MotherTongue: Reclaiming Motherhood from the Patriarchy

Layla B Rachid is a multi-passionate/multidimensional & multifaceted entrepreneur. She is an author, change-maker & philanthropist - a kindred traditional soul, with a modern creative edge, seeking her own spiritual journey. Her first passion is reviving, reclaiming, and restoring women’s Ancestral Healing, inspired by her beloved homeland, Morocco.

She is the author of Revive Reclaim Restore, selling over 300+ books in 2 days to over 30 countries, founder of The Nafsa Project School, the first online traditional postpartum training school teaching Moroccan postpartum rituals and closing of the bones, founder of the Sacred Postpartum summit and the Tribal Sisterhood Retreat in Morocco.

Her second passion is supporting other women entrepreneurs to create and launch their own online offerings - with soul, strategy & success.

This interview was extracted and repurposed from my 2021 Map for a New Motherhood Summit, but the information is just as relevant today as it was 4 years ago. In the interview, I mention the importance of not only creating a birth plan, but also having a postpartum plan. A year later I wrote a Postpartum Planning guidebook, which is available here.

To connect with Layla and her work please go here.

If you're a postpartum provider, you know the juggle: supporting new moms while often navigating your own intense motherhood journey, battling burnout, and feeling stretched thin. This episode gets real as Maranda Bower of Postpartum University and I share our deeply personal struggles with postpartum mental health – from depression to bipolar disorder – and how those experiences completely shifted their approach to holistic postpartum care. If you're a doula, midwife, or any birth worker focused on maternal wellness and improving our current system, you'll want to hear this. We explore how understanding and embracing matrescence is crucial not just for your clients to thrive, but for you as well.

My guest , Maranda Bower is a medical researcher, author, mom of 4, and the founder of the Postpartum University podcast. Each episode delivers powerful insights into functional nutrition, hormonal health, and holistic practices for treating postpartum issues at the root. Her podcast bridges the gaps left by Western medical education, empowering providers to support their clients with individualized, science-backed, and traditional-aligned solutions.

You can find Maranda on her podcast - Postpartum University, on IG @postpartumuniversity, and on her website: https://postpartumu.com/.

This conversation is a little different. We were both going to interview each other on our individual podcasts and then decided to just do one combined episode that flows more like a conversation than an interview. I hope you enjoy...

In this soulful conversation, we follow Yadi's journey of matrescence into medicine work - her highs and lows, the obstacles she faced, and her unwavering faith.

Yadi Alba is a modern-day Medicine Woman, a vessel of ancient wisdom and a strong feminine force in our world. She brings spiritual principles into practical contemporary living. She’s worked with countless celebrities and influencers guiding them into the Embodiment of their Sacred Purpose through her method, which is based on Toltec, Aztec, and Mayan systems of knowledge.

She is a published writer, cofounder of the Goddess Wisdom Council, and has led workshops and retreats around the world.

If you are interested in her Initiation work, her program Medicine Way is now open, and you can write her directly through Instagram with the code word INITIATION @yadi.alba.

Learn more at https://goddesswisdomcouncil.com/.

In this soulful conversation, we follow Yadi's journey of matrescence into medicine work - her highs and lows, the obstacles she faced, and her unwavering faith.

Yadi Alba is a modern-day Medicine Woman, a vessel of ancient wisdom and a strong feminine force in our world. She brings spiritual principles into practical contemporary living. She’s worked with countless celebrities and influencers guiding them into the Embodiment of their Sacred Purpose through her method, which is based on Toltec, Aztec, and Mayan systems of knowledge.

She is a published writer, cofounder of the Goddess Wisdom Council, and has led workshops and retreats around the world.

If you are interested in her Initiation work, her program Medicine Way is now open, and you can write her directly through Instagram with the code word INITIATION @yadi.alba.

Learn more at https://goddesswisdomcouncil.com/.

In this conversation, Wakumi speaks about her work with social justice both before and after becoming a mother and how matrescence created a necessary shift in her work. She shares about how the stress of systemic racisim manifested in her daughter's body, despite doing all the right things to care for herself during pregnancy and having a fabulous midwife.

We discuss the significance of the village in transitioning from Supermom to MotherFly, highlighting how the concept of "village" can be expanded to encompass nature and spirit. I am so honored to share her work with you and I hope you enjoy.

Tanisha “Wakumi” Douglas is a mother, ritualist, and movement leader with over 20 years of experience organizing for healing and justice. Of Jamaican descent, descended from maroons, seers, herbalists, and farmers, Wakumi is the daughter of an undocumented father who spent 33 years incarcerated and a servant-leader mother—roots that shaped her life’s work.

She co-founded a national, youth-led abolitionist nonprofit, raising over $8M, and has held fellowships with Soros Justice and Move to End Violence. Wakumi has served as a circle keeper, social worker, and educator with Dream Defenders, Harlem Children’s Zone, and the Children’s Defense Fund.

Her work has been featured in the documentary PUSHOUT, on NPR, in HuffPost, and in books like Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues. She’s spoken at Google, NEA, and alongside visionaries like Dr. Angela Davis and Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

Now, Wakumi is focused on writing, sacred arts, and curating spiritual spaces for collective liberation and joy.
Connect with her: wakumi.world | giversrevival.world

Ruth is a multi-award winning expert nurse, midwife, and health visitor with more than 26 years’ experience in delivering secondary and primary healthcare services in the statutory and voluntary sectors of England. She is also a Pregnancy Mindset Expert, speaker, mentor, and coach, as well as a Queen’s Nurse, Winston Churchill Fellow, Fellow of the Institute of Health Visiting, Royal College of Nursing, and The Royal Society of Arts.

You can find out more about Ruth and her offers here.

Hey mama, are you feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, or off-purpose? If so, I can help! Schedule your free discovery session, and let's explore what it would be like to work together.

Nicky Dawkins is a holistic Full-Spectrum Doula and Fem Health Coach in Miami. She is the founder of Werk it Moms, which is a mom-driven soon to be charity organization that focuses on providing educational workshops, products, and safe spaces for moms in need of connection.

Nicky is also the Southeast Regional Coordinator and Miami Chapter founder for Period, which is a global non-profit organization fighting to end period poverty and stigma through service, education and advocacy.

Nicky works with moms from fertility to postpartum and everything in between. Her passion is to help birthing people and their partners have a healthy pregnancy and positive birth experience with as little intervention as possible. She provides pre and postnatal education and does a lot of advocacy work in reproductive health - She loves to talk about periods! She is also the Vice President on the Miami Diaper Bank board.

Nicky has a 5-year-old son and a baby girl on the way.

You can follow her here:

https://www.instagram.com/thankyounicky/

Feeling burnt out, overwhelmed or off-purpose? I can help! Set up your free discovery session and let's explore how we can work together.

Rohini spends her days on her ranch, milking cows, tending to honeybees, and learning from the native plants and herbs. As a Reiki practitioner and teacher, she finds great joy sharing quiet and loving space with others. Rohini loves to bake, write, and spend time with her husband. She has shared her life’s journey online for the last 7 years and has focused on grief, loss, and the spiritual journey in her recent writing and sharing.

You can follow Rohini here:

https://www.instagram.com/rohinielyse/

I would love to hear how this conversation lands for you, what stood out, etc. Share in the comments and please subscribe to my podcast to enjoy more great conversations.

Feeling burnt out or overwhelmed? Or simply off-purpose? I can help! Book a free discovery call today, and let's explore the possibility of working together.

Kimberly Ann Johnson is the author of the early mothering classic The Fourth Trimester: Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality published in seven languages around the world. A sought-after practitioner and lead authority in postpartum health, Johnson has been working hands-on in integrative women's health and trauma recovery for more than a decade. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Vogue, New York Magazine's The Cut, Harper's Bazaar, Today.com, and many more. Kimberly is the mother of one

My guest is actress Annet Mahendru who is known for her critically-acclaimed role in the series "The Americans". Her portrayal of Nina earned her a Critic's Choice Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Annet then headlined The Walking Dead: World Beyond limited series. She can recently be seen in the Mark Wahlberg-Mel Gibson feature Father Stu.  She also stars in the coming-of-age film Manifest West, a film near and dear to her heart that she worked on with her husband, filmmaker Louie Gibson.  

With Mahendru delivering an emotional whirlwind performance in a film that addresses timely mental health issues,  Manifest West is a family project in another way with her co-starring role opposite brother-in-law Milo Gibson and her as co-writer/co-director. Manifest West had its world premiere at the Mammoth Film Festival, winning Best Genre Film.

Born to an Afghan- Indian father and Russian mother, Annet spent her early years learning 6 languages in the Middle East & Europe.  She planted the seeds of her career at eleven, choreographing a performance that earned her an appearance on German television, and returning to her roots studying Indian classical dance.

Annet is an avid breastfeeding-on-demand supporter and home birther.  She lives with her husband, writer/director Louie Gibson, and their three children. At the time of the recording of this podcast she was thinking about baby number three. They welcomed another child since June.