Free Birth - Exploring Autonomy In Childbirth

Elder Midwife Sister MorningStar (Part 2) by Free Birth Society

This week we are truly blessed to have elder midwife Sister Morningstar sharing her wisdom on the art of traditional midwifery. You may know her from her impassioned letter to NARM resigning from the registry that went viral earlier this year and touched many of our birth keeper hearts. Sister shares how to start village prenatals in your community, the dangers of NRP and intervening with the natural birth process, to her own incredible mentorship in her earlier years. It was a deep privilege to get to speak to one of my personal heroes of the birth world.

Today on the show we have Heidi-Lyn from New Brunswick, Canada sharing the healing story of her birthing in full power with her second baby in the support of her husband and a traditional midwife. After a deeply traumatic childbirth experience in hospital with her first, it took her a long time to even be willing to consider a second child. She was left violated and angry, knowing deep in her gut this second birth needed to be different than what she had at the hospital. So, she did the work. Heidi educated herself, found her new team and dedicated herself to birthing at home. Any power that was stripped away from her first birth, she reclaimed in her second.

Today on the show we have Anna who birthed her baby in Florida. Anna knew years prior to meeting her partner that she was destined to free birth her child. After consciously conceiving her baby she navigated a rough pregnancy but never wavered in the knowledge that an unassisted pregnancy and birth was what was right for her. Anna went into labor in her 36th week, what the medical model would call premature labor, and had a quick and beautiful birth resulting in a healthy baby that breastfed easily.

An expat from America, Nicole moved to Mexico to live a more simple and nature based life. After witnessing an unassisted birth of a family member, she knew this was also the path for her. Nicole went on to birth her three sons over the last four years, at home, with the support of her friends and family. Nicole recently free birthed her third child and tell us the stories of all three. We get into birth culture, privilege, and how Nicole navigated trust in her body and babies after her first son was born with a limb abnormality.

Pregnant with her 5th child, Katie shares her first four very different birth stories. A precipitous first birth in the hospital, an elective induction with her second, an overwhelmingly fast unassisted birth with her third, and then finally a nicely paced calm and private water birth with her fourth. We talk about her path towards free birth and the concerns of birthing this new baby in a conservative state without a supportive birth community. Katie and her family currently resides in North Carolina having had her first four children in Colorado.

Today on the show we have the incredible Layla from Maui, Hawaii. She birthed both her children outside under the bamboo trees of Hawaii, with the moon on her face and a fire blazing. Her stories carry the essence of ancient birthing wisdom. Listen in as Layla shares about her intuitive guidance towards free birth at 6 weeks pregnant and her ability to set appropriate self preserving boundaries with family and her surroundings. Layla’s story is truly inspiring.

Today we have Amanda from Los Angeles, California. Luckily, Amanda was able to attend a hospital birth before being pregnant, so she knew what she didn’t want. With the support of her partner, she prepared herself for an autonomous birth at home. Labor began at the bar where she and her husband had met. She drove herself home to realize she was in full blown active labor. Her birth story is beautifully simplistic, though not without an interesting twist at the end!

Today on the show we have the wise and wonderful Dominque. She chose a home birth with a midwife and doula for her first birth in the Bronx but upon reflection after the birth she realized she would have preferred to have just been alone with her husband. So when she became pregnant with her second son and moved to Texas, it was an easy and intuitive decision for her to have a mostly unassisted pregnancy and to free birth. We talk about breastfeeding while in labor and what it was like for Dominque to tandem nurse her children for two years.

Today we have our first grand multipara on the show, meaning a woman who has given birth five or more times. Julie has had 11 children and is currently living in Arizona. From her first baby at 16 years old in the hospital with forced interventions and rough treatment she went on to continue to be induced with her next three children in hospital. So after four babies, she chose with the support of her husband to birth on her own and trust and allow labor to work it’s magic. Julie goes on to have six completely unassisted births and celebrated her most recent birth in the presence of two trusted traditional birth attendants.

On the show today I talk with fertility and conscious conception coach, Elisabeth Manning. Elisabeth teaches people how to live a more fertile life through self exploration, doing the work, and loving what is. She speaks of fertility being a journey of the soul, a sacred path to be honored and leaned into. Elisabeth shares her wisdom and reminds us to look at our childhood wounds and learn how to heal ourselves so that we can call in our children in the highest vibration. And as always, we talk about birth politics because we can’t help ourselves.

Today I speak with the incredible Lacey Haynes from London. After consciously conceiving her love baby she was thrilled to begin prenatal care with her OB. After a deeply underwhelming prenatal where she was treated dismissively and told she was on a conveyor belt, Lacey switched to the midwifery program. The midwives also had little to offer in way of individualized care and Lacey was led to the choice to go it alone with her husband and dear friend. Lacey had a weekend long champion of a labor. She was later interviewed by the Guardian on her free birth, which went viral overnight and has brought an onslaught of commentary and attention to her choices.

Today on the show we have Heather from Michigan, mother of four and a new midwife. From an induction at a hospital with her first birth, to two midwife assisted births, to then choosing a free birth outside in her backyard at almost 43 weeks, Heather shares the journey of how her birthing experiences led her to the path of midwifery and her own self empowerment.

Today we have the story of an intended free birth turned hospital delivery. After being abused at the local hospital with her first birth, Lynnea was left traumatized and knew she couldn't return there when she became pregnant again. She decided she would feel safest birthing at home on her own terms. However, as she got close to pushing, her boyfriend got scared and called 911 and they whisked her away. Lynnea did her best to return to the place of her first birth and still found a way to to birth on her terms. This story speaks to the important of having your whole team truly on board with your plan and what can happen when they are not.

Today on the show we have Cristen Pascucci from Birth Monopoly. Cristen is an advocate for women’s rights in childbirth, who from her own child birthing experience was inspired to change careers and dedicate her life to leading the charge in birth rights activism. We get into the nitty gritty of how the obstetrical model of care is failing women and how it’s high time for us as consumers to speak up. Cristen is a force to be reckoned with.

Today on the show we have the incredible Rachel from BC, Canada. She walked out of her first OB prenatal never to return, and went on to birth her four children and one miscarriage over the last 7 years with her husband on their own land. Rachel shares about her interesting life raising four kids off grid on a farm in Canada and how she learned to birth her way, in the house her husband built.

After birthing five children unassisted, Laura Shanley wrote an inspiring book on how she did it. We get in to her personal story, from having child protective services take away her first born for five days, to an unexpected footling breech delivery, to birthing completely alone as a personal challenge - Laura really has done it all. We talk about loss, birth politics, and painless birth. Her book has inspired many to claim their birthing power and say no to routine care.

After intentionally conceiving her daughter in Mt Shasta, Maya got strong intuitive wisdom that her baby wanted to be born in Maui. At eight months pregnant Maya made her way to the beautiful island of Maui in Hawaii. With the help of a dear brother, Maya birthed her baby in a small hut on her own.

In this episode, Emilee and five women, four of which are mothers, share what conscious conception means to them.

Today we have Melinda from Wyoming. After two midwife assisted births, Melinda free birthed her third child in the privacy of her home with her family surrounding her. From her husband missing her first birth, to driving 6 hours round trip to her midwife’s office with her second, to free birthing her third, Melinda shares how liberating it was to experience her third pregnancy being the one in charge.