Return to Wisdom

By Keshia Tognazzini

Return to Wisdom is a continuation of the conversation sparked on The Road to Wisdom Podcast. Hosted by Keshia, this new chapter explores the interconnected landscapes of health, relationships, mother... more

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FAQs about Return to Wisdom:

How many episodes does Return to Wisdom have?

The podcast currently has 28 episodes available.

Return to Wisdom episodes:

August 31, 2026"Helping a baby breathe at birth, is a parenting skill" - Reclaiming Common Birth Knowledge with Billie Harrigan
"Helping a baby breathe at birth, is a parenting skill" - Reclaiming Common Birth Knowledge with Billie Harrigan
In this instalment of the Birth Series, Keshia sits down with Integrative Perinatal Health Consultant and Educator Billie Harrigan to talk about "becoming a more useful human" — the idea that ordinary, common-sense birth skills have been co-opted, medicalised, and locked behind licensing requirements that Billie argues make birth more dangerous, not less.
The conversation traces the history of "calling the neighbour" — the once-ordinary practice of a knowledgeable community member attending a birth — back through the criminalisation of midwifery in Canada, and asks what was lost when that knowledge left common hands. From there, Billie and Keshia work through nutrition's role in preventing preeclampsia, cholestasis, and gestational diabetes; the three birth emergencies Billie believes everyone should know how to respond to; and what trauma-informed care actually requires from anyone in a birth space. They also revisit the fallout from the Free Birth Society exposé, and where Billie feels the reporting missed the mark.
This episode doesn't land on a tidy verdict either — it's an invitation to think about who currently holds birth knowledge, who's allowed to use it, and what that's costing women.

This Episode Is Supported By
INBLUEM Skincare Pure, plant-based skincare made in Byron Bay — no toxins, no fillers, no fuss. In Bloom is offering Return to Wisdom listeners a discount. 👉 Use code RETURNTOWISDOMPODCAST at inbluem.com
Kim Anami Holistic sex and relationship coaching for reconnecting with your body and your partner. Link https://kimanami.ontraport.com/t?orid=511555&opid=36 to register for courses— using it also supports the podcast.
This Episode is brought to you by Superfeast
Enjoy 10% off your order with the code RETURNTOWISDOM
https://www.superfeast.com.au/

Key Topics Discussed
"Being a more useful human" — reclaiming everyday birth and first-aid-style skills that Billie argues have been unnecessarily medicalised and gatekept
The history of "calling the neighbour" — how midwifery was made illegal in Upper Canada, why it stayed criminalised for most of Canada's history, and what the mortality data from that era suggests about community-based care
Common birth knowledge and skills — prenatal nutrition, tracking baby's position, recognising the difference between a baby needing time versus a baby needing help, and basic kitchen herbalism (shepherd's purse, yarrow, bay berry, ladies mantle, witch hazel)
Nutrition as prevention — Billie's perspective on diet's role in preeclampsia, cholestasis, and gestational diabetes, including a discussion of folic acid fortification and insulin signalling
The three birth emergencies — Billie's framework for what she believes everyone in a birth space should be equipped to respond to: a baby getting stuck, a baby not reviving, and postpartum haemorrhage
Trauma-informed care as a learnable skill — maternal mortality from suicide, the brain-injury model of birth trauma, and what Billie's course for the "childbearing client" is designed to teach
Restricted birthing legislation in Australia — the push for other states to adopt South Australia-style laws restricting unregistered birth workers, even within hospital settings
Revisiting the Free Birth Society exposé — where Billie felt the reporting was fair, where she felt it missed the broader context of birth trauma in the medical system, and how online discourse shaped the narrative
"Refugees from the medical industry" — Billie's description of the women she supports who've had coercive experiences with maternity care, and how nervous-system safety factors into their outcomes

Mentioned in This Episode
Billie Harrigan's Traditional Birth Companion Course - https://billieharrigan.com/becoming-a-traditional-birth-companion
Billie Harrigan's trauma-informed care course for childbearing clients - https://billieharrigan.com/becoming-trauma-informed
Breech Without Borders - https://www.breechwithoutborders.org/
Dr. Brewer's research on nutrition and preeclampsia

