Healing Birth with Carla

Today I am privileged to be speaking with renowned Australian birth worker, Rhea Dempsey. Rhea is an Independent Birth Educator, Doula, Trainer, Counsellor and Author. Her understanding of birth has been gained over four decades. She has presented nationally and internationally. She is recognised as an insightful commentator on the difficulties women, who have a yearning for normal physiological birth, face in navigating present birth culture.

Her book Birth with Confidence: savvy choices for normal birth, explores the issue of physiological pain and the importance of experienced support. While Beyond the Birth Plan: getting real about pain and power explores the deeper emotional and psychological dynamics impacting birthing potential.

In this episode of the podcast we explore the difficulties in navigating the Western maternity care system, why we need to interrogate the ‘thank goodness’ birth stories we keep hearing about, and ways to support physiological birthing amidst this all.

To connect with Rhea or to find out more about her work and books:

Here's Rhea's website: https://rheadempsey.com.au/

Her Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/rheadempseybirth/

Her Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/birthingwisdom

And here are links to Dr Sarah Buckley's work:

https://sarahbuckley.com/

https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/health-care/maternity/hormonal-physiology-of-childbearing.pdf

Two women on a similar mission, both with a business named Healing Birth, and both sharing aligned messages about finding healing after a traumatic birth on their similarly named podcasts… Diana Forsell interviews me, Carla Sargent, on this episode of her Healing Birth podcast, which I’m now sharing here, on my own Healing Birth with Carla podcast. 

Find out how Diana (from Hawaii) and I (from New Zealand) met, and hear about my journey into midwifery, then later into birth trauma healing. I share about the abuse I witnessed as a student midwife, my take on what is causing so much needless birth trauma, and how I work with people to support their pathway to healing.

Diana's Healing Birth podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/show/41Zap1V4dOPKiEzL3h6mlq

Diana's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/healingbirth/

Carla's website: 

Carla's Instagram: 

Carla's Facebook:

Carla's Book:

Carla's Birth trauma survey report:

You’re in for a treat today! In this episode I speak with renowned birth trauma specialist, Jennifer Summerfeldt. Jennifer holds an MA in Counseling Psychology (MACP) and is a Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC). She is the CEO (Chief Empathy Officer) and Founder of ASK Therapy for Moms. With over 20 years of experience within the fields of maternal health, childbirth and psychology studies, she uses her expertise and voice to help advance the dialogue on trauma-informed care, maternal mental health, and healing in general.

Today we discuss how Jennifer came into the birth healing role, and what she perceives to be the complex underpinnings of the pervasive birth trauma that exists within our current culture of birth. She shares a little of her own experiences, and the paradigm within which she works in helping others to find healing after a traumatic birth.

Here is how you can connect with Jennifer and her work:

> www.therapyformoms.ca

> www.flowingfears.com

> www.nsidoulatraining.com

> Therapy For Moms (Formally known as Healing After Birth)

https://anchor.fm/therapyformoms

> Healing After Birth: Navigating Your Emotions After A Difficult Childbirth  (2018)

> Midwifery For The Soul: Awaken to Your Fierce Feminine in the Depths of Darkness and Trauma (2019)

> Nervous System Informed Doula Training: Foundational Course www.NSIDoulaTraining.com

> Fearlessly Thriving: A 5 part video series outlines point of view on healing and transformation www.flowingfears.com

> Perinatal Mental Health Program: Childbirth informed, Nervous system approach and a unique therapeutic map for mental health professionals and students. https://www.therapyformoms.ca/trainings

> Healing After Birth online program https://www.midwiferyforthesoul.com/courses/healing-after-birth-program

Today’s guest is Atarua, who hails from the Waikato, and is of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāpuhi decent. She is a strong Māori wahine, adored by her tane and a loving Māmā of five ātaahua tamariki. To translate for those who aren’t familiar with te reo, Ata is an awesome Māori woman whose man adores her, and she is a loving mum to her five beautiful children.

In this episode of the Healing Birth Podcast, Ata shares her mothering journey through four traumatic cesarean births and then the powerful home birth experience with her fifth baby. With the unwavering support of her man and a midwife who believed in her ability to birth her baby naturally, Ata was able to draw on her inner trust that indeed she was capable of birthing her baby, her way.

Included in this episode:

This is the second episode in a pregnancy and birth podcast series with Mother, Doula and Healing Birth Practitioner, Bella. We first met Bella in Episode 7 of the Healing Birth Podcast when she shared her journey through loss and trauma, and into the early months of her current wild pregnancy.

In this episode, as she enters the third trimester of her pregnancy, Bella describes what lies at the heart of her preparation for a free birth, the lifestyle changes this has led to and the tools she is utilising to support this season of family life.

If you want to listen to Bella's first interview with me before diving into this one, here's a link for you: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/IIpzaqCtHwb

Other relevant links regarding things mentioned in the podcast:

Link to the IndieBirth commentary:

https://indiebirth.org/kendras-birth-and-commentary/

Link to Sarah Buckley's work:

www.sarahbuckley.com

Spotify Link to the Snatam Kaur Kundalini Mantra:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6NvMFz8onERoCM6bKjTASJ

Bella's Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/boldlyshe

Dr. Naomi Simmonds (Raukawa, Ngāti Huri) works as an independent researcher with a focus on land-based learning, women’s land-based knowledges, Māori maternities and whānau (or family) wellbeing. Her most recent research involved walking 378km, re-tracing the journey of her pregnant ancestress, Māhinaarangi, to understand the transformations, knowledges and rituals for women that are embedded in the footprints of her ancestors. Naomi’s PhD research, awarded best Doctoral Thesis 2015 by the New Zealand Geographic Society, looked at Māori understandings and experiences of pregnancy and childbirth. Naomi also has a part time role working with Māori communities on climate change for the Deep South National Science challenge. She is a mother to two girls and spends most of her spare time at her ancestral home, Pikitū, working on environmental protection and restoration projects.

