Embracing Birth Childbirth Education

02/13/2026

Expecting a first baby? If your care provider is a typical obstetrician, and you are planning to birth at a typical hospital, you're at considerable risk for a cesarean that could have been avoided. My Resource Library article this month explains why, and more importantly, what you can do to protect yourself.

https://hencigoer.com/how-to-prevent-a-preventable-cesarean-for-failure-to-progress

For data-based information on pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and the postpartum, visit hencigoer.com/resource-library/

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10/20/2025

✨Preparing for the Full Spectrum of Birth✨

So many birth classes and ideologies focus on a preferred or ideal way for birth to unfold — calm, connected, powerful, maybe even blissful. And yes, there are good reasons to seek out a birth like this.

But true preparation also means exploring what happens when things don’t go to plan. When birth feels wild, unpredictable, messy, or overwhelming. When even a “straightforward” birth feels more intense than you ever imagined.

Preparing only for the ideal can leave you feeling blindsided if birth asks something different of you.
Preparing holistically means learning how to meet whatever arises — the calm, the storm, the surrender.

In Birth Story Medicine sessions, we often meet women who did “all the right things,” yet felt unprepared for the reality of birth. Not because they didn’t research enough — but because they were never invited to prepare for the unknown.

Birth is both mystery and initiation. Preparing for both the wished-for and the unwished-for is an act of deep self-trust and wisdom.

💫 If you felt let down or blindsided by the way you prepared for birth, a Birth Story Medicine session can help you find meaning, peace, and self-compassion in what unfolded. You can’t rewrite the story, but you can transform the way it lives within you. DM us!

10/14/2025

Scientific research on the limits of human endurance confirms that pregnancy is one of the most demanding metabolic feats possible, as the sustained energy required to grow a baby over nine months forces the mother's body to operate at an elevated rate of approximately 2.2 times her resting metabolic rate—a level nearly equivalent to the physical ceiling sustained by elite endurance athletes, such as those running a marathon per day for several weeks. This comparison underscores the sheer, continuous intensity of pregnancy, highlighting it as the longest and one of the highest energy-expenditure events the human body can endure.

10/14/2025

A groundbreaking 2025 study published in Science Advances has revealed that while women experience a decline in the number of eggs as they age, the quality of those eggs at the DNA level remains surprisingly stable. In contrast, men’s s***m accumulates genetic mutations over time, making older fathers more likely to pass on DNA errors that can contribute to developmental and neurological conditions in their children.

Researchers found that these s***m mutations increase steadily with age, particularly after 40, while eggs showed minimal DNA damage accumulation. This challenges decades of assumptions about female fertility and aging — and flips the traditional “biological clock” narrative on its head.

The implications are significant: men’s age can influence conception success, pregnancy outcomes, and long-term child health just as much as women’s.

In essence, time affects both sexes — just in very different ways.

10/10/2025

Anatomy Unveiled: Structures and Functions Within the Lactating Breast

Mammary Glands:
In a lactating breast, the mammary gland is a complex structure dedicated to producing milk. Hormonal changes during lactation prompt these glands to create and release milk, providing essential nourishment for your baby.

Blood Vessels:
Blood vessels within the breast play a crucial role in supporting breastmilk production, delivering nutrients and oxygen to the mammary glands, essential for making breastmilk.

Fat, Ligaments & Connective Tissue
Ligaments and connective tissue in the lactating breast offer crucial support, maintaining breast structure during pregnancy and breastfeeding. They aid in supporting milk-producing structures and facilitating milk flow.

Ni**le and Ar**la:
The ni**le, a prominent projection at the center of the breast, is the primary outlet for milk during breastfeeding. Surrounding the ni**le is the ar**la, the pigmented skin area housing Montgomery glands. These glands produce oils that act as a natural lubricant and protect the ni**le from dryness or irritation while nursing.

Lobules and Alveoli:
Clusters of lobules, resembling grape-like structures, house alveoli, the microscopic sacs responsible for milk synthesis.

Milk Ducts:
The milk ducts play a crucial role in the delivery of milk. They are a network of tubes within the breast that transport milk from the lobules (where the milk is produced) to the ni**le during breastfeeding.

Initiation of Breastfeeding:
When a baby latches onto the breast, tactile stimulation triggers sensory nerves in the ni**le, sending signals to the brain, particularly the hypothalamus.

Milk Ejection and Production:
When oxytocin is released, it triggers the contraction of myoepithelial cells encircling the alveoli. This contraction initiates the let-down reflex, a vital mechanism that propels milk from the alveoli into the ducts, making it available for the baby to nurse. Meanwhile, prolactin plays a crucial role in milk production, stimulating alveolar cells within the mammary glands, guiding them to produce both colostrum. This hormone supports the continuous creation of milk.

09/23/2025

✨ The way a woman feels about her birth can shape her story for years to come. ✨

Even if everything looked “fine” from the outside, the inner experience can tell a very different story. Sometimes birth leaves behind tangled emotions—grief, disappointment, confusion, or a deep sense of “what if.”

Birth Story Medicine sessions create a safe space to explore those feelings, untangle the story, and gently shift the meaning you carry from your experience. 🌿

Because how you feel about your birth matters—today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life.

💫 You don’t have to carry this alone. Book a Birth Story Medicine session and discover a new way to feel at peace with your story.

👉 Message us to book your session.

09/05/2025

Who also craves chick fil a even when you’re not pregnant??🤰🏻🙋🏻‍♀️

Repost from .labornurse
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Cervical dilation featuring because I had SEVERE CFA cravings when I was pregnant with Ryland! And honestly I’m still obsessed! 😍⁠
⁠
What’s your current pregnancy craving??

Follow along for more fun cervical dilation posts 😂

08/29/2025

Most pregnancy and birth books provide brief overviews on a variety of topics. The books in Henci's Take Charge of Your Birth series offer a deep dive into two of the biggest birth topics: managing labor pain and the pros & cons of labor induction. Both data-driven books provide the best medical research to aid you in making a decision—and they don’t stop there! They also provide practical strategies for putting your plan into action.

Learn more about the series >>> https://hencigoer.com/about-the-series/
Buy Labor Pain: What’s Your Best Strategy? here >>> https://hencigoer.com/labor-pain/
Buy Labor Induction: Why, When, and How? >>> https://hencigoer.com/labor-induction/

08/29/2025