The Birth Lounge Blog

[This is also an episode on The Birth Lounge Podcast on listen  here .] Hey Villagers! Y’all requested this topic like no other and HeHe is so excited to sit down this week and talk all things CBD and motherhood! From the history and science of hemp to the stigma surrounding using CBD to get your body and mind optimized to be the best mom you can be, we’re covering it all. HeHe enlisted the help of Ashley Reynolds, mom of two and the president and cofounder of Elmore Mountain Therapeutics in Vermont. EMT is a CBD company founded by Ashley and her husband in 2017 and they specialize in whole hemp plant CBD rich extract. Using evidence-based knowledge, they’ve produced their own topical balms and sublingual tincture - HeHe uses the balm and swears by it for everything from period pain to belly aches to scrapes and cuts! Ashley’s Journey Shortly after the birth of her 2nd child in 2016, Ashley began to struggle with postpartum anxie...

Yes, You Can Avoid Birth Trauma. Have you ever warned a child to be very careful or to not do something over and over again? But, you know deep down in your heart, that you can’t  actually  save this kiddo from the pain if they don’t make the choice to listen. They have to want to follow your instructions. Or they risk learning the lesson the hard way. Birth work has really heavy parts to it and every birth worker will have different things that feel heavy to them. For me, it's watching birth trauma transpire right in front of my eyes to people that deserved better. There's a small population of women that I sometimes struggle to support. I struggle  so hard  when people come to me after their birth, sharing stories of struggles and trauma... yet, just months earlier I had tried to share reasons WHY their birth should be a priority, and why they needed to be more INTENTIONAL with their decision making and just...

Mindset is 90% of The Game  Have you ever done something and thought "I'm going to die. This is it. This is how my story ends and I meet my creator!" Well, I believe that ' impossible' is just an illusion and it's really about mindset and grit!   Recently, I went to Core Power Yoga for the first time ever recently and I thought I was going to meet Jesus himself. I try to show up as authentically as possible for our audience. I want everything I do to be a reflection of this hard work that you and I put in everyday. I want the world to know that it is a choice  to birth better and to take control of your experience . In doing this, I am so often trying to think of the takeaway points that I can share with our tribe to serve them deeper. This event started off great and fun. I was laughing and poking fun at my friend (my "birth partner" if you will) much like early labor. Then things started to really t...

Could your copper IUD being causing your body to be overloaded and in need of a serious detox? (This is also a podcast episode on The Tranquility Tribe podcast, if you prefer, listen  here .) Hey Tranquility Tribe! This week, we’re getting educated about a little-known, big problem that affects thousands of women around the world: copper toxicity. HeHe has had a copper IUD for about a year and loves it, but when she started experiencing some funky symptoms, she came across the topic of copper toxicity and knew she needed to do a deeper dive. There’s no one better to educate us about this than someone who has experienced it themselves, so HeHe enlisted the help of Kirby Costa Campos, who has made it her life’s mission to educate herself and others about copper toxicity and help women face the reality that the copper IUD may be playing a big role in occurrences of this poisoning.  Kirby had been ill on and off for many y...

Why You May Not  Need  to Push So Hard During Birth I was recently explaining to a lady on an airplane about Fetal Ejection Reflex (also known as FER). She had asked me what the most fascinating thing about being a doula is and I told her "being able to watch the human body at work." It truly is fascinating to watch everything play out from head to toe, headspace to physical environment to partner support and the undeniable influence of a broken medical system; it's all just fascinating (and sometimes frustrating). This conversation led to us talking about the fascinating things that the body can do that most people don't know. The problem with this is that out of all of the people who don't know about FER, so many of them will be directly impact (birthing parent) by this lack of understanding & knowledge. To add salt to the wound, many more will be impacted in a secondary type of way (non-birthing parent) so i...

Period like a Queen  My menstrual cycle wasn't something I was always so in tune with. It wasn't something I had extensive understanding about and it certainly wasn't always a casual topic of conversation for me at networking events and Facebook lives. No, actually, my period was something that I wished away for so long and you know what? It worked! I didn't get my period until I was just shy of 18 years old. While other girls were lying about Aunt Flo showing up and boasting that they had to change their tampons, I was busy mumbling under my breath "please don't let my period come anytime soon." Bleeding every month for 7 days isn't ideal for a gal who loves to be naked or at least wear as little clothing as possible at all times. I am a summer child. The beach is my happy place. Naked is my preferred state of being and just the idea of a period seemed disruptive. Of course, I knew I need "it...

From Conception to Postpartum - Keeping You in Alignment (This is also a podcast episode on The Tranquility Tribe if you prefer, listen  here .) Hey Tranquility Tribe! This week, we’re getting into all things chiropractic with Dr. Lizzie Sobel, a low force, gentle chiropractic based in Massachusetts who has been practicing since 2012. We know the idea of going to a chiropractor can send shivers up the spine for some of y’all, but Lizzie is here to settle all your fears and misconceptions and get you thinking about how chiropractic care could be an essential part of your pregnancy, postpartum, or even your newborn’s life! Lizzie had her first experience with chiropractic care when she was 12 years old and experiencing daily headaches and back pain. After being referred to a chiropractor, she quickly became a believer in how helpful holistic approaches to health can be. Lizzie knows there can be fear and hesitation when it comes...