Wild Womb

Felicia Sokol returns to discuss her exploration of sacred self pleasure and how it's been fundamental to her growth and empowerment. Sexual energy is creative energy, it is life force. Felicia is an astrologer, a witch, a doula, and magic human. She is one of the most embodied and grounded people I've ever encountered. She inspires me to be more honest with myself and to lean into truth. I love her so much and I hope you enjoy this episode. You can get in touch with Felicia through her website: http://www.feliciasokol.com/ Also, check out the amazing project she runs helping people reclaim the beauty of menstruation through The Red Trace Collective

This week’s episode is with Jean Savage, a true gem of a human being who agreed to share her experience with genital herpes. We want to get these conversations rolling to try to help clear up some confusion on what exactly genital herpes is as well as reduce all the crazy stigma around having it. 1 in 6 Americans are reported to have it, and we know that number is probably higher, so listen up ya’ll! Genital herpes is a skin disease also known as Herpes Simplex 2. It is a highly contagious virus that can be contracted before, during or after an outbreak. It’s a lifelong condition once contracted, but it can be totally manageable! Jean talks about her experience contracting, testing and managing genital herpes and shares some really wonderful resources linked below: For free/low cost testing and diagnosis: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-care http://www.nachc.org/about/about-our-health-centers/find-a-health-center/ If you have access and are able you can get a blood test from LabCorp. Support: http://www.herpesite.org/ https://thestiproject.com/std-resources/herpes-support-groups-hpv-support-groups/

A recent graduate of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, Justine Hazelcorn is a clinical herbalist who believes every human has the right to know their body, own their body, and take back their health. She is a strong advocate for giving people the tools they need to keep themselves and their families feeling their best. Her prior studies include a completed internship in Oregon with Herb Pharm, a completed apprenticeship with Lata Kennedy of Flower Power Herbs and Roots in New York City and a short study at the New Dawn Center in Costa Rica. This week, we hear her abortion story!

Felicia is an NYC Birth Doula, energy healer, astrology guide and enthusiast, and all . around feminist witch. She started @theredtracecollective in 2016, which is an ongoing  anthology of portraits of blood-stained panties along with stories of wombanhood. The project was inspired by her own inner journey of wombanhood after a disconnecting experience . via . birth control. Diving deep into her own connection to her female body and its magic led her down the doula path, where she aspires to support women in their own empowerment and autonomy. She practices shamanic energy healing out of Awakening in Greenpoint (@awakeningnyc/ www.awakeningny.com) where she also hosts new moon circles every month. She also offers astrology workshops . and readings . through @thelunarrising (www.thelunarrising.com). Doula and Red Trace Collective Website: www.feliciasokol.com Instagram: @feliciasokol

This week's conversation is an interview with Amelia Bonow, co-founder of Shout Your Abortion and Seattle-based abortion advocate. We talk about the beginning of #shoutyourabortion and how it's become a nationwide movement inspiring people to share their abortion stories in order to normalize abortion. We talk about the current affairs of politics and how now is such an important time to be fighting for abortion access.  Support the #shoutyourabortion movement by sharing your story and adding the hashtag! Join your local chapter or start one! Keep talking and sharing!! Buy the book, it's wonderful. Make zines. To talk more about abortion and share your own story, email me at wildwombdoulaservices@gmail.com https://shoutyourabortion.com/ watch this documentary on TRAP laws and how the legal system is making abortion more inaccessible http://www.trappeddocumentary.com/bio 3/10 is National Abortion Providers Appreciation day...these are the people making a huge difference every day and they deserve to be HONORED!! If you are interested in getting involved in abortion advocacy work, get in touch. Planned Parenthood has so many volunteer opportunities. Look into your local clinic and if you are in NYC consider becoming an abortion doula and volunteering with the Doula Project.

Welcome back finally to Season 2 of the Wild Womb Podcast. Kicking off Season 2 with this long and lovely conversation with Nubia Jones. Nubia is a certified doula and lactation counselor as well as a spinning babies educator. Nubia is also the Mom of five! Her personal experiences are what got her interested in birth work. She is a doula extraordinaire and a true ray of sunshine. Nubia provides her clients with evidence based information and is always my go-to for advice and resources. You can find Nubia on instagram @doulaviva_births and at www.doulavivabirths.com

Emilee Saldaya is the host of The Free Birth Podcast and founder of The Free Birth Society. Emilee is a radical birth keeper, free birth educator, and free birther herself! Emilee works tirelessly to help women find their power and to birth freely and intuitively. Her first priority is trusting women and trusting the process of birth. Listen to The Free Birth Society Podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/free-birth-society/id1231912533?mt=2 Learn more about The Free Birth Society and join this incredible community here: https://www.freebirthsociety.com/

