Birth Time: the podcast

This is our second interlude where we invite a guest who was in our film, to come and join us to discuss where life has taken them since the film.

In this episode Jerusha Sutton, Zoe Naylor and Jo Hunter chat with the powerhouse that is Debra Pascali-Bonaro.

Debra is a globally renowned speaker, filmmaker, author, doula trainer and host of the Orgasmic Birth podcast, where she breaks barriers and explores love, intimacy, and pleasure in birth and parenting. 

Debra is a mother, grandmother, and sought-after expert featured in parenting publications, documentaries, and media outlets worldwide.

Amongst many other things Debra directed the award-winning documentary Orgasmic Birth: The Best Kept Secret and co-authored the book Orgasmic Birth: Your guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth. She also leads the transformative Eat Pray Doula Retreats in Bali each year with Midwife Robin Lim.

We had such an inspiring catch up with Debra and we could’ve listened to her talk for hours. She shares with us her personal journey to birth work and advocacy and her experiences creating Orgasmic Birth: The Best Kept Secret documentary.

Debra offers invaluable insights into ways we can shift the mainstream narrative around birth and change traditional views by offering the concept that birth can be a pleasurable experience.

We also chat about her important work around the International Childbirth Initiative, her DONA International birth and postpartum doula training work, along with how she and Robin Lim together inspire doulas, midwives and birth professionals worldwide to support and embrace the power of birth through their Eat Pray Doula Retreats in Bali.

Debra has been supporting birthing women and people for over 40 years and her deep commitment to improving maternal health and education shines through with warmth and love in this episode. Enjoy.

Debra Pacali-Bonaro
Website: www.debrapascalibonaro.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/debrapascalibonaro

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld

Jerusha Sutton
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo Hunter
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaftanmama

Zoe Naylor
Website: www.kaftanmama.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kaftanmama
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaftanmama

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

This series topic was borne from the recent happenings in the world of homebirth in Australia around Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practicing Midwives and the potential parameters that they will have to practice within. 

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

Dr Stuart J. Fischbein MD or otherwise lovingly known as Dr Stu, is a community-based obstetrician and an Associate of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

He is a published author of the book “Fearless Pregnancy, Wisdom & Reassurance from a Doctor, A Midwife and A Mom” and has published many peer-reviewed papers relating to homebirth and breech birth out of the hospital setting.

His research on 100 home twin births has been submitted for publication.

After completing his residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, Dr Stu, spent 24 years assisting women with hospital birthing and, for the next 13 years, was a homebirth obstetrician who worked directly with midwives.

Since retiring from attending home births in 2022, Dr Stu has turned his focus to traveling around the world as a lecturer and advocate for reteaching breech & twin birth skills, respect for the normalcy of birth and honouring informed consent.

He hosts the weekly Birthing Instincts podcast with co-host Blyss Young and together they offer hope, reassurance and safe, honest evidence supported choices for those women who understand pregnancy is a normal bodily function not to be feared. 

We talk with Dr Stu about his vast experience supporting breech and twin birth at home, we discuss risk and what it means to different women and different practitioners, and we pick his brain about insurance, the political climate around birth, money, obstetrics, the system and plenty more.

Be sure not to miss this one. Dr Stu isn’t scared to say it how it is, and we are so grateful and hold the deepest respect for his honesty and knowledge.

Dr Stu
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthinginstincts
Website: www.birthinginstincts.com
Podcast: www.birthinginstinctspodcast.com

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld  

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

This series topic was borne from the recent happenings in the world of homebirth in Australia around Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practicing Midwives and the potential parameters that they will have to practice within. 

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

Mia is a transformational birth coach and vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) mumma of two, whose daughter Kali was born at home on this day (the day of our interview) in 2022.

In this episode Mia shares with us her two very different births stories - an emergency caesarean and then a home birth.

Like so many, Mia’s emergency caesarean story kicks off with being induced and not knowing if and how to push back - the next chapter involves her overcoming her obstacles and having a beautiful birth at home.

If Mia was planning a VBAC at home today having previous gestational hypertension, Mia would fall into Cat B/C within the Australian College of Midwives Guidelines for Consultation and Referral.

As a result, Mia would not meet the proposed ‘low risk’ criteria which would allow a privately practising midwifes practice to be covered by professional indemnity insurance under the proposed changes, despite the fact that Mia had a straight forward, safe and beautiful VBAC at home.

Mia’s story shows us why a woman should be the person who determines what risk she is or is not willing to take.

Now Mia is harnessing the power of positive psychology and her own experience to guide women through home birth and to break down barriers. 

Mia Briski
Instagram: www.instagram.com/miabriski

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld  

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

This series topic was borne from the recent happenings in the world of homebirth in Australia around Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practicing Midwives and the potential parameters that they will have to practice within. 

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

In this episode Jerusha and Jo talk with Katelyn, who is a mother of two gorgeous girls, both born via caesarean – one under the care of a private obstetrician and one following a homebirth transfer with a private midwife.

Katelyn lives in Western Sydney on Darug land with her children and husband, Sam. She works as a doula, vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) mentor and educator, Kangatraining instructor, and women's circle facilitator, specifically hosting homebirth transfer circles and VBAC support circles.

She is also President of Homebirth NSW, co-host of the Australian VBAC Stories podcast, and perhaps most importantly, is a woman whose future birth choices would be drastically impacted by the professional indemnity insurance changes as they are currently proposed. 

Katelyn takes us on the journey of her two labour and birth stories and openly shares some of the intricate details of her experiences and how they have shaped her decision making. She discusses with us the emotions that come with a homebirth transfer and how often women feel like they don’t belong.

We loved chatting with Katelyn and were struck by her ability to share her story with such raw and honest conviction. She shows us through her story the significance of a woman’s right to choose and the absolute importance of the woman defining risk for herself and her baby.

Katelyn Commerford
Website: www.katelynthedoula.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/katelyn.doulaandnbac
Kangatraining: www.instragram.com/kangatraining_penrith
VBAC Podcast: www.instagram.com/australianvbacstories

Homebirth NSW
Website: www.homebirthnsw.org.au
Instagram: www.instragram.com/homebirthnewsouthwales
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HomebirthNSW

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld  

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

This series topic was borne from the recent happenings in the world of homebirth in Australia around Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practicing Midwives and the potential parameters that they will have to practice within. 

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

In this episode we are delighted to share our chat with Bibi Coxon. Bibi shares her own birth stories including the unassisted homebirth of her twins, as well as her work as a midwife supporting physiological twin births. 

Bibi is a midwife and mum to 3 babies all born at home, including twins in Australia.

Her work and passion is in supporting women to have a positive birth experience.

Bibi has two degrees in Midwifery. One Italian and one Australian.

She has been teaching and educating actively in both countries and in both Italian and English. 

Bibi is learning more and more from Breech Without Borders about breech and twins and will be training along side the Global Midwifery Director, Kristine Lauria in Italy 2024 and in Australia in April 2025 (registration link below). 

The current situation places twin pregnancy into high risk clinics without continuity of care and without midwifery care which leads to higher rate of cesarean section and often trauma and separation from babies.

Bibi's dream is to be able to offer to every woman pregnant with twins at least midwifery continuity of care and normalise vaginal twin birth even when 1 or 2 babies are breech.  

Her ultimate dream is to normalise twin homebirth, when conditions are physiological.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed talking to Bibi. 

Bibi Coxon
Websites for Homebirth: www.yourholisticmidwife.com.au
Website for Twins (under construction) www.birthingtwins.com
Breech Without Borders: www.breechwithoutborders.org
Newcastle Link for registering for Breech Without Border training for April 2025: www.breechwithoutborders.regfox.com/newcastle

Bibi's Instagram: www.instagram.com/your_holisticmidwife
Twins Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthingtwins

Podcast - Your Holistic Midwife: www.podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/your-holistic-midwife/id1714194516
Podcast - Birthing Twins (Launching 1st October 2024): www.podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/birthing-twins/id1768434007

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld  

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

In this episode Jo and Jerusha chat with Kristyn Begnell from Homebirth Australia. They explore the concept of risk, who gets to define it and how this potentially violates human rights and ethical practice guidelines.

Kristyn is a mother of two young girls, living on Darug and Gundungurra country in the Blue Mountains of NSW. After researching different models of care, Kristyn planned a homebirth with a privately practising midwife (PPM) for her first child but transferred to hospital at 37 weeks due to medical complications unrelated to pregnancy. She describes her birth experience in a public hospital as traumatic.

Kristyn saw the same midwife during her second and third pregnancies and had a successful homebirth after caesarean in 2018. This experience propelled her into maternity advocacy, particularly homebirth advocacy, when she became a consumer representative for her local publicly funded homebirth program and joined Homebirth NSW (then Homebirth Access Sydney) in 2018.

She has since been a consumer representative for the Australian College of Midwives, the Bureau of Health Information, the NSW Ministry of Health, The Agency of Clinical Innovation, the LEAPP Guidelines, her local health district and has been the National Convenor of Homebirth Australia since 2021. Kristyn testified at the recent NSW Birth Trauma Inquiry both as a consumer and as a representative of Homebirth Australia.

Homebirth Australia
Instagram: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia
Facebook: www.facebook.com/homebirthaustralia

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld  

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

Jerusha Sutton and Zoe Naylor had a beautiful catch up with Hannah Dahlen who chatted with us about what she’s been up to and what’s been happening in the world of birth over the past few years since we filmed Birth Time.

We touched on research topics, book writing, the NSW Birth Trauma Inquiry, Professional Indemnity Insurance for privately practicing midwives and much more.

Hannah was the very first person we interviewed for Birth Time: the documentary, so it feels appropriate that she is our first “interlude” interview between series.

Hannah is the Professor of Midwifery and Associate Dean (Research and Higher Degree Research) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. She has been a midwife for more than 34 years.

She is one of the first midwives in Australia to gain Eligibility and access to a Medicare provider number and prescribing rights following government reforms in 2010.

Hannah worked for nearly 10 years as a privately practising midwife alongside her role as a Professor of Midwifery.

Hannah has published over 300 papers and book chapters and has strong national and international research partnerships.

In 2019 Hannah was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her significant services to midwifery, nursing and medical education and research.

In November 2012 Hannah was named in the Sydney Morning Herald’s list of 100 “people who change our city for the better” and named as one of the leading “science and knowledge thinkers” for 2012.

Hannah Dahlen
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hannah.dahlen
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hannahdahlen

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld

Jerusha Sutton
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo Hunter
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaftanmama

Zoe Naylor
Website: www.kaftanmama.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kaftanmama
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaftanmama

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

One in three women in Australia experience birth trauma. With so much information flying around on this topic - and off the back of the Birth Experience Study and the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Birth Trauma - we decided to make this the focus of our first series, to bring some clarity and detailed information to this enormous issue.

We had a fabulous chat with Billie Harrigan and discussed what trauma-informed care means and how it can be put into practice. Billie talks about trauma-informed care being as lifesaving as hand washing and CPR. She says it’s one of the most basic skills needed for maternity care, yet it is the most neglected.

Billie has been serving birthing families for about 40 years as a traditional birth companion (what Canadians used to call “the neighbour” and the rest of the world understood to be the community midwife), an educator for parents and professionals, a breastfeeding counsellor, lay pastoral counsellor, and an integrative perinatal health consultant.  

She has taught midwives in 125 countries in the skills of physiological birth and is the author of the world's first certification course for becoming trauma informed specific to the perinatal client. She is the founder of Birth Trauma Ontario, an organisation that focuses on the causes and the solutions for obstetric violence and advocates for prevention through creating alternatives to today's technocratic medicalised birth services industry and its astounding rates of abuse and trauma.

Billie has now turned her attention to training new traditional birth companions as part of this alternative so that parents have more options for welcoming their precious babies. 

Billie Harrigan
Website: www.harriganhive.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/billieharrigan
Bio site: www.bio.site/billieharrigan

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld  

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

One in three women in Australia experience birth trauma. With so much information flying around on this topic - and off the back of the Birth Experience Study and the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Birth Trauma - we decided to make this the focus of our first series, to bring some clarity and detailed information to this enormous issue.

We had the great pleasure in having a discussion with the fabulous Fiona Reid. We could listen to her beautifully heartfelt articulate reflections all day long.

Fiona has practiced midwifery for over 30 years. She has worked in rural, regional, and metropolitan centres. She has worked in several midwifery roles including private midwifery practice, birth centres, MGP and overseas in Papua New Guinea and India. She has worked as a Midwifery Clinical Specialist in a Level 6 Maternity Hospital and as a Clinical Midwifery Consultant in a Level 5 Maternity Hospital, and she has developed and taught Midwifery Studies in two universities and at TAFE.   

In 2018 Fiona initiated and developed a Formal Birth Debriefing Service using Trauma Informed Care principles at a regional hospital and in that capacity, she has debriefed 567 women, families, and practicing midwives. She now understands the urgent need for deep compassion driven care in maternity services for everyone involved in receiving care and for those providing care if we want to modify trauma by protecting the ‘humanness’ of expert, clinical practice. 

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld  

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

One in three women in Australia experience birth trauma. With so much information flying around on this topic - and off the back of the Birth Experience Study and the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Birth Trauma - we decided to make this the focus of our first series, to bring some clarity and detailed information to this enormous issue.

In this episode we chat with the awesome Dr Hazel Keedle. We dive deep into the background of and findings from The Birth Experience Study (BESt) and how it has contributed to and informed The NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Birth Trauma.

Dr Hazel Keedle is a Senior Lecturer of Midwifery and Director of Academic Midwifery Programs at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. Hazel has experience as a clinician in nursing and midwifery, she’s also an educator, and a researcher. Her research interests are vaginal birth after caesarean, birth trauma, and maternity experiences, which she explores primarily using feminist mixed methodologies. Dr Keedle is the author of the book "Birth after Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth," which is based on her PhD findings. Dr. Keedle is also the lead researcher on the largest Australian maternity experiences survey, The Birth Experience Study (BESt) and the BESt International Collaboration.

Here are the papers discussed:

Dr Hazel Keedle
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hazelkeedle
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hazelkeedlevbacresearcher
Twitter: @HazelKeedle

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld  

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.