Meagan welcomes Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankins, a board-certified OB/GYN, to discuss everything related to pregnancy, childbirth, and the VBAC experience.
With over 23 years of experience and more than 1,000 deliveries, Dr. Rankins shares her insights on common questions and concerns from expectant mothers. From the importance of mindset during labor to understanding the implications of the word “allow” in provider-patient relationships, this episode is packed with valuable information. Don't miss out on Dr. Rankins' tips for a calm and confident birth, and learn how to advocate for yourself in the birthing process!
Dr. Nicole Rankins' Website
Needed Website
How to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for Parents
Full Transcript under Episode Details
Meagan: Hello, Women of Strength, It's Meagan, and I am so excited to be joining you today with our friend, Nicole Calloway Rankins. Dr. Nicole Calloway Rankins is incredible. We've been following her for a long time and have collaborated with her in the past and are so excited to be having her on the podcast today. Dr. Rankins is a board-certified practicing OB/GYN, wife, mom and podcast host here to help you get calm, confident, and empower you to have a beautiful birth you deserve.
She was born into a family of educators, and she felt a pull to medical school the day she looked in the mirror and saw a vision of herself in a white coat. And get this, it all happened while she was studying to be an engineer. She says, "I know that sounds crazy, but that vision has led me to exactly where I am supposed to be today- serving pregnant women." She's delivered more than 1,000 babies and has de-mystified childbirth for thousands more through her 5-star rated All About Pregnancy and Birth Podcast which she's going be talking about a little bit more today. I'm so excited for her. She has over 2 million downloads and her online birth plan and childbirth education classes.
You guys, she is really changing so much about the birth world. She's incredible. You're going to hear it today. I love chatting with her. You can find her at drnicolrankins.com and of course, we'll have all of her other podcasts and Instagram and all that in the show notes. So get ready, we're excited.
We're going to be talking a little bit more about common questions for an OB/GYN, but then we're also going to be diving into questions from you personally. I reached out on Instagram and said, "Hey, what are your questions for this doctor?" She is so excited to answer them, and she did. We went through every single question that was asked on our Instagram community. I'm so excited. I'm going to get to the intro, and then we are going to start with Dr. Rankins.
You guys, Dr. Rankins is back with us today and I'm so excited. Funny enough, I keep saying that you're back, but you've never done the podcast with us.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: I don't think so. Yeah, I think we did a class.
m: We did a class which was phenomenal and everyone ranted and raved about it. So we're back together ,but we have you for the first time on the podcast. So welcome.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Well, thank you. I'm excited to be here.
Meagan: We just adore you and I love getting your opinion on things. I think from doulas, from midwives to OBs, we all have different opinions and experiences, and if there's anyone that has hands-on experience, it is you and a midwife, like someone who is physically handling.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Yep. I've done this a couple thousand times. Yes.
Meagan: Versus my 300 and something verse.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Don't discount it. That's very excellent.
Meagan: It's still super great, but when it comes to thousands and an understanding on an even deeper level, it's just so fun and it's a compliment to the podcast to have your expertise.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Yeah, I've been at this 23 years, so it's a long time.
Meagan: And still going. It's still going.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Still going. Yes.
Meagan: And okay, tell me we can edit this if you want, but you have a new podcast coming out. I do know it's not going to be by the time this airs. It's not going to be out just yet. But can you tell us a little bit more about it and where people can find this?
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Yeah. So it's still going to be in the same feed. So if you subscribe to the old podcast, it's just going to change, keep the same feed, but it's going to have a new name and a bit of a new focus still related to pregnancy and birth, but it's just a bit tighter. I want to say the name so bad, but I'm not going to.
Meagan: Okay. Don't let it out. We will find out it is released.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Yes.