Links:

billieharrigan.com
thehivecollective.life
birthtraumaontario.ca
harriganhive.com

@billieharrigan
@birthtraumaontario

FG:
https://www.facebook.com/billieharriganconsulting/
https://www.facebook.com/birthtraumaontario/
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1h 3min
August 24, 2026A Reunion Chat on Free Birth, Influence & Informed Choice with Chloe Pacey
In this instalment of the Birth Series, Keshia sits down with her longtime podcasting partner and friend Chloe Pacey for a wide-ranging, unfiltered reunion conversation. Sparked by the recent Guardian investigation into Free Birth Society and figures like Emily Saldaya and Yolanda Norris-Clark, the pair dig into the messy middle ground between free birth advocacy and mainstream maternity care — where both women land after years of birthing, researching, and living rurally with young families.
Topics range from the psychology of influencer culture and echo chambers, to stillbirth statistics and how to interpret them responsibly, to the training (or lack thereof) behind "radical birthkeeper" courses, to proposed legislation restricting who can attend a birth. Along the way: reflections on friendship in different seasons of motherhood, and a fair amount of unfiltered, expletive-laden honesty.
This episode doesn't land on a verdict. It's an invitation to sit with the nuance — and to think critically about who you're trusting with information during one of the most vulnerable windows of your life.

This Episode Is Supported By
INBLUEM Skincare Pure, plant-based skincare made in Byron Bay — no toxins, no fillers, no fuss. In Bloom is offering Return to Wisdom listeners a discount. 👉 Use code RETURNTOWISDOMPODCAST at inbluem.com
Kim Anami Holistic sex and relationship coaching for reconnecting with your body and your partner. Link https://kimanami.ontraport.com/t?orid=511555&opid=36 to register for courses— using it also supports the podcast.
This Episode is brought to you by Superfeast
Enjoy 10% off your order with the code RETURNTOWISDOM
https://www.superfeast.com.au/

Key Topics Discussed
Digesting the Guardian's Free Birth Society investigation — how the story reads differently pregnant vs. postpartum, and what felt fair vs. sensationalised in the reporting
Radical responsibility — what it really means to opt out of the medical system, and where the accountability sits when outcomes go wrong
Reading the stillbirth statistics — trying to contextualise the numbers cited in the investigation against broader hospital-birth stillbirth rates, and why the data gaps make real comparison difficult
The "claiming life" moment — unpacking one of the most controversial passages from the reporting, and how instinct (human and animal) shows up differently when someone is alone versus supported
Influencer culture and epistemic humility — how to tell the difference between someone sharing lived experience and someone qualified to teach a skill, using a personal-trainer analogy to make the point
Radical birthkeeper and doula training programs — what these courses do and don't prepare people for, and the gap between "holding space" and clinical emergency response
Language and framing — how phrases like "I've never seen a hemorrhage in 17 years" shape a listener's sense of safety, whether or not that's the intent
Free birth as "trend" — distinguishing women who arrive at free birth through deep research and genuine risk tolerance from those swept up by algorithmic pressure and social proof
Scans, shame, and the pressure to prove trust in your body — the social dynamics around choosing (or skipping) ultrasounds in certain birth-culture circles
Proposed regulatory changes — the RANZCOG/Australian College of Midwives statement calling for legislation modelled on South Australia's Restricted Birthing Practices laws, and reports of child-protection involvement in some free birth cases there
What a better middle ground could look like — informed, individualised risk assessment with a trusted care provider, regardless of setting

A Note on This Episode
This series doesn't offer a definitive verdict on free birth — it's designed to be sat with, questioned, and weighed against your own circumstances. As always, nothing in this episode constitutes medical advice. If you're navigating a birth decision, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare provider you trust.
If this episode resonated, the biggest support you can offer is sharing it or leaving a review — that's how these conversations reach the people who need them.

