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.
Episodes
In this month’s Q&A, we start with a big one: What are your biggest fears in life? (Besides snakes and spiders, of course!) Then we dive into your thoughtful community questions, including:
- Homebirth vs. family pushback: My sister is a labor & delivery nurse, my family isn’t supportive, and my MIL has no boundaries. What should I do?
- Breastfeeding oversupply: I had a major oversupply with my first baby—will ...
Motherhood, pregnancy, and postpartum life are filled with moments that test our patience — from bedtime battles and clutter overload to partner misunderstandings and in-law tensions. But these moments aren’t just “part of the job” — they’re emotional triggers, and they hold powerful clues for personal growth, stress relief, and a healthier, happier motherhood journey.
In this episode, we dive deep into emotional trigg...
Emily Vondy hardly needs an introduction. She's a mother of six, songwriter, and online creator @emilyvondy whose humor, reflections, and music have brought laughter and validation to millions. In this episode, she invites us into the story of her fifth birth, which came after two heartbreaking miscarriages. What began as a pregnancy marked by fear and doubt became an experience of profound peace—and what she viv...
In this episode, filmmaker and microbiome advocate Toni Harman joins us to explore the groundbreaking science behind establishing the infant microbiome—and why the earliest moments of life matter so much for lifelong health. Toni shares her personal journey from an unexpected C-section to uncovering how birth methods, antibiotics, and feeding choices shape immunity, metabolism, and risk of chronic disease over our lif...
Welcome to the August Q&A episode! What is your secret quirk? We want to know! We share a few of yours along with our own.
Today's first question is from a mother who had a large first baby without a diagnosis of gestational diabetes. She's concerned in her second pregnancy that she might develop late-onset gestational diabetes.
Next, a pregnant mother's mother is a medical doctor and is having a har...
Sleep is the foundation of health—and yet in modern motherhood, it’s often the first thing we lose. In this episode, we’re joined by Heidi and Thaddeus of DreamWalkerz, parents of six and passionate educators on the biology of sleep. Together, we explore how light—yes, just light—is one of the most overlooked but powerful regulators of our sleep, hormones, mood, and even fertility.
Heidi and Thaddeus break down what ci...
Doulas play a critical role in supporting women through childbirth—but their work is anything but easy, and their work isn't for the faint of heart. Many face disrespect from providers and routinely witness coercion, misinformation, and violations of informed consent. Even with their deep commitment to the women they serve, doulas often feel powerless in the face of hospital systems driven by profit and control. ...
At 28 weeks, Jessie found out her baby was breech—but instead of panicking, she trusted her gut. She felt strongly that her baby was meant to be born this way. After initially planning a home birth, Jessie began exploring other options and considered traveling to Pennsylvania for a hospital birth with experienced breech providers.
But when labor started at 39 weeks, everything shifted. Mid-drive to Pennsylvania, Jessie...
Welcome to the July Q&A! Today, we kick off the show with a conversation about your experiences of unnecessary, frequent stressors that we have the power to change or eliminate: For Trisha, it's taking phone calls while grocery shopping.
Next, we get into your questions, beginning with:
Did taking folic acid in pregnancy cause my baby's tongue tie?
Is having the cord wrapped three times around a baby'...
Finally, after all these years, Trisha tells the stories of her three home births. Pregnancy, birth, & midwifery are woven into her life story, from her early obsession with pregnancy to her decision to pursue a career in midwifery, allowing her to understand every aspect of birth from a physiological and intellectual perspective. Hear how she became a midwife, how she got herself into labor with her first, grueli...
In this extraordinary episode, Leslie shares her deeply personal story of discovering a lump in her breast at 34 weeks pregnant—an aggressive, triple-negative breast cancer. A wellness coach who hadn’t taken over-the-counter medication in five years, Leslie spent her adult life doing everything she could to prevent disease. As she prepared to welcome her second baby at home, she was forced to face a diagnosis that wou...
Drawing from our their personal experiences, your words, and our intimate birth story processing sessions, Cynthia & Trisha delve into the neuroscience around beliefs and birth. Our brain constantly wants to make sense of things, but it often lands on unhelpful conclusions. This episode is about recognizing those negative beliefs and actively replacing them with empowering ones. It's about taking charge of yo...
Emily Woodward is a mother of two who planned a home birth for each of her babies. Her first labor began with confidence and joy—and stretched across multiple days, testing her endurance, her trust in her birth team, and her ability to surrender when the path ahead took an unexpected turn. She transferred from home to hospital with a crowning baby. Her second pregnancy was smooth and uneventful—until 31 weeks, when sh...
Welcome to the June Q&A with Cynthia & Trisha. This month we kick things off with a conversation about a midwife who dropped her client in early labor because her HBAC labor was taking too long to get going--as you can imagine, we have a lot to say about this! Next we take your questions:
One mom writes about her 3rd attempt at a homebirth after two hospital transfers and wonders if it is ok to keep her birth p...
Neuroscientist and author of The Nurture Revolution, Dr. Greer Kirschenbaum, PhD, joins us today to discuss the profound impact of nurturing care in the first three years of life. Drawing from decades of brain research, Greer explains how responsive, connected parenting in early life lays the neurological foundation for emotional regulation, mental health, and lifelong resilience—and why this critical window is so oft...
Welcome to the June Breastfeeding Q&A episode with Trisha & Cynthia. Today, we open with a follow-up discussion to our recent Patreon discussion on the predatory marketing of formula companies followed by a listener's comment about a hospital who forbade a mother and baby from doing skin-to-skin. Next, Trisha answers the following questions:
- Does a baby need to feed in the first 24 hours?
- What are your ...
Devon Stockton was deeply rooted in health and wellness and armed with years of medical experience. She had only ever envisioned a natural, low-intervention birth and took all of the necessary steps to prepare herself. But her birth took an unexpected turn upon arrival at the hospital when she discovered her baby was footling breech and a cesarean would be necessary. Devon recounts the emotional shift, the support of ...
Welcome to the May Q&A with Cynthia & Trisha. If you have been wondering what you should plan to eat after giving birth, we've got the answers in today's episode, and we think they'll surprise you! For today's regular episode, we answer the following:
- Can you remove an epidural for pushing?
- Can the cervix swell shut if you push before it is fully dilated?
- Can you prevent a tear in a precip...
What's the one question every woman wants to answer when considering a VBAC? Is it safe for me and my baby? In today's episode, Cynthia & Trisha break down the available data on VBAC, why we should discard the term TOLAC, the actual risks of uterine rupture, whether induced with Pitocon versus a prostaglandin or having spontaneous labor versus expectant management. We present the few cases in which a wom...
Did you know that how you breathe on a daily basis can influence how your birth goes? Yes, your rib cage impacts your pelvic tension! On today's episode, we have Lindsay McCoy, a birth doula, exercise physiologist, and co-founder of the Body Ready Method. She explains how breath, mobility, and pelvic balance all come together to support a smoother, more efficient labor—and how a few simple daily practices in preg...
Popular Podcasts
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.