The Natural Birth Podcast
By Anna The Spiritual Midwitch
The Natural Birth PodcastMay 11, 2024
The Maternity Nurse who Home Birthed
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Rachel.
Rachel is a mama of two from the US.
Her passion for birth and babies started when she went to nursing school and wanted to work on a maternity floor. When she finally landed a job as a mother & baby nurse, she quickly was not impressed by how birthing mamas and newborns were cared for.
She stayed working in the system for four years, but was constantly unlearning what she saw, and trusting birth in a whole other way through podcasts and Instagram.
It really goes to show the power of storytelling, women to women. So thank you for listening to these stories and spreading them far and wide.
I can’t tell you how amazing it is to get your messages and emails, especially from birth workers who share this poddy with their clients or tell me how it's changing their practice and trust in women, babies and birth. Gives me goosebumps. Truly.
Anyways, back to Rachel.
When Rachel became pregnant with her first, she planned her dream home birth with a slightly wild pregnancy and left the maternity system at the very beginning of her first pregnancy.
She’s now worked as a pediatric home care nurse and home birth assistant with a traditional midwife in the past few years, but mostly has been home raising her two babies.
She just started her journey on encapsulating placentas.
And today we will hear about her home births.
Curious about Rachel? Find her on Instagram as @_love_dahlia
Did you know you can now watch all the podcast episodes on our YouTube channel? Every Sunday the new video version of this podcast is aired on The Spiritual Midwitch YouTube channel.
Please pop on over all tell us what you think? Do you prefer to listen to watch ? Or maybe both? I’d love to know.
Send me a dm on our Instagram @thenaturalbirthpodcast or comment on one of your favorite YouTube episodes!
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
Twin Home Birth in Sweden
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Fanny.
Fanny is a mama of four, something she says she never thought she’d ever be, from Sweden.
She is currently a stay at home mama and used to work in HR.
Today we will hear about all of her 4 four births but the focus will be on her most recent amazing home birth with her twins.
Fanny says her home water birth was a fantastic experience where she just let her body do the work. She breathed and talked to her babies and just let go into the power of the birth portal. Her older kids were there and so was her mum and her husband of course.
It was just a really natural, safe and ordinary birth according to Fanny.
And it is!
However these stories are few of twins born at home nowadays, so I am very grateful she wanted to share it with us.
Curious about Fanny? Find her on Instagram as @fannyplato
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
An Unassisted Painless Birth after 3 Epidural Births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Dailah.
Dailah is a Mother of 4 from the US living in Africa. She is a Quantum life coach and a Painless Birth™ Worker.
She assists Women to give birth without pain using a series of brain wave techniques and tools.
In this episode she will share about her first 3 hospital births with epidurals and the shift that led her to birthing her fourth child at home with no pain and how she became a painless birth worker after her own experience.
Curious about Dailah? Find her on Instagram as @the.painless.birth.worker
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
Hands off Empowering Home Birth in New Zealand
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Lauren.
Lauren is a mama of 1 originally from England, now living in New Zealand for seven years.
She’s a pastry chef and qualified personal trainer, now focusing on raising her baby girl. She’s been vegan for ten years and is trying to live a low tox holistic kinda lifestyle.
During her whole pregnancy she felt very skeptical about inviting her midwife to her birth as she was aware how a medical midwife can unfortunately get in the way of a physiological birth.
She ended up labouring with her partner and dog for 18.5 hours until her body started pushing and she decided to call her midwife.
Her baby ended up coming 1.5 hours later shortly after the midwife arrived and her midwife stayed hands off, no one else touched her baby besides her or her partner for a few hours until she wanted her to.
She also had a 2nd degree tear and decided against advice to not get any stitches and really believe she healed better because of it.
Lauren feels very empowered and proud to have had her first birth at home.
Curious about Lauren? Find her on Instagram as @Laurenhadfieldpilcher
If you didn’t know already I have 3 really epic free resources that you can access and download at sacredbirthinternational.com
There’s 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.
Finally, if you are planning a home birth like Lauren then download my free home birth checklist. There will definitely be things in there that you might not have thought of.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
Amanda’s Tight Nuchal Cord & Asynclitic 9 pound Baby’s Home Birth
Today on the Natural Birth Podcast we have Amanda.
Amanda is a mama of 2 from Texas.
She’s a birth photographer, birth assistant, doula and placenta encapsulator and a secretary and social media coordinator for a birth center.
She says that she is blessed to mostly work from home and have the ability to homeschool her daughter.
In todays episode we get to hear about her two birth stories. The last one I saw powerful photos of on Instagram where Amanda was squatting in such a primal powerful position birthing her baby and I just had to reach out and say ”Hey do you want to share your story on the poddy”, and here she is doing just that.
Curious about Amanda? Find her on Instagram as @loverandbeloved
200 Episodes & Special Offer!
This is the 200th episode of the natural birth podcast!
WOW! And we are coming up to 4 years in a few weeks but first things first!
Can you believe it!?!
I know many of you listen to each and every one of these episodes to prepare for your natural birth and I am so pleased that I now have 200 unique natural and positive birth stories to help you reprogram your subconscious mind!
What an epic resource!
And speaking of resources.
To celebrate this 200th episode you are welcome into my Online Community The Village for free for a whole month when joining this week!
Being a part of my village means monthly live Q&A and sharing circles with me and the village sisters.
It means accessing resources and birth nerds, maidens, mothers and magas as well as my sacred birth worker mentees 24/7.
It’s a warm, friendly, cozy and hearth centered village that truly supports women in all stages of life, especially around birth and child rearing.
And this week you can join for free and get a whole month in the village and meet me and hang out totally free of charge!
Yay!
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
The Pelvic Floor Physio Specialized in Tearing & Trauma after Birth who Choose Home Birth over C/S
Today on the Natural Birth Podcast we have Carla.
Carla is a mama of one from Sydney.
She’s a pelvic floor physiotherapist who has worked in some of the largest maternity hospitals in Sydney.
Her work has involved supporting women as they recover from third and fourth degree tears, bladder and bowel incontinence, sexual and pelvic pain and prolapse concerns.
Carla is also a yoga and meditation teacher and during her pregnancy she went on a journey to resolve her birth fears, especially the one about tearing and injury to her vagina and pelvic floor, and explore birth's spiritual dimensions.
