Healing Birth

As Lauren approached 40 weeks pregnant with her first baby, she found herself being pressured into a "natural" induction by her midwives. After multiple rounds of herbal induction cocktails and, finally, the dreaded castor oil, her body was pushed into labor before she believes she and her baby were ready. What followed was an incredibly long, intense, and painful labor, complicated by her baby's...

When a birth experience leaves a mother feeling violated, disconnected, and deeply wounded, where does healing begin? Seven years ago, while living in Austria, this week's guest hoped for a natural birth but instead found herself caught in a cascade of medical interventions that left her feeling powerless. Pressured into an induction, given Pitocin against her wishes, and ultimately subjected to a...

What happens when your body doesn't feel safe enough to give birth? When Lexi went into labor with her first baby, she experienced something remarkable. Each time she left the safety of her home to travel to the birth center, her labor would completely stop. As soon as she returned home, her contractions would begin again. Even the arrival of her own mother seemed to bring her labor to a halt. Aft...

Hailee grew up with a mother who had six cesarean births, so when she became pregnant with her first baby, she simply hoped to experience a vaginal delivery. Unfortunately, her hospital birth left her with a very different experience than she'd imagined, followed by a difficult postpartum recovery. When she became pregnant with her second baby, Hailee felt called to take a different path. Now work...

When today's guest became pregnant with her long-awaited first baby, she placed her trust in a physician who came highly recommended and was well respected in her community. Throughout her pregnancy, she had no reason to question that trust. But when she made a decision at the end of pregnancy about where she wanted to give birth that her doctor disagreed with, everything changed. What followed du...

Growing up in Brazil, where cesarean birth is extraordinarily common, Sofia is encouraged by a growing movement of women seeking to reclaim their birth experiences and rediscover the beauty of physiological birth. After a difficult first birth that included two days of labor, an episiotomy, and a NICU stay for her baby, Sofia leaned on the wisdom of her sister, a nurse midwife living in Brazil, to...

This week's guest shares the remarkable evolution of her six birth stories, from fighting to have her wishes respected in the hospital, to discovering just how beautiful and transformative birth could be at home. After advocating fiercely for herself throughout her first hospital birth, she was left deeply affected by the way she was treated. Her second birth brought an unwanted induction and an e...

In Part One of Alayna's story, we left off as she made the difficult decision to go to the hospital after developing clear signs of preeclampsia at the end of her pregnancy. As she had been planning to freebirth, she arrived with no record of prenatal care and ultimately experienced a failed induction followed by a cesarean, the last way she had imagined welcoming her baby. But Alayna's story is a...

Alayna's journey to motherhood began with two years of trying to conceive, a season filled with hope, disappointment, and the emotional rollercoaster of waiting for the pregnancy she wanted so deeply. When she finally became pregnant, she thrived in those early months and began preparing for the freebirth she envisioned. But halfway through her pregnancy, life changed dramatically. Her husband was...

After going into labor unexpectedly at just 35 weeks with her first baby, Hannah's plans for a midwife-assisted homebirth quickly turned into a hospital transfer and a traumatic experience that left her feeling deeply let down by the very system of support she had trusted. She went on to freebirth her next two babies at home, experiences she remains incredibly grateful for. But looking back, Hanna...

As the oldest of 13 children, nearly all of whom were born at home, Evelyn grew up with homebirth as her normal. Naturally, when she became pregnant with her first baby, she planned to give birth at home, too. But at 36.5 weeks, a violent case of food poisoning unexpectedly sent her into labor, just days before she would have reached the 37-week cutoff for a midwife-attended homebirth. Suddenly th...

Today's guest reached out to me just after welcoming her fifth baby at home, in what she described as a deeply healing birth. Her journey to this birth was shaped by four very different experiences before it, including a hospital birth, two previous homebirths and a traumatic freebirth with her fourth baby. Looking back, she doesn't blame freebirth itself for what happened. Instead, she recognizes...

Julia was planning to give birth at a birth center throughout her pregnancy, but at 37 weeks, she learned that it was closing its doors. With little time to make a new plan, she and her husband chose to transfer their care to a home birth midwife, a decision that would profoundly shape the way their son's birth unfolded. During labor, Julia experienced an unusual contraction pattern, with contract...

After spending years supporting families as a doula, Nina Spears had witnessed birth in hospitals, birth centers, and homes. So when it came time to welcome her own babies into the world, she made a choice that surprised many: she chose to give birth at home. In this episode, Nina shares her own birth story, why home birth felt like the right path after years of witnessing birth in so many differe...

When Elena decided on a homebirth at 37 weeks pregnant with her first baby, many people questioned her choice. Then, when her waters broke and the fluid was stained with meconium, it seemed to confirm everyone's fears. But Elena trusted herself. Despite advice to head to the hospital, she chose to remain at home with her birth team. Her baby was posterior, then became caught with a hand beside her...

Terra was the kind of kid who was terrified of hospitals and doctors. As a young woman, she never wanted to have children because of it. But when she learned about the option to homebirth, it immediately resonated with her, and her fears began to subside. What followed was an unexpectedly long journey to conception. During that time, Terra immersed herself in birth podcasts, and through hearing ot...

While on a fertility journey to conceive her second child, Olivia discovered an unexpected spiritual gift: the ability to connect with and communicate with the souls of babies and children who are still in spirit, often referred to as "spirit babies." In this episode, Olivia shares her journey of discovering this ability and offers a unique spiritual perspective on conception, pregnancy, motherhoo...

Courtney was a fit, 25-year-old fitness coach when she walked into the hospital to deliver her first baby. She hoped for a natural birth, but instead experienced a classic cascade of interventions and medical gaslighting, leaving the experience with trauma she never expected. Sharing her story with others has helped Courtney find healing. She also holds hope for a redemptive, different birth exper...

Madelyn's first son's birth came with an induction, a NICU stay, and a feeding journey she never expected. Although she wasn't ready for another baby right away, she carried with her a desire for a more healing birth experience. Four years later, she welcomed her second baby in a completely different way: a peaceful homebirth surrounded by love, trust, and support. With the guidance of a trusted m...

Carley prayed for an uneventful, redemptive birth experience after her first hospital birth left her with mixed emotions. For her second baby, she switched to a midwife-run birth center, and describes the difference in care as night and day. But her child wasn't born at the birth center as planned. This baby had other plans, surprising Carley in the most joyous way with an "eventful yet uneventful...

In honor of Father's Day today, I am rebroadcasting one of my favorite interviews I've ever done, first aired in 2024, and one of the only times I've had a father on the show to share his experience of what it was like to support his birthing partner. Couple Marion and Banks together share the sweet, intimate conception and homebirth story of their daughter. Banks was Marion's sole support person...

Emmy's first birth experience ended in a way no one imagines: an "emergency" cesarean under general anesthesia. Her son was welcomed into life by strangers rather than into the loving arms of his mother and father, a source of pain that stayed with her for a long time. Determined to have a different experience with future pregnancies, Emmy began exploring her options and learning more about physio...

Megan shares the beautiful story of her first child's birth—a "private birth" with only her husband and their happily snoring dog present in their home. Although it was one of the most physically intense experiences of her life, Megan was left in awe of how clear and calm she remained throughout the process, especially as someone with a history of anxiety. We wrap up the conversation with a vulner...

At just seventeen years old, Lexi found herself pregnant and facing pressure from her doctor to terminate her pregnancy after her baby was diagnosed with Spina Bifida. She was told her son would never live a normal life, but despite the fear and uncertainty, Lexi chose to continue her pregnancy and gave birth via cesarean section. Today, her son is fourteen years old, healthy, and thriving. Two ye...

Jes shares the brutal, raw, and ultimately hopeful story of experiencing two premature births and navigating the NICU with both of her babies. Her first baby was born at 27 weeks, and her second at 30 weeks, leading to two deeply emotional NICU journeys that changed her forever. She opens up about birth trauma, motherhood after premature birth, and what it's really like to parent preemie babies th...