HOLY WILD BIRTH : Training Christian Birthkeepers, Traditional Midwives in Faith-Based Birth Work

"They're giving credit to the wrong things! GOD is the one who deserves the credit."

This was Audrey's lament as she listened to free birth and birth story podcasts during her last pregnancy. Where she could so clearly see GOD's hand at work on behalf the mother's and babies, the credit was being given to everything and everyone BUT God. 

Audrey longed to tell her stories and then to point to God as her source and provision and protector, and that's exactly what she does in this episode of Holy Wild Birth.

Through three very unique births, Audrey listened for and heard God's voice. He led her graciously through a breech hospital birth on an operating room table, a precipitous birth on her kitchen floor (which her midwives barely made), and a completely wild pregnancy and free family birth in her master bathroom.

The stories themselves are completely engrossing, but what's even more special is the way she highlights God's hand in them and His goodness toward her. 

You'll walk away with so many nuggets of truth from this long but worthy episode.

Connect with Audrey: 

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Cindy (from episode 15) is standing in for Brooke today in this "conversation episode" on the role of food in the physiology of birth. Very vital information here, so be sure to take loads of notes. You'll glean so much from the combined wisdom of Lauren and Cindy on this topic, whether you're an expectant mom or a midwife/birth keeper.

Grab Cindy's nutrition guide graphic for pregnancy and nursing.

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

This is an "extra." I (Brooke) just had it on my heart to insert a little bonus episode into our lineup here in which I share about the journey of my current pregnancy in real time, at 38 weeks, as well as my birth vision/intention for my 6th home birth and postpartum time.

It's unscripted and a little rambling, but it's real and hopefully somewhat interesting! And I can't wait to record ANOTHER bonus episode down the road that tells my birth story.

So listen in on my story and my process -- mind, body, spirit, heart -- during my 6th pregnancy at age 42.

Mentioned in this episode

From Brooke:

Cindy vulnerably shares birth and battle history in this episode. Both her literal births of her children and battle with postpartum depression, and also her birth into becoming -- and recently UN-becoming -- a CPM. You will hear her how she let the Lord defend her after a fierce attack came her way after a tragic birth outcome.

Cindy is a dear friend to both Lauren and Brooke, and we're excited for you to hear her beautiful heart for God and for women and her quest to live in integrity as a midwife, even if that means voluntarily giving up a certificate that "legitimizes" her work to the world.

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Yes, we know you don't know what a hearthmother is. But let your curiosity about it hook you in to give this episode a listen. 

The concept of hearthmother is a very personal one for Lauren, one which the Lord has been fleshing out over the years and has grown to include a model of sorts for finding your way into wholeness and health in virtually any area of life, but for our purposes here, in regards to pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.  

This episode is long and may require a couple of listening sessions to finish up, but it's RICH and we couldn't imagine shortening it. 

ALSO: Be sure to grab Lauren's ebook gift with a visual and write-up about The Way of the Hearthmother as well as a template for care providers to use this model in their own practice. You might even want to download it before you begin listening, so that you can follow along.  

Read in this episode:
"Hearthmother Calls" by Katlyn R.H. Hudgins; The Pretentious Toad

From Katlyn:

Website

Instagram

From Lauren:

Email [email protected] to set up a midwifery consult

From Brooke:

- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox

- a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)

- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)

- a FB community

Brittany has five babies before the one whose story she tells in this episode, but this 6th baby was her first home birth. 

And it also included some rather unusual elements. You'll love hearing about how she and her team navigated the unusual sorts of curve balls that occurred in this labor and the role that prayer played in it. 

This story was recorded in the context of  Virtual Sister Circle call -- a bi-weekly community and mentoring call that's part of Brooke's Embrace Birth Journey --- and is now being shared here on the podcast with Brittany's permission. 

Be prepared to flinch with sympathy and then to have your jaw hit the floor... well, those were two the reactions that came up for ME as I heard her story.

Email us any time at [email protected]

Mentioned in this episode:  

Embrace Birth Journey Courses/Membership 

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Cervical dilation, the 5-1-1 rule, stages of labor.

We've become rather obsessed with finding ways to describe the "pattern" of "normal" labor and assessing its progress. But what if the methods listed above are lacking and possibly even misleading us into conclusions (and interventions) that do us a great disservice?

In this episode -- which piggy-backs off Sharon's birth story in episode 9 -- we explore alternative ways of understanding and "assessing" the flow of labor. We think you'll find this new perspective refreshing and freeing.

Mentioned in this episode:

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Ok, if you're a Christian planning a natural birth, you've probably heard the descriptor of "pain-free" tacked to the front of the word birth. Sounds good, right? Who wouldn't want that?

Lauren and Brooke have both had what could be called pain-free births and yet they don't really care that much. Why? Because God's purposes for His daughters in childbirth so greatly surpass the physical sensations or lack there-of that whether or not there is pain is really more of an after-thought.

Join us as we explore the theology of pain, the "curse" on Eve in the garden, why pain-free births end up happening (or not), redemptive suffering, expecting the goodness of God in birth, and what a better focus and goal might be instead of pain avoidance. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

From Lauren:

From Brooke:

Meet Sarah - mama of two, holistic dietician, and amateur crocheter -- as she shares with us her birth stories on today's episode. 

She shares how her primary birth goals shifted from Safety&Survival to Peace&Power and what a difference that shift made.

What struck me most about my conversation with Sarah is how eloquently she weaves deep truths and profound insights into her telling of her stories. She encountered God in some really poignant ways in her second birth, and I know you'll me encouraged by every detail of it.

As always, the choices, beliefs and opinions of the mamas sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller herself and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or recommended choices of Lauren and/or Brooke.

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Resources Mentioned in this Episode: 

Connect with Sarah on IG

From Lauren:

From Brooke: