Physiology of Birth

Four birth workers called me this week about clients already being induced. When I asked how and why, not one client knew. Induction isn't one event, it's a process, and it deserves more than a nod.

Hypertensive disorders now show up in a growing share of pregnancies, and the risk isn't shared equally. A look at the numbers behind gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and eclampsia, plus what's driving the rise.

A primer for birth workers and the clients you support If you're new to birth work, you've probably already spent time thinking about the perineum, that word that comes up in every birth story, every tearing conversation, every discussion about what recovery looks like. Even if you haven't attended a birth yet, you likely know it matters. But how often do you think about the pelvic floor itself, not just the perineum, but the whole living system underneath, and what it's been

The hour after birth may be the most physiologically significant hour of a person's life. It's also one of the most routinely interrupted. Here's what birth workers need to know before walking into that room.

Labor pain is not like other pain. And comfort measures are not just hand-holding. Here's the physiology behind why they work, and why the evidence shows they matter more than most people think.

"We'd like to talk about induction." Six words that send most pregnant people straight to Google at 11pm. And what they find there is usually a jumble of horror stories, outdated information, and forum posts that leave them more confused than when they started. Induction of labor — the process of starting labor artificially before it begins on its own — is one of the most common obstetric interventions in the United States. More than 30% of births now involve some form of ind

I n 2018, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine quietly shifted the landscape of obstetric care in the United States. The study was called the ARRIVE trial — A Randomized Trial of Induction Versus Expectant Management — and its headline finding was striking: elective induction of labor at 39 weeks in low-risk, first-time pregnant people resulted in a lower cesarean rate than waiting for labor to begin on its own. That finding landed in a health system that

There is a moment in almost every birth - sometimes early, sometimes not until transition - when a laboring person looks up and says some version of: I can't do this. What they usually mean is: I don't understand what's happening to me (and I'm tired as hell). That's not weakness. That's a knowledge gap. And knowledge gaps are fixable. Understanding what your body is actually doing during labor - the hormones, the mechanics, the cascade of events that unfolds over hours - doe