What happens when a woman stops outsourcing her intuition and starts trusting her body?

In this episode, Karen sits down with Polina Westcott, creator of Sensible Mama, to share two transformative home birth stories that radically changed the way Polina views birth, fear, pain, and personal authority.

Polina opens up about her first pregnancy, where everything seemed medically “normal” until routine testing suddenly turned her pregnancy into a problem to be managed. When questioning protocols led to pushback from her providers, Polina made the bold decision to fire her OB team at eight months pregnant and pivot to a home birth. What followed was a long, challenging, and deeply empowering first labor that revealed strength she never knew she had.

Her second birth could not have been more different. She shares how mindset, education, and surrender completely transformed how her body responded to contractions and labor progression. This episode dives deep into birth autonomy, informed consent, intuition, and the mind-body connection in labor. 

Tune in to hear:

• Why Polina chose to fire her OB team late in pregnancy
• How questioning medical authority led her to reclaim birth autonomy
• What really happens during transition and why many women want to “tap out”
• The doula moment that changed everything during her first labor
• How mindset radically altered her second birth experience
• What fetal ejection reflex actually feels like in real life
• Why trusting intuition protected her during the third stage of labor
• How fear, resistance, and control affect labor progression
• Why birth can be an initiation into motherhood, strength, and self-trust

Connect with Polina:

Www.sensiblemama.com

https://www.youtube.com/@sensible_mama

IG: @sensible_mama

CONNECT WITH KAREN:

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

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What if pain, stress, and even birth trauma weren’t things your body needed to “push through”, but signals your nervous system was asking for safety?

In this powerful and deeply grounding episode, Karen sits down with Dr. Scherina Alli, a network spinal chiropractor specializing in nervous system regulation, somatic respiratory integration, and care for pregnant women, babies, and children.

Together, they explore how the body holds emotional stress, why babies are communicating far more than we realize, and how nervous system regulation can transform pregnancy, birth, postpartum healing, and even fertility. 

Dr. Scherina also shares her own beautiful home birth story. One rooted in trust, presence, and deep connection with her body offering a refreshing and empowering perspective on what birth can be when women feel safe, supported, and embodied.

Tune in to hear:

• How the nervous system stores emotional stress and trauma in the body
• Why “colic” is often a sign of nervous system dysregulation, not a diagnosis
• The difference between traditional chiropractic care and network spinal care
• How babies communicate stress, tension, and discomfort without words
• Why babies don’t “grow out of” nervous system stress 
• How pregnancy and birth experiences shape a baby’s lifelong nervous system blueprint
• The role of breath, movement, and pelvic mobility in preparing for birth
• How unprocessed emotions can impact pregnancy, fertility, and labor
• Dr. Scherina’s calm, fast, and deeply present home birth story
• Why presence (not avoidance) is the key to an empowered birth experience
• How women can rebuild trust in their bodies after trauma or infertility
• Simple ways to recognize stress versus safety in your own nervous system

CONNECT WITH DR SCHERINA:

• Follow Dr. Scherina on Instagram: @drscherina
• Website: drscherina.com
• Network Spinal Chiropractor Directory: https://www.drscherina.com/directory
• PX Docs Directory for neurologically focused prenatal and pediatric chiropractors: https://pxdocs.com/px-docs/

CONNECT WITH KAREN:

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

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In this of the Pain Free Birth podcast, Karen Welton sits down with Anastasia Malyk, a mother of four, to share one of the most jaw-dropping birth stories you will ever hear.

After experiencing two prior free births, Anastasia found herself unexpectedly pregnant with mono-di identical twins just seven months postpartum. What followed was a journey marked by medical pressure, fear-based recommendations, spiritual surrender, and unwavering trust in God’s design for her body.

This episode is a bold testimony of faith, bodily wisdom, and the importance of advocacy in pregnancy and birth. It is especially encouraging for twin moms, women navigating medical pressure, and anyone seeking reassurance that physiological birth is possible, even when circumstances seem stacked against you.

 In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What led Anastasia to choose free birth for her first two babies
• How she navigated fear and faith after learning she was pregnant with twins
• Why she fired her OB after being pressured into a cesarean
• What it was like carrying twins past 41 weeks
• How labor progressed so quickly she didn’t believe it was real
• What it felt like to birth twins with no pushing and no pain
• How faith shaped every decision throughout pregnancy and birth
• Encouragement for twin moms who desire a natural or physiological birth

Connect with Anastasia:

IG: Anastasiamalyk_

TikTok: @anachenko

CONNECT WITH KAREN:

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

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What happens when you stop fighting labor and start working with your body? 

In today’s episode of the Pain Free Birth Podcast, Karen sits down with Mallory Ryan, a mom of two who shares her deeply transformative birth experiences. Mallory walks listeners through her first unmedicated birth at a birth center and her second, rapid home birth that she describes as joyful, empowering, and profoundly connected to God’s design for birth.

Whether you are pregnant, preparing for birth, or simply curious about physiological birth and faith-filled preparation, this episode will leave you feeling encouraged, informed, and inspired to trust your body and God’s design.

Tune in to hear:

• Why Mallory chose unmedicated birth for both of her babies
• How learning the physiology of birth helped reduce fear and pain
• The role mindset and relaxation play in labor intensity
• Why fast labors are not always more painful
• How choosing joy impacts oxytocin and birth progress
• What a “butter birth” is and how surrender changes pushing
• How faith influenced Mallory’s confidence during labor
• The difference between pain and suffering in childbirth
• Why birth is not something happening to you, but within you
• How empowering births shape confidence in motherhood and postpartum

CONNECT WITH KAREN:

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

Grab Karen's Healing Birth Trauma Course HERE. This course is for any woman experiencing trauma in the body. If you're ready to release it, this course is for you. 

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While Tara was blacking out from pain, losing hope, and believing she didn't have enough faith for a pain free pregnancy, she experienced a deeply spiritual experience that led her to creating the first of its kind, her own app, for Christian Hypnobirthing. Tune in to find out how drastically different Tara's births were with and without the power of hypnobirthing, how our thoughts and emotions can imprint on our babies brains, and how you can use hypnobirthing beyond labor!

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• How Tara started Christian Hypnobirthing
• Dealing with coercion and losing faith in Tara's first birth
• How hypnobirthing transformed Tara's second birth
• Cultivating peace throughout your pregnancy
• Using hypnobirthing beyond pregnancy
• Combining faith with neuroscience and how our babies brains are wired 

MORE ABOUT TARA MENZIES:

Tara Menzies is the creator of the Christian Hypnobirthing app and the Faith-Filled Childbirth Course. She created the app in early 2018 after the birth of her first son, because she wanted to combine traditional hypnobirthing techniques (breathing and visualisation exercises, positive affirmations etc) with the incredible love, strength and support that come from our Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit, to help expecting mamas feel confident relaxed and connected to God throughout their births. The Christian Hypnobirthing app has since become one of the most highly rated hypnobirthing apps worldwide, and has helped tens of thousands of women have more relaxed, confident and faith-filled birth experiences.

Instagram: @christianhypnobirthing

Christian Hypnobirthing Website

CONNECT WITH KAREN:

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

Grab Karen's Healing Birth Trauma Course HERE. This course is for any woman experiencing trauma in the body. If you're ready to release it, this course is for you. 

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12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS IS LIVE! https://resources.painfreebirth.com/pfb-12-days-of-christmas

In this episode, Alla shares her miraculous twin home birth story - giving birth precipitously to healthy babies at 38 weeks pregnant in her bathtub and overcoming fear so she could have a supernatural birth experience through prayer and trust in God.

CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/painfreebirth 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/painfreebirth/ 
Spotify Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/5zEiKMIHFewZeVdzfBSEMS 
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pain-free-birth/id1696179731
Website - https://painfreebirth.com/ 

What if your next birth didn’t have to look anything like your last one and could actually be better?

In this episode of the Pain Free Birth Podcast, Karen sits down with Blake, a mom of four who shares her incredible journey from a discouraging first C-section to three transformative home births after cesarean.

Blake walks listeners through each birth from a 77-hour marathon VBAC to a three-hour birth and finally a two-hour labor where she felt completely in control. Along the way, she opens up about healing hidden birth trauma, learning to trust her body, choosing supportive providers, and experiencing the redemptive power of faith-centered birth preparation.

Tune in to hear:

• What led Blake to her first C-section and how it impacted her confidence
• How she identified and healed birth trauma she didn’t realize she was carrying
• What it was like laboring for 77 hours during her first home birth after cesarean
• How her next birth lasted just three hours with almost no pushing
• Why her babies got bigger AND her births got easier
• The role mindset, faith, and emotional release played in shortening labor
• How choosing the right midwife changed everything
• The power of a supportive husband during home birth
• What it feels like to birth standing up and fully in control
• Why Blake believes women are not destined to repeat their birth trauma

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

Grab Karen's Healing Birth Trauma Course HERE. This course is for any woman experiencing trauma in the body. If you're ready to release it, this course is for you. 

CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/painfreebirth 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/painfreebirth/ 
Spotify Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/5zEiKMIHFewZeVdzfBSEMS 
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pain-free-birth/id1696179731
Website - https://painfreebirth.com/ 

What if everything we thought we knew about birth was missing the most important perspective - the baby’s?

In today’s episode, Karen sits down with renowned neonatal resuscitation instructor and midwife Karen Strange, whose groundbreaking work has reshaped how more than 17,000 birth professionals understand newborns, birth physiology, and the imprinting that happens in the earliest moments of life.

