The Natural Birth Podcast
The Natural Birth Podcast is here to bring Embodied Birth Wisdom from Women from All over the World sharing their Natural & Empowering Birth Stories, with the aim to Inspire and Encourage Mamas to Believe in their Bodies and in the Natural Birth Process.
Visit Anna and find out about all her offerings in the world at www.sacredbirthinternational.com
Follow The Podcast on Instagram @thenaturalbirthpodcast
Patreon patreon.com/thenaturalbirthpodcast
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Jesse’s Redemptive Natural Birth with Sticky Shoulders
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jesse.
Jesse is a mama of 3 boys under 3 and she lives outside of Idaho, USA.
She is a stay at home mama and have known she wanted to be a mother ever since she was a little girl.
In today’s episode she shares her journey of wanting a natural pregnancy and birth from the getgo, being an avid listener to this podcast from her first pregnancy, but how she was convinced by medical professionals it couldn’t happen for her.
She went through two births in hospital that left her feeling incapable and sad. The first with an OBGYN and the second with a hospital midwife. She was told she could contract normally and wouldn’t be able to birth without medical assistance.
For her third baby however she went with a private birth center midwife who embraced Jesse and her fears and helped her deal with them head on.
And finally, surrounded by a birth team that believed in her and supported her in the way she needed she had her perfect, magical, blissful birth as she explains it. She even had a partial shoulder dystocia or sticki shoulders that the midwife swiftly resolved.
Jesse feels with each day that passes that she loves her birth more and more and that she feels so happy and healed.
Curious about Jesse? Find her on instagram as @jesslawrence2020
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Sarah’s 3 Natural Birth Center Births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sarah.
Sarah is a super fan of the podcast.
She has been listening since the beginning in 2020 and this is the 3rd time she comes on to share her own natural birth story and it’s an honor to have her back. Her previous episodes are called “A Natural Birth Center Birth” & “Sarah Changed her Midwives and had her Stargazing Baby at 40 weeks” if you’d like to listen to them first.
It’s wonderful to follow Sarah’s birthing journey and the deepening embodiment of sovereignty and self through all.
Here is her 3rd Natural Birth Center Birth!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Swedish Mamas listening to the show. Today is your day here in Sweden and I celebrate and honor you.
I treated my own mother to an infra red sauna session and dinner during the week and I hope that you are being extra loved up and cared for today.
Whether you are a Swedish mama or not, I am gifting all my listeners a mother’s day special 2 for 1 offer on The Natural Birth Course & The Nourishing Postpartum Course. Use the coupon code MOTHERSDAY25 at the checkout for The Bundle to get both courses for the price of just one. And my online community the village is also of course a part of the offer.
Inside The Bundle, you’ll find everything you need to feel prepared on every level—physiological, emotional, spiritual, and practical.
You’ll learn:
- What your body actually needs to birth naturally and undisturbed
- How to work with your body, womb and contractions, not against them
- What to do when fear or doubt shows up in pregnancy, labor and birth
- How to prepare body, mind and soul on all levels
- And how to plan for your postpartum so you don’t fall into the common “afterthought” trap. Making sure it is nourishing and healing and the best start for your baby and you.
But knowledge is just one part of it.
That’s where The Village comes in—your sacred online gathering space included in The Bundle.
This is your circle. Your virtual sanctuary. Where you’ll be surrounded by women who get it—mamas preparing just like you, birth workers, and me, holding space for your journey.
In our monthly live Q&A calls, you can bring your fears, your questions, your excitement, your “is this normal?” moments—and be met with honesty, wisdom, and warmth.
Whether you’re navigating medical pressure, choosing where to birth, or just need to be reminded that you can do this—The Village is where you’ll be reminded that you are not alone.
In the village you also get access to monthly classes and circles in embodiment, yoga, art, journaling and other lovely LIVE circles. It’s a wonderful community ready to embrace you.
1 years access!
So if you are pregnant right now, or wanting to become pregnant then this deal is for you.
You can also gift this deal to a partner, friend or sister who’s pregnant. What better mother’s day present is there than support and guidance through the biggest, most life altering event there is?
The 2 for 1 deal ends in a week. So don’t hesitate, get the deal today with the coupon code MOTHERSDAY25 at the checkout for the bundle. The Bundle
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Mother’s Day Special – 35 Pearls of Wisdom from Natural Birth Mamas Around the World
In this heartfelt and powerful episode of The Natural Birth Podcast, I’m offering you a special gift in honor of Mother’s Day. 💝
I’ve gathered together 35 mamas pearls of wisdom from across the globe—each one a sacred story holder who has walked through the rite of passage of birth and had a natural and positive experience.
These women share their most potent advice from the other side of labor and birth.
Whether you're preparing for your first birth, healing from a past one, or supporting others on the path—this episode is a soulful, story-filled well of birth wisdom you can return to again and again.
So make yourself a cup of tea, find a quiet moment, and soak in the collective knowing of women who’ve had the birth you're looking for.
Happy Mother’s Day, beautiful one. May this episode nourish and inspire you.
🎁 And don’t forget to check out the Mother’s Day 2 for 1 Bundle ! Use the coupon code MOTHERSDAY25 at the checkout.
A Wonderful Home Birth after a Preemie in Hospital
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Stacey.
Stacey is a mama of two from the US.She is a mental health therapist who is certified in peri and postnatal mood disorders.
She is also a trained EMDR therapist and yoga teacher. Stacey discovered this niche in therapy through her own healing journey after her first born was born at 32 weeks and was in the NICU for 30 days.
Today she spends the first part of this episode sharing about her first birth that was supposed to be natural birth on a natural birthing floor in a hospital but ended up being premature and heavily medicalized.
She shares about this birth as it informed how she prepared for her second and the people who joined her.
The second was a home birth with the midwife and doula that she got to know in her postpartum with her first baby.
They helped her with breastfeeding and emotional support and she trusted them deeply and ended up having her longed for natural birth in the comfort of her own home together with them and her partner.
She mentioned wishing that she had had a doula for her first birth that could have informed her more along the way throughout her premature birth journey.
And I couldn’t agree more.
Especially if you are planning a hospital birth, hire a birth worker that is there for you.
And download my free ebook on routine hospital birth procedures via the free resources link in the show notes.
You can also find all the graduated Sacred Birth Workers and current mentorship students on sacred birth international if you want to find a kick ass birth advocate and space holder close to you.Now let’s dive into the episode.
Find out more about The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, Anna's Courses & How to Work with Anna, as well as all the Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!
Home Birthing after Cerclage & “Incompetent Cervix”
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Brett
Brett is a mama of 8 spirit babies, 2 daughters and a son.
In this episode she shares about her unique journey of birthing her daughter as a 20 year old only to experience 8 more losses in between her first, second and third baby.
She has the embodied experience of a birth center birth, a home birth after a stitch in her cervix called cerclage and the diagnosis of an “incompetent cervix” (what a bloody idiotic term) and then a free birth with just her partner for her last baby.
It’s a story full of medicine and I’m so happy Brett chose to share it. Not only is she a sacred birth worker graduate of mine but also a dear friend.
And I am so grateful she choose to come and deepen her skills as a doula with me this year and can’t wait for her to birth her new offerings as she steps out of her postpartum with her son and share her gifts with the world.
Curious about Brett?
Find her in instagram as @thevillagewitch_
I also want to take a quick moment to speak to the women listening who feel a stirring in their womb… a calling in their bones… a deep knowing that you're meant to walk the sacred path of birth work, just like Brett and so many women before her.
My Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship begins in just 2 weeks time.
This isn’t just a birth worker training — it’s a remembrance.
It’s for the woman who knows she was born to be a space holder for other women…
Who feels the ache for sisterhood, sacred leadership, and a deeper reclamation of birth as a powerful sacred portal of transformation.
Inside this mentorship, we dive into ancient feminine wisdom, lineage healing, and the art of guiding women through one of the most potent thresholds of their lives — all while being held in a circle of like-minded, heart-led birth workers.
So if you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it.
The doors are closing soon. If your heart is pounding and your spirit is whispering yes — I invite you to book a clarity call with me today.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to take one sacred step.
And trust that the rest will rise to meet you.
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Home Birthing in Finland
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Marju.
Marju is mama of 3 girls from Finland. She is a Sacred Birth Worker who fell fully in love with birth when she was preparing for her own home birth, which was her 3rd birth after 2 hospital births!
In today’s episode she shares her journey of wanting to have natural hospital births, her experience of both before realizing that she could actually just choose to stay at home and birth.
So for her 3rd she decided to go for it.
She employed a home birth midwife against her husband's wishes and had the birth she always secretly wanted since the first birth.
And this birth ignited a passion that made her create her own 8 week online journey to help women build a deep trust in themselves and their birth so they can have an amazing natural birth of their dreams!
Curious about Marju?
Find her in instagram as @luotan.synnytykseen
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Unassisted Surprised Breech Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Another Surprise Breech Birth, today by a mama and a sacred birth worker graduate of mine Jessica who chose a wild pregnancy with her 4th baby.
Jessica begins her story by sharing about her surprise breech baby at home and how she for the first time had felt a lot of fear before this birth.
Her intuition told her this birth would be different from her 3 previous who had all been “easy” natural births.
She told me at one of our last mentorship sessions that she felt a lot of fear rising and she went and sat with it, listened and gathered all her strength and resilience and it ended up serving her as she and her husband were faced with a bum instead of a head in birth.
If you’re carrying a breech bubba close to your heart then the last two episodes (and all the other breech stories on here) will serve you well in listening to.
Breech truly is a variation of normal and we need to normalize them by sharing these stories!
If you’re planning a natural birth whether you are having a breech or head down bubba then go and check out my The Natural Birth Blog.
I just shared a blog on how to prepare for a natural birth!
And there’s more to come!
Find it at sacredbirthinternational.com/blog or via the link in the show notes.
And if you’re curious about Jessica. Find her on Instagram as @sacredcircleskeeper
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Surprise Breech Birth at Home
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Victoria.
Victoria is a mama of one and a bonus mum of two. She is an Irish immigrant now living in Ohio.
She is an EMDR therapist and works with clients who have ptsd, depression and anxiety. She has her own practice called Anima Counseling, in Dublin, Ohio.
Today she shares her surprise breech birth at home with her pastor doula and home birth midwife with a medical student tag along and of course her husband.
I just can not get enough breech stories on here displaying how normal and ordinary they are.
And of course absolutely magical as all other births are too.
Curious about Victoria? Find her on instagram as @randomhysterics.
Did you know you can join our private Podcast FB Community? And in it this week we share Victorias Breech Birth Video where you get to see all the magic unfold!
Just go to the link in the show notes or visit our facebook page called @sacredbirthinternational to find the community and join for free!
It’s a vibrant and wonderful community consisting of podcast guests and fans where you can interact with each other and connect!
I hope to see you there!
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Undisturbed Freebirth with just Her Husband
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Lindsey
Lindsey is a mama of 2 from Denver Colorado.
She grew up dancing, running, practicing yoga and loving the outdoors. She owns a bakery with her husband Matt, dances professionally and is a hardcore extrovert.
Today she shares about her first birth at a 33 yrs old that was set to happen at a birth center. She was eventually transferred to the hospital during labour because the midwife couldn’t get a good read on the baby's heart rate. Lindsey birthed him naturally just 2 hours later.
The birth was ok but not what she had wanted.
In between babies she did an online holistic doula training and became pregnant again when her son turned 2 but miscarried at 13 weeks. She birthed her 13 week old baby naturally and later got pregnant again 2 months later.
During this time she realized that she herself was born unassisted by accident and felt called to try that.
She wasn't originally trying to have a wild pregnancy but recalled not learning much at all at the appointments with her son and since she didn't want any scans this time she just never saw anyone because she felt good her whole pregnancy.
Her daughter came quickly at 38 weeks on a super blue moon. It was INCREDIBLE.
Just Lindsey laboring with her husband who helped her catch her baby.
Curious about Lindsey? Find her on instagram as @lindseydolanjudd
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Abbie's Perfect Natural Home Water Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Abbie.
Abbie is a mama of two from Australia, and the sister of Freya who shared her three births on the podcast way back in the episode called Remembering Birth.
I loved my interview with Freya and her sister did not disappoint I tell you!
Abbie comes on to share about the perfect natural water birth at home after her first birth left her with unshakable anxiety relating to her local hospital.
It's a redemptive story and an amazing one.
And I’m so excited to bring this story to you all.
Curious about Abbie? Find her on instagram as@yogiabs
There’s only 3 weeks left until the next Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship starts and I’m so excited to begin yet another journey.
Many of the mentees are women just like yourself.
A podcast fan, a natural birthing mama, birth nerd or already a birth worker looking for more knowledge, embodiment, depth and community.
Last week I invited 3 more women to join the mentorship. All of them were podcast fans.
One a home birthing mama of 7, another a mama of 2 and a healer and the third a mama of two who first and foremost is looking to deepen her understanding of the feminine, women, birth and our rites for her two daughters sake.
I love that.
I love that so much.
If you’ve been uhming and arhing about joining. Here is your sign.
This is the year you follow your heart. It’s time.
See you on a clarity call for the mentorship soon!
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Paula discovered the Power of the Mind & Breath when Birthing her 2 Babies
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Paula.
Paula is a mama of two from the Gold Coast, Australia, originally from NZ.
After having two empowering births of her own and discovering the power of the mind and breath connection she started her own business as a Functional Breathwork Coach and Meditation Teacher.
She love all things birth since having her own children as well as having supported 3 of her friends during their births, experiencing what an honor it is to be a part of a woman's transition into motherhood.
Today she shares about her empowering birth stories with us.
Curious about Paula? Find her on instagram as @choose.u.everyday
If you also want to experience the beautify and magic of attending births then here is your reminder to apply for The sacred birth worker mentorship starting in a month time.
Only couple of weeks left of the early bird and also only a few places left in the cohort.
It’s already an amazing group of women from all over the world and I cant wait to begin this journey with them and maybe you!
Find out more and apply at sacredbirthinternational.com
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources shementions in the episode here: https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links
Failed Home Birth to an Unmedicated Hospital Birth to an Unassisted Birth with just her Husband
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emma.
Emma is a mama of three from Michigan, USA.
She is a doula who used her three births to educate herself and spur a love for feminine energy, birth, and helping other women.
From a ‘failed’ home birth, to a doula-protected, unmedicated hospital birth, to an unassisted birth with just her and her husband, Emma’s greatest teachers in life have been birth and her children.
And today she shares about all of her three births.
Curious about Emma? Find her on instagram as @fairylightsdoula
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Giving Birth was One of The Most Profound Moments in My Life
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Nina.
Nina is a mama of one from Germany. She is a sacred space holder and one of my sacred birth worker mentees.
She is all about empowering and inspiring people to trust themselves, their intuition, their voices and their own truth. Her work is to hold space for and support souls in remembering that everything is connected, and to be living, breathing, birthing, and creating life consciously.
She feels strongly that her own inner work over the years has immensely prepared her for pregnancy, birth, and being a mother, and now also being a sacred birth worker and space holder for other women and their families going through this rite of passage.
Her and her husband became nomads only days before conceiving their baby and only returned to Berlin to birth their son in a birth center.
Nina’s birth was fast for a first time mama and giving birth was one of the most profound moments in her life. And it’s this story we get to hear all about today.
Curious about Nina? Find her on instagram as @nina_f_gv
It’s just over a month before the next Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship starts.
If you’ve been wanting to turn your passion for birth and women into your career or wanting to deepen your embodiment and space holding skills as many birth workers has done before you then here is your invitation to apply for the next round. Get you application in now to not miss out on this years Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship.
There is nothing more magical than seeing new life be birthed into this world as your chosen purpose and path in life.
If this is your soul calling then act now and apply!
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
How to Know if Birth Work is Your Soul Calling
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast Anna gathers together with a Doula, a Midwife, a Doctor and a Sacred Birth Worker to talk about How They Knew Birth Work was Their Soul Calling.
She asks them questions about how they got into birth work in the first place, if they believe birth work IS a soul calling and what they would say to anyone thinking about becoming a birth worker of any sort (doula, midwife, doctor or sacred birth worker).
Listen in if you are considering becoming a birth worker!
Enrollment for the next Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship is now fully on it’s way and the cohort starting in April is filling!
If you're curious about them, here's there Instagram Accounts: @reclaimingjoyfulmothering , @untamingfeminine and @ birthingwisdomcorfu
If you are curious about becoming a Sacred Birth Worker then please don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more or visit sacredbirthinternational.com/thesacredbirthworkermentorship
Beautiful 6hr Home Birth for First Time Mama Mia
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Mia
Mia is a mama of one originally from Montreal, Canada, now living in a cozy house by a river in the woods of Norway with her Norwegian husband.
Mia is a certified doula, prenatal yoga teacher and Mama Blessing ceremony facilitator who is absolutely passionate about natural birth. Her work extends to facilitating women’s circles, retreats, and organizing wellness events and festivals in Norway, Portugal, and beyond.
With a strong love for art and holistic psychology, Mia is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Art Therapy and is soon about to begin in the next cohort of The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, deepening even further into the role of sacred space holds for women and birth.
Her journey into motherhood was deeply intentional, beginning with a conscious conception in Turkey and followed by a pregnancy where she fully prepared her body, mind, heart, and soul for the birth she envisioned.
Her dream culminated in a fully natural and blissful home water birth at 41 weeks + 1 day, on her husband's birthday, supported by two lovely midwives.
For six powerful hours, she surrendered to the primal wisdom of birth, chanting and vocalizing through each wave, performing her own internal checks, and welcoming her baby in the water into a sacred space adorned with affirmations, candles, fairy lights, and an altar honoring her ancestors.
While her birth unfolded even more beautifully than she could have imagined, unexpected moments — like her baby’s cord breaking before their planned cord-burning ceremony and a brief postpartum fainting spell — became peaceful reminders of birth’s inherent unpredictability and its mysterious beauty.
Now, as Mia embarks on the Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, she is eager to share her transformative experience and to inspire other women to trust in the powerful wisdom of undisturbed birth.
Curious about Mia? Find her on Instagram as @mia.gratefulheart
Please come and join Mia and other podcast guests in The Natural Birth Podcast Community on FB. In here we will share some of Mia’s birth photos and you get the chance to hang out with her and other birth nerds and natural mamas.
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
https://open.spotify.com/show/3o9Pj9AmRySwvvh9oEM462?si=b22e5ae7be91415f
Birthing a 10 pound Baby at Home infront of her Entire Family & Cheering Squad
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sonia.
Sonia is a mom to three and currently resides in North Carolina. At just 22 years old, after meeting the love of her life, she became a mother to her two adoptive kids (now teenagers!)
After a long journey to conceiving their first baby, Sonia and her husband were overjoyed to welcome their baby into the world and had spent a lot of time figuring out what they wanted that experience to look and feel like.
Sonia knew from a very early age that she wanted to have a home birth with a surprise gender. She and her family did everything in their power to make that possible- and it was beautifully successful even after an intense labor and almost a hospital transfer due to meconium when her water broke and her midwives advised to transfer.
Her baby was still at a 0 to -1 position as they moved downstairs to wait for the ambulance to arrive.
However, as so often when the waters break late in labour she proceeded to push her baby out on a yoga mat on her living room floor in front of her entire family in about 10 minutes!
Sonia is passionate about natural birth and encouraging women to know and trust how powerful and perfect their bodies and minds are! She hopes her story helps to normalize the home birth experience and empower women that your first birth is not a trial run.
Curious about?
Find her on Instagram as @soniahittle
If you didn’t know already I have 2 really great free resources that you can access and download at sacredbirthinternational.com/free-resources
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
Please come join our FB Podcast Community!
