Down to Birth

What happened to medical freedom, informed consent, and the right of parents to make healthcare decisions for their own children? And how did vaccination become one of the most divisive issues in modern parenting?
This week, we're joined by pediatrician and bestselling author Dr. Bob Sears, whose groundbreaking The Vaccine Book has helped countless parents navigate one of the most controversial decisions they face. Drawing on nearly three decades of pediatric practice, Dr. Sears challenges conventional thinking about childhood vaccines, vaccine mandates, and the risks and benefits of natural immunity.
We discuss whether vaccines prevent infection and transmission, the argument that vaccination protects immunocompromised children, and why Dr. Sears believes vaccine mandates have ultimately backfired. We also examine vaccines during pregnancy, the role of breastfeeding and the infant microbiome, and why so little attention is given to supporting children's immune systems naturally.
Dr. Sears shares which vaccines he considers particularly unnecessary, his perspective on measles, chickenpox, and whooping cough, and what he's observed among the largely unvaccinated children in his practice.
Finally, we turn to another deeply personal parenting decision: circumcision. Why are American attitudes changing, and how can parents navigate disagreement when one wants to circumcise and the other doesn't?
It's a candid, wide-ranging conversation about medical freedom, bodily autonomy, informed consent, and the importance of questioning conventional wisdom rather than surrendering our decisions to authority.
Find Dr. Bob Sears: drbobsears.com | Instagram: @drbobsears
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Morgan's first birth was nothing like she expected. After being put on Pitocin, receiving an epidural that left her unable to move, and pushing for nearly five hours, her doctor told her the baby was too big, she was too small, and she needed an emergency C-section. Morgan refused. Her daughter was born vaginally, but the experience left her determined never to return to a hospital to give birth.
For her second pregnancy, Morgan chose a birth center and had an entirely different experience. Her son was born in the water, without interventions, and she finally understood what birth could feel like when she was supported and respected. But shortly after his birth, elevated blood pressure readings led to a hospital transfer, a diagnosis of severe postpartum preeclampsia, and 24 hours on magnesium sulfate. When she later reviewed her medical records, she found that her blood pressure readings and lab results had been repeatedly described as only mildly elevated.
Morgan joins us to share all three of her births, including the home birth of her third baby, and how her experiences with the medical system left her with years of anxiety around something as simple as having her blood pressure taken. We discuss the importance of informed consent, the difference between being informed and being frightened into compliance, the questions surrounding her preeclampsia diagnosis, and why taking responsibility for your birth begins long before labor.
Additional Resource:
Check out our episode on preeclampsia with Sarah Thompson here.
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Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric
Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow
Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Welcome to the October Q&A! Today we kick things off with the surprising discovery that three Jeopardy contestants couldn’t identify the placenta from the clue “a temporary organ made of maternal and fetal tissue,” leading to a conversation about just how little most people are taught about the placenta.
Then we get into your questions. One mother experienced intense postpartum depression for five or six months after her first baby and now wonders whether having it once makes her more likely to experience it again. We discuss recurrence risk, what may contribute to postpartum depression, and what women can do differently the next time around.
Next, a mother who is eight months pregnant has a history of anal fistulas and previous repair surgeries. Her midwife and colorectal surgeon are comfortable with a vaginal birth, but an OB has suggested an elective C-section. Does an anal fistula make vaginal birth too risky, and what happens if she tears?
Then, a breastfeeding mother hoping to conceive before her menstrual cycle returns wants to avoid an early dating ultrasound. If she conceives with her first ovulation, she’ll have no last menstrual period to establish a due date. How can she determine gestational age, particularly with a home birth midwife who has a strict 37-to-42-week policy?
Quickies this month include precipitous labor happening again, newborn wellness checks, RSV season and the RSV antibody shot, drinking alcohol before knowing you’re pregnant, six dates a day and blood sugar, breastfed babies going days without pooping, whether children need their own bedrooms, spacing pregnancies, newborns who don’t want to be put down, progesterone supplementation, elegant baby girl names, favorite fall desserts, and our favorite (and least favorite) seasons.
Resources related to this week's episode:
Ultrasound: The Research and the Rhetoric
Recognizing Postpartum Depletion
Should I Be Induced? The ARRIVE Trial
Call us with your questions, comments or stories at 802-GET-DOWN!
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Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric
Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow
Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

What if a tongue tie is about much more than breastfeeding? Biological and airway dentist Dr. Hilary Fritch, DMD, joins us to explain how tongue function, jaw development, nasal breathing, and sleep are interconnected, and why problems that begin in infancy can have effects that extend well into adulthood.
We discuss how the tongue helps shape the palate and jaw, why breastfeeding plays such an important role in facial development, what a high or narrow palate can mean for breathing and feeding, and why so many children today have crowded mouths and insufficient room for their wisdom teeth. Hilary explains the relationship between mouth breathing, fragmented sleep, snoring, and symptoms that can look like ADHD, as well as the signs parents can watch for in their own children.
We also get into tongue-tie releases in babies, children, and adults; when a frenulum actually needs to be treated; myofunctional therapy; airway expansion; mouth breathing and mouth taping; the connection between the tongue and fascia throughout the body; and why correcting oral function early can change the way a child's face, jaw, and airway develop.
Plus, we discuss why tongue ties can be both overdiagnosed and undertreated, what parents should look for when evaluating their child's airway, and why an airway dentist may see things that a conventional dental exam does not.
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Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric
Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow
Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Welcome to another Breastfeeding Q&A episode. Today, we start with a conversation about breastfeeding advice on social media and ask our community which breastfeeding “rules” they wish they had never heard.
For today's questions, Trisha responds to these listener topics:
 Getting your period back while breastfeeding and whether you need to wean to conceive 
 Night nursing at 14 months and how prolactin can affect the return of ovulation 
 Colic, gas, high-pitched crying, and a baby who suddenly struggles at the breast 
 What else to consider when a three-month-old is having difficulty nursing 
 Taking a week-long trip without your 16-month-old and whether time apart could lead to weaning 
 Maintaining milk supply while traveling and returning to breastfeeding after separation 
For quickies, we tackle waking newborns to feed, infant breast preferences, uneven milk production, when supply regulates, hospital lactation consultants, nipple shields, weaning age, letdown, mastitis and clogged ducts, night sweats, collecting colostrum during pregnancy, and whether a painless, effective latch ever needs fixing.
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Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Access our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs Rhetoric
Needed <-- for 20% off
DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supply
Primally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH
ENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% off
Join Patreon here
IG @downtobirthshow
Call 802-GET-DOWN.
Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.