Today’s special episode examines the often undiscussed topic of birth trauma. Our guest Teela Tomassetti, a therapist for over 15 years specializing in trauma, had decided to pursue a PhD in birth trauma in dedication to a close friend’s traumatic experience. She did not know at the time that she would be facing a birth trauma of her own. Teela generously shares her personal story with us, discusses with Dr. Sarah how birth trauma can be defined, and how you might reach out for help if you feel you may have experienced it.

What is Birth Trauma?

While there is not one specific way to define birth trauma, one prevalent characteristic is that at its root it is a form of loss. That is not to say birth trauma is only defined as a literal loss of life, but a monumental experience where a part of your life or body has been profoundly altered. We often detach from the experience out of the need to lessen the pain of that loss, and to conform with societal pressure to move on...

Why do we even bother with car seats? This may seem like a silly question today, with stories of days gone by where babies were driven in old Chevrolets held in their parents laps seem rightfully scary! But looking at the statistics on car seat safety offers a strong reminder to take care that both the seat you choose and installation is done with full consideration of best practices and proper use.

Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of preventable death in children ages one through nine in Canada. Driving is one of the most dangerous things that we do, and most of us do it on a daily basis with our children in the mix. Child safety seats have been shown to reduce fatal injury by 71% for infants under 1 year, 54% for toddlers ages 1-4 years, and 45% for children ages 4-8 years. Sadly, public clinics indicate that as many as 90% of child restraints are installed or used improperly. A car seat is a life-saving device, but it can only protect your child if it is installed...

When is the best time to start introducing my baby to solid foods? How will I know they are ready? What kind of foods should I give them? Is it better to offer whole foods, or purées? How long do I wait between introducing them to new foods? What about allergens!? HELP!

If any of these questions have crossed your mind, today’s podcast is necessary listening! Dr. Alicia and Nita Sharda, BSc, a Registered Dietitian, and co-founder of Happy Health Eaters discuss all of the above and help you demystify the various guidelines and misinformation you may come across on the weird, wild web. Nita has also generously offered our listeners 15% off of their online course, Start Solids Confidently, helping parents feel confident about introducing their baby to solid food. More info on that below! But first…

Top 5 Things You Need to know about Starting Solids with your Baby

How do I know it’s time to start solids?

Like we have said before - every baby is different. On...

How does your blood type affect your pregnancy?

You’ve probably heard about the four main blood type classifications in humans: 

A       B     AB     O

In addition to these four main groups, people’s blood types can be further sub-categorized as being positive (+) or negative (-). What that refers to is the presence or absence of something called the Rh (Rhesus) Factor: a protein, or antigen, that is present on your red blood cells.

If your blood type is categorized as Rh-positive, you have the protein and RhD antigen. If your blood type is categorized as Rh-negative, you do not have the protein nor the RhD antigen. This distinction most matters when you are Rh-negative and your baby is Rh-positive.

Why does it matter? 

A problem is more likely to occur in people who are Rh-negative (you have a negative (-) sign after your blood type), which certain ethnic populations are more likely to be. To give you a quick...

We’ll reveal the biggest secret discussed on today’s podcast right at the top: each baby is different. When it comes to sleep, what may work for one might not work for another, even for babies within the same family! That is what our guest today, Valerie Groysman, discovered with her own two babies as well as by counselling hundreds of families.

Valerie is a Registered Social Worker, M.S.W, R.S.W and Infant + Child Mental Health Specialist whose own journey with infant and toddler sleep led her to build her own business, Talkin’ Sleep. She seeks to find sleep solutions for families based on science, connection and intuition, offering alternatives to more traditional sleep training and crying methods. Keep reading to learn her Top 5 Newborn Sleep Tips and be sure to tune in to the podcast for a lot more great advice around newborn sleep!

Tip #1: Get to Know Your Baby

Not all cries are the same. Listening and watching your baby, you will learn that while they may...

Pregnancy is undeniably a time of accelerated body change. For women who may have a history of avoiding their body or engaging in other types of negative body image perpetuating behaviours, body avoidance becomes impossible to pursue. And while this can be a huge struggle, it can also be a wonderful opportunity to begin the healing work around your own relationship with food and your body image.

What is negative body image?

There are a few main types of behaviour that can reveal a problematic relationship with body image:

1. Body checking: a common behaviour that consists of hopping on the scale, pinching your body, or obsessively looking at yourself in the mirror multiple times a day
2. Body comparison: a frequent comparing of yourself to others, whether in real live or through social media, or to your own former body, especially common in pregnancy
3. Body avoidance: on the other end of the spectrum of body checking is body avoidance, which includes intentionally avoiding mirrors, hiding...

Fertility.

The fact of the matter is that humans are not that great at reproduction. Even in the best circumstances, a young healthy woman only has about a 15-20% chance of becoming pregnant within one ovulation cycle. All types of fertility require a certain amount of patience and effort - and the good news is that modern medicine has evolved to provide women with a variety of safe and successful options for preserving fertility! To learn more about top tips on getting pregnant check out our blog post.

On today’s podcast, we discuss the three main options for safeguarding fertility as well as their benefits and drawbacks:

1. Egg freezing
2. IUI with donor sperm 
3. IVF with donor sperm to create embryos that can be transferred at anytime in the future

Joining us is Dr. Meivys Garcia, FRCSC Obstetrics, Gynecology, Infertility Specialist and medical director and co-owner of the Markham Fertility Center in London, Ontario, Canada. She’s had a passion for fertility...

Dr. Sarah and our special guest this week - Robyn Rayner, Registered Massage Therapist, Crossfit Level 2 coach, and Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism coach - both realized while they were pregnant that there wasn't a lot of guidance easily available with regards to what type of exercise is okay to do when pregnant. Is it good for you? What kind of exercise should I do? Can I keep doing what I was doing before pregnancy? What about after birth?

Guidelines Around Exercise in Pregnancy

Physical activity is recommended for pregnant people just as it is for everyone, and evidence suggests that it can help in labor. It can reduce the length of labor and also prepare your body for the physical demands of giving birth. Like Dr. Sarah always says, labour is like a marathon and childbirth is like having to do a high intensity crossfit workout at the end! Keeping in shape helps! People that continue exercising during pregnancy have also reported decreased lower back or hip pain, and even...

What is babywearing? Babywearing is the practice of wearing or carrying a baby in a ring sling, wrap or other type of carrier around the newborn ages. On today’s podcast, we discuss the many benefits of babywearing, how to correctly position your baby when doing so, and the different types of carriers available and their respective characteristics. Joining us are Megan Tennant & Sam Bright, Physiotherapists & Clinic Owners of Kids Physio Group. 

The Benefits of Babywearing

Bonding

Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation in secure attachment between baby and parent with just one hour of babywearing per day. Being close to the carrier’s heart can affect baby’s own heart rate and breathing depending on who they are close to, therefore leading to increased bonding, attachment, and regulation!

Removing Pressure off of Baby’s Head

Newborns spend most of their time on their backs. Babywearing helps to reduce the pressure from the back of...

There are so many reasons why somebody might not be breastfeeding. Everything from traumatic birth, structural issues with the baby and their ability to latch, history of trauma or abuse, or the parent’s neurodiversity may make the sensory input of breastfeeding intolerable. But regardless of the reason, we should never question people’s decisions surrounding this important and personal parenting choice!

Mallory Whitmore is a Certified Infant Feeding Technician, advocate for informed, supported infant feeding choices for everybody and formula feeding mother of two. She began her formula feeding journey when she, like so many of you listeners out there, was feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, disappointed, and full of guilt and stress about formula feeding.

On today’s podcast, she shares with us some of the main reasons people are unable to breastfeed, her recommendations when it comes to choosing which formula is right for you - some of which we share below! And some...