The Renegade Mama

Today on the show I speak with Neala about her surprise twin freebirth. Neala started her birth journey in the hospital with her first 3 babes but by the 4th had realised freebirth was most in alignment for her and has now had more Freebirth’s than hospital births. For this birth she decided to have a complete wild pregnancy and although she suspected twins she thought maybe it was just a fantasy...

Today on the show I finally get to tell you, together with my beautiful husband, Oliver Wenn, the story of the pregnancy and birth of our third child Margot Kimberley Wenn. Margot’s birth was incredibly straight forward and so simple. A 2 hour labour which was in flow the whole time and she was caught in my arms under the wisdom of the stars and universe. Her story is proof that really you need no...

Today on the show I speak to the ever popular Kim Anami. Kim is a holistic sex and relationship coach who also had a freebirth herself. I’ve been following Kim for years and it was no surprise to me when I heard she had had a freebirth. We talk about the intrinsic link between birth and sex and how sex can teach us so much about birth and visa versa. We also chat about porn, masturbation, yoni egg...

Today on the show I speak to Shona McFox. Shona was on the podcast last season and discussed her ‘accidental’ freebirth which was a long stop/start labour over 4 days. This year Shona has had another baby and right from the start Shona decided to have an intentional freebirth. The differenceS were remarkable with her having a very quick (and very intense) labour this time around. It reaffirmed for...

Today on the show I speak to my beautiful friend and midwife - Norafiah Lever. Norafiah was my second episode in the first season and it was so fun to check in with her and see what has happened in the past 18 months for her. Firstly Norafiah has joined the ranks of reported midwives with 2 reports to APRHA - Australia’s regulatory body for registered midwives. We discuss about one of the cases sh...

Today on the show I invited my beautiful husband, Oliver Wenn to interview me and ask me about my journey to freebirth from my point of view. Oliver told his side of the story last season and now here is mine! We chat about my grandmother freebirthing my Mum, my own birth to my Mum (an induction) and then my homebirth transfer (with midwife) with my son Charlie. Lastly we chat about about my simpl...

Today on the show I speak to Mama of 2 Phoebe Reynolds. Phoebe transitioned to a wild pregnancy at around 24 weeks after realising she would be spending her whole pregnancy fighting her doctor, a space she did care or need to be in. Leaving the system and finding a birth path that aligned completely with her truth was pivotal in healing her birth trauma from her first birth and helped her step ful...

Today on the show I speak to musician and Mama of two Sarah Saunders. Sarah planned to have her first child in the birth centre but promptly turned into a hospital transfer with an episiotomy, which then turned into a 3rd degree tear. She then ended up in theatre with an epidural (after a drug free birth) to fix the tear and with the combination of drugs and the trauma of what had just happened Sa...

Today on the show I speak with research professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College and author of Free to Learn - Peter Gray. What I love about Peter is as well as an academic he has also walked his talk. When his son was rebelling against the traditional schooling system and called it a prison (which he agrees it is) they explored other options and ended up at Sudbury Valley School...

Today on the show I speak will with Birth Cartographer, PhD Student and Freebirthing Mama Catherine Bell. Catherine’s concept of The Birth Map differs from a birth plan in that is allows a map of different options rather than fixed ideas or outcomes in birth. For example for freebirthers it might be an option of what does it look life if I don’t get the pool up in time? Do I land Birth? Or what do...

Today on the show I speak with Alisha Charles. Alisha is a mama of 1 and lives in NSW, Australia. For a few years prior to falling pregnant ALisha researched freebirth thoroughly and decided that this is what she would do when she fell pregnant. When she eventually did fall pregnant though mainly fear of judgment saw her signing up for the local government funded homebirth program. Alisha prayed t...

Today on the show I speak to Avalon Darnesh, who was my first guest from season one. Avalon describes herself as a visionary who is midwifing cultural evolution as we unravel the old and birth the new. The theme for today is standing in your sovereignty in all aspects of your life in these changing times. We talk about how knowing your rights is paramount, how to stay centred and calm and our exci...

Today on the show I speak with ex hospital midwife and ex-child health nurse Kimberely Rose. Kim now works in the somatic sex area as well as studying Naturopathy. Kim’s first birth was a hospital birth, second homebirth with midwife and the last two were fabulous free births. We ponder over a lot if things including her time in the system and the second hand trauma she experienced even though mos...

