Evidence Based Birth®

Research shows that queer and trans parents face significantly higher rates of perinatal depression and anxiety, but affirming and community-centered support can make a big difference. In this episode, clinical psychologist and researcher Leiszle Lapping-Carr joins Dr. Rebecca Dekker to talk about the unique mental health challenges 2SLGBTQ+ parents may experience during pregnancy and postpartum and what providers, birth workers, and communities can do to create safer, more supportive care. Dr. Lapping-Carr shares how stigma, discrimination, isolation, and lack of affirming healthcare spaces can affect mental health outcomes for queer and trans parents. She also explains how evidence-based approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy can be adapted to better support 2SLGBTQ+ families, especially when distress is rooted in experiences of discrimination and loss of safety. Learn how protective factors that support mental health, chosen family and community, and inclusive healthcare providers can make perinatal spaces more affirming for all parents.
 
(01:43) Dr. Leiszle Lapping-Carr's background and research journey
(04:31) Perinatal depression rates among queer and trans parents
(07:19) Minority stress, discrimination, and mental health risks
(11:08) Protective factors and the importance of community support
(12:52) What is the Mothers and Babies intervention?
(15:17) Adapting Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for queer and trans parents
(20:09) Common thought patterns and challenges for LGBTQ+ parents
(22:57) Behavioral strategies and "pleasant activities" for mental health
(28:58) Barriers to affirming perinatal mental healthcare
(32:42) The role of doulas and community recommendations
(37:33) Common mistakes providers make when caring for queer and trans parents
 
Resources
Learn more about Dr. Lapping-Carr and her research: feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=49272
Postpartum Support International Online Support Groups: postpartum.net/get-help/psi-online-support-meetings/
Mothers and Babies preventive perinatal depression intervention: mothersandbabiesprogram.org/providers/
 
For more information about Evidence Based Birth and a crash course on evidence based care, visit www.ebbirth.com. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!" If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (scholarship options available) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the EBB Childbirth Class.

Happy EBB 400! In honor of this milestone, Team EBB is looking back on some of our and your favorite episodes of the EBB Podcast from the past nine years. From advocacy in birth and improving maternity care to exercise in pregnancy, postpartum support, Vitamin K, and upright birthing positions, this anniversary episode highlights the stories and evidence that have shaped the EBB community since 2017. Whether you've been here since episode one or just recently found the podcast, this episode is a celebration of evidence-based information and the families and professionals who make this work meaningful.
(07:04) Jennie Joseph on The JJ Way® and Improving Maternity Care
(12:56) JaMichael Perryman on Birth Advocacy and Supporting Your Partner
(18:26) Evidence on Birthing Positions and Protecting the Perineum
(23:51) Exercise in Pregnancy with MamasteFit's Gina Conley
(29:14) Cheyanne Saenz on Self-Advocacy and Knowing Your Rights in Birth
(33:15) Q&A: Pitocin and Postpartum Depression
(39:24) Updated Evidence on Vitamin K for Newborns
(44:56) Rebecca's Mom Shares Her Experiences with Twilight Sleep and Changing Birth Practices
(47:46) Looking Back on 400 Episodes and Looking Ahead to the Future of EBB
Resources
EBB 136 – Solutions for the Crisis in American Maternity Care
EBB 145 – Fatherhood and Advocacy in Birth with JaMichael Perryman
EBB 221 – Evidence on Birthing Positions and Tried-and-True Midwifery Practices for Protecting the Perineum
EBB 264 – Top 3 Tips for Exercise in Pregnancy with Gina and Roxanne of Mamaste Fit
EBB 208 – Advocating for Your Rights in Birth with EBB Childbirth Class Graduate, Cheyanne Saenz
EBB 304 - Q & A on PPD/Pitocin, Delayed Cord Clamping, Nubain, and Placental Encapsulation
EBB 347 - Updated Evidence on Vitamin K
 EBB 75 - Birth in Twilight Sleep – the Experiences of Rebecca's Mom
For more information about Evidence Based Birth and a crash course on evidence based care, visit www.ebbirth.com. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!" If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (scholarship options available) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the EBB Childbirth Class.

Pregnancy fitness advice has changed dramatically over the last few decades, but many parents still receive outdated recommendations rooted more in fear than evidence. After receiving outdated advice during her own pregnancy, exercise physiologist and prenatal/postnatal wellness practitioner Ashley Reid was inspired to help moms stay active through every stage of motherhood. In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Dekker talks with Ashley about the latest evidence on exercise and strength training during pregnancy and postpartum.
Ashley shares why old recommendations like keeping your heart rate under 140 beats per minute are outdated, what the research actually says about lifting weights during pregnancy, and how to safely build strength in ways that support your changing body. She also explains her "Core, Function, and Fitness" framework and how to approach postpartum recovery as a gradual progression instead of a rush back to exercise.
(03:55) Outdated pregnancy exercise advice and the "140 beats per minute" rule
(06:27) Fear around heart rate monitoring and exercise intensity in pregnancy
(08:42) What the research says about exercise safety and pregnancy
(13:20) Ashley's "Core, Function, and Fitness" framework
(17:20) Why core strength matters during pregnancy
(20:47) Is lifting weights during pregnancy safe?
(25:25) Signs it may be time to modify or pause exercise
(27:23) How pregnancy exercise supports postpartum recovery
(30:01) Returning to exercise postpartum and the new 2025 guidelines
(36:27) Ashley shares what readers will learn in her book Active Mom
(37:56) Sample workout progressions and making exercise work for you
Resources
Learn more about Active Mom Fitness: activemomfitness.com/
Get your copy of Ashley's Book, "Active Mom": activemomfitness.com/books
For more information about Evidence Based Birth and a crash course on evidence based care, visit www.ebbirth.com. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!" If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (scholarship options available) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the EBB Childbirth Class.

Many neurodivergent people move through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum feeling misunderstood and unsupported in healthcare settings that were not designed with their minds in mind. In this episode, doula and founder of Neurodivergent Birth Victoria White shares how her own later-in-life autism and ADHD diagnoses reshaped her understanding of her postpartum experiences and why many neurodivergent parents struggle in systems that often assume everyone processes in the same way.
Learn about how sensory processing, communication, and executive functioning challenges can shape the perinatal experience for neurodivergent families and the small changes that can help neurodivergent people feel safer, more supported, and empowered.
(04:30) The four support pillars of neurodivergent birth
(10:11) How sleep deprivation impacts neurodivergent parents
(12:02) Hormones, estrogen, ADHD, and postpartum changes
(19:05) Barriers to adult diagnosis and self-identifying as neurodivergent
(22:14) Strategies for sensory support, communication, and birth planning
(25:50) Supporting executive functioning during pregnancy and postpartum
(28:27) "Think neurodivergence first": what healthcare workers need to understand
(30:33) Supporting neurodivergent partners during birth
(31:31) Neurodivergence and cesarean birth experiences
(36:53) Victoria's book Why Neurodivergent Birth Matters
(38:27) Research groups, mental health resources, and the Neurodivergent Birth Podcast
(39:22) Reasonable accommodations and disability protections in maternity care
Resources
Learn more about Neurodivergent Birth: ndbirth.com/
Get free, downloadable fact sheets and planning resources: ndbirth.com/downloads
Listen to the Neurodivergent Birth podcast: ndbirth.com/podcast
Maternity Autism Research Group: maternityautismresearchgroup.co.uk/
PANDAS Foundation: pandasfoundation.org.uk/
For more information about Evidence Based Birth® and a crash course on evidence based care, visit www.ebbirth.com. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!" If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (scholarship options available) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the EBB Childbirth Class.

What happens when your carefully planned, low-intervention birth transforms into something entirely unexpected? In this replay episode, Dr. Rebecca Dekker revisits her conversation with Leah Bergman, a graduate of the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class, and her birth story of navigating a surprise diagnosis of fetal growth restriction (sometimes called intrauterine growth restriction or IUGR) in late pregnancy. Together, they unpack the emotional rollercoaster of changing birth plans, wrestling with uncertainty, and making tough decisions around induction while still finding space for empowerment, advocacy, and joy.
Leah opens up about leaning on evidence-based education, support from her husband and doula, and a compassionate midwifery team as she faced a challenging induction process complete with surprises, setbacks, and two trips to the hospital. You'll also hear practical strategies for advocating during labor, the realities of taking a break from an induction then "starting over", and how to build a positive birth experience even when things go off script.
Content Note: Discussion of the risk of stillbirth associated with fetal growth restriction.
(03:44) Discovering Evidence Based Birth®
(09:15) Deciding to induce labor
(10:43) Placenta health and birth timing
(14:50 Discussing timing of delivery
(17:41) Labor induction experience
(23:29 Beginning stages of labor induction
(25:55) Advocating for rest during labor
(28:48) Unexpectedly quick delivery experience
(31:51) Managing baby's low birth weight
 
For the full list of resources from this epiosde, click here.


For more information about Evidence Based Birth® and a crash course on evidence based care, visit www.ebbirth.com. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!" If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (scholarship options available) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the EBB Childbirth Class.