Music Licence: MB01FCNMYPSU3WD
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1h 53min
August 17, 2026Coming Back to Center: Ayana on Birth Choices
Two very different birth experiences — one that unfolded within the medical system, and one that took place at home with a private midwife quietly holding space in the background. Recorded in the wake of recent media scrutiny of free birth and home birth communities, this conversation moves past the headlines and into the lived, textured reality of making birth choices under pressure and hope.
Ayana walks through her first birth: a 90-hour labour with a posterior baby, a burnt-out midwife, a transfer to hospital, an epidural, forceps, and a rough recovery — and how she came through it without carrying the trauma many might expect. She then shares the story of her second birth: two miscarriages, a pregnancy she chose not to confirm with a test, and a four-hour home birth in a birth pool that she describes as one of the best experiences of her life — interrupted only by an apple crumble in the oven.
Together, Keshia and Ayana talk candidly about the pressure many women feel to free birth, the risk of outsourcing intuition to online forums during labour, the uneven reputation of midwives, and why neither extreme — "the medical system is broken" nor "free birth is the only real birth" — tells the whole story.
A Note on This Series
This episode is part of an ongoing series examining free birth and birth culture at a moment when public conversation has largely settled on a single narrative. The series doesn't promise definitive conclusions — listeners are invited to weigh the evidence with nuance and a critical eye.
Connect with Ayana
Instagram: @ayana_ryan_
Sponsors & Discount Codes
INBLUEM — plant-based skincare made in Byron Bay. Use code RETURNTOWISDOMPODCAST at inbluem.com
Great Spirit — organic, whole-food-based iron supplements made in Australia. Use code KESHIA20 for 20% off at greatspirit.com.au
SuperFeast — medicinal mushrooms and tonic herbs. Use code RETURNTOWISDOM for 10% off at superfeast.com
Kim Anami — Fire up your life with Kim Anami courses: Use https://kimanami.ontraport.com/t?orid=511555&opid=36 to register for courses
Follow the Show
If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and leave a review — it helps get these conversations in front of more listeners. New episodes of the Birth Series drop weekly.
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1h 14min
August 10, 2026Unassisted Childbirth in Today's Climate — with Laura Shanley
In this episode, Keshia sits down with Laura Shanley — author of the foundational book Unassisted Childbirth, first published decades before "free birth" became a widely used term. Laura free birthed all of her children between 1978 and 1987 and has spent over 30 years researching and writing about the connection between fear, thought, and the physiology of labor.
The conversation comes at a pivotal moment for the free birth community, following a wave of media scrutiny — including a major investigative podcast series examining poor outcomes linked to Free Birth Society — and growing calls in Australia to legislate who is permitted to attend a birth. Keshia and Laura unpack what's actually being reported, what's being lost in translation, and where personal responsibility, intuition, and informed choice fit into the picture.
What We Cover
The current media climate around free birth and unassisted birth, and how it compares to decades past
Reflections on the Guardian's investigative series into Free Birth Society — what resonated, what felt sensationalized, and where the reporting blurred normal physiological variation with genuine red flags
The difference between true unassisted birth and hiring a "birthkeeper" — and why that distinction matters
Laura's three primary causes of poor birth outcomes: extreme poverty, unnecessary medical intervention, and a woman's own fear and beliefs
The physiology of fear: how the fight-or-flight response redirects blood and oxygen away from the uterus, and why this matters for labor
Laura's own birth stories, including catching her breech baby after a guiding dream, and unwinding a nuchal cord solo in her bathroom
Why "free birth vs. hospital birth vs. midwife-assisted birth" isn't the real debate — it's about tuning into what actually makes each woman feel safe
The bind midwives are placed in between their own clinical judgement and fear of legal consequences
Rising cesarean rates in the US and Australia, and what they signal about the "normal" range of birth being narrowed
How to tell the difference between intuition and fear, and practical ways to reconnect with your body's own signals
Laura's advice for anyone whose intuition has been dismissed or overridden in the past

About Laura Shanley
Laura Shanley is the author of Unassisted Childbirth, with a foreword by French obstetrician Michel Odent. She has written and spoken on natural birth and the mind-body connection since the early 1990s, running one of the internet's earliest hubs for the unassisted birth community. She is the mother of five and grandmother of seven.
Website: unassistedchildbirth.com (also accessible via freebirth.com)
Resources Mentioned
Unassisted Childbirth by Laura Shanley
Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read
Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin
Childbirth Wisdom from the World's Oldest Societies by Judith Goldsmith
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky
The Seth Material; Abraham Hicks material
"Laughter in Labor" — article on unassistedchildbirth.com

This Episode is Brought to you by INBLUEM
Enjoy 10% off your order with the code RETURNTOWISDOMPODCAST at
www.inbluem.com

Fire up your life with Kim Anami courses: Use https://kimanami.ontraport.com/t?orid=511555&opid=36 to register for courses

This Episode is brought to you by Superfeast
Enjoy 10% off your order with the code RETURNTOWISDOM
https://www.superfeast.com.au/

