In this episode, professional dancer and voiceover artist Elisa Toro Franky shares her transformative birth journey with a depth and poetic beauty that makes this conversation truly special. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Elisa brings her unique perspective as a performer to the birthing experience, drawing profound connections between dance and labor.

Elisa opens up about her conception journey, including navigating two early miscarriages with wisdom and grace, and how she reframed those experiences to move forward with hope rather than fear. She discusses the intersection of dance and pregnancy, how carrying Luna changed her movement practice, and the vital importance of listening to your body with the same attention dancers bring to their craft.

The heart of the episode explores Elisa's birth story—from declining induction twice while trusting her intuition, to her decision-making around accepting gentle interventions when she felt ready, to the powerful moment of a very quick pushing stage before meeting baby Luna. She shares candidly about finding her birth team at NYU Langone, working with doula Regina, and the great support of having her mother present from Colombia for over two months postpartum.

Throughout the conversation, Elisa weaves in themes of courage, intuition, surrender, and transformation. She speaks eloquently about "becoming the wave" during contractions, navigating the liminal space between her former and new identity, and the essential role of movement and cultural connection in her pregnancy and recovery journey.

This episode will resonate with anyone preparing for birth, especially those interested in the mind-body connection, the power of trusting your intuition, and the transformative nature of becoming a parent.

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In this episode, it's Karen Yi’s and Kristofer Rios's turn to share their story. As a public radio journalist and a producer of documentaries, they both crave education and information and it shows in their birth choices. They share all about challenges of infertility and advocating for better medical care, to the smart decision to hire a doula and the fast-paced reality of labor. They discuss the importance of building a supportive team, the unexpected moments that shaped their birth story, and the lessons they learned about surrender, resilience, self-compassion and patience with partner and baby.

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Our guest today is Rachael Rose, speech-language pathologist and owner of Creative Speech Therapy in Manhattan. We discuss the identification and treatment of tethered oral tissues (TOTs) in infants, more commonly known as tongue ties and lip ties, and their impact on feeding, speech, and overall development. Rachael explains the importance of early detection and intervention to prevent long-term issues, the importance of trusting parental intuition, the need for a supportive team approach, and the challenges parents face in getting proper diagnosis and treatment.

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