Midwifery for the People

Wowee wow wow I have gotten to talk so some cool people lately on the podcast. This week I have Mel from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast on and we really get into some good stuff. I invited her on after I saw the clip that the birth world was resharing like crazy, where some official looking Australian folks were talking about limiting homebirth access (or so it sounded) to ultra low risk women, which is a pretty small percent of women. It all sounded very Handmaid’s Tale and I asked Mel if she could come help us north american folsk understand what’s going on and also learn more about the state of midwifery in Australia in general.

I love that Mel and I have pretty different ideas of “how” we can get to the same place with women and midwives having autonomy and power, etc, etc. She is working in the system. I’m working outside any systems. And yet we have a lovely chat, and I think there is a lot of richness because of the differences.

We talk educational pathways, how to find hope for the future of birth and midwifery, regulations, advocacy and so much more. Also be sure to check out The Convergence of Rebellious Midwives here and more of Mel’s awesome work here.

So have a listen and tell me what stood out for you or what you took away!

I was so blessed to record this conversation with Hannah Penaluna that was a long time coming! She is an experienced midwife who moved from state controlled midwifery landscape of Australia to the wild west (ok she is in the south but still) of Georgia, an unregulated state in the U.S. The episode delves into her journey, exploring her midwifery practice in rural Australia, how vaccine mandates led to her termination under disciplinary action for non compliance there, and her transition to home birth midwifery in the U.S.

Her experience in both of these locations and versions of midwifery help shed a lot of light and nuance on the regulatory challenges we are facing as midwives globally. This is a conversation between two unlicensed midwives who stand fof midwifery autonomy, and yet, we definitely also talk about the disturbing trend of unskilled unlicensed midwives or midwife adjacent practitioners cropping up in communities. Our conversation focuses in on humility, continuous learning, and accountability in midwifery, especially when we are working outside the system.

Listen if for some genuine midwifery wisdom and a fresh take on some of these old conversations that trend towards being too black and white.

This episode is SO MUCH FUN. I have really enjoyed stepping out of the normal birth circles and talking about birth with “non-birthy” people lately. The same old conversations are tiring and frankly boring. So this episode is an interview Jake and I did on Mother’s Day for the spiritual community called Aldea that I have been a part of since moving to Tucson. He asked me so many great questions about birth and spirituality, and the lessons I’ve gleaned, and hopefully you’ll enjoy hearing a different perspective and different stories than usual from me

You can check Aldea out at https://www.aldeaspiritualcommunity.org/

In this episode of Midwifery for the People, I’m sharing a recording of an interview where Kristen Nagle of the Reclaiming Birth Conference asked me about my journey into radical midwifery! Different things come out when different people ask me questions, so this was a lot of fun

I chat about my background in women’s and gender studies, my shift from studying domestic violence policy to becoming a midwife, and then the early years of apprenticing with Maryn. The conversation touches on the importance of community and autonomy in birth, the challenges of navigating midwifery regulations, and the impact of real-life connections and experiences in birth work. I definitely encourages you to check out the upcoming Reclaiming Birth Conference in London, Ontario (I might be there as a speaker!), where you can be surrounded and inspired by like-minded women.

https://www.reclaimingbirthconference.com/

In this episode of Midwifery for the People I have a quick chat with doula Elisha Anderson about her experience trying to accept state medical care funds for her doula services in Oregon. She had reached out to me about midwifery school and shared a little about her experience, and I invited to come on and share more fully on the podcast because I think this topic is SO IMPORTANT. I am not professing to have the answers, but I do know that inviting the government into birth (through licensing or insurance) is not going to ultimately help women reclaim their power and sovereignty in birth.

Find Elisha at https://medicinalmom.company.site/

On this episode I wanted to share a reading from our book Indie Birth: A Story of Radical Birth Love, and in keeping with the recent theme, I’m sharing the complete story of my first miscarriage. This is one of the most “popular” pieces of content I’ve ever created. I wrote it in 2013 when there were almost zero stories like this available. Even now, there aren’t many, especially from the perspective of a midwife. For that reason, and to honor my own experience (I was so longing to own my own birth story) I wrote this. I have never read it out loud, and it was more emotional for me than I anticipated, so pardon my sniffles.

In this episode of ‘Midwifery for the People,’ host Margo Blackstone shares deeply personal experiences exploring her evolving relationship with death, both in her personal life and professional work as a midwife. She reflects on the profound impact of attending a birth where a baby unexpectedly died, which contributed to her first panic attack and a journey into understanding her fears related to death and leaving her children behind. Margo discusses the importance of confronting and understanding one’s relationship with death for birth workers and society at large. She emphasizes the need for a regulated nervous system in the birth work environment, acknowledging the inherent risks of childbirth.

Join Margo on this exploratory first part of a series on death and navigating our relationship to it as birth workers. If we want to shift the cultural narrative so that we honor birth as a right of passage, we will also need to reimagine death as a right of passage. The Western medical perspective is that death is the ultimate defeat. That often means there is someone or something to blame. On our quest to eliminate death from the pregnancy and birth continuum (which is ultimately the aim of “evidence based midwifery” and medicine) what do we lose? Is this the right goal? Or do we need to ask different questions to come up with different solutions for living and birthing in a sacred way?

In this candid episode, Margo discusses her spiritual journey and how it intersects with her work at Indie Birth. She discusses her shift away from conventional religion towards a more earth-based spirituality that embraces elements from different practices such as earth prayers, shamanic journeying, and tarot. These approaches provide a crucial context for understanding the spiritual dimensions of birth and womanhood, challenging the mainstream, evidence-based, and black-and-white paradigms dominating midwifery. Margo also talks about how incorporating these spiritual practices into her everyday life enhances her personal and professional growth. She encourages aspiring midwives and doulas to explore their spiritual dimensions and integrate them into their practices to provide holistic and deeply connected care.

I’m sharing a lesson from my new project Mindful Money Magic because we are also offering a new program called Midwifery Magic, a comprehensive mentorship, up-leveling, magic infusing experience for midwives (or advanced midwifery students).

A lot of what I offer in Midwifery Magic crosses over with my work as a financial wellness coach, and I wanted to give a little taste of the kind of content you can expect to receive as part of this program. I want all midwives to “get right with money”, meaning they feel abundantly supported in their work, instead of feeling undervalued and like they are working their asses off just to make ends meet.

Listen in and let me know how this resonates with you at [email protected]!

Enroll in Midwifery Magic here.

Find my new Mindful Money Magic course here.