Healing Birth

Aimee, a labor and delivery nurse, shares the story of giving birth to her second child after one of the worst tragedies I can imagine: losing her husband in a  car accident. Aimee says she was given divine grace to have exactly the birth she needed with that baby.

Aimee went on to remarry and give birth again, this third time, at home. In a surprise twist, that baby resented with a prolapsed cord, which was easily resolved!

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Take me back by Strength to Last

Abby spontaneously went into labor at 24 weeks, and on the ride to hospital, her baby was born into her best friend’s hands.

This is the truly miraculous story of how her baby, and Abby, survived.

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Together by Justhea

Ashley’s first two babies were born in the hospital, and both experiences left her traumatized. By the time her third baby was conceived, Ashley had been through an awakening to many truths, among them, the truth about birth. That was a natural birth with a midwife, but still not without interventions that were harmful.

Finally, after serving as a doula for free birthing women completely outside of the medical system for some time, she became pregnant with her fourth and knew this was her turn to trust birth fully.

You can connect with Ashley, and learn about the farm she lives on at www.sacrednectarsanctuary.com

Ashley’s on Instagram @river_wolf_369

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:    Chill Night by Amine Maxwell & MICHAL

Maggie shares the story of having a natural birth in a birth center, after two unnecessary cesarean births.  The experience led her to become a local ICAN volunteer, and to create an online course for other women desiring to VBAC.

You can find Maggie and her offerings on instagram @vbacroadmap

In this episode you’ll hear us talk about how ICAN helped us both along our journeys to VBAC. You can find your local ICAN chapter here: https://www.ican-online.org/

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music: Bubbles by Pala

Busy with graduate school, and pregnant with her first child, Christina carefully chose her birth team and planned a to have a home birth. But her birth experience took an unexpected turn when, deep into her labor, her midwife decided they needed to transfer. Her baby was born only fifteen minutes after arrival at the hospital, but not before the doctor, without consent and against her will, gave her an episiotomy. This incredible violation left her with PTSD for many months postpartum.

Christina found healing with EMDR therapy, sharing her story, and blogging about it. You can find a written version of her story below:

https://healthwellnesswoman.com/libbys-birth-story/

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:  Snow Fall by Vendredi

Emily shares the story of experiencing the rare event of a shoulder dystocia, while birthing her first baby at home, with a midwife. They were able to safely resolve the dystocia, and her baby was born, but as a precaution they visited the hospital after the birth. What followed was a series of events including encounters with good doctors, one very bad one, and CPS. 

This experience initiated Emily into motherhood in an extremely powerful way. At times in the days immediately postpartum, she had to find a strength to protect herself and her daughter, that she didn’t know she had. 

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Letting Go by Hotham

After a traumatic first birth experience that ended in a cesarean, Amber knew she would never give birth in a hospital again. She quickly conceived again, found a midwife she loved, and had a completely different experience the second time. 

In her words, this second birth not only showed her that she could do it, but that it was what she had always truly wanted. 

Be sure to check out our instagram page this week, @healingbirth, to see photos of both births. I’ve never seen a better example of Amber’s pictures saying a thousand words!

If you love this podcast, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow us on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music is Cool Cats by Smith the Mister

A big story in a lot of little ways, the end of Sonja’s pregnancy was a rollercoaster of minor “complications” which led to her being induced at 42 weeks. The classic cascade of interventions ensued, ending in a very unwanted c-section.

One of the hardest things for Sonja to cope with in processing this experience, is that there was no external villain in her story, but on a level, she let it happen.  We talk about how hard it is to come to terms with the role that we play in the traumas in our own lives. 

If you love this podcast, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

Follow us on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music by Jessica Villa

Anisa shares her story of having a midwife-assisted homebirth with her first baby, and a freebirth with her second. She says that birth can just keep getting better when we take back more of our autonomy, and especially when intentional preconception preparations for mind, body, and spirit are made.

