The Natural Birth Podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sinead. Sinead is a mama of one from Australia. She is an energy healer and mentor, working with women to feel safe in their feminine and embody more flow in their life.  She holds space for cacao ceremonies and mother blessings in which she infuses her deep ancestral connection to her lineage and encourages women of the importance of connecting to their red thread.  Now a mother of her son Aizen (eye-zen) she hopes to create more spaces for mothers to connect within and slow down.  Sinead had connected with the spirit of her baby 2 years before he came. He guided her on the emotional and mental healing and preparation that she needed to grow him, birth him and now nurture him as his mother.  She got a clear go ahead sign from him when in Bali and conceived that cycle. She went on knowing she wanted a home birth and had a fast birth for a first time mama, a total of 7.5 hours of labour and birth with her waters breaking as the initiator of labour.  First baby, no complications, no tears and pure bliss is what she wrote to me and she loved her birth and the places it guided her to within. It was quicker than she thought it would be and the second midwife didn’t make it, but it was lovely with just a close friend, her partner and one midwife. It was the most embodied and empowered she’s ever felt in her whole life! Curious about Sinead? Find her on instagram as @sineadrobyntaylor  Before I let you go I want to remind you about my November Sale. 50% off my The Natural Birth Course - all you need to know to optimize your chances of having a natural and empowering birth experience as well as 1 year membership inside my online village with monthly lives with me as well as movement classes and other circles held by my sacred birth worker mentees. Use the coupon code NOVEMBER for a 50% Discount on The Natural Birth Course: https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/natural-birth-course Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Cynthia Cynthia is a mama of two from the US and popular podcast host of the Down to Birth Podcast. She went from being a business executive and finance professor who knew nothing about birth to pregnant after one try, and faced a huge fear of birth. All the women in her surroundings and at her work had C/S while she knew she wanted a natural birth. Her OB was all red-flags which she will tell us all about. She finally fired her, changed her birth plan from hospital to birth centre, and changed her life.  She’s here to tell us about her two amazing births. Her first at the birth center and her second at home together with her now podcast cohost midwife Trisha.  Having these amazing births she became a birth nerd and later on an internationally published and renowned birth educator and informed choice advocate.  Curious about Cynthia? Find her on instagram as @cynthiaovergard 50% Discount on The Natural Birth Course with coupon code NOVEMBER https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/natural-birth-course Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!

Anna shares the richness of her natural birth wisdom with tips and suggestions to prepare body, mind and soul for birth.  Tips she only normally shares with her clients, including natures wisdom like herbs and oils and practices to prepare the womb and vagina for birth. 50% Discount on The Natural Birth Course with coupon code NOVEMBER https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/natural-birth-course ”6 steps to having a natural & empowering birth experience”  This episode is ranked the 3rd most popular episode of the podcast! Top 7 fears about giving birth Blog Post https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/blog/top-7-fears-about-giving-birth Download my 6 Steps to a Natural Empowering Birth https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/pl/2147627188

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Faith. Faith is a mama of one from California, USA. She is a fellow midwitch who’s chosen to work outside of the regulatory system and we found out just before starting the recording that we share a dear sister in common, Midwife Sophia, my Sacred Birth Worker Mentee on Corfu Greece. Faith apprenticed for 9 months with Sophia. You might have heard Sophias episode ”Holistic Midwife Sophia & Her 3 Natural Births” earlier this year on the poddy, and if you haven’t I highly recommend you do as she too is such a wealth of natural birth magic and wisdom. At the age of 16, Faith experienced a powerful dream that brought her to sit with women in birth. She started after graduating high school by volunteering as a doula at her local hospital. She also became a hospice nurses assistant and sat with the dying while still attending births whenever she could. This was a time of “living at the threshold of all things” and she came to recognize that death and birth require similar things: respect, deep trust, and total surrender.  In the years following Faith collected many skills, attended several educational trainings and has taken up many different roles such as: midwives assistant, herbalist, massage therapist and bodyworker, priestess, professional seamstress and designer, yurt builder, artist and more.  After 2 early losses, her pregnancy was an ancestrally powerful one and full of preparation for the initiation of birth and motherhood. Her 17 hr labor brought her to kiss the face of the Goddess, as she danced, sang, screamed and roared her daughter, Minerva Moon, through the threshold and into the loving hands of her husband while Faith’s mother supported her the whole time.  