S5 Ep4 Dr Rixa Freeze: Breech research, VBAC risks, tummy crunches & gasping

S5 Ep4 Dr Rixa Freeze: Breech research, VBAC risks, tummy crunches & gasping

Rixa Freeze has a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. Her doctoral studies focused on the history of healthcare and medicine with specialization in pregnancy, childbirth, and maternity care. Her dissertation examined why women in North America choose unassisted home births. She worked as a visiting assistant professor for 9 years at Wabash College before founding Breech Without Borders in 2018. BWB is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to breech training, education, and advocacy. https://www.breechwithoutborders.org [https://www.breechwithoutborders.org] She has published about why women choose home birth (JMWH 2009) and attitudes towards home birth in the US (Exp Rev ObGyn 2010). In 2018, she co-authored a study of breech and cephalic home births (BMC Preg Child). The following year, she published an article about outcomes of breech at home, birth centres, and hospitals (Midwifery Today). She co-authored a chapter “Freebirth in the United States” in the 2020 book Birthing Outside the System: The Canary in the Coal Mine. Her analysis of 100 sets of twin home births, co-authored with Stuart Fischbein, was published in December 2024 with PLOS ONE. She is the lead author of the textbook A Guide to Physiological Breech Birth, now in its 2nd edition.  Current research projects include a video analysis of 207 physiological breech births, a qualitative analysis of the obstacles American physicians face in supporting vaginal breech birth, a review of the effectiveness of an international vaginal breech training program, and outcomes of an initiative to increase the vaginal twin birth rate in 2 Italian hospitals. She also oversees bachelor and doctoral research projects relating to breech birth. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30305050/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30305050/] https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijgo.12033 [https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijgo.12033] https://www.authorea.com/doi/full/10.22541/au.175044419.92924866/v1 [https://www.authorea.com/doi/full/10.22541/au.175044419.92924866/v1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16580289/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16580289/] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16099580/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16099580/] To help support getting the Breech Birth Podcast stories out to women and their families across the world please make a small donation through Buy Me a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp [https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp]... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC05WlJMTHZfLUd3ZG13N3NXS2REVkVGeFIxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tubE9oQzB3c1BMX1otZ1lWdEx1Rm5yMTRwM2dodk1ycFlNU2xpNlQ5dDJEV1ZUbjNoX3pxTS1SMFRiM0ZnZDUtUFVaUlljZFV0UkpVeUNMTVczMEdjb3BLOFVIOEFZRTZaeUtnemR6Y1ltX3VRTFMzdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fbuymeacoffee.com%2Fbreechbirthphttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fredirect%3Fevent%3Dvideo_description%26redir_token%3DQUFFLUhqbFN4eGFpZmpqbTlUOVBPNHdZZ3l3d0ZNNjhBUXxBQ3Jtc0tsUU9iWEU0ZGQ4Q09tMTVBVFRUcWtoUVRTemhsZlVOX3EyZ2s4OVQ5MWFEeTlleHkzWlhHWXQwY2I4SUM4NEgwQllQWGZPME9ieGg1R0VQMnBFbFkyMWg4cGtLSHItOE1jb05GM2hrbWFDM3RzZU1Edw%26q%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fbuymeacoffee.com%252Fbreechbirthpodcast%26v%3Dx460jGG7e6w&v=S1dwcNHmyJA] To further support the podcast, please hit the SUBSCRIBE button, rate the podcast and share this episode with others.

S5 Ep3 Midwife Blyss Young: Legal restrictions, walking through life & death & advocacy

Blyss Young, LM, CPM is a midwife, teacher and mentor devoted to women’s wisdom across the thresholds of life. Her work is shaped by decades in midwifery, deep clinical experience, and profound personal loss. With years of experience supporting physiological birth, mentoring birthworkers, and walking with women through grief and transformation, Blyss brings depth, presence, and a deep rooted passion for sovereignty to her work. Blyss is the founder of The Bridge Midwives, co-host of the Birthing Instincts podcast, and host of At Her Feet, where she centers conversation, lived experience, and traditional wisdom in modern maternity care. She currently serves her community in Ashland, Oregon as a traditional midwife. https://www.birthingblyss.com/home [https://www.birthingblyss.com/home] https://www.birthinginstincts.com/blyss-young [https://www.birthinginstincts.com/blyss-young] To help support getting the Breech Birth Podcast stories out to women and their families across the world please make a small donation through Buy Me a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp [https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp]... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbC05WlJMTHZfLUd3ZG13N3NXS2REVkVGeFIxZ3xBQ3Jtc0tubE9oQzB3c1BMX1otZ1lWdEx1Rm5yMTRwM2dodk1ycFlNU2xpNlQ5dDJEV1ZUbjNoX3pxTS1SMFRiM0ZnZDUtUFVaUlljZFV0UkpVeUNMTVczMEdjb3BLOFVIOEFZRTZaeUtnemR6Y1ltX3VRTFMzdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fbuymeacoffee.com%2Fbreechbirthphttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fredirect%3Fevent%3Dvideo_description%26redir_token%3DQUFFLUhqbFN4eGFpZmpqbTlUOVBPNHdZZ3l3d0ZNNjhBUXxBQ3Jtc0tsUU9iWEU0ZGQ4Q09tMTVBVFRUcWtoUVRTemhsZlVOX3EyZ2s4OVQ5MWFEeTlleHkzWlhHWXQwY2I4SUM4NEgwQllQWGZPME9ieGg1R0VQMnBFbFkyMWg4cGtLSHItOE1jb05GM2hrbWFDM3RzZU1Edw%26q%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fbuymeacoffee.com%252Fbreechbirthpodcast%26v%3Dx460jGG7e6w&v=S1dwcNHmyJA] To further support the podcast, please hit the SUBSCRIBE button, rate the podcast and share this episode with others.

S5 Ep2 Dr Andrew Bisits: BABE course educator, stargazing, medico-legal issues & paradoxes in birth

Andrew Bisits worked in full time public hospital obstetrics from 1984-2025. Andrew was the medical co-director of maternity services at the Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick, Sydney, a tertiary maternity service where 4100 babies are born each year. He did his training in Newcastle, NSW, Australia and worked there for 23 years. During his time, he developed a strong interest in models of maternity care that supported normal birth, hence the focus on midwifery teams, primary midwifery, midwifery group practices and home birth. He has had a clinical, research and didactic interest in any area of obstetrics which minimises interventions and maximises the possibility of a safe and normal birth.   Since the planning of the term breech trial(1996) he has looked at various ways of maintaining the capacity to offer vaginal breech birth where appropriate. A large part of this has involved looking at ways to increase the possibility of physiological breech birth. Andrew has research interests in statistics particularly the area of formal causal inference using observational data. Since resigning from his role at the Royal Hospital for Women, he has continued in teaching and research initiatives. To help support getting the Breech Birth Podcast stories out to women and their families across the world please make a small donation through Buy Me a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp [https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp]... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa0lQUWFnNnBRWGRwM0tidkpUVlpKaWFDb1dkQXxBQ3Jtc0trbFZYVlk0SnZ6SHp1czhGbE1IWXI1TERJQzhuYko3SkRKZWF3dm9YQTBEWlZab2RpdEtxLWN5MGlYbWNicTF4QkFhSFNZUU11bTVRcTJlVVpfY1czRmZydWFKSExpLTVRUC1KdF9sMFlRcURtay1hZw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fbuymeacoffee.com%2Fbreechbirthphttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fredirect%3Fevent%3Dvideo_description%26redir_token%3DQUFFLUhqbkUwYkhvaTRaM2RMY1czT19fLU1xeG9oeTVPd3xBQ3Jtc0tsRXNuRkRlT2VzT0JiTmd0WVBxOHZkaDV0VGllbmd3dm5YSVdBbTF1b3RlRlVvRjdnWl82dGEzUnFUV19vWEdDMWtGbXI3VzRXenZzc3FpV0dOVUhJSzdzMkVDMzlvZzlGMmdmR2pXLWtua3kxX0p0dw%26q%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fbuymeacoffee.com%252Fbreechbirthphttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.youtube.com%252Fredirect%253Fevent%253Dvideo_description%2526redir_token%253DQUFFLUhqbTdjTTlDZUNWd3k4dmVrc3BxT3ZyS0kxQkZxZ3xBQ3Jtc0trSVFJSGNPYVFPTWxYRjFkZEJaenVMaFNTVHNjXzFMUm41VkxtTUNXSkZ2SlJ2UEJEZ2tLdS1WdlhkRjN6azdQTG9VRGd3dTkwYXVuTW96enR4Vm5xcnJYRlRNaEpjSVY5MWNJZzRySGZNU0hYMDdTYw%2526q%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fbuymeacoffee.com%25252Fbreechbirthpodcast%2526v%253DYlXKx2K6w08%26v%3DMY8LyXcFgCU&v=v1ETGSA94nI] To further support the podcast, please hit the SUBSCRIBE button, rate the podcast and share this episode with others.

S5 Ep1 Midwife Nicole Morales: Making space, optimal positioning & breech birth story

Nicole Morales is a mother, mentor, author, breech advocate, Spinning Babies® Approved Trainer, storyteller, and homebirth midwife living in San Diego, California USA. In midwifery teaching, Nicole actively engages in caretaking midwifery by shifting its compass towards deeper understandings of physiological birth practices while highlighting the midwives and families inner processes of decision making.   Nicole is a part of a collaborative called ReStory Birthwork and is a co-author of The Breech Release: Opening Pathways for Midwifery and Prenatal Bodywork, Restorative Midwifery: Every Bead of Our Necklace,  Resolving Shoulder Dystocia Guide, and Breech Basics Quick Guide, 2nd Edition. She combines bodywork and breechwork in helping families navigate breech at the end of pregnancy and believes that breech babies and breech birth turns us around allowing us to learn and see differently about all births. Nicole also is passionate about utilising storytelling and fairytales for deeper understandings through her work in Restorative Midwifery book series she is writing and her workshop called Birth from The Inside Out. You can find out more about Nicole at artofopening.com [http://artofopening.com] and ReStoryBirthwork.com [http://ReStoryBirthwork.com].  To help support getting the Breech Birth Podcast stories out to women and their families across the world please make a small donation through Buy Me a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp [https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp]... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbldVYkZMaVVWbVBZWXM4WUpPOXo3N0N1VVBnQXxBQ3Jtc0tuLVNNSk1Pa19VNlZuRFJSMmltbFRCMGlSWlNnSl9CeTJUdnVGY3ZjYy03SXZ4U3RUdEpOWXFzYU1LNVl3akZUWFRaanJQYzZtQWZjX1VJWlhtRHk2UmZNZEVseTl4OWgwVTF2Q2E1bnBjZExNUUFtcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fbuymeacoffee.com%2Fbreechbirthphttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fredirect%3Fevent%3Dvideo_description%26redir_token%3DQUFFLUhqbkUwYkhvaTRaM2RMY1czT19fLU1xeG9oeTVPd3xBQ3Jtc0tsRXNuRkRlT2VzT0JiTmd0WVBxOHZkaDV0VGllbmd3dm5YSVdBbTF1b3RlRlVvRjdnWl82dGEzUnFUV19vWEdDMWtGbXI3VzRXenZzc3FpV0dOVUhJSzdzMkVDMzlvZzlGMmdmR2pXLWtua3kxX0p0dw%26q%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fbuymeacoffee.com%252Fbreechbirthphttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.youtube.com%252Fredirect%253Fevent%253Dvideo_description%2526redir_token%253DQUFFLUhqbTdjTTlDZUNWd3k4dmVrc3BxT3ZyS0kxQkZxZ3xBQ3Jtc0trSVFJSGNPYVFPTWxYRjFkZEJaenVMaFNTVHNjXzFMUm41VkxtTUNXSkZ2SlJ2UEJEZ2tLdS1WdlhkRjN6azdQTG9VRGd3dTkwYXVuTW96enR4Vm5xcnJYRlRNaEpjSVY5MWNJZzRySGZNU0hYMDdTYw%2526q%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fbuymeacoffee.com%25252Fbreechbirthpodcast%2526v%253DYlXKx2K6w08%26v%3DMY8LyXcFgCU&v=v1ETGSA94nI] To further support the podcast, please hit the SUBSCRIBE button, rate the podcast and share this episode with others.

S4 Ep10 Chloe: Planned freebirth, transfer in labour at 39.2wks. Inverted T-incision caesarean.

Chloe shares her plan to have a wild pregnancy and freebirth with the option to contact her NHS midwife if needed. Chloe opted out of ultrasounds and blood tests during her pregnancy and after labouring at home called the NHS midwives to get some reassurance. After transferring and labouring at hospital, Chloe intuitively knew that her baby needed a caesarean. Chloe had a complex and rare situation occur during her caesarean which required an inverted T- incision (special scar). Chloe also shares her experience having postnatal hypertension. To help support getting the Breech Birth Podcast stories out to women and their families across the world please make a small donation through Buy Me a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp [https://buymeacoffee.com/breechbirthp]... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbWIyZTQwblZsbVcxUTRVdTBwN0szNWJNRWJuZ3xBQ3Jtc0tuaS1DdjNMMlYzblVjOTNhb21WZ1BXYkVNNUhSaGN0WWlUOTdCNEJoMEF6S2UybGZfajhtVUNGMEZ2QklRempfVzNudVlmVWVRRjI1aEl4VDlnX3JadFd6bXl2ZXJSMzFmbUVWaEt2S185SE1Bc0hUTQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fbuymeacoffee.com%2Fbreechbirthpodcast&v=36uuGOd5b2s] To further support the podcast, please hit the SUBSCRIBE button, rate the podcast and share this episode with others.