Birth Agni

We took two more months to ensure the best comes to you. Thankyou for waiting dear listeners. I know the wait seems long. We will be back on August 5th'26. We will also release all episodes in the format of one season. Season 6 in a bundle.  Support the show Sign up for Childbirth Preparation Programs! visit https://birthagni.com/services#childbirth-preparation-programs https://birthagni.com/...

Three weeks into February, in the soft glow of postpartum, our host, Divya shares a tender life update : welcoming her son in the quiet hours of December after a birth she deeply cherishes. Supported by her husband, daughter, and doula, this experience has begun a powerful season of slowing down, integration, and presence. In this episode, Rohit Kokane, head of productions at Birth Agni, explains...

Note - This is the last episode of the year 2025 We will be back in 2026!   Happy festivities! Part II of Surabhi's birth story takes you through her journey of labor and birth.  Discussion points  Laboring at home to reaching the birth centre 2 hours away Experience of labor on the way Experience of labor at the center The various learnings in the experience The pushing stage Breastfeeding ...

In this conversation, Surabhi Shekhar, founder Gubbi Gudu , women’s wellness specialist, prenatal/postnatal yoga guide, and doula-in-training joins us with her loving husband, Darshan, to share the story of their preparation for a birth center experience. They speak at length about the thorough preparation, the inner work at various crossroads, and discussions as  a couple helped them arrive at th...

Ever wondered why the age of 35 suddenly becomes this big red sign in conversations about pregnancy?  In this episode, we discuss fertility and the age of a woman’s egg . We will understand biology of what actually happens to your egg each cycle and how aging really affects fertility and a fascinating research paper I found , https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rmb2.12652 How does you...

Oxytocin is a hormone whose effects on the body are hugely celebrated yet largely unknown. Dr Sarah Buckley's work on Oxytocin has extensive insights into how it affects women in pregnancy and birth. Focus points The Oxytocin, Pregnancy and Due Dates Hormones and the essence of Pain in childbirth  Oxytocin and Induction Impact of interventions on Labor such as Epidural and Csec Birth Bliss an...

Series: Midwives around the world What is traditionally midwifery and what do midwives have to say about Birth work, licensure and the shifting dynamics among birthworkers. As a pregnant couple listening to this episode you will have clarity in your decision making when choosing a midwife or support team for your birth. Discussion Points 1. Licensure in the world of birth. 2. Do skills matter in u...

Birth work is a complex territory. It is coming together of an expecting family with a birth worker and they work together with consistent dialogue about the changing desires and needs of a family and in Reba , our guest's words, the line or boundary of the Birth worker.  Reba Daniel is a health journalist, birth doula & childbirth educator with over 17 years of experience providing heali...

Sarah Schmid is a medical doctor, author, and mother of ten children. Nine of her children, including a set of twins, were born in planned unassisted home births. For many years, she has been active online in various ways on the topics of self-responsible pregnancy and autonomous childbirth. She has written several books on the subject, the best known of which is “ Freebirth – Self-directed Pregna...

What if we learnt that our menstrual cycles were a tool for growth. It is something that makes us women special and powerful.  If we are looking at helping women see the Shakti or the power in themselves, the road begins at Menarche .  I have been meaning to have an episode on this topic and keenly follow the work of elder home birth Midwife of 30 years, Jane Hardwicke. She is a grandmother , teac...

There was a news article recently that said India’s fertility rate is down , First dip in two years.  Generally , we are all observing a rise in the need for fertility as well. More and more IVF clinics and centers are coming along.  When we think of supporting our conception or having a baby, we think the medical route, tests , pills and hormonal therapies, what if there was an alternative pathwa...

This is the story of Kriti's Labor and Birth and how they made the decisions moving through each phase. The highlight of the story is 'Self direction' . It is not important where you really birth, what is important at the core of it all is how 'self directed' a family is in their birth choices. Kriti and Ashish are a grounded couple who take time to decide what is good for...

