Today on the She Births podcast, I’m joined by Jacqui Minell — She Births mum, Pilates, barre and yoga teacher, and mother to three boys: Will, Ed and Tom. 

This is not just one birth story. It’s three.

And woven through them is fertility, loss, resilience, and the powerful realisation that birth can feel both familiar and completely different — even in the same body.

If you’re preparing for birth again — or even reflecting on a previous experience — this episode is essential listening.

We talk about fertility challenges and conceiving naturally after assisted cycles. We explore what changes when you truly prepare the body and the mind — and why no two labours are ever the same.

There’s also a very honest, practical birth conversation covering:
✨Castor oil smoothies
✨Crazy curries
✨Curb walking
✨A posterior baby

✨A frank breech baby

We discuss how Jacqui used chiropractic neuro-emotional techniques to help clear beliefs from the body — processing gender disappointment and even supporting her baby to turn.

We dive into what Jacqui calls “training James” — how she intentionally prepared her partner differently for each birth, and how that shifted everything.

Beyond birth, we explore postpartum recovery, newborn feeding challenges, including tongue and lip ties, and the deeper relationship and identity shifts that come with matrescence.

We believe this is the reason why women need spaces to be witnessed. Why community matters and how Soul Mama Circles can support integration in that tender season. 

This is a conversation about preparing for all, but expecting the best, and about how birth becomes more powerful each time you meet it consciously.

Jacqui’s story is also a reminder that how you prepare your body matters.

We hope this episode inspires you to prepare deeply, trust your body, and surround yourself with the right support. If you loved this episode, please subscribe to the She Births podcast so you never miss a conversation that could support your birth journey. 

Thanks for listening

Nadine xx

PS...

If you’re looking for beautiful, aligned support during pregnancy and postpartum, here are some of our trusted recommendations we talk about in this podcast:

✨ Body Love Pilates – gentle, intelligent movement to support strength, connection and recovery. Use our She Births® community discount SHEBIRTHSLOVES to receive one month FREE.

✨ Birth Sling – designed to support movement, positioning and comfort in labour.
Use our She Births® community discount SHEBIRTHSLOVES for a $10 discount.

✨ Made for Mothers – thoughtfully designed postpartum essentials to nurture recovery and confidence. Use our She Births® community discount SHEBIRTHSLOVES for a 10% discount on Postpartum Packages.

✨ Obstetrician - Dr Bobby Teoh

✨ Chiropractic Neuro Emotional Technique – Pollie Wilkie, Bondi Junction

✨ You Tube - Jacqui's online birth prep class

Prepare for birth fearlessly with our in-person and online courses.

In this final episode of the She Births® Podcast for 2025, we close the year with a deeply meaningful and expansive conversation.

I sit down with She Births® dad, Aaron Tait—educator, humanitarian, former Navy serviceman, and author of the powerful new book Far Horizons. Together, we explore the rich tapestry of Aaron’s life and his remarkable journey through fatherhood, identity, birth, and masculine transformation.

At just 17, Aaron was deployed to Iraq—one of the youngest Australian men sent after September 11. Years later, he purchased a one-way ticket to Africa with his partner, Kaitlin, dedicating his life to humanitarian work. Through all of this, birth became one of his greatest initiations.

In this conversation, we dive into:
✨ His two epic birth experiences and how they reshaped his understanding of love, responsibility, and partnership
✨ Masculinity today — what’s working, what’s hurting men, and what desperately needs to evolve
✨ The three phases of masculine growth: Knight, Prince, King
✨ Why birth profoundly impacts men (even though we rarely talk about it)
✨ How men can move through rites of passage with integrity, courage, and heart

Aaron’s story is one of depth, service, humility and awakening.
And his book Far Horizons is a game-changer — I highly recommend gifting it to the men and boys in your life this Christmas. (Especially since only 10% of men read! Let’s help change that.)

A beautiful, important conversation to wrap up the year.
Tune in, share it with your community, and let’s continue building a culture where all parents are supported, seen, and transformed through birth.

Love Nadine xx

Takeaways

80% of readers of my book are women.

Birth is a rite of passage for both parents.

The presence of a doula can be invaluable during labor.

Ayahuasca can lead to profound personal transformation.

Men often struggle with proving their worth through actions.

The military experience can shape a man's identity.

Forgiveness can come from unexpected places.

Parenting requires continuous learning and adaptation.

Books can foster empathy and understanding in men.

Traveling can be a powerful way to reset one's life.

Titles

Exploring Fatherhood Through Birth

The Journey of Transformation

Sound bites

"I was blown away by Kaitlin during birth."

