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. 115: Friday Free Talk, Eating + Drinking during Labor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:02
Studies show that, on average, 80% of laboring people don’t eat the entire time they are in labor and 60% don’t drink during labor! YET, 95% of them would have chosen TO eat and drink during labor if they had been given…
Ep. 114: How to Cloth Diaper with Bailey Bowman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:12
Today’s episode is so timely! At the time of recording, I had no idea that we’d be in the middle of a global pandemic when it aired, but here we are. The decision to cloth diaper is on more people’s minds than ever befor…
Ep. 113: Friday Free Talk: Pro-Plan or No Plan? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:01
Which team are you on? Would you believe me if I said I’m team middle? I am! I do’t think the power is so much in having a written out plan as there is in having already given thought to how you want your birth to unfold…
Ep. 112: Hormones 101 with Dr. Maggie Luther [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:38
Help people balance their hormones to get their energy back. She loves her incredible perception to help women heal & listen to your body and then respond to that message. She helps women relearn how to tap into their gu…
Ep. 111: Friday Free Talk, Alcohol in Pregnancy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:54
In my endless scrolling on social media, I inevitably see an expecting parent jokingly say they wish they could have a glass of wine or a glass of beer. I never know if I should write in that it’s A-OK to have something…
Birthing in the COVID-19 Pandemic with Pediatrician, Julia Brown, MD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:47
In this episode, HeHe is joined by Julia Brown, MD to discuss COVID-19 and newborns/infants! Julia is a local pediatrician at one of the top 5 birthing hospitals in Massachusetts and is sharing what parents need to know…
Ep. 108: Friday Free Talk: What to Expect at Triage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:40
If you don’t know..you might not get to the hospital and go straight to Labor and Delivery. Sometimes you do, but sometimes you don’t. When you get to the hospital, you will most likely be asked to go to a smaller exam r…
105: Exploring Sensuality & Yoni Eggs with Ann Marie Paul [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:56
Today, HeHe is joined by Ann Marie Paul, a spiritual activator for divine feminine wisdom. She teaches the ancient art of Yoni Eggs which opens up a woman to her own bodies wisdom and sensuality. She is leading us today…
104: FFT: Overcoming Fear & Birth Trauma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:16
Are you a mama that wonders if your birth is "normal"? Do you look back on your birth and think "Things didn't go... like I thought they would." Maybe you know your birth was traumatic and you're trying to navigate that…