Traditional Roots Midwifery

03/25/2026

What does Conscious Choice mean to you?

Great article!

People might hear the phrase conscious parenting, conscious birth, or the conscious choice, and think it means making “the right” choices. The truth is,

03/16/2026

What is the risk of uterine rupture during a labor after two cesareans?

So often, we hear the risk is 0.9 - 1.8%. But that doesn’t tell the whole picture.

The truth is, those numbers are based on studies in which 49 - 65% of labors were induced or augmented.

As we know, induction and augmentation has been associated with increased uterine rupture rates.

So it’s quite likely that the risk of uterine rupture during a non-induced or augmented labor after two cesareans may be significantly lower.

This is why it’s so important to understand what the research says.

Sometimes vital pieces of information are lost as statistics are simplified and shared.

What have you heard about VBA2C?

We summarize the available evidence on VBA2C here: https://vbacfacts.com/vba2c

If you are a perinatal professional who wants to provide the best VBAC information and support, we offer a continuing education training on VBA2C (approved for 2.4 contact hours) so you can easily integrate the evidence into your practice as well a VBA2C handout for birthing families so you can quickly communicate the facts to your clients.

These are just two of the benefits of joining VBAC Facts® professional membership.

Register today: https://vbacfacts.com/membership

03/09/2026

Homebirth isn’t the fad.
Hospital birth is.

Birth didn’t start in a hospital.
It was moved there.

In the last hundred years we turned a physiological process into a managed event.
Clocks replaced intuition.
Policies replaced autonomy.
Beds replaced movement.

Yes, hospitals save lives when things go wrong.
No one disputes that.

But the idea that birth must happen in a hospital for everyone, every time?
That’s historically brand new.

Maybe what we’re calling a “trend” is actually a return…

03/09/2026

Placing your baby directly on your bare chest for the first 60 minutes isn't just about the snuggles, it’s a biological powerhouse. Here’s what’s happening during those first precious moments:

✨Your body acts as a living thermostat, stabilizing baby’s temperature and heart rate better than any incubator.

✨Skin-to-skin helps seed your baby’s microbiome with healthy bacteria.

✨It triggers a massive oxytocin surge, which reduces stress for you both and makes breastfeeding much easier to start. 🤱

✨It lowers crying and helps baby transition from the womb to the world smoothly.

Include a "Golden Hour" request in your birth plan! Most routine checks (like weight and height) can wait 60 minutes while you and baby bond. 👶

03/09/2026

Newborn male circumcision rates in the U.S. have fallen below 50%, with a study published in JAMA Pediatrics in September 2025 finding the rate dropped from 54.1% in 2012 to 49.3% in 2022. This decline is driven by reduced rates among white families, lower-income areas, and shifting cultural influences, with rates remaining highest in the Midwest/Northeast and lowest in the West.
--Johns Hopkins Medicine

03/09/2026

Paternal skin-to-skin contact (SSC) in the first hour-often called the “Golden Hour”-triggers biological shifts in both father and infant that stabilize the baby and accelerates bonding.

🗂️Raising Oxytocin (The “Love Hormone”):

📑For the Father: Physical touch, especially bare chest-to-chest contact, stimulates the father’s brain to release oxytocin, which lowers his anxiety and reduces testosterone. This hormonal shift makes him more sensitive and responsive to his baby’s subtle cues.

📑For the Infant: Direct skin contact also boosts the baby’s oxytocin levels. This hormone serves as a natural sedative, counteracting the high levels of stress hormones (catecholamines) released during birth.

🗂️Helping the Baby Cry Less:

📑Biological Reassurance: A newborn’s brain interprets separation as a survival threat, leading to “separation distress calls” (intense crying). SSC provides the familiar sounds of a heartbeat and a parent scent, signaling safety and stopping the distress response.

📑Stress Reduction: Studies show that babies in SSC have significantly lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels after just 20 minutes of contact and they are 12 times less likely to cry compared to babies placed in a cot.

🗂️Improving Sleep and Regulation:

📑Deep Sleep Patterns: SSC promotes more restful sleep and longer sleep cycles. Babies in skin-to-skin contact spend more time in “quiet sleep”, which is essential for healthy brain development and organization.

📑Physiological Stability: The father’s body acts as a natural thermostat, stabilizing the baby’s temperature, heart rate, and breathing. When a baby’s vital signs are regulated by their parent’s body, they conserve energy that would otherwise be spent on survival, allowing them to fall into deeper, more restorative sleep.

📑Transitioning States: Infants who receive paternal SSC often reach a calm, “drowsy” state faster than those left in a standard bassinet.

02/23/2026

Midwives and Uterine Rupture: What We Have to Offer by Kristin Eggleston
Given that uterine rupture is much more likely in the presence of a scar and/or synthetic hormones, one could reasonably assume that caregivers who have low rates of these interventions also have lower rates of rupture. Studies have shown that midwives have much lower rates of interventions and comparable mortality rates than do hospitals treating similar low-risk women.
https://f.mtr.cool/hlssoclzmm

02/21/2026

This is a great tea to start drinking in your 2nd trimester. 🫖

02/21/2026

Midwives aren’t an “alternative.”
They are the evidence‑based, relationship‑centered, physiologic‑first model of care the U.S. desperately needs.
Families deserve better.
Hire a midwife.

Our maternity system is struggling — high intervention rates, high C‑section rates, and some of the worst maternal outcomes in the developed world.
Midwifery care changes that.
It’s safer for low‑risk pregnancies, more personalized, and rooted in respect.
Hire a midwife.

Birth isn’t broken.
The system is.
Midwives bring back what works: continuity, trust, patience, and physiologic birth.
If you want better outcomes, better experiences, and better support — hire a midwife.

02/20/2026

🩷💙

02/20/2026

Reminder… Traditional Roots mamas
Mother’s Circle today at The Midwifery Cabin, 11am til 1pm

See you soon!