"I want people to see a far horizon and go for it."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Book Overview

01:59 Birth Experiences and the Role of Doulas

11:34 Fatherhood as an Initiation

16:51 Transformation Through Ayahuasca

18:14 Exploring the Themes of 'Far Horizons'

21:18 Exploring Masculinity and Parenting Dynamics

29:31 The Journey of Healing and Forgiveness

36:36 Transformative Experiences in Africa

40:46 Inspiring Change and Future Aspirations

The Dance of Motherhood: Navigating Relationships with DaughtersSeason 11 Episode 2.

Welcome to a new episode of the She Births podcast. I am a huge fan of Dr Shefali, as you might be too. However, if you are new to parenting, you may not have read her amazing books yet.

Dr Shefali is a New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned clinical psychologist. She has appeared on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, with Oprah calling her book, The Conscious Parent, one of the most important parenting books of our time. 

Her approach is grounded in psychology but deeply informed by Eastern mindfulness. She writes and speaks about breaking generational cycles and inherited trauma, building emotional resilience in children and much more.

She will be in Australia in March 2026 for a live speaking tour in Melbourne and Sydney - speaking on conscious parenting, emotional trauma, self-awareness and mental health in the modern age. Details are in the show notes. Come and say hi to me too at her talk in Sydney. Go to drshefali.com or @doctorshefali on Instagram.

I especially love how Shefali explains that conscious parenting is always happening - whether you are a parent or not. I love her invitation to see parenting as a mirror - and an opportunity to awaken. She makes conscious parenting so simple and grounded, but also enlightening.

In our conversation, we answer questions from our She Births families - discussing the significance of the mother-daughter dynamic. How teenage children push our boundaries as part of their individuation. And she describes the Parenting Map and different archetypes we fall into. 

We delve into practical strategies for building self-worth in our children, managing anxiety in a chaotic world, and daily practices that can help us slow down and connect.

Ultimately, we highlight the spiritual awakening that comes through parenting, encouraging us to embrace imperfections and cultivate compassion for ourselves and our children.

Thank you for being here and for tuning in to She Births®. I hope this latest episode nourishes and empowers you in some way. If it does, please consider subscribing or leaving a heartfelt review — your support helps more families find their way to a beautiful birth.

Nadine xx

Links

Dr Shefali website https://www.drshefali.com/

She Births website https://shebirths.com/

Welcome to a brand new episode of the She Births® Podcast.

I felt that this story would make a great Father’s Day episode. It is a story that involves many threads, including trauma and healing - but also a wonderful Dad, Chris. Chris shares beautiful and heartfelt words about birth from a man’s perspective - helping us to change the standard narrative of the incompetent dad in the room!

The amazing mumma, Tess, by way of background, suffered a spinal cord injury in 2018 and spent months in and out of the hospital. She knew that she could go into spinal shock or experience AD, similar to a stroke, due to the stress of experiencing labour. It was always a potential for her to have a general anaesthetic and C-section. 

I will let Tess tell the rest of the story about how she created a path of empowerment for herself.

Tess Brouwer is also a bestselling co-author with world champion surfer, Layne Beachley, of Awake Academy; Know Yourself to Grow Yourself to live a happier, more purposeful life.

I am loving it as an audiobook - it blends science-backed strategies and soul-deep wisdom to help people navigate some of our most defining chapters, such as birth and parenthood. So check it out!

Within this conversation, Tess speaks to the importance of building trust with your OB, the power of rewriting your story - even mid-birth - and how masculine partners can lead through presence.

This is a conversation about surrender, preparation, and stepping into your inner strength. 

I hope you enjoy the inspiration.
xxx Nadine

Key Takeaways:

• The importance of practical support and preparation in creating a positive birth experience

• How doulas provide emotional and physical guidance through labour

• Why trusting your body can be one of the most empowering decisions you make

• The role of communication between partners during labour and postpartum

• How building a supportive community helps new parents thrive

• Mental health, yoga, and emotional readiness as vital components of birth preparation

• Understanding medical interventions as a way to feel more in control

• The deepening of intimacy and connection between partners during shared experiences

• Embracing both masculine and feminine energies during birth

• Postpartum care and bonding are an essential part of the journey

  
  

  Highlight chapters

  05:07 Tess's Journey: Overcoming Trauma and Injury

  10:22 The Impact of Spinal Cord Injury on Life

  16:45 Rebuilding Through Yoga and Community

  26:53 Navigating Relationships and Parenthood

  47:45 The Birth Plan: From C-Section to Natural Birth

  56:16 Navigating the Birth Plan Amidst Uncertainty01:25:37 The Importance of Support and Communication in Birth

  
  

  Links

  @awake_academy

  @tessbrouwer

  @shebirths

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Welcome to a brand new episode of the She Births® Podcast.
 
