At Her Feet

In this closing chapter of her three-part interview, Raven Lang reflects on the evolution of midwifery and her own transformation along the way. She remembers the simplicity of her early birth bag—herbs, string, and attentive listening—and contrasts it with later years when acupuncture and Chinese medicine informed her practice. From dramatic resuscitations to the quiet power of community birth traditions, her stories illuminate the breadth of what it meant to serve as a midwife in changing times.

Raven also speaks candidly about the pressures of money, licensure, and patriarchy, which fractured once-unified circles of midwives and reshaped the work into something more medicalized and fearful. In response, she emphasizes the necessity of boundaries, protecting one’s own energy, and reclaiming midwifery as a calling rooted in curiosity, courage, and reverence.

This conversation weaves together memory, poetry, and hard-won wisdom. It is both sobering and hopeful—a reminder that midwives are not only attendants at birth but gatekeepers at life’s thresholds, holding space with resilience, integrity, and love.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Dr. Miriam Lee — pioneering acupuncturist and midwife who helped legalize acupuncture in California
• Dr. Susan Chen — OB/GYN and Chinese medicine teacher
• Dr. Kreavy — physician reference during Raven’s practice years
• Dr. Resnick — physician mentioned in Raven’s reflections
• Marshall Klaus — physician and author who influenced Raven’s thinking on medicine and power
• Nathan Riley, MD — contemporary OB who supports midwives, and Blyss’ friend and colleague
• Linda Bennett — one of the Santa Cruz midwives and Raven’s colleague. Listen to her episode here.
• Kat and Kitty — early collaborators at the Santa Cruz birth center
• Grandfather Semu & Grandmother Sisi — elders who presided at ceremonial community births
• Gregory Bateson — anthropologist, referenced in Raven’s stories
• Dave Brubeck — jazz musician connected through family lineage
• Robin Lim — midwife and author of Placenta: The Forgotten Chakra. Find it here.
• Mayway Herbs Podcast — series where Raven later shared Chinese herbal teachings. Listen here.
• The Lama Foundation (Taos, NM) — gathering place for early midwives
• “The Voice of Labor” poem — an anonymous blessing gifted to Raven at a midwives’ gathering (full text below)

Herbal Wisdom

• Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) — used traditionally to slow postpartum bleeding and tone the uterus.
• Dried Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica) — mineral-rich, restorative, and supportive for lactation and recovery after blood loss.
• Trillium (“Beth Root,” Trillium erectum) — historically called “birthroot,” valued as a uterine tonic and hemostatic.
• Ginseng (Panax ginseng) — strengthens vitality and qi, sometimes included in hemorrhage protocols.
• Yunnan Baiyao (云南白药) — a renowned Chinese formula for stopping bleeding, carried in many birth bags.
• Pollen Type A (Typha angustifolia pollen, Pu Huang) — a Chinese remedy specifically for uterine bleeding, especially effective when charred.

The Voice of Labor

An anonymous poem, gifted to Raven at a midwives’ gathering

Let my touch move through you as the time draws near.

Gentle at first my call you will hear,

Let go and come freely to bathe in me,

Sink deeper and deeper into my belly.

Feel my caresses become strong and fierce.

Don’t turn away. Glide into the darkness.

Let my waves rush and ease over you.

Let my fury unfold as I make my way through.

Though my dance becomes harsh, my love is your guide.

Though my valley is fearsome, you will see through my eyes.

I know the way well. You are never alone.

Your path is well lit for this new journey home.

So come into my womb and surrender your fear,

For the great transformation is once again here.

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

In last week’s episode, Raven shared how she was first called into midwifery. This week, we hear how she rose as a leader during the early homebirth movement in Santa Cruz.

Raven describes the study groups, living-room prenatals, and the creation of the Santa Cruz Birth Center. Out of these gatherings came her groundbreaking book, The Birth Book, a collection of women’s stories that carried the movement forward.

She also recalls the resistance — public health warnings, phones tapped, and the raid on the birth center. Even under pressure, Raven and her peers kept going, building midwifery from the ground up.

This episode marks the moment when Raven stepped from witness to leader, helping shape a new culture of birth.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Kitty Lakos — RN and midwife, co-founder of the Santa Cruz Birth Center 
• Kate Bowland — early homebirth midwife, part of the Santa Cruz collective 
• Dr. Stuart “Don” Creevy — OB who mentored Raven and supported natural birth 
• Dr. Thomas Brewer — physician known for research on nutrition and hypertension in pregnancy 
• Dr. Marshall Klaus — pediatrician who introduced the concept of bonding between mother and baby 
• Dr. Barry Brazelton — pediatrician and researcher who worked with Klaus on attachment studies 
• Dr. Rebecca Barroso — Cuban-born midwife, later earned a PhD and became a professor at Frontier Nursing University

Books & Resources

• The Birth Book by Raven Lang — one of the first modern collections of women’s birth stories 
• Manual for Rural Midwives — concise international midwifery text translated into English 
• Writings of Dr. Thomas Brewer — focused on diet, blood pressure, and maternal health 
• Research on bonding and attachment by Marshall Klaus & Barry Brazelton — foundational studies on maternal-infant connection

Herbs, Homeopathy & Hands-on Skills

• Palpation and maternal touch — learning through feel and observation 
• Perineal massage — something Raven encouraged for preparing the body for birth, though midwives hold differing opinions on its value 
• Study-group learning — urine dipsticks, blood pressure, and case-by-case pathology 
• Suturing — early skills passed through mentorship and peer support

Pharmaceuticals Mentioned

• Demerol — an opioid pain medication widely used in hospital births at the time, often leaving mothers groggy and newborns sedated 
• Pitocin — routinely given in hospitals to induce or speed up labor

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

In this first of a three-part series, Blyss sits with Raven Lang — one of the most influential midwives in America and author of The Birth Book (1972). Often credited with sparking the home birth revival on the West Coast, Raven’s voice and vision helped lay the foundation for modern midwifery in the United States. Her groundbreaking Birth Book became a touchstone for countless families and midwives seeking alternatives to hospital birth, and her ideas on imprinting and the formation of motherly love changed how generations would understand the postpartum bond.

This episode sets the stage for the next two parts of Raven’s remarkable story.

Raven Shares

• She shares about her upbringing in San Francisco’s North Beach,
• her struggles with childhood illness and Catholic schooling, and
• the fierce independence that shaped her feminist awakening.
• Raven reflects on her first birth at Stanford in 1968 — an experience both empowering and unsettling — that propelled her into childbirth education, goat-keeping, and eventually attending births in Santa Cruz.

Mentioned in this Episode

• The Birth Book by Raven Lang
• Immaculate Deception by Suzanne Arms
• Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read
• Painless Childbirth by Fernand Lamaze
• Peter Nash – California physician who briefly attended home births

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

In this episode of At Her Feet, Ellen Levitt, LM, shares the winding path that brought her from Long Island to San Francisco in the 1980s—and into the heart of the home birth movement. Her story carries us through the political battles that shaped California midwifery, the grassroots collectives that built community, and the deeply personal experiences of loss, motherhood, and resilience that continue to shape her as a midwife.

Ellen’s voice is both practical and soulful: she recalls the adrenaline of her first emergency birth call as an EMT, the hard-won fight for licensure that made her the seventh licensed midwife in California, and the ways her own family story—including adoption, loss, and queer parenthood—have infused her work with empathy and depth.

Ellen Shares:

• Growing up in New York, hitchhiking west, and landing in San Francisco’s queer community in 1985.
• Witnessing birth for the first time as an EMT call—and realizing, “why go to the hospital?”
• Apprenticeships with Bay Area midwives and training at birth centers in Texas and Florida.
• The six-year grassroots campaign that secured California licensure, and becoming license #7.
• Shifts in scope of practice over the decades—twins, breeches, VBACs, and changing state restrictions.
• Building the Bay Area Home Birth Collective and nurturing a supportive midwifery community.
• Her personal journey into motherhood through adoption, surrogacy with her sister, and pregnancy loss.
• The gift of breastfeeding her adopted son with the help of donated milk and lactation support.
• Herbs, homeopathy, and the evolution of midwives’ birth bags—what was gained and what may have been lost.
• Reflections on activism, peer review, free birth, and the ongoing tension between traditional and medicalized midwifery.
• Training nearly 20 midwives who now practice across the Bay Area, carrying her legacy forward.
• Ellen’s GBS Protocol

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Nancy Fredrick & Erin Carney – midwives of Labor of Love, Ellen’s first apprenticeship.
• Shannon Anton – midwife and founder of the National Midwifery Institute.
• Elizabeth Davis – influential Bay Area teacher and author.
• Linda Bennett – elder midwife; listen to her episode here.
• Brenda Capps – elder midwife; listen to her episode here.
• Gail Hart – elder Oregon midwife; listen to her episode here.
• Raven Lang – Santa Cruz midwife, author of The Birth Book (her interview will air in an upcoming episode).
• Bay Area Home Birth Collective – co-founded by Ellen, Shannon Anton, Maria Iorillo, and Danu Calderon.

Books

• Our Bodies, Ourselves – seminal feminist health guide that shaped Ellen’s early awareness.

Herbs & Homeopathy

• Blue Cohosh, Black Cohosh, Cotton Root Bark.
• Cinnamon & Cayenne.
• Sabina, Secale cornutum, Caulophyllum.
• Chinese “Red Pill” formulas (e.g. Yunnan Baiyao).

Pharmaceuticals

• Pitocin (oxytocin).
• Misoprostol (Miso).
• Tranexamic Acid (TXA).

Hands-On Skills

• Uterine massage.
• Bi-manual compression — rarely used, only in severe cases.
• Folk/traditional methods such as placenta in the cheek, pulling pubic hair, and verbal encouragement to help stop bleeding.

Ellen’s GBS Protocol

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

In this intimate conversation, Blyss visits the home of Jan Tritten—midwife, visionary, and the founding editor of Midwifery Today magazine. Surrounded by her garden, animals, and family history, Jan reflects on a life devoted to birth, storytelling, and community.

From her own births to attending dozens within a birth co-op, Jan found her calling not only in midwifery but in weaving together the voices of others. Through Midwifery Today and its global conferences, she became what she calls the “mother” of a movement—holding space for wisdom, tradition, and connection across generations.

Jan Shares:

• How a traumatic hospital birth became the fuel for her lifetime of advocacy.
• The early days of home birth in Northern California, alongside pioneers like Raven Lang.
• Founding Midwifery Today after a Spirit-led vision, and sustaining it for 37 years.
• Stories of mentorship, partnership, and the creation of conferences that brought the magazine’s pages alive.
• Her faith journey and how spirituality continues to shape her vision of birth.
• Reflections on medicalization, free birth, and why mentorship and tradition matter most in educating midwives.
• Why her definition of midwifery is simply: “relationship first.”

Through it all, Jan reminds us that midwifery is not just a profession, but a vocation of the heart—a sacred calling rooted in love, trust, and relationship.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Midwifery Today – Jan’s 37-year magazine and conference legacy.
• Raven Lang – Author of The Birth Book and pioneer in Santa Cruz home birth. Interview coming up in this series.
• The Birth Book (Raven Lang) – Seminal text of the home birth movement.
• Frontier Nursing Service – Historic nurse-midwifery program in Kentucky.
• Carol Gautschi – Midwife, co-coordinator of the Classical Midwifery Conference, and featured in an upcoming At Her Feet interview next season.
• Michel Odent – French obstetrician, pioneer of water birth and physiological childbirth.
• Ina May Gaskin – Founder of The Farm Midwifery Center; author of Spiritual Midwifery; creator of the Gaskin Maneuver. Interview coming next season.
• Dr. John Stevenson – Australian doctor, home birth advocate, and contributor to Midwifery Today.
• Cornelia Enning – German midwife known for her work teaching water birth.
• Gail Hart – Oregon midwife with decades of experience, previously interviewed on At Her Feet.
• Chris Howard – Midwife who became Jan’s partner after she left the birth co-op.
• Tom Duncan – Physician who attended home births aligned with midwifery practices.
• Angelina Martinez Miranda – Traditional Mexican midwife in Morelos, heir to three generations of midwifery, and international teacher of Mexican birth practices.
• Angelica root – Traditional herb used to help release a retained placenta.



Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

Carla Viles’ story is one of circling back—through loss and redemption, apprenticeship and partnership, intuition and listening. From snowy nights in Eugene with her children decorating a Christmas tree while she birthed at home, to the weight of responsibility at difficult births, she has carried the thread of midwifery with quiet strength. Now, as she slowly winds her practice down, Carla reflects on the legacy of her work and the wisdom she hopes to pass on. Her path reminds us that wisdom often comes not only through books or training, but through dreams, stories, and the tender act of bearing witness.

Carla Shares:

• Her own birth stories: a traumatic breech cesarean, a redemptive VBAC in Oregon, and the eventual joy of peaceful home births
• Training in Eugene’s early pre-licensure midwifery community
• Why she chose to remain unlicensed in Oregon, holding sacred space for VBACs
• Stories of breech, twins, and the burden—and blessing—of responsibility
• Spiritual midwifery: intuition, dreams, and the unseen guidance at birth
• The power of listening and the healing that comes from knowing a mother’s story
• Reflections on how midwifery has shifted—through licensing debates, changing standards around VBAC, the rise of technology and prenatal testing, the influence of fear in birth culture, and the growing role of doulas in home birth spaces
• What it means to step back, retire, and place family at the center once more

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Daphne Singingtree — A longtime educator in plant medicine and midwifery based in Eugene, Oregon. Daphne founded midwifery schools, authored training guides, and played a key role in shaping direct-entry midwifery and legislation in the state.
• Ina May Gaskin (Spiritual Midwifery) — Known as “the mother of authentic midwifery,” Ina May helped launch The Farm Midwifery Center in Tennessee and revitalized homebirth in the U.S. Her classic Spiritual Midwifery, now in its fourth edition, interweaves birth stories, practical support, and a spiritual vision of natural childbirth.
• Elizabeth Davis (Heart & Hands) — A certified midwife and educator, Davis’s Heart & Hands: A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy and Birth (5th ed., 2019) is a foundational resource for birthworkers and parents. It covers physiological birth, hands-on support techniques, pain mediation, postpartum recovery, and breastfeeding.
• Margaret Charles Smith (Listen to Me Good) — An Alabama midwife whose decades of experience yielded unforgettable birth stories. Listen to Me Good: The Life Story of an Alabama Midwife shares her rural midwifery work across shifting medical landscapes. She was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.
• Nancy Wainer Cohen & Lois J. Estner (Silent Knife) — Silent Knife: Cesarean Prevention and Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC) (1983) is a landmark guide for VBAC parents and providers. Cohen was a leader in cesarean-prevention advocacy; Estner was a VBAC mother and breastfeeding counselor.
• Rahima Baldwin Dancy — A pioneering direct-entry midwife since the 1970s, Rahima authored Special Delivery, founded Informed Homebirth, trained in Waldorf early education, co-directed The Birth Center in Michigan, and continues teaching across generations on birth, parenting, and eldercare.
• Exaggerated Sims (position) — A semi-prone, lateral birthing posture used for comfort and fetal repositioning. In this position, the birthing person lies on their side with one leg extended and the upper hip/knee flexed between 90° and more—often helpful for aiding fetal rotation. See an illustration and further details here.
• Castor Oil — A traditional, natural method used for inducing labor via cervical ripening. A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis found that oral castor oil is associated with significantly increased labor induction rates (Relative Risk ≈ 3.27) and higher prevalence of vaginal delivery—without reporting serious adverse effects. You can read the study here.
• Jan Tritten — The founder and longtime editor of Midwifery Today magazine and its conferences. Jan became a home-birth midwife in 1977 after a transformative second birth. She was recently interviewed for this series, and her full episode will be released next week.

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

In this intimate conversation, Blyss sits with Betty Griffith, LDM, a licensed midwife in Salem, Oregon, whose five decades of practice bridge the early days of the home birth revival with today’s changing landscape. From her beginnings as a labor-and-delivery nurse in the 1970s to years of practicing home birth prior to licensure, Betty shares the shifts she’s witnessed—both in women’s bodies and in the culture of birth.

With candor and warmth, Betty reflects on the simplicity of care in earlier times, the complications that arise from fear-based models, and why she believes too much testing can create more problems than it solves. She also opens her medicine bag—offering practical wisdom on prenatal nutrition, balancing energy to encourage optimal fetal position, the “midwife brew,” herbs, prayer, and the subtle art of listening deeply to both women and babies.

This conversation weaves history, philosophy, and practical midwifery into one tapestry—reminding us that birth is, above all, a sacred and natural process.

Betty Shares:

• Betty’s journey from farm girl to nurse to beloved Oregon midwife
• A stark look at obstetric practices in the 1960s and ’70s—and what changed
• How simplicity in care led to excellent outcomes before licensure
• Why fear and over-testing may contribute to complications
• Stories of faith, prayer, and “God births” that defied medical odds
• The midwife’s role as family-centered, bringing children into the process
• Betty’s homemade prenatal vitamins and natural remedies
• Tools for aligning babies in labor—including her unique pelvic-tilt technique
• Reflections on licensure, Medicaid, and the struggle to serve families with integrity

Mentioned in This Episode:

• NARM (North American Registry of Midwives)
• Midwife Brew – a natural induction blend often including:
• Castor oil
• Apricot nectar (sometimes Kern’s brand)
• Lemon verbena tea
• Almond butter
• Water
• Michel Odent — a French obstetrician who pioneered birthing pools, home-like maternity rooms, and the concept of the “fetus-ejection reflex.” He later founded the Primal Health Research Centre in London and authored numerous influential books on physiological birth. Learn more →
• Starwest Botanicals — a trusted source for high-quality organic herbs, teas, and botanicals since 1975. Visit Starwest Botanicals →
• Chlorophyll — for strengthening blood and preventing excessive bleeding
• TXA (Tranexamic Acid) — modern tool for postpartum hemorrhage
• Cayenne & Cinnamon — traditional remedies for hemorrhage
• Activated Charcoal — used for supporting newborns with jaundice

Useful Links & Resources

• Connect with Betty Griffith, LDM: Birth With Love Midwife Services
• Follow us on Instagram @bridge_midwives to see Betty’s tip for helping babies find a good position.
• Learn more about the Bridge Midwives Project: thebridgemidwives.com
• Join our monthly Community Circle: live conversations with elder midwives (first Thursday, 5pm PT).

If this episode inspired you, please share it with a friend, leave a review, or consider supporting the Bridge Midwives Project so we can continue archiving and honoring the wisdom of midwives like Betty Griffith, LDM.

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

In this rich and soulful conversation, Blyss sits with Adele Rose, a traditional birth attendant whose path has been guided by instinct, a fierce sense of justice, and a deep trust in the body’s wisdom. Her journey winds through counterculture communities, births in unexpected places, and decades of rural care — all anchored in devotion to gentle landings for mothers and babies alike.

Adele Shares:

• The contrasting birth experiences of her mother and aunts — and how cultural attitudes shaped them.
• Her own birth stories — from the harrowing hospital night she calls “The Night of the Iguana” to a dramatic ambulance delivery and the swift, powerful home births that followed.
• Early years attending births with little more than a fetoscope, scissors, and hemostats.
• The role of rural doctors who respected physiological birth and collaborated with midwives.
• Lessons learned from women and babies that shaped her low-intervention, intuition-led practice.
• Returning to midwifery school in her 30s and navigating the clash between medicalized protocols and traditional ways.
• Her belief that constant monitoring and routine procedures can disrupt the altered state essential to labor.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Valerie Al-Halta – Midwife in Huntington Beach who led community group prenatal gatherings.
• Dr. David Lush – Rural Washington physician known for supporting physiological birth and collaborating with midwives.
• Dr. Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia – Renowned Uruguayan obstetric physiologist (1921–1996), known as the “father of perinatology.” He co-created the universal standard “Montevideo units” to measure uterine contractions and advanced the science of electronic fetal monitoring.
• Dr. Jan Erik Strohl – Swedish-born physician who collaborated with midwives on home and clinic births and also worked in rural Washington corrections.
• Tanya Brooks – ACHI educator and midwifery leader known for home-study training programs.
• Linda Bennett – Retired direct-entry midwife with decades of home- and birth-center practice, champion of VBACs and radical postpartum support. Interviewed earlier this season.
• Barbara Harper – Founder of Waterbirth International and leading advocate for birthing in water.
• Michel Odent – French obstetrician recognized for pioneering gentle birthing environments: dim lighting, minimal intervention, calming birth rooms.
• Suzanne Arms – Author of Immaculate Deception (1975), which catalyzed the modern U.S. home birth and birth reform movements.
• Raven Lang – Home birth pioneer and birth storyteller. Episodes featuring her will be released later this season.

Schools & Organizations:

• Association for Childbirth at Home, International (ACHI) – 1970s-era home-study birth education collective promoting peer support and self-reliance.
• Birthingway College of Midwifery – Where Adele trained. Founded by Holly Scholles, who was interviewed earlier in the season.

Herbs & Remedies

• Blue Cohosh – Traditionally used to stimulate labor.
• Cinnamon – Small doses under the tongue thought to encourage contractions; use with care.
• Cotton Root Bark – Historically used to support labor, placental delivery, and oxytocin release.
• Angelica (dong quai) – A traditional uterine tonic; contraindicated during pregnancy due to potential risks.
• Shepherd’s Purse – Used postpartum to reduce bleeding; not advised during pregnancy.

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

In this insightful and candid conversation, Blyss sits at the feet of Holly Scholles, a pioneering midwife, educator, and legislative advocate from Beaverton, Oregon. Raised in Texas and called to healing work from a young age, Holly shares her journey from pre-med student to grassroots birth worker, from founding the Association of Texas Midwives to shaping Oregon’s unique licensure model. With clarity, wit, and deep wisdom, she reflects on the evolution of midwifery, the power of community organizing, and the enduring importance of being truly with woman.

Holly Shares:

• Growing up in a working-class family in Texas and early experiences of intuitive knowing
• Her calling to become a doctor at age three and the pivot to midwifery after a traumatic accident and hospital experience
• Apprenticing with Jehovah’s Witness midwives in Houston in the late 1970s
• Her early births, including the $250 fee, lack of prenatal care, and powerful postpartum reflections
• Founding the Association of Texas Midwives and navigating legislative battles in both Texas and Oregon
• Her role in shaping Oregon’s voluntary licensure model and working to add legend drugs and devices to the midwifery formulary
• Insights on how to engage collaboratively (and strategically) with medical professionals and policymakers—starting with donuts 
• The power and necessity of good charting—from memory to protection to professional communication
• Her working definition of midwifery, thoughts on traditional wisdom, and the risks of romanticizing the past
• Her ongoing consulting practice and support for midwives navigating complaints or investigations

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Marla Hicks – Co-founder of the Association of Texas Midwives and longtime advocate for licensing pathways that protect midwives’ autonomy and access.
• Sherri Daniels – An early figure in Texas midwifery advocacy, connected to the movement’s formative years of organizing and legal reform.
• Lee Steward – Co-founder of NAPSAC (National Association of Parents and Professionals for Safe Alternatives in Childbirth), a key figure in early home birth advocacy and the development of midwifery-informed research and policy.
• Betty Griffith – An elder Oregon midwife known for her teachings on energetic presence and the deeper layers of birth work.
• Barbara Katz Rothman – Sociologist and author whose writings on childbirth, reproductive justice, and medicalization deeply influenced the midwifery movement in the 1970s and beyond.

Books & Texts:

• Marie M. Miles’ A Textbook of Midwifery – A classic British midwifery textbook used widely by early apprentices for its clinical depth and grounding in physiological birth.
• Williams Obstetrics, 14th Edition – A standard medical textbook offering a hospital-based, intervention-focused view of birth—often read alongside midwifery texts for contrast.
• Oxorn-Foote Human Labor and Birth – A clinical obstetrics textbook with detailed explanations of the mechanics of labor, referenced in both midwifery and medical circles.
• The Five Standards of Safe Childbearing – Published by NAPSAC, this foundational text laid out principles of informed consent, evidence-based care, and respect for the birthing person’s autonomy.
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer – A beloved collection of essays blending Indigenous knowledge, botany, and personal reflection. A meditation on reciprocity and relationality. Read more »
• The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance – Kimmerer’s visionary essay on kinship-based, gift-driven economies rooted in nature and mutual care. Read essay »

Organizations, Trainings & Tools:

• Houston Midwife Education – A cooperative of faith-based midwives (many Jehovah’s Witnesses) in 1970s Texas, where Holly apprenticed during the early years of the home birth resurgence.
• Association of Texas Midwives (ATM) – Founded in 1980 to protect and formalize midwifery in Texas, ATM played a crucial role in advocacy, education, and certification efforts.
• NAPSAC (National Association of Parents and Professionals for Safe Alternatives in Childbirth) – A national advocacy group that promoted informed choice, challenged anti-home birth narratives, and published research rebuttals to mainstream obstetrics.
• BoRN (Biodynamic Resuscitation of Newborns) – A newborn resuscitation curriculum developed by Holly Scholles for out-of-hospital settings, rooted in physiologic understanding and practical, field-based skills.
• The Hive – An online education platform for midwives and birth workers. Holly teaches continuing education there, including the BoRN course. Explore »
• NARM (North American Registry of Midwives) – The national credentialing body for CPMs (Certified Professional Midwives), discussed in this episode regarding policy shifts and resuscitation requirements

Herbs & Remedies

• Anise for Morning Sickness – A traditional digestive aid and carminative used to relieve nausea in pregnancy; generally safe in small culinary amounts.
• Goldenseal – A powerful antimicrobial herb. Not recommended in pregnancy due to its uterine-stimulating properties and potential for toxicity.
• Foxglove (Digitalis) – A highly toxic plant once used medicinally for heart conditions. It is unsafe for home herbal use and can be fatal even in small doses.

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

In this warm and spirited conversation, Blyss sits at the feet of retired traditional midwife Mary Lothman of Portland, Oregon. Raised in Denver during the cultural upheaval of the 60s, Mary shares her path from rebellion to faith, from commune life to motherhood, and ultimately to midwifery. Her story is infused with humor, honesty, and devotion—to birth, to women, and to God.

Mary recounts how her early hospital births—with separation, institutional indifference, and a lack of autonomy—propelled her toward a radical trust in birth and a calling to serve other mothers. We trace her journey through La Leche League, early home births with Jan Tritten, and her unexpected entry into a community of Christian midwives in Portland.

Throughout the episode, Mary reflects on the spiritual dimensions of birth, the lessons she learned kneeling beside toilets and praying for wisdom, and the evolving tension between licensure, autonomy, and traditional care. With over a thousand births behind her, Mary brings fierce faith, grounded wisdom, and a reverence for birth that transcends fear and honors mystery.

Mary shares:

• Her journey from commune life to Christian faith
• How La Leche League shaped her early ideas of mothering and breastfeeding
• The transformative home birth she had with Jan Tritten, and how it led her to midwifery
• Practicing alongside a network of Christian midwives in Portland
• Lessons from peer review, loss, and sacred moments of grief
• Her reflections on free birth, maternal autonomy, and woman-to-woman support
• The Oregon licensure experience—and why she ultimately let it go
• Why she believes “God is in control” in every birth

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Jan Tritten – Midwife who attended Mary’s first home birth and helped inspire her midwifery path; later founded Midwifery Today magazine to uplift global midwifery wisdom
• La Leche League – Breastfeeding support group that shaped Mary’s views on mothering
• Linda Shellhammer – Portland-based Christian midwife who mentored Mary 
• Hazel Woodward – Hosted early Portland midwifery gatherings 
• Angelica tincture – Used for retained placenta
• Peppermint essential oil – A few drops in the toilet can gently stimulate postpartum urination
• Otoscope – Mary learned to assess her children’s ear infections at home
• The Oregon Midwifery Council – The group that eventually led the shift toward licensure
• Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.
• Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

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Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project