By listening to women’s stories on this podcast and being in community with other women who have had physiological births she was able to go from thinking she’d opt for an elective Cesarean to save her pelvic floor to having a home birth in her bathtub.
This episode is so good for you who might have a fear of tearing, a fear that is so common.
Carla is excited to share her story with other women to help continue to alleviate birth fears and navigate the often paternalistic nature of maternity care.
Curious about Carla? Find her on Instagram as @carlasank
If you didn’t know already I have 3 really epic free resources that you can access and download at sacredbirthinternational.com
There’s 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.
Finally, if you are planning a home birth like Carla then download my free home birth checklist. There will definitely be things in there that you might not have thought of.
Well that’s me and my free resources folks. Find them all via the link in the show notes or at sacredbirthinternational.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
Holistic Midwife Sophia & Her 3 Natural Births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sophia.
Sophia is a mother of 3 from the UK, living in Corfu Greece.
She is a midwife, who is obsessed with bringing pregnancy and birth back into the hands, hearts and wombs of women and families. And she is a Sacred Birth Worker Mentee of mine.
Imagine my delight to have her both in my mentorship as well as coming on here to share her amazing natural and empowering birth stories!
This episode is so very rich as us two midwives cackle away as we tend to do when we meet a soul sister midwife on the same path.
Sophia grew up in London to an English mother and Mexican father and has always had a deep interest in pregnancy, birth and in living and working close to the veil between realities.
She believes that pregnancy and birth are golden opportunities to find healing and bring us closer to our true authentic selves.
After an acting degree, traveling, and directing a production of 'the vagina monologues' she finally realized that her true calling was to be a midwife.
And right now she is starting up a home birthing midwifery service in Corfu Greece where the majority of women can only access obstetric care and where the c/s rate is sky high which is expected when you hire a surgeon for your birth!
Sophia has had three incredible physiological births, two at home and one in a birth center.
The first was long, like an elegant waltz, the second fiery, like a passionate flamenco solo and the third like an improvisation with the stars and source.
Curious about Sophia? Find her on Instagram as @holistic_midwifery
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
Natalie Caught her Baby after a 5hr Home Water Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Natalie.
Natalie is a mama of one from the UK, now living in Thailand.
She is an artist and a property developer, and a lover of meditation and alternative health and living a unique, authentic life.
Natalie found out she was pregnant whilst on a snowboard season in Japan and was initially absolutely terrified at the thought of birth.
She made it her mission to feel confident and calm about her birth by the time her baby arrived. And instead of fear of birth she had a fear of birthing in the hospital and being interfered with.
So she chose a home birth with midwives and a doula.
Her story is a fast and furious birth with a plot twist. And even though her birth wasn’t the undisturbed birth she might have wanted she was so present, trusting in her body and her intuition and managed to birth her baby in just over 5 hours at home in the pool.
She caught her baby by herself and absolutely loves telling her birth story.
Curious about Natalie? Find her on instagram as @natalieellisart
We Birth The Way We Live. Sarah’s Easeful Birth Stories
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sarah.
Sarah is a mama of 2 from Cornwall, UK.
She is a holistic nutritionist and passionate about all aspects of health and wellness, the importance of our connection to nature and living as empowered beings for a happy, healthy life.
When Sarah first became pregnant she was fearful of birth, but through claiming it and educating herself and doing daily meditation she ended up transforming her fear into feeling calm and eager to birth.
She had a birth center birth for her first baby and a fairly short first birth that made her feel empowered, but nothing compared to her second birth.
For her second she dove even deeper into her inner work and reprogramming her mind and ended up having a 3 hour labour that really just felt like one hour.
Hear about it all in today's episode!
Curious about Sarah? Find her on Instagram as @itsmesarahmartin
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
3 Home Births with a Long Latent and a Quick Active Phase
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Maria.
Maria is a mama of 3 from Sweden.
She has a background in journalism and has written three books about pregnancy, birth and the postpartum as well as working as a doula and a massage therapist.
She’s also the co-founder of Braido Organics with Kristina that you heard from just a couple of weeks back. And this year she is also starting her journey to become a midwife.
She’s a force to be reckoned with in the birth world here in Sweden and I am grateful to call her a friend.
In today’s episode she shares about her three home births. Her first being in the US where she lived with her husband at the time, and her other two in Sweden.
All of her labours were long in their latent and early phase and fast in their active phase.
And all of them were perfect just the way they were.
Curious about Maria? Find her on instagram as @maria.bengtsson.sja
This episode is sponsored by Braïdo Organics.
For 20% off their entire collection of products go to Barïdo Organics and use the coupon code SACRED
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Cory is a 2 x HBAC Mama going on 3
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Cory.
Cory is a mama of three and soon four from Texas, USA.
Her first baby was born in Hawaii where she met her husband. She planned a natural birth that turned into a C/S which she wasn’t happy about and therefore was adamant in having a VBAC for her second.
Her second became her redemption birth and she ended up having her baby in the luxury of her own home as she puts it.
Her next daughter was also born at home and today Cory has a huge passion for natural birth and is an advocate for other HBAC & VBAC mamas.
She is currently planning her 3rd Home Birth after C/S and has no intention of ever birthing in a hospital again.
Curious about Cory? Find her on Instagram as @onewildmother
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Own Your Birth with Kristina Turner
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kristina Turner.
Kristina is a writer, birth activist, sacred birth keeper and red tent women’s circle facilitator with over 25 years of experience.
She wrote the book Natural Birth – A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breastfeeding after giving birth to her three children.
The births that we will hear all about in this episode.
The spiritually transformative experiences she had during these births made her a passionate advocate for the right to undisturbed birth.
Kristina believes that the way we treat the natural world is linked to a collectively held, often unconscious, view of the feminine as a resource for exploitation.
This has led her to deepen her connection with the sacred feminine and sustainable plant medicine.
In 2021 she developed a range of holistic birth support products alongside her business partner Maria Bengtsson. The company they founded, Braïdo Organics, develops exquisite, handmade products that support women to have empowering and transformative births.
Kristina trained as a Sacred Birth keeper with Glastonbury Goddess Temple in 2020 and has held similar training in Sweden. She is regularly holding workshops and retreats.
Curious about Kristina? Find her on Instagram as @ownyourbirth
This episode is sponsored by Braïdo Organics.
