Ep. 325 Conscious & Confident: Making the Decision to Choose Something Different with Kayla Grove

Ep. 325 Conscious & Confident: Making the Decision to Choose Something Different with Kayla Grove

Author: HeHe Stewart March 5, 2025 Duration: 51:43
In this episode, Kayla Grove, an ICU nurse, joins the podcast to talk about the importance of patient autonomy and informed consent in healthcare. Kayla shares her journey of following her intuition over strictly adhering to medical guidelines, highlighting her respectful approach to patient choices. The discussion includes practical advice for making healthcare decisions, the role of intuition, and how medical professionals can better support patient autonomy. Kayla also discusses her personal birth plan choices and the importance of choosing the right healthcare provider. TIMESTAMPS 01:24 Free Class to Avoid C-Section 03:10 Empowering Birth Choices 05:18 Meet Kayla Grove: Advocate and Doula 06:24 Kayla's Journey Through Loss and Advocacy 09:52 Patient Autonomy and Medical Decisions 14:57 Humanizing Healthcare 20:40 Challenging Medical Norms 27:25 Maintaining Your Power in Medical Decisions 28:05 Alternative Birth Plan Choices 29:10 Deciding Against Hepatitis B Shot and Eye Ointment 30:41 Addressing Postpartum Hemorrhage Fears 32:36 The Controversy of Declining an IV 38:18 The Importance of Choosing the Right Provider 46:19 Trusting Your Intuition and Making Empowered Decisions 49:51 Final Thoughts and Connecting with the Community   Guest Bio: Kayla is a naturally minded certified ICU nurse with over 12 years of experience, a board-certified integrative nurse coach, holistic doula, and mom of two. Her passion is helping women feel informed and empowered throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Her mission is to advocate for women to receive the care they deserve—aiming to reduce maternal mortality rates, postpartum mood disorders, and help women truly enjoy their pregnancy and postpartum journey. Kayla's personal experiences have shaped her path. She endured the loss of her best friend due to medical negligence just weeks before having her first baby—a catalyst for her fierce advocacy. She also navigated a difficult birth, followed by postpartum anxiety and OCD and internal tremors. In 2022 she had a missed miscarriage that led her deeper down her path of education and training, and then she had her rainbow baby in 2023. She opened up her coaching business in Nov 2023 and then her doula business in May 2024. Her positive second birth experience, paired with a healing postpartum, drives her to support other women on their journey so they can have the same.   INSTAGRAM: Connect with HeHe on YouTube Connect with HeHe on IG    Connect with Kayla on IG    BIRTH EDUCATION: Check out our free class on how to avoid a c-section and reduce tearing in labor here!   Join The Birth Lounge here for judgment-free childbirth education that prepares you for an informed birth and how to confidently navigate hospital policy to have a trauma-free labor experience!   Download The Birth Lounge App for birth & postpartum prep delivered straight to your phone!   LINKS MENTIONED: Connect with Kayla here!

Hosted by birth and newborn expert HeHe Stewart, The Birth Lounge Podcast creates a thoughtful conversation around the many paths through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. This podcast moves beyond simplistic advice to explore the wide spectrum of normal experiences, offering evidence-based insights alongside real stories from parents. HeHe, who founded Tranquility by HeHe Maternity Concierge, guides these discussions with a blend of professional knowledge and deep empathy, aiming to demystify the process and empower your choices. Each episode serves as a gathering place-a safe space where clinical expertise meets lived experience, covering topics that span education, family dynamics, physical fitness, holistic health, and parenting young children. You’ll find a supportive resource here, one that acknowledges the variables and nuances of bringing a child into the world and navigating the postpartum chapter. Tune in for honest dialogues that honor different perspectives, providing companionship and reliable information for your own journey. The goal is to leave you feeling more prepared, less alone, and confident in your unique path through parenthood, all within the supportive community of this podcast.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 432

The Birth Lounge Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Ep. 211: Birth Story Share from a Chosen Single Parent [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:33
Episode 2 of 2 with Julia Karol. Today we hear from Julia ALL about her birth! This is an amazing birth story you won't want to miss. Julia Karol is building a family. Along the way, she is asking anyone and everyone abo…
Ep. 210: The Problem with Hospital Childbirth Education [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:34
Sit down and get cozy! This solo episode with HeHe Stewart dives into the glaring issues with in-hospital childbirth education. So before you sign up for your local hospitals class, make sure to give this one a listen! I…
Ep. 209: A look into a Fertility Journey to Become a Solo Parent [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:28
Julia Karol is building a family. Along the way, she is asking anyone and everyone about how they came to make the decisions they did regarding family life. She's opening up an honest, funny, raw, and earnest conversatio…
Ep. 207: How to Find an OBGYN + Care Team with Malia Funk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:55
Today HeHe is sitting down with Malia Funk of The POV. Covering everything you need to know about using this FemTech tool to find a provider that you want and deserve. The POV is a curated marketplace of modern healthcar…
Ep. 206: Benefits of Chiropractic Care [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:58
How young is too young? The benefits of chiro care, babywearing, the impacts of vaginal vs c section delivery on musculoskeletal structure and development, oral ties and tethers, and how to find a pediatric chiropractor…
Ep. 205: Pushing Effectively with Melissa Chappell, LDEM, CPM [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:28
Melissa Chappell, LDEM, CPM is a midwife and owner of two birth centers in Utah, as well as a doula trainer of over 20 years. She is passionate about women’s health from a holistic and nourishing perspective, and advocat…
Ep: 204: Are Cervical Checks Important? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:55
Melissa Chappell, LDEM, CPM is a midwife and owner of two birth centers in Utah, as well as a doula trainer of over 20 years. She is passionate about women’s health from a holistic and nourishing perspective, and advocat…
Ep. 203: The Know Your Rights Map (Obstetrical Violence) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:20
A former communications strategist at a top public affairs firm in Baltimore, Maryland, Cristen Pascucci is the founder of Birth Monopoly and Birth Monopoly's Doula Power group, co-creator of the Exposing the Silence Pro…