trish: [00:00:00] My name is Trish Ware and I am obsessed with all things pregnancy and birth and helping you to navigate with the practical and the magical seasons of this journey called motherhood. I'm an all day coffee sipping mama of seven. I've had the amazing privilege of delivering many babies. In my 15 plus year career as a labor and delivery nurse, and as a mama of seven, I'm here to help you take the guesswork out of childbirth so you can make the choices that are right for you and your baby.

Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not replace your medical advice. Check out our full disclaimer at the bottom. of the show notes.

Good morning everyone. Today I am talking to Stephanie Fritz. She [00:01:00] is the essential midwife and we're going to be talking all about gut health and I'm assuming holistic type of things, essential oils. So I'm excited to welcome you, Stephanie. If you could just say hello and tell everyone who you are.

Stephanie: I am just so happy to be here with you, Trish.

Thank you for the invite. I am just to a quick introduction of me. I'm Stephanie Fritz. I'm a licensed midwife in Arizona and I am currently residing in Utah. I have four amazing daughters, nine adorable grandchildren, and a husband that I just love and adore. Oh my gosh, I

trish: I I just love cause I don't know if you listen to me or you know me, but I was in a really difficult marriage for 25 years and now I'm married to someone who I absolutely adore.

So like you gave me [00:02:00] chills to hear that. And I love for women to hear that you can really love your husband.

Stephanie: Absolutely. And I really just have the cream of the crop. When I would go on births at night, because, that's when babies are born in the quiet of the night my, I would come home and, early in the morning, my husband would already be off to work and my bedside would be turned down with a mint on my pillow.

So stop it. He is just. Like I, he's amazing. And there's a high divorce rate amongst midwives. And for me, my family and my husband have just been just beyond supportive. We always had a plan B for. Holidays and birthdays and like Christmas now, if mom's not home, if mom's out on a birth, are you okay with waiting, waiting for Christmas until she gets home?

And, we always got the okay with everybody, but there were some vacations missed because I had babies do. And so it was [00:03:00] just, Again, just I have the most amazing family ever.

trish: I'm right now, I'm so emotional listening to you because part of why I do what I do is because the majority of people in the United States, OB and obstetrics and delivery, make it fit their life.

And part of the reason, so when I, okay, my labor and delivery nurse was the reason she inspired me. She was amazing. I had my oldest when I was a teenager. And I thought my life was over. I went to a very private prep school on a path for college. No one I knew had ever gotten pregnant. And I get pregnant.

I had already been accepted into colleges. And I thought my life was over. My, my long, this is a short, long story maybe. I don't know. My labor and delivery nurse after I delivered leaned in and she said you [00:04:00] have so much ahead of you. Your life is not over. You can do anything you want. And here I am. I had five, four kids by the time I was 25.

Okay, mind you. And I own my own businesses, two of them, I'm very successful. Her name was Laura Berry, that was a very long time ago. And eventually, even though I waddled across the stage as a labor and delivery nurse to get pinned, I mean as a nurse to get pinned, sat for my boards on Friday, had my daughter on Monday, and started my nursing career.

My labor and delivery career the year later, I quickly realized that my dream of being a midwife, I couldn't do it because I could not be one of those midwives who would schedule everyone induction so I could have a life. Yeah. And there's very few people, this was, I told you guys, this was a long story, so bear with me.

There's very few people. in this field, maybe how midwives are different, but there's very few people in this [00:05:00] field that preserve the natural process of birth for the moms instead of trying to make it happen for themselves. Wouldn't you agree?

Stephanie: A hundred percent. A hundred percent. When I first got started as a midwife, I was young, I was, my first baby was, I, we were still in college.

I was young and super excited to have this baby. And I went to the doctor and of course I was contracting and he says, yep, you're in labor, head over to the, go pack your bag, head over to the hospital and don't rush, but we'll, you're going to have a baby today. I have waited nine months for this.

I am going to rush. I ran home and packed my bag and we're at the hospital. Really my body just wasn't ready. And I went through 36 hours of really hard labor, all natural. And then when my, after that, I thought there's gotta be a better way. I do not want to do that again. And so when my second one came along, we were still paying for the first [00:06:00] one.

