Children's Health from the Beginning: My Conversation on Mondays with Michael

From prenatal care to infant bodywork to teen mental health — what I shared on Mondays with Michael, and what I want every parent to hear.

On May 4th, I joined Dr. Michael Gaeta on his show, Mondays with Michael — a podcast on natural health and health freedom that he has been hosting for more than six years. It was actually my first time on Michael's show, and I was grateful for the invitation and the space to have a real conversation. We covered a lot of ground — prenatal care, infant bodywork, C-section recovery, mental health in children and teenagers, and how parents can find support when the decisions feel overwhelming.

In this episode, we cover:

• What I recommend for mamas during pregnancy — from what we put in and near our bodies to managing stress and building early connection with your baby
• Why writing a birth plan matters, how to advocate for your values in a hospital or birth center setting, and why flexibility is just as important as preparation
• What I've observed in more than 15 years of specialized pediatric bodywork about C-section babies — including the scoliosis and torticollis patterns I see most often
• My COS (Cranial Occipital Spinal) technique and what early bodywork can do for an infant's developing spine and muscular system
• The rise in childhood and teen anxiety — what I'm seeing in coaching, and what's actually helping
• Pacifiers, breastfeeding, and the small decisions that can have a bigger impact than most parents realize

Pregnancy: What We Put Into and Near Our Bodies

Children's health doesn't start at birth — it starts in utero. What a mother eats, breathes, and is exposed to throughout pregnancy shapes the environment her baby grows in. That includes the obvious things like diet and stress, but also things we don't always think about: phone placement, EMF exposure, and anything we're introducing into the body that doesn't need to be there.

I encourage mamas to put their hands on their belly throughout pregnancy. Talk to your baby. That physical and emotional connection is something I truly believe matters — and it costs nothing. The more we can protect what's in there, and the calmer we can keep ourselves, the better the foundation we're laying for this child from the very beginning.

The Birth Experience — and the Plan Behind It

I've been at a lot of births. The single most consistent thing I've observed is that parents who walked in knowing what they wanted — and who were willing to stay flexible when things changed — had the best experiences.

A birth plan isn't about being rigid. It's about being informed. If you don't want hepatitis B administered at birth, say so. If you want immediate skin-to-skin contact, put it in writing. Let your partner or support person know what matters to you. And then stay present to what actually unfolds, because sometimes your body has a different plan. My own birth experience with my son was far from what I expected, and what I'd tell a younger version of myself is this: prepare, advocate — and be willing to listen when your body is telling you something.

For C-section babies specifically, early bodywork matters more than most parents are told. In my practice, I've consistently observed that babies born by C-section tend to carry more tension in their bodies and are more prone to torticollis and fussiness — and I wanna say 99% of the children I've worked on who had scoliosis were C-section babies. The vaginal delivery process has a natural straightening and aligning effect on the baby's spine; C-section babies miss that. The COS technique I developed — Cranial Occipital Spinal — addresses that tension starting from the very first visits. There is a newborn bodywork video on the Paul Thomas MD YouTube channel (search "How to Relax Your Baby") that walks through a lot of what I do in those early sessions.

Children, Mental Health, and the Value of Being Heard

What I call kid coaching is not therapy. It's conversation — a space where a child can talk about what's hard without being labeled, without being told what they feel, without someone rushing to fix it. A lot of the kids I work with didn't connect with formal counseling, not because counseling is wrong, but because they needed to be heard first. Kids don't always come to parents with what's really going on — not because they don't trust their parents, but because sometimes they need someone outside the family to process with. Coaching gives them that.

The same is true for parents. If you're navigating a vaccine decision, a difficult diagnosis, a child who is struggling, or your own health — you don't have to figure it out alone. Reach out. That's what we're here for.

DeeDee Hoover —Just a Mom

The information shared in this conversation is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. It does not establish a doctor–patient relationship. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding questions about your or your child's health.

#KidsFirst4Ever, #ChildrensHealth, #NaturalParenting, #InfantCare, #MentalHealthAwareness, #PediatricBodywork, #VaxFacts, #MondaysWithMichael, #BirthPlan, #DeeDeeHoover, @kidsfirst4ever, @PaulThomasMD, @michaelgaeta

Just a reminder: Coaching with Dr. Paul & DeeDee Hoover LMT, CCT, PMT, is available.