Flu Vaccine During Pregnancy and What the Research Shows About Safety (2026-27 Flu Season)
Your provider offers you a flu shot, and you are not sure what to do. You have heard it protects your baby. You have also heard it barely wo...
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Pregnancy Podcast
The Pregnancy Podcast is a podcast all about navigating the crazy awesomeness that is pregnancy, birth, and being a new parent! Vanessa Merten provides info that goes way beyond the typical...
Episodes
20 of 142 episodesEvidence-Based Solutions for Pregnancy Insomnia and Sleep Issues
If you are lying awake at night, you are in good company. Pregnancy insomnia and other sleep problems affect the majority of expecting mothe...
Evidence-Based Tips on How to Sleep Better During Pregnancy
Sleep during pregnancy is one of the most powerful tools you have for your health and your baby's health, yet it is often one of the first t...
How Your Birth Environment Affects Labor
The room where you give birth has more influence over your labor than you might expect. Oxytocin is the key hormone driving labor, and stres...
Is Pregnancy Brain Real? What the Research Says About Memory and Brain Fog
You walk into a room and cannot remember why. A word you use every day disappears mid-sentence. You read the same paragraph three times, and...
Your Guide to Weaning and How to Stop Breastfeeding Without Stress
Most breastfeeding resources are full of information on why you should keep going, and very short on practical help for when you are ready t...
Top 5 Reasons Moms Stop Breastfeeding Early
New mothers go into breastfeeding with the best intentions. Unfortunately, many run into issues that make breastfeeding feel difficult or ev...
How to Increase Your Milk Supply and Keep It Up
Milk supply is the number one reason mothers stop breastfeeding early or reach for formula. The good news is that most of what protects and...
How Your Breasts Change During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
During the nine months of pregnancy, your body changes more than at any other time in your life, and there are many changes to your breasts....
Why Swelling Happens During Pregnancy and How to Find Relief
The medical term for swelling during pregnancy is edema, and it affects the vast majority of expecting moms. Swelling in your legs, feet, an...
How to Prevent and Relieve Back Pain During Pregnancy
Many of the physical changes that come with pregnancy can put stress on your back and lead to pain or discomfort. Back pain during pregnancy...
How Much Pregnancy Weight Gain Is Healthy and What Actually Matters
Your doctor or midwife will track your weight throughout pregnancy. For many expecting moms, stepping on the scale is a source of anxiety. T...
Sun Safety During Pregnancy (Sunscreen, Tanning, and Protecting Your Skin)
Sunlight comes with both benefits and risks, and pregnancy adds a few extra considerations to both. Some of the upside is real. Your body ma...
Your Partner's Role in Supporting You in Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum
Most of the mental and physical work of having a baby falls on mom. One of the most common things I hear from partners is that they do not k...
The Truth About Vitamin D in Pregnancy (Most Moms Don't Get Enough)
Vitamin D in pregnancy is one of those topics that sounds simple, but the details really matter. You use this essential vitamin in nearly ev...
Home Birth: The Evidence on Safety
A home birth means welcoming your baby in your own space with the freedom to labor however feels right to you. It is also the birth setting...
Birth Center: Exploring Your Options
A birth center sits in the middle ground between a home birth and a hospital. You get a home-like setting and midwife-led care built around...
Hospital Birth: What to Expect
The vast majority of births in the United States occur in a hospital. A hospital birth offers around-the-clock staffing, a wide range of pai...
10 Tips to Mentally Prepare for Motherhood
There is so much focus during pregnancy on the physical side and on getting ready for your baby's arrival. Your body is changing, you are pr...
Prenatal Testing in the Second Half of Pregnancy
Prenatal testing in the second half of pregnancy is a different conversation than the testing offered earlier. Many of these tests produce r...