Taking Back Birth

This episode is an interview and chat with Nikko Kennedy, quantum biologist and doula. I love the wisdom she shares here around light and the Sun and all of the reminders to help us get back to what we know. Being human does come with challenges, but it also comes with built in systems to allow Nature to heal us. Links For This Episode: https://www.brighterdaysdarkernights.com/indiebirth (Use this...

It’s been exactly a year since we arrived here with the intentions of staying a few months. I never dreamed of all the things and gifts and blessings that we would receive here, yet it’s been an intense year of lessons and upgrades. If you have the dream of doing something equally as crazy with your tribe of kids, I say dream it, and go for it, and your Soul will steer you the correct way! Click t...

I’m physically and emotionally feeling a little in between worlds right now, so come with me on a journey here through vaginal steaming, and then birth, death and midwifery! I somehow tied it all together here by sharing my current desire for the definition of “midwife”; one who witnesses the initiation, whether that be life or death or both. Somehow we need to collectively get back to the archety...

I have so much to share about my recent miscarriage but it felt easiest in some ways to begin by sharing the experience from a midwifery perspective. It really gets me how many women don’t know what a “normal” loss looks or feels like, or are told lies or shoved into the medical system for unnecessary intervention. I realized once again my body’s strength and power and the strength and power in AL...

Some updates here first and then a ramble about considering what your soul desires for birth rather than your ego or mind. Take a listen and see if you can feel for yourself what I am talking about. Click the icon below to listen.          

This podcast was inspired by a student considering working with a mama who’s had a prior cesarean and wanting to birth at home. I realized how much goes into this for me as a midwife, and what helps me understand and fully believe in a mama who I’m supporting after cesarean. I told her that even when it all goes beautifully (which is often!) it can feel like a grad level course for the new midwife...

In this podcast, Margo and I dream about the new version of “midwife” that we are helping to create in this world and through our Indie Birth Midwifery School . It is truly time for a change; away from the drastic, static versions of what exists and has come before. We are imagining a world where the midwife archetype is values by herself, her clients and her community as a world and life changing...

In this podcast, I talk about some of the ways that our school is unique and special…plus, she (Indie Birth Midwifery School) is almost 8 years old!!! I share my take on this question of knowing, between stories from my own life and further thoughts for your own inquiry. We are accepting applications and enrolling for Indie Birth Midwifery School through July 1. Click the icon below to liste...

On this podcast, I wrap up the transgender madness from the week and then move on to the REAL discussion! I chat with my mama friend and former client Kaleigh about the birth of her two babies last year. Kaleigh has so many insights to share and such a fabulous story. It was so fun to reconnect with her after some time and talk about her experience. Links: We Are Transphobic Kaleigh’s IG Click the...

What if students could learn and practice and be in an “apprenticeship” that isn’t in the physical? We may try it out with a few of my former students who live in Kentucky as I stay living in Hawai’i. I love the idea of creating this model and making it sustainable and a win for all; the student, the mama client and the mentoring midwife. I do think it’s possible once the kinks get worked out, and...

“A return to all that is human, sacred and ancient” -Alexandra Kisitu I loved talking to kindred spirit and author Alexandra about her book, “ Back to the Womb: Claiming Birth Sovereignty ”. I really loved this discussion with such a kick-ass, smart woman who has dug deeper into the culture of home birth here in Hawai’i. Alexandra also includes her own personal stories and beliefs around the...

What a pleasure to hold space for Alyssa as she shares her intimate journey through the death and birth of her baby in the middle of her last pregnancy. I know you will be inspired by Alyssa’s way of choosing to experience death and live life. You can find Alyssa on Instagram at: @alyssarafidi_ Click the icon below to listen.          

Deva is 7 today! Her majorly watched birth video is below for you to watch again and share. Otherwise, I share a short recent story and celebration of my womb in the event that you feel inspired and are led to do something similar. I am being shown more and more that ritual in one way that our bodies lead us when they need us to focus and feel; ceremony and ritual can be simple, something we do al...

What is embodiment? Listen in on some musings around what this is and isn’t; I also share some personal stories around learning to feel in my body, honoring where I am at and following what my body is feeling. I definitely see this as (one of) the missing links in abundant and joyful birth work; this ability to sense and decode what’s going on for us, so we can more readily meet the woman in front...

I share more about my witchy experiences in Spain first; and then move onto how it feels to hold space as a mother for a daughter’s first moon cycle. I love this initiation and am so proud and happy with how my girls have embraced themselves and their new womanhood. It brings me back to my own experience, which wasn’t really treated as special or as anything, and it feels so healing for all genera...

This past week marked 8 years since my son Sable died in my womb and was born 4 months later. I share how I am feeling now, and how this experience has shaped me and changed me in the last bit of time. Then, I share an older podcast with readings from my journal during the months when I was waiting for him and my body to decide it was time. What a crazy, poignant time in my life that taught me so...

I know, I Know…what?! I am hoping for some huge cultural shifts (and maybe some email responses) around this podcast. I can’t keep quiet any longer that I am TIRED of women/people abdicating responsibility for their birth in a myriad of ways…one of which is the entire paradigm of someone ELSE paying for your birth (and dictating your decisions). Here we go! Click the icon below to listen.   &...

This is an expansion on an email I wrote recently about going through pregnancy and birth alone, SPECIFICALLY from the lens of trauma and safety. This isn’t a commentary on why all women choose “wild pregnancy” or freebirth but is a perspective on choices being made from the bodily sensations of lack of safety. This perspective feels so true for me, deep in my body. Acknowledging our own triggers...

After an update, I talk about the feelings I have around “doulas” and what our passion is when creating new doulas in the world. The way I see it, there is still the vanilla/mainstream doula stuff going on and then also the opposite extreme of doulas being trained to attend births outright on their own in a completely different role. We of course love the middle, sacred road of transparency and fo...

This is a short synopsis of what my foundational beliefs and teachings are around the sacred postpartum time. We had a lovely Mothering the Mother retreat this weekend, so I have that to share as well. Our Mothering the Mother online course is open and there is a $100 discount if you use code: SUPPORTMAMA . This discount is good through February 18, 2024 only. Click the icon below to listen. &#160...

I recently enrolled and completed the first Somatic Experiencing (SE) training and I am so exuberant and full of learning that I wanted to share. I was mindblown around how much similarity there is between SE and the belief systems I already hold around the role of the midwife, and the trust in body; as well as the emphasis on relationship. I am sure so much more wisdom will be shared with me over...

I don’t typically share other podcasts on my podcast, but this chat about the power of birth, the initiation of a soul and the Divine Feminine with Bridget Nielsen felt worth sharing. I hope you enjoy it, and subscribe to Bridget’s YouTube channel if you feel aligned. Links mentioned: Pregnancy Care Circle: Spirit Babies on Feb 4 Bridget’s Podcast, Wild and Awake, on YouTube Click the icon below t...

This podcast is actually an old podcast. I released this one in 2018, and thought I’d publish it again for all the reasons. Spirit babies is a topic both new and old and one I love soooo much. Check out my Spirit Baby class coming up and we’ll dive into all things new and old around this topic. Click the icon below to listen.          

This week, I share some more of my heart and soul with you as I re-tell the experience of a 5 week pregnancy that didn’t choose to stay in my body at this time. There is so much to explore, and I share this all vulnerably with you for our healing as powerful women with wombs. There is so much mystery, so many ways we each experience what is a really common occurrence. I am truly grateful for the a...

We will be re-naming our Indie Birth Midwifery School and in general expanding our vision, so I wanted to take even more time to share with you how this change is aligned with me and my Soul. I hope it inspires you to always think beyond and above and perhaps you will help us change the consciousness of birth and midwifery going forward! Click the icon below to listen.        ...