At Her Feet

In this powerful and unfiltered conversation, elder midwife Gail Hart reflects on a lifetime of birth work shaped by lived experience, deep physiology, and a fierce commitment to women’s autonomy. From her early exposure to home birth in a religious commune, to a traumatic hospital delivery that changed everything, to helping shape Oregon’s midwifery culture, Gail shares the kind of perspective only decades of hands-on midwifery can offer. She reminds us that fear is not the foundation for wise care—and that true knowing comes from touch, time, and trust.

Gail shares:

• Her peripatetic childhood in Hawai‘i and California, and her early political awakening
• Discovering midwifery in a communal religious group through apprenticeship and hands-on learning
• Her own traumatic hospital birth and how it galvanized her path
• Attending the Northwest School of Practical Midwifery and launching into community practice
• The cooperative, peer-led model of early Oregon midwifery—and what was lost with formal licensure
• How licensing systems shifted midwifery away from intuition and toward liability-driven care
• The risks of book-heavy midwifery education that lacks embodied learning
• What she believes causes the rise in interventions, fear-based care, and “emergencies” that aren’t
• The physiological wisdom of waiting—on shoulders, placentas, and newborn breath
• Why she believes peaceful people often begin with peaceful births

Further Reading & Support:

People & Midwives

• Carla Hartley – Founder of Ancient Art Midwifery Institute; a vocal advocate for traditional midwifery outside licensure models.
• Margaret Miles – Author of A Textbook for Midwives, emphasizing non-interventionist, woman-centered care.
• Michel Odent – French obstetrician who pioneered water birth and promoted undisturbed, hormonally intact birth.
• Pat Edmonds – Midwife known for grounding her practice in normal physiology and calm presence.
• Dr. Max Miracle – Adventist doctor who supported natural childbirth after witnessing robust outcomes in rural South America.
• Frédérick Leboyer & Fernand Lamaze – Influential figures in natural birth reform; Lamaze popularized structured breathing, while Leboyer advocated for gentle, sensory-safe birth.
• The McMenamin Brothers – Oregon hoteliers who restored the Edgefield Hotel, where this interview was recorded.
• Northwest School of Practical Midwifery – A hands-on Oregon midwifery school co-led by naturopaths and chiropractors that operated in the late 1970s, eventually closing as licensure models took hold. It helped launch Portland’s first Birth Center and emphasized clinical experience rooted in physiology.

Books & Resources

• A Textbook for Midwives by Margaret Miles
• A foundational manual blending common-sense midwifery with practical instruction grounded in normal physiology.
• (Out of print; available via libraries and resale platforms.)
• Birth Without Violence by Frédérick Leboyer
• A poetic call to treat birth as sacred—quiet, gentle, and baby-centered.
• Read on Internet Archive →
• The Scientification of Love by Michel Odent
• Explores the neurohormonal basis of love and birth, and the damage done by unnecessary interference.
• More info →
• Life Magazine on Twilight Sleep
• Referenced as a cultural artifact promoting scopolamine use during birth, separating mothers from babies.
• Context article →

Studies & Legal Precedents

• Placental Resuscitation
• Mercer, J.S. et al. Delayed cord clamping: Providing placental transfusion and more.
• PubMed →
• Bhatt, S. et al. Delaying cord clamping improves cardiovascular function and oxygenation in preterm lambs.
• PubMed →
• Oregon Attorney General Opinion (1970s)
• Affirmed that attending normal birth is not the practice of medicine when no drugs or surgery are involved.
• (Not publicly archived; cited in Oregon midwifery legal records.)

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 full-circle conversation, Blyss sits with elder midwife Linda Bennett—her own midwife during her first birth and a key figure in the resurgence of home birth midwifery in 1970s Santa Cruz.

From attending births alongside Raven Lang to being arrested twice for practicing midwifery without a license, Linda shares stories from a time when birth work was raw, rebellious, and rooted in community.

Together, they reflect on ethics, peer review, licensing debates, and the evolution of birth culture across generations—while revisiting the sacred responsibility of showing up for women on their terms.

Linda shares:

• How the women’s self-help movement helped spark her path into midwifery
• Stories from the early Santa Cruz home birth scene
• The challenges and consequences of being arrested for attending births
• Her candid views on licensing, free birth, and holding birth in integrity
• Reflections on humility, peer review, and generational wisdom
• Memories from Blyss’s first birth, and how it shaped both of their journeys

Further Reading & Support:

Books & Films:

• Human Labor and Birth by Harry Oxorn & William R. Foote – A classic obstetrics text covering the physiology and stages of labor.
• Emergency Childbirth: A Manual by Dr. Gregory J. White – A practical guide for first responders and laypeople attending out-of-hospital births.
• Special Delivery by Rahima Baldwin – An early home birth manual offering natural childbirth support and guidance.
• All My Babies (1953 film) – Documentary on Georgia midwife Mary Francis Hill Coley, used in midwifery training. Watch here »
• Birth in the Squatting Position – A short New Guinea birth film showing a woman giving birth in a squatting position over soft ground, with her baby sliding onto dirt.

Midwives, Activists & Colleagues

• Lorraine Rothman – Feminist health activist and co-creator of the Del‑Em menstrual extraction kit.
• Carol Downer – Reproductive justice activist and pioneer of self-help gynecology.
• Gail Peterson – Birth educator and advocate for holistic childbirth.
• Carla Hearty – Midwife and colleague from Linda’s Santa Cruz practice.
• Genine Walker – Peer midwifery collaborator.
• Raven Lang – Author of Birth Book and midwifery pioneer.
• Tonya Brooks – Founder of ACHI and the Gentle Birth Center in Glendale, CA; co-defendant in birth rights cases.
• Cat Feral – Midwife who practiced with Linda in Tacoma, WA, before relocating to Oregon; passed in 2024.

Physicians & Medical Influencers:

• Dr. Tom Brewer – Developed the Brewer Pregnancy Diet to prevent preeclampsia.
• Dr. Ronald Wu & Dr. Anthony “Tony” Burch – Southern California OBs known for supporting vaginal breech births and collaborative midwifery care.
• Dr. Nial B. Ettinghauser – Drugless practitioner advocating holistic approaches to birth.
• Dr. Joseph T. Anzalone, FACOG – OB-GYN in Santa Cruz noted for working alongside midwives.
• Dr. Howard Marchbanks – Family practitioner from Orange County who supported birth work.

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 gentle and grounded episode, Blyss sits with Kelly Frohnauer, a retired traditional midwife from Merlin, Oregon. Kelly’s story is one of trust—in birth, in women, and in the quiet power of simplicity. She shares how her path unfolded outside the bounds of licensure, guided instead by elder midwives, spiritual conviction, and hands-on learning.

Kelly shares:

• Practicing outside licensure in pre-regulation Oregon
• How a postpartum hemorrhage reshaped her herbal approach
• Her signature use of hot ginger towels for pain relief during labor
• Why more women are turning to free birth
• The midwife as “birth guardian,” grounded in presence and prayer
• Her transition from midwifery into natural skincare and art

Kelly’s presence is a reminder that birth can still be a sacred, sovereign experience—free from fear, rich with faith, and rooted in trust.

To explore Kelly’s handcrafted skincare line, visit: naturalfamilybotanicals.com

Mentioned in this episode:

• Red Raspberry Leaf Tea – used during pregnancy to tone the uterus and support gentle labor
• Shepherd’s Purse – a hemostatic herb Kelly no longer recommends postpartum due to clotting concerns
• Alfalfa – taken during pregnancy to build blood volume and prevent hemorrhage
• Cinnamon – used in tincture form to stop postpartum bleeding
• Cayenne Pepper – given to redirect blood flow during hemorrhage and buy time for other herbs to work
• Angelica & Dong Quai – used to encourage delivery of a retained placenta

Further Reading & Support:

• Special Delivery by Rahima Baldwin – the book and educator who certified Kelly in childbirth education
• Surja Johnson – a Santa Cruz midwife who mentored Kelly in her early apprenticeship
• Penny Simkin – beloved birth educator known for her pain-relief techniques, though Kelly’s hot towel method came through a different lineage

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 radiant conversation, Blyss sits with beloved elder midwife Anita Rojas, whose story spans from milking cows in the remote mountains of Nayarit, Mexico to nearly four decades of midwifery in Oregon. Anita shares her early life in a self-sustaining village, the traumatic hospital birth of her twins that awakened her calling, and the path that led her to serve families with reverence, faith, and fierce love.

Her wisdom is steeped in generations of traditional knowledge, spirit guidance, and deep personal healing. She speaks of her evolution from a self-taught midwife to a Tao Hands healer, her years running a busy birth center, her decision to walk away from licensure, and the power of presence and love in the birth room.

Anita shares:

• Stories of the ancestral midwives in her family
• Memories of growing up without electricity, hospitals, or stores
• How a traumatic hospital birth became the catalyst for her calling
• What it meant to be self-taught through direct experience and community learning
• Her years running a busy birth center — and why she chose to walk away
• Why she gave up her license to practice as a traditional midwife
• Her nuanced reflections on what “traditional midwife” really means
• How trauma, intuition, and spiritual guidance shape her practice
• The breathwork she teaches to help mothers come back into their bodies
• How she reclaimed her ability to attend breech births through deep personal healing
• What she believes midwifery is really about — and why it all comes back to love

“Love is going to heal — and it starts with birth.”

Mentioned in this episode:

Black & Blue Cohosh + Cotton Root Bark for Labor Induction

We explore the traditional use of black cohosh, blue cohosh, and cotton root bark to support the onset of labor. These herbs have long been part of the midwifery toolkit — used to encourage contractions, ripen the cervix, and gently stimulate the uterus when labor feels close but isn’t progressing.

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. We share this for educational and historical purposes only. Always consult trusted resources and experienced practitioners when considering the use of herbal allies in labor.

Elizabeth Davis

Elizabeth Davis is a Certified Professional Midwife, educator, and author of Heart & Hands: A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy and Birth. A pioneer in the modern midwifery movement, she’s spent over four decades advocating for holistic, woman-centered care and training generations of midwives through her teaching and the National Midwifery Institute.

Further Reading & Support:

• Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun Weed
• Herbal Healing for Women by Rosemary Gladstar
• Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year
• Consultations with elder midwives or lineage-based herbalists

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 moving episode, midwife Shannon Staloch sits down with Yelena Kolodji—an elder midwife whose roots in California midwifery stretch back to the early 1970s. From her humble beginnings on a Minnesota dairy farm to catching over 1,600 babies, Yelena shares a vivid, powerful reflection on what it means to truly be with woman. This conversation touches on the soul of midwifery, the loss of trust in birth, the dangers of over-medicalization, and the quiet wisdom that arises from decades of hands-on experience. She reminds us that to hold space is an art form—and one we must fight to preserve.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Yelena’s origin story—from Minnesota farm life to catching her first glimpse of birth in 1971
• Sneaking into hospital births dressed as a nurse and witnessing a solo breech delivery by an intern
• Her apprenticeship with June and becoming a CNM while continuing home birth practice
• What was in her birth kit then (and now)—including herbs, homeopathics, and a simple trust in birth
• The shift from intuitive, soul-based care to technology-dominated practice
• Why birth stories matter, even (and especially) when they’re painful
• How our culture’s disregard for elders mirrors our treatment of birth
• Her critique of modern midwifery education and the lack of home birth exposure
• Reflections on the systemic rise of fear-based obstetrics and 40% C-section rates
• The emotional, psychological, and spiritual impact of birth on babies, mothers, and families
• Why the preservation of oral storytelling and hands-on wisdom is essential for future midwives
• The decline of home birth training in CNM education

Special thanks to:

Shannon Staloch for conducting this intimate conversation, and Yelena Kolodji for opening her home, her story, and her heart.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• UCSF Midwifery Program
• Yunnan Baiyao for postpartum bleeding
• Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a mineral-rich, deeply nourishing herb traditionally used by midwives to support pregnant and postpartum mothers. High in vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well as calcium, magnesium, and iron, alfalfa has long been valued for building and replenishing the blood, especially in the third trimester to help prepare for birth and prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Its high vitamin K content is particularly significant in promoting healthy blood clotting. Midwives also use alfalfa to support milk production and overall vitality in the postpartum period. Typically taken as a tea, tincture, or in capsule form, alfalfa is one of the gentle green allies that helps fortify the birthing body from the inside out.
• The legacy of Ashley Montagu and the concept of uterine envy in book, The Natural Superiority of Women

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, we sit down with Brenda Capps, the first elder midwife to speak her truth for this project. It’s the story of a life woven with loss, love, and deep faith.

Brenda shares:

• Growing up in the South, surrounded by church and early memories of Black granny midwives who showed her the sacred power of birth
• Her own fast and instinctive births—some caught by her husband, some arriving so quickly there was no time for pain
• How midwifery found her, not through licenses but through prayer, mentorship, and unwavering devotion
• Serving under religious exemption, traveling far and wide to be with families, and the calling she’s always followed as a “traveling midwife”
• The betrayal of a student she once trusted, the investigation that followed, and the arrest that tried to silence her story
• What she’s learned from loss—attending stillbirths, grieving her husband and son, and how faith has carried her through every heartbreak
• Why she believes no piece of paper should decide who can walk with birthing women
• Her plea to future midwives: keep the work sacred, and never lose the wonder

Brenda’s voice is both tender and fierce, wise and raw. Her story is a window into a way of midwifery that’s slipping away—and a reminder to honor the faith and fire that have always kept it alive.

Mentioned in This Episode:

“Mayes' Midwifery" is edited by Sue Macdonald and Gail Johnson.

“Spiritual Midwifery” Ina May Gaskin

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 deeply personal first episode, host Blyss Young shares the story behind At Her Feet, The Bridge Midwives inaugural podcast. From the awe of witnessing her niece’s birth as a teenager to the running of a birth center whose midwifery students seemed increasingly clinical, to then becoming a midwife herself, Blyss traces the quiet call that led her to the wisdom of the elders. This is the origin of The Bridge Midwives Project—a devotion to remembering what was nearly lost, to honoring the wisdom that lives in hands and stories, and to reconnecting a lineage that predates textbooks and licensure. 

In This Episode:

• Meet your host, Blyss Young, a licensed midwife and founder of The Bridge Midwives Project.
• Learn the inspiration behind At Her Feet—a podcast devoted to archiving and reviving traditional midwifery wisdom.
• Hear how Blyss’ own path—from birthing mother to midwife to grief-stricken mother and wandering seeker—shaped this offering.
• Preview the voices to come: 15 elder midwives from Northern California and Oregon, each holding pieces of a wisdom tradition nearly erased.
• Explore words like “traditional” and "deliver" —and how listening with reverence can help us uncover the wisdom beneath the language. 
• Acknowledge how colonization and professional gatekeeping contributed to the erasure of many Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and rural midwives
• An invitation to listen not with urgency, but with humility, presence, and care.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)
• The Bridge Midwives Project: bridgemidwives.com

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.

Podcast editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project