Top 3 Podcasts for Pregnancy and Birth
As a mother and doula, I am a huge fan of podcasts. I listen to them in the car, while working out in the morning and while prepping dinner. And although I kind of loathe the idea of multi-tasking on principle, I also feel like it’s a pretty necessary part of my life right now. Podcasts have helped me through some rough patches of motherhood, and have helped me stay on top of my doula game with near-constant continuing education.
I’ve been trying to find a collection of podcasts for pregnancy and birth for a while now—so that I could subscribe myself as well as recommend great ones for my Hello Sunshine mamas. Oddly, after scouring the internet for weeks, I haven’t been able to find a thing. Podcasts have been so helpful to me over the years in so many ways that I felt like other moms on the journey should have a comprehensive list to reference and find exactly what they’re looking for. So I created one!
I just published a list of 43 Podcasts for Pregnancy and Birth on my Hello Sunshine doula blog. I know, a bit excessive, right? But I what I wanted to do was to create a complete list of podcasts on pregnancy and birth… because each podcast is actually pretty different. Some are evidence-based, some are interview-based, some are anecdote-based. Some are more conservative in tone, others are more progressive. There are pregnancy-by-the-week podcasts, postpartum and breastfeeding podcasts, natural-labor-centered podcasts, birth activism podcasts, lesbian-mama-podcasts, and even one for African American dads! I’ve done my best to provide every podcast on the theme to date, but check out that post and if you see a podcast that you love that I don’t have listed, just shoot me an email. I’d be happy to add it!
But today, I’d like to whittle down that massive list of podcasts into a more manageable and consumable chunk of 3. These are my all time favorite podcasts on pregnancy and birth, the ones I subscribe to and listen to religiously. So download a few that make your heart (and belly) happy and let me know what you think!
My Top 3 Podcasts for Pregnancy & Birth:
The Longest Shortest Time*:
One of my favorite all-time podcasts. Hillary Frank, formerly of WNYC, explores all aspects of parenthood with a good dose of quirk and depth. The earliest episodes focus mainly on postpartum stories and anecdotes and is hugely validating to mothers struggling with life with a newborn. The later episodes focus on all things conception-birth-family. It’s all fantastic!
The Birthful Podcast*:
This is my go-to podcast for birth information. Each week host Adriana Lozada interviews birth professionals to “inform your intuition.” And it does! Adriana talks with some of the most notable experts in the birth field from Pam England to Robbie Davis-Floyd to Penny Simkin.
ToRaise Questions Doula Podcast*:
Although this podcast is aimed more at birth professionals, I really think it could be hugely valuable to mothers-to-be as well. Hosts Thérèse Hak-Kuhn and Melanie Headley, both experienced birth doulas, childbirth educators and activists, talk about birth through a doula’s lens—focusing on birth as a civil right and a human right. It’s as much about life as it is about birth. So inspiring!
