In this special end-of-year episode of The Natural Birth Podcast, Anna invites you into the sacred pause of Winter Solstice — the darkest day of the year and the ancient turning point where stillness, reflection, and new beginnings meet.

Drawing on wisdom from seasonal traditions around the world, the astrology of December 21, and the deep feminine rhythm of resting before birth, this episode is a gentle invitation to slow down and come home to yourself.

Together, we reflect on the year that has been; the beauty, the gratitude, the lessons, and the wisdom gained through both joy and challenge.
We sit with what is ready to be released and we begin to listen for the seeds wanting to be planted in the fertile darkness for the year ahead.

Anna shares her own Winter Solstice ritual of reflection, dreaming, and planning — both personally and in her work — and offers spacious prompts to support you in feeling into your visions for 2026, without pressure or urgency.

This episode also marks a short Christmas and New Year pause for The Natural Birth Podcast, with a warm invitation to continue listening to the Sacred Birth Work & Biz Podcast throughout the holidays.

Anna shares about the recently completed Birth Worker Series — a month of intimate conversations with doulas, sacred birth workers, and midwives about their journeys into birth work and business.

You’re also invited to tune in on December 31 to the Sacred Birth Work & Biz Podcast for a special New Year visioning and planning episode, supporting you in weaving intention, strategy, and soul into the year ahead.

As a Christmas gift, Anna is offering 10% off all courses, programs, and the mentorship until December 31, including The Natural Birth Course, The Nourishing Postpartum Course, The Business Course for Birth Workers, and The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, using the code MERRYCHRISTMAS.

A gentle, nourishing episode to close the year.

We’ll be back on January 4 with a new birth story.
Until then, wishing you a peaceful Winter Solstice, a heartfelt Christmas, and a soft beginning to the New Year.

Victoria is a mama of 3 from the US and the founder of the peaceful birth academy.

She is a student midwife and has been a birth doula for 15 years. She caught her first baby when she was 16 and her soul purpose is to help humanity awaken to the sacredness of birth.

In today’s episode she shares about her 3 very different birth experiences, all home births, with so much birthing wisdom in each and everyone of them.

I loved our conversation. Victoria is a great storyteller and this episode is rich and long. But it’s worth listening all the way through as her story and poetry had me crying and I am sure it will touch you too.

Victoria's stories will speak to you if you see birth as a teacher, as I do. Each has so much to teach us about ourselves and helps us become the woman and mother we are supposed to be.
If Victoria’s stories peaked your interest then you don’t want to miss her episode last week on The Sacred Birth Work & Biz Podcast where she shares her birth worker journey as a doula, a student midwife and a birth biz owner with both an online and IRL birth business.
Curious about Victoria? Find her on instagram as @peacefulbirthmethod

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jolien.

Jolien is a mama of two from the Netherlands. 

Today she shares her two birth stories, her first that was an intended home birth but became a transfer after 4 days of prodromal labour with everything happening that she did not want.

If you do not wish to hear this first story then fast forward to her second redemptive home birth at around 30min into the episode. 

When becoming pregnant again Jolien and her husband decided that with their second pregnancy the only thing they could change to hopefully have a better birth outcome was to employ a doula. 

Because of her they ended up with an independent caseload midwife this time at 30 weeks pregnant. And she gave Jolien all the information and positive energy that she needed. 

This time Jolien ended up having a 2.5 hour birth at home in her bath without any intervention. The midwife only walked in as the head of Jolien's baby was born. 

Jolien’s story really shows the importance of choosing your birth support wisely and that employing your own can make a world of difference. 

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Kelsea. Kelsea is a mama of one, from California, USA. She is a photographer, entrepreneur and a devoted mama.

She shares how her mindset shifted dramatically, from fearing childbirth to embracing a natural, unmedicated home birth as a first-time mom. 

Her labor lasted 60 hours, pushing her far beyond what she thought possible. Through this journey, she discovered profound personal power, deepened the bond with her partner, and stepped courageously into motherhood. 

Despite a long labor and shoulder dystocia, her recovery was lovely and swift, with no tearing.

She’s here to share her story to inspire other women to trust their intuition, surrender to the unfolding of labor, and believe in the immense and incredible strength beyond any perceived limitations they might carry. 

Curious about Kelsea? Find her on Instagram @kelseaholder

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Vicky

Vicky is a stay at home mama from South Wales, UK.

She’s a former midwife who had a deep rooted fear of entering into the maternity care system and actually never did after she completed her studies.

Today she supports women on their journey back to health through Ayurvedic lifestyle coaching and Nutritional Therapy. She caters for women’s wellness retreats and run workshops on natural health and breast massage. She has a passion for helping women reconnect with the wisdom they already carry, to feel empowered, thrive, and truly take ownership of their well-being. 

When becoming pregnant herself she felt that the only way to achieve a natural birth was to relearn what birth is supposed to look like in the wild. 

Her pregnancy was spent developing her intuition, facing her fears and was guided by a deep trust in nature and the wisdom of the body. 

