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The Modern Moms Roadmap to Balance Podcast
Is it really possible to find balance as a mom? Each week, I'll be bringing you inspiring chats, interviews, and dialogues all based around helping moms like you unlock their potential and lead the balanced life they want. If you enjoy listening to topics that help you lead a more balanced life, then you've come to the right place. I'm obsessed with helping moms lead the life they want without the guilt.
With the right information and support, you can find balance in motherhood without sacrificing your needs.
The Modern Moms Roadmap to Balance Podcast
Episode 43: A Lawyer's Perspective On Safer Childbirth with Special Guest Gina Mundy
Ever wondered how an attorney can influence safer childbirth practices? Join us as we welcome Gina Mundy, an attorney who specializes in childbirth cases who has transformed her passion into a purposeful career. Through her emotional journey of writing "A Parent's Guide to a Safer Childbirth," Gina opens up about the profound changes and cathartic experiences that shaped her work. Her philosophy of "work hard, play hard" takes center stage as she balances the demands of her professional and personal life, providing valuable insights for families navigating the complexities of childbirth.
Discover the impactful transition from aspiring real estate attorney to specialized childbirth lawyer as Gina shares her unique career path. She discusses the societal pressures women face regarding natural births, and the critical importance of choosing the right healthcare providers. With her firsthand experiences and professional expertise, Gina offers practical advice on advocating for one's birth plan and ensuring the safety and health of both mother and baby. Her candid recounting of navigating her own pregnancies brings a relatable and heartfelt perspective to the conversation.
Gina's extensive legal background informs her advocacy for well-prepared support teams and the vital role of a 'baby advocate' during delivery. Hear about her categorization of delivery teams and the anecdotal evidence supporting the need for skilled and compassionate labor and delivery nurses. From selecting trustworthy doctors to maintaining a balanced online presence, this episode is packed with actionable advice and real-life stories that empower families to make informed decisions. Tune in for an episode that blends professional wisdom with personal experiences, leaving listeners better prepared for the journey of childbirth.
Helpful Links
Website: https://ginamundy.com/
Social Media Handles
Instagram: @GinaMundy https://www.instagram.com/ginamundy/
Facebook: Gina Mundy, Author https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093989808329
Linked In: Gina Mundy https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-mundy-70318554/
Youtube.com https://youtube.com/@thechildbirthattorney?si=LIBP5vUb1v4m33Is
Twitter: @ginamundy_ https://twitter.com/GinaMundy_
Buy Gina's Book
Read the First Cha
About the Podcast Host
Kayla Nettleton is a licensed therapist based in TX, business owner, mom of 3 kids and coach for therapists who want support and guidance in their journey in creating an aligned business model so that they can live the freedom based life they've always dreamed of without sacrificing their own needs.
In her private practice as a therapist Kayla specialize in helping women overcome anxiety, perfectionism and people pleasing tendencies so that they can lead a more fulfilled and authentically aligned life
Find Kayla on IG
@kaylanettleton_lcsw
@themodernmomsroadmaptobalance
Email: kayla@kaylanettleton.com
TX Residents can Schedule a Free 20 minute therapy consultation here.
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Hello, welcome back everyone. Welcome back to the Modern Moms Roadmap to Balance podcast. This is Kayla, your host, and today my guest is Gina Mundy. She is an attorney that specializes in childbirth cases. For over two decades, she has analyzed the mistakes that are made during labor and delivery. Drawing on this knowledge, she has authored the book a parent's guide to a safer childbirth, to help parents prevent these mistakes and have a healthy baby. Rather than merely getting involved after an unfortunate mistake was made, gina has taken a proactive approach by getting involved before childbirth. Welcome, gina. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.
Speaker 2:Kayla, thanks for having me. I am very excited for our conversation today. I was watching another one of your episodes, so I'm very excited to be on. Your show Looks amazing. You definitely have a new fan.
Speaker 1:Thank you, and with the one question that I ask everyone what is your definition of a balanced life?
Speaker 2:Work hard, play hard. Not even sure that's a balance. But you know, I I think I'm just a very extreme person and I do enjoy working, but I also enjoy, after working long hours and working very hard then, to then enjoy myself. I feel like it's almost like I have to work really hard and feel accomplished and then I can go relax. So yeah, definitely my definition of balance work hard, play hard.
Speaker 1:And I mean we all have our own definitions and it's about what works for us, and that is part of the reason why I love highlighting people's own definitions of balance, because it can inspire us to create our own. It's not about trying to be like this person that you see on social media, or your neighbor or your mom and friend. It's about what is the balance for you that's going to work for you 100%.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's definitely my personality, so that fits right in with with who I am.
Speaker 1:So what was your experience like writing this book? Because I know you're a mom and and I was reading some of the stuff about you. You worked on this book for 14 months, that's right, 14 months.
Speaker 2:What was that like for you? Well, you know it's interesting because you're like, hey, I've been doing the same thing. At that point I was 19 years deep into being a child birth attorney, and then something happened and I'm like, okay, I'm going to write a book. Well, okay, that's a really big thought commitment, you know, yeah, and that's going to make you very busy. So after a couple weeks nothing really happened, because I'm already, you know, busy. I still had my kids were a little bit younger, obviously, back then. And then you know, I'm still a partner in my law firm and everything else that goes on. So I had to make some decisions and basically I'm like, okay, let's change my schedule. So, getting up 3am and then going to bed by 7pm If I did any later, it's like nap time during the day.
Speaker 2:Cause I need my eight hours of sleep.
Speaker 2:So that was one way. You know, acts, the social life. And then I started writing and then for the first three months while I wrote it was like something was wrong with me. But I'll tell you, writing a book probably one of the best therapies I've ever been through and basically I cried for the first three months. You know, and just so your audience understands when I, I seem a childbirth attorney and that means I work on cases involving the birth of a baby, when baby's not born healthy, babies pass or or moms pass away during childbirth. So you know, unlike a medical professional who sees the good and the bad, you know I see the bad only and then I have to analyze the bad for years on end. It's hard. So I had obviously emotionally suppressed everything from talking to the families and seeing what I see in my cases.
Speaker 2:So after the first three months I finally stopped crying. It was like this clarity that you know I could help other families or spare other families from what these families in the cases had endured, and that was enough just to propel me into you know again making it happen Again. I'm a very extreme person. So, yes, x, the social life stayed on my schedule, probably neglected my children a little bit, my, my family, but you know, and I think in the end it was it was worth it because it ended up coming together nicely in a book that I am confident will help families avoid the complications and mistakes that I've seen now for 21 years.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for sharing that. I think yes, I did jump ahead. I meant to ask you at first what led you to become a, an attorney who works on these types of cases, but what I was, what was going through my mind, is how I think when people are thinking about writing a book, they're like, oh, I'm going to knock this out in six weeks. When it takes months, this is not like you're not a professional author who's just going to go out to a cabin, completely isolate yourself and, just you know, chunk out a book in, you know, one to two months. This is something that can take months and sometimes even years for people, and there's no shame in having that timeline for yourself.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and keep in mind. I mean, I worked on my book almost every day. It's that I once the clarity you know, hold on. I got this information. What is that information? How, what? What can Gina Mundy say? What does Gina Mundy analyze and observe?
Speaker 2:For, you know, 19, 20 years at that point, to to help families and again, that's like, it's like creating something. So, especially if you're going to write, you know a book where you're creating, you're, you know you're going, you're, you're looking at your experience and you're saying, okay, do this, cause you can identify, you know, especially with expecting parents, problems without solving them. That's going to induce panic and that would be a complete disaster. So you know you do have some responsibility not to flip the parents out either. So yeah, writing a book, definitely it's a big commitment. Good luck with time management. It's very difficult, but you know, when your name's on something, you want it to be good and that I, you know. So that time I spent on it. You know.
Speaker 2:I just looked at my reviews one year later across the world. I actually just posted it on social media. But I have my best seller in the United States right now. I have almost 600 reviews and I carry like a 4.9. Wow, five. Right, that's five countries. Total, I have 5.9. Let's see who's who's. My haters at 4.8 Australian Italy, and my true hater is Canada at 4.7, but that's fine. You know what I love my Canadians. I don't know what's going on with the 4.7, but I'll take that.
Speaker 2:My point is, though, like I worked really hard and I put my heart and my soul into this book, so if you're going to write something and you're going to put yourself out there, I definitely go go all in and the lives that I am changing. Please go read my reviews. I, if I need an upper, I go and read my reviews, because the families are. You know, I just read a review this morning and it's an expecting dad and he's like this book is my Bible. Actually.
Speaker 2:A lot of, if you, it's kind of it gets weird because they're like oh, this is. You know, they refer to my Bible. Actually a lot of. If you, it's kind of it gets weird because they're like oh, this is. You know, they refer to my book. A lot of people in their views as a Bible to childbirth, not only like one person's. Like you know, in Gina, we trust instead of God, we try. I'm like whoa, but with what I wrote I am dealing with with little lies, and so you know that was another big big part of it with little lies, and so you know that was another big big part of it. But yeah, if you're going to write a book, go all in and it may seem daunting and hard, but in the end it's worth it, especially if you change lives. Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And so, going back a little bit, let's, let's, you know, do a little bit of a rewind. What led you to go into this work in the first place? What led you to become a lawyer who specialized in these childbirth cases?
Speaker 2:I stumbled on it after law school, I know right, so boring. Here's the deal. I wanted to be like a real estate business attorney and I needed my first job. Got a job at a large firm that had those departments, but they weren't hiring. So I'm like, well, I'll go do the childbirth baby cases and then I'll just transfer over when I'm ready or when they have an opening. And then when I was hired in so I'd never heard of this profession they do not teach you about this in law school and high school I'd never heard of it, didn't know about childbirth attorneys, and I was hired into a team of over 20 people and this is all they did. Having a baby yeah, that's what I said. Having a baby was on my radar and I just wanted to make sure what I was seeing in the cases did not happen during the birth of my kids.
Speaker 1:And you say like oh, how boring, but I feel like a lot of us do kind of just stumble upon our like, our calling or our purpose. I mean, even for myself, the reason I became a therapist is because I got pregnant during grad school. So what I was really trying to do ended up not being something that I could do in the area that I was living at the time or that I'm still living, because I live in a pretty rural area. My master's is in social work for policy and evaluation. So my idea was, oh, I'm going to go to, going to go work in Washington DC and make this big change. And you know, I found myself pregnant and it led me into doing therapy, which I absolutely love doing Like this is. This is the reason I'm here. I'm here to help people and guide them and help them change their life, which I am doing on a different level that I would be doing in like policy and evaluation. So it's not boring.
Speaker 2:I love that you're and you were so right Cause I mean, once I got into the field, I never looked back. I never looked at the business department or real estate, you know, to see if they were hiring. No, I knew, you know. It's funny that I didn't understand it, because sometimes I'd be. You know, I had three kids during this and people are like, how do you have kids and work on these cases? And you know, or I'm pregnant and I have to go depose a mom who lost their baby during childbirth, you know, and they're just staring at me. It's, it was hard, but it was like I never, ever thought I would, you know, complete, ever like leave the field. So it's, it's interesting.
Speaker 1:Did it? Do you feel like it more empowered you to take, to be more proactive in the providers that you chose or in the what is the word? The? Whatever the providers do, the care that they provided, there we go, what do?
Speaker 2:providers do yeah. So here's the deal with baby lawyer. Because of what we do, it's hard for us to relax. We only see the bad. So we're typically elective C-section at 39 weeks.
Speaker 2:However, my first baby was in 2004. That was not really acceptable. So if you want an elective C-section at 39 weeks in 2004, one of the methods was to tell your provider that you had herpes, genital herpes. So my friend, she did that and she got her elective C-section at 39 weeks. I am like I'm not telling my doctor that. No, yeah. So I found that's pretty extreme. She was happy she had her elective C-section, right. She's like just go to my. I'm like, I'm just, you know what, I'm not putting that in my medical records. This, this is just weird.
Speaker 2:Plus, the doctor I had picked was a very conservative doctor, meaning he wasn't going to take risks and whatnot. And he's like Gina, you got this, you can do it and yeah, but I did. I picked a very conservative doctor. I did, by the way, I did wake up in labor but it did not go well because I of course, I can't relax because of what I had seen. So he finally was like you can have your C-section. He did sex in the end I was a C-section. The next two then were elective C-sections at 39 weeks, and the reason we do that is because we don't. There really are no cases involving injury of a baby with an elective C-section at 39 weeks. Oh yeah, so that's, that's the reason it's like the lowest possible risk to baby. And again, you got to remember what we see and you know we're not medical providers who see the good and the bad, we just see the bad and we analyze the bad for years. So it's a little more difficult for us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I I part of what's like coming up for me too right now is thinking about all of the pressures that women place on themselves and what it means to be a woman and have this like natural vaginal birth. That's almost kind of like the highest standard is. I was able to have this natural birth, no medications, out in the wilderness with basically no one around, and that makes that is the definition of a strong woman. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, I'll tell you, I mean natural, vaginal, spontaneous birth, staying relaxed, definitely. That's what I recommend. So, and in terms of, by the way, elective C c-section, you know I would never like if my kids I would not say, hey, children, you need to have, or I recommend, you know, having an elective c-section at 39 weeks. I don't, I don't recommend it.