For 20% off their entire collection of products go to Barïdo Organics and use the coupon code SACRED
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Becoming a Mama of 2 and Breaking the Rule about Second Births Being Faster & Easier!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emma back.
Emma is a meditation and yoga teacher as well as an author, podcaster, mentor and speaker from Byron Bay Australia and now a mama of two!
Emma was on the poddy in May 2022 sharing her first fast empowering home birth in the episode ”Breaking Ancestral Patterns and choosing Home Birth”
Now she is back breaking all the assumptions about second births being faster and easier. Because this one was longer and harder but still so amazing with so much wisdom for her mama years as a mama of two.
Emma shares this journey so openly and honestly, giving you so many pearls of wisdom. I believe you’re gonna love this story.
Curious about Emma? Find her on Instagram as @emmamaidment_
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Beautiful Home Birth & a Stuck Placenta
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Denise.
Denise is a mama of one from Arizona USA.
She is a stay at home mom and an Airbnb host.
After watching The Business of Being Born by Ricki Lake, her now husband told her, even before they were married or thinking of having babies, that they should home birth.
And Denise became fascinated by pregnancy and birth by listening to The Natural Birth Podcast, which led her to make the decision to birth at home with the support of her husband, doula and midwife.
Denise ended up having a beautiful home birth, however her placenta wasn’t coming out and by the 3rd hour she and her birth team made the decision to transfer to hospital.
She was feeling fine and there was no emergency, but they decided they wanted the help to birth the placenta.
Because of the preparation and education Denise had done she could stand up to the OB and be empowered in her decision making in the hospital and felt empowered about her birth even though it didn’t unfold exactly as she’d hoped.
A natural birth doesn’t always mean an empowered birth and a medicalized birth doesn’t mean its traumatic. It’s about feeling empowered and in charge of the decisions about your body, baby and birth.
And only education as well as the inner work can truly prepare you for the unknown that is birth. Something Denise highly recommends to all first time mamas.
Curious about Denise? Find her on Instagram as @derosenise
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus.
Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge.
Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
You Birth the Way you Live and the Way you Are
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sofia.
Sofia is a Swedish mama of 5 who is currently living with her family in France.
She is a yoga teacher and homeschooling mama and today she is sharing all of her 5 births and her interesting life journey.
She birthed her first baby at home as a 23 year old and then had her second also in Sweden which happened so fast it was an accidental free birth.
She then decided with her husband that they wanted to move to France, where they ended up birthing their 3 following children who all ended up more or less being free birthed in their home.
But they each had a journey and there was some involvement with midwives and medical personnel on their journey.
Sofia’s stories really show that we birth the way we live and the way we are.
In her stories you’ll see that the way her life situation was and also her inner world was reflected in the way her birth unfolded.
Curious about Sofia? Find her on Instagram as @la_sorcierebeach_
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Painless Labour is Possible
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Veronica.
Veronica is a mama of two from the US.
She is a somatic & trauma trained practitioner and educator as well as a doula.
Today she brings you the pearls of wisdom from her first home birth hospital transfer and some really amazing takeaways as an embodied woman and birth worker.
She then proceeds to share about her redemptive second birth center birth where she experienced labour with no pain during the transition phase, only what she describes as pressure. And she shares how she created this optimal pain free situation during the most intense hours with you.
Curious about Veronica? Find her on Instagram as @wakingwomb
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus.
Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge.
Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Natural Conception & Birth with PCOS
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Maria.
Maria is a mama of one living in Glasgow, Scotland, originally from Lithuania.
She struggled with PCOS for most of her late teens and twenties, but was only diagnosed later in life. This allowed her to finally try to heal herself, because conventional medicine doesn't provide a way to "heal" PCOS.
After a 2 year detour into detoxing and the vegan world, it was the pro-metabolic way of eating and focusing on good quality animal foods that helped her heal and bring her period back that had been pretty much absent for over 10 years.
She and her husband thought that it would take them years to conceive. But little did they know that finding out she was pregnant would be their Christmas gift in 2022, only 8 months after her period came back.
Ever since she started thinking about birth she knew she wanted a home birth, it just felt right. She had a close friend who had had two home births and this helped her convince her doctor husband that it's the best choice for them.
Their birth was a natural water birth at home with two great midwifes from NHS. It wasn't without challenges though as her waters broke but labour didn't establish until 42 hours later.
This taught her great lessons of patience and surrender.
And today she is very grateful for a positive and empowering first birth experience.
Curious about Maria? Find her on Instagram as @maria_arbell
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here: https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Natural & Wonderful Hospital Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Catherine.
Catherine is a mama of one from the US.
She believes that a HUGE reason she was able to have a completely unmedicated, wonderful hospital birth was because throughout her pregnancy she was empowered by listening to the stories of so many amazing, strong women on the natural birth podcast! So she came on to give back!
And what a story she has!
She had originally planned a home birth but at 36 weeks had to switch to OB care due to rising blood pressure. Something I have many clients coming to me to share and heal during our birth trauma healing sessions. Luckily enough this was not Catherine’s story.
She was TERRIFIED to birth in the hospital however and felt like all she’d heard were horror stories.
But she switched gears, empowered by all the stories she’d heard on this poddy and got into the right headspace and had the most wonderful birth!!
I can’t wait for you to hear it!
Curious about Catherine? Find her on Instagram as @ceejscholl
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus.
Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge.
Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Ryan Optimized her Nutrition for a Conscious Conception & Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ryan.
She is a mama from Los Angeles, California, the US.
Ryan is a mama of one daughter and one son on the way as well as two rescue mutts.
She is also the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Needed, a company championing better nutrition for women, their families and our earth.
She is a lifelong environmentalist and a holistic nutritionist with training in folk herbalism.
In today’s episode we will hear about her home birth with a midwife she had employed way before she was even pregnant.
Ryan started her conscious conception journey years before she conceived by optimizing her own gut biome and nutritional levels and when she finally tried for a baby, she conceived on the first try.
We talk about low amniotic fluids and the non existent evidence of if being a problem on it’s own, as well as the use of caster oil as a natural induction method with a Russian twist.
Curious about Ryan? Find her on Instagram as @ryrywoodbury
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Natural Birthing in Japan
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Mae Yoshikawa.
Mae is a mama of 2 from Japan.
She is an author and yoga and meditation teacher as well as a global ambassador for Adidas.