And a friend of mine said You ought to look into a midwife. They're a lot cheaper. And so originally it was for financial reasons that we were, that we went with a midwife, but soon a home birth midwife. Yes. And I remember being in my first visits with her and thinking, Oh my gosh, this is what I am called to do.

I get emotional as I even say that because I remember that moment and knowing that. This is what I, this is my mission. This is what I'm supposed to do. And I'm supposed to take note of every single thing because I want to do it just like her. And that was in that was in 1984. So of course, it took a, I was, a young mom, we were in the military, we moved all over.

So I did childbirth education and taught classes and was invited to births. And it wasn't until the nineties that I. Decided that I needed to [00:07:00] pursue and get legal as far as go through the licensing process as far as being a midwife. I just have never looked back. I love, love, love what I do.

And I come away from a birth at, seven 30 in the morning when there's a hustle and bustle out, kids are going to school, people are going to work, and I drive away from that house thinking, wow, nobody has any clue, the miracle that just happened in that house, and I'm just in awe.

trish: Yeah, I love that so much.

And I, tell my students and my coaching clients because a lot of my coaching clients are labor nurses or childbirth educators or doulas or I have another, I have a midwife who is now specializing in tongue tie with oddly enough, but I've told them the same time, same thing. Every birth that I have experienced, and [00:08:00] you see the way the baby's head moves the same as all the other babies that you've seen.

And you've seen just the beauty of the natural process of birth. If it doesn't take your breath away each time, you are not paying attention.

Stephanie: Yeah, for sure.

trish: Cause it, it's just insanely miraculous. Like I, I remember like my first couple of births that I was off of orientation as the labor nurse. And I remember just Someone being like, Trish Trish get your job, go, work, because I'm like, oh, and crying.

I've cried at so many births. It's just, it truly is. And if we could just get the system to remember that this is a natural process. Because, although I wish, I wanted to have a home birth with Grayson so bad, I had him at 42, he's baby number 7, I've had 6 I've delivered 1 is adopted, and I was planning a home birth.

I'm like, I'm doing a [00:09:00] home birth. I'm doing it. But, I ended up having three losses before I got pregnant with him. And then I was on heparin. And it was like, I was a little, being baby number six, already a risk at hemorrhage. And I'm on this I was going to deliver at Ida Mae Gaskin's farm, which was like a dream, but it wasn't to be.

But anyway, we, I told you we're going to go off on tangents. This is how it works. This is all good. I'm loving the conversation. What I'm really like, I know we have some questions we talked about, but I would love for you to just share with the mamas listening that maybe, cause I think there's a lot more moms that have a secret desire that they want to have a home birth.

they're really afraid of what people will think. They're afraid of it. What if, I want you to like, say what are some like, key things that you think are important for women who are considering a home birth? What questions can [00:10:00] they ask themselves? Or consider that it might be a good fit for them.

Does that make sense?

Stephanie: Yes, totally. And I want to start out with a little a little analogy that I just heard from Dr. Stu. He is an amazing OB that, that teaches midwives and about breech birth.

trish: And I know who he is. He's, is he in North Carolina by chance? No.

Stephanie: No.

trish: Okay. I'm thinking of someone else.

Okay. He may have been, but now he's not. Okay. But

Stephanie: anyway, I just I loved what he said. He said, when you get married, you you have a wedding planner. You have you put out all this money for the perfect wedding. You get to pick out your flowers, your cake, the color of your napkins, everything.

And you just, thousands of dollars are spent on your wedding to have just the perfect one you want, because in a woman's life, her wedding is one of the most important dates of her life. [00:11:00] Another one is her children, the birth of her children. And so now we fast forward to birth and because they have insurance, they just take what is available.

And you don't get to, you don't get to pick and choose all the things that you would want to have that perfect birth. You just have to go with what's provided. And so you miss out and you miss out on one of the most amazing moments of your life because you just went with what, what was provided.

Think about if you had insurance for your wedding. And you just went with what was provided there, and you didn't get to So

trish: McDonald's is provided for your reception dinner.

