Healing Birth

Juanita's story begins with the heart wrenching experience of becoming pregnant at 14 after a sexual assault, and giving that baby up for adoption. Later in life, the birth of her second child was a re-traumatizing experience for her, as it commonly can be for survivors. The third time, Juanita used mindfulness tools, meditation, a trauma-informed team to support her, and super strong boundaries t...

Mandy was induced for all of her births, until her fourth. She was told by medical professionals that her body just "didn't go into labor on it's own" and she "needed a little help." The resulting distrust in her body was something she carried within her until, after having had enough with the conveyer-belt style standard maternity care, she sought out a midwife who would support her to birth at h...

Leah's first daughter was born still, but this isn't the story of trauma you might be expecting. Supported at home with just her husband and best friend, she says that the somatic experience of that birth was so intact, that it left her feeling the fullness of her power, full of oxytocin, even ecstatic. Leah quickly conceived again after her loss, and under rainbow filled skies on the island of Ka...

Last season, (episode linked below) Natalie shared the truly jaw-dropping story of giving birth via cesarean with completely failed anesthesia -  she had full sensation of the procedure. We talked about what it looks like to heal from an experience like that, and the total lack of accountability from anyone at the hospital where this birth occurred. This year, Natalie reached out to me to let me k...

The best definition I know of trauma goes something like this: Anything that was too much, too soon, and too fast for us to process and integrate. It causes elements of the past to get stuck in the biology of our bodies and our subconscious experience. This story is a perfect example of how that can show up in birth. You can follow Katie @clairehaven_farm and @littleonedoula Please consider suppor...

Dr. Sarah is a chiropractic physician, birth educator, and mother of three. She became entrenched in the birth world after a traumatic, unnecessary cesarean led her to have a subsequent, healing freebirth. In this episode, she shares the stories of both of those births. Sarah is an advocate for bodily autonomy and human rights in childbirth, and believes that you deserve to be in charge and have a...

Amana is a mother, birth keeper, death keeper, and host of the show The Heart of the Soul. Recently she invited me onto her podcast as a guest, and the conversation we had was so epic we decided to release it to both of our audiences! In this part two, Amana shares the stories of her journey with birth and loss, including that of her daughter Hartly, who passed shortly after her birth at home. Fro...

Amana is a mother, birthkeeper, deathkeeper, and host of the show The Heart of the Soul. Recently she invited me onto her podcast as a guest, and the conversation we had was so epic we decided to release it to both of our audiences! In this part one, Amana interviews me. I share both of my son's (very different) birth stories, and if you are a new listener and not familiar with my story, I think y...

Jessica's first baby was born in a hospital in Australia. Although she had the natural birth that she desired, some interventions happened that, in retrospect, she realized were not necessary. Her second baby was born in Bali, at home, attended by Balinese midwives who barely made the birth. That birth helped her to realize she never needed to outsource her power to give birth. She had everything...

Bella shares the birth story of her first baby, after multiple pregnancy losses and multiple rounds of IVF. She speaks candidly about the experience of infertility, loss, and how best to support others going through it. She serves as the assistant director of Empty Cradle, a loss support group local to the southern California area. They offer in person and virtual support, and hold several events...

Nicole shares her three, epically different, each beautiful in their own way, birth stories. They include a cesarean, a powerful hospital transfer VBAC, and a free birth. The daughter of a midwife herself, Nicole grew up attending home births, tagging along with her mother. She is now a traditional birth witness, postpartum keeper, and embodied motherhood guide. She is offering a coupon code for l...

Laura's first baby, born in 2020, came with the most severe birth complication I have personally ever heard of. While she was postpartum, trying to heal, and figuring out how to be a mom, she was left almost completely alone due to fears from the community of spreading covid. This left her in a postpartum depression so dark, she attempted to take her own life. After recovering emotionally and phys...

Sian was 12 weeks pregnant when the United Kingdom announced a national lockdown, and she shares what it was like navigating her pregnancy, the birth, and the NHS during this strange time. Her second baby was born just two months ago at the time of this recording, and overall her two birth stories are not at all what I was expecting to hear (which is always my favorite kinds of stories to share!)....

Ali shares her experience giving birth at home with a midwife, and navigating a hospital transfer during covid, for post-partum blood loss. While the transfer was a scary thing to happen to Ali, her partner was the most traumatized by the experience, which was exacerbated by pandemic protocols that kept him separate from her for a time. Her story also includes hands down the most unique pregnancy...

Sondra, a former healthcare worker herself, shares her experience of navigating the healthcare system, and giving birth, during the covid pandemic. Her story is such a beautiful example of what is possible when we are spiritually prepared for birth. Even when the outcome is not what we desire (or perhaps, even what we fear the most), we can emerge from our birth experience empowered and avoid trau...

Every now and then a story takes a twist I am not expecting during the interview - and it always makes for an even better story than the one I thought I would hear! This episode is a perfect example of that. Rebecca shares two birth stories with us. First, a traumatic, unnecessarian (major kudos to whoever coined that term), and a redemptive, led by faith freebirth. It is the extraordinary experie...

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...

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"). Whe...

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 w...

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 descrip...

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 w...

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 desc...

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 pa...

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...

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. Afte...