In this first of a three-part series, Blyss sits with Raven Lang — one of the most influential midwives in America and author of The Birth Book (1972). Often credited with sparking the home birth revival on the West Coast, Raven’s voice and vision helped lay the foundation for modern midwifery in the United States. Her groundbreaking Birth Book became a touchstone for countless families and midwives seeking alternatives to hospital birth, and her ideas on imprinting and the formation of motherly love changed how generations would understand the postpartum bond.

This episode sets the stage for the next two parts of Raven’s remarkable story.

Raven Shares

• She shares about her upbringing in San Francisco’s North Beach,
• her struggles with childhood illness and Catholic schooling, and
• the fierce independence that shaped her feminist awakening.
• Raven reflects on her first birth at Stanford in 1968 — an experience both empowering and unsettling — that propelled her into childbirth education, goat-keeping, and eventually attending births in Santa Cruz.

Mentioned in this Episode

• The Birth Book by Raven Lang
• Immaculate Deception by Suzanne Arms
• Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read
• Painless Childbirth by Fernand Lamaze
• Peter Nash – California physician who briefly attended home births

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

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Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

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