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A Birthy Podcast for Birth Geeks
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The Birth Geeks Podcast
Real talk for birth professionals who want more than the basics. Hosted by Robin Elise Weiss and Hillary Melchiors, The Birth Geeks is where expertise meets curiosity, and practical insight meets passionate conversation. We go beyond the how-tos to talk about what it really means to do this work.
recent episodes
The Birth Geeks is a podcast for experienced birth professionals who already know what they’re doing and want to keep doing it well. Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH and Dr. Hillary Melchiors bring evidence-based conversation to the topics other birth podcasts won’t touch: burnout, business reality, scope creep, sustainability, and what long-term birth work actually looks like. No beginner basics. No hand-holding. Just honest, research-grounded talk for doulas, midwives, childbirth educators, and nurses who have been around long enough to want more than the standard answer.
This one’s for the birth doulas who are excited to get the wake up call and haven’t yet realized the physiological toll that this will take (as we see in the scientific literature) on your body. We’re talking about all the ways we deal with being on call and making sure we’re getting our Zzzzzzzs on this week’s episode.
Birth doula work gets described as thrilling—the middle-of-the-night call, the quick scramble, the arrival at a birth. But what’s left out of that story is the reality of sleep deprivation, the impact of disrupted schedules, and the ongoing challenge of protecting your health while being on call. In this episode, Dr. Robin Elise Weiss and Dr. Hillary Melchiors get honest about what it really feels like to be awakened at 2 AM and share what has helped, and what hasn’t, over their years of practice.
We’ll hear about their personal sleep routines, the science behind chronic sleep loss, and practical tools that have been effective (from blackout blinds to bright light therapy boxes to bedtime routines and planned breaks). They don’t shy away from the tug-of-war between loving the work and needing rest or the strain on relationships with partners, kids, and friends.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make birth work sustainable or questioned if a change to postpartum work is the answer, this episode is for you. Get ready for an honest look at sleep, burnout, and the boundaries that make a long-term birth career possible.
The Story Behind the Birth Geeks
In 2014, Robin and Hillary met at a birth doula training, and it was love at first conversation. Just kidding! Robin intimidated the crap out of Hillary with her extensive knowledge and experience and Hillary caught Robin’s attention with her probing questions and over-zealous nature.
What People Say
I was looking for something that felt both smart and supportive. Robin and Hillary make me feel like I’m part of a bigger conversation and they somehow make even complex topics feel approachable.
Childbirth Educator
I tune in while driving to prenatals or folding laundry. I’ve learned more from these episodes than from some full-day workshops. They don’t just talk about the work, they live it.
Birth Doula
Every episode reminds me why I do this work. The honesty, the humor, the insight, it’s all there. It feels like sitting down with two wise and wonderfully geeky friends who just get it.
Full Spectrum Doula
Meet Your Hosts
Helping others has always been my passion and this is why I decided to partake in the enlightenment of mothers concerning childbirth.
Many a times, a lot of people have the wrong mindsets about major things but with our help, we will be able to guide them accordingly. Meeting with different professionals has been a delight and one more thing that makes me happy is sharing the knowledge I have with others so they can become better than they are.