In this episode of the podcast, Naomi shares snippets of her own journey of birth and of the undeniable links for her people between language, land and birth. Through exploring this, and the impacts of colonisation and ongoing systemic racism, she acknowledges the challenges faced by Māori birth givers and pathways to their healing.

To read Naomi's PhD thesis you can download the pdf from this link:

https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/8821

To find out more about the book, Where the Heart Is: Stories of home birth in NZ, that Naomi contributed to, click here:

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

To find out more about Dr Ngahuia Murphy's work, click here:

https://teawaatua.com/teawaatua

Sarah is a Mindset Coach, Energy Healer and Healing Birth Practitioner who supports Mums to manage their mind and, in Sarah’s no-beating-around-the-bush words, own their shit. She helps others to work through past traumas, limiting beliefs, self-sabotaging behaviours, and people pleasing ways so that they can live an aligned and AUTHENTIC AF (Sarah’s business tagline) life as thriving individuals AND Mamas.

Sarah is passionate about normalising the conversations around everyday motherhood, and mental, emotional and physical health. She is a real-talking embodiment of that which she teaches… Sarah’s also prone to a little swearing, so if you find it offensive, this isn’t going to be the episode for you.

Today Sarah shares about her personal journey with birth trauma and healing, and how this has translated into her current work. She also vulnerably opens up about a devastating recent discovery and how she is needing to walk her talk more than ever before.

Topics covered in this episode include:

You can check out Sarah's website here:

www.mindfullyyou.nz

You can follow her on Instagram:

www.instagram.com/mindfullyyouwithsarah/

Or Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/mindfullyyouwithsarah

And you can listen to her podcast here:

If you are in a position to offer financial support for Sarah and her family, here's the link to the Givealittle page:

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/brummie-dans-cancer-support

In today’s episode, I share with you about my own journey into birth trauma support work and becoming a birth healer. I’m Carla Sargent, founder of Healing Birth and the Healing Birth Podcast, home birthing mother to three, ex midwife and Biology teacher, and all ‘round passionate birth keeper whose primary focus is on supporting others to heal after birth trauma, and educating other birth-passionate people about how to competently and confidently offer holistic birth trauma support to others.

If you’re intrigued about my journey into birth work and my unique style of offering birth trauma support, or if birth trauma support work sparks a fire in your belly, then this episode of the Healing Birth Podcast is for you, my friend. Find out what becoming a Healing Birth practitioner is all about.

To listen to the podcast episode about my own birth, click the following link:

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/kaMCsDgszvb

You can find out more about my book, Where the Heart Is, here:

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

To read the birth trauma survey report, click here:

https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/_files/ugd/d9a2d7_e161fa673d704be386f2a83b5301927d.pdf

You can access my free Understanding Birth Trauma Basics course here:

https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/understanding-birth-trauma-basics-course

To find out more about my Healing Birth Practitioner Training & Healing Birth Practitioner Mentorship, click here:

https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/training-with-carla

Here's the link to book a Zoom call with me to discuss potentially training with me:

https://calendly.com/healing-birth/30min

Today’s guest is Jojo Hogan, a maternal postpartum care specialist, doula coach and founder of the Slow Postpartum Movement; an international movement that educates and inspires as to the importance of the weeks following birth. She believes that the postpartum period is a time when new mothers, parents and families need and deserve to be nurtured, supported and celebrated so that they are able to offer the same to their new babies.

In today’s talk we discuss what a positive postpartum experience requires and the importance of preparing for this during pregnancy. Jojo shares the five pillars of postpartum care that are an embedded part of how all new mamas are cared for by many indigenous populations from around the world, and she offers tools and insights into how we can incorporate these valuable teachings into our Western postpartum care.

This is such an important listen for any parents-to-be and anyone who works with postpartum families. Here’s Jojo, sharing with us how to put the love drug, oxytocin, back into the postpartum experience.

Find out more about Jojo and her work here:

slowpostpartum.com

Or follow her on Instagram via this link:

https://www.instagram.com/slowpostpartum/

Here's a link to Jojo's 'The Art of Slow Postpartum' Online Course - for pregnant mothers and parents:

https://slow-postpartum.newzenler.com/courses/the-slow-postpartum-online-training

And a link to her Training & Mentoring for Doulas and Birthworkers:

https://slow-postpartum.newzenler.com/doulas-birthworkers-1

In this moving episode I spend a heartfelt couple of hours on the couch with my dear friend, Maria. She shares her undulating journey of motherhood, one that involves early pregnancy loss, as well as two stillbirths. Maria speaks to the challenges of birth and death, grief and shame, and how she found hope, love and strength streaming through the murkiness of it all.

Maria lost her daughter, Brooke, at 38 weeks of pregnancy back when she was a solo Mum. She later birthed her boy, now 16, via an induced, hospital birth. When he was eight she met her husband, and became a step mum to his three children. Together they decided on bringing another baby into the world. In January this year, River Hawk was born still. He died during his birth.

Maria vulnerably and lovingly shares her story with us all, providing a guiding light for those who may navigate the death of their own precious baby, or who meet the challenges of supporting a loved one through baby loss.

In this episode we discuss the following:

Looking for resources for further support? Maria recommends the following instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/zoeadelle/

And she recommends these books:

Signs: The language of the Universe, by Laura Lynne Jackson

What All Spirit Babies Want Their Mamas to Know: Otherworldly wisdom to support the journey to motherhood and the journey to awakening, by Kate Street

If you want to explore having a Healing After Loss session with me:

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