What Parents Must Know to Avoid Delivery Complications: Podcast Episode #216

Kristin Revere chats with Gina Mundy, attorney and author of “A Parent’s Guide to a Safer Childbirth” about the important things that parents must know to avoid delivery complications.

 

Hello, hello!  This is Kristin with Ask the Doulas, and I am so excited to chat with Gina Mundy today.  Gina is an attorney, author, parent, and partner, and not only is Gina an author, but she’s a best-selling author.  Welcome to Ask the Doulas, Gina!

Thank you, Kristin, for having me!  I’m very excited to talk to you today.

I would love to hear a bit more about your background.  Your specialty is so unique as an attorney, and I also saw in your bio that you’re located in my home state of Michigan.  Fill us in a bit about how you started to work with OB-GYN cases specifically.

Sure!  Yeah, I’m in Clarkston, Michigan, so I was happy to hear you were west side.  I love the west side.  I head out there all the time.  So I’m an attorney specializing in childbirth cases.  This is something that I’ve done now for almost 21 years.  I got my first case in February 2003.  And a lot of people don’t really understand what exactly that is, but basically, these cases involve the birth of a baby, and unfortunately, it’s when something goes wrong, whether it’s a complication or a mistake.  Something happens and baby is not born healthy, and sometimes baby doesn’t make it during childbirth.  In some very sad cases, I’ve had it where Mom hasn’t made it through childbirth.  So my job as the attorney is to come in and say, what happened; what went wrong?  But more importantly, what should have been done so baby would have been born healthy?  What should have been done so Mom would have been around to raise her baby?  Those questions have taken me across the United States many, many times, meeting with doctors in all different hospital systems, meeting not just the doctors, but the entire labor and delivery teams: the midwives, nurses, anesthesiology, you name it.  If they’re part of a delivery team – with the exception of doulas, as we talked about in pre-show.  I have never had a doula in a case in almost 21 years.  So you guys are definitely doing something right for your clients, which I’d like to talk about more later on.

But anyway, I have all of this experience, and we had basically – my niece was pregnant, and this was in March a couple years ago.  And she just had a very scary birth.  We went about 20 minutes not knowing if baby was going to make it, is baby not going to make it.  I get this phone call from my sister, and she’s like – you know, I’m expecting her to say, “Hey, Sam just had the baby.  Everything’s great.”  Instead, she’s hysterically screaming on the phone.  The baby crash, the baby crash.  And I’m 1100 miles away, and I’m listening to her, and almost 20 years of experience is just going through my head.  Legal analysis; what just happened?  But then it was like this human analysis.  Oh, my goodness; this is how the families feel when something goes wrong during childbirth.

I had a kind of ah-ha moment where, like, oh, my gosh.  I may know something because of what I’ve done with these birthing cases.  So we got news baby was going to be okay.  I do have children.  It did scare me for a minute that I wouldn’t be around for the birth of my kids, again, knowing what I know.  My kids’ childbirth will be different than in any traditional family.

So I decided to take some of that knowledge that I’ve gained over these years as a childbirth attorney and write a book to expecting parents, and even grandparents.  Grandparents are just loving my book, which makes sense because I did write this book kind of for my kids to make sure I have healthy grandkids.

Yes, it makes sense that they would want to read it.  Of course!

Right, and we’re probably same generation and all that stuff.  But I wrote this book to make sure that these mistakes and complications that I’ve seen over 21 years don’t happen during the birth of a baby because a lot of these are mistakes that are reoccurring.  It’s stuff that I talk about in the book.  Basically, I show parents how to make sure these mistakes and complications don’t happen during the birth of their baby because obviously, you know, when the baby is born, that is such a powerful moment in life, and it’s a powerful moment that’s a start to a whole new chapter of your life, and you want it to be the best.

Right.  You don’t get a do-over of that particular birth.

Yeah, you don’t get a do-over.  So yeah, I wrote the book, basically how to have a safe childbirth – safer childbirth.  A Parent’s Guide to a Safer Childbirth.  And it was actually just published in June 2023.