Music Licence: MB01FCNMYPSU3WD
...more
1h 19min
August 03, 2026Free Birth, Responsibility, and the Truth About Risk — with Melanie the Midwife
Keshia sits down with Melanie Jackson to work through the confusion left in the wake of The Guardian's exposé on Free Birth Society — what it got right, what it missed, and why neither of them was surprised by it. Drawing on her PhD research and nearly two decades attending home births, Melanie makes a clear distinction between free birth as a personal choice and the newer, more troubling trend of unregulated birth workers stepping into a clinical role they were never trained for. The conversation moves from there into what genuinely informed decision-making looks like, what responsibility actually means once you step outside the maternity care system, and where the middle ground sits between hospital birth and free birth for women chasing a physiological delivery.
In This Episode
Why neither Keshia nor Melanie was surprised by what came out in The Guardian's reporting, and the "cultish" dynamics both had noticed in the free birth community for years
How free birth has shifted from something women arrived at through their own research to something now marketed to them through social media and courses
The difference between free birth (a personal choice) and unregulated birth workers overstepping their scope — and why Melanie sees the latter as the real issue
Why there's no actual research on free birth outcomes, and why that matters for anyone claiming it's either safe or dangerous
What taking on the "red flag waiver" role really requires — full clinical knowledge, an emergency plan, and honest capacity to make decisions mid-labour
The unspoken burden placed on partners who may not be prepared to become the emergency responder if something goes wrong
Doulas vs. unregulated birth workers vs. midwives — where the boundaries should sit, and why crossing them creates the grey area fuelling most bad outcomes
Melanie's own PhD research and why she pushes back on "you can't talk about free birth if you haven't done it"
A spectrum of options for a physiological birth short of free birth: private home birth midwives, publicly funded home birth programs, midwifery group practice, birth centres, and doula support
Rapid-fire listener questions: are C-sections really "safer" than vaginal birth, is VBAC possible after multiple caesareans, and is going past 41–42 weeks gestation an actual risk
Melanie's longest supported pregnancy — 43 weeks and 1 day — and what that birth taught her client

Where to Find Melanie
melaniethemidwife.com
The Great Birth Rebellion podcast
Annual "Convergence of Rebellious Midwives" conference (Melbourne this year)
Upcoming book: Guide to a Great Pregnancy (with a follow-up on birth to come)

This Episode is Brought to you by INBLUEM
Enjoy 10% off your order with the code RETURNTOWISDOMPODCAST at
www.inbluem.com

Fire up your life with Kim Anami courses: Use https://kimanami.ontraport.com/t?orid=511555&opid=36 to register for courses

This Episode is brought to you by Superfeast
Enjoy 10% off your order with the code RETURNTOWISDOM
https://www.superfeast.com.au

Music Licence: MB01FCNMYPSU3WD
...more
1h 20min
July 27, 2026"If You're Looking for Permission, You Shouldn't Do This" — Mary Lou Singleton on Free Birth
Keshia sits down with midwife Mary Lou Singleton to untangle the current confusion around free birth — where it comes from, how it's being shaped by social media and influencer culture, and what's been lost as the "Free Birth Society" brand has drifted from storytelling into ideology. Mary Lou draws on 15+ years as a home birth midwife, her own free birth, and a family history shaped by a traumatic hospital birth to offer a grounded, non-dogmatic take on risk, autonomy, and what actually makes a birth safe(r) — whether it happens at home, unassisted, or in hospital.

In This Episode
Mary Lou's path into midwifery, inspired by Ina May Gaskin and 15+ years practicing in New Mexico
How her son's childhood cancer diagnosis reshaped her understanding of the "midwifery model" of care
The story of her mother's traumatic 1969 hospital birth, and how it set Mary Lou on a path toward home birth
Mary Lou's own two births — a midwife-assisted home birth and a free birth — and wha each taught her about trusting her own instincts
How free birth went from lived experience and storytelling to a commodified, sometimes dogmatic online movement
The Guardian podcast investigation into Free Birth Society and the difficulty of getting real statistics on outcomes
Mary Lou's "guardrails" for a lower-risk free birth: term, head-down, single baby, labor under 48 hours, clear fluid
Higher-risk scenarios — breech and twin births — and the real mortality data behind them
Good storytelling vs. fear-mongering: the difference between an empowering birth story and manufactured certainty
The "Maggie" story — why needing someone else's permission to free birth is itself a sign you're not ready to
What to actually look for in a doula or birthkeeper (Mary Lou's rule of thumb: 50+ births minimum)
Why "never" is a dangerous word to bring into a birth
Holding risk-awareness and bodily trust at the same time, instead of picking a side
The trade-offs baked into every birth choice — hospital, home, midwife-attended, or free
Reflections on isolation, influencer culture, and why so many women are drawn to birth communities online

