What if students could learn and practice and be in an “apprenticeship” that isn’t in the physical? We may try it out with a few of my former students who live in Kentucky as I stay living in Hawai’i. I love the idea of creating this model and making it sustainable and a win for all; the student, the mama client and the mentoring midwife. I do think it’s possible once the kinks get worked out, and we’ll keep you posted here on how it’s developing!

“A return to all that is human, sacred and ancient” -Alexandra Kisitu

I loved talking to kindred spirit and author Alexandra about her book, “Back to the Womb: Claiming Birth Sovereignty”. I really loved this discussion with such a kick-ass, smart woman who has dug deeper into the culture of home birth here in Hawai’i. Alexandra also includes her own personal stories and beliefs around the power and sacredness of birth. They are so similar to my own, and with midwifery politics to boot in our chat, we could have spoken for hours.

Learn more about her here.

What a pleasure to hold space for Alyssa as she shares her intimate journey through the death and birth of her baby in the middle of her last pregnancy. I know you will be inspired by Alyssa’s way of choosing to experience death and live life.

You can find Alyssa on Instagram at: @alyssarafidi_

Deva is 7 today! Her majorly watched birth video is below for you to watch again and share. Otherwise, I share a short recent story and celebration of my womb in the event that you feel inspired and are led to do something similar. I am being shown more and more that ritual in one way that our bodies lead us when they need us to focus and feel; ceremony and ritual can be simple, something we do alone in the spur of the moment, and still be profound and meaningful.

Deva’s Birth: thebirthmovie.com
Indie Birth Calendar: https://www.indiebirth.org/calendar

What is embodiment? Listen in on some musings around what this is and isn’t; I also share some personal stories around learning to feel in my body, honoring where I am at and following what my body is feeling. I definitely see this as (one of) the missing links in abundant and joyful birth work; this ability to sense and decode what’s going on for us, so we can more readily meet the woman in front of us.

I also explain what my Beyond the Mind Circle for Birthworkers is; check it out and join me for this 4 week somatic adventure in April.

I share more about my witchy experiences in Spain first; and then move onto how it feels to hold space as a mother for a daughter’s first moon cycle. I love this initiation and am so proud and happy with how my girls have embraced themselves and their new womanhood. It brings me back to my own experience, which wasn’t really treated as special or as anything, and it feels so healing for all generations to witness my girls in this powerful rite of passage.

This past week marked 8 years since my son Sable died in my womb and was born 4 months later. I share how I am feeling now, and how this experience has shaped me and changed me in the last bit of time. Then, I share an older podcast with readings from my journal during the months when I was waiting for him and my body to decide it was time. What a crazy, poignant time in my life that taught me so much. Even if you haven’t had a loss, I hope you enjoy this raw reflection from the past and the present.

I know, I Know…what?! I am hoping for some huge cultural shifts (and maybe some email responses) around this podcast. I can’t keep quiet any longer that I am TIRED of women/people abdicating responsibility for their birth in a myriad of ways…one of which is the entire paradigm of someone ELSE paying for your birth (and dictating your decisions). Here we go!

This is an expansion on an email I wrote recently about going through pregnancy and birth alone, SPECIFICALLY from the lens of trauma and safety. This isn’t a commentary on why all women choose “wild pregnancy” or freebirth but is a perspective on choices being made from the bodily sensations of lack of safety. This perspective feels so true for me, deep in my body. Acknowledging our own triggers and feelings of truth can help the collective move more quickly towards living from our wholeness; both individually and collectively.

The Birth Trauma Circle is here and happening soon.

After an update, I talk about the feelings I have around “doulas” and what our passion is when creating new doulas in the world. The way I see it, there is still the vanilla/mainstream doula stuff going on and then also the opposite extreme of doulas being trained to attend births outright on their own in a completely different role. We of course love the middle, sacred road of transparency and following one’s soul. Along those lines, our doula program got an update and refresh, and you can check out the page and new program name, Sacred Sisterhood Doula Training, here.

This is a short synopsis of what my foundational beliefs and teachings are around the sacred postpartum time. We had a lovely Mothering the Mother retreat this weekend, so I have that to share as well. Our Mothering the Mother online course is open and there is a $100 discount if you use code: SUPPORTMAMA. […]