Having a stress relief during pregnancy is much needed. Yoga was one of my stress relievers. Another stress reliever was podcasts. During my pregnancy, I was listening to podcasts constantly. If you have worries, anxieties, questions… podcasts can be a helpful tool to navigate those unknowns. A podcast is not a substitute for seeking medical help throughout your pregnancy but a podcast with educated professionals or people who have been through it themselves can help ease some of the daily questions that arise during pregnancy especially for a first-time mom. There’s a lot of well done podcasts out there and it can be hard to know how to even pick one when there are so many options. Here’s a short list, all of which I listened to at some point or another in my own pregnancy and I feel are worth sharing.
- The Mother To Baby Podcast. A podcast suggested by the CDC and Food and Drug Administration of Women’s Health, this podcast is always covering the latest research. Topics from COVID, to vaccines, to what’s safe during pregnancy…this podcast is sure to answer many questions pregnant woman may have.
- Yoga, Birth, Babies Podcast. I loved this podcast because it brings a diverse look into pregnancy and explores all types of experiences. Though it may not be an experience you are directly having it helps you keep an open mind for pregnancy and empowered my positive mindset for pregnancy. Having had a “yoga” mindset prior to pregnancy, this podcast was a way to continue incorporating yoga into my pregnancy and beyond.
- Evidence-Based Birth Podcast. This podcast focuses on the hot topics in pregnancy and shares accurate evidence-based research. While some of it can get very detailed and involved, it helped me to make informed decisions throughout my pregnancy like making a birth plan, birth options, empowered me to advocate for myself, made me aware of non-medical pain relief like aromatherapy options during labor, and so much more.
- What To Expect Podcast. A podcast hosted by the author (and her daughter) of the #1 best seller book for pregnancy, this podcast for sure deserves a spot in the pregnancy podcast world. (Seriously if there’s one book you are actually going to purchase for pregnancy, it should be this one.) The podcast was not released until over halfway through my own pregnancy, but it covers pregnancy topics and beyond. I wish this podcast had existed at the beginning of my pregnancy.
- Hypnobirthing Hub. I had so many what-if questions, watched documentaries, read stories, and thought of all the things that could go wrong during a birth. Listening to meditations helped train my mind for peaceful labor. By listening to meditations almost daily, I was able to enter my labor room empowered, and know that my body was meant to birth. Mediation is an idea that some are skeptical of but in my experience, meditation helped ease my mind before the labor process. While I did not do hypnobirthing for my labor process, having meditations in my labor room and practicing the mindset helped for a calmer process. If you are open minded, it may help you too.