Where to Find Mary Lou:
Website: enchantedfamilymedicine.com
Red earth herbal women’s gathering
Instagram: @marylousingleton
X: ML_Singleton

This Episode is Brought to you by INBLUEM
Enjoy 10% off your order with the code RETURNTOWISDOMPODCAST at
www.inbluem.com

This Episode is brought to you by Superfeast
Enjoy 10% off your order with the code RETURNTOWISDOM
https://www.superfeast.com.au/

Music Licence: MB01FCNMYPSU3WD
...more
1h 38min
December 22, 2025 Rebuilding the Village: Wisdom, Maturity & the Return to Intergenerational Living
In this deeply reflective conversation, Keshia is joined by Michelle Chatham and Molly to explore what the “village” truly means in modern life, and why so many women feel unsupported despite being surrounded by community.
Together, they unpack the degradation of intergenerational wisdom, the limitations of peer-only communities, and the dangers of outsourcing our knowing to professionals, systems, and now AI. This episode invites listeners to return to embodiment, lived experience, and relational wisdom — and to understand growth, challenge, and maturation as essential parts of becoming a grounded woman, mother, and leader.
This is a conversation about becoming, not performing and about creating the village from the inside out.

Music Licence:MB01MVKGTUZTF8Z

Michale Bio

From our first breath to our last, we are creating, utilizing, and maintaining space. This principle has guided michale during her 30 years of experience in integrative health. As a nurse who practices from a holistic and global perspective, she helped create one of the country’s first integrative tongue tie clinics over 10 years ago. Her passion for education led her to lecture and teach nationally and internationally on craniofacial growth and development and anticipatory growth guidance. As an educator, she has created training programs for health care practitioners as well as parents and teaches the energetics of healing. Michale mentors those who desire to do their own work, and are interested in healing the healer. She believes the future of healing is up to those practitioners who are re-creating wisdom systems that are essential to our survival and thriving as humans.

www.michalechatham.com
www.thevessel.life
www.korimeloy.com/rootedfamilies
youtube — https://youtube.com/@michalechatham990?si=2SL-QJAXnA7qwg6n

@michalechatham
@theclinicalmystic
@truenorthcouples

Molly Bio

Dr. Molly Peralta is a mediator in unleashing the healing power of the body, philanthropic and community building enthusiast and encourager of living a radically heart centered life. a chiropractor by trade, birth keeper and mother amongst many other titles. living in her dream in hawaii raising wild babies with her husband. You can find her sharing family memories on instagram @molstie, educational information regarding pregnancy, birth & mothering @livingadjusted or follow along with the birth of her clothing line @hapalabel. She is the cofounder of the vessel, @thevesselvillage on instagram, and cohost of @villagesessionspodcast.

The Vessel
Find our course offerings and information about the Vessel Village at www.thevessel.life

Additionally, if you would like to add our freebie PDF to the bio beneath our podcast for your community -- "The Well Resourced Vessel Guide"
Here is the link https://thevessel.myflodesk.com/wellresourcedguide

Return Show Notes Script

This episode is sponsored by Great Spirit

Great Spirit creates powerful organic health products rooted in nature, with a greater vision to help curb the mental health epidemic through nature-based programs and retreats.
Use code KESHIA20 for 20% off your first order.
👉 www.greatspirit.com.au

This Episode is Sponsored by Pod Byron

Pod Byron, Byron Bay’s premium video podcast studio, crafted for creators, coaches, and personal brands ready to elevate their presence.
👉 www.podbyron.com

