Healing Birth

Two births in the Finnish medical system left Anahel angry and knowing, in her words, “something is not right here.” She planned to have her third baby at home. That whirlwind birth experience completely healed the pain of the past two. Anahel is a listener who reached out to me to share her beautiful story. If you have a story you’d like to share too, reach out! Send me a note at the contact page at www.healingbirth.net If you love the show, support us on patreon! www.patreon.com/healingbirth  

Maiken always knew a hospital birth wasn’t for her. When she welcomed her first child, it was at home, with only her partner and a doula present, embracing the power of her body in an intimate, natural setting. Her journey through pregnancy and birth wasn’t just life-changing—it was deeply healing. The experience reshaped how she saw herself, teaching her profound lessons about strength, letting go, and trust in her own body. In this episode, we also explore the evolving birth culture in Norway, where birth care is free, but women are increasingly seeking alternatives to the standard hospital birth. Maiken sheds light on this growing movement and what it means for Norwegian women reclaiming their birth choices. 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

Tia’s first two birth experiences were hospital inductions. By the time she was pregnant with her third, she knew she wanted a more empowering and natural experience, so she hired a midwife, and planned a home birth. But around twenty-one weeks into that pregnancy, Tia went into preterm labor. She was rushed to the hospital where she delivered not one, but two babies. Tragically, this was how she found out she had been carrying twin girls. A couple months after this terrible loss, Tia was ready to be pregnant agin, and conceived. And she finally got to experience a beautiful, natural birth. Her story is one of hope and healing. Tia wants other women who hear it to be encouraged and know that a beautiful birth experience is possible for everyone, even after such a huge loss. Follow Tia on Instagram @thethrifty_homemaker 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

Amber shares the vulnerable and intimate experience of getting pregnant, and giving birth, at fifteen years old. Her experience with what was ultimately a traumatic birth, and post-partum depression, was the catalyst that compelled her into the important work she does now to support other mothers. She is now a board-certified lactation consultant, functional nutrition practitioner, and certified doula. Amber has spent nearly a decade supporting families, and views birth as a natural, mother-centered event that unfolds best when led by the mom herself. Follow Amber @ambertheibclc Amber’s website: nourishedroots.co 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

Step into paradise with me this week as my friend Taylor opens up about her deeply transformative journey from an unexpected cesarean with her first child, to the empowering experience of a homebirth on the beautiful island of Kauai with her second. Taylor's story is one of resilience, healing, and the power of trusting your body. Find Taylor on Instagram @mahina.risssing 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

During Carey’s first pregnancy, her baby was diagnosed with Intra Uterine Growth Restriction (a fairly subjective label that means the baby is thought to be small, and it is not known why). Because of this, she was subjected to multiple ultrasounds during the last few weeks of her pregnancy, and highly pressured to induce. Carey refused to be induced, and went into labor spontaneously. The labor experience was colored by the fears of the medical staff, she was subjected to coached pushing, and a whole team of NICU doctors took and assessed her baby as soon as she was born. Her baby was perfectly healthy and did not need the NICU, but Carey was still robbed of those golden moments post-birth, and bonding between her and the baby was disrupted. Although this kind of birth could have been someone else’s “great experience”, it left her with a lot of healing to do. She knew almost immediately that what had happened to her in the hospital was unnecessary and created trauma for her and her baby. She said goodbye to the medical system, consciously conceived her second child, had a wild pregnancy, and a beautiful, healing, freebirth. Be sure to check out the instagram page this week @healingbirth for some really incredible photos of this birth by @novitabirthstories If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 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

From the very beginning of her first pregnancy, Aeriel encountered discouragement and doubt from medical providers about her ability to birth naturally. Unbelievably, she was even repeatedly encouraged to end her (unplanned, but wanted) pregnancy multiple times by the first doctor she saw. Reasonably shook by this, she sought other care and found a birth center mid-pregnancy. Due to going to 42 weeks, she was transferred back to the same hospital that was affiliated with her first doctor to be induced. Aerial was absolutely set on having a natural birth, and despite being induced with Pitocin, and discouragement from the medical staff, she achieved it. Find Aeriel’s blog at www.mamaunrehearsed.com Aeriel’s on Instagram and Facebook @mamaunrehearsed 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

From the moment she knew she was pregnant, Hari felt an extraordinary, intuitive bond with her baby. Guided by this inner knowing, she knew she would  freebirth—believing this was the path her baby's soul desired. But at 34 weeks, things took an unexpected turn when Hari went into labor. Faced with the unforeseen, she chose to embrace trust over fear, staying true to her plan of giving birth at home, accompanied only by her partner. In a remarkable journey of intuition and courage, Hari allowed her baby's soul to lead the way. follow Hari @Sacred_flute Spirit Babies by Walter Makichen is the book you’ll hear Hari recommend in our conversation. 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

Midway through her pregnancy, Hope’s baby was diagnosed as growth restricted (IUGR), but despite concern from her doctors, Hope’s intuition was telling her the baby was okay. Her baby was also breech at that point, and never did turn. She was recommended to have a planned cesarean at 37 weeks due to both the IUGR diagnosis and the breech positioning, but this never sat right with her. She kept asking questions to her care team that she felt were not adequately answered. Amazingly, the hospital scheduled her for this cesarean at 37 weeks, after a planned ECV, without her knowledge or consent. A nurse accidentally tipped her off! Around the same time, Hope found stories of other women who vaginally birthed breech babies. Now that she knew it was possible, the question was how to find the right support for her to do it at home. She was able to find a midwife trained with Breech without Borders. Her baby was born perfectly healthy at 42 weeks after a ten hour labor. By listening to her instincts and birthing at home, she avoided what would have almost certainly been a NICU stay necessitated by having a cesarean at 37 weeks. Her story is an amazing testament to how important and valid maternal intuition truly is. Follow Hope @hope_jckson 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

At fifteen weeks into her first pregnancy, Caroline began experiencing kidney pain, and was eventually diagnosed with a swollen kidney. Fear started to take root as she saw different specialists, all with different opinions as to how to resolve it.    After a horrible experience with a nephrostomy bag (a bag to drain the kidney of pee that is attached to one’s back), Caroline consented to  corrective surgery, at twenty two weeks pregnant, which then required a second follow up surgery. Throughout her experiences with these medical procedures, ensuing complications, and fear for how they may impact the pregnancy, there was very little true informed consent from her care team. Throughout this ordeal, she felt her trust in her body deteriorating. Despite her kidney issues, and ultimately two surgeries, Caroline was able to have her planned-for home birth. After the baby was born, however, the midwife rushed her to transfer to the hospital for a reason Caroline now feels was not a true emergency. Caroline says her journey included many tough lessons, among them to be very selective about who to let into the birth space and on her birth team. She is practicing forgiveness, both for self and others. Follow Caroline @carolineofenstein Find Caroline’s podcast at Naturally Caroline 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

Holly is a certified Fertility Awareness Method Educator and Licensed Acupuncturist. Her passion for periods and fertility stem from a long history of personal cycle issues. At 22, she was told she would likely have a hard time getting pregnant due to a consistently erratic menstrual cycle, and amenorrhea due to severe anorexia. A testament to the body’s innate ability to heal, it was during a passionate love affair in her thirties that she conceived her daughter, and had a beautiful, easy home birth. One of the key components to her journey of healing was to uncover what was really going on with her body through charting her cycle. Implementing  fertility awareness completely changed her life, and offered her a different relationship with her body. Now, she works with other women, helping them do the same. Work with Holly www.rosebudwellness.com Follow Holly on Instagram @rosebud_wellness Find Holly’s Podcast The Fertile Womb Check out Real Food for Pregnancy & Real Food for Fertility 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

Lindsay is a mother of three, photographer, birth coach, and podcast host at Birth Like a Mammal™, a community that teaches parents and doulas how to give birth like a mammal. After over a decade of supporting families as a doula and working in birth advocacy, Lindsay founded Birth Like a Mammal™ in 2023. She feels deeply that most issues within our society and culture can be solved by birthing in alignment with mammalian biology.  In this episode, you’ll hear Lindsay discuss: How her background working with animals informed how she understands birth. Why she chose to freebirth her first baby, and hired a midwife for the next two. Her time working on Exposing the Silence Project, a photography project that documented and brought awareness to birth trauma and obstetric violence. All about her upcoming retreat, Hope for Healing. The retreat is for any woman who has been affected by birth trauma, and is looking for healing. Follow Lindsay on Instagram @birthlikeamammal Listen to the Birth Like a Mammal Podcast Learn more about and register for the Hope for Healing Retreat www.exposingthesilence.com Birth Allowed Radio 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