So recent!  Congrats!

It is, but I think people are really gravitating to it.  I checked my Amazon reviews, and a lot of dads are reading it.  They want to step in and protect their wives and children, and grandparents are coming in and leaving the reviews.  It’s been really fascinating to see who’s been reading the book.  I did try to aim it towards moms a little bit, and they are reading it, too, but so is everyone else.  It’s been exciting.

Well, I can’t wait to use that as a reference for the Gold Coast Doula team as we’re talking with clients about recommended reading resources.  And our Becoming a Mother students are always looking for good, evidence-based information to prep for childbirth and early parenting.

Thank you.  I appreciate that.

So how can we find your book?  You said Amazon.  Are you in some bookstores?  Can we find your book off your website?

You can go to ginamundy.com, and that will take you to where you can buy my book.  But it is available really just now on Amazon.  It’s so new.  It’s such a process getting your book pushed out, and I’m still a partner in a law firm.  I’m still a practicing attorney.  I’m still a mom of three.  I still make dinner every night.

Juggling so many different roles!

I worked out at 5:00 a.m.  I’m grocery shopping by 6:15 a.m.  So it’s hard because a lot of it falls back on me trying to get it out.  But it’s on Amazon, and I think it has over 250 reviews, too.

That’s awesome!

Yeah, it’s good.

What tips do you have to plan and prepare for a healthy childbirth?  You had talked about witnessing and representing tragic cases.  What is your advice?  And I’m sure it’s in your book, but just to give our listeners a sample of what they can do to better prepare themselves outside of hiring a doula, of course.

Right.  So chapter one of my book is the lessons learned from baby cases.  So these are the lessons that we can take away from the families, the medical teams, the medical experts.  Basically, how to have a safer childbirth.  So I listed all of those lessons, and then each lesson in chapter one is then a subsequent chapter, which kind of then elaborates on each individual lesson.  So I just kind of put it out there: I think chapter one is absolutely so important for expecting parents to read.  It’s all of your lessons.  This is what you can learn, and this is what you need to know.  If you want to read more, you can put another chapter up there or whatnot, but these are your basics that you really need to know.  If you go to my website, you can grab it.  It’s free.  It’s shareable.  But it’s definitely – the big reason I wrote this book is because when I have met these families, it is the hardest part of my job when a preventable mistake takes the life of a precious baby or a mom.  There is no way to come back.  So these lessons are so important.  I cannot emphasize it enough.

For instance, lesson number one from the families: learning about labor and delivery.  Learning about childbirth before you get to the hospital.  In all of my cases, the families just roll up to labor and delivery and they’re like, I’m here.  And that’s it.  They’re not ready.  Now, when I have to talk to them years later, they know so much more in the aftermath of something bad happening.  It’s heartbreaking.  Because if they would have known this ahead of time, then it’s very possible that maybe they would have had a different outcome.  So it’s learning about your options, and unfortunately, it’s a mentality I think we’re all guilty of.  “Bad things only happen to other people.”  So they just hope for the best.  Well, that leaves you in a very vulnerable state of mind, and I would not recommend that on one of the biggest days of your life, particularly with what I’ve seen for over 21 years.

So chapter one is going to talk about what you need to know for labor and delivery, your labor and delivery basics.  But the facts that I rely on, too, as an attorney when I evaluate these cases or I’m talking to a mom who’s in labor – because believe it or not, as a childbirth attorney, I get the calls from labor and delivery.  What about this?  But a huge, huge chapter of this book that you’re not going to find anywhere else that every parent should read before the big day is chapter 11, and it’s the ten most common facts and issues in a legal baby case.

So number one: when I get a case in, almost every case – not all of them, but almost every single case – the first words I read are, “Mom is being induced with Pitocin.”  Pitocin is the number one most common fact in a legal baby case.  So if you’re having a Pitocin induction, you better understand that Pitocin and mistakes can go hand in hand.  So I’ve seen the Pitocin inductions gone wrong since February 2003.  I’ve taken what I’ve learned from those cases, again, and put it in the book.  So if Mom is getting a Pitocin induction, my book is a must-read.  And not only is my book a must-read, I’m going to put that doula is a must also if you’re getting a Pitocin induction because those are very tricky, and listen.  Some hospital systems, nurses and doctors are great.  The problem is, everyone does a Pitocin induction different.  So everybody’s different with their Pitocin inductions.  Some are more aggressive.  Some are more slow.

Exactly.  Some are very gradual, and some of the clients that I have, they just need a whiff of Pitocin, and they can be taken off Pitocin.  And other times, their body doesn’t respond well, and it’s on the highest level, and baby isn’t doing well; mom’s not doing well.  There are very few other options.

Right.  That’s why having a doula is huge during a Pitocin induction.  But another common fact and issue in a legal baby case is a very busy labor and delivery unit because the delivery teams, they’re running hard and they’re running thin.  When I have a case, I’ll sit staff down, and they’ll be like, oh, I remember that day.  It was so busy.  I mean, I hear this all the time.

Of course, and you can’t control that, other than the planned surgical births and induction, whether or not the women’s center is going to be busy or it’s a slow day. 

Absolutely, because unlike a surgical center where surgery is scheduled at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 – babies come when babies want to come.  Especially in Michigan, you probably know this.  They tell me there’s busier months.

There are.

Yeah.  What about late morning?  Late morning is very busy.  When you’re coming in, it’s very important to know, hey, is this a busy labor and delivery unit, because that’s where it comes into play, where it becomes very important to work with your delivery team.

Now, listen.  You’re a mom.  You’re in labor.  Your mind and body is focused on delivering a baby.  That’s why having a doula there to be your advocate and somebody who knows what’s going on is just so important, especially if you walk into something like a busy labor and delivery unit.

Exactly.  The continuous support of a doula during labor can increase satisfaction, reduce interventions.  If the nurse is busy with other patients or focused more on charting and is unable to provide reassurance or physical support, a doula is necessary, and the partner is often fatigued and overwhelmed and wants to be asking questions, but if no one has time for them, then birth just happens to you, and you’re not able to make informed decisions.

100%.  That’s why the idea of having you guys – and we were talking about this in pre-show, but I was writing my book, and everybody was like, well, are you including doulas, and I’m like, I just don’t know that much about doulas.  Now I do, obviously.  This ah-ha moment – wait a minute.  The childbirth attorney who only sees bad outcomes doesn’t know anything about doulas because if doulas are involved, it seems to be like you guys really play a big part in making sure that baby arrives safely and that mom is able to leave with baby.

So anyway, again, very common in legal baby cases: busy labor and delivery unit.  Have a doula there to make sure that everything is streamlined and everybody’s working together.  That’s huge.

Residents are another big, very common factor in legal baby cases because these are just – I mean, they run the show in some of these hospitals.

Yeah.  It depends on the hospital, but the teaching hospitals, yeah.  And if they’re very busy, then the resident is there versus the OB.

Yeah.  These are just doctors in training.  So we meet with residents because these cases, something happens, and it’s always years later.  So by the time I meet with a resident, they’re a practicing doctor.  And they’ll sit down with me and they’ll be like – so we’ll be preparing for a deposition, meaning they have to testify in a case, and they’ll be like, so do I testify as to what I know now as a doctor, or as to what I knew as a resident a few years ago?  And I’m like, great question in a legal proceeding, but very scary if that’s who’s managing your labor.  Again, it’s important to find out if you’re having residents involved.  But I go through that in my book.

Going through those different types of lessons is just absolutely huge, and then elaborating on them.  I mean, like you said, every labor and delivery is different, so it just depends on which direction yours ends up going.  But definitely, knowing this lessons.

I loved knowing about the baby’s heart rate.  Obviously, baby is inside you, so your doctor or your nurse looks at you.  They can assess mom just fine.  Oh, mom is in pain; I see it in her face.  Let’s talk, let’s do a diagnosis, whatever.  Baby is different.  Baby’s inside you.  So it’s hard to – how is baby doing?  I can look at a fetal monitor and be like, this baby’s a rock star, or this baby is struggling.  Fetal monitoring – you don’t need to know everything about it, but just knowing some basics, because it seems like the medical community just wants to keep that knowledge to them, and that just floors me every single time.  The first thing I do when someone contacts me in labor and delivery: send me the strip.  Take a picture or take a video.  Send me the strips.  I want to see that.

It makes sense.

That’s the best way to know if the baby’s doing okay.  I had a doctor testify in a case: the only way the baby can talk to a doctor is through their heart rate.  So in my book, again, I think that’s really important when you’re preparing for childbirth, just having a basic understanding of it.

Sure.  And, of course, there’s internal monitoring, and I’m sure you’re seeing all the differences between the walking monitors, which as doulas, we love to be able to change positions and still keep track of baby.  Internal monitors if there’s more concern on how baby is responding. 

Actually, I have a chapter in my book about the three different types of monitors that you’re talking about.

Like the Doppler and the handheld?

I’m giving everybody the good and the bad.  I’m sure you guys like the Monica.  Now, there’s been a few cases involving the Monica in Michigan that have been very scary.  So, you know, I put a couple – you know, I go through the three monitors, the benefits and the disadvantages.

That is so helpful that you compare them.

Yeah.  And the disadvantages, I give a couple of case examples just kind of going through everything.  And it’s just so parents can make informed choices.

That’s what it’s all about.

Right.  You’re in labor, and somebody may be like, well, we want to place an internal monitor.  What’s that?

If they’ve not taken a childbirth class, they wouldn’t know.

If you don’t know what that is, that can be kind of scary.  I mean, my niece, they had put one on her, and she was like, there’s a wire between my legs, and I’m hooked to a machine.  And I’m like, but, you know, it’s the most accurate way, because I had requested that they – I want one on.  Get the internal monitor on during labor.  And they were great.  They’re amazing.  Amazing staff.  They ended up doing a really good job.  But she was like, what is this?  It wigged her out.

Oh, I’m sure.

And it’s so important that – you know, you know this, but staying calm and being in, like, harmony in labor.

It’s everything.  It affects baby.  If you’re in panic state, labor will take longer.  If you’re in the flight or fight stress mode versus being calm and relaxed and open to it.

Exactly.  So just having an understanding of these basics is just huge.  Absolutely huge.  When good decisions are made, healthy babies are born.  And ultimately, mom is the decision maker.  There is no one starting Pitocin, no one starting an epidural, no one starting an IV, no one doing a C-section – no one’s doing anything without mom’s approval.  Mom has to approve everything.  And then sometimes when you get to the hospital during childbirth – and this happens in quite a few cases, but sometimes Mom is given options.  You know, maybe there’s a concern about baby.  Maybe we need a C-section; maybe not.  So it’s important that ahead of time, you get ready.  I have a chapter on preparing a birthing plan.  And it’s not so much preparing the plan where you’re going to walk in and give it to the nurse and say, this is what I want to happen.  That’s not – no.  My book’s not about that.  My book is more just the exercise of preparing for birth in the comfort of your own home, learning about it, taking one of your courses, getting knowledge on it, Googling it, asking people, phone calls.  Just having this plan or just being more prepared that anything because, obviously, labor is probably one of the most unpredictable things ever.  So trying to have a plan – you must know it’s going to change.  That’s why it’s important to prepare and get ready.

So what are you seeing as far as surgical births versus vaginal and VBACs in your cases?  Vaginal birth after Cesarean, for our listeners who don’t understand what a VBAC is.

Yeah, I’m not a fan of VBACs.  Those are hard for me.  In chapter 7, I actually go through a personal story with my cousin.  But VBACS – I love putting this out there.  Now, listen, a lot of people – everything has changed.  First it was this whole, once a C-section, always a C-section.  2010, they’re like, C-section rates are really high.  Let’s consider VBACs.  And there’s a lot of moms who have successful VBACs.

