Born Wild Midwifery

12/10/2025

EC isn’t “no diapers.” It’s diapers as backup, not default.

Easy catches: after waking, after the car seat, at diaper changes, during the classic p**p face.

Try one a day and see what shifts.

Guide + episode:

Discover how elimination communication (EC) supports body trust, connection, and gentle potty learning. Learn practical, flexible EC tools from Erica Davis and Born Wild Midwifery.

11/30/2025

HYPEREMESIS GRAVIDARUM: Real-World Tips That Have Helped Families 🤍

HG is so much more than “morning sickness.”
It can be consuming, overwhelming, and completely life-disrupting. What works for one person may not work for another, but these are some commonly shared approaches that many families and providers have found supportive:

✨ Relief sometimes only comes after giving birth
✨ Cannabis may reduce nausea for some
✨ Prescription anti-nausea suppositories, tiny sips of water, and small, frequent carb + protein snacks
✨ Acupuncture
✨ IV fluids and—occasionally—small amounts of original Coca-Cola
✨ Eating mandarins or using mandarin essential oil on a tissue tucked into a pillowcase
✨ Liver-supportive herbs like dandelion, milk thistle, and nettle; honey under the tongue at the first wave of nausea
✨ Progesterone cream
✨ B-vitamin support
✨ Ice pops for gentle hydration
✨ The Bean Protocol

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✨ What Is Karen Hurd’s Bean Protocol?

The Bean Protocol is a nutritional approach centered around eating beans multiple times a day to support the liver and stabilize blood sugar.
Beans are rich in soluble fiber, which binds to bile. Since excess hormones, toxins, and metabolic waste are carried out of the liver through bile, eating fiber repeatedly helps clear them from the body more efficiently.

The goal:
• stabilize blood sugar
• reduce nausea triggers
• support liver processing
• calm hormonal fluctuations

Some people with HG report improved symptoms when following the bean protocol consistently.

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If you’re navigating HG right now:

You’re not alone.
You’re not imagining the intensity.
You deserve support, hydration, nourishment, and compassionate care — not just “try ginger.”

If nothing is helping or you’re unable to keep fluids down, please reach out. HG can become serious quickly, and you deserve real help.

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11/29/2025

SHOULDER DYSTOCIA BABIES: IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES TO UNDERSTAND 🧡

“Please be aware of this difference… be ready to resuscitate if needed, but understand that gentle support is what most babies need for a quick recovery—and never cut the cord if you can avoid it.”
— Gail Hart

Shoulder dystocia can be intense, but the physiology of these babies is often misunderstood. Gail Hart’s decades of work remind us:

✨ Most shoulder dystocia babies are NOT asphyxiated.
Unless the cord is compressed or the baby was already stressed during descent, the few extra minutes usually do not cause asphyxia.

✨ What we often see instead:
• Floppy baby
• Dark head + pale body
• Strong heart rate around 100
• Brief bradycardia due to a vagal response, not oxygen deprivation

This protective bradycardia explains why these babies look like “1/10 Apgar babies” at birth—but typically rise to a 5 at one minute as tone, color, and breathing rapidly improve.

✨ Cord gases often do NOT match the head-to-body interval, which supports the understanding that this is not classic asphyxia.

✨ Most will recover beautifully if:
• The cord remains intact
• Baby is kept below the level of the placenta
• We allow placental transfusion
• Gentle stimulation is used
• We provide support as needed, not panic-driven intervention

✨ The real danger?
If we mistake this protective response for asphyxia, cut the cord, and rush the baby to a warmer, we can create:
• Severe hypovolemia
• Increased shock
• A true resuscitation scenario

We turn stress into crisis.

The takeaway:
Be prepared. Be skilled. Be calm.
Keep the cord intact.
Support the baby gently.
Know that many of these little ones will recover quickly with physiologic care.

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11/28/2025

UNDERSTANDING AN ABNORMAL LIE 🤍

“Often an abnormal position is a sign that something is going on in the relationship that keeps the mama from being able to feel safe, and the baby reacts. A low-lying placenta can also keep a baby from presenting vertex. Usually the strength of labor contractions can overcome this, but make home visits and see what you observe.”
— Lisa Patch Goldstein

When a baby isn’t settling into a typical head-down position, it’s rarely random.
Abnormal lies — transverse, oblique, unstable presentations — often invite us to look deeper, both physically and emotionally.

✨ Things we consider as midwives:
• Physical factors: placenta location, pelvic dynamics, uterine tone, cord placement, fluid levels, and baby’s individual anatomy.
• Emotional factors: a mama’s sense of safety, stress levels, relationship dynamics, or unresolved fears. Babies respond to their environment — internal and external.
• The power of labor: strong, coordinated contractions can often help babies rotate and descend when the time is right.
• The value of home visits: seeing someone in their own space offers insight you can’t always catch in the office.

Babies communicate with their bodies.
Our job is to listen — not just to positioning, but to the whole story.

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11/27/2025

Happy Thanksgiving from Born Wild Midwifery 🤎🦃

Today we’re giving thanks for the families who invite us into one of the most sacred moments of their lives. Every pregnancy, every birth, every tiny new human — it’s an honor we never take for granted.