During her first pregnancy, Amanda completely deferred to her medical team. The birth ended in coached pushing, a totally unnecessary episiotomy, and Pitocin. She describes herself as completely disconnected from the whole experience. And she left it knowing she would never do it that way again. In her postpartum period, Amanda discovered freebirth story podcasts, and it completely changed how she thought about birth. With her next baby, she planned and had a home birth, but had to navigate a postpartum transfer due to a birth defect that had gone undetected during pregnancy. Having had a powerful, autonomous home birth helped her navigate the ensuing NICU stay with her power intact. Very quickly postpartum, Amanda conceived her third baby. This birth happened so fast, the midwife didn’t make it. But it was exactly the experience she needed to once again step in her true maternal power! 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

Tere shares the story of having a completely unexpected, euphoric, orgasmic birth with her very first baby! Her second birth experience was not like the first, and presented with a unique challenge. But Tere says that  both of her birth experiences taught her a lot about courage, surrender, and trust. Follow Tere @cyclealchemist www.teremariemartini.com 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

Taylor always envisioned the day she would give birth, unlike other young girls who dream of their wedding day. But when she unexpectedly went into labor at just 24 weeks with her first baby, she had to set aside her long-held dreams for a more medicalized experience. This is her bittersweet, yet ultimately beautiful, story of letting go. Photo by @angenobles 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

Lauren, an expat living in Brazil, planned a home birth with midwives for her first baby’s birth. Near the end of her birth process, the midwives decided her baby was likely too big be born at home, and transferred her to the local hospital, where the birth ended with an episiotomy. It was a violent intervention that left Lauren, and her husband, traumatized (also, spoiler alert: the baby was a perfectly normal size). When she became pregnant with her second baby, she knew she would not allow the same thing to happen to her again. She found the right team of wise women to surround her, set very clear boundaries (including with her husband, who was still working through his fears), and mostly importantly of all, trusted herself. That second birth experience was the “birth of her dreams.” And Lauren wants every woman who hears her story to know that it’s every woman’s birthright to experience a birth like hers. If you don’t already follow @healingbirth on Instagram, be sure to this week to see photos of Lauren’s birth. They are exceptionally beautiful! 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

Sandra  shares the sweet story of the birth of her second baby, who came so fast, the midwife didn’t make it. Deep down, a free birth was what she wanted anyway, and she got it! While the birth was triumphant, her postpartum period was very challenging. You’ll hear us discuss the importance of being held spiritually and emotionally during that tender time, and why we culturally seem to lack awareness around that.  Sandra wants other women to know that birth itself offers an incredible initiation into healing, if we are open to it.  You can follow Sandra @sandrablex If you love the show, 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

Couple Marion and Banks share the sweet, intimate conception and birth story of their daughter. Banks was Marion’s sole support during the birth and shares what it was like to witness, hold space, and have a vital role during the experience. I got to ask Banks some of the questions I have always wanted to hear from a conscious man about birth!  Among other things, he speaks to: How witnessing his partner birth their baby at home, sovereignly, healed generational birth trauma from his family of origin How this birth experience changed their relationship What he would say to other fathers who have fear around childbirth Follow Marion on Instagram @marion.hearth Marion’s website: www.marionhearth.com A Link to Marion’s course, Roots of Attachment  This is an intimate group container for future parents where Marion transmits 12 years of the embodied wisdom that inspired her towards freebirthing all 3 of her babies, going diaper free, having nourishing postpartums, and more. 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  

Kaytlynn shares the beautiful and heartbreaking story of the birth, and death, at just a week old, of her first baby.  Still in the throes of grief, she quickly conceived again, and found a way to trust the process of life and birth once more. Follow Katytlynn on Instagram @kaytlynn_marie 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:   New Beginnings by Beau Walker

Alexa’s first birth was attended by a medically minded midwife at home, who rushed her through the third stage of labor. What happened during this part of the birth experience left her traumatized and affected the critical bonding period between Alexa and her baby. In the aftermath, she experienced post-partum anxiety (you will hear us discuss the connection between Pitocin and post-natal mood disorders). Alexa says that “Birth trauma affects the motherhood journey so much.” Five months postpartum she conceived again. That baby was born again at home, but with just her husband and son there. This was her healing birth. In addition to being an author, Alexa leads writing workshops, host women’s circles, and offers workshops on freebirth as well as cloth diapering. Alexa’s website is www.mamafreebirth.com. You can find her on Instagram is @mama.freebirth.  Find Alexa’s book Motherhood Disenchanted here.  If you love the show, 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:   Snowfall by Vendredi