Faith is so proud to have given birth at home and undisturbed and feels that through birth she has been given the gift not only of her beautiful daughter but the deep knowing that she can do anything. Faith is also opening the School of Sovereign Midwifery beginning with a 3 day midwifery skills workshop in March 2025! Curious about Faith? Find her on instagram as @thepaganmidwitch Send me your requests for Anna Solo Topics to anna@sacredbirthinternational.com or dm me at @thespiritualmidwitch on instagram! Thank you dearest Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Olivia. Olivia is a mama of 2 from the UK.  She is a Mystical Birth Guide and Teacher, who guides women who have experienced baby loss, into healing and through conception, pregnancy, birth and motherhood.  Olivia conceived her first baby easily and had a wonderful pregnancy.  She planned a ‘home birth’, as she desired a natural calm water birth in the comfort of her own home.  She had a beautiful labour at home, but was transferred to the hospital in the later stages of her labour as her NHS midwives thought she was not progressing which resulted in a difficult assisted birth in theatre.  3 years later Olivia and her husband began their conception journey with their second child. This time it was not so easy. They experienced a 18 month conception journey with 2 early losses.  This conception journey took Olivia on a deep spiritual journey where she discovered Spirit Babies and her own mediumship gifts. They then conceived their daughter at the start of 2020, and after a challenging pregnancy through covid, Olivia gave birth at home as she wanted and desired all along.   Olivia's children are her greatest Teachers and Guides. They have taught her so much on her Motherhood journey, initiated her deeply into her truth and her Soul, and continue to be guiding lights for her.  Olivia is passionate about sharing this wisdom with other women, and supporting them in seeing the wisdom and guidance their babies and children, both in Spirit and on Earth, have to offer them.  Curious about Olivia? Find her on instagram as @mystical_birthing Find Anna’s Website & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on the Natural Birth Podcast is a solo episode with Anna talking about Birth Imprints. What they are and how we, through awareness and knowledge can heal and rewrite our imprint if it doesn’t serve us and our babies. It also gives us understanding to why we are the way we are and why our babies and children might behave the way they do. Imprints are created in the womb, during our birth and in the early years of childhood as your nervous system develops. And there is a possibility of rewriting these imprints in the early childhood years if one is aware of them as well as into adulthood through awareness, however we are more malleable in early childhood. Between the ages 0-2 our blue print is created. We are sponges taking in all the information about life. What is it safe to do be or express and what is not, is the world a scary place or not, are we wanted, loved, are our basic needs met and so on and so forth.  From 2-7 this blue print is refined and set. How we are supposed to be to be accepted by the tribe, how we are supposed to handle emotions and how we react in all kinds of situations, circumstances and with people and relationships etc.  Our birth imprints often override our conscious mind and not until we shine a light on it do we realize the impact they have on us and how we live, think, act and make choices in life.   The experience of birth is a crucial part of our lives that we often overlook. Our first moments in the world can have a profound impact on our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. These imprints can influence a range of behaviors and attitudes, from our relationships with others to our ability to cope with stress. Understanding and healing these imprints is important for anyone who wants to live a more conscious and fulfilling life and be the best parent you can be for your children.   Anna will be holding a Birth Imprint Workshop later on this year. If this is of interest please go on the expression of interest list in the show notes and you’ll be notified when it is. Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on the Natural Birth Podcast we have Kirsty. Kirsty is a first time mama from Scotland. She works as a renewable energy lawyer and is very passionate about the environment and the outdoors and recently moved to her new home in the rural highlands with her husband, where they aim to full fill their life long dream of homesteading and growing as much food as they can on their small plot of land. In this episode she tell us all about her pregnancy and late pregnancy cholestasis diagnosis and how that threatened to derail her plan of having a home birth.  Luckily with the right research and support from a number of amazing women, Kirsty was able to manage her cholestasis diagnosis naturally and holistically which resulted in her having her baby with just her partner in the bathroom with a single candle for light. Her husband caught their baby boy on his way out and she was so happy to have had a completely unmedicated birth at home- Curious about Kirsty? Find her on instagram as @kirsty.may3 Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Saige Saige is a mama of two from Boston, Massachusetts, USA.   She has always been fascinated by birth and women's power in the birthing process.   She had a positive experience birthing her first son naturally in a hospital in just 5.5 hours, but didn't love even the slightest of "interventions" that were imposed in the hospital.   So when she became pregnant with her second son 12 months later, she knew right away that she wanted a home birth.   Saige loved the personalized and loving care that her home birth midwives provided throughout her pregnancy in her home, even when she found out that her baby was breech at 34 weeks.   She went on to have her dream home birth just 90 minutes after her first contraction, surrounded by her loving family and student midwife - her midwife missed the birth by about 10 minutes!   She describes her natural births - especially her home birth - as among the most special treasures of her life. Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Shannon Shannon is a mama of one from Texas USA. She grew up fearing birth due to a lack of education and fear mongering, however she began pursuing a natural and holistic lifestyle while in university, which led her to become informed about her body's natural cycles, diet and fitness, and ultimately birth and mothering.  Her desire to have a natural birth stems from her belief that God designed the process of birth perfectly, and her curiosity to fully experience this magical process.  During her labour she expected it to be the most painful experience she had ever had, but that was not the case. In fact, she even asked her midwives “are you sure I’m in the pushing stage?!” When she was getting closer to birth. She describes her birth as a beautiful experience. She had her husband supporting her and saying positive affirmations, her midwives encouraging her, and the environment was peaceful like a spa. She now can't wait to have more natural births in the future! Curious about Shannon? Find her on instagram as @shann0n_bee If you didn’t know already I have 2 really great free resources that you can access and download at sacredbirthinternational.com. They are two E - books, one called 6 Steps to Having a Natural & Empowering Birth Experience and one called Routine Hospital Birth Procedures Inform yourself and make an Educated Decision! Whether you are having a hospital, birth center or home birth, knowledge is power and you never know where your birth journey will take you. Find them all via the link in the show notes or at sacredbirthinternational.com Now let’s dive into todays episode!

In this Solo Episode Anna is talking about the Witch Wound. What it is and how if affects you as a woman. She talks about how it plays a part in trusting your inner voice and intuition, how it affects your voice and expression in life and birth and how it is connected to the Sisterhood Wound and mistrust in other women. She also connects it to maternity, midwifery and birth. She weaves it all together for you so that you can become aware and make changes if you notice it is negatively affecting your life and have a sovereign and positive birth as well as be a better birth worker if that is your profession. Please leave a comment or seek her out at @thenaturalbirthpodcast to let her know what you thought about the episode and to continue the conversation! Here is the episode Midwife to Midwitch - Anna's Story Anna mentions in the episode. Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ashley Ashley is a mama of 2 from Michigan, USA.  She is a full-time content creator with a recipes website, called Fit Mitten Kitchen, where she develops recipes and works with various brands in the food and wellness space. Today she shares about her 2 birth stories. We starts briefly talking about her first medicalized experience in the hospital with OBGYN care and the dive on into her second birth with midwife led care in a birth center.  It was a very quick and amazing birth, and something she didn’t know could happen, after her first 20+ hour labor and birth in the hospital. Her 2nd birth was about 3 hours in total and she felt so supported by her midwives and her previously skeptical husband became a big fan of the midwifery care they received up to 6 weeks postpartum. Gotta love good midwifery care ;) and supportive men! Curious about Ashley? Find her on instagram as @fitmittenkitchen If you didn’t know already I have 2 really epic free resources that you can access and download at sacredbirthinternational.com. They are two E - books, one called 6 Steps to Having a Natural & Empowering Birth Experience and one called Routine Hospital Birth Procedures Inform yourself and make an Educated Decision! This is a comprehensive E-Book with 28 full pages for your information and assistance in creating an informed birth plan. Whether you are having a hospital, birth center or home birth as you never know where your birth journey will take you. Knowledge is power. Find them all via the link in the show notes or at sacredbirthinternational.com Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Chelsea Chelsea is a mama of two from the US. She is a holistic arts therapist who sought an authentic natural birth experience IN the hospital. After her first obstetric led birth which ended in medical interventions after 32 hours of labor where Chelsea felt that the hospital had to ‘intervene’ in problems that were their own creation, she sought out a private midwife for her second pregnancy and birth. She still wanted to birth in the hospital but with her own midwife that she trusted. The care she received was so much better than what she got with her OB.  Her second birth was fully natural in the hospital with her chosen midwife and partner. She also allowed a midwife in training to do two vaginal exams and attend the her birth.  The comparison of her two hospital births blows her mind! She felt that with her own confidence to advocate for herself, in addition to her partner being a superstar during labor and birth was the best experience of her life. Curious about Chelsea? Find her on instagram as @the.soulworker Did you know you can watch this episode and all of the podcast episodes on my Youtube channel? Every Wednesday the new video version of this podcast is aired on The Spiritual Midwitch YouTube channel. You’ll hear me refer to my little puppy walking in and out of the screen. So if you want to see Beanie my dog, head on over on Wednesday and look at the YouTube podcast video! Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sandra Paola Sandra Paola is an interdisciplinary dance artist, performance activist, and mama of two from Abya Yala (the territory currently known as Bogotá, Colombia).  Her journey of pregnancy, birth and motherhood has lead her to embrace the powerful nature of the divine feminine, and is committed to supporting other women develop trust in themselves and their bodies through mindful movement practices.  Today she will share her two natural birth stories. And I loved our conversation. I feel like me and Paola could talk for ever. Her story of conception and pregnancy hold so much medicine. And her births as well. Her first was a home birth transfer due to her midwife’s fears around low amniotic fluid. And her second was as Sandra Paola wrote me herself ”an empowering water birth at home with the assistance of an amazing birth team that supported her to have a virtually unassisted sovereign birth in the company of her family”.  After the hospital transfer with her first, this second birth is helping her process, heal, and grow beyond her wildest dreams. She is so grateful for her body and the trust she developed in her capacity to birth the way she wanted to. Curious about Sandra Paola? Find her on instagram as @earthdancemama Sandra Paola is now also a part of my online community the Village and I hope in a near future also a sacred birth worker mentee. If you want to hang out with me and her and other podcast guests as well as amazing women from around the world then come on over and join The Village. It’s a beautiful sisterhood community of birth nerds, mamas and birth workers sharing about life, spirituality, birth and babies.  There’s a monthly subscription option. Try it out. Cancel at any time. No strings attached. So come and join our LIVE community sharing circles and yoga circles, pick my brain, connect with other likeminded women and enjoy the safety and loving support of our sisterhood. Find Anna’s Website, The Village and about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Melanie the Midwife from The Great Birth Rebellion. Mel is a mama of two from Australia and a Private Midwife, a Midwifery Mentor, Researcher and a Podcast host. I am a huge fan girl of Mel’s and so excited to have her on the podcast. And many of her episodes are a part of the resources for The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship and I highly recommend it to my clients. Today Mel shares about her own natural and empowering births. Both of Mel’s babies were born at home and today she is here to tell you all about it. Starting from the conception of her gentle boy and how he decided to come early, and his long preterm birth journey at home. I love how Mel can share how you can have a preterm baby at 36 weeks at home with the right knowledge and dedication. She nursed him at home with the kangaroo care model, which is the superior model for all preterm babies and should be offered in all birth settings. We then dive into the birth of her fiery girl who decided to come a 40 weeks fast and furious just like her. It’s incredible how our babies show us who they are through the way they are birthed. Another reason to support their unique journey and not interfere with it. I hope you love this episode as much as I. Curious about Mel? Find her on instagram as @melaniethemidwife Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here: SACRED BIRTH INTERNATIONAL

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Aubrey. Aubrey is a mama of two from New Jersey, USA. She has had two natural births with two completely different experiences. Her first bubba was conceived with the help of IVF and her birth was a hospital transfer from a birth center. It was over 24 hours long, exhausting, and looking back Aubrey could see that she was scared and alone for almost all of it. She had meconium present when the midwife offered to break her water during transition which meant a hospital transfer. She still managed to birth naturally and was so very proud of that and thankful for the angel nurse that stepped in and guided her through the last stages before meeting her daughter. When her baby girl was 8 months old she found out she was pregnant again! Which was a HUGE shock. It took weeks to sink in that it was really happening again. Her and her husband had gone through IVF with their first due to her husband’s sperm quality. And since her husband had worked incredibly hard on his fertility with lifestyle changes and it obviously had such a great effect on him that it resulted in their little boy being made.   Aubrey wanted his birth to be different and she is so incredibly thankful to share that it was. She wrote to me that ”Thanks to your podcast. Seriously Anna, it was all thanks to you and everything I learned from the incredible Mamas you have hosted!!” And of course it wasn't all thanks to me. But I just love these messages and it reaffirms the power of storytelling! This time there were absolutely no cervical checks, no breaking waters and no birth centers.   For her baby boy's birth there were independent midwives, plenty of room for fears to heal, incredibly loving prenatal care, connection to her husband, and space for his birth to be sacred and special in her own home. He was born ten minutes before the midwife’s arrival and there was no drama to it. It was peaceful and they loved that it was just them. They had all of the support they needed over the phone and they just let birth be birth. Curious about Aubrey? Find her on Instagram as @aubreylofreddo Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship? Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: SACRED BIRTH INTERNATIONAL