She has been on 42 consecutive covers of the Japanese Yogini magazine and was awarded the Yoga Journal People's Award in 2016.
Her offerings have been featured on many media outlets including Vogue Japan, GQ, and Women's Health.
Today she is here to share about her two natural births in Japan.
With her first, she had a natural birth in a birthing center. It went smoothly with no medications... but it was very painful which Mae puts down to not truly being prepared mentally and not really allowing birth to unfold.
8 years later, having learned from this experience she had a beautiful home water birth that she says was almost all pain-free.
She was supported by her midwife and late husband.
And she felt like it was a communion of souls and it was very empowering.
Curious about Mae? Find her on Instagram @maeyoshikawa
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus.
Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge.
Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Small for Gestational Age Baby or Bloody Ultrasound BS?
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sophie.
Sophie is a mama of one from the UK, now living in Costa Rica.
In this episode we will hear her story of trusting the maternity care she was given as most first time mamas do and how it only created anxiety and stress, ultimately derailing her home birth to a hospital birth.
This episode will highlight the risks with ultrasounds and inform you to be aware of these as you accept the routine ones as well as the extras. They are not diagnostic!
But despite all of this Sophie had an empowering, positive and natural hospital birth with her baby girl and learned so much during this pregnancy.
She became a hypnobirthing teacher and is now furthering her education by becoming one of my mentees in the sacred birth worker mentorship program starting on the 15th of January.
I love how having a positive natural birth is what ignites a passion for birth work in so many mamas, and we need more passionate women like Sophie waking up to the reality of woman’s power and births beautiful magical design.
It’s been a magical year the last year for me as I stepped fully into the role of mentor for aspiring sacred birth workers and I feel like I’ve found my true calling.
I love being on the leading edge of the new birthing paradigm and so excited to have a newly baked cohort out in the world offering their services and another one soon to begin their journey.
I’ve poured my heart and soul and all my midwifery knowledge and embodied wisdom into this mentorship and I love all the passionate birth nerds that have joined in so far.
If you know in your heart that sacred birth work is your heart's calling then there is still room in the cohort starting in 2 weeks.
Reach out to me ASAP before the doors close. Find the link in the show notes.
Curious about Sophie? Find her on Instagram @yogaandhypnobirthingwithsophie
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
96 hours of Broken Waters and a Physiological Hospital Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Agata.
Agata is a mama of 2 from Sweden and one of my dear clients. And today we have a very special story to tell.
Agata is quite the unicorn. She waited calmly for her baby to be ready and for labour to start naturally after her waters broke for over 96 hours. Which in our modern birth climate is unheard of.
With my assistance and guidance and her deep trust in her body, baby and birth she had a magical, empowering, natural hospital birth when her body finally was ready to go into labour.
In this episode you get to hear about her first fast natural hospital birth of 5 hours that left her feeling like it could have been a better experience, to her second birth, with me as her sacred birth worker, and how ecstatic she was after this birth.
Lots of pearls of wisdoms shared between us as we weave her birth stories together.
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month. Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Magical Home Birth with a Shoulder Dystocia
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Stella.
Stella is a mama of two from Florida, USA.
She works in the health & wellness space and lives a natural, holistic lifestyle.
She went from being terrified of birth, thinking she would never have children because of her fears, to having two beautiful home births in the house built by her and her husband.
Her first birth was long and challenging, but she reached her goal of having an unmedicated home birth.
But she still felt like something was missing, there were some things that happened during her first birth that she didn’t want for her second, and she didn't have the euphoric birth experience that she knew was possible from all of the birth stories she had listened to.
She decided to go for an independent home birth midwife instead of the birth center she did the first time.
Her second birth was fast, magical, and practically pain-free even though she had a shoulder dystocia.
She shares all about how she faced her fears, how she prepared for each of her birth experiences and the pearls of wisdom she learned from each one. She did a full 180 and is now fully obsessed with birth.
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus.
Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge.
Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Free Birthing the Impossible Baby - Posterior and Brow Presentation and Healing her Own Prolapse
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Poppy. Poppy a mama of two from New Zealand. She is a singer and musical theatre performer.
And in today’s episode she will share the births of her two babies.
Her first was a midwife attended home birth and her second, which we will dive deeply into today, was an unassisted free birth in her home together with her sister and partner.
And Poppy went on to birth a baby believed not to be able to be birthed by the medical establishment. A posterior brow presentation.
This is a very interesting story and Poppy is so very generous in sharing about how she did the impossible and then went on to heal a prolapse naturally with some guidance from a pelvic floor specialist.
It’s a long conversation but I think you’ll find this story very rich and informative.
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Baby Born in the Carpark after a 3hr Labour
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Olivia.
Olivia is a mama of two from the US.
As so many first time mamas, she was over confident about her ability to have a natural birth in a hospital and ended up having the typical American hospital birth flat on her back with an epidural and her legs up in the air being told when to push.
She put in a lot of work in preparing for her second birth, still planning on having a natural hospital birth, and ended up having a short but empowering labor and birth with my her daughter that ended in a surprising way.
As soon as Olivia got in to the car to go to the hospital, her body began pushing. The hospital was 20 minutes away, and her daughter was crowning by the time they arrived. Her head and body emerged with one final push after about a 3hr labour and her husband caught her before she fell on the floor of the car. It was an empowering experience that brought them closer together because it was something that just the two of them did.
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus. Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge. Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
The Midwife who Free Birthed and Left the System
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Lucy. Lucy is a Mama to my four from Australia.
She is a certified Doula and a former Midwife who just like me handed in her registration as working in the system was so traumatizing to her and she just couldn’t go on any longer.
She also finally came to the sad conclusion that she was never going to be able to serve women and families authentically while she was tied to the institution, so she left.
Although initially she held a lot of grief around letting this dream of being a Midwife go.. she now feels more aligned and inspired than ever. She has since co-created a business where she can authentically show up for women and where her voice is finally free.
In today’s episode you’ll hear about her journey through midwifery as well as the births of her babies.
Her first three were born at home with a registered Midwife and her last baby (who is 3 months old) was born with only her partner and children present.
This pregnancy and birth was the most healing and transformative experience of her entire life! It truly initiated her into the Mother after years of feeling out of her body and as if she was still a young Maiden.
Curious about Lucy? Find her on instagram as @mama_of_luna
Did you get some good bargains this Black Friday?
