Lauren was pressured into a “natural” induction by her midwives as she approached 40 weeks pregnant. After multiple rounds of herbal cocktails and finally, the dreaded castor oil, her body was forced into the labor process. She believes that the labor was so intense, painful, and her baby mal-positioned because her body and baby weren’t actually ready to begin. And, after a very long time laboring at home, she transferred to the hospital, which had been her biggest fear. While postpartum with he...
Jul 11, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Irina had just moved to the United States from another country when she found out she was pregnant. Without knowing much about our maternal healthcare system, she gave birth in the local hospital, and the care she received was unimpressive to say the least (among the crazier parts of this story was a nurse telling her, mid-labor, that giving birth on her hands and knees would “kill her baby”). When it came time for her second birth, she decided she didn’t need the healthcare system at all. And a...
Jul 05, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 21
After an unplanned pregnancy very newly into her marriage, Melissa planned a home birth, but was transferred out of midwifery care due to a pre-eclampisa diagnosis. She was given no other option than an induction in the hospital. Overall, she was grateful to have not ended up with a cesarean, but there was so much that happened during that birth that was violating and unnecessary. After her baby was born, she started listening to birth story podcasts and realized that birth didn’t have to be tha...
Jun 29, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 20
At just 21 years old, Trae’s experience giving birth to her first baby was a truly life threatening one. Although she is still processing the events of that day, Trae is very passionate about advocating for other mothers who experience traumatic births. She shares the whole story with us today, including ways she has found healing in the aftermath. Please note that this episode contains a description of a traumatic birth, and take care of yourself accordingly. You can follow Trae on instagram @t...
Jun 21, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 19
After a failed induction, a very long bout of prodromal labor, and getting ultimately kicked out of her birthing center, Ita’s first baby was born surgically, under general anesthesia, in Bali. After this birth experience, Ita had a hard time bonding with her daughter, and they struggled with their breastfeeding relationship. After that first tough year, and a move to the US, Ita became pregnant with her second baby. And as the pregnancy progressed, Ita felt increasingly called to freebirth this...
Jun 16, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 18
In honor of #internationalhomebirthday (June 6th), I’m sharing this beautiful home birth story. Samantha, a twin who was born at 33 weeks, wisely dealt with the trauma of her own birth before becoming pregnant herself. She says that the day she gave birth was truly the best day of her life, but that she worked really hard for it. The most remarkable part of her story for me was the dreams she describes during her pregnancies which were clear communications from her babies' souls. Join our online...
Jun 07, 2022•44 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Before having children, and doing the work that I do now, I spent ten years working within the health insurance industry. I sat in on a lot meetings that (accidentally) shared what I believe to be the truth about our healthcare system - namely, that it doesn't really create health. Above all, it's a really big business. I focus this episode mainly on the myth of preventive care, because it's of particular relevance to pregnancy and prenatal care. If you love the show, please consider supporting ...
Jun 02, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Gena McCarthy is an educator, nurse, and perinatal psychotherapist. Her work is to support you to build bridges between your heart and your womb, between your birth imprints and your present life, between your spiritual, parenting and professional paths. During our conversation she shares the story of her own birth 70 years ago, with her mother under twilight sleep, and the home birth of her son. She takes us through a couple different practices to help us heal birth trauma, one, an EMDR practic...
May 24, 2022•54 min•Season 3Ep. 15
After two pretty straightforward births, Amy’s third birth resulted in a traumatic, unplanned cesarean, where she experienced obstetric violence, PTSD, and postpartum depression and anxiety. Amy had a lot a trauma from childhood come up for her after this birth. She says that the experience made her second guess everything she believed about the medical system, and even her beliefs about God. After that birth, and two losses, Amy had her fourth baby at home. Amy graciously shared with me some of...
May 19, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 14
After a conscious conception, Ally went into labor at almost 43 weeks. Her epic, three day long birth process included many things that could be considered a “problem” or otherwise pathologized, but with the right support, and unwavering trust in herself and her body, this birth initiated Ally into a more powerful, sovereign version of herself. You can follow Ally on instagram @ally_aura JOIN OUR ONLINE MEMBERSHIP HERE! https://www.healingbirth.net/membership If you love the show, please conside...
May 10, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 13
This is part two of a series exploring, through personal stories, how the experience of prior sexual assault can show up when we give birth. Rebecca shares the incredible story of the birth of her fourth child, born at just 32 weeks, in a teaching hospital. This is one of the most emotionally intense stories I have ever recorded, both in its beauty and pain. (Please note that while we do discuss sexual assault, this conversation does *not* contain a description of sexual assault). You can follow...
May 03, 2022•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 12
This is part one of a two part series exploring, through personal stories, how the experience of prior sexual assault can show up when we give birth. (Please note that this conversation does *not* contain any description of sexual assault). You can follow Gemma @wyldbirth and www.wyldbirth.com JOIN OUR ONLINE MEMBERSHIP HERE! https://www.healingbirth.net/membership If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon/healingbirth JOIN OUR LIVE WEBINAR EVENT: Discovering Yo...
Apr 28, 2022•39 min•Season 3Ep. 11
What if breech birth is not the inherent emergency we are conventionally told, but rather, an expression of intelligent, deeply empathic, communication between mother and baby? Jess shares her three birth stories with us - actually four, as we begin with her own - all of which carry the through line of breech presenting babies and maternal communication. This is another one of those stories where ancestral and matrilineal healing come from a powerful reclamation of what it means to birth in sove...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 10
In this solocast I explain why. Let me know what you think! HMU @healingbirth or www.healingbirth.net JOIN OUR ONLINE MEMBERSHIP HERE! https://www.healingbirth.net/membership If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon/healingbirth
Apr 11, 2022•11 min
Ariana shares the story of her daughter’s birth, a planned homebirth that ended in a cesarean. Recorded at only four months postpartum, she shares some of the insights she’s already gained from this experience, and reminds us that’s its okay to feel it all - happy that you have a healthy baby, and perhaps, sadness or other complicated feelings about how the birth itself happened. This is exactly the kind of story that I needed to hear, years ago when I went through a very similar experience with...
Apr 05, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 9
I love stories that illustrate how the births of our first babies (maybe every baby?) often prompt us to change and shift our lives, and this is definetly one of them. Christine shares the story of free birthing her son in Canada. There are so many juicy elements to this one - making love during labor, having a psychedelic, out of body experience, spirit baby communication, just to name a few! Christine also shares how, after such a powerful birth, she felt alone in the postpartum time. This pro...
Mar 31, 2022•48 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Victoria’s first birth was unmedicated, in a hospital, and although everything went “right” it left her feeling like something wasn’t quite right. Her postpartum experience with that baby was very challenging, and she later connected the challenges postpartum with some of the disempowering things that happened during the birth. She shares the experience of miscarrying at home after that hospital birth, and how that miscarriage helped her realize that her body was completely capable of birthing w...
Mar 21, 2022•55 min
Jenna, a spiritual life coach for moms (and friend of mine!), shares her two birth stories. One, midwife assisted at a birth center, and the second, a very consciously chosen free birth. Guiding her through her pregnancies and birth experiences was Jenna’s strong intuition and willingness to trust herself. She also shares much about the always unfolding lessons of motherhood, and has a special message for anyone who is struggling to process a birth experience that left them in pain. She’s funny,...
Mar 14, 2022•57 min•Season 3Ep. 6
In a heart wrenching and raw interview, Ashley shares the story of the unnecessary cesarean birth of her first child. From showing up in labor and being misidentified as a different patient, to having her doctor rush her labor process due to his golf tournament, her whole story is infuriating and deeply sad, most of all, because it’s simply so common. Many times during this conversation, I had to mute my mic and take deep breaths, because so much of her story was personally relatable to me. I be...
Mar 01, 2022•58 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Margeaux, a therapist who works in maternal mental health, went into her first pregnancy having heard first hand the many ways that a birth experience can leave us traumatized. Unfortunately all that knowledge was not enough to prevent her from being coerced into an induction that left her in the kind of pain she counsels her clients through. After the first year postpartum, a series of beautiful, magical synchronicities, and a deep connection to her inner voice, led her to become pregnant again...
Feb 14, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Elizabeth shares two very different home birth stories with us today. This first, included almost every traumatic thing I can think of that can transpire at home, including a postpartum hospital transfer for blood loss. After that experience, she says she never wanted to give birth again. But when she had healed enough from that experience to become pregnant and birth again, that birth was so powerful and blissful she wanted to experience it over and over. You will not want to miss her descripti...
Feb 01, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Charlotte shares her three birth stories with us - one cesarean (the reason for which is definetly the most unique one I have ever heard!), and two home birth VBACs. Her entire journey is so beautiful, she has so much wisdom to share, and now has stepped into working with other women who want to birth in sovereignty. You can follow her @the_vbac_coach JOIN OUR NEW ONLINE MEMBERSHIP HERE! https://www.healingbirth.net/membership If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.p...
Jan 20, 2022•41 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Andrea’s first birth experience is a perfect example of what it can look like when your midwives work for the state, not you. After a traumatic cesarean birth, she was determined to birth her second baby at home. Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately?) no one in her province you could offer her the kind of support she needed, so she birthed that baby with just her partner as support. That birth was a firewalk, but in it, she found the connection to her ancestors that wasn’t present the first time...
Jan 03, 2022•1 hr 43 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Hint: It has to do with finding grace for yourself. This is a bonus solocast. JOIN OUR NEW ONLINE MEMBERSHIP HERE! https://www.healingbirth.net/membership If you love the show, please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon/healingbirth
Dec 17, 2021•12 min
Kristen shares her two pregnancy and birth stories, one, a home birth with a midwife, and the second, a planned free birth. Throughout her pregnancies, Kristen was in direct communication with the spirits of her babies on the other side, waiting to come through. In fact, it was they who guided her to make the decision to free birth the second time. Kristen also shares how she resolved the retained placenta from her free birth naturally at home - something I have never heard anyone do before! JOI...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Esme vividly describes her first birth experience as a descent into the underworld. Ultimately, that birth process was interrupted by an overly cautious midwife, which had long term physical and emotional ramifications for both her and her son. After a lot of healing work, her second child was born, in an experience she describes as blissful. Esme’s entire story is nothing short of pure magic! I loved every second of our conversation. You can follow Esme @esmeannarose If you enjoy the show, plea...
Nov 26, 2021•1 hr
Nelia was assaulted during her first birth experience at her local hospital. Immediately understanding that what happened to her was wrong, she fought to get justice and to heal. The second time she gave birth, she took back her power in a massive way. We mention @birthmonopoly as a great resource for anyone who has experienced obstetric violence. You can find the map of obstetric violence, read other survivor’s stories, and other resources here: https://birthmonopoly.com/obstetric-violence/ Fol...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 18
After her first pregnancy ended in a loss, Lisa quickly fell pregnant again. The story of her labor and the birth of her baby is the all too common one of a cascade of interventions, beginning with an induction, that ends in a cesarean. In the aftermath of the trauma of that experience, something beautiful blossomed. I hear this theme commonly from women who experience the utter failure of the maternal healthcare system first hand - if that system is a lie, what other systems or institutions we ...
Nov 03, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 16
“It was so boring” This is how my guest today described her birth, several times, during the course of our conversation. Of course, birth is not actually boring and certainly the journey that brought her to this birth is anything but - but that statement illustrates so perfectly the central theme of her story. That birth, when left alone, even in someone deemed high risk, even in someone who has only had cesareans, can and often does unfold in a very straightforward manner. This is a story of a ...
Oct 19, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 16
During her pregnancy, Roxanne was coerced into taking an injectable pharmaceutical product that injured her, greatly affecting her quality of life postpartum. Her son was later also injured by the same product. This is their story of healing together. #believemothers If you appreciate the show, please consider supporting us on Patron! www.patreon.com/healingbirth Visit our website, join the newsletter, and stay in touch with me! www.healingbirth.net...
Oct 01, 2021•30 min•Season 2Ep. 15
