In this episode, I'm sharing important updates about the podcast and a special opportunity for expectant mamas! I'm also reflecting on my wishes for pregnancy and birth and the importance of empowerment and support for women. Plus I announce a limited-time sale for The Birth Preparation Course to help you feel confident and prepared for your childbirth experience. It's the lowest price EVER for the course! Grab it here!

Takeaways

• It's important to take breaks to recharge.
• Hear my 10 wishes that reflect my hopes for every pregnant woman.
• I express my gratitude for the engagement from you.
• Take ownership of your birthing experience.
• The Birth Preparation Course is available at it's lowest price ever!

Get empowering pregnancy and birth tips delivered to your inbox each week! Join my email list here!

It’s 2025! In this first episode of the year, I’m sharing 10 wishes for pregnancy, birth, and maternal health inspired by metta meditation, a practice rooted in cultivating goodwill and compassion. I learned about this beautiful practice from Aditi Shah, a Peloton meditation instructor, and today we’re adapting it to reflect on pregnancy, birth, and maternal health through 10 loving-kindness wishes.

These wishes are heartfelt hopes for a better, safer, and more equitable world for parents, babies, and families. As you explore them, I encourage you to approach them with an open heart—whether for yourself, someone you know, or for all mothers and families. Carry these wishes with you as affirmations, reminders, or moments of pause in your day. Let’s start 2025 with kindness and care.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• Why feeling safe and supported is essential during pregnancy and birth
• What respectful and compassionate care looks like
• How access to resources helps families thrive during pregnancy and parenthood
• What parents need to feel empowered in their decisions
• How patience and care contribute to physical and emotional healing after birth
• What we can do to eliminate inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes
• Which experiences help cultivate joy and connection
• How helping birth workers helps families
• Why prioritizing mental health during pregnancy and parenthood is essential
• How childbirth education transforms the pregnancy and birth experience

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode288

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Make a Birth Plan the Right Way

Get more great info to help you have an empowered pregnancy and birth by joining my email list here!

It’s that time of year again: I’m recapping the most downloaded episodes of 2024. Think of this as a kind of greatest hits or playlist - a perfect place for you to start if you’re new to the podcast. If you don’t see your favorite episode on this list, remember that earlier episodes have more downloads simply because they’ve been available longer, not because they’re less valuable!

We’re closing out the year with over 435,000 downloads in 2024 and the total lifetime downloads are up to 2.6 million! I so appreciate each and every one of you who puts me in your ears and trusts me to help you through your pregnancy and birth experience.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• How to tell when it’s time to go to the hospital
• What changes can happen to the body postpartum
• Whether or not you can have a period while you’re pregnant
• Which conditions are screened for in prenatal tests
• What colostrum is and why it’s important
• How to plan for a safer childbirth experience
• Which mental health conditions are common during pregnancy
• How feeding patterns influence your baby’s sleep
• How a hospital birth can feel joyful and relaxing
• What the difference is between pain and suffering during labor
• What a VBAC is and how to prepare for one
• How much caffeine is safe during pregnancy
• How pregnancy can affect intimacy

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode287

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Make a Birth Plan the Right Way

Stay in the know by joining my email list!

I know you want to exercise during pregnancy, but what are you supposed to do and how do you do it safely? Amy Keifer from Expecting and Empowered is here to answer that question and more!

After starting her personal training career working with pregnant clients, she realized there were a ton of misconceptions still floating around about exercising during pregnancy. That’s why she and her sister created their thriving maternal fitness community. As a registered nurse, doula, personal trainer, and having gone through three unmedicated births, Amy offers invaluable firsthand insight.  This is a great conversation and I know you’re going to find it incredibly valuable.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• Whether you should start strength training during pregnancy
• How you can start exercising during pregnancy
• What the benefits are of exercise during pregnancy
• What coping techniques Amy recommends for managing pain during labor
• How can movement and labor rituals help you manage contractions
• How water, like a tub or shower, can help alleviate labor pain
• Why it’s important to understand the stages of labor and what to expect during each
• Why you should take time to familiarize yourself with your birthing options
• Who should be on your support team and what roles they can play during labor
• What are the benefits of practicing breathwork and mindfulness for labor prep

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode286

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Make a Birth Plan the Right Way

What happens when you’re a physician and you experience a childbirth-related injury? Are you treated any differently? Today’s guest experienced exactly that and you’re going to hear her unique perspective. Gina is an ophthalmology resident who had a birth complication that left her paralyzed in one leg. She has regained her mobility but this very rare injury still has lasting effects.

Despite being a physician herself, Gina faced dismissiveness from her medical team. In fact, one nurse even told her people with more medical backing actually get worse care because they have “more knowledge.” You don’t always know ahead of time when you’ll need to advocate for yourself. It is an absolute must that you are ready to do so.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• What caused Dr. Gina Yu’s rare postpartum nerve injury
• What her team initially thought caused the injury versus what tests revealed
• How positional adjustments during labor could prevent nerve damage
• What steps she took to regain mobility after paralysis
• How she balanced recovery with caring for her newborn
• How support systems played a critical role in her recovery
• How gratitude helped her cope with trauma and uncertainty
• Why postpartum challenges often go overlooked in healthcare
• How her injury changed her perspective on patient care

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode285

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Make a Birth Plan the Right Way

When exploring ‘alternative’ therapies, it’s crucial to understand the training and qualifications of practitioners. Although licensure and certification aren’t guarantees, they certainly help give you some assurance that the person is trained and capable. This week’s guest, Meaghan Beames, is a Registered Massage Therapist and Craniosacral Therapist who teaches perinatal professionals how to incorporate CST into their practices.

Now, I will be honest, I was a little hesitant about this episode. While craniosacral therapy is offered at many mainstream big institutions like the Cleveland Clinic, Duke, or Harvard, some folks say that craniosacral therapy is pseudoscience and it's relatively new in pregnancy and infants. But I ultimately decided that this is important information to share. I learned a lot and you will too.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• What craniosacral therapy is and how it works
• Which pregnancy and infant conditions craniosacral therapy can help with
• How craniosacral therapy works and which areas of the body it targets
• How many sessions are typically recommended
• What to look for in a craniosacral therapist 
• What research says about the effectiveness of craniosacral therapy

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode284

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Make a Birth Plan the Right Way

I’ve said it many times: the only predictable thing about birth is that it’s unpredictable. But you can absolutely navigate that unpredictability by being prepared - which is exactly what Alexa did. After what she calls a “smooth pregnancy,” things took some surprising twists and turns which ended in a cesarean birth.

At 35 weeks, her husband noticed she was unusually swollen and urged her to visit the doctor. What was supposed to be a checkup turned into delivery day! It was determined that she actually did have preeclampsia and, though at first she hoped she would be able to spend a couple more weeks on bed rest waiting, her baby had different plans.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• Why being pregnant alongside friends made a difference for Alexa
• When she decided to start looking for a doula and how she made her decision
• How Alexa and her family initially reacted to her swelling /// What signs of swelling Alexa experienced before her diagnosis
• What steps her husband took after noticing her swelling
• Why Alexa was hospitalized after her checkup
• When Alexa learned her baby was breech and how it changed the birth plan
• What factors led to Alexa’s C-section
• What it was like giving birth where her husband works
• What challenges Alexa faced during recovery
• Which support systems helped Alexa through postpartum depression

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode283

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Make a Birth Plan the Right Way

Did you know that almost one in ten pregnancies in the United States is affected by gestational diabetes? While that might sound scary, the good news is that with the right information and care, people with gestational diabetes will most likely have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

When it’s time to be screened, don’t focus on “passing” the test. If you have gestational diabetes, you want to know so you can treat it effectively. Many people can manage it with dietary changes so don’t stress too much if you don’t get the results you want. Just take the test - then manage the results with confidence. Listen to this episode to help you!

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• What gestational diabetes is and how common it is
• What complications it can pose for parent and baby
• How glucose tests are used in diagnosis
• How pregnancy hormones can affect blood sugar levels
• How GDM is treated: both with and without medication
• How it affects pregnancy and birth management
• What its lasting effects can be

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode282

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Make a Birth Plan the Right Way

I have a FANTASTIC Black Friday Sale coming! Join my email list at drnicolerankins.com/email so you'll be the first to get notified!

You've heard of low intervention birth but what does it mean? In this episode I share how a low intervention birth under my care unfolded. Here's a peak -

• 8 AM - cervical check and 4 cm
• Intermittent monitoring, saline lock, moving, eating and drinking
• 8 PM - second cervical check and 6 cm
• starting pushing at 1130 PM
• and listen to hear the rest!

Did you know the U.S. is one of just four countries in the world - and the only developed nation - without guaranteed paid maternity leave? While we’ve made great strides in workplace fairness, the fight for equity is far from over. In a country where pregnancy can still jeopardize someone’s career, these protections are more crucial than ever. That’s why advocates like today’s guests are so important.

Jack Tuckner is a workplace rights attorney who specializes in gender discrimination, including pregnancy-related issues, and Catherine Kreider is a lawyer and doula. Through their legal work and advocacy, they’ve been instrumental in advocating for laws like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and strengthening protections for expectant workers. Make sure you know your rights, document everything, and don’t hesitate to seek out a local attorney if you need support - advocacy starts with awareness!

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• What constitutes pregnancy discrimination in the workplace
• Who qualifies for protections under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
• Why documenting workplace interactions is critical for protecting your rights
• When and how to notify your employer about your pregnancy
• How to request accommodations during pregnancy
• Whether state or federal laws provide better protections for pregnant workers

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode281

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Make a Birth Plan the Right Way

In this shorty episode I answer this listener question from Kate. And if you want me to answer a question for you DM me on Instagram @drnicolerankins or shoot me a message on my website contact form!

"I was checked at 5 cm, started feeling pressure after a few hours, and then a really strong urge to push after another few hours. I was unmedicated, so I could really feel those sensations, but was told to push against this urge and, I quote, ""hold it in"" because I was only at 8 cm and that I would tear my cervix if I pushed. This kept going for about an hour, at which point they called the doctor, who said, I quote again, “8, maybe 9, I guess you could push if you want to”. I wasn’t really able to talk, so I just pushed and everything went well. But then I started wondering why my body would give me such a powerful urge to push if it was too early. Is it possible that 9 cm was as far as my cervix would dilate? I’m a really small person, does that play a role? Does everyone get as far as 10? I’m curious and would love to hear more about this."