Gina's first pregnancy was with twins, which limited her options for care to a hospital birth. During this labor, she faced immense pressure to receive an epidural, undergo various interventions, and was even made to give birth on the operating table in the operating room "just in case." Despite all of this and the atmosphere of fear surrounding twin births, she managed to deliver both babies naturally in the hospital, on that cold operating room table.

Her second pregnancy was with a singleton, so this time, a midwife could legally attend her birth at home, and Gina jumped at the chance. She found the perfect wise woman to walk alongside her during the pregnancy. This experience allowed her to heal some of the scars left by her previous, medicalized birth and to deeply reconnect with her Mexican heritage through cultural birth practices, such as using a rebozo, and having the maternal grandmother cut the umbilical cord.

Gina says that this birth experience deeply reconnected her to her lineage and inspired her to dive into learning more about the sacredness of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

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Do you have a birth story you'd like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at [email protected]

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Intro / Outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Podcast cover photo by Karina Jensen @karinajensenphoto