Welcome back to the Wild Womb podcast! I am back from my hiatus and had this lovely conversation with Aiyana Leong, a badass abortion advocate who runs the Brooklyn chapter of Shout Your Abortion. This is a movement that was created through social media by Amelia Bono and Lindy West to encourage people who have had abortions to share their stories. It aims to normalize abortion and create a safe space to share experiences. IT IS SO IMPORTANT! Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures in the US and it is statistically impossible to not know someone who has had one. Aiyana shares her own abortion story and we talk about how she got involved with this movement and how you can too! We really can inspire change if we just keep pushing for it. dm Aiyana on instagram @nobrasnoparents to get involved with SYA BK donate to NYAAF: http://www.nyaaf.org/ https://www.womenonwaves.org/ https://shoutyourabortion.com/ http://www.gotagirlcrush.com/ email me- wildwombdoulaservices@gmail.com

Welcome back to the Wild Womb podcast! This conversation is with Lacey Haynes, a long time yoga and meditation guide as well as pussy gazer and free birthing woman. Lacey lives in London where she chose to free birth- a story which was picked up by The Guardian and went viral. Lacey chose to free birth out of a place of deep trust for herself and her body. Before and during her pregnancy she did a lot of deep self work on healing her relationship with motherhood. Lacey now helps other women do the same as well as helps reconnect them to their sexual and feminine power through what she calls "pussy gazing". Lacey is reclaiming and radicalizing motherhood. Lacey is leading these pussy gazing workshops all over the country for more information and to buy tickets go to her website: https://www.laceyhaynes.com/about/ follow her on instagram: @verylacey This conversation was soul nourishing and inspiring. I am thrilled to share it!

Welcome back to the Wild Womb podcast! This week I have my lovely friend from high school, Veronique Meriot. Vera is now the mother to two sons- Sebastien and Bodhi. Seb is the most lovely little boy. He is curious and loving and playful and it has been such a pleasure to see the bond that Veronique and him have. She is such an incredible mother, someone I really look up to and feel so inspired by. It was an honor to have her on here. In this episode we talk about navigating other people's judgement, creating intention through pregnancy and parenting and how magical it is to have a community of supportive women around. She has now had two homebirths and we talk about why she wouldn't do it differently. She trusts her body and the process of birth. She has created a really lovely project throughout the pregnancy and now into parenting to document and process the experience through photos on instagram. Check it out @vherbali it's beautiful. Much love, Veronique and thank you all!

Episode 10!! This week I spoke with Kelsey Knight and Emily Varnam, the co-founders of the Fifth Vital Sign. The Fifth Vital Sign refers to the fifth vital sign of health for women- the menstrual cycle. Kelsey and Emily created this project in response to the incredible lack of body literacy and education on female reproductive health. They created a course out of information they compiled and taught it all around the country. They now facilitate trainings for women to educate women using the original course as a framework. They are empowering women to empower themselves and each other. "Conversations in Community" is the name of this platform and I encourage anyone interested to participate. http://www.5thvitalsign.com/ Get in touch with these incredible women, they are so knowledgeable and conscientious. They are doing an incredible job at making this information accessible, approachable, and inclusive. **note that we lost Kelsey at the end, please excuse my technical issues**

Welcome back to the Wild Womb Podcast! This week we get down and dirty with all things breastfeeding. Leigh Anne O'Connor is an IBCLC and long-time La Leche League leader here in New York. She has helped countless families reach their breastfeeding goals and is a reservoir of resources and knowledge in the perinatal worker community. Breastfeeding is a charged subject and is complicated for so many people. We unpack that quite a bit here. I want everyone to feel supported and to understand that breastfeeding is NOT easy and has so much more nuance to it than anyone tells you until you're in the thick of it. The goal here is to understand that it is possible (most of the time), but that we are not set up for success for so many reasons. Women are not given the support they need, and hopefully from this conversation people will feel like they have a better idea of where to go for support through this journey. https://www.lllusa.org/ contact Leigh Anne- https://www.leighanneoconnor.com

Welcome back to the Wild Womb podcast, episode 8 featuring Lara and Jason! I got to work with this lovely couple last year as their doula for the birth of their son, Felix. I loved being their doula, they are really fantastic people. Often times as a doula, I find myself managing a relationship dynamic that feels not quite right- these two were not that. They are so in love, so excited about life and parenthood- and do so well at all of it. As their doula, I found their energy to be inspiring and witnessing their journey really made me feel like the birthing and parenting journey was something I could do and wanted to! In this episode we hear BOTH of their perspectives on the birth, the prenatal experience and doula-hiring process, how they've settled into this new life and what roles they each play. This is a lovely and real conversation about the ins and outs of this life transition from both parents!

Welcome back to the Wild Womb podcast! This week is featuring Naima Beckles, doula and co-founder of For Your Birth. FYB is a partnership-based doula and childbirth education agency serving all the boroughs of New York City. This is the group I work with predominantly and Naima has been a major mentor and guide to me as I have grown as a doula and navigated the NYC birthing jungle. We get to hear all about how Naima came to this work after the homebirths of her two children and how she has started and grown this business into what it is today, alongside her partner Michele. Naima is doing amazing things as a support for other doulas, but more importantly for women out there who may not know all of their options for support. Her mission is to cast a wide net and to keep these conversations going so more people hear about the work we do and opt for the support in order to have better experiences. She is incredible, and I am so fortunate to work with her. http://www.foryourbirth.com

Welcome back to the Wild Womb podcast! Episode 6 features Sarah Frank telling her long and winding birthing tale. Sarah had always planned to have a home birth, then doubled-up on prenatal care with midwives at a birthing center as well as an ob-gyn throughout her pregnancy. She gave birth via c-section due to low fluids and a breech babe! I love her story and loved talking through finding peace and empowerment in the unexpected. Birth is often not at all what we predict or expect and Sarah conquered it all so beautifully. We get to talk a lot about moving past other people’s judgements and opinions that don’t serve us and how it can be so hard (yet so important) to find support. We chat mothering a little babe as well as her experience stepping into the role of mother to her husband’s 11-year old daughter and all the fun that puberty brings. She’s such a great model for self-empowerment and body positivity and I’m so happy her daughters will have her as a role model.

Welcome back to the Wild Womb podcast! Episode 5! This week's episode is so important and I am so psyched I got to have it. We are talking queer and trans inclusivity in the birth sphere with Amanda Hayden! Amanda is a full spectrum doula as well as social worker at The Center here in New York. There are a lot of links and not much space to write so listen to the episode for my shpeel and click below for resources: Get in touch with Amanda!: https://amanda-hayden-doula.squarespace.com/ as well as amandahayden.doula@gmail.com and @amandahayden.doula on instagram search engine for TGNC affirming care providers- radremedy.org Queer/Trans Family building- https://m.facebook.com/queertransfamily/ Philly Trans Health conference- https://www.mazzonicenter.org/trans-wellness Ancient Song Doula Services- https://www.ancientsongdoulaservices.com/ Morgane Richardson- http://www.morganerichardsondoula.com/ Please reach out with any thoughts, questions, feedback, anything! xoxo

Welcome back to the Wild Womb Podcast. Episode 3!! This week features Tanya Wills, homebirth midwife and founder of Manhattan Birth. Tanya has an alphabet's worth of credentials (CNM, IBCLC, WHNP) as well as being a mother herself! Tanya is a CHAMPION for women's health and is working tirelessly front and center to change the framework and discourse around reproductive health for women. She is a role model of mine and I am thrilled to have had this conversation. We get to hear all about how she got to this work and all the magic she's creating on the daily. Tanya is reframing how we think about birth with her no-bullshit and "no purple crystals" approach. Working with her has left me feeling informed, completely unjudged, and supported in making my own health choices- which has inspired me to do a better job with the same for my clients. Reach her here: https://www.manhattanbirth.com/ and on social media @manhattanbirth xoxo

Cera Merrick (they/them) is an herbalist, pregnancy loss and abortion doula, and Fertility Awareness teacher in training based in Oakland, CA, Ohlone land. They humbly walk with the plants on the path toward liberation and reproductive autonomy. They are passionate about expanding access to abortion and reclaiming abortion as a right of passage and a spiritual experience. As a budding Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) educator, they are committed to ungendering FAM to bridge this rich practice of body literacy to the queer community, folks of all gender and sexual expressions.

Michele Drake (she/her) is a Fertility Awareness Educator and advocate with a passion for supporting people in their contraceptive choices. After witnessing many friends struggle to find their ideal contraceptive method, balance their hormones, or achieve pregnancy, she was inspired to empower people with knowledge about their own bodies so that they may make informed choices about their health. Michele offers one-on-one classes for contraception, conception, menstrual wellness, and achieving hormonal balance. She also donation-based distance birth control doula support. You can find her at micheledrake.com or on instagram.

This week, I’m speaking with Naomi Westwater, a friend, a musician and a witch. Naomi has endometriosis that was undiagnosed for 17 years. By sharing her story, she hopes that it may help other people experiencing symptoms she did to start seeking out support. So much of our experience and pain is minimized snd as you’ll hear in this conversation, speaking up can be met with a ton of resistance. The more information we have about what’s going on in our own bodies, the better. Naomi Westwater is an indie singer-songwriter, producer, and witch from Boston, MA. Naomi is a graduate of Berklee College of Music with her Master’s in Music (Contemporary Performance, Production Concentration). Naomi is a queer woman of color and modern-day mystic. Reach out to her for tarot, music, and wisdom. Instagram Website Spotify