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
51: Homebirth Midwifery Legislation: Part 1 with Joyce Hunt Kimball [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:09
Today, it's all about birthing at your home! HeHe is chatting with Joyce Hunt-Kimball, a Homebirth Midwife in Massachusetts, about fear-based care in the homebirth world, how safe homebirth really is, what happens when c…
50: Free Talk Friday: Best Apps for New Parents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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49: Budgeting for a Baby with Nicole LeGuern [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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48: Free Friday Talk: Packing for Your Birth Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:26
Last week, HeHe shared her tips for packing your birth bag for the hospital or birth center. This week, she shares what SHE brings to births in her ninja-turte-green back pack to each birth. It's not so much about what s…
47:  Eliminating Toxins in Your Home with Bri Pruitt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:17
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46: Free Friday Talk:Packing For Your Birth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:55
Packing for your birth experience can be a tantalizing task. Some people have no clue where to start while others feel like they can't possibly prepare enough. Some folks want to pack all the things while some wonder why…
45: Tranquilo Mat with Melissa Gersin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:35
Today, HeHe is chatting with Melissa Gersin, Founder and CEO of Tranquil Mat! This magical baby product is a gently vibrating mat that helps newborns and infants fall asleep, stay asleep, and support self soothing skills…
44: Friday Free Talk: Vaginal Stank [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:08
Today, HeHe is diving into the skittle flavors of you vagina! Dive into what contributes to your personal vaginal odor as well as what can be done to combat the stank during the hot summer months. She is sharing general…
43: Meal Delivery and Organic Eating with Fuel Up TV [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:53
Today's episode features the founders of Fuel Up TV and Fitness Foods. Erika and Tiffany are sister who started a business together then became mothers together. Then, they began to see drastic change when they started t…
42: Free Friday Talk: Instincts and Birth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:02
Today, HeHe talks about how her recent travels down south and spending time with parents led her to dig deeper about who she is as a practitioner. She shares about the things that came up for her when she spent time lear…