Stephanie: And so Yeah. I just I, he was talking about how, the insurance really just guides you. Where, which direction you go in and a home birth is certainly not for everyone, but [00:12:00] if you have that desire, even if you have insurance, it's worth looking into that because by the time you pay your copays and your premiums and all that, a home birth really isn't that much, isn't that expensive.

Often it's cheaper. So in, in my case, it certainly was. But so anyway, just. Think about those things. And then I would recommend to interview with midwives and find one that you resonate with. I personally interviewed with four different midwives and found the one that was just perfect for me because you are sharing the most intimate experience of your life with this person.

I am best friends with my clients still to this day. I have. Just dear friendships with my clients and I have not only delivered their babies. And so that's just such a, I look back and think, yeah, what an awesome experience I have been given.

trish: I love that so much. And I also want to speak to you guys about [00:13:00] the, for the choices.

Like Stephanie is saying, you don't, insurance does make some choices for you, but you also, even if you're having a hospital birth, I don't want you guys to think that you can't still plan out the wedding because you can. And I tell, I, I use this almost the exact same analogy down to what they're wearing during birth.

Cause a lot of them will say, I used to sell labor and delivery gowns. I still have some. I had a seamstress, but she went back to college. But I used to say it's a special event cause people would be like can I get the blood out? Who cares? It's a special event. It's okay. It's this one event.

But I do want you guys to know that, maybe having a home birth isn't in your plans, but I think the same holds true. still have a voice and choices, and even down to the lighting [00:14:00] in the room the conversations that are being held and but I do 100 percent teach my girls to speak Stay at home as long as possible.

And funny enough, you'll appreciate this, the majority of my students who I, who tell me about their birth, because I have thousands that never communicate, but we have every week we hang out on Zoom to help them with the mindset and like implementing the average, my students average centimeter that they are when they get to the hospital, seven to eight centimeters.

Wow. That's amazing. That is amazing. That's amazing. Because. Being at home, you just don't perceive, and they aren't getting there freaking out. They're getting there still wondering, are they going to send me home? Because when you're at home, and I think this is what I love most about home birth, when you're at home, you're calmer.

And, most people, some people probably shouldn't have a home birth because it might not be a good situation for [00:15:00] them, but laboring at home, giving birth at home in your safe place allows the oxytocin to flow and everything to go smoother. I agree with that. Yeah.

Stephanie: 100%. One of, I love what you said about the, you having choices, because that's one of the things that I really try and empower my moms with is don't turn your power over to me or anyone else.

This is a, like you are hiring your doctor. You are hiring me. And I just want to be a. I just want to be a lifeguard there, just to watch and guide and I'm here to help you have the best birth that you can have. And you can have that in a hospital as well. You have that power.

There's something you desire or you want. You stand up for that. And in labor, sometimes that's hard to do. And so you have, that's where your doula comes in and, or [00:16:00] another support person where they can help you navigate those desires.

trish: Yeah. That's exactly what I tell my girls.

I'm like, okay, during your pregnancy, you and your birth partner, your support person has to get as educated as possible. You have to explain to them what it is you want and why you want it. And I teach them all about interventions, when they're necessary, when they're out of convenience, what have you. And because I tell them, when you're in labor, your only job is to labor.

At that point, it's your partner's job to advocate and to speak up and to refuse or accept or whatever. But so I also wanted to talk to you because I know that when we were connecting that you do a lot about fertility, conceiving and gut health and essential oils. So I'd love to hear how does, how did you fall into that and how does that?

Play into your own relationship with your [00:17:00] clients.

Stephanie: I used to see clients when, after they saw the double line on the stick. That was the majority of my clients. They would call me after they were pregnant, and then we would proceed from there. And, Now over the last since 2019, probably, I see more clients that are trying to conceive and that has totally flipped.

So I have, I just fell into that where I support. I still support many pregnant women by, by all means, but a lot more than I used to on the fertility side. And so just trying to make that connection between the gut and your microbiome and digestion and nutrition and, all those kinds of things connecting that to fertility.

Has been such a eye opener and has helped so many people be successful. So many moms be [00:18:00] successful with getting pregnant and staying pregnant.

trish: I love that. So when now do those moms. always play into becoming a home birth mom with you, or is it more like this is something separate?

Stephanie: This is something separate.

Some do, but mostly they're just so happy to get pregnant and then they're You know, they're on their way. And of course I'm there for them to help them throughout their pregnancy. But no, not most of them actually continue on with their wherever they are, because those are virtual clients where, they're not within my local community that I could serve in a, in a physical way.

trish: Okay. Okay. So that's more like they connect with you online or what have you?

Stephanie: For sure. Yes. I do personal consults where we devise a plan that's absolutely personal for them. And whether that's pregnancy, postpartum or before even [00:19:00] trying to conceive.

trish: Oh, I love that. Okay. So that is so interesting.

I feel, There's so much to be learned about gut health in general. For

Stephanie: sure.

trish: You get, oh my goodness, like I just was, I have a coaching client who's a naturopathic doctor and she focuses on new moms postpartum and we were just having a conversation about this exact thing. So another thing I wanted to ask you about because I get asked this all the time is about essential oils.

And so I wanted to talk to you about essential oil use during pregnancy. And then I know you had said something about like top complaints and essential oils. So I was just wondering if I could fire off some different things that I hear all the time and maybe you could give us some pointers on [00:20:00] essential oils, but I figured you should probably like.

talk about the safety of them and what they should know before they start using essential oils? For sure. So you're going to

Stephanie: see a lot of mixed information out there in different books about oil safety and their, throughout pregnancy and with your newborn. But please understand that these books were written with all oil users in mind.

So they're going to be ultra conservative because. They don't know what kind of oils you're using, whether they're, how many tests have been done on them, if they have, pesticides or fillers or, all the things that essential oils can be used for. Filtered with, so just so you know, the information that I give in my book and that anything that comes from my social media or from me speaking comes from my personal experience in my midwifery practice and conversations, many conversations with my backup docs.

So during pregnancy, there is we do need to be [00:21:00] very protective about what we put in our bodies, but essential oils can be very safe and effective. And it's my intention to help you to know how to use them with confidence. We can have extra sensitivity in pregnancies, so you might want to use a little less.

or dilute a little bit more, but really in the end, it's all about using common sense and your intuition. There are a few that I recommend to avoid during pregnancy, like Clary Sage. Clary Sage is super relaxing and calming and soothing. It's great to help you. If you're one of those, one of those people that don't have a problem going to sleep, but you wake up at, two or three in the morning, that's a hormone thing.

And so clarisage, a drop of clarisage under your tongue before you go to bed will help you be able to sleep through the night. But in pregnancy, that clarisage can strengthen contractions. And we don't need that, even for Braxton Hicks. So in general, I say just, I recommend avoiding that [00:22:00] until your full term.

And then after that, you can, use it all you want. But there are other oils that can accomplish that same calming, soothing effect without using that specific oil.

trish: Okay. So let's start in like complaints during first trimester. What do you recommend?

Stephanie: Of all, when you're first pregnant, the first complaint is morning sickness and nausea.

So I like to put oils in categories. So we have a digestive category, a pain category, relaxation category, et cetera. And some of the oils will cross over into each, each different categories. But if we're looking at the digestive category, then you would find peppermint, ginger, fennel for.

Let's see. Copa Eba is a great one. Cardamom, cardamom and ginger come from the same family and they actually block your nausea receptors. Back in the day, your mom might've given you ginger ale to help with, if you felt nauseous, that's because of that. that ginger in that ginger ale actually does block those [00:23:00] receptors.

And those oils like, like ginger or cardamom, copaiba those put behind your ears, behind your neck, on your pulse points, wherever you would put perfume. That's a great place. Okay. I'm so

trish: glad you weren't going to say a dot, a drop under your tongue, because I was very sick when I was pregnant.

And I, I was already feeling a little nauseated thinking about that.

Stephanie: For sure. So you could put it in a tea, but only if that is helpful. Only if that is for me, I think

trish: with morning sickness, there ain't nothing going in your mouth.

Stephanie: For me, all I had to do was put it under my nose and just smell it.

And it would give relief. Another complaint is your round ligaments. So you have two ligaments going from your groin area all the way up on each side. And when you're first pregnant, those are about the size of your pinky as round and as long as your pinky finger. But by the time you get to third trimester, they're as long as a pencil and as thin as a pencil lead.

And [00:24:00] so you can imagine just rolling over in bed or bending over to pick something up might strain those. So oils that I might recommend for that is Cypress for circulation, Siberian Fir for pain, and Copaiba for pain and inflammation. And you would just put a drop of each of those in your hand with some carrier oil.

I like Fractionated Coconut Oil because it's virgin coconut oil with the fats removed. So it stays in a liquid form and it doesn't go ramp. So then it doesn't smell. And then you would take that and just massage that on whatever side of that ligament is strained. Another element of complaint that you might have is that sciatic nerve runs from your low back all the way down to your foot.

And sometimes that can be strained even by baby's position. And so Helichrysum, Lavender, Marjoram and Roman Chamomile help with that. And it just helps with that nerve discomfort, the pain the muscles that are supporting that nerve. All of that will [00:25:00] will help that. And then, of course, stretch marks, for, to help with the stretching of your tummy.

And there are oils to help with that, like Copaiba, sandalwood, cedarwood, frankincense, and myrrh. And putting those in, a drop or two of those in your hand with some carrier oil and massaging that over your tummy every day can help with that. Just that discomfort of stretching.

trish: I love that.

That's amazing. What about for sleep? Because you said not to use clary sage, which I, teach my girls to use for labor, but what would you recommend for them if they, so let me actually ask you, I have a good friend here in Nashville who's pregnant and she sent me a list of things going on with her right now.

She's got insomnia, to the point where she's losing her mind and restless legs syndrome and nerve [00:26:00] pain, like in her feet. And we gave her some tips, but I would love to hear what is, what would be some recommendations for any of that?

Stephanie: Absolutely. So for sleep, lavender is great for sleep, but sometimes lavender, again, they're a lot, let's go back to those categories.

And there's lots of relaxation oils in that category. So we have lavender, Bergamot, Roman chamomile Copaiba, those are just to name a few Pettigrain. And If one of those doesn't work, then try another one. It's if you were to go, if you had to have an antibiotic because you were, had some sort of infection, you had to have an antibiotic and you go to the doc and he gives you that and you come home and use it for two or three days and it's not helping.

You don't throw your hands up in the air and say I guess I'm just going to have this forever. This isn't working. You call your doc back and say, this isn't working. He says, Oh let's try something else. And so the same with essential oils. If one [00:27:00] isn't working, then just let's try another one in that category.

My own grandkids, I have three little granddaughters in Georgia and two of them, lavender will put them right to sleep. But the other one, it makes her hyper. And so she uses pettitgrain and that will work instantly. And so those are some oils that can help with, And how would they,

trish: How do you do that?

You put them again on

Stephanie: your, on your perfume points, on your pulse points, or the bottoms of your feet is a great place to put essential oils because they get absorbed through through the through your feet all the way up into every cell of your body. So that's a great place to put them. And straight?

Just do that straight? Those oils? You would, I would always use a carrier oil just because, even for something as mild as lavender because a carrier oil not only dilutes for sensitive skin, but it also helps the oils last longer. So if you didn't use a carrier oil, you would have to be reapplying every few [00:28:00] minutes, but a carrier oil slows down the absorption of that oil so that it lasts for a much longer period of time.

trish: Interesting.

Stephanie: So

trish: what about restless legs? I hear this one all the time. Do you have any tips? Yes,

Stephanie: for sure. So I

trish: mean, we tell, we, I know what we tell them, but I'm interested in what you would tell them.

Stephanie: So magnesium is a big one for a restless leg and, extra magnesium. And we're all, most of us are deficient in that.

You could. anybody could take extra magnesium, but also as far as essential oils, there is Cypress is great for circulation. And I have a blend that I use that's called Aroma Touch and it is like a massage in a bottle. It's from doTERRA. And that's the brand that, that I use and I love that.

It works so great for those wrestlers. Like you put, again, put a couple of drops in your hand, put some fraction of coconut oil in there, and then just rub that on the leg [00:29:00] area, especially like for growing pains, even for your little ones that works amazing.

trish: Oh, wow. That's interesting to know. Yeah. Of course, I told her magnesium lotion is what I recommended.

So with magnesium lotion, could you drop the Cypress into that? A hundred percent.

Stephanie: Absolutely. Yes. That would be a

trish: good

Stephanie: carrier for that.

trish: That's amazing. So I would, let me, I know we're running out on time and we've had such a wide range, such a wide range. What about, let's talk about just a little bit, what specific oils or blends do you recommend for moms for recovery and mental health?

And I've got a lot, so we have our pregnancy classes everyone who joins gets 30 days free and my mama hub called Mama Society and then we support them through postpartum because you and I both know that's non existence in real life. [00:30:00] We've really been able to go on a journey. I just started doing that a year ago because.

I hang out with my moms every Wednesday on Zoom and they were all having babies and I was like, I don't want you to leave. So we started the postpartum side of it. And, but in that as a labor and delivery nurse, because I don't spend time with people postpartum, I have spent more time in the last year to two with moms after delivery.

And I would say the two things that I notice the most is anger and rage that they're dealing with, or increased like OCD type of anxiety, like where they're just, obsessive about the safety of the baby or something bad could happen or what have you. So I would love to know like your thoughts on different blends or oils that you would recommend for some of these moms.

Stephanie: Yeah. So for postpartum, I think when we support moms in a, for the postpartum part, then they can feel more confident and can have an [00:31:00] easier time, not even right after postpartum, but even like right after birth, but even further on down the road. But postpartum. First of all, like right after birth, you get those hormone shakes and clary sage is a great oil to help with those hormone shakes.

And then we have those after pains. So Siberian for lavender and copaiba are all three great oils for those after pains that our body is really doing what it's supposed to do, but you've already birthed the baby and. You got your gift with your baby, but now you've got these after pains that are, you don't get anything after that.

And we wanna support moms with that. And then I always say day four is the hardest day for mom postpartum because, she's home from the hospital. Her milks come in often, dad has to go back to work. Maybe mom has left. Everybody's life has been. Gets to go back to normal except for hers and hers has changed forever.

And so wild orange is one of those oils [00:32:00] that is a happy oil and it helps mom to stay, Be able to let go of anxieties and help give her the support that she needs on that day for day four is a day. I tell dads that this is a great day to have flowers delivered. This is a great day to do a foot massage because day four is hard.

And so wild orange is just a great oil to either diffuse or apply on those pulse points, all the things. But day four is just a hard day. And then for later on down the road there's, I have a blend that is wild orange and Melissa. So 20 drops of wild orange and five drops of Melissa in a five mil bottle.

And then fill to the top with fraction and coconut oil or a 10 mil roller bottle, excuse me, and filter the top of fraction and coconut oil. And now mom would just use that on pulse points as needed for a, just for support for that anxiety, for that [00:33:00] Okay,

trish: so I, this has been such an interesting conversation and I'm so happy that you guys have been here.

Hopefully, you've stuck to the end to listen because I we've covered such a huge topic. weird range of topics, but that's okay. That's how we roll around here. So thank you so much for coming today and I would love for you to share with everyone where they can find you.

Stephanie: Absolutely. So I am on social media anywhere you look as The Essential Midwife.

So that's Facebook, Instagram, TikTok all the places. My email is even theessentialmidwife at gmail. com. So I'm the essential midwife and you can find all sorts of goodies on my website. Even I have some resources to help with again, fertility to help with pregnancy essential oils for pregnancy, birth, and babies for postpartum.

All the things I have a book that I've written essential oils for pregnancy, [00:34:00] birth, and babies that have sold over a hundred thousand copies. So it's a great resource. And. Women's hormones are a big deal in that gut health. So you're going to find all sorts of resources on my website.

trish: I love that. Thank you so much for coming today.

Hey, mamas. I hope you enjoyed this episode with Stephanie. We really talked about a lot, but what I love the most is her genuine. Uh, of birth. Like, that's, that's a birth nerd right there. Just like me. Okay, you guys, as always, I will see you again next Friday. Please leave a review. Tell me what you want to hear more of, and also, tell me what you loved about this episode.

Hit subscribe, and I'll see you again next Friday. Bye for [00:35:00] now.