You still have a few more days until the end of November to get a bargain on my The Bundle. There’s 4 more days of the 50% BLACK FRIDAY SALE!
The Bundle includes The Natural Birth Course, my signature childbirth education course that helps you optimize your chances of having a physiological and empowering birth experience wherever you choose to birth.
It also includes The Nourishing Postpartum Course that is designed to help you plan a healing postpartum recovery and best start in life for your baby. It’s as big and as full of information and practical tips as the natural birth course and gives you all the information you need for an optimal start with breastfeeding, learning about baby care and communication as well as how to heal as a new born mother.
And that’s not enough.
You also get a full years membership inside my maiden, mother & mama village. My online community full of amazing women from all over the world living a natural, conscious and alternative lifestyle. Here you can get advice and support from other mamas as well as monthly Q&A and sharing circles with me.
It’s a bargain to get this bundle, that’s already discounted, at a 50% SALE.
Instead of the original price of 397 dollars you can now access all these products for only 199 dollars!
Pop on over to thenaturalbirthcourse.com and use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY to get this very special discount.
That’s coupon code BLACKFRIDAY as one word in capital letters for 50% off The Bundle.
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Footling Breech Home Birth & Irish Twins
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Blythe. Blythe is a mama of Irish twins from the US. This means her babies were born within the year of each other.
Her first birth was a standard hospital birth that left her feeling traumatized just like so many women around her.
So after becoming pregnant with her second, she knew things had to be better and began the journey to the healing natural breech home birth that might not have gone as planned, which birth rarely does, but gave her the peace and embodied sense of power that she knew birth could provide.
After her footling breech home birth she felt invincible and knew she’d never birth in the hospital again.
Curious about Blythe? Find her on instagram as @blytheduvvy
Now next week the big sales are on for Black Friday and of course I’ll be joining and will be offering you an amazing deal.
From today until the end of November I’m announcing a 50% SALE on The Bundle.
The Bundle includes The Natural Birth Course, my signature childbirth education course that helps you optimize your chances of having a physiological and empowering birth experience wherever you choose to birth.
It also includes The Nourishing Postpartum Course that is designed to help you plan a healing postpartum recovery and best start in life for your baby. It’s as big and as full of information and practical tips as the natural birth course and gives you all the information you need for an optimal start with breastfeeding, learning about baby care and communication as well as how to heal as a newborn mother.
And that’s not enough.
You also get a full years membership inside my maiden, mother & mama village. My online community full of amazing women from all over the world living a natural, conscious and alternative lifestyle. Here you can get advice and support from other mamas as well as monthly Q&A and sharing circles with me.
It’s a bargain to get this bundle that’s already discounted at a 50% SALE.
Instead of the original price of 397 you can now access all these products for only 199!
Pop on over to thenaturalbirthcourse.com and use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY to get this very special discount.
That’s coupon code BLACKFRIDAY as one word in capital letters for 50% off The Bundle.
Enjoy!
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus. Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge. Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today!
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Home Water Birth with Baby en Caul
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Fiona
Fiona is an actor and a mama of two from the UK.
Today we will hear about how she had her daughter at home in a birth pool as her son slept upstairs. It was calm, beautiful and even pleasurable!
Her baby girl was born en caul, which is when the amniotic sac is intact and has been believed throughout the ages to be a sign of luck, and her daughter also had a true knot in her umbilical cord. Something that is feared but most of the time totally fine.
She had a doula and an NHS midwife as well as her husband with her.
This birth was the complete opposite to when she had her son in the height of covid, where they threatened her with induction and where she ended up having loads of interventions like forceps and an episiotomy, even though she’d wanted as natural a birth as possible.
This birth was her magical redemption.
Curious about Fiona? Find her on instagram as @fionahampton
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
“That was awesome! I could do that again!”
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Olivia.
Olivia is a mama of one from Virginia, USA and is an elementary school teacher.
She and her husband consciously conceived their son on their first try and immediately after finding out she was pregnant she wanted to know everything about birth and of course she found the natural birth podcast!
This led her to switch from thinking she should have a hospital birth with her OBGYN to a birth center birth with midwives at 28 weeks pregnant.
Her birth ended up being a beautiful and sacred birth that left her feeling empowered and in awe off her body and how perfectly it was designed for birth.
The first thing she said after he was born was, “that was awesome! I could do that again”.
Curious about Olivia? Find her on instagram as @oliviadontigney
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus.
Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge.
Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Dana Roared her Baby Out
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Dana.
Dana is a Mama of two from the Bass Coast, Australia.
Her first birth ended in an epidural, episiotomy, retained placenta and mastitis. And going from experiencing a catalyst of interventions with her first birth, Dana was determined to heal before having her second.
She wanted to fully understand what happened and where things went wrong so she could have a natural physiological birth with her next baby.
With the full support of her husband, Dana dove into a deep primal state and road her baby out. She achieved the birth that she’d so deeply desired. It was healing and transformative beyond words.
Curious about Dana? Find her on instagram as @dana_burgan
Do you want to join The Sacred Birthworker Mentorship Program? EARLY BIRD special is available this month only.
Click on the link to apply.
www.thenaturalbirthcourse.com/thesacredbirthworkermentorship
Interested in today's podcast sponsor Alta Ritual?
Find out more at www.altaritual.com and use the code ”HEAL” to receive 10% off any of their products.
Receive a free Turkey Tail Extract to promote a heavy metal detox when purchasing before the end of November!
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Lotus Birth in a Tipi
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Nicole.
Nicole is a Mama of two from Australia.
She is a gardener, performance artist, poet and a multi passionate birth nerd. She has lived on an off-grid intentional community in the forest, by the sea for the last 20 years, raising her kids and cultivating a deep trust in birth & life.
Her mission is to help women and families know what is possible in birth, why it matters, and to help them access a similarly blissful experience for themselves.
Nicole knows in her bones that birth is powerful, as she was blessed with incredible, undisturbed birth experiences. She draws on these memories or imprints, every day of her Mothering life.
Nicole's lived experience of birth as beautiful, bountiful, and full of potential as a doorway to healing - along with her 15 years of work with birth imprints confirms her beliefs in birth as a tool of conscious evolution.
In today’s episode she will share about her two home births and about the beautiful practice of Lotus Birth which means to not separate baby and the placenta until it naturally does so by itself days after birth. A spiritual practice she shares some of her own pearls of wisdom about.
Curious about Nicole? Find her on instagram as @birthintobeing
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Fast Birth Under 6 Hours in a Hospital in Berlin
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Olivia.
Olivia is a mama of one from New York, who’s currently living in Berlin.
Being very freedom-driven and having lived in several places around the world, Olivia wasn’t sure pregnancy, birth and motherhood was for her. But after much intentional questioning she decided to take the leap of faith and became pregnant very quickly after moving to Berlin for her job in the music industry.
Today we will hear her story about her natural birth in under 6 hours as a first time mama at 39 weeks in a hospital with a team of supportive midwives in Berlin.
Curious about Olivia? Find her on instagram as @oliviacoleon
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus. Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge. Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Quick Unassisted Home Birth in the UK
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Patricia
Patricia is a mama of two from the UK.
As so often on this podcast she has a story of having a medicalized first hospital birth and then a redemptive natural home birth for her second.
In this episode she shares briefly about her first and then we dive on into her second which was a planned home birth with a midwife, that ended up being an unplanned unassisted home birth.
Her second birth happened so quickly. Patricia had her friends over in the morning expecting to go for a walk at 10.30 but by 11.57 she was birthing her baby.
Such a difference from her first hospital birth which ended with an episiotomy and vacuum delivery.
This episode is sponsored by Needed, a world leading women's health supplement brand. Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Midwife to Midwitch - Anna's Story
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast I will be the guest.
Usually on this podcast I am the host and I interview mamas from around the world who’ve had a natural and empowering birth experience.
The intention with this podcast was to spread an alternative birth narrative to the dominant fear based medicalized one. And I’ve come to be known as The Spiritual Midwife around the world doing so.
And that is what I am here to talk about today.
Because I will no longer be called The Spiritual Midwife, but the The Spiritual Midwitch.
As of this year 2023 I am no longer a registered midwife and can therefor no longer legally call myself a midwife.
And so in today's episode I will share my her story.
My journey of becoming a midwife to then the choice to de-register and taking on the title of Midwitch.
I will start with reading a part of the chapter HerStory in Rachel Reed’s book Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage to set the scene and this will then weave in perfectly into the reasons why I am stepping out of the system and why I can no longer call myself a midwife due to the powers to be who have stolen the word and made it criminal for me to do so.
If you want to understand why our birth culture is the way it is then this episode will explain that to you.
And if you’d like to know more about our her story, about midwives and how our birth culture came to be as it is today, then I invite you to read Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage and/or download HerStory by Jane Hardwicke Collings from the links below.
This episode will introduce you a bit deeper to me, your host, Anna The Spiritual Midwitch.
Curious about me? Find me on instagram as @thespiritualmidwitch
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus.
Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge.
Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
Birth Time’s Jerusha Sutton’s Own Home Birth Stories
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jerusha.
Jerusha is a doula, and birth and family photographer and videographer from the Northern Rivers NSW Australia.
She is one of the co-creators of Birth Time: the documentary, an international award winning documentary about the maternity system in Australia, and around the world.
In today’s episode you get to hear about Jerushas own two home births. The first being featured in the documentary with her whole birth team present, and her second being a fast and furious birth of 33min!
Jerusha is full of birthing wisdom and insight into the birthing system and this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
Curious about Jerusha? Find her on instagram @jerushasutton
Watch the documentary at www.birthtime.world
This episode is sponsored by Needed, a world leading woman's health supplement brand.
Find out more at thisisneeded.com.
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Asabea Britton’s Home Birth Story
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Asabea. Asabea is one of Sweden’s most famous midwife’s as well as an author, podcaster, and influencer.
She is a mama of 2 children earth side and one cooking away inside her womb.
And today she will share her take aways from her first medicalized hospital birth and why she chose to have a home birth for her second. As well as sharing all the amazing details of her home birth and her pearls of wisdom about birth both in the hospital system and at home from a mama and a midwife’s perspective.
It was such an honor having Asabea on and I am sure you’ll find her story filled with birthing wisdom.
Curious about Asabea? Find her on instagram @asabea
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus. Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge. Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today.
Find All of Anna's Links & Resources Here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Natural Birth after Preeclampsia
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Devin. She is a Hispanic-American mama of 2 living in a “family village” in Southern California USA.
Devin is an International Coach, speaker and creator of the award-winning program Sacred: 7 Pillars of Self-Love and Liberation.
Through her coaching, Devin helps women embrace self-compassion, liberate their spirit and embody their wildness through the power of self love. Devin’s work is informed by mystic spirituality, somatics, the natural world and birth.
In todays episode Devin shares about her healing journey after her first traumatic birth with preeclampsia and how she worked on trusting that she can have a natural and empowering birth for her second.
She shares about being very selective with her birth team and finding the right midwife.
In her second pregnancy she unleashing her inner rebel, after being a good girl most of her life in firing her OB & exiting the system.
She released the ideas of how she “should” birth and let it all happen as raw and naturally as she could.
This episode is about Devin finding her self trust and having her natural redemptive birth.
Curious about Devin? Find her on instagram @devinkingjones
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Christian Hypnobirthing & Home Birthing with Grandma
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Nicole. She’s a mama of 2 from the US.
She has a degree in Family Life and is the founder of the blog, Family Reality and Joy, where she seeks to help married couples and parents navigate the difficulties of family life.
In this episode Nicole shares about her second birth after a medicalized hospital birth, which was a natural home birth with her independent midwife, husband and she was surrounded by women. Her sister, mother and grandmother came abound for her labour and birth. And Nicole thought it made a huge difference to birth at home.
Curious about Nicole? Find her on instagram as @familyrealityandjoy
37% Discount of The Bundle when using the coupon code ANNA37
This episode is sponsored by Informed Pregnancy Plus. Try Informed Pregnancy Plus absolutely free of charge. Just visit informedpregnancy.tv and start watching these inspiring documentaries and films already today!
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Lauren's Euphoric Homebirth in her 40’s
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Lauren. Lauren is a mama of 2 from the Gold Coast, Australia.
She is Australia's first professional instagramer and before she became a mama she worked as a full time travel influencer and speaker.
Today she is the co founder of Makia the baby journal, a digital baby journal designed for parents to use to document their journey to parenthood.