Anisa Woodall is a holistically-minded Certified Nutritionist and natural mama of 2 adventurous boys living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Her life's purpose is to inspire and educate women to live, eat and move with intention and confidence so they can create the family of their dreams.

She is the host of The Resilient Fertility Podcast and serves women throughout their motherhood transition- for preconception care, pregnancy and postpartum planning- via 1:1 holistic nutrition coaching online and through her online course, Resilient Motherhood: A self-paced guide to preparing for conception and beyond

Check out Anisa’s Unlock Your Fertility Masterclass!

You can learn more and access FREE resources for your preconception journey at anisawoodall.com and follow @anisawoodallnutrition

If you love this podcast, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow us on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music by PALA

Yolande Norris-Clark is a leader in the freebirth, birth-freedom, self-healing, and health liberation movements. She is a spell-breaker, way-shower, whistle-blower, trailblazer, and beloved guide to women all over the world who are awakening to the possibility of giving birth in peace and power.

Her mission is to dispel the myth that birth is an ordeal from which women must be “delivered,” and to share the truth that birth is primarily a spiritual experience, designed to be transformational, transcendent, and ecstatic, and that this is possible for every mother and baby.

We go DEEP. In this episode, you’ll hear us discuss:

• Why are so many women today leaving their birth experiences traumatized
• Coping with fear in pregnancy
• How she had a blissful, painfree birth with her ninth baby
• Reflections on, and lessons from, her nine births
• Her approach to self healing, based on the work of Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer

Buy her book Portal: The Art of Choosing Orgasmic, Painfree, Blissful Birth

Connect with all of Yolande’s work: www.yolandenorris-clark.com

You can find Yolande on Instagram @bauhauswife

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   What Did You Name Your Island by Aardverk

Brittany described herself as a “good country girl” when pregnant with her first child. Her wishes for that birth were to merely make it out alive with her baby, and she completely deferred to her private care obstetrician when it came to the birth experience.

Now, pregnant with her third baby, Brittany is free birthing, on a cattle station in the middle of the Australian outback, miles from anyone. That’s how deep her trust in in her ability to birth goes!

This is part two of two - if you haven’t heard part one yet, go back one episode in the feed to hear her first two birth stories.

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   What Did You Name Your Island by Aardvark

Brittany describes herself as a “good country girl” when pregnant with her first child. Her wishes for her birth were to merely make it out alive with her baby, and she deferred to her private care obstetrician when it came to the birth experience.

In this part one, she shares her first two births within the Australian medical system, one with OB care, and the second time, with midwives.

These two stories set the stage for why she choose a completely different route with her third baby. Stay tuned next week for that story!

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Crushing by Reveille

After a pregnancy loss, and a history with an eating disorder, Kelly was not in a relationship of full trust in her body when she gave birth to her first baby. She agreed to be induced when her obstetrician pressured her into it, feeling that, her baby was safer outside of her body.

Kelly went on have her next two babies at home. Both experiences showed her how trustworthy, indeed, perfectly designed, her body was to give birth.

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Waiting by LNDO

In her former role as a newborn photographer, Laura had witnessed plenty of births before having her own. She intuitively felt that something about the experience, as it occurs for most women, was wrong.

When it came time for her to have her own first baby, she chose to have a wild pregnancy and free birth, deep in the Peruvian jungle with only her husband present.

Recorded at just four months postpartum, you will be be able to hear her joy and elation about her experience, as well as her huge passion for all things birth, babies, and motherhood.

You can follow Laura on Instagram @natural_lau

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Take me Back by Strength to Last

Have you, or someone you know, conceived a baby during a time in your cycle that didn’t fall within the normal, ovulatory window?  As someone who listens to a lot of birth stories, I’ve heard it happen many times. I always attributed those occurrences to the inherently mysterious nature of pregnancy and birth.

But what if there is another explanation?

Medical astrology has been in development for thousands of years, greatly predating our modern understanding of medical science. And through years of study it’s been discovered that women experience fertility during the phase of the moon under which they were born, that the sign the moon is in during the conception influences the sex of the baby, and that the placement of celestial bodies can impact the outcomes of a pregnancy and birth.

Whether you are currently trying to conceive a baby, or preventing conception, this episode contains truly mind blowing information that I believe is next-level body literacy.

Athena’s website: https://www.wildwillingwisdom.com/

Athena’s Substack & Podcast: https://wildwillingwisdom.substack.com/

Follow Athena on social media: @wildwillingwisdom

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Afterlight by Jessie Villa & Strength to Last

Milena, the daughter of a licensed German midwife, grew up around babies, pregnancy, discussions about birth, and even attended births with her mom.

When it came time for her to give birth the first time, she chose a midwife assisted home birth. But the second time she became pregnant, she was strongly drawn towards having a wild pregnancy and to freebirth.

In addition to hearing her two birth stories, we talk about why there’s really no such thing as a “normal” labor pattern, and what it was like  for her to choose to free birth as the daughter of a midwife.

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Take Me Back by Strength to Last

Stephanie shares her two birth stories, both of which took place in a hospital staffed only by midwives, in rural Australia.

Her first birth experience cracked her intuition wide open, and she says that it initiated her into the person she was meant to be.

Her second birth was a different kind of initiation, which included a complication at the end. During both experiences, she felt very cared for and supported by the midwives.

We also discuss how much our relationships shift and change when we first become parents, and how the surrender that birth requires of us is the perfect initiation into the next phase of the unknown - parenthood!

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music:   Together by Justhea

Nina was dropped by her midwives at the end of her first pregnancy due to high blood pressure, and had to give birth to that baby in the hospital.

The second time she became pregnant, she decided not to engage with the medical system at all. Her blood pressure remained elevated during this pregnancy, but rather than immediately pathologize it based on the numbers alone, she decided to tune into how she felt, and trust her body.

Her healthy, perfect baby was born after a whirlwind fast labor, in her home, with just her husband present. She says that this birth experience helped to heal the stories that she had carried from adolescence that her body was “broken” or “wrong.”

She remembered that she is in fact, perfect.

(A friendly disclaimer that I am not a medical professional, and nothing that I share on this podcast should be taken as medical advice).

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music: Letting Go by Hotham

After becoming pregnant through the intensely medically managed experience of IVF, Kelli planned to step away from that model of care, and birth her baby at home.

But after five weeks of exhausting on and off labor, she felt like something was wrong, and agreed to transfer her care to the local hospital. It was there that they discovered the reason for her confusing labor pattern was a previous, commonly performed, medical procedure to her cervix.

Despite how traumatic this experience was, Kelli says that it helped to facilitate generational healing, going back to her trauma from her own birth.

This story is such a great example of how often birth gives us, not always the birth we want, but the medicine that we need as we are initiated into motherhood.

Kelli Moore is the CEO and Co-Founder of Soulfire Productions, Host of the top-rated podcast: The Naked Mama, and Co-Host of the beloved relationships podcast, OK, Babe.

Follow Kelli @kellitmoore

https://kellimoore.co/

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music: Chill Night by Amine Maxwell & MICHAL

With raw emotion and beautiful vulnerability, Mallory shares her three birth stories, and the life circumstances that shaped them. Her first two births took place in a hospital - one quite traumatic, and one not. Her third baby was born at home, with just her husband present.

She says that it was this birth that catalyzed her transformation from maiden to mother. And that she wants to share her powerful story not to fix the system or change anyone’s mind, but in service to other mothers.

I want to share the verse below in full, which she references during our conversation, because it is so beautiful - and does remind me of birth!

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters,

    I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

    they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

    you will not be burned;

    the flames will not set you ablaze.

Do you have a story you’d like to share on the podcast? I would love to hear from you! Email me via the contact page at www.healingbirth.net.

You can find our new e-book, “Did I Really Need a C-Section?” on our website at www.healingbirth.net/shop

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Transition music: Oceanic by Aryll