Speaker 2:I just wanted to throw that out there and that is why I wrote a book, you know, on how to have a safe delivery, a safe vaginal delivery. So cause, I do want my kids to you know experience the norm, if that's what they choose.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I think you make a really good point in terms of that. You, you looking at yourself and you know it sounds like more of you're on the like higher anxious side, really trouble relaxing just in the work that you do. And in order to have this like safe, natural birth, you have to be relaxed. You can't be like super tense and holding everything in because it's not going to allow things to progress. I had a similar experience. Although I didn't have any c-sections, my births kind of always had to be induced in the end because I'm a little bit more anxious. And, yeah, I run a bit more anxious and I struggle to relax. I've done a lot of work around that, so it's easier now. But when it came to medical procedures, oh yeah, I usually pretty anxious and so they. My third pregnancy actually almost ended in a c-section. The doctor came in. He was like, oh I almost I was about to wheel you out and then he came.
Speaker 2:So wow you are like me.
Speaker 1:I'm like, there's not that many people like me, but yeah, you have my same, my same tendencies, so like given what you do Because I mean you kind of hit hit on this a little bit that your intention is like not to scare parents and from the way you've talked about your reviews, the book has been well received by many parents. How is your book different from other pregnancy books? Oh, it's not books.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's not comparable, it's completely thousand percent different. So, and just in terms of making sure you know, I spent a lot of time figuring out how to communicate, how to have a safe delivery without scaring parents. So in the end, after I was finished writing the book, before it was published, I gave it to six pregnant beta readers. So they read the book and then they answer questions, and my number one question was is this scary? And across the board they were like no, thank you so much, you know, for writing it. But my book's not about what can go wrong, it's how to make sure it goes right on one of the biggest days of your life, and that was the whole point of it.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I mean that's great Because I think I I can. I couldn't tell you the title now, but I when I was pregnant with my first, and just to give a little bit of background on where I was in my life, when I in Oklahoma and I was in Michigan my family is in Texas, so I was alone, to my own devices, in Michigan, pregnant, going through grad school, and I read this book that scared the shit out of me in terms of giving birth. I don't know why I picked it up. I think I was trying to empower myself to like be like my own advocate and all that but really that book just scared me and it made me name that book.
Speaker 1:I can't remember.
Speaker 2:I mean obviously it's like a while ago.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean yeah, because my, my oldest it was with my oldest he's. He'll be nine in August, so this was almost 10 years ago. My oldest it was with my oldest he's. He'll be nine in August, so this was almost 10 years ago.
Speaker 2:So that is really good. I know either. Yeah, you know, I've been talking to pregnant moms for a very long time too, and I learned pretty early on that it used to be I, you know, at first I had just I would just speak, and it's like they would turn me off. And I'm like, don't, don't turn me off, I know how to make sure you have a healthy baby. So then that's why another reason I spent a lot of time.
Speaker 2:But you know, in terms of my being, my book it is not even comparable to anything like what to expect when you're expecting or anything of that nature. I mean, chapter one are the lessons from the baby cases, lessons from families, medical experts, delivery teams. As a lesson, we're learning from these past mistakes to prevent these same mistakes from happening in the future. And then each lesson in chapter one is then a subsequent chapter. So lesson number one you got to get ready for childbirth. You just don't roll up to the hospital and hope for the best. I tell you why. So then you go to chapter two, but it's all the information about childbirth that I find important as a childbirth attorney. So when I get a case in and I'm like is this good care? Shit care. These are this. These are the facts about childbirth I rely on. So in doing that, I'm trying to give families like a good foundation to help make those you know, good decisions. So then you know that there's another chapter in there. It's amazing Chapter 11, chapter 11.
Speaker 2:Those are the reoccurring issues and facts in a legal baby case. It's literally the reason that that's what sparked me writing this book is because when something goes wrong, there are typical like things that are involved in the case. So you know, I'm like, okay, you guys have and again I don't just identify, for instance, pitocin. Pitocin is the drug used to induce mom's labor, like you just talked about. That's the number one fact in a legal baby case. That's in almost every single one of my cases. I don't just say, hey, good luck to you. I'm like, okay, I've analyzed this drug now for 20 years. I've traveled the country, researched it, blah, blah. This is how you have a safe Pitocin induction, you know. So, again, this is not stuff that you're going to find in a normal pregnancy book, and I'm not, as I said before, a medical provider. I'm just a child birth attorney in their world. So it's a completely different aspect.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no. Thanks for sharing that, and what I'm also hearing is more of like you're, you're written this book, so the the person who's giving birth and the people supporting them can be the best advocates in that process.
Speaker 2:You are good? Yes, a hundred percent there's. That's part of solving the problem. Is or making sure there's not a complication or mistake? Is prepping dad, prepping grandma, whoever it may be, to be a baby?
Speaker 2:I call them the baby advocate in the book, I think it's chapter seven, but it's like okay, baby advocate, you're just not going to roll up to the hospital and just cheer me on and be my cheerleader. We're going to designate you as a baby advocate. Now you have a new job. Like any new job, you need a little bit of training. This is what you need to do and know. And yeah, I go over that in the book, because having that second set of eyes on mom, letting mom again focus on delivering baby, you know, focus mentally, physically relaxing, staying at a fight or flight mode and whatnot. But a way to do that, a way to avoid what I've seen, is to have that advocate. What I've seen is to have that advocate. So then I guide dads, guide grandmas on. Here's how you be the best advocate to make sure, again, what I see does not happen to your family.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean cause it's so important and can make a huge difference. And even just talking about my own experience in birth, I've had three kids. The last one it was very it was all over the place. I wasn't. My OB-GYN was on a vacation and it just happened to fall that I he was supposed to be back. But with everything going on, I did not want to risk having my child on the weekend and getting some random doctor assigned to me. I was like, okay, I'll just do it with this doctor who's here. I kind of know about him. And well what? During my delivery process the nurse wasn't a regular labor and delivery nurse. She and I also have to point out, I'm in a rural area, I don't have very many options. She was not confident and I could tell that she was not confident in what she was doing. She did not come and check on me very often. She was scared to check, like my dilation, and she would often would wait for the door. I'll just wait for the doctor. He should be here any moment.
Speaker 1:And I mean, luckily for me, this is my third birth, so I'm like, okay you are lucky it's not okay, we, you need to check, you need to figure out what's going on down there and if you're too scared to do it, you need to like call someone else to do it. And even in getting my epidural she did not go and get the anesthesiologist. And the anesthesiologist came in and was like, oh my gosh, I was waiting for you. And I said what do you mean? You were waiting for me, no-transcript to tell them that this is like been way too long and so, just like, even in that experience, like this was other child but we didn't have that conversation because we had never this has never happened to us before, but it's. It's good to know like those things can happen and someone has to be there for you to be your voice when you're just not in that headspace anymore yeah, you should have been able to give your husband the look and he should have known to go get them.
Speaker 2:But that's also, if you don't talk about it ahead of time, or he doesn't know he's the designated baby advocate or he doesn't know what to do. You know that's. Yeah, you know my book and I get it. Up until now there's never been a book for dads that will help them bring their wife and baby home. I mean, they do, they work on the nursery so much they get the house ready. You know, typically ordering them around.
Speaker 2:So instinctively they do want to protect and you know, make again, make sure both are coming home at the end of the day. But you know that's where, again, my book comes in and will help guide them. Because you know if your husband had been under the training of baby advocate and that actually even in my podcast I've got the child birth attorney podcast I just did an episode, I did a solo episode where I just talk and I'm like I talked to the dads it's called the protective father, how to make sure, how to protect mom and baby Like that's that, this is what you need to do. So again, but yeah, it's that's. I think a lot of them don't know what to do because they don't have the guidance.
Speaker 1:No, no, I feel like there's. There's a lot of people who just trust the medical system, like well, they know what they're doing. They've already called. We just have to trust that they're on their way and come to find out. For me, she had never even been called. They had not called the anesthesiologist, they just told us that they had called her.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, let me tell you about trust the system. So the first episode of my podcast is Bailey. Bailey had her baby six months ago. She trusted the system. And why did she trust the system? She's a nurse. She's a young nurse, but she's a nurse, not a labor and delivery nurse did not have much like knowledge about labor and delivery, but she was a good nurse, right. So she's like I just trust the delivery team. And she did not leave with a healthy baby.
