Down to Birth
Join Cynthia Overgard and Trisha Ludwig once per week for evidence-based straight talk on pregnancy, birth and postpartum --- beyond the clichés and beyond the system. With 40 years' combined experience in midwifery, childbirth education and advocacy, publishing, research and postpartum care, we've guided thousands of families toward safer, more empowered choices. Down to Birth is all about safe childbirth, while recognizing a safe outcome isn't all that matters. We challenge the status quo, explore women's rights in childbirth, and feature women from all over the world, shining shine light on the policies, culture, and systemic forces that shape our most intimate and transformative of life experiences. You'll hear the birth stories of our clients, listeners and numerous celebrities. You'll benefit from our expert-interviews, and at any time you can submit your questions for our monthly Q&A episodes by calling us at 802-GET-DOWN. With millions of downloads and listeners in 90 countries, our worldwide community of parents and birth professionals coms together to learn, question and create change, personally and societally. We're on Instagram at @downtobirthshow and at Patreon.com/downtobirthshow, where we offer live ongoing events multiple times per month. Become informed, feel empowered, and join the movement toward better maternity care in the United States and worldwide. As always, hear everyone, listen to yourself.
Down to Birth
#357 | Back to Basics: Birth Planning 2.0
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Six seasons later, we are revisiting one of our first episodes of this podcast: Using evidence-based care to plan your birth.
Much of what happens in labor is presented as standard, routine, or unavoidable—but that doesn’t mean it’s evidence-based. Birth care hasn’t become more complex because women need more intervention. It’s become more complex because intervention has become the default. If you’ve ever wondered whether what’s happening in labor is truly backed by research—or simply “standard protocol”—this episode is for you.
In this conversation, we get back to the basics, examining how modern birth is typically managed, where that approach aligns with evidence, and where it too often doesn’t. This episode gives you an evidenced-based framework, so you can better evaluate the care offered and recognize when something supports physiologic birth or when it may quietly interfere with it.
Listen with your partner, take notes, and use this episode as a guide for thinking more clearly about the choices that shape your birth.
#9 | Birth Plan 101: Evidence Based Birth as the Safest, Smartest Approach
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