Today on the show I speak to the oh so wonderful Jamie Purdey. After 2 c-section Jamie was determined to have a natural birth for her third. She booked into the local hospital and planned to stay at home as long as possible. During the pregnancy though, Jamie realised that having a planned homebirth was probably the best decision and hired a midwife at 30 weeks. Shortly after though, her midwife M...

Today on the show I speak with Mama of 2 Emma Penno who lives in remote WA in Port Headland. Emma herself was a c-section baby and so were her 3 siblings. Emma believed for a long time that c-sections were the safest and best option. But, fast forward to her first pregnancy Emma intuitively knew she wanted a natural birth but lost her her first baby at 8 weeks. She fell pregnant for the second tim...

Today on the show I speak with Ashley Winning who runs her own podcast The VBAC Homebirth Stories Podcast. Ashley after 2 caesareans free birthed her 10 pound baby at home. We talk through through all her births, including her two hospital births where she was discriminated against because of her high BMI and then her triumphant freebirth. Although Ashley’s Freebirth didn’t go exactly as planned,...

Today on the show I speak with Allyce Ananda who describes herself as a expressionist, sound and vibrational healer and Mama Diviner. Allyce and I had crossed paths in our previous lives as actors but we had never met - until now. Allyce free birthed her first baby Aria and also had an autonomous pregnancy. We talk about the spiritual and emotional side of pregnancy and how it can be such a massiv...

Today on the show I speak with Mama of 5 Khristie Castledine. Khristie says that she and her husband had their kids in two sets, the first two, then the next three. She started in one world with her first and ended in the other with her last. From c-section to freebirth. From vaccinating to not vaccinating. From 5 months breastfeeding to 5 years breastfeeding. Her experiences are really worlds apa...

Today on the show I speak with my good friend Arisa Yura. Arisa and I go way back and she was actually one of my bridesmaids! The reason I wanted to get Arisa on the show was, besides being an all round awesome person - Arisa is Japanese Australian and she is represents a group in the homebirth community that is so often underrepresented. Arisa went into homebirth a little unsure and a comment fro...

Today on the show I speak with Cat Price. Cat is a Mama of 2, an ex-midwifery student and more recently a birthkeeper. Cat had a wonderful first homebirth with a midwife which opened up a whole new world to her. For her second pregnancy she went on to decide that she’d like a freebirth but says that she was only 90% there. I find Cat’s story really interesting, as it’s an example of when we are no...

Today on the show I talk with Jess Anderson. Jess wanted a homebirth for her first babe but she decided to have a hospital birth because, as she put it, “I naively thought that I could just stay at home and not go in to the hospital on the day”. What she didn’t realise was that all the prenatal scare appointments would erode any sense of trust and belief in herself and she ended up with a traumati...

Today on the show I speak with mama of 3 and fellow birth nerd Laura Shelley Butler. Laura experience with ultrasound is really interesting. For many one of the main reasons they may get an ultrasound, is to pick up any congenital conditions prior to birth. The intriguing thing with Laura was that, although they did pick up some kind of abnormality via ultrasound, they never picked up the severity...

Today on the show I speak with the bubbly and gorgeous Emily Patterson. Emily has had a homebirth transfer, a homebirth with a midwife and then a freebirth. Emily at the start of her 3rd pregnancy wasn’t “there” to straight out decide on a freebirth. The further she got into that pregnancy though, she realised that a freebirth was right for her and she respectfully decided to no longer continue ca...

Today on the show I speak with Amana Mayfield-Faulkner. Amana has really experienced a lot in this life. Starting with the death of her first love in her 20’s and then through her child bearing years. She has experienced multiple miscarriages, as well the death of her daughter Heartly shortly after her birth due to a congenital condition. She has also had a beautiful homebirth with her son and an...

Today on the show I speak with ex-registered midwife Martina Gorner. Martina is a rockstar and told the government to shove it after being reported to APRHA 9 times. The final straw when she was reported for supporting a surprise twin birth at home. Even though the babies were healthy and Mum and Dad were more than happy - someone at the hospital was not. The witch hunt for midwives is real and th...