When it comes to making birth plans, safety is often a top-of-mind concern. This leads into the concept of understanding and weighing risks, real or perceived, and looking around for strategies, protocols and practitioners who we feel will minimize risk and ensure saftey. But what if, like my flock of chickens locked up too long in a small chicken run, the parameters we put into place to protect ourselves and our babies end up costing us something(s) even more valuable?

Tune into this episode to unpack the myths of safety and risk, in which a real-life metaphor from Brooke's experience of chicken keeping ends up being a helpful framework. (Who would have thought?!)

Resources mentioned in this episode:

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

After years of infertility, Jalina was led through healing and went on to have 4 sons, though not without significant losses in between. While her first 3 sons were all born in hospitals (albeit barely, in the case of #3!), she always felt she was missing out on something, and that the thing she really needed had nothing to do with the hospital. When she found herself pregnant with her 4th, it didn't make sense to go to the hospital again... but the leap from there to free birth wasn't an easy or light decsion. All the same, God led her and her husband to that plan, and with Brooke in their corner as a virtual birth keeper, they had a totally unassisted birth between dinner and bedtime on an ordinary weekday night.

Please note: the personal choices and beliefs of the mothers sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller and are not necessarily advised by nor reflect the beliefs of Lauren and/or Brooke.

Look up Jalina for Doula Support and Birth Photography in Upstate NY/Vermont:

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From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Lauren and Brooke have each had free births and are supportive of them. But we're also supportive of midwifery (I mean, Lauren IS one!)...

But what does the word "midwife" mean anymore? Doesn't it seem like that word gets applied to lots of very different sorts of birth attendants? 

What do the letters after her name mean? What if she doesn't have any letters? How much do those letters (or lack thereof) really tell you about what sort of a midwife she is? What makes someone a midwife and what are her roles and functions?

And how do you go about choosing one? Does it matter if she's a believer? 

You won't walk away from this episode with a one-size-fits-all guide to finding/selecting a midwife but you will walk away with some great questions to ask yourself, discuss with your husband, and pray through. Don't miss it.

References related to this episode: 

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

What is autonomy and how does it relate to radical responsibility? We'll unpack the meaning of these concepts and their application to pregnancy, birth (and beyond)! Grab practical tips for walking joyfully in your responsibility as a pregnant woman, and consider the big picture theology behind this invitation, too. 

We welcome your thoughts and reflections on this subject, too. Shoot us an email at [email protected].

Find us both online

Lauren's IG: @anointed birth 

Brooke's IG: @sisterbirth / sisterbirth.com

In this episode, we'll introduce ourselves - Lauren Hall (Rooted in Eden) and Brooke Collier (Sister Birth) and let you in on the winding path that led us into birth work, to one another, and then to the creation of this podcast. You'll see the fingerprints of God all over this origin story! You'll also hear more about what to expect in this space moving forward. 

Lauren on IG

Brooke on IG