about creating a safe space [read more...]

Website: Jacoby Ballard Yoga

Instagram: @jacobyballard