Meagan: Tell them where to follow right now.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Right now? Yeah, if you follow me on Instagram, even though I'm taking a Little break now, you'll get it there. But the podcast is called All About Pregnancy and Birth. Go ahead and subscribe, and you can be the first one to know when the first episodes come out. I just have lots of new ways to present information about pregnancy and birth and frameworks and things.
Okay, I'll give a little hint. One of the first things I'm talking about is one thing that's so important to pregnancy and your birth experience is your mindset. So one of the things I created is this MAMA mindset framework. MAMA stands for meditation, affirmations, move your body, attitude of gratitudes. I have practices, exercises, and things we're going to talk about. That's just one little, tiny sliver of the things that I've been working on and writing, so it's just good, great stuff.
Meagan: Yay. Oh my gosh. I'm so excited. That is even more applied with just birth in general. But VBAC, I feel like mindset attitude, and all these things that you were just saying, is so important because even though we're just moms going and having babies, we have some extra things that some extra barriers that sometimes we have to either break through or we run into.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, a calm mind creates a confident birth. So when you have that calm mind, that is the first step to helping you create a confident birth experience. So mindset is really important.
Meagan: Yeah, it really is. Well, I'm excited to chat with you today, and I'm excited to listen to that sometime here in the near future and listen to more of what you are bringing to the table. Okay, so one of the questions that I would like to go over is the word "allow".
What does the word "allow" mean? How does someone navigate something that maybe doesn't feel right for them? And on both sides-- Dr. Fox and I have talked about how sometimes it's not right for the provider. You're not the right patient for that provider because what you want is not comfortable with the provider and vice versa.
But we often hear or actually more see it on The VBAC Link Community on Facebook. There are comments of, "My doctor said they will allow" or "My midwife said they'll allow me to." If so when you are saying that or maybe have you said that, what does that mean?
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Yeah, I don't say that word.
Meagan: Okay.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: It's a word that should not be in the discussion about birth because allow implies a hierarchal relationship where I get to make the decisions about what does or does not happen in someone's pregnancy, birth, labor, body, and that is not true. You as the person giving birth are the one who ultimately makes the decisions, not your doctor or your midwife. We can't really allow anything. We're not your parents. Do you know what I mean? So "allow" shouldn't be part of the conversation.
It's a left overturn from just a general patriarchal foundation of OB/GYN, particularly when men took over into the specialty and banished midwives is how that language came about is that we need to tell folks and we need to control. So it really shouldn't be the case, but it still hangs around. Words matter, and it's important.
Even though people don't necessarily mean it with any sort of ill-intent or that they mean that they're trying to control you, and inherently sort of subconsciously implies that. So I strongly dislike the word "allow".
Meagan: Yeah, I am with you too. As someone who has had that word happen to me, it made me feel like I had to do something to meet their standard quota to get that allowance.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Right.
Meagan: That just didn't feel great.
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Yeah. Yeah.
Meagan: So if someone is saying that, are there any tips of advice that you would give?
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Yeah, I mean, first off, if you hear it, that's a little notch of a red flag potentially that it's not going to be a shared decision-making process because really, it should be that my role is to give you information and share my expertise with you to help you come up with the best decision for yourself.
That looks like various things for different people. Some people want tons of information. They want to think about it and then talk about it. Some people are like, "Just tell me what to do," which if that's what you want me to do, then I can do that too. So if you hear "allowed", then it's concerning that there may not be that shared decision-making. So that's a little bit of a red flag to know.
But then to open it up for discussion, it kind of depends on what the situation is. So is it we don't allow you to eat or drink during labor or we don't allow TOLAC? Then the next question is really, why? Especially if it's something that's important for you, why? If you want to use the language back, you can even use it back. "But why is that not allowed? Why is that the case?" And then kind of take the discussion from there.
Meagan: Yeah. I think asking the question just in general, "Why?" or "Okay, I hear you. Can you explain to me?"
Dr. Nicole Rankins: Yes.
Meagan: It really helps there be a discussion like you were saying. I feel like when it comes to birth, like you're sayin
更多