Right.  I’ve supported many.

So the consequence of not having one is the old incision scar where you’ve had that C-section tears open, and that causes a lot of problems for baby and mom.  But the thing that I’ve always with VBACs is because your uterus – where they make the incision to get the baby out, it’s inside you.  Nobody can assess that to make sure that it healed correctly for a vaginal birth.  So that’s the thing that always scares me, and we went through that with my cousin.  That chapter starts off with her story.  Her doctor really pushed – she’s in Florida, and they really pushed for a VBAC.  And I’m like, okay, well, this is what you need to know, and I go through exactly what I told her, which is much different than what her doctor told her, but her doctor wouldn’t even schedule her for a C-section.  So she goes into labor.  The doctor’s like, come on, come on.  So she calls me, and I’m like, if it was me, I would do – there’s also other factors.  She’s almost 40 years old.  Everything heals different.  There’s special factors for her, too.

So, C-section.  Baby arrives safely.  And then the doctor comes and sees Allie and was like, thank you for not listening to me.  When she entered the abdomen, the uterus was paper thin, and the baby’s hair was sticking out.  So she was like, you would have absolutely ruptured.  Your uterus would have ripped open right there.  So you say VBAC, I just get scared immediately.  But yeah, there’s cases where it’s hard to talk about because there is a lot of confidentiality.  It’s a risk.  As a childbirth attorney, I am not a fan of them, but I do know that there have been many people who have successfully done them, and yes, we do see them in cases and whatnot.  But just because I’m still practicing, there’s confidentiality associated.

Of course.  Just more broadly, are you seeing more cases when it comes to surgical or vaginal births?

So, basically, this is actually in the book because I have a whole chapter on C-sections.  So in the baby cases, they are basically attempted vaginal births –

That turned to surgical?

They went sideways and result in a C-section.  That is my typical baby case.  There’s a delay in performing the C-section.  Something happens during labor.  Again, remember Pitocin?  Pitocin is usually running.  Usually, there’s an epidural.  And everyone’s trying vaginal.  So for instance, I’ve never had a case involving an elective C-section at 39 weeks.  Actually, this is in the book.  Most baby lawyers just have 39 week C-sections because of the problems we’ve seen.

You’re seeing the worst case scenarios.  Of course, so you would try to err on the side of safety.  Yes.

Now, I’m not sure I’d recommend it.  You know, I had three C-sections, and they’re rough.  I don’t know if my kids will – I don’t think they’ll do that route, which again, hence my desire to get this information out there.

Exactly, so they can prep, yeah.

Yeah.  Everything is usually attempted vaginal birth that ends in a C-section.  That’s your typical childbirth case.

Interesting.  So what other tips in your book would be helpful for prepping for birth and baby?

Number one, know your delivery team.  So that’s another huge lesson in the book.  The delivery team is responsible for bringing your baby safely into this world, and in my cases, it is the delivery team’s care that is at issue.  It is the biggest part of the case.  It is the most analyzed part of the case.  But having a good delivery team is so important.  You have to understand that while you may be able to pick your doctor or pick the practice – maybe there’s a couple doctors – the delivery team is who’s scheduled to work that day.

Exactly.  You may have never met them.

Yep.  Most of the time, you’ve never met them.  Again, important to have a doula there, because a doula you’ve met, you’ve built a little relationship with them.  Somebody you’re comfortable with.  Because you can walk into labor and delivery, and it can be luck of the draw.  In my book, I talk about a case, and there were two nurses in the case.  One of the nurses was the primary nurse who did something wrong, but there was two nurses.  One was a nurse who had 20 years of experience, and she was literally born to be a labor and delivery nurse.  She’s amazing.  I loved her.  Nurse number two: she had just finished training.  She had just been on her own in labor and delivery, and had figured out she hates labor and delivery and was looking for a different job.  I’m sure you can figure out who’s care was at issue in that case.  The good nurse, the experienced one, was just trying to help.  But that day at the hospital, when the patients walked in, it was luck of the draw.  One got the experienced nurse who’s a dream, and one got the other nurse.  So you have to – it’s important that if you get that nurse that you’re not a fan of, that you’re like, hi, I would like a new nurse.  You don’t just – your delivery team is so important.  I cannot stress that enough.  So in my book, again, I’m like, these are the players of your delivery team.  This is what you need to know.  Now, again, you’re a mom in labor, so it’s important that you have somebody there that can – I call it the baby advocate.  Whether it’s your husband: you look at your husband and you give him the nod, like, get me a new nurse.  Or you have a doula, and you’re like, hi, I need a new nurse.  And then that’s it, and then you go back to being comfortable and focusing on you and baby.

But here’s the deal with the nurses: that day, all the nurses on that floor knew the labor and delivery nurse sucked, for lack of a better word.  So if mom would have said something to a charge nurse – or I tell you in my book exactly who to approach, but if that mom would have said something, other nurses would have done what they do best, and they would have stepped in and helped.  But the other nurses, they’re not in charge of hiring.  They can’t just open the door and say, “Hi, do you hate your nurse?  Let me know and I’ll get you a new one.”  It doesn’t work like that.  You have to say something.  But literally, just the nod of the head or whatever.  Make sure you like your nurse.  And there are so many great labor and delivery nurses.

I agree.

They’re amazing humans.  It’s a special breed of people.  I love my labor and delivery nurses.  But sometimes in my cases, it’s the ones that don’t have a lot of experience and are not really – you know, they’re just not really into it.

Right.  And we do talk about that as doulas, that our clients are consumers, and they have a choice if it’s not a good fit.  They can request a different nurse, and it’s rare in my career that I’ve seen that personally happen, but just to know that you have options and you don’t have to just tolerate your care team is a huge thing.

Oh, yeah, for sure.  So I have a whole chapter on the delivery team.  And then another big part is I have a whole chapter on doctors; picking the good doctor.  So I have analyzed doctors, OB-GYNs in particular, for almost 21 years.  I mean, it’s semi-creepy.  I’m not going to lie.  But I have.  Listen, I have to stick these people in front of a jury.  Is the jury going to like them?  What’s going on?

So I’ve taken the knowledge that I’ve gained from all my interactions with doctors, questions to ask them, things to think about, and just did a whole chapter on them.  There’s so many different aspects that are so important for moms to consider and think about when they’re picking their doctor.  Because ultimately, the doctor is the head of your delivery team.  They’re captain of the ship.  So they are the ones that are making the recommendations.  But you know this.  Doctors are not just hanging out at the bedside.

No.  They check in.  They’re busy with other patients.

Oh, yeah, if they even check in.  Some just come in for the labor, and sometimes they miss that.  So it’s so important that you have this good doctor that you trust because they have to be able to communicate with you.  Think about how they’re communicating with you during the pregnancy.  I mean, are they good communicators?  Think about it, because once you go into labor, they’re relying on the nurse or the residents to communicate what’s happening.  And if they’re good communicators, awesome.  They’re going to be able to get a good idea of what’s going on with you during labor and delivery.  But if they’re not – so there’s just a lot of things to think about with doctors, and again, a lot of the times, it’s their care, too, that’s at issue in these cases because they head the ship.

They do.  Even if you’re working with a nurse midwife, the OB would oversee if things turn into a surgical birth or if vacuum was used, for example.  It would be the OB.

Yeah.  And then I think probably this could be one of the last ones.  There’s so much in the book.  We are just hitting the surface.  But a huge, huge one is having a baby advocate.  I have a whole chapter on having – because you need to focus on you.  You need to focus on baby, staying calm.  So whether it is husband or grandma or doula – I really like doula because you guys know what’s going on.  You know how to keep everybody calm.  Having that advocate for you, just this second set of eyes, in case you do walk in and it’s busy that day.

Absolutely.  And then there are patient advocates, as you know, and different resources within the hospital system.

Yeah.  You guys know so much.  I would say on my baby advocate list as the top one would be you guys.  You know, but it’s just the second set of eyes because you just really need it as labor progresses to help with, again, talking to the delivery team, just making sure everybody’s on the same page.  And it’s nice with a doula because you speak their language.  So you know a little bit more.  You can ask the right questions.  You can make sure that mom’s being informed with all of her options.  Because maybe mom is surprised with a couple of options, but when it’s like, here are your options, but you have one person explaining it – well, is that person – you know, how are they doing that day?  Are they a good communicator?  I mean, I don’t know about you, but I have off days.

Of course.  We all do.

So it’s nice having a doula that you trust where then you can kind of bounce those – okay, well, I have two decisions, because sometimes – and I talk about this in the book.  Two decisions can really result in a different outcomes.  I compare three different cases where it was the same decisions – or not the same decisions, but the same options but different decisions and different outcomes, and it’s kind of – whoa.  So the importance of decision making – again, you’re making good decisions.  You’re making informed decisions.  I mean, your chances of having a healthy baby is so important.  So having that baby advocate, especially when you’re in labor, is just huge.  That’s a whole chapter.  And if you do choose to have grandma or somebody else – you know, at the end, it’s like, okay, make sure your baby advocate knows this stuff.  There’s five things the baby advocate should know.  Now, it wouldn’t apply to you guys, because it’d be stuff that you already know.  You’re already prepped to be a baby advocate with what you do.

And grandparents and friends, if they’re the support person, they can often attend a childbirth class.  Say there isn’t a partner.  So if you want them to be informed, it’s another option.

It’s a great option.  Grandmas are the best advocates ever.  Expecting grandparents have this wisdom, and they’ve been through it.  The circle of life playing out right in front of them, watching their own child have their first baby or their second baby.  It’s awesome.

Yeah, we teach a grandparents class.  It’s both virtual and in person, and we love it.  So much has changed, and just keeping up with safe sleep and feeding and all of the new gadgets and tech items related to parenting, and apps for pregnancy and so on.

Yeah.  That’s awesome.  I love it.

Well, I could talk to you forever, Gina, but we must wrap up.  So if you would fill us in again about how to reach you, what social channels you’re on, and again, how to find your book.

Oh, great.  So ginamundy.com is the best resource because it’s going to have my book.  But, you know, I also have a childbirth blog that I just recently started.  Actually, my book was so long that it was actually cut in half.  So this is only the first part of the book.  This book is focused on childbirth.  The next book is supposed to be focused on pregnancy.  This childbirth blog is awesome because if I forgot to include something about childbirth, I’m like, blog.

Perfect, yes!

And then I’ve been taking some of my pregnancy content that’s really important because it is hard to get a book out, and posting that.  Just different topics that expecting parents need to know.  It has also some great resources for expecting parents.  So ginamundy.com, and then you can always go to Amazon, and if you just type my name in Amazon, it comes right up.  And I forget to do this because I have never been a social media person, so this is very difficult for me, but I am on Instagram.  I think I have maybe 1400 followers.  A lot of times if I’m on a podcast or something, it’s popping up on Instagram, so it’s definitely a good way to find the different podcasts I’m on.  That’s @ginamundy.  And then Facebook is @ginamundy,author.  And that’s just different stuff that’s popping up.  Sometimes I’ll post my blogs and stuff like that, too.

Well, we will link to all your sites and the book on our blog and social media.  Thank you so much, Gina!

Thank you for having me.  What a great conversation.  I love the work that you guys are doing.  You are definitely helping babies come into this world much safer.  Thank you for doing what you do.

And thank you for creating such a thoughtful book and for fighting for families.  Your work is so important!

Thank you!

IMPORTANT LINKS

Gina’s website

Birth support from Gold Coast Doulas

Childbirth classes from Gold Coast Doulas

Grandparents class from Gold Coast Doulas

Becoming a Mother Course