Healing Birth with Carla

In this episode I speak with Kate about her three birth experiences. The first was a traumatic induction with the, all too familiar, cascade of interventions that ensued and a birth that ended in an emergency cesarean. With her son being whisked away to NICU for breathing troubles, Kate didn’t get to meet her baby for 24 hours. And if that wasn’t devastating enough, she was essentially told that her anxiety was the cause of her baby needing to be born via cesarean. 

Following that experience Kate sought support to find healing and to prepare for the birth of her next baby. She planned a VBAC and despite having wonderful support, a number of factors meant that she agreed a cesarean was needed in the end. However, unlike Roman’s birth, Indie’s birth wasn’t felt to be traumatic. Kate had ensured that she made the calls every step along the way.

When pregnant with her third baby, Kate was determined to do all she could to get that vaginal birth that she desperately felt she needed. And she did it! 13 weeks ago Kate gave birth to her little girl via an empowering hospital VBA2C. She describes that experience as totally life changing.

Also raised in this episode:

If you would like to book a 1:1 birth trauma healing session with me (Carla) head here for details: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/healing

Or if you would like to join my Soulful Birth online antenatal series for holistic birth and postpartum guidance, head here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/soulful-birth

If you're not already doing so, you can follow my Healing Birth work on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healing.birth/ and/or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/healingbirthwithcarla

Today I’m joined by Sharna Southan, a Melbourne mama to one angel baby and one rainbow child. After Sharna’s traumatic miscarriage experience, she struggled to find the support she needed to work through overwhelming feelings of confusion, guilt and grief. In this podcast episode Sharna vulnerably shares with us how she navigated this, and the strategies she utilised to make it out the other side of that dark time.

Since then, Sharna made it her mission to ensure that others weren’t so alone in journeying through their baby loss experiences. To that end, she founded the Institute of Healing through Pregnancy Loss, providing guidance both for people seeking to heal and for those who want to help others to heal.

Use the following links to connect with Sharna or to find out more about her work:

Website: https://www.sharnasouthan.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instituteofhealing_pl/

Practitioner Programme: https://www.sharnasouthan.com/healing-through-loss-blueprint

Podcast: https://pod.link/1688072354

And you can learn more about my (Carla's) Healing Birth Practitioner Training programme here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

In this episode, Sarah who, like me, is an ex midwife, and I discuss all sorts of birthy goodness. Sarah shares about how she came to the realisation that the maternity system is seriously flawed and why being a hospital midwife was no longer her calling. She talks about her own birth experiences, from a medicated hospital birth to a jumping-through-hoops midwife-supported home birth, and then to a magical yet simultaneously oh-so-normal free birth. We discuss the vital self work that is required in preparation for an empowering birth experience, and so much more. Sarah is now working as a birth doula and runs hypnobirthing classes. Enjoy this candid chat between two passionate birth workers!

Discussed in this episode:

Connect with Sarah via her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/the.midwifemummy/

Connect with me (Carla) via my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/healing.birth/

Learn more about my Soulful Birth series: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/soulful-birth

Learn more about my Healing Birth Practitioner Training: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

Today’s guest is Stacey, an Australian mama of two. She shares about her traumatic first birth where there were unnecessary time constraints, threats of cesarean, pressure to agree to have Syntocinon to speed things up, episiotomy, ventouse, and unnecessary separation from her newborn. Stacey’s next pregnancy involved a lot of soul searching, self discovery, trauma healing and communication with her baby. She describes the potent work she did with an amazing doula and ultimately decided that a free birth was the right path for her and her baby. Get ready for the powerful and emotional journey that Stacey takes us on in generously sharing her story.

You can connect with Stacey via her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/bubbly_stace/

And here is the Instagram page of Michelle Palasia, Stacey’s doula: https://www.instagram.com/michellepalasia/

This deeply moving podcast episode takes us on an emotional rollercoaster. I’m not in the habit of providing trigger warnings, but Jo’s raw sharing about the many significant traumas she endured, especially during the early years of her mothering life, are quite frankly, extremely difficult to hear. She shares about the postnatal psychosis she developed after 5 months of sleeplessness when her twins, babies number 6 and 7, were in and out of hospital after their births at 32 weeks. The voices in Jo’s head were convincing her to take her children’s lives, and it was only thanks to the insistent support from her whangai mum that Jo and her children are here today.

Jo’s Māori heritage is discussed, as she takes us on a journey from a childhood bereft of reo and all things mātauranga Māori, to the healing she experienced when her midwifery training and accessing rongoā Māori led her down a path of enriching self discovery. She shares about traditional Māori birth practices, and about the work she does in educating whānau Māori about tikanga in the Wānanga Hapūtanga that she runs. Jo also works for PADA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Aotearoa), delivering Hine Tu Hine Ora education to those who work in the perinatal sphere.

A lot is covered over this next 90 minute kōrero with Jo. She touches on abortion, ovarian cancer, a diagnosis of infertility, domestic violence, baby loss, depression, suicidal ideation and suicide, impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), racism in the birth space, Havening, home birth, sexual trauma, and the power of tikanga. Do what you need to do to help prepare yourself for whatever may come up for you in listening to this talk, and ensure you have support around you, or someone you can call on if you need to unpack your feelings. 

Finally, before Jo starts our talk with a karakia, I want to acknowledge just what an incredibly courageous and generous wahine toa she is, sharing this deeply personal journey with us. It is with the utmost of respect and gratitude for Jo and her story that I share this episode with you all.

reo - Māori language

mātauranga Māori - cultural values, concepts and world views

rongoā Māori - traditional Māori healing

whānau Māori - Māori families

tikanga - Māori customs, practices and traditional values

Wānanga Hapūtanga - pregnancy workshops/classes for Māori

kōrero - conversation

wahine toa - warrior woman

karakia - prayer

Link to PADA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Aotearoa): https://pada.nz/

Link to Wānanga Hapūtanga: https://etipuereaws.org.nz/haputanga-wananga/

Link to a website page that lists support services surrounding birth trauma: https://www.mybirthstory.org.nz/external-resources

In today’s podcast episode Wikitoria, or Wiki for short, shares about the traumatic birth of her first-born, an experience that culminated in an emergency cesarean and time separated from her baby during his SCBU stay, and one which left Wiki with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Wiki accessed a number of avenues for support during her incredibly trying postpartum journey, but it wasn’t until she had a therapeutic Havening session six months down the line that her PTSD was healed. Wiki also shares about the beautiful support she received from one of my Healing Birth practitioner trainees, and an analogy that was shared with her which was an absolute game changer in terms of Wiki shifting from feelings of shame and guilt, to self compassion and empowerment.

When Wiki became pregnant again she was determined to do all she could to avoid another induction and to have a successful VBAC. Her determination and self work paid off, with Wiki birthing her little girl at home 8 weeks ago. Tune in for an inspirational, informative and moving story.

Also discussed in this episode:

To learn about Havening with Dr Robin Youngson: https://neuroscienceofhealing.com/havening/

To check out Kristin's (MamaRise) birth work (VBAC support and information, plus other birth support): https://www.mamarise.co.nz/

To learn more about my (Carla's) Healing Birth Practitioner Training, head here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training, or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/healing.birth/ or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/healingbirthwithcarla to hear about opportunities to have an Unravelling Your Trauma session with one of my Healing Birth practitioner trainees.

In previous episodes with Bella, she shared about her foiled plans for a gentle home birth with her firstborn - a traumatic way to learn some tough lessons about birth space support and energies; about early loss experiences she had been through; about the wild pregnancy she was embarking on; and about her plans for a free birth.

In this interview, the final in the three part series, Bella opens up about her free birth experience - its teachings and its healings. She talks through the unexpected grief she was confronted with in early postpartum, and she shares about the ways she set herself up for a gentle and nourishing beginning for her and her newborn.

Also included in this episode:

Bella has generously invited listeners to reach out with any questions about free birth. You can get in touch with Bella via her Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/boldlyshe/

Or her Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/boldlyshe.nz

Today I speak with Sarah while she holds her little 3 week old daughter, Chloe. Chloe’s was a positive and healing home birth, a far cry from the traumatic experience Sarah had had with her first born, Ollie. He had been posterior, something that Sarah’s midwife had instilled fear in her around, and that fear ultimately led to a very painful and long labour which ended with an epidural and then a ventouse delivery. 

Through working with me, listening to inspiring stories on this podcast, and doing the self-work required to prepare for her daughter’s birth, Sarah was able to keep fear at bay and tap into her power. She shares her stories with us today.

https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/healing

If you're interested in hearing more about my book (Where the Heart Is: Stories of home birth in New Zealand), or purchasing a copy, take a look here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/mybook

Or maybe you are a birth worker who is interested in the birth trauma healing work that I do and wish to upskill in this area and/or train with me... check out options here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/training-with-carla

After her 40 days old first born had a stroke, Alina developed a growing understanding of brain growth and function, and the part that movement plays in this. She now helps people to move without pain and discomfort, including in pregnancy or after giving birth, using her Feldenkrais® training, and the additional skills she developed from the Explain Pain course she did with the Neuro-Orthopaedic Institute Australasia.

For the last two years, Alina has been collaborating with a local Waikato OBGYN and a pelvic health physio, Bev Hampton, so that her clients can be sure that nothing important is missed. Alina believes that chronic pain can be significantly reduced, pregnancy can be more comfortable, and a lot can be done to solve our health issues before resorting to surgery.

In this episode of the podcast, we hear about Alina’s home birth history, where she gave birth in three different countries; about the horrors of her newborn’s stroke and the surgery and recovery that followed; and about the journey this has taken Alina on with regards to the work that she now does.

Want to know more about Alina and her work?

Here's her website: www.korumovement.co.nz

Her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KoruMovement

Her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/korumovement_nz/

Alina's current offerings are:

People Alina mentions in the podcast:

In this episode of the Healing Birth with Carla podcast, Imke shares with us about her harrowing start to motherhood. Her traumatic birth experience was followed by an incredibly trying time postpartum, including severe mastitis, a breast abscess that required surgical drainage, an overwhelmed comment to her midwife that resulted in the police turning up at her door, and finally, some recognition that what she was experiencing was not normal and deserved some support and healing.

Imke’s next birth was a healing experience at home, with a Labrador and a trusting midwife at her side. We also hear about Imke’s work, including her women’s empowerment photography and a book that’s in the making that’s all about transmuting mum guilt into love. 

Included in this episode:

Imke is a Mama of two, Portrait Photographer, Space holder, Retreat Host, Podcast Host, Author to be and overall passionate to share encouragement and love with other women and mothers. She holds sacred spaces like cacao ceremonies, breathwork, sound baths and is attuned in Reiki as well. If you would like to explore working with Imke, or following her work, you can do so via...

www.imkekautaphotography.com

www.facebook.com/imkeh11

www.instagram.com/imkekautaphotography/

Sacred Soul Stories with Imke Kauta • A podcast on Spotify for Podcasters