To our mamas, partners, babies, and siblings:
Thank you for your trust, your vulnerability, your strength, and your presence.
Thank you for letting us walk beside you through the rawest, realest work of life.
Thank you for reminding us every day why this calling matters.

Wishing you all a day filled with warmth, good food, deep breaths, and the people who feel like home.

With love & gratitude,
Born Wild Midwifery ✨
🤎

11/26/2025

NEWBORN SLEEP TRUTH 💛✨
“Newborns don’t have sleep cycles — they have eat-sleep cycles.”
— Chantel Manson Haynes

One of the biggest mindset shifts for new parents is understanding that newborn sleep works completely differently than adult or even older baby sleep.

Newborns wake based on metabolism + blood sugar needs, not “light sleep → deep sleep” cycles.

When we shift our focus to the eat–sleep rhythm instead of traditional sleep cycles, everything starts to make more sense:

🌙 Cluster feeding isn’t “using you as a pacifier.”
It’s a baby saying, “I need more calories right now.”
Their little bodies are working hard to grow, regulate temperature, and stabilize blood sugar.

💤 After a cluster-feed stretch, a longer sleep block often follows.
They’re fueling up to rest.

🍼 If baby is eating more than sleeping for long stretches, that’s a cue to check in about breastfeeding.
Sometimes it’s totally normal — and sometimes a latch, transfer, or supply issue needs support.

This perspective can be game-changing for exhausted new families.
Your baby isn’t broken. You’re not doing anything wrong.
This is simply what normal newborn physiology looks like. 💛

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11/25/2025

Breech birth wisdom 🌀

One of the most repeated lessons from seasoned breech providers is this:
Get trained. Stay trained. Keep training.

Breech isn’t about if you will need advanced skills — it’s about when.
And when that moment comes, the difference is having the clinical eyes, the calm nervous system, and the practiced hands to know what to do.

✨ Key reminders from experienced breech midwives & mentors:
• Training matters. Breech birth requires specific education and hands-on skill.
• Know the signposts. Breech labors communicate clearly when progress is normal — and when it’s not.
• Listen to the body and baby. Stalls, changes in dilation, or lack of descent may be communication, not pathology.
• Act when needed. Breech can be beautifully straightforward… or show subtle signs that it’s time to transport.
• Watch like an eagle. Pay close attention to descent, rotation, cord behavior, and baby’s emerging body language.
• Patience & vigilance go hand-in-hand. If everything is smooth, stay patient. If something is off, move swiftly.
• Regular practice saves lives. Breech skills fade without repetition — simulation, training, and mentorship are essential.

Supporting breech families safely isn’t about forcing a vaginal birth.
It’s about recognizing when it’s unfolding normally — and when transport is the safest next step, even without dramatic clinical indicators.

This is what respectful, skilled breech care looks like.
This is how we protect mothers and babies while still offering options.

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11/24/2025

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”
— Rosa Parks

Birth asks us to trust deeply.
When a mother is grounded in her intuition, supported by a team who believes in her, and clear in her choices, fear naturally softens. What remains is strength, surrender, and the raw power of physiological birth.

Honoring this incredible family and the sacred intensity of these first moments earthside. ✨
It is a privilege to witness families step into their knowing and bring their babies into the world with courage and love.

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11/20/2025

Our student midwife, Eva, holding big sister’s hands at today’s prenatal visit 🥹💛
There’s something so beautiful about the bond that forms between midwives and the older siblings — the way they’re invited into the process, included, seen, and made to feel important.

Everyone is getting so excited to meet baby brother next month — the sweetest little countdown.

11/19/2025

You want to protect your baby. Start with bodily integrity.

In our recent conversation with Georgeanne Chapin of Intact America, we discussed consent, intact care, and navigating challenging family dynamics—so your son can make an informed choice for himself later.

Read and listen:

Explore the ethical, biological, and emotional reasons to keep boys intact. Learn about fo****in function, intact care, and the movement to end routine circumcision.

11/17/2025

Throwback to a powerful season in Sophia’s life — pregnant with her second baby while still caring for her first.
Her son Benji was born with multiple birth differences and underwent six surgeries in his first year. Nourishing him was a daily act of devotion… and the community rose up around her in the most beautiful way.

Through the generosity of hundreds of mothers, Sophia was able to gather enough donated breastmilk to feed him for two full years. Every ounce carried love, support, and solidarity. A true reminder of what community care can look like. 🤍

11/15/2025

✨ “I believe with all my heart that women’s birth noises are often the seat of their power. It’s like a primal birth song, meeting the pain with sound… singing their babies forth. I’ve had my eardrums roared out on occasions, but I love it. Every time. Never let anyone tell you not to make noise in labor. Roar your babies out, Mamas. Roar.”
— Louisa Wales ✨

There is nothing more raw, instinctive, or holy than the sounds a woman makes as she brings life into the world. Birth asks so much of the body—opening, surrendering, rising—and sound becomes its own kind of medicine.

In this moment, we witnessed power, vulnerability, and deep instinct colliding. The room holding her. Her partner grounding her. Her voice leading the way.

Birth is not meant to be quiet.
It’s meant to be felt.
It’s meant to be expressed.
It’s meant to be alive.

To every mother who has ever roared, moaned, whispered, cried, or sung her baby through—your voice is part of the story. And it is perfect. 🤍

📸 ezcapturedthat