Thank you for joining me in this little corner of the podcasting world. If you would like to support the show, please head to the show page and subscribe, rate and leave a review. This is a little way you can give back to the show and help me to secure bigger and better guests for the conversations you crave. Have a wonderful day!
...more
1h 7min
December 16, 2025When Modern Health Gets It Wrong: Vaccines, Vitalism & the Body’s Intelligence with Cyndi O'Meara
In this episode, Keshia sits down with Cyndi O’Meara — leading nutritionist, filmmaker, best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and founder of Changing Habits, The Nutrition Academy, The Changing Habits Farm, and co-founder of The Packing Company. With more than 45 years of experience in nutrition and health education, Cyndi has dedicated her life to helping people make informed, empowered choices about their wellbeing.
A passionate educator at heart, Cyndi is known for her direct, down-to-earth approach and her commitment to confronting misinformation in the health and food industries. Her work challenges people to question long-held habits, rethink conventional narratives, and make deeply intentional decisions about what they put into their bodies. As she enters 2025, Cyndi’s renewed focus on global education continues through internationally accredited nutrition courses and public events like The Health and Nutrition Summit.
In this long-form conversation, Keshia and Cyndi explore some of the most important and often misunderstood topics in modern health:
The philosophy of vitalism and the body’s innate intelligence
Vaccine safety, immune system development, and chronic illness in children
Cyndi’s personal journey raising unvaccinated children
How modern health has become increasingly mechanistic, and why that matters
What it means for parents to make informed, compassionate decisions in today’s climate
This episode is not about telling anyone what to think or do. It is an invitation to ask better questions, understand the historical and scientific context, and look more critically at the information we’re given. Above all, it’s a conversation about trusting the body, reclaiming sovereignty, and empowering parents with tools, knowledge, and confidence as they navigate complex health decisions.

Music Licence: MB01SA6UABCOTZY

Important Disclaimer
This conversation is not medical advice.

Resources & Mentions
Australian Vaccination Network (AVN)
📄 Reports & Research Papers
McCullough Foundation Report on Autism ⁠https://zenodo.org/records/17451259⁠
Impact of Childhood Vaccination on Short- and Long-Term Chronic Health Outcomes (Senate Hearing Record) ⁠https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Entered-into-hearing-record-Impact-of-Childhood-Vaccination-on-Short-and-Long-Term-Chronic-Health-Outcomes-in-Children-A-Birth-Cohort-Study.pdf⁠
Henry Ford Study on Vaccinated vs Unvaccinated Health Outcomes⁠https://www.henryford.com/news/2025/09/vaccine-study-henry-ford-health⁠

🎥 Documentaries
VAXXED — by Del Bigtree & Dr Andrew Wakefield
An Inconvenient Study (Free to Watch) ⁠https://www.aninconvenientstudy.com/⁠

📺 TV & Weekly Health Shows
The HighWire with Del Bigtree — Over 400+ Episodes & Interviews

📚 Books & Publications
Vaccines: Amen — Aaron Siri
The Vaccine Friendly Plan — Dr Paul Thomas, Paediatrician
Dissolving Illusions — Dr Suzanne Humphries
VAX – UNVAX: What Does The Science Say? — Brian Hooker & Robert F. Kennedy
Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology & Reality — John Leake & Dr Peter McCullough
Immunity: Why Not Keep It? — Dr Lisa Lovett

This episode is sponsored by Great Spirit

Great Spirit creates powerful organic health products rooted in nature, with a greater vision to help curb the mental health epidemic through nature-based programs and retreats.
Use code KESHIA20 for 20% off your first order.
👉 www.greatspirit.com.au

This Episode is Sponsored by Pod Byron

Pod Byron, Byron Bay’s premium video podcast studio, crafted for creators, coaches, and personal brands ready to elevate their presence.
👉 www.podbyron.com

Thank you for joining me in this little corner of the podcasting world. If you would like to support the show, please head to the show page and subscribe, rate and leave a review. This is a little way you can give back to the show and help me to secure bigger and better guests for the conversations you crave. Have a wonderful day!
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1h 34min
December 08, 2025From “Premature Ovarian Failure” to Four Babies: Birth Stories with Angela Jessup
In this episode of Return to Wisdom, Keshia sits down with her friend Angela to talk through her journey into motherhood — from being told she was unlikely to conceive, through four very different births, miscarriage, and the process of finding trust in her own body and choices.
If you’re pregnant, exploring birth options, processing a past birth, or simply interested in real, unfiltered women’s stories, this conversation offers a lot to reflect on.
Note: Angela’s baby Mimi is in the studio with us, so you may hear a few soft baby sounds throughout the episode.

Key Themes in This Episode
How the medical system shapes birth through fear and policy
The tension between hospital protocols and physiological birth, and how that shows up for mothers.
Autonomy and informed decision-making
From induction conversations to postpartum checks, Angela speaks about learning to say no, ask questions and understand her options.
Energetic boundaries in pregnancy and birth
Why the attitudes and nervous systems of people in the room matter — and how this can affect the birth space.
Different kinds of birth support
Registered midwives, doulas, lay midwives and birthkeepers — and why having the right to choose who is present is so important.
Grieving and healing miscarriage
The difference between a hospital-managed D&C and a more spacious, supported miscarriage at home.
Free birth as a considered choice
For Angela and Nick, free birth was not about rejecting care, but about being prepared, educated, and responsible for their own decisions.

About Angela
Angela is a kinesiologist who works primarily with women — especially in pregnancy, birth preparation and birth trauma integration.
Coming soon:
Energetic Boundaries for Pregnancy & Birth — an online workshop
A Self-Clearing Course for women and children
1:1 kinesiology sessions resuming from February 2026
You can find Ange at https://www.angelajessup.com and IG @angelajessup_kinesiology
Music Licence:MB01AADDYHXW0FR

This episode is sponsored by Great Spirit

Great Spirit creates powerful organic health products rooted in nature, with a greater vision to help curb the mental health epidemic through nature-based programs and retreats.
Use code KESHIA20 for 20% off your first order.
👉 www.greatspirit.com.au

This Episode is Sponsored by Pod Byron

Pod Byron, Byron Bay’s premium video podcast studio, crafted for creators, coaches, and personal brands ready to elevate their presence.
👉 www.podbyron.com

Thank you for joining me in this little corner of the podcasting world. If you would like to support the show, please head to the show page and subscribe, rate and leave a review. This is a little way you can give back to the show and help me to secure bigger and better guests for the conversations you crave. Have a wonderful day!
...more
1h 32min
November 24, 2025 Beyond Gentle Parenting: What Actually Works Part 2 with Lael Stone
In this soulful and deeply insightful episode (part 2), Keshia sits down once again with parenting educator, speaker, author, and emotional awareness advocate Lael Stone. With her signature calm wisdom, Lael explores how we, as parents, can navigate our children's emotional worlds without falling into perfectionism or panic about “getting it all right.”
Together, they unravel complex layers around trauma, resilience, sibling rivalry, boundaries, attachment styles, and emotional literacy, equipping parents with genuinely usable insight for family life.
About Lael
Lael is a renowned parenting educator, emotional-awareness expert, childbirth doula, and author of two books, including her latest Own Your Story. She is also the co-creator of Woodland Primary, a play-based and emotionally intelligent school on a Victorian farm. As a mother of three adult children, Lael’s work spans education, parenting, trauma-informed connection, and adult self-healing.
You can find Lael at ⁠https://laelstone.com.au/⁠, on IG @laelstone
Laels Offerings
The Journey - 8 month Mentorship with Lael Stone. This is all about going deeper within to explore your imprints, stories, and blocks, so you can step towards living your best life. It is for professional and personal development. Starts Feb 2026 https://laelstone.com.au/mentorship/
Thriving as Parents and Partners Webinar. This live webinar is happening on 26th November but will be available to purchase after. In it we will guide you from overwhelm to understanding, from conflict to connection, and from going it alone to building your family team. Perfect for couples who are in the thick of parenting and are needing some guidance and support and tools to explore. https://laelstone.com.au/event/thriving-as-parents-and-partners-online-november-2025/
Own Your Story - my new book. Understanding your past to create your future. Looks at our Imprints and beliefs and patterns to help us live a more authentic life. Available all major book stores and on Audible.

Music License: MB01CAF4HLQCLBZ
This episode is sponsored by Great Spirit
Great Spirit creates powerful organic health products rooted in nature, with a greater vision to help curb the mental health epidemic through nature-based programs and retreats. Use code KESHIA20 for 20% off your first order.
👉 www.greatspirit.com.au
This Episode is Sponsored by Pod Byron
Pod Byron, Byron Bay’s premium video podcast studio, crafted for creators, coaches, and personal brands ready to elevate their presence.
👉 www.podbyron.com
Thank you for joining me in this little corner of the podcasting world. If you would like to support the show, please head to the show page and subscribe, rate and leave a review. This is a little way you can give back to the show and help me to secure bigger and better guests for the conversations you crave. Have a wonderful day!
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