Speaker 2:And her story on my podcast is, you know, one of the reasons I'm doing what I'm doing. My book was out and it's something that she had access to if she didn't know about it at the time, and but we finished that podcast episode and she, oh, I just love her, I love Avery, her B, her daughter, and it's just, it just breaks my heart. So after the episode, she read my book and texted me just telling her how, how hard it was, because a lot of like chapter 11, a lot of what's in my book, like if this happens to you, this is what you need to do happen to her. And so it was really hard and in the end, it's like if she had read my book before delivery, maybe something would have been different, because she does, you know, and she has a lot of anger, a lot of guilt, because she just rolled up and trusted the delivery team. Six months ago, literally six months ago, this all just happened.
Speaker 1:So it totally sucks, because we should be able to trust them, but we can't.
Speaker 2:Sometimes you can. Here's the deal. I talk about it in my book. I am like listen, your delivery team is huge. They're so important.
Speaker 2:In one of my legal baby cases it's their care that's at issue. Analyze, more than any other aspect of the case. They are responsible for bringing your baby safely into the world. In my cases there's three kinds of delivery teams. Number one, the dream team. You want the dream team, right? You did not have the dream team. You had the second team. You had a team with a bad apple. Okay, that's your nurse.
Speaker 2:You have to know and listen, I love labor and delivery nurses, the ones that are born, the ones that are born to be labor and delivery nurses. Oh, I just, they do their job for personal gratification, not financial. They're amazing humans. In cases they they show more human emotion than anybody else. But you want, but so if you have you know you're in a rural area really can you switch out your nurse I mean, I maybe there is more than one or at least complain about her. So it's it's hard, but you know you have your team with a bad apple. And then you have your third type of delivery team.
Speaker 2:I didn't know what to call it in the book so I called it Bush league. That's when two or more people, two more people on your delivery team suck. That Okay, again, I've been doing this 21 years. Those teams were more prominent. You know, early in my career I don't see too many Bush league delivery teams, but again, you know it's, it's hard, you're in a rural area so it's like you know. But at least if you know, or at least if your nurse sucks now we know your nurse sucks you can't swap her out because apparently she's the only nurse again baby advocate stepping up and knows, knows what to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, absolutely yeah, cause they, I remember they pulled her from so much. My, my son is now he'll be two and a half next month, so this was two and a half years ago. They had pulled her from like the ER to be a labor and delivery nurse and she that was like not her normal role and they moved my nurse who was there, to the ER, I guess, because this nurse couldn't handle it and so, yeah, I was just disaster. And the hospital here it is notorious for being understaffed or sending their staff home because they don't have enough patients that are in the hospital.
Speaker 2:Wow, that is so scary.
Speaker 1:I talk about.
Speaker 2:Ooh, I talk about some of that in my book. That's where you got a bad nurse. Nurses are so important. They're like they're bedside and then now they.
Speaker 1:I mean, my mom is a nurse and my sister is a nurse. So I mean I love nurses. I'm not, we're not trying to dog on nurses. No, no, no, that's why I said that immediately. But every time I say but you?
Speaker 2:know, it's like any profession, right, some are good, some are bad. I just did an episode about doulas, and so I love doulas, I'm a huge advocate for doulas. But there was a really bad doula. So I had a mom come on and tell the bad doula story. But I have to preface it with I love doulas, I advocate for doulas. But because I advocate for doulas, I have to know, have to let everybody know that there are bad doulas. So you know. Same thing with the labor, the nurses.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do the same thing. I mean, there are amazing therapists out there and there are some not so good ones. So, it's definitely do your due diligence as much as possible to research the providers that you are choosing, and I know that's something that you talk about. How can parents pick the right providers? Are there certain things that they should look out for?
Speaker 2:Are there certain things that they should look out for? Oh yeah, definitely Listen this stuff. You know, chad, the chapter I wrote it's called the good doctor and I've had people comment like, wait a minute, this chapter applies to like every doctor out there. So this is again something that you know. You gotta, you gotta, make sure you have a good doctor, because you know, a lot of times you are relying on your doctor and their recommendations to make decisions and it's important whenever you're receiving medical care, especially during childbirth, that you do make those good decisions. And I say this a lot, but you know it's so sad because families, in my cases, are one decision or minutes from a healthy baby again important for decision-making. And who has that delivery team? Your doctor. So, again, picking the good doctor is important.
