In this episode of the Birth Kweens Podcast, Karly and Ali talk with Jamie Boyd, L.Ac. about her work as an acupuncturist, her training in midwifery, and her own birth experiences. Jamie is the proud mother to two radiant girls in San Diego, CA. She has been a licensed acupuncturist with a Master’s of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine since 2006. She started her journey with women’s health in 2002 as a homebirth midwife assistant for Catherine Chichakian LM, CPM. While working as an assistant homebirth midwife, Jamie attended the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego. She completed her internships with Rady’s Children’s Hospital, UCSD’s Geriatric Clinic and the San Diego Hospice and Palliative Impatient Care Center. She also studied gynecology and pediatrics in China at the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s hospital. Her simultaneous training in two of the oldest healing arts has offered her a unique vantage point in understanding the causes and conditions of wellness in this human life. Here’s an overview of what’s covered in this episode:
- Jamie’s educational background and how she became interested in eastern medicine
- Her interest in using acupuncture for hospice care and how that led her to attending acupuncture school at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego
- How Jamie became involved in the San Diego birth community and how her experience as a birth assistant intersected with her acupuncture practice
- The story of Jamie’s time spent living and working at a Buddhist monastery in India and how that led to the birth of her first daughter
- The story of Jamie’s first birth, a planned home birth turned cesarean, and what it was like to heal from and process that experience
- The story of Jamie’s second birth, a planned home VBAC turned hospital VBAC
- How Jamie’s personal journey with a variety of health issues has allowed her to provide more compassionate, empathetic, and holistic care to her own patients
- The basic concept of Chinese medicine and why/how it can be such an essential treatment modality during pregnancy (and the rest of life!!)
- The importance of spending time every day in a parasympathetic state (aka – “rest and digest” mode) and how not giving your body this rest period can negatively impact your hormones and your overall health
- The pregnancy and women’s health related issues that can be treated with acupuncture, including important considerations if you want to use it to induce labor
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The Birth Kweens get down to the nitty gritty of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and women’s health. For more from us, visit birthkweens.com. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens and email us at birthkweens@gmail.com with your questions, suggestions and feedback.