Connect with your fav podcast guest and discuss natural birth!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenaturalbirthpodcastcommunity
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
Birthing Alone with Only her Toddler & Dog present!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Chelsea.
And my oh my is this a special and unique story.
Chelsea is actually a Sacred Birth Worker Mentee of mine. She started the 2nd cohort last year but got severe hyperemesis with this bub that we are going to hear the birth story off. So she’ll be joining the 4th cohort starting in April.
She’s also been on the poddy before on the episode Chelsea Lee’s Irish Twins - A Road Side Birth & a Wild Free Birth if you’d like to listen to that one before this.
The unique and special thing about this birth was that Chelsea coached herself through it all alone. It was only her and her toddler and dog present as she went in to about and birthed much faster than she had anticipated.
Her partner, mum, mother in law, sister and third child all came ”too late” or maybe just perfect.
Chelsea feels like it was the absolute best birth she could have ever had and feels like nothing could ever top this birth.
Curious about?
Find her on Instagram as @chelsealeebutler
Now if you, just like Chelsea have a longing to work with women throughout pregnancy, birth and the postpartum and are looking for a deep, holistic and comprehensive birth worker training that includes self development, spirituality & feminine embodiment practices, a big focus on cultivating you into a sacred space holder for ceremony, the rite of passage of birth, women’s circles and holding space in the birth portal.
Then here is your invitation to join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship starting in April this year.
Together with a vibrant international cohort WE are leading the New Earth Sacred Birth Rebellion with a truly unique approach to birth work merging the modern and the ancient knowledge with feminine wisdom keeping.
A birth worker training way beyond a doula training. Really learning all that I know as a former home birth midwife from conception all the way through to sacred birth advocacy.
Does this stir your heart? Then The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship could be for you.
Head on over to sacredbirthinternational.com to learn more and apply.
Please come join our FB Podcast Community!
Connect with your fav podcast guest and discuss natural birth!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenaturalbirthpodcastcommunity
Find Anna’s Website, 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
How to Prepare for a Home Birth with Anna
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have our host Anna, a former midwife, share about how to prepare for a home birth.
She shares her best tips on how to prepare the birth space, labour stations to set up and use, water birth prep, what you need as well as the best nourishment in labour and birth!
For anyone curious about home birth or planning a home birth this episode is gold!
Save it and share it with your home birthing mamas and clients!
Download her Home Birth Checklist as well as the other resources mentioned in the episode at sacredbirthinternational.com/free-resources
Please come join our FB Podcast Community!
Connect with your fav podcast guest and discuss natural birth!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenaturalbirthpodcastcommunity
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
Freebirthing her Second Bub at 42 weeks
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tayla.
This is the second time she visits the podcast and shares about her birth stories.
Her previous episode is called Unassisted birth in rural Australia.
She is a free birthing mama of two and lives in rural Australia.In today’s episode she comes on to share, what she thinks is an unremarkable normal birth.
She went into labour at 41 weeks and 7 days. After having lost parts of her mucous plug the week prior it started with period like crams. It wasn’t strong so she didn’t take much notice of it and went about her day.It continued into and through the night, getting stronger and stronger.
By 7:30 she welcomed our surprise baby girl at in the birth pool in the presence of her other daughter and partner as well as trusted friends.
Curious about Tayla?Find her on Instagram as @tayla_kayy
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website, 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
Birthing on her Due Date in Water
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Nicole.
Nicole and I actually had our interview in September and her episode got lost with some others and so here it is, a wee bit delayed but when you wait for something good you never wait to long ;) Isn’t that right?
Nicole is a mama of one from St. Petersburg Florida, originally from Rhode Island.
She is an avid animal and nature lover - passionate about dog training, hiking, watching sunrises and generally spending time outside. Nicole is also a major foodie and lover of coffee shops. She is currently on maternity leave and enjoying every moment of this special time.
She went into labor on her estimated due date which only 4-5% of women do, and gave birth at home in her bedroom with two highly trusted midwives, her doula, and her partner.
Her partner caught the baby and it was the most beautiful and empowering experience of Nicole's life.
She started out with a hospital based care team but switched to home birth with midwives at the start of her 3rd trimester. Sharing again how it is never to late to change your care provider!
Her intuition guided her to her midwives and listening to this podcast was so inspiring + helped her grow her confidence in her decision.
I hope it is helping you too, and that Nicole's story sparks even more trust in your body and birth!
Curious about Nicole? Find her on Instagram as @nmigs3
Follow The Natural Birth Podcast on Instagram
@thenaturalbirthpodcast
Want to join the Business Course for Birth Workers starting on the 31st of March?
https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/business-course-for-birth-workers
Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
Birthing at Home with Low Platelets and Uncertified Midwives in LA
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kahtia
Kathia is a mama of two from Los Angeles USA.
And on this day I think of her and the many people and animals affected by the fires raging in this region.
I pray for the safety of everyone. And even though it is a tragedy. Every tragedy is an opportunity to come together as a community, as humanity. There is an opportunity for love and humanity to rise stronger than ever wherever suffering and tragedy happens.
My contribution today is to hold space for Kathia to share her empowering and positive birth stories with us.
For us both to inspire you through story telling. The oldest medicine thought the ages.
Let her story be a balm to your heart if you are suffering or feel the suffering of others in our world.
Here’s the intro to Kathia’s stories.
Kathia is an aspiring music artist based in the vibrant heart of Los Angeles. With a passion for creating, she aims to inspire a positive shift in the music scene and promote healing through her unique voice frequency and personal journey.
As a devoted mother of two, she draws on her own experiences to connect deeply with others. Having transitioned from a hospital birth to the intimate comfort of her family living room, Kahtia understands the power of trust and intuition, especially during such transformative moments.
Through her music and story, she hopes to empower women worldwide to listen to their inner voices and embrace their intuition, allowing it to guide them through the remarkable journey of motherhood and beyond.
Curious about Kathia? Find her on instagram as @itskahtia
Follow The Natural Birth Podcast on instagram @thenaturalbirthpodcast
Join the Business Course for Birth Workers Now for Special Launch Offer!
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
How to Create a Successful Birth Business
To all my Doulas & Midwives, all you Birth Workers out there. Here is an episode on How to Create a Successful Birth Business.
I share it through story telling, by sharing my journey from self employed midwife, to creating an online course (The Natural Birth Course) to running a successful online birth business (Sacred Birth International) and how I continue to scale while working less and earning more.
By going online I have given myself time and financial freedom.
I still attend births and serve women and families IRL in my community but I'm not dependent on IRL birth work financially. It is a choice, and I can choose to work less or more depending on my life circumstances.
Creating a Birth Business Online is Burnout Proofing my Birth Business.
I can take holidays for weeks or choose not to attend births for a while and my income still comes in.
Want to create an online birth business to complement your IRL birth worker business?
Join the Business Course for Birth Workers starting on the 31st March!
You will learn how to create an online course, low to high ticket offers and how to market and sell in integrity and with heart without overwhelm and stress.
Find out more at sacredbirthinternational.com
Find out more about the Business Course for Birth Workers, The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, Anna's Courses & How to Work with Anna, as well as all the Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!
A First Time Mama’s Fast Natural Hospital Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Summer.
Summer is a mama of one from the US.
She’s a somatic therapist who always knew she wanted to have a natural birth.
Her and her husband went back and forth about whether or not to have a home birth or a hospital birth and in the end Summer followed her body’s wisdom who told her she felt the most safe having her first baby in the hospital.
She ended up having a really fast first birth which, together with beautiful care providers in the hospital helped her having her natural hospital birth.
Listen to her fast natural birth story and all her pearls of wisdom on how to handle the intensity in today’s episode.
Merry Xmas & Happy New Years my Loves!
Hope your xmas was wonderful and how exciting to enter into 2025 next week!
I know I am super excited for next year.
Not only have I got the 4th round of the Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship starting in April, where I get to hang out and mentor amazing women from all over the world in becoming sacred space holders for the most amazing rite of passage ever, BIRTH of course!
I’m also birthing a new program this year!
Starting on March 31st I am launching a Business Course for Birth Workers and I am BEYOND excited about this.
I know way to many birth workers who are struggling to make ends meet, over giving and under charging, having to stay as a midwife in the hospital or at her office job because she can’t afford to be fully self employed.
Now I’ve gathered all the information I’ve learnt form over 10K worth of business courses and the trial and error of being self employed for 13 years. 5 of them as a home birth midwife and then sacred birth worker doing part time and now almost full time online birth work.
I’m sharing it all in my upcoming Business Course of Birth Workers… and it will all be unveiled in the new year! So Stay Tuned all you Birth Workers listening to this poddy. I know you are many. It will all be up on my website asap!
But until then, I want to remind you of my Xmas Gift that is 50% discount on my The Nourishing Postpartum Course!
The postpartum period is all to often overlooked and almost never planned for by women, even you who are wanting a natural birth. The gravity of the transition and rite of passage from maiden to mother can not be emphasized enough.
To go from being a maiden to all of the sudden being responsible for a new life and to initiate breastfeeding and learn how to care for a new born at the same time as transitioning yourself from being pregnant to being in the postpartum, sleep deprived and for many with minimal support can be a really hard transition.
It doesn’t have to be.
I wish more women took the time in pregnancy to learn the basics about baby care, breastfeeding a newborn, healing of her postpartum body and how to set her postpartum up to be as nourishing and supported as possible.
There for, for this Christmas holiday until the 1st of January I’m offering you a 50% discount on my The Nourishing Postpartum Course.
Come join hundreds of other women in preparing for a healing, nourishing and loving postpartum period. One that set you up to thrive on all levels. Your own physical, emotional and mental health as well as your baby’s start in life.
Use the coupon code: GIFT at the checkout to receive the 50% discount.
I pray and hope that women and those who love them start preparing and learning about the importance of the postpartum and a baby’s first few weeks earth side.
Can’t wait to meet you inside my online community and support you in your postpartum days, weeks and maybe even years.
Just use the coupon code GIFT in capital letters at the checkout for the 50% discount. Thats it GIFT in capital letters at the checkout at sacredbirthinternational.com
Anna’s Episodes on Natural Birth Preparation as mentioned:
Natural Hospital Birth Preparation with Anna
Preparing for a Natural Birth - Anna's Natural Birth Wisdom
Find out more about The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, Anna's Courses & How to Work with Anna, as well as all the Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!
Mary's Home Birth Story
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Mary
I thought it fitting for the episode over the Christmas period to have Mary share about her home birth.
The only thing she shares with the OG Mary, mother of Jesus, was that is was a natural birth. Other than that and her name there will be no more similarities to the OG Mary.
The OG Mary is however such a rockstar and shining example of the power and strength of women birthing. Period. The most famous unassisted birth in the world.
Now today’s Mary is a mama on one from the UK.
She has spent time experiencing eastern cultures before living in the Australian outback for several years.
Mary now makes bespoke jewellery, specialising in Australian opal, which she connects with spiritually.
This intention and presence in creating her jewellery flowed into her birth journey as she desired to intuit her way through the magical process rather than bend to the fear-based narratives of western birth practices.
This episode is long and Mary has a lot to share. If you’re here for the birth story then fast forward 50min into the episode.
But if you love a good story and don’t mind listening to us rambling about test and ultrasounds and other things offered in pregnancy then you’re in for a treat.
Curious about Mary? Find her on instagram as @marymcmillanjewellery
Don’t forget the 50% discount xmas gift from me to you. Give yourself, your family and your baby the gift of a nourishing postpartum.
Just use the coupon code GIFT in capital letters at the checkout for the 50% discount. Thats it GIFT in capital letters at the checkout at sacredbirthinternational.com
Find out more about The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, Anna's Courses & How to Work with Anna, as well as all the Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!
Amana’s Beautiful Birth Stories of Natural Birth & Natural Death in the Home
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Amana
Amana is a mama of two living children from the US.
Amana offers birth, death and grief support services as well as a podcast called The Heart of the Soul where she interviews amazing people around the world. I had the honor of being one of her guests earlier this year.
She has a magical story about how she called in her husband and how they met on the summer solstice.
And in this episode she shares her and her husbands conception and birth journey that involved a parents biggest nightmare. Death.
In her beautiful story of carrying and birthing her first baby who wasn’t compatible with life, in the safety of her home surrounded by love and peace we get a beautiful insight into the ceremony of the death of a child.
It is a heart opening story with so much love infused in it and I do believe these stories are so important to share with the world.
Birth is not always Life. And we are so foreign to speaking about death in an honoring and sacred way instead of filled with fear and medicalization. So we spend a big chunk of the first part of this episode covering natural death in the home and the grieving process of a family.
If you don’t feel like it is time for you to hear this story right now then fast forward about 30 min in and listen to her live birth stories that are equally as beautiful and inspiring win their own way.
Curious about Amana Find her on instagram as @amanabelove
Find out more about The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, Anna's Courses & How to Work with Anna, as well as all the Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!
Why Josée went from Epidural to Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Josée
Josée is a mama of two from Ottawa, Canada.
Her first birth in the hospital unfolded like most hospital births do, when she hit transition she didn’t get the emotional and spiritual support she needed but instead was given an epidural.
After this birth experience she felt the need to research birth in preparation for her second. She found this podcast and binged it and was inspired to help change the narrative around birth by coming on here herself to share her story from an epidural hospital birth to a calm physiological home birth with her family.
In between her two babies she also had an early birth or miscarriage as it’s more commonly called.
We speak to this as well and the importance of acknowledging the loss of a baby however early.
Reclaiming the secret lives of women and shining light on it is to reclaim our power, magic and wholeness.
Curious about Josée? Find her on instagram as @josee.juneau
Find out more about The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, Anna's Courses & How to Work with Anna, as well as all the Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!
Natural Hospital Birth Preparation with Anna
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast I share my advice on how to prepare for a Natural Hospital Birth.
In the previous Solo Episode with me I covered preparation body, mind, soul and body for a natural birth in any birth setting and I really recommend you listen to that one as well if you're planning a hospital birth.
In this one I get my Rebel Birth Advocate Hat on and lay down the hard facts about the hospital system and their routine procedures and how to navigate them.
Because hospitals are not designed to support natural births. They are great at medicalizing births and surgery.
So if you want a natural birth you need to know this stuff!
It's ONLY an overview and I only touch on things... because I could spend a whole episode on each and every topic. It's up to you to go deeper and do your research and make informed decisions.
Want to join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find Anna’s Website & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
SACRED BIRTH INTERNATIONAL
https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A First Time Mama's Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kajal
Kajal is a mamma of one from Colorado, USA.
She is a mystic, intuitive healer and a forever student.
Even before she conceived she knew she wanted to have a home birth and sees birth as a right of passage into motherhood and an initiation into becoming who we truly are.
She saw her pregnancy and birth as an opening to activate her power, surrender to God and be in living embodiment of trust.
Today she shares her home birth story as a first time mama and how feeding her mind with positive natural birth stories helped her in her surrender and trust in herself and the birth process.
I love when you listeners come on and share about your natural birth stories after receiving so much from listening to all the mamas who’ve come on before you.
It’s such a beautiful community spirit of giving and receiving.
Curious about Kajal? Find her on instagram as @kajalspandey
NOVEMBER SALE
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
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
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
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Indie Birth Maryn's 15 Birth Stories
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Maryn from Indie Birth.
Maryn is a mama of 15 souls and 10 living children from Hawaii USA.
She is a radical deregistered midwife, educator and mother. She hosts her own podcast Taking Birth Back, has written a book called Indie Birth and also runs her international association also called Indie Birth.
Today she so generously shares all of her birth stories including her losses and early births and I am so impressed of this birthing mama and midwives stories.
I know you’ll gain so much pearls of birthing wisdoms from Maryn’s stories. And I’m not even going to try to summaries them here.
Please enjoy this epic birth journey with Maryn.
Curious about Maryn? Find her on instagram as @indiebirth or visit her website indiebirth.org
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
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
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
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Sinead’s Fast First Birth at Home
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!
Down to Birth Cynthia’s 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!
Preparing for a Natural Birth - Anna's Natural Birth Wisdom
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
A Midwitch Home Birth with Faith
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!
A First Time Mama’s Beautiful Unassisted Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Adrienne.
Adrienne is a mama of one from Melbourne, Australia and today she shares about her unassisted home birth that sounds like such a wonderful experience throughout.
She knew as soon as she saw a video of a woman having a home birth via a YouTube vlog 7 years ago that that was the way she wanted to bring her future baby into the world.
A free birth was the initial dream, however her and her husband agreed to a home birth for their first baby after many conversations about what they both felt comfortable with.
What was planned as a home birth with 2x private midwives and her husband, actually turned into an unassisted birth after 7.5hrs of beautiful surges according to Adrienne.
Within minutes of walking from the birthing pool to the toilet, Adrienne's water broke and her baby was born into Dads arms.
Curious about Adrienne? Find her on instagram as @ajrgallop
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:
Spirit Babies, Early Losses & Redemptive Home Birth
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
Birth Imprints with Anna
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
Cholestasis and Rh negative First Time Mama Kirsty’s Home Birth in Rural Scotland
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
A Natural Turn of a Breech Babe & a 90min Birth
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
Birthing in a Peaceful Spa Like Birth Centre
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!
The Witch Wound & How it is Affecting You - Solo Episode with Anna
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
A Redemptive Natural Birth Center Birth
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
Authentic Natural Hospital Birth with her Own Midwife
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
Surrendering to Motherhood to Totally Transform You into the Best Version of Yourself
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:
Melanie The Midwife’s Birth Stories - A Preterm Home Birth at 36 weeks & a Fast & Furious Second
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:
IVF Pregnancy to Natural Pregnancy to Unassisted Home Birth
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:
Transforming Fear & Birthing at Home
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tam.
Tam is a psychotherapist of Holistic Therapy where she merges the Clinical with the Spiritual, and take her clients on a journey of deep healing through energy work, and intuitive guidance.
She created EmpowHER Healing from the need to shift psychology into a deeper spiritual realm. Fascinated by the human condition, and the Psyche of the Soul, she possess a strong will to support each female individual on their journey, and meet them wherever they are on their path.
In today’s episode Tam shares about her home birth almost exactly one year from this recording and how she moved through her fear of a hospital transfer. Something many home birthing mamas can relate to having.
I’m sure you’ll find much wisdom in this episode if you are planning a home birth.
Curious about Tam? Find her on instagram as @empowherhealing
Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
The Nurse Anesthetist who choose Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Melanie.
Melanie is a mama of 3 from Idaho.
She is a nurse anesthetist and as such she was working on the front lines through Covid as well as providing anesthesia to laboring women and often seeing the worst of the worst.
She was also told as a 20 year old by her OBGYN that her hips were to small and that she’d need a C/S. Total un evidence based, unsolicited advice to a woman not even trying to get pregnant.
You’d think all of this would have geared her towards an elective caesarian right? But no!
When she did become pregnant she was living in New Mexico where the attitude around home birth in her work place was positive. And she ended up finding a home birth midwife she resonated with and that the hospital even praised.
And she then went on having her two first babies at home. Both fast and furious as well as posterior.
She then had a gap as she had some pregnancy losses and her family also moved to Idaho.
When she finally did become pregnant with her third live baby she had to dig deeper than ever to ‘defend’ what she knew was best for her and her baby in the face of a lot of negativity and straight up stupid comments from the medical professionals around her.
She ended up having the transformative experience she always dreamed of and which she says was all about faith & absolute surrender.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
The Nurse who Home Birthed after 3 C/S
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jan.
Jan is a 43 yr old nurse and mama of four beautiful souls.
She has dedicated her life to nurturing the health and well-being of others.
Alongside taking care of her patients and homeschooling her children, she has embarked on a deeply personal journey of rediscovering the power and magic of holistic health and was given the chance to use that knowledge during her most recent pregnancy and birth.
In today’s episode we will be diving into medicalized birth in the beginning as Jan had 3 C/S before her home birth. And then about her total change and awakening to holistic health.
Her fourth pregnancy, that resulted in a home birth was not expected. And once the news settled in she embarked on a path of exploration and empowerment, choosing not to have a fourth C/S but ultimately experiencing the profound transformation of her first home birth.
This pivotal moment ignited a passion within her to share the spiritual dimensions of birthing at home, transcending the boundaries of conventional medicine to embrace the holistic beauty of the birthing process.
Curious about Jan? Find her on Instagram as @mindfulrn911
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
Spiraling Baby Down with Dancer Alexandra
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Alexandra.
Alexandra is a mama of one from California.
She runs a farm with her partner and has been a performing dance artist for the last 10 years.
Alexandra comes from an area where the home birth movement was big back in the 70’s and 80’s. One of her brother’s was home birthed when she was three and a half years old and she was also present for the home birth to hospital transfer of another brother's birth at the age of thirteen. Coming out of this challenging birth a bit traumatized, she internalized fear around birth.
However years later, after a miscarriage she found her calling to birth work and took a weekend doula course. This class, with an experienced, wise doula, opened her eyes to the flaws of the medical system and the standard cascade of interventions which completely changed her views on birth.
When she became pregnant again she knew she wanted to birth naturally. She wanted to be as prepared as possible for her own initiation and rite of passage into motherhood so she dedicated her free time to reading countless books and listening to birth stories, and she became very informed.
Due to there being no home birth midwives in her area currently she chose a birth center 2hrs away.
And her birth ended up being a fiery one where she spiraled her baby down in the car on the way to the birth center and almost gave birth to her daughter on the parking lot outside the center.
Curious about Alexandra? Find her on Instagram as @alexandrakateri
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
Lindsey Meehleis Own Birth Stories & Journey to Midwifery
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Lindsey Meehleis.
Lindsey is a fellow spiritual midwife, medicine woman and storyteller who I absolutely adore and I am so excited to have her on the podcast.
It feels like talking to myself.
I am certain you’ll all love the beautiful storytelling and wisdom that pours through Lindsey.
In today’s episode we dive on into Lindsey’s own two birth stories.
Her first induction turned c/s at a very young age and how that catapulted her into becoming a doula and then a midwife.
To her second which was a very conscious conception and home birth totally transforming Lindsey from who she was to who she then became.
It’s an episode that dives into the topics of midwifery and herstory and claiming your sovereignty in birth and life, to talking about the birth portal and how there are four things that need to dilate. The cervix, the vulva, the heart and the mind.
It’s a beautiful chat that I hope you’ll all enjoy.
Curious about Lindsey? Find her on Instagram as @lindseymeehleis
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
A Calm Home Water Birth after a Fast Hospital Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Holly.
Holly is a mama of two from the UK.
She is a clinical psychologist and working with children is her passion.
Today we will dive on into her two birth stories.
She thought she was well informed with her first birth which was a fast hospital birth, but in retrospect she wishes she knew more.
For her second pregnancy, she dove deep into the research literature on labour and birth and constantly listened to this podcast and concluded that a home birth was the right fit for her with it being safer for both mama and baby.
Despite feeling under pressure from the maternity system who were encouraging an induction due to a 'suspected big baby' and 'undiagnosed gestational diabetes', she stuck to her home birth plan which resulted in a euphoric, calm home water birth.
Once her baby was born, she said it felt so amazing that she wanted to do it all again!
She wishes all pregnant mamas would get to experience a birth like hers.
She now advocates for pregnant women to do their own research and not assume they will get the information they need from their antenatal classes and loves telling her birth story to highlight to women that birth isn’t something to fear and can be positive and empowering... and can leave you wanting to do it all over again!
Curious about Holly? Find her on Instagram as @hollymariethom
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:
Made to Birth Babies - Nix’s Fast Births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Nix.
Nix is a mama of 2, originally from Cape Town, but have lived in the UK since the age of 5.
Nix is trained in finance and has spent the last 6 years working for a large music and arts festival as well as a tech company.
But now she is following a different calling and career path after training as a yoga teacher and joining The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship in January this year, hoping to fulfill her dream of working with women in the future.
In this episode she shares about how the maternity system derailed her first home birth with fear mongering and an induction that ended up only being a foley catheter and breaking of waters before Nix’s body took over and birthed her baby.
And then how the second time around she decided to educate herself and withstand the desire from the maternity system to medicalize her birth and only deal with her home birth midwives.
She joined The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship in her third trimester and also took The Natural Birth Course as soon as she found out she was pregnant and was informed up to her teeth as well as doing the inner work needed, and ended up having her redemptive home birth (in an Airbnb mind you, but more on that in the episode ;) ).
I absolutely adore the picture of Nix on the floor with her baby absolutely beaming with ecstasy after her fast and furious birth under 2hrs. Make sure you check it out on our Instagram @thenaturalbirthpodcast as it will be published this week to come. It will fill you with so much joy!
Curious about Nix? Find her on Instagram as @nixsacredbirth
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
IVF at 39 & a Natural Birth with an OBGYN
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Helen.
Helen is a stay at home mother of two, airbnb superhost, and a property developer who lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Today we will hear about how Helen became pregnant with her first baby at 39 years old using IVF and then experienced secondary infertility until she became pregnant with her second.
A long, painful but essentially empowering conception story for both.
She was 43 and a half for her second and it was actually a natural conception after doing a huge amount of preconception work and self education as the medical system wasn’t finding answers.
Something you’ll learn more about in the beginning of this episode.
She also opted for a private OBGYN and private hospital birthing experience and did lots and lots of birth preparation and ended up having the natural birth she wanted.
Mind you her OBGYN didn’t make it to the birth and the midwife wasn’t in the room as her baby’s head crowned.
The key to her success was education, birth prep and staying out of the hospital as long as possible.
Curious about Helen? Find her on Instagram as @helenblazey
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:
Home Birth in South Africa
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kayla.
Kayla is a mama of one from South Africa.
She is a doula and a Sacred Birth Worker Mentee who is passionate about supporting mothers and families during the precious journey of childbirth.
Today we will hear about her journey of knowing at a very young age she needed to become a mother and how the desire to become a mother and a birth worker was intimately woven together.
She did a short doula course at 6 months pregnant and straight after decided it wasn’t enough and applied for The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship.
She ended up birthing the first week of the mentorship, at 37 weeks, as a first time mama.
And she had a short first time birth in water, in her home, surrounded by family, a doula and her midwife.
Home birth and natural birthing is rare in the world nowadays and even rarer in South Africa so I’m so pleased to have a mentee there and for her to share her story with you. Hopefully inspiring other young African women to trust in birth’s design.
She has great visions of starting a podcast for natural birthing in South Africa and I’m sure with her passion she’ll do great things for the natural birthing and home birthing community in her country and beyond.
Curious about Kayla? Find her on Instagram as @sacredart_ofbirthing
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
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.
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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
Healing Birth Imprints for an Empowering Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jet.
Jet is a mama of two from The Netherlands.
She is a holistic sleep coach for young children and a childbirth educator.
In today’s episode we will hear about her two births, starting with the pearls of wisdom she gained from her first birth that didn’t go to to plan, and was a transfer to hospital with some medicalization of her birth process.
In the years that followed she did a lot of personal inner work and research. Wanting to give her next baby the best possible chance to having a good start in life. When she conceived her daughter she was more than ready after all the healing inner work and research she had done and had her empowering, redemptive home birth that we will dive deeper into today.
Curious about Jet? Find her on instagram as @jetdingemans
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
The Wisdom of Letting go and Lean into the Pain in Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Stephanie.
Stephanie is a mama of 2 from Sydney, Australia and she is a painter and a high school arts teacher.
Her first baby was born in hospital via induction, epidural and episiotomy at 42 weeks and it was not the birth experience she wanted.
So when falling pregnant again and buying their first house, she felt like she wanted and could give birth at home and she did!
Stephanie is a mountain climber and this helped her in birthing her second baby as she understood this time around that preparing mentally was crucial for birthing, just as it is in mountain climbing.
She shares all about her preparation with us today as she tells us about her empowering home birth.
Curious about Stephanie? Find her on instagram as @_fulgora_
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Natural Birth Tear to Horseback Riding 3 weeks after Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jessica.
Jessica is a mama of one from Texas where she lives with her husband and run a horse training business as well as selling real estate.
She loves horseback riding and rode her horses up until 9 months pregnant.
Today we will hear about her birth centre birth and how she, after 24hrs, birthed her baby in the center but had a tear they were not confident stitching for her there so she went to the hospital where she was received in a friendly and helpful manner and got the help she needed.
And in 3 weeks after her birth she was back up on her horse, riding with no issues.
The magical healing capabilities of our body’s, and especially vaginas after birth is remarkable.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Awakening to Birth as Sacred Ceremony
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Grace.
Grace is a Mama of one from British Colombia, Canada.
She is the creator of Polyrhythmic cranial healing and holds women’s circles and retreats to help us connect the dots back to each other.
In today’s episode we speak of so much more than Grace’s powerful natural birth story. I even have a hard time putting it into words.
We both have goosebumps throughout. Mary is with us in spirit. And this conversation holds the vibration of the new earth, of women’s awakening to birth as sacred ceremony, of us remembering our herstory and our rite of passages and connection to the divine.
Grace’s hope is to share her birth story of her daughter to help remind women of their scared connection to the divine and the spirit of their baby.
Curious about Grace? Find her on instagram as @conscious.queendom
Use the code MOTHERS20 during checkout of all my online courses and coaching for your 20% Mothers Day Discount.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Ellen Fisher’s 5 Home Birth Stories
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ellen Fisher.
Ellen is a mama of 5 living on beautiful Hawaii. She is a home birthing and home schooling mama who loves growing her own food and is a vegan of 16 years.
She’s also a podcast host of her own podcast called The Ellen Fisher Podcast which I very much recommend you check out, and she just launched The Empowered Pregnancy & Birth Course sharing her own birth wisdom as well as that of selected experts.
In today’s episode you get to hear about each of her 5 natural and empowering home births. She dives on into the pearls of wisdom she gained from each and every one of them and the difference between them.
There is so much valuable birthing wisdom in this episode so strap on in as we dive on into her beautiful birth stories.
Curious about Ellen? Find her on instagram as @ellenfisher
Ellen's Birth Course https://go.theempoweredbirth.com/ellen
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Chelsea Lee’s Irish Twins - A Road Side Birth & A Wild Free Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Chelsea Lee.
Chelsea Lee is a mama of two living in rural South Australia. She is a hairdresser gone wild stay at home mama after birthing her two babies.
Her first baby was an intended free birth but ended up being a road side birth with a whole team attending. When she hit transition she made the decision to go to hospital, however didn’t make it all the way.
Only 8 months postpartum she conceived again and with her second she decided to have a wild pregnancy and to again free birth her baby.
This time around she was much more prepared for what to expect and in a totally different head space.
She ended up having her desired free birth and is now wanting to soon step onto the path of becoming a space holder for birth herself.
Hopefully joining a future Spiritual Midwife Mentorship Cohort once her babies are a bit bigger.
Curious about Chelsea Lee? Find her on instagram as @chelsealeebutler
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A First Time Mama’s 3 hour Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Roz. Roz is a mama of one from British Colombia, Canada.
She is personal trainer and runs her own health and wellness Arbonne business.
Roz teaches yoga, leads adventure retreats and is raising her 1 year old babe with her partner Grant.
And in today’s episode she shares about her fast home birth that was around 3 hours from the first contraction to having her baby in her arms.
Roz hopes that in sharing her empowering birth story that women in her community and all over the world will do the work to be empowered when it comes to making sovereign choices from conception into motherhood and beyond!
Curious about Roz? Find her on instagram as @roz.jacobson
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
SPECIAL EPISODE: The Art of Sacred Space Holding in Birth with Anna The Spiritual Midwife
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast I am sharing a special episode with you about The Art of Sacred Space Holding in Birth.
It is an episode bringing some embodied wisdom for mamas to be about why it is so important who you invite into your birth space and it’s a resource for you who are attending or are planning on attending a birth.
Maybe you’re a sister, mother, partner or friend. Maybe you’re a doula, midwife or even an OB or aspiring to be a birth worker.
The intention with this episode is to awaken you to the importance of the quality of your presence in the birth space, and how it can positively or negatively impact a woman’s physiological birth process and her birth experience.
Emily, also known as the Birth Advocate, joins me in this conversation. She’s a retired nurse, an initiator of the medical freedom movement in Maine and now a Spiritual Midwife Mentorship Program Mentee.
She helps me bring you the juice of why sacred space holding is needed in the birth realm, what it looks like and how to cultivate it, and in the end of this episode we also dive a bit deeper into The Spiritual Midwife Mentorship Program for you who might be interested in knowing more.
I hope you will find value in this special episode with me.
If you do, please let me know and maybe I’ll do some more of sharing my embodied wisdom with you.
Interested in The Spiritual Midwife Mentorship Program?
This program is now known as The Sacred Birth worker Mentorship! Find out more and apply here:
https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/thesacredbirthworkermentorship
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Free Birthing in Bali
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emily.
Emily is originally from Poland and married an American man and birthed her first two babies in America.
She then moved to Bali during her 3rd pregnancy and ended up having a nourishing and supported free birth in a culture that honors, celebrates and cares for mothers, throughout pregnancy, birth and the postpartum in the original ways humans have always cared for mothers but that the west forgot.
In today’s episode Emily shares about all 3 births with the focus on her 3rd in Bali.
Curious about Emily? Find her on instagram as @yourbloomingbirth_com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Going from 3cm to Birthing in less than 2hrs
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Caroline.
Caroline is a mama of two from Scotland and a beautiful client of mine.
Her first birth was a traumatic experience for her which, when she fell pregnant again, she reached out to me to heal and work through which I am so grateful she did. When she emailed me about her positive natural home birth with her second on Christmas Eve I was so delighted and couldn’t wait to hear her story.
So here it is!
Carolines redemptive home birth, which started out similar to her first with seemingly ”slow progress”. But then she opened from 3cm to birthing her baby within less than 2 hrs.
Which again, as so often in this podcast, tells you that cervical checks really can’t tell us when you’ll birth your baby!
Curious about Caroline?
Find her on instagram as @caromckay
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Magical, Spiritual, Redemptive Home Birth in Arizona
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Natalia.
Natalia is a mother of two living in the desert in Scottsdale, Arizona!
She is a freelance artist and doula in training.
Natalias first birth was a medicalized birth with an epidural and a vacuum birth with a tear as a side effect, which she experienced as traumatic.
However, it didn’t make her doubt her ability to birth naturally.
Quite the opposite.
When she fell pregnant again, she knew she wanted a natural home birth and so she did! She had a quick, potent and powerfully redemptive home birth with her doula and partner by her side.
Curious about Natalia? Find her on instagram as @itsnataliiaaa
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Trusting your own Mama Wisdom over the NHS!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emily.
Emily is a mama of two from Scotland.
She moved back to the highlands of Scotland, where she grew up, when she was pregnant to have her first born Betty.
Just as she was considering what line of work to go into after being a full time mum she was blessed with another baby and continued to stay at home to raise Jim who, at the time of our recording, is 3 months old.
With both her babies Emily hasn’t been deemed ”low risk” by her care providers but went ahead and had two home births despite of what the NHS told her.
Her first born Betty was born at home 3.5 years ago after a battle with the NHS who were putting pressure on her to have a hospital birth due to her baby seemingly measuring big.
And her second, Jim was born at home after lying transverse for all of his 3rd trimester. Emily was advised that she’d have to go to the hospital if he didn’t move head down before birth.
In the end he moved and was born within 3 hours of Emily waking with contractions.
Always listen to your mama wisdom and intuition. You are the expert of your baby, body and birth, always.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Fearful of Birth to aspiring Spiritual Midwife
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Britney.
Britney is a mama of one from Salt Lake City, Utah.
She spent most of her life afraid of birth and swore she would never do it!
But after years of doing her own personal healing work, she felt called to motherhood.
When she found out she was pregnant, she dove head first into the world of pregnancy, labor and birth.
And she dedicated herself to preparing physically, emotionally and spiritually to bring her baby earth side.
She chose to have a home birth with a midwife from her local birth center and had an incredible support team who really believed in her and trusted the process.
Like most first time mamas, and birthing women in general, she struggled to believe and trust in herself from time to time throughout the labour process.
The physical sensations were challenging but the emotional and mental aspect was even harder for Britney. She went back and forth between trust and doubt the entire 24 hours of her labour.
In the end, she felt the incredible power of her ability to birth her baby and birthed her in her living room.
Through her own empowering birth experience, she is now passionate about birth as a rite of passage and has just joined the first cohort of The Spiritual Midwife Mentorship Program beginning in May.
Such an honor to be her spiritual midwife mentor as she embarks on the magical journey of becoming a sacred space holder for birth herself!
Curious about Britney? Find her on instagram as @britneybeckstrand
Highly Sensitive Empath Emmas Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emma.
Emma is a mama of one originally from Australia, now living in Sweden.
She is an amazing artist and highly sensitive being which was very evident during her birth. She is a client of mine and in this episode you get to hear both of our versions of Emmas birth.
This episode is a really beautiful resource for you who know you’re a highly sensitive empathic woman and can inform you of the importance of where you birth and with whom.
Emma had a long birth journey, ultimately perfect for her and her baby. And she birthed in water, catching her own baby as she’d always envisioned.
Curious about Emma? Find her on instagram as @emmase.art
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Unassisted Birth in Regional Australia
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tayla.
Tayla is mama of one from Victoria, Australia.
She is a diesel mechanic turned pilates instructor.
In today’s episode she shares about her decision of having an unassisted birth due to living in an area that didn’t have home birth as an option through the regional hospital and also no independent home birth midwives.
She sought out a doula and educated herself enough to make the decision to birth with just her partner and her chosen support team at home.
At 41+3 weeks she went into labour and had her baby in the water just like she always wanted.
Curious about Tayla? Find her on instagram as @tayla_kayy
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Katharine’s Empowering Natural Breech VBAC
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Katharine.
Katharine is a mama of two from Maine, USA, where she lives in her hand built off-grid house with her family.
She is a jeweler and artist working out of her home studio so she can be a full time mama and work around her kids needs.
In today’s episode Katharine shares about her three births.
Her first was a stillbirth for anyone wanting to skip this part, jump ahead 10min into the episode. I do find so much value in talking about miscarriages and stillbirths as it is a reality for 1 in 4 women and I want to reduce the taboo and hush hush culture around this sad reality for some women. These stories need to be told as well and Katharine had such beautiful wisdom and healing come through for her and her maternal linage through this experience.
Her second baby was a breech baby and in her state there was no option for her to birth vaginally at the time and she was ushered into having a caesarian which affected her bonding and postpartum experience.
When she fell pregnant for the 3rd time and her 3rd baby was also wanting to be born breech she decided to go to the next state, hire a midwife and have a breech VBAC.
So much breech wisdom in this episode.
Curious about Katharine? Find her on instagram as @katharinejanejewelry
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Desert Home Birth with GDM at 42 years old
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Letitia
Letitia is a 42-year-old mama of one from Alice Springs, Australia.
She knew even before she got pregnant that she wanted to birth at home after witnessing her friend do so in her 20’s. And as soon as she fell pregnant she booked in with the midwifery group practice for a home birth.
However, early in her pregnancy she got diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to fight and advocate for herself to not be booted out of having a home birth.
In the end she had her dream birth at home with her partner Tim and home birth midwives who held a safe, physiological birth space which led to Letitia experiencing the fetal ejection reflex where your body takes over and births your baby.
Curious about Letitia? Find her on instagram as @letitiazoe
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
C/S to VBAC to Home Birth with Fetal Ejection Reflex
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kaitlin.
Kaitlin is a mama of 3 from the US.
Kaitlin has experienced it all!
She’s had an induction turned C/S with her first baby. A successful unmedicated VBAC in hospital with her second and a home birth with a midwife for her third.
Her second birth really transformed her understanding of her self and birth and she became a doula 5 months after and now her business behervillage.com, which is a gift registry for parents to get gifts of support instead of things.
Curious about Kaitlin? Find her on instagram as @behervillage
Find All Links & Resources here:
www.thenaturalbirthcourse.com/links
Holly’s Quick First Birth in her Green House
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Holly.
Holly is a mama of one from from Wales. She is a small business owner who loves organic gardening and hiking in the Welsh mountains.
In today’s episode Holly shares about her extensive preparation for a natural and positive birth experience.
While preparing for a long first birth as a first time mama of 37, she ended up having a fast unassisted birth in her poly tunnel, or green house if you like me don’t know what a poly tunnel is!
Holly followed her body’s wisdom and whispers and labored and birthed mostly by herself. She contributes her fast natural birth to the knowledge she gained through listening to endless birth stories throughout her pregnancy.
Curious about Holly? Find her on instagram as @hollymaysgoodlife
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in one of the Worlds Best Maternity Systems
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Eline.
Eline is a mama of two from The Netherlands. She is a dancer and has developed different workshops and created self-expression dance programs for children and adults.
Eline's mission is to teach children from a young age to love and fully own their bodies as well as working with women, focusing on healing wounded femininity and discovering womb wellness and womb wisdom.
In today’s episode Eline takes us on the magical dutch pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey that we all wish our countries provided.
Women in The Netherlands have publicly funded hospital, birth center and home births for all women as well as postpartum full time support in the form of a maternity nurse for the whole first week postpartum. It’s what should be provided by all governments if they truly loved and cherished women and families as well as our future generation.
Eline shares both her birth stories, her first in a birth centre and her second at home, and all the wisdom she gained through them. We speak to the depth of personal development and the transformation that is birth and what a beautiful opportunity this rite of passage holds for healing and deeper self awareness.
Curious about Eline? Find her on instagram as @elinedava
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Birther of Big Babies at Home
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ellie.
Ellie is a mama of 2 from Stockholm, Sweden.
She works with storytelling and experience design as well as photography.
However, after learning in depth about pregnancy and the birth process during her second pregnancy, a little seed of curiosity around working with birth and birthing people has been planted and Ellie might be one of the aspiring Spiritual Midwives of my upcoming Spiritual Midwife program.
In today’s episode Ellie will share about both her births with the focus on her second bubba, only 12 days at the time of our recording.
In her first pregnancy, at the 41 week ultrasound, the medical staff freaked out about Ellies big baby and recommended instant C/S or induction. Ellie, being a first time mama, and not knowing what she knows today, agreed to an induction that turned out to be more traumatic than she first realized.
When she became pregnant again the memories flooded back and she knew she needed a home birth this time. She sought out her independent home birth midwives who reassured her that her baby’s size didn’t matter and she ended up having her 4.6kg baby at home, in the water without a tear.
Curious about Ellie? Find her on instagram as @ellieganza
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Sarah Changed her Midwives and had her Stargazing Baby at 40 Weeks
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sarah.
Sarah is a mama of two from New Jersey, USA. And this is her second time on the podcast!
Sarah shared her natural birth centre birth in October of 2021, which was a huge step for her from thinking at the beginning of her first pregnancy that she could never birth naturally and that she’d need a doctor to save her.
When she became pregnant again, only 8 months after the birth of her son, she right away sought the care of the group of midwives that assisted in her first birth.
However, they were so short staffed that at 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant, those midwives told her that it was extremely likely that instead of the natural birth she had planned inside the birth center, she was going to have to move into the hospital with OB’s that she had never even met.
This lit such a fire in her that despite being literally days away from giving birth, she left the birth center, found an independent midwife who agreed to take her on at 40 weeks, and met her midwife in person for the first time as she was in active labor with her daughter.
If her first birth was a lesson in recognizing her power to birth her own baby without the need of doctors, this birth taught her how important it is to protect the birth that one has envisioned for herself and that it’s never too late to change your care providers!
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Having a Home Birth in Over Medicalized Austria
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Pirita.
Pirita is a Finnish mum of one, a menstrual cycle coach and yoga teacher living with her family in Austria.
Pirita knew already long before getting pregnant that she wanted to have a peacefully birth at home and at 6 weeks pregnant, she put together her dream birth team of midwives with her husband.
In today’s episode she shares about her pre conception prep, having a natural home birth in an over medicalized Austrian maternity system and her 3 days of early labour before active labour kicked in and she had her bubba.
Pirita describes her natural home birth as raw, intense, powerful as well as peaceful and transformational.
Curious about Pirita? Find her on instagram as @piritahilton
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Brazilian Soprano Carla’s Fast Natural Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Carla.
Carla is a mama of one from Brazil who’s currently living with her Hungarian husband in Berlin, Germany.
She is a Soprano committed to her psycho-spiritual growth through transpersonal therapy and shamanic work.
When Carla fell pregnant she knew she wanted to break the cultural norm in Brazil of having a c-section. Brazils c-section rate is more than a whopping 55%. The WHO recommends to not exceed 10% and the global rate is 21%!
Carla wanted to bring her baby earth side in the most gentle and natural way. So she booked in with a home birth midwife and was also planning on hiring a doula, but the midwife didn’t want her too. She said she works alone and that she likes to support women just as deeply as a doula does.
In the end Carla had an empowering, fast, natural birth at home with a champion of a supportive husband all the way through. However, as you will hear in her story, she didn’t get the supportive midwife that she hoped for.
Carla’s story shows that preparation and following your own inner voice and intuition is key in having an empowering birth experience.
Curious about Carla? Find her on instagram as @carlacottini
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Home Birth at 43 Weeks
Merry Xmas podcast family!
I hope you’ve had a beautiful weekend with family and friends, enjoying good food and company. Here is your Christmas Day episode!
A bit of a longer episode today with one of my longest standing fans Lisa. She’s been listening to the podcast since it began in 2020 and today she’s guesting us sharing, in depth about her journey in finding the perfect midwife match for her dream birth.
I thought xmas was a great time for a bit of a longer episode as you digest all that food on the couch you can drift off to birth land through our conversation.
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Lisa.
Lisa is a first time mama from Wollongong, Australia.
She’s an outdoor adventure guide that is now enjoying her time as a stay at home mum, tending to her permaculture garden and food forest.
Lisa dreamed of having a natural and empowering birth even before falling pregnant.
When she did fall pregnant she instantly booked in at the local Midwifery Group Practice program at her hospital as well as with a doula.
However, falling into the low risk category proved to be hard and after getting booted off the program in the 3rd trimester she went on to have the birth she had envisioned with privately practicing midwives at 42weeks and 6 days.
Curious about Lisa? Find her on instagram as @lisaforrestwalker
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
An Undisturbed, Shamanic Birth with Ruby
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ruby
Ruby is a mama of two from the UK. She is a women’s functional health coach, holistic therapist and a medicine weaver.
In todays episode we will dive into her two natural births.
Her first with midwives and her second an undisturbed shamanic ceremony in a tipi in her garden with drumming and fire. Fully embodying the channel between the heavens and the earth.
Ruby feel strongly about returning to our ancient ways of living, to restore humanity’s chance of survival on this earth.
Birth plays a huge role in this, so she sees her birthing ceremony not only a ceremony for herself but a ceremony for the collective of women who birthed before her and who will birth after her.
Curious about Ruby? Find her on instagram as @rubyandglow
So podcast family, we are in December and coming closer to the Christmas holidays
If you are due over the holidays. Please don’t feel pressured into an early induction. If you need support and someone in your corner I’m here to assist and be your fierce natural birth advocate!
I will be on call all of December to help any mamas finding themselves in this situation.
Book in a 1:1 session with me if you want some support and guidance in holding your ground and having your natural physiological birth!
And if you’re planning a home birth, then you can download my free home birth checklist where I share how to prepare the birth space and what you need to source for a home birth. I share all the best labour stations, nourishment and midwifery insider tips on what will make a world of difference during your labour and birth!
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Medical Freedom & Natural Birth for Registered Nurse Emily
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emily
Emily is a 37 year old first time mama from Maine USA.
She believes in the power of our bodies innate intelligence and taking responsibility for how we show up.
Emily spent nearly two decades working within the western medical system as a Registered Nurse and perfected the art of advocating for patients rights. She fought fiercely for her patients to have informed consent and deeply respect all informed choices.
Maine was one of the strictest states during the covid pandemic with vaccine and mask mandates. She started a coalition for healthcare workers against medical mandates with over 4,000 members and let her job go, along with many others, when the Covid vaccine was mandated for all healthcare workers.
She fell pregnant just a few months after that and found a midwife through the medical freedom community.
Personal autonomy and bodily integrity are integral parts of who Emily is and how she leads her life, leading to a natural and empowering birth.
Her hearts desire was to catch her own baby in the safety of her home and so she did!
Curious about Emily? Find her on instagram as @emily.grace.nixon
So podcast family, we are in December which is the month with the most scheduled inductions and caesarians of the year. No surprise there in our over medicalized maternity system run by ob’s who want to play golf.
If you are due over the holidays. Please don’t feel pressured into an early induction. If you need support and someone in your corner I’m here to assist and be your fierce natural birth advocate.
I will be on call all of December to help any mamas finding themselves in this situation.
Book in a 1:1 session with me if you want some support and guidance in holding your ground and having your natural physiological birth!
And remember that you can access the free pdf download of all the routine hospital birth procedures on my blog.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
An Awakening Birth Journey with Ali
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ali
Ali a mama of 3 from Tennessee USA.
She is a is a world renowned celebrity stylist and TV star personality from BRAVO TV. From dressing the most famous people in Hollywood & public figures around the world, in 2020 Ali started her own personal inner journey, after going from breakdowns to breakthroughs. Ali became a certified Breathwork Facilitator & Coach. She is now a Celebrity Conscious Stylist, Sought After Media Personality, Healer, & known as a Transformation Expert.
In todays episode Ali shares her journey from wanting a natural birth with her first but ending up, as most mamas do in our modern maternity system, with a medicalized first birth to a fully surrendered third birth at home with a shoulder dystocia handled in the most harmonious and calm way by her home birth midwife.
Ali drops so many truth bombs and pearls of wisdoms in this episode.
Curious about Ali? Find her on instagram as @alilevinedesign
So podcast family, we are in December which is the month with the most scheduled inductions and caesarians of the year.
No surprise there in our over medicalized maternity system run by OB’s who want to play golf.
If you are due over the holidays. Please don’t feel pressured into an early induction.
If you need support and someone in your corner I’m here to assist and be your fierce natural birth advocate.
I will be on call all of December to help any mamas finding themselves in this situation.
Book in a 1:1 session with me if you want some support and guidance in holding your ground and having your natural physiological birth!
And remember that you can access the free pdf download of all the routine hospital birth procedures on my blog.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Natural Birth & Challenging the Anterior Cervical Lip
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Amy.
Amy is a mama of one from a small town in Washington state.
She enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, and spending time in the natural landscape around her small town.
When she was newly pregnant, the thought about birth terrified her.
But with each conversation with women in her community who’d had a positive birth experience as well as listening to the natural birth podcast she gained confidence and went into her home birth with such positive momentum.
Through her pregnancy and natural birth she has come to view childbirth as a powerful right of passage with invaluable lessons to learn.
Like surrendering to the fact that her home birth turned into birth center birth as her midwife was tied up with another birthing woman when Amy went into labour.
In this episode Amy shares about her midwife discovering an anterior cervical lip when doing a vaginal examination, and after having maybe 4 or 5 interviews of late where women share about their midwife’s finding an anterior lip and telling them to not push or that they should try to push the lip over the baby’s head while the woman has a contraction, I decided to speak to this and challenge it, as you will hear in our interview.
I’ve recently written a blog post about all the routine birth procedures today, primarily in hospital but some also in birth centers and at home, on my blog.
You can go there and actually download all the information in a free PDF.
Routine Hospital Birth Procedure
https://www.thenaturalbirthcourse.com/blog/routine-hospital-birth-procedures
I want you to feel empowered in your birth. And knowledge is key to this.
Please pop on over and download it. Spread it to your pregnant friends and share it on your socials.
It’s so important that each woman understands the consequences of routine and often non evidence based practices such as not pushing when you have an anterior lip even though your body is telling you to do so!
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Healing & Spiritual Home Birth in the US
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Danielle
Danielle is a mother of 2 from Utah.
She’s a hair stylist and have a strong passion for health and nutrition with conscious living. She enjoys nature and has a strong connection to mother earth and is a mama in our Maiden, Mother & Maga Village.
Her first labour and birth was in a hospital and even though she wanted a natural birth, the interventions in the hospital made that impossible. And we do touch upon this medicalized birth to bring awareness to these interventions. After this interview I wrote a blog post about all the routine labour and birth procedures stating all the benefits, risks and alternatives for your information so that you can be informed before going into hospital for your birth.
Find the the link to the blog post in the show notes below.
But back to Danielle's story.
When she fell pregnant again she knew she wanted a home birth so that she could have her natural and empowering birth.
It was the biggest spiritual experience she’s ever had.
Curious about Danielle? Find her on instagram as @danielledeanajay
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Free Birth & a Natural Premature Birth at 34 weeks
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tilly
Tilly is a mama of 2 from the US.
She is a holistic sex and intimacy coach for mamas seeking to embody their pleasure and have the best sex of their lives, or rediscover sex after birth.
She is the host of The Multiorgasmic Mama Podcast that I’ve been a guest on, speaking about Conscious Conception. If you’re curious about that then check out the link to the episode in the show notes.
But today we are going to chat about Tillys very interesting birth stories.
Tilly had her first as a young 22 year old studying to become a OBGYN. But after witnessing the over medicalization of birth she decided to have a free birth at home with her partner. She had a very empowering and precipitous birth at home in the dark.
When she feel pregnant with her second she was planning a home birth with a midwife to have some female support at the birth altar.
But at 34 weeks she ended up breaking her waters prematurely.
She stayed home for 24hrs to see if labour would start naturally and then decided to go into hospital where she naturally induced herself with nipple stimulation through a breast pump.
She then birthed her own way on all fours on the floor and stayed at the hospital doing kangaroo care for 10 days with her new born.
All on her own terms.
Curious about Tilly? Find her on instagram as @tilly.storm
Conscious Conception for High Achieving Women with Anna The Spiritual Midwife - Episode
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/223-conscious-conception-for-high-achieving-women-with/id1323538015?i=1000582516547
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Marique’s Husband Caught their Baby with their Midwife on Speaker Phone
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Marique
Marique is a mama of two from New Zealand.
She is an Integrative Health Practitioner who helps women prioritize their health so they have more energy, less stress and a body they love, by addressing the root cause of their symptoms.
Being passionate about natural health, Marique knew she wanted to have a natural birth with her first and almost did, except for accepting the offer of, what her OB called a ”homeopathic dose” of synthetic oxytocin to speed up labour.
Her hospital birth with her OB was a positive experience but Marique knew she wanted a fully natural birth the second time she fell pregnant so she decided on employing a midwife.
Little did she know labour and birth would go so quick that her husband ended up catching their baby with the midwife on speaker phone.
Curious about Marique? Find her on instagram as @mariqueknight
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Empowering Home Birth after Caesarian
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Dawn
Dawn is a mama of 2 from Ohio.
She’s also a certified registered nurse anesthetist and even though she wanted a natural birth with her first, she didn’t want to be a difficult patient and ended up with an unnecessary induction and C/S with her OBGYN.
When she fell pregnant again, she began her care with another OBGYN that was positive about vaginal birth after caesarian, but at 28 weeks she opted out and chose private midwifery care to be able to have a home birth and the birth she truly wanted.
And at 40 weeks and 3 days she went into labour and labored at home with her supportive VBAC team and husband.
After about 7 hours of labour at home she birthed her baby by herself, lifting her own daughter up to her chest and saying over and over again ”I did it, and it’s so safe”.
Both her and her husband got their redemptive birth and it’s such a pleasure having her on to tell her story.
Curious about Dawn? Find her on instagram as @dawnypoo7
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in a Naturopathic Birth Center in the US
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Taylor
Taylor is a 25 year old mama from the US, who was told by her doctor at 23 years of age that she might not be able to fall pregnant due to endometriosis.
However after getting off her contraceptives that she was on due to the endometriosis, she fell pregnant in 2 months time.
She is a medical assistant and started her pregnancy working at a medical office thinking she’d birth at the hospital.
And then she did a 180. She quit her job and started working at a naturopathic office and birth center at 7 months pregnant.
This is also the birth center she ended up having her empowering birth at.
She now want’s to tell her story to empower other young women to experience how amazing birth can be and to embrace how incredible our bodies truly are.
Curious about Taylor? Find her on instagram as @tayelainew
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
6 Steps to a Natural & Empowering Birth with Kemi & Anna
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kemi Joy Johnson.
Kemi is a Mother and a former registered Midwife turned Birthkeeper & Birth Activist.
She de-registered as a midwife a few years back and is now a Whistle Blower, Truth Speaker & Teacher.
And we are coming on the podcast today to have an honest conversation about the reality of our current maternity system and what you need to know and the steps you need to take to optimize your chances of having a Natural and Empowering Birth Experience whether it is in the hospital, birth center or at home!
Get ready for some edgy talk and truth bombs.
To have a Natural & Empowering Birth in our modern world means taking full responsibility and claiming your rite of passage!
You can download the 6 Steps that we talk about in the episode in a handy PDF to refer to as you prepare for your upcoming birth!
Download >>> https://www.thenaturalbirthcourse.com/6-steps-on-how-to-have-a-natural-birth
Curious about Kemi? Find her on instagram as @kemibirthjoyjohnson
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Healing her Linage through her Natural Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ellie
Ellie is a mama of one from Australia, who consciously conceived her baby and knew from the get go that she wanted a natural home birth for her and her baby.
However, Ellie comes from a family where both her mother and her husbands mother had caesarians with all their children, and were convinced that all their babies wouldn’t have survived without them.
There was a lot of reconditioning and reprograming that needed to take place during pregnancy to counter act the fear that their families had over their choice to birth at home.
And when Ellie did have a natural and empowering home birth, not only did that heal her own throat chakra but was deeply healing for her whole family.
Curious about Ellie? Find her on instagram as @elliegutsilverman
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Human Rights Lawyer Allisons Unassisted Home Birth after two Unnecessary Inductions
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Allison.
Allison is a Canadian mama of three boys, living in Geneva, Switzerland.
She is a human rights lawyer and even so, she struggled to advocate for herself in the over medicalized maternity system to have the natural births she wanted for her two first births.
After two unnecessary inductions, that she experienced as somewhat traumatic, she was determined to have an empowering natural birth with her third.
She went on having a spiritual and conscious conception, the story she tells us in detail in todays episode. As well as an unintentional and unassisted home birth with a whole village supporting her.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
South African Natasha’s Natural Births in the UK & Australia
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Natasha
Natasha is a mama of two from South Africa, currently living in Australia.
Her first birth was in London 4 years ago.
She planned to birth at a birth centre but ended up having a water birth in the hospital, as the birth center was full on the night. It was a natural birth but it wasn’t all that Natasha wanted it to be.
So with her second one year ago in Melbourne, Australia, she chose another path.
She started off going through the hospital system, but didn’t feel supported or trusting of the system so she hired a doula.
She then watched the documentary BirthTime and felt sure she didn’t want to birth at the hospital.
So she shifted and chose a private midwife at 28 weeks pregnant.