Kriti and Ashish left behind a city life to build a farm and live in a remote village - all because it meant a slower life of connection.  "We would not have had a baby had we been in the city", Kriti says and then goes on to share how living with nature, they started craving to have a third energy in her own words in the world around them. In this episode, Kriti also shares how the coll...

Postnatal Depression - My experience... This is a Retake of the first episode of Birth Agni , postpartum depression, because it is an important discussion area. It’s me, vulnerable, traumatised by the Birth experience , cornered in the family power dynamics and sleep deprived. I share what my own experience in this episode along with  Symptoms of Postnatal Depression as different from Postpartum B...

 Fear and birth—two words that often get tangled together.  Katharine Graves, an internationally recognised hypnobirthing expert and trainer , founder of KGhypnobirthing takes us through the grounding methods in hypnobirthing and working with fear in Birth. We discuss: Overcoming fear in Birth Discerning Fear from Intuition Water Birth and the role of mind in Birth Weather all fear can be wiped ou...

Nutan L Pandit has been teaching birth preparation since 1978. Back then, the Indian birth scene was very different. Nutan aunty gave birth using breathwork taught by a foreigner — so calmly, in fact, that the nurses were shocked she was already pushing while chatting! This was in Mumbai, with no ultrasounds, and one baby in face presentation. Her doctor, Dr. Jay Dhurandar, was part of a system th...

Choosing the right doula, midwife, or birthkeeper for your birth journey is more than just credentials and experience — it’s about alignment . In this episode, we walk you through a heart-centered approach to choosing your birth team. We start with a self-inquiry activity to help you tune into what you truly need and desire as the first step before drafting your questions. Then, we’ll guide you th...

VBACs are often dreaded in the medical system. Birth Centers are open to supporting them.  This story is about a successful VBAC in a birth center, yes, but its not just that. It is about a woman trying to find her way back to herself, back to her Birth wisdom and her empowered self.  It is also about how she feels she was treated during the experience. There is another very strong yet subtle emot...

Once a Cesarean , always a Cesarean - you must have also heard this common notion.  Fortunately, this is far from truth.  Yet , So many women feel cornered and helpless when they become pregnant again, like the decision has already been made for them. In this episode, we’re getting real about that phrase and why it’s not the whole story. We get into the  actual evidence and physiology behind uteri...

A Listener reached out sharing her regret over taking Progestrone the first time around, reason Age 35+ Women are given progestrone in Pregnancy routinely for the following reasons: Bleeding in Current Pregnancy History of Miscarriage  Age - 35+  In this episode, we discuss Are all these reasons legitimate to use progestrone - a steroid hormone preventively in Pregnancy? Are there any side effects...

The Embedded Gift of Pain Relief   is the name I have given to the very foundation you need first in your laboring journey, without which no pain relief technique works efficiently. And this has come from experience. When I started out as a childbirth educator, the techniques I taught fell flat for some women because this very foundation was missing. Soon after, I started my training as a traditio...

Painless delivery’ sounds reassuring, but it’s often misleading. The truth is what’s sold as painless birth is often false advertising. Parents are rarely told about the downsides, or how numbing all sensation can actually interfere with birth. In this episode, we talk about  Why no epidural takes away all pain,  The downsides you’re rarely told about, and  Why pain in childbirth has a purpose.  H...

What’s really driving birth practices in India today? In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the Indian medical system—where convenience often takes priority over physiology, and where C-sections are rising not always because of necessity, but because they fit better into hospital schedules. We also explore how the ancient wisdom of our traditional dais—the original birth workers—is being ig...

Ultrasounds have become a routine part of modern pregnancy care — but how much do we really know about their origins, benefits, risks, and accuracy? We’ve all been told that ultrasounds are just a normal part of pregnancy — a way to “see the baby” and make sure everything’s okay. But have you ever wondered where this practice actually came from, what it’s truly meant for, and whether it’s always a...

Shilpi was guided into a home birth through various channels — one of them being how the medical system was too keen to label hers as a geriatric pregnancy and potentially schedule her into a surgery. Often, women over 35 are labelled as geriatric — meaning care for old people in the medical system. This brackets them into care meant for the elderly, including the approach of looking at everything...