The Birth Experience with Labor Nurse Mama

This Episode is Sponsored by Snugghug
Did you know 80% of your immune system lives in your gut - and your baby gets theirs from you? Whether you had a vaginal birth or a C-section, breastfed or formula fed, this episode is going to change the way you think about your baby's health from day one.
Trish sits down with Cheryl Hoy, CEO and founder of Tiny Health, the first at-home microbiome testing company for moms and babies. Cheryl's journey started with her own breech C-section birth and a mission to understand what that meant for her daughter's long-term health. What she found led her to build a company backed by scientists from Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and UCSF - and to become one of the loudest voices reminding moms that their birth mode isn't the end of the story. Trish and Cheryl dig into the science of the vaginal, gut, and skin microbiomes, why laboring (even before a C-section) still matters, and how the first 1,000 days of life set the stage for your child's immune system for years to come. This one is equal parts science lesson and permission slip - you are not powerless, no matter how your baby arrived earthside.
What You'll Learn Inside This Episode:
Why babies born vaginally have a different gut microbiome than babies born via C-section - and how that connects to the "atopic march" (eczema → food allergies → asthma → hay fever)
Why laboring - even if it ends in a C-section - still seeds your baby's microbiome with beneficial bacteria
How vaginal exams during labor can introduce antibiotic-resistant hospital bacteria to your baby
Why dads contribute up to 20% of a baby's microbiome in the first year (and even more with a C-section birth )
What actually happens when you order a Tiny Health test, and how simple the process really is
Why "failure to progress" might have less to do with your body and more to do with how supported you felt in the room
How feeding mode (breast vs. formula) is the #1 most impactful lever for course-correcting gut health after a C-section
Why the first 1,000 days - conception through age 2-3 - is the critical window for immune training, and what you can actually do about it

More from Tiny Health:
Go to TinyHealth.com and use code LNM!
Follow on Instagram: @tiny.health
hello@tinyhealth.com

Thanks to our Sponsor Snugghug: Grab the Snugghug Nursing Cover and Nursing Shirt and use code 'LNMAMA10' for 10% off!
Mentioned in this episode:
The VBAC Lab - Trish's course for vaginal birth after C-section

Helpful Timestamps:
00:00 Meet Cheryl from Tiny Health
07:04 What Is The Microbiome
12:46 Course Correcting In Early Life
19:07 Results, Support, And Dad’s Role
20:26 Microbiome Roles at Birth
23:07 Fighting for Breech Birth
33:30 Tiny Health Mission and Testing
36:09 Research Results and Future Care
37:26 Where to Find Tiny Health

Join The Calm Labor Birth Bundle - everything you need from bump to baby! Use code POD50 for $50 off!
Over 15k mamas have used our classes to prepare for a birth that they love 🤍
⭐ Download immediately ⭐App available ⭐Life-time access⭐
Connect w/ Trish:
On Instagram
On YouTube
For more pregnancy & birth education, subscribe to The Birth Experience on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Produced and Edited by Vaden Podcast Services

You're 10 centimeters, and your nurse says "okay, let's push" - and without any discussion, you're guided into whatever position is easiest for everyone else in the room. Except it doesn't have to go that way. Trish is breaking down pushing positions, what the research actually says about each one, and exactly how to get the birth room to work with you - even if you have an epidural.
Trish pulls back the curtain on one of the most overlooked parts of birth prep: how you push. She traces the surprising (and slightly wild) history of why flat-on-your-back became the hospital default, walks through what the Cochrane Review actually found about upright versus lying-down pushing, and breaks down six different pushing positions - who each one is best for, what the research shows, and how to advocate for the one that's right for you. Whether you're planning unmedicated or you know an epidural is part of your plan, this episode makes sure you walk into your birth room already knowing your options.
What You'll Learn:
The real history behind the "default" position - and why it has nothing to do with what's best for you
What the Cochrane Review found when comparing upright vs. lying-down pushing - fewer interventions, fewer abnormal fetal heart patterns, and a shorter pushing stage
The tearing nuance nobody explains - upright positions may carry a higher chance of minor tearing, but a lower chance of episiotomy
Six pushing positions, including who each one is best for: Lithotomy (on your back), Semi-recumbent, Side lying (Sims position), Hands and knees, Squatting and supported squatting, & Leaning forward on a raised bed
Which positions work with an epidural - yes, you still have options
Exactly what to say to your nurse or provider if they default to what's easiest for them, not what's best for you
How to put your pushing preferences in your birth map before you ever walk into the hospital

Resources Mentioned
Labor Like a Pro Guide - Trish's illustrated labor positions guide, showing every pushing position and exactly when to use it.
The Calm Birth Bundle - the full kit and caboodle, including the labor positions guide: labornursemama.com/calm

Thanks to our Sponsor Haakaa: Grab the Haakaa Gen.2 Plus Manual Breast Pump and use code ‘LNMAMA20’ for 20% off!
Offer available through 11/13/26
Helpful Timestamps:
00:00 Pushing Positions
03:11 What Research Shows
05:23 Lithotomy and Semi Recumbent
06:39 Side Lying for Control
07:46 Hands and Knees Benefits
09:25 Squatting for More Space
11:01 Leaning Forward Upright
11:58 Epidural Friendly Choices
13:21 How to Advocate Early

Join The Calm Labor Birth Bundle - everything you need from bump to baby! Use code POD50 for $50 off!
Over 15k mamas have used our classes to prepare for a birth that they love 🤍
⭐ Download immediately ⭐App available ⭐Life-time access⭐
Connect w/ Trish:
On Instagram
On YouTube
For more pregnancy & birth education, subscribe to The Birth Experience on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Produced and Edited by Vaden Podcast Services

What would it feel like to go into labor fully prepared for your VBAC - and then have your baby flip breech in the middle of it? That's exactly what happened to Kathryn May, a VBAC Lab student and stay-at-home mom of two from Charlotte, NC.
After a traumatic first birth that ended in an unplanned C-section, Kathryn was determined to do things differently the second time around. She switched to a VBAC-supportive practice, brought her husband fully into the process, and walked into labor informed and ready. Things were progressing beautifully - until a routine check revealed something no one expected: baby James had flipped breech.
Kathryn's story isn't about getting the birth she planned. It's about what happens when you're prepared enough to handle it when the plan changes anyway - and still walk away feeling like you were part of every decision, confident, and empowered.
In this episode:
Why Kathryn's first C-section left her feeling like things were "happening to her" instead of with her
How to spot red flags with a provider who isn't truly VBAC-supportive (and why body language matters as much as their words)
Getting her husband trained as an active advocate, not just a bystander
The moment her midwife said, "I don't feel a head" - and what came next
How Kathryn made her unplanned C-section feel informed and participatory instead of traumatic
Why "you can refuse anything, but should you?" became her guiding question in the moment that mattered most

If Kathryn's story hit home for you - especially if your own birth didn't go the way you planned - be gentle with yourself. Whatever happened, you showed up, and that matters.
Share this episode with a mama preparing for her VBAC or preparing for birth. Hit subscribe, leave a review, and help us reach every mama who needs to hear this.
Connect with Kathryn:
Follow her on Instagram @drkathrynmay
More from this episode:
Join The VBAC Lab or explore The Calm Labor Birth Bundle
Helpful Timestamps:
00:00 VBAC Lab Student Birth Story
01:56 First Birth C-Section
05:26 Switching to Supportive Team
10:45 Labor Begins at Home
15:32 Baby is Breech
18:09 Redemptive C-Section Plan
20:16 Baby James Arrives
26:36 Advice for VBAC Moms
28:26 Why Education Matters

Join The Calm Labor Birth Bundle - everything you need from bump to baby! Use code POD50 for $50 off!
Over 15k mamas have used our classes to prepare for a birth that they love 🤍
⭐ Download immediately ⭐App available ⭐Life-time access⭐
Connect w/ Trish:
On Instagram
On YouTube
For more pregnancy & birth education, subscribe to The Birth Experience on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Produced and Edited by Vaden Podcast Services

Birth vibes are everywhere right now - and Jen Hamilton's book earned every bit of its #1 spot. But vibes alone won't get you through a decision in the delivery room. This week, Trish breaks down what Jen gets so right, and why you need both the vibes and the map.
Jen Hamilton's Birth Vibes has taken over birth prep conversations everywhere, and moms keep asking Trish the same question: is it vibes over plans now? Trish's answer - Jen's right, but it's not the whole picture. In this episode, Trish unpacks what "birth vibes" actually means (mindset, values, and grounded adaptability - not just "good energy and hope for the best"), and why that emotional preparation matters so much.
As a 16-year L&D nurse, Trish has watched moms walk in with beautiful energy and zero information, and freeze the moment a real decision hits. Her take: vibes get you into the right headspace, but you still need to know your options - because if you don't know your options, you don't have any. That's why Trish calls it a birth map, not a birth plan - a living, "why-behind-it" version of your preferences that holds both your values and your knowledge.
What You'll Learn Inside This Episode:
What Jen Hamilton's "birth vibes" concept really means - and why it's not just "hope for the best"
Why mindset and grounded confidence genuinely change birth outcomes
The difference between a birth plan (a checklist) and a birth map (values + knowledge + flexibility)
Why "if you don't know your options, you don't have any"
How to bring vibes and information together so you can advocate for yourself in the moment
What Trish's Birth Mastery Workshop adds to your birth prep after reading Birth Vibes

More from this episode:
Birth Plan Mastery Workshop
Read Birth Vibes by Jen Hamilton
Helpful Timestamps:
00:00 Birth Vibes
01:26 What Jen Really Means
03:04 Why Vibes Need Knowledge
04:26 Birth Map, Not a Checklist
06:47 Birth Mastery Workshop
08:26 Personal Note to Jen

Join The Calm Labor Birth Bundle - everything you need from bump to baby! Use code POD50 for $50 off!
Over 15k mamas have used our classes to prepare for a birth that they love 🤍
⭐ Download immediately ⭐App available ⭐Life-time access⭐
Connect w/ Trish:
On Instagram
On YouTube
For more pregnancy & birth education, subscribe to The Birth Experience on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Produced and Edited by Vaden Podcast Services

I'm joined by Dr. Brooke Kalisiak, a pelvic physical therapist and owner of Legacy Physical Therapy in St. Louis. We’re diving into one of the most overlooked - but incredibly important - parts of your birth and postpartum journey: your pelvic floor.
Dr. Brooke Kalisiak helps women prepare for birth, recover postpartum, and overcome pelvic health issues like pain and bladder leakage so they can feel strong and confident without relying on medications or surgery. She’s passionate about educating women on what’s normal, what’s not, and how to take control of their pelvic health.
In this episode, we talk about:
The biggest misconceptions about pushing during labor
Why your pelvic floor needs to relax - not tighten - for birth
Common postpartum symptoms women are told to “just live with”
What actually happens during a pelvic floor therapy appointment
How pelvic floor health impacts pregnancy, birth, postpartum recovery, and even menopause
Why bladder leakage is common, but not normal
Simple breathing techniques that support your core and pelvic floor
When to see a pelvic floor therapist (hint: it’s never too early or too late)

If you've ever worried about tearing, leaking, painful recovery, or wondered whether pelvic floor therapy is right for you, this conversation is packed with practical information and reassurance.
Remember, mama: just because something is common doesn't mean it's normal. You deserve answers, support, and a body that feels strong and supported through every stage of motherhood.
More from Dr. Brooke Kalisiak:
legacytherapystl.com
Find her @legacyphysicaltherapystl on Instagram, FaceBook, & YouTube
Helpful Timestamps:
00:00 Pelvic Health
06:28 Practice Pushing Positions
09:57 Bladder Leakage And Stigma
12:21 When To See Pelvic PT
16:02 Pregnancy Core Breathing
20:59 Postpartum Visits Explained
29:21 Why a Baseline Matters
32:11 Hidden Pelvic Symptoms
34:40 Where to Find Dr Brooke

Join The Calm Labor Birth Bundle - everything you need from bump to baby! Use code POD50 for $50 off!
Over 15k mamas have used our classes to prepare for a birth that they love 🤍
⭐ Download immediately ⭐App available ⭐Life-time access⭐
Connect w/ Trish:
On Instagram
On YouTube
For more pregnancy & birth education, subscribe to The Birth Experience on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Produced and Edited by Vaden Podcast Services