In this deeply personal first episode, host Blyss Young shares the story behind At Her Feet, The Bridge Midwives inaugural podcast. From the awe of witnessing her niece’s birth as a teenager to the running of a birth center whose midwifery students seemed increasingly clinical, to then becoming a midwife herself, Blyss traces the quiet call that led her to the wisdom of the elders. This is the origin of The Bridge Midwives Project—a devotion to remembering what was nearly lost, to honoring the wisdom that lives in hands and stories, and to reconnecting a lineage that predates textbooks and licensure. 

In This Episode:

• Meet your host, Blyss Young, a licensed midwife and founder of The Bridge Midwives Project.
• Learn the inspiration behind At Her Feet—a podcast devoted to archiving and reviving traditional midwifery wisdom.
• Hear how Blyss’ own path—from birthing mother to midwife to grief-stricken mother and wandering seeker—shaped this offering.
• Preview the voices to come: 15 elder midwives from Northern California and Oregon, each holding pieces of a wisdom tradition nearly erased.
• Explore words like “traditional” and "deliver" —and how listening with reverence can help us uncover the wisdom beneath the language. 
• Acknowledge how colonization and professional gatekeeping contributed to the erasure of many Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and rural midwives
• An invitation to listen not with urgency, but with humility, presence, and care.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)
• The Bridge Midwives Project: bridgemidwives.com

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.

Podcast editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project