BIRTH LIKE A MAMMAL™

Energetics, Intuition, and Staying Unbothered by the Noise in Pregnancy and Birth In episode 25 of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay shares that she hasn’t released an episode in six months due to grief during the summer of 2025, cognitive shutdown, and full-time travel after selling her house, which made recording difficult with her girls always with her.  She refocuses the podcast and he...

Tracee’s Journey from Obstetric Birth to Free Birth PART 2  In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, host Lindsay Askins sits down with Tracee Schaeffer, a former doula client, now a BLAM team member, a Mother of 10, a doula, and one of Lindsay's dearest friends. They discuss in detail Tracee's extensive and varied birthing experiences: Tracee has birthed ten babies every way...

Tracee’s Journey from Obstetric Birth to Free Birth PART 1 In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, host Lindsay Askins sits down with Tracee Schaeffer, a former doula client, now a BLAM team member, a Mother of 10, a doula, and one of Lindsay's dearest friends. They discuss in detail Tracee's extensive and varied birthing experiences: Tracee has birthed ten babies every way...

In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, host Lindsay Askins interviews Aly McClain, a Mother of four and an RN from Nebraska who transitioned from hospital births to home births. Aly shares her contrasting experiences of a Cesarean in a hospital followed by three peaceful home births, emphasizing the transformation and healing she found in home birthing.  Aly discusses the importance...

In episode 21 of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, host Lindsay engages in a deep and personal conversation with her former elementary school teacher, Bill Nation, now a licensed professional counselor in Texas.  Bill is 70 years old, has never witnessed a woman give birth, and is certainly not the target audience for this community. But after listening to episode 13 with Audrey Ross of @ajoyfulbi...

In episode 20 of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay sits down with Keturah Pawlik. Keturah is a doula and Mother of six. Originally from New York, she now lives in West Palm Beach with her family. Keturah believes in the power of storytelling and in sharing our wisdoms with others, offering a new perspective or lending our strength when it’s needed most. In this episode, Keturah and Lindsay...

In episode 19 of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay interviews Diana Forsell. Diana is a Mother to two boys, with two very different birth stories. She is the host of the Healing Birth podcast where she shares an incredible variety of birth stories from women all over the world. Diana brings an unshakeable trust in our biology and our bodies to her podcast episodes as she believes that birt...

In episode 18 of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay sits down with Jessica Olson of Wildly Awakened Motherhood. Jessica is an embodied birth coach, focused on supporting women find healing and safety within their bodies, and home, before birth. She is a yoga practitioner, intuitive nutritionist, radical birth keeper graduate, and training in herbalism. Jessica's approach to pregnancy,...

In episode 17 of The Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay welcomes Joanna Cook, a Texas-based therapist and Mother, to discuss the profound impact of therapy on women struggling with birth trauma. Joanna shares her journey from experiencing a traumatic birth to becoming a therapist specializing in nervous system regulation, somatic embodiment, and parts integration. She provides insight into her...

On this 16th episode of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay is joined by Carla Sargent, a former midwife now birth trauma healer and educator. Carla is a true GEM in the birth trauma healing world. Her experience as a midwife and many years supporting Mothers healing from birth trauma bring an incredible dialogue to this discussion today. Carla hosted Lindsay on her podcast, Healing Birth wi...

On episode 15 of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay chats with Brittney, the founder of The Wombsisterhood®'s Positive Pregnancy Journey. Brittney is an educator, a doula, and a Mother. She is the creator of Driven by Faith Doula Training and also hosts a private Facebook group for The Wombsisterhood®.  Brittney stepped into birth work in 2015 specializing in physiological perinatal ed...

In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay is joined by Lauren Reza, a lactation consultant  and natural Motherhood coach as well as the woman behind Lactation and Lullabies on Instagram. Lauren shares her journey from working in obstetrics as an R.N. to becoming a lactation consultant. She has a deep understanding of mammalian biology and the impacts of obstetric interventions o...

In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay shares a fantastic discussion with Audrey Ross of @ajoyfulbirth where Audrey discusses the differences in her three births: birth center, home with licensed midwives, and home unassisted/freebirth. Additionally, she has free birthed another baby at home since we recorded this episode last month.  Audrey truly understands what it means an...

In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal™ podcast, Lindsay sits down with Kristine Lauria, an international midwife who currently works for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). She specializes in high-risk maternity care in low-resource settings and is passionate in her support of breech birth, bodily autonomy in medical decision making and is a staunch advocate for undisturbed, p...

In episode 11 of the Birth Like a Mammal podcast, host Lindsay Askins - a Mother of three and seasoned doula-turned birth coach, discusses the main components of a healthy and instinctive birth that is aligned with mammalian biology. She emphasizes the importance of hydration, nourishment, a supportive team, safety, autonomy, and oxytocin in ensuring a trauma-free birthing experience. Today's...

In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal podcast, Lindsay Askins - a seasoned doula, birth coach, and Mother of three -  discusses the important role of oxytocin during labor and birth. She reiterates that oxytocin is not the same thing as Pitocin, even though Mothers are told so. Lindsay illustrates the significance of creating an environment conducive to natural oxytocin flow, which is essenti...

In episode 9 of the Birth Like a Mammal podcast, Lindsay Askins - a seasoned doula, birth coach, and Mother of three - shares her transformative journey from supporting hospital births to exclusively attending home and birth center births. Lindsay covers the stark disconnect between obstetrics and the mammalian process of birth, highlighting the often traumatic consequences of unnecessary medical...

In  episode 8 of the Birth Like a Mammal podcast, we explore the topic of placental calcification. This is a topic posed by the community for discussion as there is often many questions and confusion regarding how concerned we should be about a calcified placenta at the end of gestation. Lindsay discusses the connection between mammalian biology and human birth processes, shedding light on how mod...

In episode 7 of the Birth Like a Mammal podcast,  host Lindsay Askins, an experienced doula, birth coach, and Mother, discusses why babies are evolutionarily programmed to NOT be left alone. She emphasizes the normal mammalian dependency of babies on their Mothers amongst societal norms that promote independence and separation.  Lindsay discusses the psychological and physiological implications of...

In episode 6 of the Birth Like a Mammal podcast,  Lindsay dives into why natural birth does not - and cannot - take place in a hospital. Lindsay reiterates the true definition of "natural" as it's very often misused and generally misunderstood. Lindsay highlights how  obstetric practices are completely disconnected from the mammalian birthing processes.  This episode is a must liste...

In this episode, Lindsay discusses the importance of handling newborns with care and gentleness. She shares her concern about a viral video circling social media where a nurse was handling a baby roughly, causing the baby to show signs of stress.  Lindsay emphasizes that newborns have never been touched before and are programmed by evolution to expect only their Mother's touch. She questions...

In this episode, Lindsay discusses the age-old debate of hospital birth versus home birth. She emphasizes that this debate is unnecessary and unproductive, as the two options are fundamentally different and cannot be compared.  Lindsay shares her own experience of choosing a home birth and the negative reactions she received from others. She highlights the fear and ignorance that often surround th...

In this episode, Lindsay discusses why nursing and lactation often fail in modern society. She explains that the high rate of complications in birth and low nursing rates can be attributed to the disruption of the natural mammalian biology of birth. Lindsay emphasizes the importance of immediate bonding and imprinting between Mother and baby after birth, and how this process is often disrupted in...

In this episode of the Birth Like a Mammal podcast, Lindsay discusses the responsibility of Mothers during birth, specifically focusing on the choice between home birth and hospital birth. She emphasizes that the debate between the two options is unnecessary and unproductive, as it ultimately comes down to personal responsibility and where the mother feels most comfortable placing that personal re...

We are kicking off this first episode discussing Pitocin and how that affects Mothers and babies during labor, birth, and even afterwards. Often when Pitocin is administered to induce or augment labor, women are not fully informed on the risks associated. In this first episode, we cover: • how oxytocin and pitocin relate to one another • the difference between pitocin and oxytocin • the relationsh...