Speaker 2:I've analyzed doctors who deliver babies for many, many years, obviously because they are the main player and you can't stick a bad doctor in front of a jury. So our whole doc we had. You know we've been analyzing doctors a long time. So in the book I'm like, okay, moms, you got nine months to analyze your doctor, you're going to have to do the mommy analysis. And but you know I'm like, okay, what? Okay, what am I looking at when I cause? There's doctors, just no doctor is the same. We're all different, so we're doctors.
Speaker 2:So basically, there's two things you really need to fall back on, especially with the childbirth and their urinalysis is feeling your instincts and intuition. What is that telling you? You know, I heard a sad story a few weeks ago. It was from one of my friends, but her mom had received some medical care and passed away during the care of the doctor that did had had done something wrong and she passed away. The mom was 65. This is not actually. This has nothing to do with childbirth. However, what was important about that is that right before she went into this surgery, she told my friend I don't like my doctor, but he has a really good reputation. She did and my you know my friend smart and she's like no, don't go to the doctor. If you're that's your instincts and intuition, don't do it. And you know so it's. You know, I obviously maybe she would be here today if she were to listen to those instincts and intuition.
Speaker 2:And when you're pregnant, that stuff's on overdrive. So listen to it. You know, whatever it may be I mean, everybody's different. So somebody may want a doctor who's kind of overbearing, and this is the way it's going to be. And somebody may want somebody different. You know, I mean, I'm, I'm different. I want a low, a low risk doctor who takes zero chances. Because of what I've seen, you know my doctors took me off work in almost every pregnancy before I delivered my baby because they were like, you know, let's just, let's just stop, you know, and so. But it was so.
Speaker 2:Following your instincts and intuition, knowing what you like, not just picking a doctor because you know they've delivered your so-and-so baby, is important. But then the second part of that is also their communication skills making sure you're comfortable with that, making sure they listen to you, how they explain things to you. Now, some doctors have the gift of gab. Where they can, you got to be able to decipher. Do they have the gift of gab? Or do they really care about me as a patient? Because when you, the day you deliver your baby is the one of the biggest days of your life. You never stopped being a parent. I mean, I jumped to that day since I was a little girl, I mean. So you know you have to be comfortable with how your doctor communicates. And why is that important Because, kind of like we just talked about doctor is not at bedside with you, it's the, it's the nurse, it's the resident, it's the midwife, it's not the doctor. So the doctor finds out information about you and how you're doing in labor through whoever is bedside. So if they can't communicate with you or you're not comfortable with how they communicate with you, just keep in mind that's likely how they communicate with the delivery team. So just and again communication. A lot of times when things go wrong there's a breakdown in communication. So a doctor that can communicate, does appear like he really or she really does care is important.
Speaker 2:And then also, you know I have a section in there called the Yoda imposter and you know basically good reputation does not equate to good care. So I had a case at a hospital and the baby was born. Right after the baby was born and it was not born healthy, the nurse left the hospital system. I had to talk with that nurse. A couple of years later she went to a different hospital system. But I was talking to that nurse and she referred to the doctor from that delivery as Yoda and I was like Yoda, are you calling him Yoda Cause he looks like Yoda, she? I didn't think it looked like Yoda she's. She clarified that we were talking about the same doctor and I have never looked more confused in my life because that same doctor yeah, I'm like Google his name, he's.
Speaker 2:He's done some. You know, he's being accused of doing some pretty bad things to his patients and this doctor was an OBGYN, again, you know, she, yoda. I'm like how does a doctor get the name Yoda, who's doing such bad things to his patients? But obviously those patients, their instincts or intuition, something, kicked on because he was eventually, you know, exposed. The problem is he was exposed after he hurt many people. Again, be careful of the that.
Speaker 2:And then, in terms of who's going to deliver your baby, I have 20 questions at the end and there's more to that chapter about going to trial with a doctor. There's a bunch of great stuff in there about doctors, but I think most importantly at the end are 20 questions, and they're 20 questions. We ask every doctor in a deposition on the record to figure out if we can put them in front of a jury, or, or she or. You know we use that information to okay, we are that the doctor is going to go in front of a jury, but will this be used to bolster their credibility or discredit them? So you know it's so. Those questions are incredibly important and I remember thinking like why every pregnant mom should know this about their doctor. But it's things that people think about because, think about this.