She ended up giving birth to her baby the night before her due date, in the water, at home with her wonderful birthing team while her first born slept through it all and woke up soon after she birthed the placenta.
That night was absolute magic and she didn’t want it to end.
Curious about Natasha? Find her on instagram as @_natashafarley
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Home Birthing as the Daughter of a long line of Free Birthing Women
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Anna
Anna is a mama of three and one on the way, from
Colorado, USA.
She’s currently a stay at home mom, homeschooling her oldest.
She’s a hair stylist and love interior decorating and home renovations.
But above all she’s passionate about home birth and come from a long line of home birthing and free birthing women.
In today’s episode Anna shares about falling pregnant the first time and choosing to fly home to Wisconsin to birth her baby in the water at her sister’s house.
It then took 7 years, after struggling with secondary infertility, before she fell pregnant again. She planned to birth at home in Colorado this time. But at 40 weeks it was discovered that this little baby decided to be breech. Which meant she was no longer allowed to have a breech birth at home in Colorado.
So again she hopped on a flight to Wisconsin the next day to have a natural breech birth at home.
She got invited to stay at an experienced breech birth midwife house and ended up having a wonderful breech birth in water.
When falling pregnant with her third baby she decided to go back to the same midwife who’d helped her birth her breech baby and had another water birth where she got to catch her own son.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Home birth at 42+3
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Claire
Claire is a mama of one from Australia.
She’s a sustainability activist and passionate feminist, and the founder of the fashion advocate.
In this episode she shares about falling pregnant at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and how she knew she wanted a home birth with a known midwife.
Her pregnancy proceeded well, but as she came up to 42 weeks the ultrasound showed low amniotic fluid under the normal range.
This lead to a few days of anxiety and a change from home birth to a hospital induction.
But when she came in for her induction it just didn’t sit right with her, so she asked for a second scan. And after having to fight for it, when she finally got it, the scan showed normal range fluids.
She ended up going back home, against medical advice, and starting labour spontaneously the day after and had a quick straight forward home birth with her partner and midwife.
This episode highlights the importance to trust your own inner voice and intuition and to stand up for yourself and what you want.
Curious about Claire? Find her on instagram as @thefashionadvocate
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Natural Birthing at 36 weeks
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Holly.
Holly is a mama of 2 from New Zealand. She’s an art teacher who’s currently a stay at home mum for her two boys at 2yrs and 10 weeks old.
In this episode she shares about her well planned first pregnancy and birth, that ended up happening at the beginning of the pandemic and covid lockdowns.
After planning a home birth she ended up transferring after a very long pushing stage, something that got it’s explanation when she birthed very soon after arriving at the hospital.
Before her second birth she informed herself even further and planned for another home birth. But at the end, her baby boy decided to arrive at 36 weeks, which is considered preterm.
She did however have a natural birth centre birth with him.
And today we get to hear all about her experience and decision making during both birthing naturally in covid times and with a preterm baby.
Curious about Holly? Find her on instagram as @hollymichelleevans
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Young Maiden to Wise Mother
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Mia
Mia is a young mama of one from Idaho, USA.
She fell pregnant the first month of meeting the father of her baby and now partner.
She felt a great peace come over her when she fell pregnant and let her intuition guide her her whole way through her pregnancy and birth.
She came down with a rare condition during pregnancy called hydro nephrosis, which essentially means her urethra got blocked by her pregnant womb which prevented her from releasing urine. She had to wear a tube to help her empty her bladder, until she, upon a strong intuitive feeling, asked to take it out. And all was fine.
She went from wanting a home birth to accepting a hospital birth due to this condition happening in pregnancy.
And she ended up having an empowering and natural birth with a lovely group of midwives.
Curious about Mia? Find her on instagram as @mia.inpeace
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
An Undisturbed Birth in New Zealand
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Niko
Niko is a mama of two from New Zealand. She is an artist and makes mini huts.
In today’s episode she shares about her first home birth and how it was a total shock becoming a mother and how it changed her entire life. We dive on in to the fact that as your first one is born, the old you, the maiden, dies and about all that that entails.
For her second, she consciously conceived and prepared even further than the first time around, fully accepting the change that would happen with the introduction of a new being in their family.
She ended up having a beautiful undisturbed water birth at her home with her 5 year old daughter, partner and sister present.
Curious about Niko? Find her on instagram as @kemi_niko
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Quick & Empowering First Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Megan
Megan is a mama of one from Arizona, USA.
She is a wife and a stay at home mum who loves art and plants and plans on getting into birth work soon.
She ended up having a fast and furious first birth.
It started with a bang, and she did her best in breathing through the contractions with the help of her husband and doula.
She did her own internals and felt her own cervix and the bag of waters as she progressed through labour.
She chose to birth in her birth pool. Allowing her body to take over and feeling the release of the pushing stage.
Birthing her baby was an amazing and empowering experience for Megan.
Curious about Megan? Find her on instagram as @therodriguez
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Natural Hospital Birth with Gestational Diabetes
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tierney
Tierney is a Mama of two from the UK.
In this episode we are going to hear about her Natural Hospital Birth with Gestational Diabetes.
More and more women are diagnosed with GDM as the parameters changed to being narrower a few years ago, leading to an increase in induction rates due to the fear of big babies.
Tierney wouldn’t have it.
She did a lot of research and stood her ground and ended up having an empowering and positive natural birth experience at over 41 weeks gestation.
Hopefully this episode will give you confidence, if you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
And as always, it’s your choice to have the GDM test at all, as with everything that is offered in pregnancy.
Curious about Tierney? Find her on instagram as @tierney_giles
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Sacred Birth Keeper Susannah’s Natural Birth Stories
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Susannah
Susannah is a mama of two, from Sweden.
She’s an osteopath specialized in women's health, pregnancy and postpartum.
And she is also a birth worker, doula trainer and the co:creatix of the Sacred Birth Keeper Course here in Sweden.
In today’s episode she will so generously share about her two natural births, with the emphasis on her most recent one, the birth of her daughter only 3 months ago.
We dive deeply into the layers of healing that is offered in pregnancy and through rite of passage that is birth and motherhood.
Curious about Susannah? Find her on instagram as @liv_moder
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Homeschooling Mama of 4
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kate
Kate is a mama of 4 from Gold Coast, Australia.
She is a free birth birth worker, postpartum supporter and placenta encapsulator amongst many things.
In todays episode we discuss her 4 birth stories.
The first being in the hospital, the second a planned home birth with a midwife and her third a planned free birth, not fully going the way she had wanted.
And then her forth, the one we really dive into, which only happened 8 weeks ago.
This birth was all she had ever wanted and dreamed of.
A free birth with her closest sisters and family present.
A nourishing postpartum. A dream come true.
Curious about Kate? Find her on instagram as @sacredbirthkeeper
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Mississippi Home Birth with Ammie Harries
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ammie
Ammie is a mama of 2 and expecting her 3rd baby in just a few short months, from Mississippi, USA.
She recently left her full time teaching career to be a full-time mum to her little ones.
Ammie’s first birth was a quite traumatic hospital birth.
She was pushed into induction and interventions she didn’t want, but didn’t know enough about to refuse.
When she fell pregnant again she did a lot more research and decided on a home birth with a midwife.
She believes birth is truly a rite of passage that so many women are deprived of in today’s traditional birth setting and loves sharing her story in hopes to empower other mamas.
In todays episode we will dive into her empowering and positive birth story and how she is preparing for her 3rd baby coming.
Curious about Ammie? Find her on instagram as @ammieharris_
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Ceremonial Water Home Birth in the Age of Aquarius
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Megan.
Megan is a Mama of one from the UK.
She is a wild hearted creative traveller & crafter of divine arts, and the founder & creatrix of Alta Ritual Apothecary.
She was determined to have a sovereign & sacred birth as nature intended, to honor her rite of passage & welcome her baby earth side.
She decided to opt out of the system and employing Kemi Joy Johnson as her midwife and birthed her baby her way.
Megan pushed for 4 hours to birth her baby that wanted to be born with her hands above her face.
Curious about Megan? Find her on instagram as @altaritual
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Makensi Spirit Healers Free Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Makensi
Makensi is a mama of one from Australia.
She is an Energy Healer, working with clients on their emotional, mental and spiritual selves. She creates dream catchers on intuitive guidance, paints and sews. Makensi has a background in nutrition and naturopathy and a keen interest in alternative therapies.
Makensi is a first time mumma in her 40’s who chose to free birth her bubba at home with her partner and doula.
She had almost all her labour in her sacrum and back, which she moved through throughout the day and melted into during the night and early hours in her birth pool.
After an amazing birth experience she ended up not birthing her placenta for 14 hours which is quite a remarkable long time.
She shares how her strong affirmations about keeping all her nutrients after birth was the reason for her body holding on to her placenta.
Curious about Makensi? Find her on instagram as @makensi.spirit.healer
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Homebirth Midwife's Births in Alaska and the Importance of a tribe Postpartum
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jessica
Jessica is a mama of two from Alaska.
She is a home birth midwife and the Director of Development for the Pacific Birth Institute.
She is on the leading edge of shaping community birth infrastructure nationwide, working at the Pacific Birth Institute to strengthen student midwifery and birth assistant education, and training access that honors culture, students learning in place, and the payment of midwives nationwide for their service as preceptors to the next generation.
Jessica had two midwife attended births for her children, one in a birth center and one at home, and she will talk for hours about the glory and power of staying home for birth and how it ignites the confidence you need to start your new life as a mother.
And this is exactly what we will be taking about today, as well as going on a few tangents as you do with a fellow birth worker.
Curious about Jessica? Find her on instagram as @pacificbirthinstitute
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Riding the Waves and Power of Birth through Mantra
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Shiva
Shiva is a mama of two originally from Turkey, now living in Denver, Colorado.
Besides being a mama, she’s also a psychotherapist and yoga teacher.
Today we are going to talk about her two natural births.
Her first was at a birth centre, and even though it looked from the outside as a natural and normal birth, in the wake of that birth, Shiva found herself feeling like she had failed.
She hadn’t felt in her power and only felt her pains and how her past traumas seemed to impact her in her birthing.
When finding our she was pregnant again she went on a healing journey, trying to understand and face her traumas that had impacted her during her first birth.
She went on having her second baby born partially en caul in the water, in her home.
It was the birth that she had wished, hoped and prayed for but didn’t know how she could achieve.
Today we will dive deeply into both births and the rite of passage and healing journey that she has been on.
Curious about Shiva? Find her on instagram as @shivajenkins
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
"I Have to do this Again. I felt So Powerful!"
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Anna.
Anna is a mama of 3 boys from Byron Bay, Australia.
After an unpleasant first medicalized hospital birth she met a doula who changed her mind from thinking birth is what happens in hospital, to claiming her rite of passage and going on to experiencing two magical water births at her local birth centre.
And after her first magical experience with her second birth, she became a doula and has since become a huge advocate for empowering women to reclaim their power during birth.
As always when two passionate birth nerds come together we go on tangents and there’s a lot of birthing wisdom coming through this episode.
Curious about Anna? Find her on instagram as @byron.babymoon
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Rebirthing Herself through the Fire and Layers of Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kaelynn.
Kaelynn is a mama of one from San Diego, USA.
She is a lifelong competitive professional dancer, podcaster & seeker of truth. Through a holistic approach & radical self love she is overcoming the conditioned self, & claiming back her power as a Sovereign Woman.
She and her partner chose early on in their pregnancy to free birth their baby. They didn’t want any interference with their process.
And what a process they had.
Kaelynn was in labour for over 3 days moving through layers and layers of fear, ancestral wounding and blocks until she finally birthed her baby into water in the comfort of her partners presence.
She considers her free birth experience to be her rebirth, the transformation she never knew she needed.
Curious about Kaelynn? Find her on instagram as @kaelynnmay
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Natural Hospital Birth in the US
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jade
Jade is a mama of two at the age of 23 from Kansas, US.
She’s a photographer documenting women in their most honest, raw and poetic way possible, simultaneously as she’s studying to become a doula and yoga teacher.
A lot of people might think that she is too young to have already brought two souls into this world but she believes that this is what she was meant to do.
Because when she birthed them earth side, she also re-birthed myself into the woman she is today.
And in this episode we will touch upon her first standardized western medicalized birth to then dive into her second empowering natural hospital birth.
Curious about Jade? Find her on instagram as @jademckenzieco
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Nabi's Free Birth Story
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Nabi!
Nabi is a mama of one originally from Bolivia, now living in Oklahoma USA.
I’ve known Nabi for almost a year now.
She joined The Natural Birth Course and my community soon after finding out she was pregnant and so I have had the privilege of walking alongside her, virtually, throughout her pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
And in todays episode she will share her processes of choosing a semi wild pregnancy and ultimately free birthing her baby at home with her partner, sister which was planned, and as life wanted it, also with her mother and father present.
Curious about Nabi? Find her on instagram as @oklahomafoodforest
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Breaking Ancestral Patterns and Choosing to Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emma.
Emma is a mama of one from Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia.
She is yoga and meditation teacher, speaker and writer, and she runs an online business with her partner called Flow States Collective.
She offers an online prenatal yoga series called Flow Baby, A 10 day meditation course for mothers to be, as well as courses for new mothers designed to honor the pathway of maiden to mother.
And in todays episode we will hear about her own journey from Maiden to Mother.
She and her partner did a lot of self healing, inner child work and breaking ancestral patterns alongside physical detoxing before conceiving their baby and deciding on having a home birth.
Curious about Emma? Find her on instagram as @emmamaidment_
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
The Love Conscious Family shares about their experience of Birthing in Bali with Robin Lim and in Spain.
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Melanie.
Melanie is a mama of 2 from Sweden, currently living in Spain.
She and her partner sold everything to travel the world 9 years ago and ended up birthing their babies in two different countries.
They are digital nomads known under the name of Love Conscious Family and have made a living out of sharing their alternative lifestyle online.
Their first baby was born in Bali through the birth center Bumi Sehat, run by Robin Lim, and their second baby was born in Spain where they currently live.
And in this episode we will hear Melanie share about their lifestyle and why they chose to home birth so far away from home.
Curious about Melanie? Find her on instagram as @loveconsciousfamily
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
An Intentional & Physiological Birth with Kat River
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kat River.
Kat is a mama of one from Western Australia.
She had yearned to be a mother for years before conceiving her son Rafi.
Because of this yearning she intentionally chose every aspect of the journey into parenthood, starting before her son was even conceived, then into conscious conception, pregnancy, home birth and intentional postpartum.
Before Kat became a mother, she was a relationship coach with her husband Tully running couples retreats & online programs. Now she mothers, writes and works on creative projects.
Kat is a huge advocate for conscious creation and creating opportunities for choice within motherhood.
Curious about Kat? Find her on instagram as @the.kat.river
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Conscious Conception and The Home Birth Story of Juliet Allen - Australias Leading Sexologist
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Juliet Allen.
Juliet a mama of two living in the Northern Rivers NSW Australia.
She is Australias leading Sexologist and the host of the Authentic Sex podcast and head teacher at Pleasure School.
In this episode we will dive deeply into her conscious conception journey and years of preparation and miscarriages with her partner Nick, as well as her first hospital birth with her daughter and then her more resent beautiful home birth with midwife Libby and her doula.
It’s not random that women have an empowering birth experience and a nourishing postpartum like Juliet did.
It takes planning and prepping body, mind and soul and in this episode Juliet shares it all to my delight!
Curious about Juliet? Find her on instagram as @juliet_allen or at www.juliet-allen.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Wild, Vocal and Primal Birth with Sam Kalawart
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sam
Sam is a mama of one from the US. She is a three-time Certified Breathwork Facilitator with 200+ hours of teacher training. She is also trained in Yoga Nidra Meditation and Energy Therapy.
She creates an experience in transformative healing using spiritual teachings, conscious breath work, somatic integration, meditation & energy work. She is deeply passionate for this work and has guided thousands of breathers in empowered transformation for the last 6 years.
And in this episode we will hear about her own empowering transformation from maiden to mother through her wild, vocal and primal birth experience.
Sam changed midwives 3 times during her pregnancy to find the right one for her home birth and she was guided by her intuition and spirit throughout.
She learnt through her birth that we are truly our own healers and that we can truly accomplish anything!
Curious about Sam? Find her on instagram as @samkalawart
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Swedish Home Birth Story
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Narin.
Narin is a mama of one from Sweden.
Her and her Italian husband Stefano decided to have a home birth with me and my home birth colleague Elisa about 4 months ago.
In this episode we will both weave our stories together, she as the birthing mama sharing her experience and me as her birth supporter and space holder.
Narin went from fearing birth to feeling absolutely invincible after birthing her baby in the safety of her home.
Curious about Narin? Find her on instagram as @pomperiposella
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Prodromal labour & Castor oil
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Amber Luna.
Amber is a mama of 3 from California.
She was a young mum of 17 with her first and 20 with her second and didn’t do much preparation and just followed the hospital and the standard medicalized birth route which she states were negative experiences.
When she fell pregnant with her new partner and husband she instantly knew she didn’t want another hospital birth and started searching for a birth center.
In todays episode she shares how after weeks of on and off contractions and prodromal labour she choose to take some caster oil on her due date and ended up starting her labour.
She had her dream water birth at the birth center while beautiful flute music filled the room.
Curious about Amber? Find her on Facebook as Amber Luna.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Taylors 3 Natural Births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Taylor
Taylor is a mama of 3 from New Jersey, USA.
She is a self proclaimed free spirit, lover of nature, baking, and an avid learner of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.
In this episode we will hear about her 3 natural births and the big difference between her first hospital birth, her second planned home birth becoming an accidental free birth and her third home birth assisted by her lovely known midwives.
Curious about Taylor? Find her on instagram as @heytay_tay
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Home Birth at 44 weeks
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Melissa.
Melissa is a mama of 3 from Irland and she’s a yoga and pilates teacher in Dublin.
She has a very special birth story to share with us.
Her first pregnancy went, according to her dating scan, to 44 weeks gestation.
A very rare occurrence, especially in our modern days of inductions at earlier and earlier gestations.
It’s a bit of a longer episode but I’m sure you’ll appreciate it.
Melissa had 3 home births with the same midwife and each one was uniquely different however the chunk of this episode will be dedicated to her first home birth at 44 weeks.
Curious about Melissa? Find her on instagram as @tummylovewithmelissa
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Registered Nurse Melanie choose Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Melanie.
Melanie is a registered nurse from the Sunshine Coast in Australia.
She has a passion for natural health and fitness and all things outdoors and is currently studying yoga and mindfulness with the hopes to open her own yoga studio for mums and babies in the future.
In this episode she shares why, as a medical professional, she chose home birth over hospital birth and her own natural and empowering birth at home.
Curious about Melanie? Find her on instagram as @Melaniejoy___
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Jane Hardwicke Collings - Birthing During a Crisis
Today is International Womens Day and I want to put out an extra episode with a conversation I just had with Jane Hardwicke Collings, a former midwife and the founder of the school of shamanic woman craft.
Jane is affected by the flooding in NSW, Australia but not as badly as my old home town and area of the Northern Rivers.
We both feel deeply for the community we know and love and want to offer our help to them, and to pregnant and birthing women from all over the world faced with war and natural disasters leaving them birthing in crisis.
This episode will go into the full process of labour and birth and how to keep it as safe and physiological as possible in the midst of crisis as well as instruction and guidance for All Women around the world to offer their moon blood to call in peace and safety for all sentient beings on this earth.
We ask you to please share this episode.
It will only take a minute of your time to share it on social media.
Today is International Womens Day.
We celebrate the strength, resilience and generosity of women.
I celebrate you for being a woman in my community.
I thank you for helping me help women in crisis by sharing this episode.
Blessings on your hearts
Want to connect with Jane.
Find her on Instagram as @janehardwickecollings
Find out about Mamatoto support for birth in crisis on instagram @hygieiahealthltd
Download Jane's Unassisted Birth Checklist >>> HERE
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Midwife's Advice on Birthing Unassisted - Special Episode
HOW TO BIRTH UNASSISTED - SPECIAL EPISODE
This episode is a response to the state of emergency that pregnant and birthing women are faced with around the world.
This episode was prompted by reports reaching me of women having to birth unassisted in underground shelters in the Ukraine due to the war and the natural flooding disaster that has happened the last week and still is happening on the east coast of Australia to my beloved community in Northern New South Wales.
My heart is broken to hear of the devastation in my old home town and area. And I want to help, so using this platform to spread some support.
Of course there are other conflicts and disasters around the world leaving women without birth support so this episode will be timeless to assist women faced with this situation.
This is NOT an exhaustive checklist on how to birth unassisted.
There is plenty more that can be shared.
But it is a basic guide, and a start and an attempt to support those who find themselves desperate and fearful of birthing alone.
Please share this episode far and wide so it might reach the mamas that are truly finding themselves in need of this support.
Thank you podcast community!
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
"If You don't Claim Your Birth, someone else will"
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emelie.
Emelie is a mama of two from Umeå, which is in the north of Sweden.
She is a freshly baked doula and I met her when she came to one of my Sacred Birth Worker Circles here in Stockholm.
She’s also a lover of ice bathing. She’s actually tried to invite me in joining her ice bathing but has had no success, yet…
In this episode we will dive into her two hospital births that she had before she got more birth savvy and decided to become a doula.
Her first birth did have some routine medical interventions that way too many women experience these days.
When you don’t do your research and prepare then it’s easy to get swept up in the flow and routines of the hospital or the care provider, which Emelie so wisely states in this episode.
So we do dive a little deeper than I normally do into this medicalized one to explore how these interventions might not have been needed and could have been avoided and why.
Then we continue to explore Emelie’s second labour and birth with her son where she had an empowering and natural birth.
She had educated herself this time around and got to experience her baby self attach to the breast and initiating breastfeeding.
The big take away I think from Emelies story is that you are ultimately in control over your experience of your birth. It’s less about what happens or doesn’t happen in the end and so much more about how you perceive it.
And at the end of the day you need to claim your birth, otherwise the risk is that someone else will.
Curious about Emelie? Find her on instagram as @doulandet
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Unassisted Breech Birth at Home
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Natalie.
Natalie is a mama of one from the US.
She is a chiropractor, a toxin free and juicing mama and the podcast host of the Igniting Consciousness podcast.
In this episode she shares her accidental unassisted breech birth at home. Now this is definitely not a story that you find many of. Natalie is quite the unicorn.
Breech babies are mostly delivered by caesarians now days as very few doctors and midwives are skilled and confident with breech and it has been seen as a more dangerous presentation since a faulty trial called the term breech trial was published in 2000.
And even though breech is now seen as a variation of normal, the skills of handling a breech birth has been lost due to this trial over 2 decades of believing vaginal breech birth was dangerous.
Today me and Natalie dive into her unassisted breech birth story and then go on a few different tangents about the burning of midwives and herstory, ultrasounds, taking responsibility for your choices in pregnancy, birth and beyond and claiming your sovereignty as a birthing woman.
Curious about Natalie? Find her on instagram as @drnataliehorine
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Daytime Undisturbed Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Julia Rose.
Julia Rose is a mother of two living on Darkinjung land on the NSW Central Coast.
She is a Palliative Care Nurse passionate about Natural Death Care and the ceremony and ritual of death as a rite of passage. She is a writer, an artist and a gardener and is passionate about permaculture and the cyclical nature of life, death, rebirth.
In this episode we will dive into her two births.
Her first which she intended to be a home birth but that needed to teach her something deeper about her self and brought her on a self healing and self discovery journey.
And her second that was a natural and healing undisturbed home birth in which she unlearnt so much conditioning and deeply connected her to her own inner wisdom. It was a beautiful daytime birth surrounded by her 3 year old, her husband and privately practicing midwives.
Curious about Julia Rose? Find her on instagram as @the.mother.bone
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Home Birth after Birth Trauma in the UK
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tanya
Tanya is a mama of two from London, UK.
She is an early years teacher with an interest in finding ways in which nature can be more fully a part of children’s lives. This uncovering of nature’s power to educate and strengthen our children helped inspire her to seek nature’s power in the birthing space too.
She planned a home birth for her first birth but ended up transferring to hospital as her labour stalled, something that we found when working through her birth trauma from her first birth in a one on one session with me, was due to the shifting of midwives and the feeling of anxiety and unsafety created by that new birth team that stepped into her home.
For her second birth Tanya reflected more deeply on what her personal needs were, worked through her birth trauma and fears with me and communicated her needs with her birth team, optimized her birth space and had the tools needed to meet birth from an empowered state.
She ended up having the most beautiful, empowering, natural home birth and this is the story we will focus on in this episode.
She hopes that her story can inspire others to find what makes them feel safe, held and secure when preparing for their own precious birth experience.
Come follow us on Instagram!
@thenaturalbirthpodcast
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in Germany
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Ksenia
Ksenia is a mum of 2 originally from the Ukraine, now living in Germany with her partner and daughters.
Today we will hear about her two births.
We will briefly touch on her first birth which was a medical induction due to being considered overdue by the medical establishment that took 3days as her body wasn’t ready to labour and birth.
Ksenia experienced this birth as traumatic and so when she fell pregnant again she chose to have a home birth and to do all in her power to educate herself and prepare herself for a natural birth, including taking The Natural Birth Course.
Her second birth ended up being a natural and physiological home birth just like she had wished and worked so hard for. The birth was life-changing according to Ksenia and what’s interesting about her story is that her labour process was very unique in its unfolding, a birth story that really surprised me.
Her empowering home birth healed her previous birth trauma and made her inspired to start a blog about natural pregnancy, birth & raising kids.
Curious about Ksenia? Find her on insta as @naturalbirthblog.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Atlanta Birth Center Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emma.
Emma is a mum of one from Atlanta USA.
She had a 31hr natural and empowering labour and ended up birthing at a birth center with her partner, mother, midwives and a doula by her side.
Emma feel like her support system was amazing and that her doula was vital in helping facilitate her positive birth experience.
In this episode we talk about coping mechanisms in labour, vaginal examinations, anterior lips, laboring in water and so much more.
Curious about Emma? Find her on instagram as @emmalongdotcom
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Fiona finally had her Empowering Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Fiona
Fiona is a mum of 3 boys.
Her five year old and her 2.5 year old were both born in the UK, and her (at the time of the recording) 14 week old Hamish, was born at home in Australia.
Fiona is a birth and postnatal doula, a hypnobirthing childbirth educator and runs the positive birth program and local pregnancy and postnatal support groups in her hometown of Ballina in NSW Australia.
She is committed to supporting families through pregnancy, birth and early parenthood and helping them to do this in an informed, empowered and supported way.
She recently had a gorgeous, empowering and fully supported birth at home with her family around her, bearing witness to their newest member of the family joining them earthside.
She was attended by her midwife Libby who’s previously been on the podcast sharing her birth stories, and a Doula.
In this episode we will hear about all of her three births today the focus on the last home birth with Hamish.
Curious about Fiona? Find her on insta as @bumps_birth_and_beyond
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
How to Minimize your Baby's Toxic Load
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have a special episode about toxin free living for a healthy conception, pregnancy and ultimately a healthy and as much as possible toxin free baby.
In this episode I speak to Deborah who is a renowned interior design consultant, author, educator and pioneer of the ethical/wellness design movement.
Her company, DiMare Design, is the only 100% cruelty-free design consulting firm specializing in the creation of organic, optimal spaces, and sourcing vegan textiles and sustainable furniture that bear zero-to-low toxins.
Deborah also heads vegandesign.org, where she educates consumers and designers about humane and healthy design.
Now I consider myself a conscious shopper and always choose organic and fair-trade as much as possible when available, but I must say that our chat was very enlightening and there were things in my house I had never thought about as potential health hazards.
As a midwife I know the importance of detox in order to optimize a successful conception, and potentially a more smoother pregnancy as well as to minimize the toxic load you give to your baby via the placenta.
But Deborah gives so much more information with her expertise and I love that I can bring you this information on the natural birth podcast.
Curious about Deborah? Find her on instagram as @deborahdimare
Want to access Deborahs Toxic Free Nursery Course at a discount?
Go to https://dimaredesign.com/nurseries-kids/
Enter coupon ANNA25 for 25% off!
Deborahs links as mentioned in the episode
Here is a link to the nursery page with articles etc https://vegandesign.org/nurseries-kids
Here is a link to the shop https://vegandesign.org/vegan-furniture-cruelty-free-home-decor
Here is a link to buckwheat pillow; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mpzZ8L4bQk&t=77s
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing on Tom Hanks Houseboat
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Annemieke.
Annemieke is a mum of one from San Francisco where she lives on Tom Hanks old houseboat with her husband and baby.
She’s the founder of Golden Glow Mama - a holistic health community helping women nurture their bodies so their bodies will nurture their baby.
Today we get to hear about how she birthed her 9 pound baby girl in water on water on the houseboat she and her husband renovated themselves.
She hopes by sharing her story to inspire other first time mums to take a leap of faith into the most unknown territory they will ever experience, birth.
Curious about Annemieke? Find her on instagram as @annemieke.umberg
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
"Just the Act of Leaving Home is Unnatural"
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Anna
Anna is a mum of 2 from the UK now living in the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden.
When Anna fell pregnant with her first she wanted a home birth but couldn’t afford a midwife so chose to birth in the hospital.
Annas labour and birth with her first could and was seen from the onlookers perspective like a natural and straight forward birth, but not to Anna.
Just the act of leaving ones house felt unnatural to Anna and many things that unfolded during her pregnancy and labour and birth she wish was different in hindsight.
So when she fell pregnant again she chose a wild pregnancy and to free birth in her home.
She then went on to become a radical birth keeper to assist women choosing to birth outside of the system.
Curious about Anna? Find her on instagram as @turtlegoddessbirth
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
The Magic of Surrendering to Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Lonneke.
Lonneke is a mum of one from The Netherlands.
She grew up with a mother and in a culture that saw birth and home birth as a normal and natural choice for women, so when Lonneke fell pregnant she started searching for a midwifery practice with the same strong beliefs in women’s bodies and intuition as she had.
Today we will hear about her amazing ability in trusting her body and birth, and her capacity to fully surrender to the life force of birth coming through her.
Let’s listen in to Lonneke’s story of having a very quick, unattended water birth at home.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Your Care Provider Matters when it comes to having a Natural Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Amanda
Amanda is a mum of 2 from Virginia, USA.
She planned to have a natural birth with both her babies, the first cared for by an obstetrician and her second with midwives.
And though she had prepared for and wanted a natural birth with her first she ended up going down the medicalized route guided by her OB.
The second time around she changed practitioners until she found the right fit where she felt safe and whom she trusted.
And with midwives at her service she had the natural birth she had envisioned.
It has actually been found that women who plan to birth at home has a far higher normal birth rate at 90% compared to the women birthing in the hospital which is at 60%.
To birth with midwives compared to obstetricians has similar stats.
This is important to consider when choosing your care provider.
You can be fully prepared and believe in natural birth but if your care provider or the culture at the hospital doesn’t have the same you have a bigger chance of not having the natural birth you want.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
”I had the Birth I was Meant to Have”
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Keezia
Keezia is a mum of one from New Zealand now living in Australia.
She is a women’s coach unlocking women’s abundance in inspired action to expand their business, radiance, pleasure and love through her program The Devoted Woman.
And today we will listen to her free birthing story that took a different turn than planned, and how in the end Keezia had the birth she was always ment to have to prepare her for motherhood and beyond.
In the episode we mention Keezias Birth Video. If you’re curious, you can find the link to her YouTube video in the show notes.
Curious about Keezia? Find her on instagram as @keezialeigh
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Taking Back what was Always her Birth Right, to Birth Naturally
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Lizzie
Lizzie is a mama of one from South Carolina USA, and she’s also a pregnancy counselor for an adoption agency.
In this episode, Lizzie will share about her empowering hospital birth story.
How she started out from a place of fear and thinking she’d never have a natural birth to understanding how this powerful rite of passage that is birth has been taken from us as women, and realizing that we can all birth our baby naturally.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Shamanic Birth with a Plot Twist
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Abby
Abby is a mama of one from Perth Australia.
She is a Tantric and Kundalini Yoga Teacher and Modern Mystic.
In todays episode we dive deeply into Abbys very shamanic birth process.
She very vividly shares with us her birth process of meeting ancestral trauma passed down through her matriarchal lineage and how she truly understood, in hindsight, how Surrender was the Key to Birth and that she needed to fullt let go of the Warrioress and fully embrace the power in surrendering to the life force energy wanting to come through her, and birth through her.
Curious about Abby? Find her on instagram as @abby.branson
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Being the Daughter of a Lineage of Home Birthing Afghan Women
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sabrina.
Sabrina is now a mama of 2, but at the time of this recording she was still pregnant with her second.
In this episode we will therefor only hear about her first home birth.
However I can report the second one was also an empowering natural home birth.
Maybe we need to get her back on the podcast to share about that soon too.
Sabrina lives on a farm in west Colorado, but her heritage is from Afghanistan and she comes from a lineage of home birthing women.
So when Sabrina fell pregnant, birthing at home and birthing naturally was a given.
She’s a nurse, and an avid supporter of empowering birth, especially after her own empowering experience which we will hear all about in this episode.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing by the Sacred Mountain
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tahlia.
Tahlia is a mama of two from NSW, Australia. She is a Clinical Nutritionist with a special interest in women's health.
She has an interesting story about how she prepared to become pregnant with over a year of preconception preparation.
Today we will speak to her conscious pre conception preparation, her first birth at 14 weeks to her spirit baby and then to her two home births to her two living children.
She birthed both of her sons into the world at her rainforest home at the base of the sacred mountain Wollumbin, with independent midwives.
And as of this year, 2021, Tahlia has released her first book "Nourishing Those Who Nurture" - More than A Food Bible for New Mums. This book shares wellness advice for birth preparation, postpartum support and is full of delicious recipes for the first weeks, months and years. I can’t wait to read this book as it’s on the way over to Sweden as we speak.
Curious about Tahlia? Find her on insta as @nourishingthosewhonurture
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Natural Birth Center Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sarah.
Sarah is a mama of one from New Jersey, USA.
Before falling pregnant Sarah was terrified of labour and thought that the only way to birth was to give her power away to a doctor, take the drugs and wake up with a baby.
However when she fell pregnant she educated herself, listened to natural birth stories and used the power of a positive mindset to go from fearing labour to visualizing and living out her own dream birth in a birth center.
There are as many ways to birth a baby as there are women on this planet.
The most important thing is that the woman birthing feels empowered throughout her experience, and Sarah felt just that.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
California Dreaming Come True. Olivia visioned her Quick Home Water Birth to a tee.
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Olivia.
Olivia is a mum of one from San Diego, California.
She has a MA degree in Spiritual Psychology, is a practicing Reiki Master and has been in the health and healing industry for over a decade.
In today’s episode we talk about her natural pregnancy and quick and intense home water birth at 39 years old.
We dive into topics like sovereignty and how nothing that is offered during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum is law and ”you don’t have to do anything” just because it is portrayed like that by care providers.
Olivia shares about the importance to her of honoring her own inner voice above all else, something that really grew stronger as she fell pregnant and through the transformational event that is birth.
She sees her birth as a gift that transformed her perception of fear, pain, and what she now knows she is capable of in this lifetime.
Being forever changed by this experience she is inspired to share her birth story with others so that they may know what is possible.
Curious about Olivia? Find her at @yogaliv
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Keari went from Medicalized Births in the Hospital to Free Birthing her 5th Baby at home!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Keari
Keari is a mum of 5 with a wealth of knowledge of the whole range of birth options available to the modern woman.
She started out as a young uninformed woman choosing the most common option in our modern age, an obstetrician and the medicalized route, being induced and experiencing a range of interventions with her first pregnancies, births and babies.
As she experienced the negative effects of over medicalized pregnancies and births, she started to educate herself and ended up choosing to radically claim her pregnancy, birth and her birth space by free birthing her 5th baby.
Listen to her journey going from the extremes of the birthing spectrum - over medicalization to free birth, on todays episode.
Curious about Keari? Find her on insta as @merakibumpsandbabes
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Having an Empowered Birth Voice in the Hospital helped Jami achieve her Dream Birth!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jami
Jami is a mum of 3 from the US.
Her first birth was 7 years ago and at that point she didn’t really prepare for her birth and ended up having a standard medicalized hospital birth with an epidural that gave her negative side effects. When she fell pregnant again she had a lot of fear about birthing again, but realized what she really feared was the epidural.
The second time around she educated herself and prepared body, mind and soul for a natural birth but still ended up having medical interventions that, in hindsight, she would have declined knowing what she knows now.
Her husband said that she educated and prepared herself for her third birth like it was her first ever.
And her preparation paid off. Her third bubba was born just a few weeks ago and she finally had the birth she wanted all along.
She had a birth voice the whole way through and spoke up and advocated for herself so that she could have the birth she wanted.
It was the most incredible and empowering experience of her life.
And we get to hear all about it, in todays episode!
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Nature Medicine for Pre-Conception, Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Monica The Organic Naturopath Monica is a mum of one from Australia.
She is a naturopath and nutritionist and in this episode she will be sharing her wealth of knowledge with us in helping us learn all the medicine nature has in store for us.
We will dive into herbs, steams, mushrooms and tinctures for pre conception and how to prepare your body vessel to carry a child, pregnancy remedies and how to prepare for birth and postpartum healing and nurturing herbs for all mamas! It is a jammed packed episode, do bring out paper and pen and be ready to listen to this one a few times to get all the gems Monica is popping out left right and centre!
Curious about Monica? Find her at www.theorganicnaturopath.com
BONDING WITH BABY MEDITATION https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqNwPQ_h6u4
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Natural Hospital Birth in Sweden
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have one of my oldest friends, Sanna.
Our mothers were best friends and so were we, on and off throughout our childhood and teenage years, as you do.
And today we get to hear her sweet hospital birth story with her first born.
And Sanna is actually pregnant again!
And I hope to be much more involved in her pregnancy and birth journey this time around as I am actually moving back to Sweden! (more on that in the episode).
Now enjoy this beautiful episode with my dear friend Sanna.
Sanna is a mum of one and an artist from Stockholm, Sweden.
She started her labour at one of the most unusual places, as labour and birth doesn’t care about big occasions or convenient schedules.
In this episode we get to hear about her natural and empowering hospital birth.
Curious about Sanna? Find her on instagram as @artbysanna.se
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birth as catalyst for Healing and Self Growth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sarah.
Sarah is a mum of 3 from New Zealand.
She is a birth and postpartum doula, coach and ceremonialist.
Sarah's own births were a catalyst for her own healing and self growth and put her on the path of supporting other mothers in remembering their sacredness, intuition and strength.
In todays episode we get to hear about her 3 births in Australia.
Her first ended up being a medical event against her wishes, which guided her to employ an independent midwife when she fell pregnant again.
And by now, if you listened to last Sundays episode, you know that midwife.
Libby Lamb was Sarahs midwife for her two natural and empowering births after her hospital birth.
Curious about Sarah? Find her on insta as @sarahholroydhill
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Libby the Midwife's Super Fast Births!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have my dear midwife colleague and friend Libby.
Libby is a mama of 3 from NSW, Australia.
She is an independent, endorsed midwife in the Byron Shire and surroundings, and in my opinion the best.
Libby has incredibly fast births.
Her first baby was born in the car on the way to the hospital, her second was monitored in hospital due to her history of fast births and her third was finally, as she had wanted all along, in her home.
Her planned home birth was the best decision she have ever made.
So, today dear listener you get to her from Libby, a midwife with over 25 years of experience and a mama of 3!
Curious about Libby? Find her at www.midwifelibby.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Radical Self Responsibility in the Birth Space. Emily's Free Birth Story.
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have a returning mama, Emily.
Emily came on the podcast in November 2020 and shared about her two first births in the episode ”Why going with an Independent Midwife was the answer to Emily’s Positive Home Birth Story!”
In this episode we will hear about how Emily and her partner came to the decision to chose a free birth and the radical self responsibility they practiced throughout her pregnancy and birth.
Emily is an early childhood educator and doula with a passion for conscious parenting and natural birth. And she has just released her online course ”The Conscious Caregiver”.
Curious about Emily? Find her on insta as @consciousmothersgroup
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Healing Ancestral Wounds through Birth and choosing Life after Miscarriage
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Joanna
Joanna is a mum of 3, 2 living children and a baby who left already in the first trimester.
She’s originally from Poland but now lives in the UK.
She works as a project manager for a building control company, however she has now trained to be an NLP and Hypnobirthing coach..
Joanna had her first daughter 10 years ago in a medicalized birth she describes as traumatic.
In this episode we talk about the healing journey she took after that birth which went farther than her own traumatic birth and ended up reaching far back into her ancestral linage and beyond.
When she was finally ready to get pregnant again after 8 years she ended up having a miscarriage that spiraled her into a deep depression before she had her turning point and decided to live and be happy.
That’s when her and her partner decided to try again and finally fell pregnant to her baby girl that she birthed just 3 weeks ago.
This baby was born at home, in water, while Joannas 10 year old daughter was watching.
Throughout Joannas story, the healing of the feminine is a red thread. From the healing of her matriarchal linage, to gifting her daughter the gift of both witnessing a miscarriage and understanding that death too is part of life and then witnessing her mother in her sovereign power birthing her baby sister.
Curious about Joanna? Find her on instagram as @here.and.now.joanna
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
First baby at 40!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Karlyn.
Karlyn is a mum of one from NSW, Australia.
She specializes in guiding people through transformational processes drawing upon her training in breath work mastery, life coaching, yoni mapping therapy, tantric bodywork and sacred sexuality, yoga and conscious birth.
She is also a trained doula.
So not only do we get to hear about her first and only home birth at 40 years old, but also her rich wisdom as a doula in the birth space.
Curious about Karlyn? Find her at www.sacred-alchemy.com.au
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Choosing to become a Mother Later in Life
Bubaloo is a mama of 2 living children from NSW, Australia.
She is a boundary crossing artist, de-colonising advocate, access bars practitioner and an organic gardener.
And today she will speak to her 6 pregnancies and 2 full term births to her son and daughter.
Bubaloo was late in deciding to become a mother.
Not until her 36th year did she come to the decision that she wanted to have children.
A big part of that might have been the result of the early terminations and miscarriages she experienced in her early 20s.
Today she will so graciously walk us through her story of conceiving, terminating, miscarrying and finally birthing her babies at 36 and 40 years old.
Curious about Bubaloo? Find her at www.bubaloofahyiwitness.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Early Pregnancy Loss. A natural and heartbreaking part of being the keeper of a womb.
Trigger Warning: Early Pregnancy Loss
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have a different kind of birth story.
Today me and the beautiful Amy that I will soon introduce will talk about early miscarriage.
Miscarriage is more common than we think.
And even though it is rapidly changing the way we as women relate to our bodies, our monthly bleed, our sexuality, pregnancy and birth, we rarely talk openly about miscarriage and especially not the early miscarriages.
About 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage.
But the actual number is likely much higher because many miscarriages occur so early in pregnancy that women might not even realize she was pregnant to begin with.
They may just think they are having a heavy period.
If this happens to you, you might have cramping, heavier bleeding than normal, pain in the tummy, pelvis or back, and feel weak.
I believe that in order to fully reclaim our power and sovereignty as women we need to reclaim our bleed, the cycles we flow through and to speak openly and honestly about all the facets of being the custodian of a womb.
So I was very honored by Amy reaching out about wanting to bring her early miscarriage and the wisdom and deep healing she gained through this most natural experience of many women lives and journey to become a parent.
Amy is a Dancer, Spiritual Director, and Ordained Christian Minister from Missouri, USA. She teaches others to unlock the wisdom of their bodies through movement, storytelling, and music. And today, through her vulnerable and generous share we get to talk in-depth about the experience of early miscarriage.
Curious about Amy? Find her on insta as @ashoebox
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Remembering Birth
Freya is a mother of 3 from Australia.
She is a birth keeper and the host of the podcast Remembering birth that she got inspired to start after her free birth.
Today we will hear about her first natural hospital birth, her second home birth with a hospital visit and finally her romantic conception of her third baby and how she chose to fully free birth her third.
Curious about Freya? Find her on instagram as @rememberingbirth
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Mother's Day Special!
Happy Mothers Day beautiful Mamas out there!
May you be fully loved up as the goddess you are!
Today is not only the celebration of all the Mamas in the world but also the one year anniversary of The Natural Birth Podcast!
Happy Birth Day to The Natural Birth Podcast!
I can’t believe it has been a year!
6 Seasons and 60+ episodes!
And Over 34K listeners!
What a ride.
And what amazing stories we’ve heard.
54 women have shared their birth stories with us and they have all brought pearls of wisdom in the form of sharing their unique way of preparing for birth and their embodied experience.
And today beautiful mamas and birth nerds!
I have cherry picked from all the pearls of wisdom and advice given from all the mamas on the podcast!
Yes!
This episode is fully packed with birth wisdom after birth wisdom from women from all over the world.
It’s all in there.
All the advice you could ever wish for from some of the most amazing and wise women and birth workers in the world!
If this podcast episode brings you as much value as I hope and truly believe it will, then please give me the gift of appreciation and like the natural birth podcast on iTunes and leave a comment.
The comments warms my heart and fuels my fire to bring more of this beautiful content to you all, and it also helps to spread the podcast to mamas who might not have found it yet!
Now enjoy this gem of an episode.
Download it to your library and listen to over and over again.
Especially if you are pregnant!
This episode can be a perfect complement to your birth playlist to listen to the early hours of labour and birth.
40% MOTHER’S DAY DISCOUNT!
Coupon code MOTHERSDAY
Mothers day discount:
https://www.thenaturalbirthcourse.com/offers/jjcrJwLF?coupon_code=MOTHERSDAY
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in her True Power
Rachael Rose is a mum of 2 from NSW, Australia.
She is a writer, women's circle facilitator, doula and passionate supporter of the innate wisdom of mothers and babies.
In this episode we will hear about her two births that completely transformed her.
Her first became a medicalized event in the hospital against Racheals wishes, and through the birth trauma a fire was ignited and Racheal dove into all things birth and sacred woman’s work.
Today we will focus on her second empowering and natural home birth where she truly was birthing in her power and I had goosebumps throughout this interview.
So many golden nuggets for you mamas in this one for sure.
Curious about Racheal Rose? Find her on instagram as @the_racheal_rose
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
1/3 women home birth in The Netherlands. Nathalie is one of them.
Nathalie is a mum on one from the Netherlands.
I know Nathalie from our monthly online mamas sharing circle and have followed her throughout her pregnancy and it’s so wonderful to now take part in her birth story.
The Netherlands has one of the highest percentages of home birth in the world. Around 30% of dutch women give birth at home. It’s really common and no big deal there.
Isn’t it fascinating how different it is around the world?
And of course, today we will hear Nathalies home birth story.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Dream Home Birth after Healing Birth Trauma
Today we have Amanda
Amanda is a mum of 2 from Sweden and she is a MindBody therapist and spiritual coach.
I had the honor of assisting Amanda in her healing of her birth trauma from her first birth, in the lead up to her second birth, through one on one birth trauma healing and debriefing session.
It’s important to understand why things unfold as they do and to allow yourself to fully meet all the sensations and emotions trapped within that memory in your body, mind and soul to fully be able to let it go.
And its even more important to deal with fears and previous traumas before your next birth so that you don’t end up bringing it in to your birth space.
If you feel like you would like some loving space held for you as you work through previous birth trauma then please visit my website www.sacredbirthinternational.com or contact me directly.
I am so pleased that Amanda was able to work through her birth trauma and the fears coming up before her birth and that she ended up having a wonderful home birth for her second.
Curious about Amanda? Find her at www.amandarandau.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Freebirthing in Nature
Isabella is a mum of 4 from Byron Bay, Australia.
She is a shamanic drum maker and aspiring doula.
Today we will hear about her 3 birth centre births and her last birth, which was a free birth in nature.
Last week we heard the birth stories of Ashley who choose to free birth due to not being able to find a care provider willing to assist her at her home birth.
Today we get to hear the other side of free birthing.
The one where a woman and her partner chooses to free birth and wanting not to be attended by a midwife or a doctor.
Isabella birthed her last baby on land, in water, together with her partner as the only other person present to welcome their daughter earth side.
You can watch her free birthing video on YouTube via link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Q-viWEZSk
Curious about Isabella? Find her on instagram as @luminosalchemy22
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Freebirthing after 2 Caesarians
Ashley is a mother of three from QLD, Australia.
She is the founder of the motherhood circle and the VBAC home birth stories podcast and today she will share her own VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarian) freebirth story.
We will start by exploring the reasons to her first two caesarians and the wisdom she gained through and from her birth trauma within the medicalized hospital system.
We will then dive in to her VBAC freebirth story.
Ashley never intended to freebirth, but due to her co:morbidities and being considered high risk, she couldn’t find a midwife willing to assist her in a VBAC home birth.
More and more women choose to freebirth due to not being able to find a care provider that will assist them on their terms, or not trusting the maternity system.
I believe it is important to share these stories and for the maternity system to realize that it’s failing women.
Women are sovereign beings and birth, no matter whether you are considered high or low risk, should be a respected rite of passage and a woman’s choices honored and followed.
Curious about Ashley find her at www.themotherhoodcircle.com.au or check out her podcast The VBAC Homebirth Stories Podcast.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Star had 2 home births almost 20 years apart
Star is a mama of 2 from Byron, Australia.
She is a nervous system specialist and woman’s work facilitator and a good friend of mine. And I’ve wanted her to share her two home birth stories for a long time.
Star had her two daughters almost 20 years apart. Her first daughter in her early 20s and her second daughter in her late 30s.
Today we talk about her beautiful births and the importance of fear release, not only for the mama to be but also for her partner and support people.
Curious about Star? Find her at www.stardespres.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Jackie had a Natural Birth at the OB Clinic
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jackie.
Jackie is a mum of one from Florida, USA, and at the time of recording only 2 weeks postpartum!
She and her husband decided to go off birth control and try for a baby during the lockdowns in 2020 and ended up falling pregnant almost immediately.
Jackie decided to go with a OB clinic, and even though they didn’t believe that she would have a natural birth they supported her wishes.
Jackie shares her birth preparations with us today and her strong belief in her own ability to birth her baby naturally. And with that belief in combination with a supportive OB and husband, as well as an unusual early labour process, Jackie ended up having an empowering and natural birth in the hospital.
Curious about Jackie? Find her on instagram as @_jax_
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
All you need to know about Breastfeeding!
Today we have Katie!
Katie is a lactation consultant and midwife with exceptional breastfeeding knowledge.
She is also the co host of The Midwives Cauldron Podcast with Rachel Reed that I interviewed previously in this season.
And it’s such an honor to have her on for a bonus episode ALL about breastfeeding!
She is giving you so much amazing information in an easy to digest format that will make a world of difference on your breastfeeding journey!
Get your pen and paper out. You might want to take some notes!
Curious about Katie? Find her on instagram as @themidwivescauldron
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in a Traditional Japanese Birthing House
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Vicky.
Vicky is a mum of one originally from Germany, now living in Japan.
She arrived in Japan at three months pregnant with her husband, and at that time she new very little about giving birth and she noticed that very few of the hospital staff spoke English so she quickly realized she needed to do her own research about birth, which lead her into learning about natural birth.
And at 6 months pregnant, Covid-19 and lockdown happened and she was faced with the fact that most Japanese hospitals wouldn’t allow her partner, or any support people, to be present at the birth.
She therefor searched for an alternative way of birthing where her partner could be present, and found a traditional Japanese birth centre.
In this episode we get to hear about how that decision, and her research and practice of meditation, visualization, affirmations etc, lead to Vicky giving birth peacefully to her daughter, Via Yuna in a traditional Japanese house with her partner.
Curious about Vicky? Find her on instagram as @pregnantinjapan
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Tori had an Accidental Home Birth and Loved It!
Today we have Tori
Tori is mom of two from Calgary, Canada.
In this episode we will hear about her two natural birth stories.
Her first ended up being an unplanned home birth and it went so well that the second was a planned home birth.
Her experiences led her to write a book called Ready to Unpop, which aims to normalize the less popular practices surrounding birth including home birth, doulas and midwives.
Curious about Tori? Find her at readytounpop.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
International Birth Mentor Maha al Musa shares her 3 Natural Births
Maha is a mother of 3 from northern NSW, Australia.
She is originally Palestinian which has informed her work in the world as an award-winning International Birth Mentor, Author, Speaker and Independent Childbirth Educator.
In today’s episode we will hear about her 3 natural births.
Her first being a premature birth at 34 weeks and her second and third being home births.
She had a water lotus birth with her third child when she was 46, and has been featured in several worldwide media outlets such as the Discovery Channel, CNN International, and many more for her strong stance on natural term breastfeeding.
Curious about Maha? Find out more at mahaalmusa.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
First Time Mama Dionne had a Trancelike Natural Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Dionne.
Dionne is a mama of 1 from Indiana, USA.
She was extremely fearful of childbirth in the beginning of her pregnancy, but by going with a continuity of care midwifery program where she met the same midwives throughout her pregnancy, birth and postpartum as well as going to a counsellor to deal with her fears she ended up feeling calm and excited to go into labour.
After working through her fears and preparing for her birth she ended up having an empowering, trancelike natural birth, the birth we are going to hear about today.
Curious about Dionne? Find her on instagram as @dionne.myers1
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Successful Natural Birth Story during Covid-19
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tayler.
Tayler is a mum of two living on a boat in Brunswick river in NSW, Australia.
She is a qualified nurse and doula and supports women throughout their pregnancy and postpartum as well as with Ayurvedic pregnancy massage.
Tayler became a doula even before having her own children. So when the day came that she fell pregnant she already had a dream birth vision and knew what she wanted from her birth experience.
Today we will hear about her two birth centre births, as a small boat wasn’t and ideal place for birthing. Her most recent birth took place during the covid pandemic and in this episode we get to hear another positive story in these crazy lock down times.
Curious about Tayler? Find her at www.natalhealth.com.au
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Jessie had a Natural Hospital Birth during a Pandemic
Jessie is a mum of two from Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
She is a middle school Spanish teacher and also training to be a doula.
She is interested in the anthropological study of birthing traditions around the world and passionate about promoting and supporting natural birth. In todays episode we will hear about her two natural births.
Her second baby was born just a few months ago during the corona pandemic.
She had a lot against her (as many of you out there have had and are facing right now) and struggled with the isolation and regulation changes which made her so nervous to birth this time around.
But with the help of The Natural Birth Podcast (her words not mine :D), and being her amazing self, she had her second natural hospital birth despite all of the craziness.
Curious about Jessie? Find her on Facebook as Jessie Medlicott
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Sara went from wanting a C/S out of Fear of a painful birth to having an Empowering Natural Water Birth!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sara.
Sara is a mother of two from Sweden.
She and her husband run a retreat center in the countryside called Shawake, where they facilitate workshops and retreats in Shamanism, Awakening, Yoga and Meditation.
Today we will dive into her dream birth with her daughter that also was a reclaiming of birth for Sara. Her first birth was a long and excruciating experience where her home birth turned into a medicated hospital birth.
When she found out she was pregnant again she considered having a caesarean out of fear that this birth too would be long and excruciating.
After debriefing her first birth with me and understanding why it was so painful and long as well as understanding how she could optimize her chances of having an easier natural birth this time around through the natural birth course she decided to try it.
Today she tells us the success story of birthing her little baby girl naturally in water and feeling so empowered in doing so.
Curious about Sara? Find her at shawake.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Reclaiming Birth as a Rite of Passage - with Rachel Reed
Welcome to Season 5!
Today we have Rachel Reed.
Rachel is a mum of two and a midwife and doctor of philosophy committed to the promotion of physiological birth and women’s rights.
She has just finished her book ”Reclaiming childbirth as a rite of passage: weaving ancient wisdom with modern knowledge” which I can't wait to read. And today we get to hear about her two birth stories (one medicalized one and one natural home birth) and take part of her embodied knowledge on reclaiming birth as a rite of passage.
There are plenty of laughs in this episode and some real gems of birth wisdom!
Curious about Rachel? Find out more at @midwifethinking on insta or her blog MidwifeThinking.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Natural Therapist Rita shares her top Tinctures and Herbs for a Smooth Birth!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have the Natural Therapist Rita sharing her natural birth story.
Rita is the author of Hippies in the City and Hippie Mamas and also a mama of one, living in Sydney Australia.
As a natural therapist she will be giving us so much more than just the birthing wisdom from her natural birth.
She shares what herbs and tinctures she recommends and used herself to prepare for a smooth and natural labour and birth.
Curious about Rita? Find her on Instagram as @hippiemamas or @hippiesinthecity
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in a Mobile Home on Wheels
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kristin.
Kristin is a mama of two, originally from Sweden (Actually from a little village where my father grew up called Gislaved, it's such a small world!).
However she is now living in QLD Australia with her little family in a mobile home on wheels.
Today we will hear about how she found a home birth midwife even before she conceived her first baby, and then how she had a long labour at home with her first and then another long labour in her little mobile home on wheels.
Listen in to hear how she endured these two long labour naturally, due to posterior babies, and how she found them empowering and positive.
Curious about Kristin? Find her on FB as Kristin Scherdin
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Kiwi Mama Sarah shares her Unique ways of Coping with Intense Labour and Birth Sensations
In today’s episode of The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sarah!
Sarah is originally from Aotearoa, New Zeeland but is now living with her family in Byron Bay, Australia, where she also birthed her 2 babies in the local birth centre.
Sarah is a designer and the founder of Bon Bola, necklaces for pregnancy.
Inspired by ancient mamas wisdom, bola necklaces were traditionally worn by pregnant mamas to help soothe and bring contentment to both mama and bubba.
Today we will dive into her birthing wisdom having birthed two babies naturally in a birth centre with the same midwifery team.
She has some very unique ways of coping with the intense labour and birth sensations that I am sure you will find interesting and helpful.
Curious about Sarah? Find her on Instagram as @bonbola
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Chiro and Lactation Consultants Birth Wisdom
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Stephanie.
Stephanie is a mother of two from San Diego, USA.
She is a chiropractor and lactation consultant and the podcast host of The Holistic Parents Podcast.
Today we get to listen to her birthing wisdom that she has gained after going through a miscarriage, a home birth turn medicalized hospital birth and finally a successful home birth where her husband caught her baby on the toilet.
Stephanie is a wealth of knowledge both as a professional and as a birthing mother and she shares some valuable wisdom with us all today.
Curious about Stephanie? Find her on Instagram as @drstephlibs
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Why going with an Independent Midwife was the answer to Emily's Positive Home Birth Story!
Thinking that there is no difference between public and private midwives practice? Think again.
Emily learned the hard way with her first baby what the difference is and shares freely in this podcast about the wisdom she gained and how she changed from a publicly funded midwife to an independently practicing private midwife.
Emily is a mother of two from Perth, Western Australia. She is a doula, a podcast host of the heymumma podcast and she also holds conscious mothers groups in Perth. Today we are going to hear about her 2 births.
Her first didn’t end up going the way she was hoping as she was faced with her care providers policies and guidelines and wasn’t supported in the way she would have wanted to birth her baby. We will touch upon this first birth and what wisdom she took away from it while then focusing on her second birth that was an empowering home birth.
Curious about Emily? Find her on instagram as @consciousmothersgroup. Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Experiencing an Altered State of Mind through Undisturbed, Physiological Birth
In todays episode we will hear about Judy's two water birth stories.
One a home birth in the UK and one a hospital birth in Australia.
Judy is a midwife and a teacher and practitioner of woman’s mysteries and a mother of two from Australia.
Judy gives us an insight, by her own lived experience, of the subtle but great difference of an undisturbed, physiological home birth vs a seemingly straight forward natural water birth in hospital.
How the environment, her care providers and the people around her had a great impact on her birthing experience and how her experience of an altered state of consciousness only happened during her first undisturbed home birth.
Curious about Judy? Find her on instagram as @Artemis_Rising7
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Empowering Vaginal Breech Birth in Hospital!
Jazzy is a single mum of one from NSW Australia.
Jazzy left a violent relationship at 5 months pregnant, choosing to be a single mum and ended up having an empowering vaginal breech birth in the hospital with her mother, midwife and sister at her side.
She says that her birth experience totally changed her whole existence. That she went from girl to woman as she birthed her baby and realized she can do anything.
She is now passionate about birth, has become a doula and is aiming to become a midwife in the near future.
Curious about Jazzy. Find her in instagram as @diary.of.a.single.mum
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing your Baby can be a Pleasurable Experience
In today's episode we get to hear from Andrea, a mother of two from Sweden.
Her first birth was a medicalized birth that initiated her interest in doula work and what home birth could be like. She ended up pursuing her interest and became a doula and prenatal yoga teacher and for her second birth, the birth we will explore today, she had an empowering home birth where she even experienced the bearing down process of birthing her baby as pleasurable.
Andrea is a doula, prenatal yoga teacher and birth preparation instructor in Stockholm, Sweden.
If you’re curious about her you can find out more on instagram @doulabyyourside.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Third Time's a Charm. Kira finally had her Dream Home Water Birth
In todays episode we meet Kira, a mum of 3 from Victoria, who will share her birthing journey from an emergency caesarian, to a hospital VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarian) and finally to a dream water home birth.
I know Kira from The Natural Birth Course and have been looking forward to hearing her story. I am so very happy that she finally had her dream birth that she prepared so hard to have and that she wanted to share her birthing wisdom with all of you.
Curios about Kira? Find her on facebook as Kira Phillips.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Midwife's Top Tips on How to have a Nourishing Postpartum
The postpartum is often overlocked in excitement for the upcoming labour and birth.
But to prepare for the postpartum is equally important, if not more important that preparing for your birth.
Listen in to todays episode to hear about a midwife's top tips for a nourishing postpartum.
Find Out More about Anna and all her Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Home birthing in Brighton, UK
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kim.
Kim is a mother of one from St.Lucia, now living in Brighton, UK.
She is a space holder for mothers, holding mama circles, breath work, womb healing and coaching for women.
Today we are going to dive into her home birth story and how being in Brighton made that decision even easier, as home birth is very well supported in this area of the UK.
Curious about Kim? Find her on instagram as @sacred.womban
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
From Being Fearful of Birth to having her Dream Water Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Annabelle.
Annabelle is a mother of one from Perth, Western Australia.
I met Annabelle the first time years ago at one of my Women's Workshops I held in Perth.
Today we will talk about her natural birth centre birth and how, before getting pregnant, she thought you could only birth with a private obstetrician as that was the only way she knew others around her had birthed their babies.
Annabelle grew up fearing birth and never thought she would have the experience she did, but upon educating & empowering herself she had the transformational water birth of her dreams.
Annabelle is the co:creatress of the Hey Mumma podcast and if you are curious about Annabelle, find her on Instagram and Facebook as @heymumma
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
First Time Mama Camilas Empowering Hospital Birth
Camila is a mother of one from Stockholm, Sweden.
She is a writer, a film worker and an artist and today we will talk about her fast and furious natural hospital birth.
Normally Camila would identifying herself as a sensitive person with a low pain threshold but her labour and birth showed her that that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t handle the intense labour sensations.
Camila had a natural and empowering hospital birth and states that birth was one of the most amazing experiences of her life and showed her her true power as a woman.
Curious about Camila. Find out more on her website www.camilacatalina.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Yoga Teacher's Hospital Birth in Belgium
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Laura.
Laura is a mother of one and a yoga teacher from The Netherlands, who's currently living in Florida but birthed her baby in Belgium.
Phju! I know right... welcome to the modern global world of possibilities!
Her mission is to help moms and mompreneurs (mothers who are entrepeneurs) overcome stress and find harmony with family and work.
In today's episode we will hear about her hospital birth in Belgium and how breath helped her through the strong sensations of labour and birth.
And even though it was a long labour, and there was some medical intervention at the time of birth, she wouldn't change a thing about her birth experience.
Curious about Laura? Find her at laurabaumannyoga.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
The Birth of a Goddess
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Petra.
Petra is an intuitive therapist supporting women through the phases of their lives.
Before she got pregnant with her second child she felt a calling to explore and embody pregnancy, birth and beyond in a more conscious, natural and spiritual way on her path of becoming a doula and space holder for women.
In todays episode we are going to talk about the birth of Petras little girl Yamayah, a name that came to her years before her daughter was conceived and is the name of a Goddess in ancient mythology.
Petras home birth plans for her and her baby girl went out the window as she went passed 42 weeks gestation.
She had to surrender her deep desire for a home birth and accept going to the hospital.
Having a hospital birth however showed her that she only really needed herself in order to have her natural birth.
An empowering realization indeed.
Curious about Petra? Find her on instagram as @soulful.pregnancy.birth.beyond
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in the US vs Canada
Jesse is a mother of two from Colorado, USA, currently living in Quebec, Canada.
Today we are going to talk about her two birth centre births.
Her first in the US which she states is not a common birth story from the states, and her second in Canada.
Jesse is passionate about her podcast project called ”pearls from my mother”, a podcast she started after her mother passed away from cancer in 2015. In her podcast she speaks of the wisdom her mother passed down to her and interviews other people about their mothers pearls of wisdoms.
Curious about Jesse and her podcast? Find out more at www.pearlsfrommymother.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
3 Births and a Near Death Experience aka Exquisite Spiritual Experience
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Julia.
Julia is a mother of 3 from NSW, Australia.
She is the co-founder of People of the earth, selling organic and natural sunscreen that has a positive impact on the earth.
Today we will talk about her 3 natural birth centre births, one of which ended up being a near death experience that Julia herself experienced as a non traumatic spiritual experience.
You will also hear little baby Arlo as he breastfeeds and makes his voice heard throughout the episode.
Curious about Julia? Find out more at www.peopleoftheearth.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in Finland
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Silja
Silja is a mother of one from Finland.
She is a vocal artist, a holistic singing coach and a versatile musician.
Silja facilitates workshops and women's circles where she inspires others to explore the voice as a way to connect with ones true self and unique self expression.
In this episode we will talk about Siljas empowering birth centre birth in Finland, and the importance of voicing what you truly need in labour, birth and beyond.
Birth is the most important life altering event of your life. Speak your truth and voice your needs!
Curious about Silja? Find her on instagram as @siljakulo
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Breech Baby Wisdom
Tahlia is a mum of 3 living in the northern rivers of NSW Australia.
Tahlia describes herself as a Mumma entrepreneur passionate about all things parenting, connected relationships and simplicity.
Today we will dive on into her three very different but full on and powerful birth experiences.
One was a drug free hospital induction, one an accidental unassisted breech home birth and her third and last one a posterior birth centre birth.
Each and everyone of Tahlia's birth stories are truly a testament to her enormous strength as a woman and mother.
Curious about Tahlia? Find her on Facebook as Tahlia Jean
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Midwife's Top Tips on How to have a Natural Birth
Want to know How you can Optimize your chances of having a Natural and Empowering Birth Experience?
In this episode of The Natural Birth Podcast your podcast host Anna will share her 4 Top Tips on how to optimize your chances of having a Natural Birth.
We all know labour and birth is unpredictable and something we can’t control, but as a midwife Anna knows it is something that we can definitely influence by our level of preparation, body, mind and soul.
Listen to todays episode to find out how...
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in a Free Standing Birth Centre in Atlanta
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Amanda
Amanda is a mother of 2 from Atlanta, USA.
She is the host of the Finding Your Village podcast, a helpful resource for new parents to make parenting a little bit easier!
Today we will touch upon her first birth that was a medicated birth and the wisdom she drew from that experience and how it informed her in wanting to have a natural birth centre birth for her second, the birth we will explore more in depth.
Curious about Amanda? Find her at www.findingyourvillagepod.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Alexa had an undisturbed birth under a tree in Aotearoa, New Zeeland.
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Alexa
Alexa is a mother of one from Aotearoa, New Zeeland.
Today we will talk about the birth of her dreams, an outdoor undisturbed water birth, under a tree, beneath the stars, following her instincts.
Alexa chose to free birth her baby after years of researching and studying birth, with a midwife as a backup. She had an agreement with her partner that if all felt good for the both of them during the labour and birth they wouldn't call the midwife, as they knew the midwife wasn't comfortable with Alexa having an unassisted birth, but would have wanted to monitor her progress. Something Alexa didn't want.
More and more women choose to free birth, not because they don't want a midwife present but because they don't trust that they will not be interfered with, or the sheer fact that there is no midwives in their area or its to expensive.
Food for thought for the people in power making it difficult or impossible for women to be safely cared for in the way they choose to birth their babies and for the midwives wanting to assist them.
Alexas own empowered birth led her to become a Doula and birth photographer.
Curious about Alexa? Find her at www.alexadoulaphotography.co.nz
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Swedish/Islandic mama Fridur shares about her two home births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Fridur
Fridur is a Swedish/Islandic mama of 2 living in the south of Sweden on her farm with her family with the ambition of being self sufficient.
She is a kundalini yoga teacher currently in full mama mode, while at the same time studying to become a Waldorf preschool teacher.
In this episode we will talk about her 2 home births and how home birth should be available to all women just like hospital births are.
Fridur also has the best labour aid tip and I can't wait to share it with you!
Curious about Fridur? Find her at www.arnfridur.com.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Doing her own Internals made Marnie feel Empowered and Connected throughout Her Labour
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Marnie
Marnie is a mother of 3 from the northern rivers, Australia.
Marnie is a dance performer, yoga teacher, fashion designer, transformational dance facilitator and homemaker.
Today we will talk about her 3 natural births.
Her first when she was 22, her second at 24 and then she had a big gap before her third birth at 38.
Each time she deepened into her trust in birth and herself as an empowered birthing woman.
Curious about Marnie? Find her on FB as Marnie Devi Hudson.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Stay at Home Mum Cara had her Babies in her late 30's
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Cara
Cara is a mom of 3 from Arizona, USA.
She is currently a stay at home mum. But she has a background in pre-schooling but has now become passionate about birth after her own empowering experiences and wants to become a doula.
Cara and her husband got started a little later in life so her 2 girls and baby boy all came between the age of 36 and 40.
Today we will hear about her three natural hospital births.
She shares about the good and bad side of birthing in a hospital system and also shares how she first initiated an induction with one of her babies, to then change her mind, go home and wait for a week and then went into spontaneous labour.
Isn't the feminine body's wisdom and the baby's wisdom just amazing in its intelligence?
Nature is Wise.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
The National President of Maternity Choices Australia shares about her two Home Births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Annalee
Annalee is a mother of 2 living in Mullumbimby, Australia.
She is a producer, broadcaster, coach & advocate for women’s voices. She is co-founder of Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond Media and is the National President of Maternity Choices Australia, one of Australia’s oldest maternity advocacy groups.
It is a pleasure to have her here today to talk about her two natural home births.
She has such a depth of wisdom about the maternity system and it's disfunction as well as how to safeguard and create the most optimal space for birth.
And she shares it all with us today.
Curious about Annalee? Contact her on insta as @annalee.atia
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Tamaras Journey from Epidural to Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Tamara.
Tamara is a mother of three from Stockholm, Sweden.
She is a co-founder of the Mediation Center Inc. where she works as a mediator handling work-based conflicts and trains executives in conflict management.
Today we will hear about her 3 very different birth experiences.
Her first being a medicalized hospital birth, her second a natural hospital birth and her third a home birth in deep alignment with her true nature.
The focus will be on Tamaras home birth with her daughter Luna.
Curious about Tamara? Contact her at tamara@medlingscentrum.se
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Danas Unassisted Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Dana
Dana is a mama of one from Nimbin, Australia.
She is a healer, breath worker and singer.
Today you're invited to the rolling hills around Nimbin, to listen to Dana telling her natural birth story.
Dana's birth was so quick that her midwife didn't make it.
She states the birth of her baby was her greatest achievement.
Join in and listen to Dana as a young first time mama and her journey through a very fast labour and birth.
Curious about Dana? Find her on Facebook as DanaLee Mynard.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Rachel shares her wisdom about Natural Birth and Natural Death
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Rachel
Rachel is mothering 4 children in Hawkes Bay, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Today Rachel will share about her experiences of both natural birth and natural death throughout her mothering journey and the wisdom she found within.
Not only did she birth all her children at home, but she spent over a decade of her early mothering years investing in Home Birth communities in both New Zealand and Australia.
She is a wealth of knowledge and a carrier of so much wisdom.
In this episode we will talk about birth, miscarriages and stillbirth as a natural part of life.
It's a deep and profound conversation and such an important one!
Thank You for the Love - Here comes Season 2
Your host Anna shares the love and announces Season 2
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Natashas birth center birth and home birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Natasha
Natasha is a conscious mum of 2, living in Byron Bay, Australia.
After her first birth, she felt inspired to step into the path of pregnancy and birth support for other mothers, including doula, massage, yoga teaching and birth education.
She has passionately been pursuing this for the last 14 years.
Today we are going to hear about her 2 empowering natural births, one in a birth centre and one at home.
And not only will she share from a place of a mother, but she will also give her best doula advice for a natural and empowering birth.
Curious about Natasha? Find her on Facebook as Natasha Hain.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birthing in a Homeopathic Hospital in Switzerland
Rinat is mum of one, living with her husband in the northern rivers, NSW, Australia.
She has spent the past year, as an ex-telco marketer, volunteering in stopping 5G in the Byron Shire and to work with the community on strategies to envisage a future with safe technology.
Her 5G story is called WeAreNotSAM and you can find her on Instagram revealing telco insider info.
Today we are diving into her natural birth story that took place in Switzerland, in a homeopathic hospital.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Dominiques Home Birth in the Netherlands
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Dominique
Dominique is mother of one from Bergen, Netherlands.
She is a passionate researcher of feminine wisdom traditions and the founder of the platform The Voice of the Womb where she shares about her own Womb Awakening and motherhood journey.
Today we will hear about her home birth as a first time mama and her journey through the rite of passage of birth.
Her story is full of wisdom and she takes us through the nuances of birth and the physical, emotional and spiritual realms.
She takes us through the early hours and the layers she needs to shed to move forward.
We talk about how some peoples presence can be positive and some negative in your sacred birth space and how it can affect your progress and experience.
Curious about Dominique? Find her on Facebook as The Voice of The Womb.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Kates Two Fast Natural Births in Hospital
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kate
Kate is a mum of 2, a self proclaimed witch who lives simply with her kids, husband and animals on a piece of land in NSW, Australia.
Both of her babies were caught by her husband while she was birthing like a cat on all fours on her grandmothers blanket in the hospital.
Kate is a strong willed woman who knows what she wants. She believes educating herself before her birth was imperative to her positive outcome.
She ended up having 2 fast empowering natural hospital births, and her second birth was attended by an unusual audience.
Curious about Kate? Learn more at www.katepasz.com.au.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Amanda became a Doula after her own Empowering Home Birth
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Amanda.
Amanda is a Canadian mum of two who spent the last 8 years in Western Australia, but recently decided to move home to her hometown in Yorkton to spend her baby rearing years with support of her family.
She became a doula, wanting to help mamas in her community have an empowering birth experience after having her own empowering home birth experience with her first baby. A birth story that we will talk about today.
Curious about Amanda? Find her on Instagram as @itsjustbirth
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
A Naturopaths Home Birth Story
Mel is a mother of one living in the northern rivers, NSW Australia.
She is a Naturopath, a transpersonal art therapist, a ritual facilitator, & medicine drum maker.
Today we are going to talk about her natural birth that took place in her home in a birth pool, during the hot summer with drumming, singing, fire and her partner, doulas and midwives present.
Curious about Mel? Visit her at ourvisionarywellbeing.org
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Josie shares her Natural Induction Techniques that helped Her Body ripen for Labour
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Josie
Josie is a mother of two boys from the northers rivers, Australia.
She is a visionary goddess artist and the creator of clay priestess sculpture workshops. Josie is also a vocalist in a roots reggae band with her husband, called Lionheart Rebellion.
In this episode of The Natural Birth Podcast we will hear about the birth of her two sons Jalahyn - which means rainbow in the indigenous dialect of the aboriginal people where he was born, and Kiama - which means great spirit in another dialect.
The birth of Jalahyn had to be an induction due to pre-eclamsia, however Josie tried some effective natural techniques to ripen her body which helped her to arrive to the hospital already at 3cm which is amazing considering she was a first time mumma getting induced.
For her second baby Kiama Josie chose a lay midwife to assist her at home and had her long sought after natural home birth.
Curious about Josie? Learn more at josiedoolan.weebly.com
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Swedish Yoga Teacher Emma about her two Natural Hospital Births
Today of The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emma.
Emma is a mother of two, from Varberg Sweden.
She is an embodiment meditation coach, working with women to connect with and embody their full body, vagina and vulva included, using kundalini yoga and Daoist jade egg practices.
Today we will talk about her two hospital births, one that almost ended up being a free birth in the car.
Curious about Emma? Find her at www.mangalam.se
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Ninas 3 Natural Births
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Nina
Nina is a mother of 3 from Stockholm, Sweden.
She is a co-founder of The Hows. She and her partners design learning experiences to boost the immune system of a company - the company culture.
Today we will hear about her 3 natural births of her 3 boys Robin, Io and Ru, who’s names are inspired from Winnie the Poo.
Curious about Nina? Learn more at thehows.se
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Midwife Sarah shares about her Home Birth in the UK
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sarah
Sarah is a mother of two, originally from the UK, now living in Byron Bay Australia.
She is also a midwife and a colleague of mine.
Today she is going to share about her natural home birth over 20 years ago in the UK and why she loved it.
She is also going to share her pearls of wisdom as a midwife on how a woman can optimize her chances of having a natural and empowering birth experience.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Birth as a Rite of Passage & Initiation
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Gemma.
Gemma is a mother of two living in Mullumbimby, NSW Australia.
She is an inspired teacher, singer, dancer and poet.
She is passionate about holding space for women to find their voice and express their unique essence through sound, storytelling & movement.
This passion has led her to teach sound workshops for pregnant women.
In this episode we will dive into her 2 natural birth stories, one in hospital and one in a birth centre... and how they initiated her into motherhood and also into the woman she was supposed to be.
Her second birth was a real spiritual and wild experience including a tree activation and the fastest birth process I've ever heard of!
Curious about Gemma? Find her on Facebook as Gemma Sylvanspring.
Find All of Anna’s Links & Resources here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
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