 With over three decades of experience, Karen Strange brings a trauma-informed, baby-centered lens to birth - one that reveals the innate blueprint inside every baby, the sequence nature designed, and what happens when it’s interrupted.

Tune in to hear:

• The embryological blueprint and sequence every baby follows
• Pausing at birth and honoring newborn pacing
• How prenatal stress shapes a baby’s nervous system
• Why repair matters more than rupture
• What babies remember and communicate through their bodies
• How to support newborns after a difficult birth
• Physiologic transition and first breaths
• Why doulas should know neonatal resuscitation
• The simplicity of what saves lives in birth emergencies
• Tools for connecting with your baby in pregnancy and beyond

Additional resources from Karen: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UAA9yc7-JbMdO-qbYiQZl9XLn8yTmY8P?usp=sharing

Website: karenstrange.com

Instagram: @neonatalresuscitation

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/painfreebirth 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/painfreebirth/ 
Spotify Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/5zEiKMIHFewZeVdzfBSEMS 
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pain-free-birth/id1696179731
Website - https://painfreebirth.com/ 

What if birth wasn’t something to fear… but a place where heaven meets earth? In today’s episode, Caitlin Svoboda shares a supernatural, pain-free home birth story that will leave you breathless.

In this interview, Caitlin opens up about her sixth pregnancy, her deep trust in God’s design for birth, and the unexpected spiritual encounter that forever changed how she views motherhood. From spiritual visions and the “veil of heaven” thinning, to a fast, instinct-led labor and a peaceful 10-pound baby born into her husband’s hands, Caitlin’s story is a breathtaking look at what can happen when women reclaim physiological birth and trust the God-designed hormonal blueprint of labor. 

If you've ever wondered how spiritual encounters, altered states of consciousness, and the quietude phase of labor fit into the birth experience, this episode breaks it down with both awe and practicality. You’ll walk away with encouragement, revelation, and a renewed sense of what God intended birth to be.

Tune in to hear:

• How losing a baby shaped Caitlin’s faith and future pregnancies
• Why she chose an undisturbed home birth with no medical interventions
• The moment she surrendered fully and slipped into a transcendent state
• Her vivid vision of Jesus walking toward her holding an infant
• The role of safety, support, and environment in physiological birth
• What the “quietude/rest-and-be-thankful” phase actually feels like
• How she gave birth to a 10-pound baby with no tearing
• Why she believes this experience transformed her marriage and identity
• The truth about pain in childbirth from a biblical and physiological lens

Connect with Caitlin:

sehlahmomservices.com

IG: sehlah.motherhood.service 

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

Grab Karen's Healing Birth Trauma Course HERE. This course is for any woman experiencing trauma in the body. If you're ready to release it, this course is for you. 

CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/painfreebirth 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/painfreebirth/ 
Spotify Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/5zEiKMIHFewZeVdzfBSEMS 
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pain-free-birth/id1696179731
Website - https://painfreebirth.com/ 

What happens when a traumatic first birth becomes the catalyst for two radically pain-free, God-filled home births? Today’s episode is a powerful testimony of redemption, physiology, faith, and a mother reclaiming her God-given authority in birth. 

In this conversation, Karen sits down with Sara Gilboy, a mom of three from Toronto, Canada, who experienced a deeply traumatic first home birth during COVID-complete with medical coercion, fear, hemorrhage, separation from her baby, and months of postpartum anxiety and intrusive thoughts. But Sara refused to let that be the end of her story. She returned to birth armed with knowledge, prayer, physiological understanding, and a fierce sense of ownership that transformed her next two births into supernatural, pain-free, joy-filled experiences.

 Tune in to hear:

• How Sara's first home birth turned traumatic and why she “felt the fear through her uterus”
• The spiritual battle of intrusive thoughts and how she learned to take each one captive
• Why “knowledge is power” completely changed her second and third births
• How she created two entirely pain-free births using physiology, relaxation, and faith
• What she told her midwives the second time that changed everything (“This is the birth I’m going to have…”)
• Her children worshipping and praying over her during labor
• The moment her pelvic floor “parted like the Red Sea”
• How God replaced her disappointment with joy instantly during her third birth
• The connection between birth trauma and postpartum mental health
• Why understanding your physiology is essential no matter where you give birth

Use code PODCAST to get $50 off the Pain Free Birth E-course HERE

Grab Karen's Healing Birth Trauma Course HERE. This course is for any woman experiencing trauma in the body. If you're ready to release it, this course is for you. 

CONNECT WITH KAREN:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/painfreebirth 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/painfreebirth/ 
Spotify Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/5zEiKMIHFewZeVdzfBSEMS 
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/pain-free-birth/id1696179731
Website - https://painfreebirth.com/