Speaker 2:You're ready to see, if you ask this question, doctors who deliver babies are OBGYNs. Ob is obstetrics, gyn is gynecology two separate fields of medicine. Gynecology two separate fields of medicine. Ob, obviously, pregnancy, gynecology, mom's issues. So a lot of doctors, especially as they get older, would do more gynecology. That's nine to five, you know, monday through Friday. It's OB. That's can be pretty demanding. So you want a doctor, so you want to ask your doctor.
Speaker 2:You know what percentage of your practice is obstetrics versus gynecology, right, I obviously recommend picking the doctor who's, you know, in the trenches every day delivering, you know, delivering babies, not the one who 90% of the time, they're doing chick issues. So you know the gynecology part. So, yeah, so it's. I mean really, but until it's out there, like I don't think people think about this, this is stuff that we have to go through in our cases, so it's always, again, it's a different aspect, right? What pregnancy book is going to tell you to ask your doctor about obstetrics versus gynecology?
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I have not heard that. Yeah, no, I have not heard that. And again, I know I have three kids, it's been almost 10 years I would have never thought to ask that. And and man, gina, like your book is very much needed, especially in this time when our, like mother and infant mortality rates in the united states is at a ridiculous rate I don't know the number off the top of my head, but it's ridiculous compared to other countries that are similar to us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, bad, very bad yeah, and I'm asked this all the time. So here's the deal. It's exact reason why you need to read my book. Healthcare and the hospitals aren't changing. If they do.
Speaker 2:You know, I was talking to actually a doctor today and he said something very interesting and I was such a fan you know I because I'm always on my you know, soapbox going. I hate. You know Pitocin is one of the most common facts that you guys are using. But you know Pitocin whatever. You know soapbox going, I hate. You know Pitocin is one of the most common facts that you guys are using. But you know, pitocin whatever, you know him and his, because it is in all of these legal cases he does not want to recommend, you know, pitocin induction at 39 weeks because he's noticing to all of the problems that come from that and it how it's like a cascade of interventions and I'm like thank you. Thank you Because I have another doctor a couple months ago so that's my conversation today at another doctor a couple months ago which I brought up to the doctor I talked to today.
Speaker 2:He said that the standard of care requires him to offer a patient an elective pitocin induction at 39 weeks if they are a good candidate. Just you're a good candidate, your body can handle it. That's probably most pregnant. You know I'm like what? Because if you do have something up or you or you have a complicated pregnancy, you bet they're they're going to induce you early. So it's's like everybody else. If they're a good candidate, the standard of care offers them requires them to offer them a seat. That's total crap, by the way, and the doctor I talked to today said that was crap. He would never do that. He's actually doing the opposite.
Speaker 2:But anyway, my point in all of this unless you have one of those good doctors like I talked to today, you know you have to be able to. You know, as an expecting parent or, you know, dad, grandparent, you know, you know somebody, make sure they're, you know, ready and prepared to make. You know these important decisions have an understanding of what's causing the mortality, morbidity, you know, know and whatnot. But I think pitocin is a huge, huge part of that. That's what. That's what we see in the cases. You know we don't see, you know we don't see natural spontaneous birth. Skip the drugs. So that's my, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's my big thing yeah, well, thank you so much, g Gina, for joining us today. If people are wanting to get into your world or, you know, follow you where's the best place to catch you at.
Speaker 2:Well, you can always follow me on Instagram at Gina Mundy my, the best place to find out information about me. Check out my podcast. Chapter one of my book is on my website for free, but that is Gina Mondaycom. G I N a M U N D Ycom. If you have any questions you ever want to reach out, please feel free. I love to get emails from people who either listen to my podcast or have bought my book or you know what I just I love it so. But my email even is GM at Gina Mondaycom. It goes to my phone and now so far I've only had good messages. So you know, maybe if I start getting bad messages I'll stop doing that. But yeah, and then Facebook is Facebook, facebook, facebook. Okay, gina Monday comma. Author. I do have a private account that I try to keep the family and friends, but I do have an author one that people can follow. But yeah, that's it. Thank you so much, kayla, for having me on your show.
Speaker 1:You were such a great yeah absolutely Thank you, and thank you so much for taking the time to join us, and I hope you have a great rest of your weekend.
Speaker 2:Oh, you too, for sure.