Busting Birth Myths with Pregnancy and Birth Expert, Dr. Stuart Fischbein

Dr. Stuart Fischbein is a community-based obstetrician and an Associate of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology. He is the author of the book “Fearless Pregnancy, Wisdom & Reassurance from a Doctor, A Midwife and A Mom” and peer-reviewed papers Homebirth with an Obstetrician, A Series of 135 Out of Hospital Births and Breech Birth at Home: outcomes of 60 breech and 109 cephalic planned home and birth center births. Dr. Stu is also the co-author of a pre-print Twin Homebirth paper. After completing his residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, Dr. Stu spent 24 years assisting women with hospital birthing and, for the next 12+ years, was a homebirth obstetrician who worked directly with midwives. Since retiring from attending home births in 2022, Dr. Stu has turned his focus to traveling around the world as a lecturer and advocate for reteaching breech & twin birth skills, respect for the normalcy of birth and honoring informed consent. He hosts a weekly podcast with co-host Blyss Young and together they offer hope, reassurance and safe, honest evidence-supported choices for those women who understand pregnancy is a normal bodily function not to be feared. 

In this episode, we explore:
-What got Dr. Stu started in medicine and why he chose obstetrics
-How to help shift the medical model's hierarchical power dynamics to be more focused on moms
-C-section rates and mother/infant outcomes compared to 50 years ago
-What led Dr. Stu into the midwifery model of care and what prompted him to start supporting home births
-Why the term "standard of care" is misleading
-Where is the line between high and low risk, and how does Dr. Stu define high risk
-Statistics of VBAC uterine rupture
-Advice for families deciding where to give birth
Follow him on Instagram @birthinginstincts. His websites are www.birthinginstincts.com & www.birthinginstinctspodcast.com