She decided to freebirth her baby at home. Equipped with both the scientific evidence and her intuition behind her, she knew it was not only safe, but the right path for her. 

She had a small space to navigate, living in a self built tiny house, which she solved by having the water birth she had dreamed about in a bell tent in the woods  on Halloween morning. It was magical. 

Curious about Vicky? Find her on Instagram @nurturedbynature_uk 

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Laura
Laura is a mother of 3 from just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.
She gave birth to her first two children in the hospital, unmedicated, with midwifery care, but she realized after her 2nd birth that the hospital system was still getting in the way of her achieving her ultimate dreams for birth.
She decided on a homebirth for her 3rd baby, and despite moments of doubt along the way, she ultimately birthed her baby in water, entirely on her own terms, into her own hands, in the comfort of her bedroom.
Laura works as a bridal hairstylist and as a marriage and family therapist. She wishes people gave as much intention to their births as they do to their weddings, and she recognizes the reverberating power that a connected birth experience can have on the family system.
Curious about Laura? Find her on instagram as @laurasnyderhair

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Simone

Simone is a life coach and speaker for visionary moms committed to living deeply fulfilling and rich lives with kids that aligns with their purpose and authentic self.

She is the host of the podcast, the Creatrix Codes, and has a membership community called Magic Mamas; leading a movement of empowered motherhood that helps shed the martyr motherhood archetype and reclaim their power to be the Creatrix of their lives.

She has spoken at workshops, live events, retreats, and women’s circles throughout the country and online and is deeply passionate about helping more people show up for their dreams on their terms.

She believes that motherhood is magic, and is one of the most hands on ways we get to experience being the goddess, the portal, and Creatrix of our best lives.

Today she shares about her empowering and deeply supportive tear free birth in a tub at a birthing center surrounded by the people she loves. She shares how birth taught her so much about life and how powerful we are as women and how her labor was a deeply spiritual and transformative experience.

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:⁠⁠ ⁠www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Sami

Sami is descended from a long line of natural birthing women, intuitives, and midwives.

As the granddaughter of the founder of the Utah College of Midwifery, she has been surrounded by home birth her whole life, and didn't realize it wasn't the typical way for Americans to give birth until she was a teenager.

Sami is the mother of 5 children, four daughters and one son.

She is a stay at home mom who has dabbled in birth photography, birth support, personality typing, and writing romance novels.

She has always felt called to the sacred space of natural birth, and is waiting for her time to follow in her family's footsteps as a future midwife.

Today she shares all of her 5 births, including the partial placental abruption that brought her into the hospital from her home.

Still owning her birth every step of the way.

And the most amazing part of this story for me is that her grandmother and her mother in law were midwives for each of her births.

Something I just find absolutely amazing!

Sami has shared 37 photos with us from her 5 births that we will share inside the Podcast Inner Circle for you who are members of my Online Community The Maiden, Mother & Maga Village.

If you’re not a member yet please head on over and join us today!

Right now you can access the Village for 3 months for free!

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:⁠⁠ www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Güte

Güte is a mama of one from South Africa, and a coach with a passion to support mothers with connecting to their intuition and a natural way of living, especially in the perinatal phase. Contrary to modern myths, Güte has found natural birthing and mothering, and the lead up to it, to be the most self-actualising process she’s ever experienced and that she continues to enjoy.

During her pregnancy she decided to pivot her coaching practice to support mothers, as she realised how isolated they tend to be. She is co-creating a world where mothers are part of a loving network, with the perspective and knowledge to find joy and meaning in pregnancy, birth and motherhood.

In today’s episode she shares about her pregnancy and home waterbirth in London as a South African Expat, and how it took her on a journey to lean into self-responsibility and intuition as a way of avoiding medical intervention, without needing to fight, but by creating a safe and nurturing environment, with support from wise mamas.

Her first surges came when her parents landed from South Africa early in the morning. She was supported by her loving husband and doula throughout her labour until she roared and raged and birthed her baby into the water shortly after the midwife had arrived.

Curious about Güte? Find her on instagram as @gute.immelman

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:⁠www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emily.

Emily is an author and mama of two under 2 from the Highlands of Scotland. She is known on social media as Prepping for Everything and has built an online following for sharing homesteading, prepping and motherhood.

I started following Emily for her homesteading reels and Emily found The Natural Birth Podcast when she got pregnant with her first 3 years ago.

And here we now are, full circle, as Emily comes to share her 2 birth stories.

Her first being a planned home birth turning into a long prodromal affair ending in a non emergent hospital transfer where Emily’s mama lioness was born. Her baby was born naturally, healthy, pink and screaming without the need of any interference from the hospital even though they tried their best.

And her second redemptive, normal home birth with physiological plateaus that in hospital would have been classified as abnormal and a bigger postpartum bleed without the bells and whistles of the hospital.

Curious about Emily? Find her on instagram as @preppingforeverything

Want to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?

Find Anna’s Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:⁠www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast