Healing Birth

Emily, a home birth midwife, shares her personal birth story after years of supporting others through theirs. While her birth didn't go as planned, she was able to advocate for herself and felt a strong sense of agency throughout the experience. We discuss a wide range of topics, including how a midwife can "midwife" herself during her own birth and how to navigate a hospital birth experience. We...

After a transformative homebirth experience, Olivia was shocked to discover an astonishing gift: she could communicate with spirit babies—the souls of our children before they come to Earth. She now uses her mediumship skills to guide women who have experienced baby loss or infertility through conception, pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Today, she shares a beautiful message from the spirit babies, e...

Megan's first birth was a traumatic and violating hospital experience. Afterward, her baby developed a serious infection—something Megan suspects was caused by a novel procedure performed during the delivery. Though she deeply desired another child, she knew she had healing to do. A pivotal moment in that healing journey came when she attended a friend's home birth as a doula. Witnessing a peacefu...

Joanna was deep in labor at home, attended by midwives, when she hit a breaking point and asked to transfer to the hospital. Nothing was medically wrong, but her labor was long, and she sensed the midwives were ready for it to be over. She gave birth shortly after arriving at the hospital and still got to experience the euphoric post-birth high she had hoped to feel at home. While her birth didn't...

Christina's first experience with pregnancy and birth was not what she had imagined, due to her son being diagnosed with a rare birth defect early in the pregnancy. You can (and should!) listen to that story in Part one of this series. When her first son was around 18 months old, Christina discovered she was pregnant again—and she knew immediately that this birth would be a redemptive, sovereign e...

Christina was 25 and living abroad in France when she fell in love, and unexpectedly became pregnant. She had spent years before this pregnancy immersing herself in homebirth and freebirth stories, always dreaming of giving birth at home. But those dreams were abruptly upended at her 12-week ultrasound, when her baby was diagnosed with gastroschisis —a rare birth defect in which the intestines dev...

Kayleigh's first two births took place in a hospital, but her third—at a birth center with midwives—was a turning point. The contrast in care, both during pregnancy and birth, sparked a passion for natural childbirth and ultimately led her to become a childbirth educator. Six years later, when she became pregnant with her fourth baby, Kayleigh knew exactly what she wanted: a peaceful home birth, s...

With six births across nearly every setting—from hospital to birth center, homebirth to freebirth—Sarah brings a rare depth of experience to this conversation. She shares her powerful stories and the hard-earned wisdom each birth offered, painting a grounded portrait of what it means to birth on your own terms. If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on   Spotify or Apple Podcast...

Jackie had been planning a home birth for her first baby, but at 35 weeks, she received the shocking diagnosis of a placental abruption. This led to an emergency cesarean, a NICU stay, and years of processing why it had happened to her. (You can listen to Jackie's full first birth story in her initial appearance on this podcast, here .) After enough time had passed, Jackie felt the desire for anot...

Ceiba's labor with her first child began after an orgasm (oxytocin, much?). The only midwife in her small Mexican town was called, but she happened to be away for the night. Feeling no fear, Ceiba birthed her baby—who arrived feet first—in under an hour, describing the experience as ecstatic. This birth left her in an expanded state of consciousness for a week. Follow Ceiba @uteroamor If you love...

It wasn't until her early forties that Leslie finally found the true love of her life. On their first date, she received a message in spirit that a baby wanted to come through. And sure enough, as soon as they both felt a "yes," she became pregnant. This time, Leslie didn't hire a midwife—instead, she gave birth at home with only her partner for support. It was the birth experience she had always...

There were complications during Caroline's first pregnancy and birth, which left her with the story that her body was broken. (You can listen to that full story from Caroline's first appearance on the podcast here .) After a little over a year of deep healing work — including a life-changing plant medicine ceremony — Caroline consciously conceived her second baby, leaning into trust so fully that...

Hollis was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of two, leading to a lifetime of doctor visits and deeply ingrained messages that her body was chronically broken. Because of this history and diagnosis, when she found out she was pregnant, her first response was tears—she knew she would be fighting an uphill battle for the natural birth she desired. Even though her condition was well managed,...

Jesse shares the heroic story of her first birth experience—a three-day labor supported by a traditional midwife and her husband. We discuss how she stayed mentally strong throughout the intense journey, and reflect on how differently things might have unfolded had she been in a hospital setting. First-time mothers who choose trust over fear inspire me, and Jesse is no exception! If you love the s...

Julia attempted a freebirth at home for her second baby, but came close to losing her son due to a rare birthing complication that no one could have predicted. In the aftermath, as she processed the trauma of the experience, she reached out to me to share her story and the new perspective she gained about the freebirth movement. If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on   Spotif...

Alyssa is the oldest of six children and grew up with the unique privilege of witnessing her mother give birth at home to her five younger siblings. Naturally, choosing a home birth for her first baby seemed like the obvious decision. She selected a local birth center and midwife. However, like many first-time mothers, as Alyssa approached 42 weeks, the pressure to induce labor began to mount. Dur...

Kyrie shares the heartbreaking yet ultimately courageous story of navigating her first pregnancy and the birth of her child while in an abusive marriage. She also endured hyperemesis so severe that she required hospitalization, as well as a shocking misdiagnosis that her child had a brain abnormality— via an ultrasound that was later found to be inaccurate. Kyrie explains that it was her overwhelm...

After two relatively routine hospital births, Shiloa's third baby was discovered to be breech late in her pregnancy. Her care providers presented her with no option other than a c-section, which came as a huge shock. The surgical birth left her feeling traumatized. As a birth worker herself, Shiloa was also attending births during this time and had developed an unshakable trust in the birth proces...

Gina's first pregnancy was with twins, which limited her options for care to a hospital birth. During this labor, she faced immense pressure to receive an epidural, undergo various interventions, and was even made to give birth on the operating table in the operating room "just in case." Despite all of this and the atmosphere of fear surrounding twin births, she managed to deliver both babies natu...

Robyn describes her first birth as a 'weird, numb experience.' She was in the hospital, on an epidural, and slept through most of it. However, a family car accident became a turning point for Robyn, prompting her to make holistic health changes for her family. As she began to explore ways to take charge of their healthcare more naturally, her perspective on birth shifted. By the time she was pregn...

Over the course of having six babies, Kelly's beliefs about birth, pregnancy, and sovereignty changed drastically. She went from thinking that women who birthed outside the hospital were irresponsible and dangerous, to free birthing her last baby at 42, with only her husband by her side. Kelly shares her entire journey with us today in the hope of encouraging other women to recognize that they are...

Chandani was a doula working within the system when she became pregnant with her first baby. Witnessing the trauma and high cesarean rate in the hospital, she knew she didn't want to give birth there and decided on a home birth. Although she entered the pregnancy with extensive knowledge about birth and hired a midwife, her birth ultimately ended in a cesarean after her midwife transferred her dur...

Leisa Masters is a mother, an accomplished birthworker, and an experienced business manager. She has been supporting women through pregnancy, birth, and motherhood for over a decade. Her own experience birthing her daughter in the Australian medical system became a classic cascade of interventions, ultimately leading to an unnecessary cesarean. However, being deeply committed to personal growth, L...

India was 21, and dancing without a care in the world at a festival in Nepal when she suddenly felt her water break. That was the moment she realized she was pregnant—and about to have a baby! What followed, in one of the most incredible birth stories I have ever heard, was a four-day labor, supported by her Rainbow Gathering community, in a remote village in Nepal. If you love the show, I would g...

Returning guest Tiffany shares her powerful third birth story—a precipitous freebirth. Alone with just her partner, Tiffany navigated this intense and transformative experience following a wild pregnancy. Tiffany's story also includes one of the coolest placenta births I've ever heard! You can hear her first two birth stories, on her first appearance on the podcast, here . If you love the show, I...