In this episode Lauren shares about how she became pregnant the first time at 37 after just trying being off the pill for 3 months with her husband in Zimbabwe and how she became pregnant the second time in her 40’s on the first try.
Becoming pregnant as an older mama wasn’t an issue for her. However, having her natural birth the first time around was. She ended up having a medicalized and traumatic birth with her first, which she didn’t really heal up until the weeks before birthing her second.
And it was really through having a physiological birth at home that she really did heal and wake up to the strength she holds as a woman in her feminine power.
The euphoria and high she was on after birth is not comparable to anything else she’s ever experienced. And she has experienced some amazing things on her travels. And in this episode you get to hear about her full journey to this moment.
Curious about Lauren? Find her on instagram as @laurenepbath
37% Discount of The Bundle when using the coupon code ANNA37
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Irish Mama Sarah’s Home Birth in The Netherlands
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sarah.
Sarah is a mama of one originally from Ireland, living in the Netherlands.
Sarah was resistant to become pregnant initially because of the traumatic and painful experience child birth seemed to be.
It wasn’t until her friend and previous podcast guest, Natalie, shared her positivity and empowering birth story that Sarah decided to go for it.
And shortly thereafter she became pregnant.
This tells you truly of the importance of sharing positive birth stories with the world.
And talking about the importance of sharing, well I’ve been telling you something inaccurate about the birthing culture in the Netherland. The 30% home birth rate is apparently a thing of the past and today that number is closer to 13%. I’ve also found out that hospital births in the Netherlands, according to a dutch midwife, is much more medicalized and it’s truly only via independent midwives you can have a physiological natural birth.
And this fact is something that gets mirrored in Sarah's story. Sarah decided to change her birth team in week 39 as her care providers that she was with continued to stress about her presumably BIG BABY and the need for induction after her guess date.
Sarah ditched the fear mongering care providers and found a midwifery team with which she had a natural home birth in peace right up until it’s fierce and fiery end.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Home Birth in the UK with an Interesting Crowd
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Rebecca.
Rebecca is a mama of two from Bristol, UK. She is a civil servant working in forestry as well as a yoga and hypnobirthing teacher. A profession she stepped into after the birth of her first.
Her first birth was a planned a home birth that it didn't go as she’d hoped, which we will dive on into in the beginning of this episode before we continue on with the birth that she just had, only weeks before this interview, with her baby Scout.
She birthed him at home, attended by an unusual big crowd of paramedics, her doula and her midwives who all showed up just in time for the birth of her baby. A natural birth that Rebecca describes as being very healing.
She has some great pearls of wisdom on how to prepare for the birth you want.
Curious about Rebecca? Find her on instagram as @rebecca.naylor
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Curious about Needed? Find out more at thisisneeded.com
Use the code THENATURALBIRTHPODCAST for 20% off your first month.
Home Birth after Caesarean in Rural Australia
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Elke.
Elke is a mama of two from South Australia.
She’s a senior secondary science teacher currently on leave to raise her two babies.
Her first birth ended up in an ”emergency” caesarean due to failure to progress, however if you’ve listened to this podcast you know that 99.9% of the time it is the failure of the medicalized maternity system not upholding the physiology of birth and not the woman who failed. Something that Elke discovered as she healed and learned deeper about birth after her first traumatic experience.
Her first birth and entrance into motherhood blew apart everything she thought she knew, and her healing journey altered the way she looks at everything. It led her to the path of becoming a doula and Mother Blessing facilitator and her own redemptive, empowering home birth after Caesarean which made her the VBAC advocate she is today.
Curious about Elke? Find her on instagram as @womenswaydoula
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Breech Birth at The Farm in Tennessee
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Heather.
Heather is a mama of two little girls and a step son from Florida.
She experienced deep transformation and awakening from her birth experiences and her transitions into motherhood, and has found a passion discussing the sensational power that physiological and instinctual birth is for women.
She recently founded MovementWithMom.com, a community to celebrate and support the mother-baby connection through movement and music.
In today’s episode Heather shares her first semi accidental unassisted home birth with her first that led her into diving deeper into the birth world.
And as she became pregnant again and her little bubba decided to stay breech she ended up driving 11 hrs, at 40 weeks pregnant, to Tennessee to birth her baby with midwives at the Farm escaping Florida's law that prohibits midwives attending breech births at home.
Her stories are so beautiful and rich and I can’t wait for you to hear them!
Curious about Heather? Find her on instagram as @heatherdrozdowski
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing with a Publicly Funded Midwifery Group Practice in Australia
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Gianne.
Gianne is a mama of one from the Gold Coast, Australia.
She's always been so deeply fascinated with the mystery that is pregnancy and birth, knowing just how much of a miracle it truly is.
Gianne and her partner Summit consciously conceived their daughter Indira on their first try. Her partner, being a chiropractor, knew about the Midwifery Group Practice through his client who was working in the program. And after applying they were accepted.
This meant that Gianne had continuity of care throughout her pregnancy and into her postpartum with a known midwife and it was publicly funded. However she always felt that the appointments were rushed and she never got the deep trusting relationship she desired with her midwife. She felt like the sacred and spiritual part was missing.
On the night when her daughter was born her water broke and within 4 hours she had her baby in her arms. It was a wild and intense birth filled with sacredness and magic, as well as some unnecessary interference from her own midwife and the hospital staff.
Gianne's experience was the catalyst for her to fulfill her own dream of working in the birth space and at 10 months postpartum she commenced her studies to become a doula and hypnobirthing educator.
Curious about Gianne? Find her on instagram as @mothersinstinct_doula
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Peaceful Home Birth After a Traumatic First Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Rebecca.
Rebecca is a mama of two from the UK, now living in Sweden with her Swedish husband.
Rebecca and I met after Rebecca contacted me to be her Spiritual Midwife here in Stockholm, Sweden.
At our first meeting we discussed her previous traumatic hospital birth and how this time she was considering free birthing as she didn’t really want to go back to the hospital, but this was fully 100% aligned with Rebecca and not something that her husband was happy about. So we came to the conclusion that home birth with a registered midwife for safety was the way to go.
As I am no longer a registered midwife after leaving Australia and moving back to Sweden, I helped Rebecca find a registered Swedish home birth midwife who carry medications and can provide that extra medical assistance in the rare chance that Rebecca or her baby needed it and I would assist Rebecca as her Spiritual Midwife, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.
With the presence of her husband, me and the other home birth midwife, Rebecca birthed her baby peacefully in her birth pool at home after a few days of prodromal labour.
Both Rebecca and her husband were amazed at how peaceful and calm her birth was compared to her first hospital birth. And I feel so very blessed to have been invited into her home to sit with her at the birth altar.
Curious about Rebecca? Find her on instagram as @rebecccaunderwood
Now this redemptive physiological home birth experience that Rebecca had sparked an interest in her in becoming a sacred space holder for birth herself, which you hear us mentioning in the episode.
And she is now applying to join the September Cohort of The Spiritual Midwife Mentorship Program. And I couldn’t be more proud, honored and excited for her to join.
Here is some feedback from one of my mentee's:
To be a sacred space holder one must be a clear channel- this is not some woo-woo or foo-foo lingo. It’s the truth.
This requires a full on excavation of our cellular imprints, lineage traits, collective wounding; a house keeping effort that leaves no crack nook or cranny untouched.
I have to be conscious of what I am bringing into that holy sacred vast and powerful portal that is birth. Every thread of energy matters. That means every intent, thought, action, word, and resonance. Every drop matters.
So we unearthed Herstory, our red thread lineage, our own birth imprints, our blood rites or first menarche, our own birth portal experiences, our relationship to our bodies, sacred yoni’s, sexuality and more.
The container set and held is solid and deep. We get to be witnessed by a cohort of vetted sisters that have agreed to also take the plunge. We listen to each other with our full hearts. We get to be witnessed as we unravel and weave ourselves back together.
This mentorship is most certainly not a “doula” training. Oh no. It is a soul calling. It requires 100% commitment to yourself, your future self and the women within the cohort.
It is a reclamation of the Divine Feminine. It is a re-membering of the Matriarch. It is healing the collective Witch and Sister wound and so much more.
If you would like to know what liberation looks, feels and tastes like; if you want to be a part of the true healing needed so desperately within humanity on our planet today; if you wish to serve at the birth altar or anywhere within its sphere- women’s circles, preconception, pregnancy, postpartum, our blood rites, then I invite you to lean in.
Anna has set a container that can hold you, wherever you may be along the path. If you feel the call, it’s time to answer.
Thank you so much Emily for sharing your experience of the mentorship with us.
And yes, it’s time to answer.
The doors for the September intake are open.
If you felt moved by this mentees words and feel a resonance and a yes then don’t hesitate to apply to join us.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing Assisted by the Song of the Frogs
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Rachel.
Rachel is a mama of 2 from the US.
Her first baby boy was born 5 years ago in the hospital by induction for going over 40 weeks. A practice that is getting more and more common despite its risks to mother and baby and without benefit for a normal mama and baby.
After her first birth Rachel decided to educate herself and to have a home birth for her second and ended up having an empowering and quick birth in the pool, in her sunroom bathed in the sound of the song of the frogs from the pond outside.
She found her birth to be calm, quick and pain free and wishes that all women could know that birth can be like this.
Curious about Rachel? Find her on instagram as @rachelutkewicz
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Holly's Full of Gumption 4 Fast Home Births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Holly.
Holly is a mama of four from the UK and she is a veterinarian, a feminist and passionate about women’s experiences of birth and motherhood.
As a veterinarian, she has seen many mammal births and know that this works best when the mother is undisturbed. It was therefore a completely logical choice for her to have home births.
She went on to have all four of her babies at home. They were each amazing, empowering and all different births.
Her first was born after only a four-hour long active labour stage, after her midwife claimed she wasn’t in enough pain to be in “real” labour.
Her second has born in a pitch black room after 90 minutes of her waters breaking and the most intense non stop contractions where Holly booted the midwives out to the kitchen and had her baby on her own.
Her third was born with her two sisters in the pool together with Holly ready to meet their baby sister.
And her fourth was born in a hurry on the bathroom floor after just seven contractions.
Holly’s stories are wild and beautiful and another variation of normal. And I love how assertive and full of gumption she is. I hope her stories will inspire you to claim your birth and rite of passage!
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Aimee Aroha’s Powerful Birth Stories & Initiation into Motherhood
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Aimee Aroha.
Aimee is originally from New Zealand, today living in Australia and she is a Wild Mother and Transpersonal Birth Mentor.
She generously takes us through her first hospital birth at the young age of 24 and her initiation into motherhood.
We then dive into red threads, birth imprinting, rites of passages and women’s power in her rites and birth.
Aimee continues to share how her life took a turn as she moved from the big city smoke of Sydney into nature in Northern NSW, meeting a new partner and then becoming pregnant again and how this time she made very different choices.
She employed an independent home birth midwife for her second pregnancy but ended up birthing before her midwife arrived, and when she became pregnant a third time she decided for a fully wild pregnancy and free birth with just her family.
Curious about Aimee? Find her on instagram as @ripsnorter
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Breech Home Birth at 22 years old
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Mya.
Mya is a young mama of one from Texas USA.
She is a spiritual yogi and a certified yoga teacher as well as a full time college student, majoring in Child Development.
In today’s episode Mya will share about becoming pregnant and just knowing she didn’t want to birth in a hospital so she decided to birth at a birth centre, but when her baby wanted to be breech the birth centre told her she could either have c-section or she needed to change care providers.
Mya decided to change care providers and found her perfect team and had a beautiful breech birth at home.
I’m so happy she wanted to share her natural home breech birth story with us as we need to change the narrative that breech is dangerous and needs to happen, dictated by an obstetrician with a woman up in stirrups in hospital with a room full of spectators.
Breech is a variation of normal!
Curious about Mya? Find her on instagram as @myalou.yoga
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing Surrounded by Feminine Wisdom
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Fatima
Fatima is a mama of two from New Zealand.
She is a lover of pregnancy and birth and really found her true calling when she became a Mama. She experienced a home birth for her first baby and then decided to have a free birth for her second.
Fatima’s two empowering births led her to become a transformational pregnancy and birth coach and Mother’s Blessing facilitator for the women in her community.
In this episode Fatima shares both her birth stories with us and the preparation she did for her free birth, especially the inner work needed.
For her second birth it seemed like the universe aligned, the right people were able to be present and she spent most of her labour on the land surrounded by women she deeply trusted and her husband.
Curious about Fatima? Find her on instagram as @birthinggoddess
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast