#research

137: The Power of You - The Final Episode

With the technology boom, patients and clients now have access to the same information as medical professionals. As beneficial as technology can be, the drawback is that we find conflicting messages that don’t help us when we are scared and overwhelmed with caring for our child. Join me for this final episode of the Delivering Miracles podcast as we discuss stress, the nervous system, and the necessity of rest and repair. In this episode... A quote on social media about stres

136: What Women Need to Know About Pregnancy Anxiety

Statistics show that approximately 6% of women experience anxiety during pregnancy, but I suspect that the percentage is actually much higher than that. This episode covers pregnancy anxiety, which is something I see a lot in my practice. Many women have questions about this topic, especially since it’s something that is frequently waved off and disregarded by healthcare providers. It’s a topic that’s close to my heart because I see a lot of outdated tools and techniques tout

135: Parenting After Loss: How to Honor Your Grief While Caring For Your Living Children

Parenting after loss is a topic that comes up frequently in the Delivering Miracles community. People ask what they should do and how they should go on loving the child they have while still feeling the previous loss. This unique kind of grief presents a conundrum in how to handle the intricacies of parenting, and societal pressure certainly plays into how we THINK we should feel. There is most definitely not just ONE right way to navigate this grief into your role as a paren

134: Why Nervous System Regulation is Essential for Optimal Prenatal & Postpartum Health

I’m asked frequently why I like to focus on bodywork and nervous system regulation. The simple answer is that I want to know (and I want you to know) not just how to cope, but how to not be affected by the anxiety that comes with life. When you’re affected by trauma, the truth is that it does not get better with time. Many people misunderstand nervous system regulation, so let’s talk about how this works and how this information can help you in the long run. In this episode..

133: This is Trauma Live Event

The topic of trauma has hit home for me and our DM community. Stress, anxiety, and maternal mental health issues all have their roots in unresolved trauma. Trauma is simply a nervous system frozen in a state of danger, and it’s not tied to a specific event, but in how that event is encoded in your body. Let’s dive deeper! In this episode... Why it’s easy to minimize trauma, which has nothing to do with what you went through; it’s a nervous system frozen in a state of danger (

132: The Biggest Problem of Prenatal & Postpartum Care

This is the episode I didn’t want to do. I tried to avoid it, but I can’t. My feelings are prompted by what I’ve seen on social media posts and articles--and those have left an awful taste in my mouth. We have an epidemic in the US of healthcare providers not listening to women when they complain about their pain and what’s going on in their lives. People don’t listen, and they don’t trust what women say, but then they wonder why all these women’s health issues keep cropping

Triggers That Activate the Stress Response During Pregnancy

I talk a lot on my podcast, on this blog, in Pregnancy Brain , on social media...and really everywhere I can..about how stress is NOT a mindset issue. So if it's not in our heads, not something we can think ourselves in and out of...then what is it? What are common triggers of stress during pregnancy? Stress triggers are anything that activate our sympathetic nervous system and create changes to our endocrine, immune and nervous systems. The graphic below shows you just some

113: The Health Benefits of Control

The worst advice anyone can give a woman (or couple) going through infertility, fertility treatment or a high-risk pregnancy is, "You have no control". It is unhelpful and it is just plain wrong. Decades of research have shown the importance of believing in and maintaining control especially when it comes to health. Not only does it help you feel better emotionally, it creates physiological changes in the body, that during infertilty and a high-risk pregnancy, can increase yo

051: Overcoming Stress and Anxiety So You Can Have a Healthy Pregnancy

Feeling stressed during your pregnancy, especially if you are high-risk, is not your fault. Who wouldn't feel stressed when they have pregnancy complications? But emotional and physical stress management is critical to helping you have a healthy pregnancy...even if you have medical complications during your pregnancy. There's a tremendous amount of research that supports this. So this episode I'm guiding you through how to make fast improvements to your pregnancy health and w

049: The Benefits of Alternative Therapies to Help You with Infertility and a High-Risk Pregnancy

Western medicine has its limitations and when you go through infertility and/or a high-risk pregnancy you know exactly how little science actually knows about reproductive health. The problem is, doctors only advise couples to try evidence-based therapies to help them get pregnant or to help them have a healthy pregnancy. While there is plenty of reason to follow that advice, solely relying on what research has proven to be helpful is limiting your choices on safe alternative

007: Truths and Myths about Fertility and Pregnancy

Between your mom's advice, anecdotes from friends information Dr. Google shares and the tips you get from your doctor, there is so much information about how to get pregnant or have a healthy pregnancy. On this episode, I break down some of the 10 most commonly held beliefs about fertility and pregnancy and we play a game of fact or fiction! Listen on iTunes | Listen on Stitcher | Listen on iHeartRadio Episode highlights... There is too much contradictory "Exper

006: Braving Bed Rest with Angela Davids

In this episode of Delivering Miracles, I talk with Angela Davids, founder of Keep ‘Em Cookin’ - an educational organization that gives pregnant women the greatest opportunity to prevent preterm birth by providing them with current information on high-risk pregnancy and by connecting them with an online community of other women facing a difficult pregnancy. We share our personal bed rest experiences, give tips on how to get through the different types of bed rest, and address

Pregnant after Loss? What Every Couple Needs to Know

Last week I was scrolling to social media and I squealed when I saw the headline pop up, “Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner Announce Pregnancy Six Months After Losing Their Son”. Last year, Jamie and Doug lost their son Johnny when he was born at 17 weeks and 1 day, too soon for this world. They were very open about their loss, even sharing a photo of the two of them with Johnny on the day he was born. I had tears in my eyes when I read that she found out she was pregnant with this

Just Relax and You'll Get Pregnant - Myth or Good Advice?

If you're struggling to get pregnant, you're likely hearing from well-meaning loved ones to "just relax". The advice also comes with an anecdote to support the advice about a friend's friend's friend who was told she couldn't get pregnant and then decided to take a week long vacation to Bali and BAM! she had proven the doctor wrong and was pregnant..with twins! When you're facing fertility issues, that advice and these stories can feel frustrating, demoralizing and downright

What Research Says About Stress During Pregnancy

"I'm so sure stress was the reason I miscarried." "I delivered at 22 weeks and my doctor said stress had nothing to do it with it. I didn't believe him." "I wish someone told me how much stress hurt my fertility and pregnancy." "Next time, I'm making stress [management] a priority." These are real words from real moms who have reached out to me via social media and email since learning about the work I do to help women have healthy pregnancies and babies. However it's not jus

The Surprising Truth About Preeclampsia

Thanks to shows like Downton Abbey and Grey’s Anatomy, serious prenatal complications like preeclampsia are finally getting the attention they deserve. Preeclampsia is a serious medical condition in about 5-8% of pregnancies that’s characterized by high blood pressure, protein in your urine and swelling. In its more severe state, damage to other organ systems such as your kidneys. Typically it begins after 20 weeks in women with normal blood pressure. Preeclampsia requires ea

This is Missing From Your Prenatal Care

This country is failing you and your baby. The United States ranks 54th in the world for the number of preterm births we have each year, according to the March of Dimes. The prematurity rate in the United States is as high as one in ten births, with preterm births being the number one cause of neonatal deaths in this country, to this date. How is it that despite being a country that prides itself on cutting edge medical advancements, we have one of the highest prematurity rat