In this episode, Jessica and I discuss the journey of childbirth, focusing on her personal experiences with her 3 births.
We explore the emotional and physical challenges of labour, the importance of education and support systems, and the impact of the environment on the birthing process. 
Jessica shares her fears, lessons learned from each birth, highlighting the unique challenges faced during her third pregnancy amidst a cyclone - and after an almost 4 hour second stage!We emphasise the healing power of discussing birth stories and the sense of achievement that comes with bringing new life into the world. 
Jess shares the challenges of juggling motherhood, alongside her new creation of leak-proof bras for breastfeeding mother's MILK.
She also highlights the importance of community support during postpartum recovery and encourages mothers to trust their intuition and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
We love helping second-time families get back in their birthing zone. Reach out for our ALUMNI discount codes for online courses and to learn more about short private sessions.
Look forward to sharing more with you soon.

Nadine xx

Links

https://shebirths.com/

https://www.instagram.com/itsmilklabel/

Today I share a conversation with a beautiful mum and midwife, Corina Fitch.

She is a midwife of birth and a midwife of matrescence, deeply passionate about both of those things. 

In fact, Corina was born into midwifery. She was born in the back of a bus, on The Farm in Tennessee. If you are new to the birth world or just pregnant - The Farm, was founded by Steven and Ina May Gaskin, 

It was set up as a commune that just kind of birthed itself. The midwives were self taught and ended up becoming the world's best midwives that we know of. And Ina May is the most famous. She has written many books still in print, the most popular is Spiritual Midwifery, and it's beautiful, such a wonderful collection of stories and such an extraordinary amount of knowledge, not just for midwives, but for pregnant mums and doulas too. 

So I hope you enjoy our conversation today. We talk a lot about what The Farm and how it was, how it is now. Their amazing statistics - a c-section rate of 1.4%. We also talk about the importance of matrescence and making that word and mother’s struggles more visible.

LINKS

https://thefarmmidwives.org/

https://motherflytribe.myshopify.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOOBNKYUbXohttps://thefarmcommunity.com/stephen-ina-may-interview-midwifery/

Welcome to Season 10, Episode 5 of the She Births® Podcast. 

Today, I talk with the pioneer, author and founder of Active Birth, Janet Balaskas.

If you have done She Births®, you will have heard me say how essential it is to understand and even criminal to not include active birthing in birth education.

Janet began her work as a pioneering birth educator and author in the late 1970s. In the 1980s, she founded the Active Birth Movement and published the Active Birth Manifesto. To this day, Janet is a leading voice in the global campaign to transform birthing practices.

Her innovative ideas have spread throughout the world, inspiring parents, birth educators, yoga teachers, midwives, obstetricians, and doulas. She has even created new designs for birthing centres.

She has published multiple books and a film. Her Active Birth Centre was founded in the early 1980s in London, England, and continues to this day. 

It was an honour to have Janet. You can discover more about her at

https://www.activebirthcentre.com/

Our conversation covers the origins of active birthing.

We discuss Janet's personal birthing experiences, the evolution of childbirth practices, and the importance of understanding the physiological processes involved in labour. 

Janet emphasises the significance of gravity, hormonal interactions, and the role of fear in childbirth while also highlighting the benefits of yoga as a preparation tool for expectant mothers. 

The conversation delves into the need for informed consent and the empowerment of women in their birthing choices. 

We chat about the profound spiritual experience of birth, emphasizing the importance of presence and surrender. We highlight the evolving role of partners in the birthing process, advocating for their active participation and emotional connection with the baby. 

We discuss the Active Birth Movement, detailing its revolutionary impact on birthing practices and environments. 

Finally, we conclude with reflections on motherhood, matrescence, and the essential qualities of nurturing and love in parenting.

I hope this podcast has been inspiring and empowering for you and helps you create your own beautiful birth.

Remember, you can learn and embody the power of active birthing in all of our She Births® Courses online or face-to-face. Prepare today at the website shebirths.com

Our sponsor today is the amazing MILK LABEL. www.itsmilklabel.com⁠ 

Did you know that Milk Label uses only sustainable and natural materials that care for your body, your milk, and your baby. So you can be totally rest assured that there are no plastic fabrics on your skin or near your baby. 

Milk has patented their amazing leakproof technology in all their bras and utilise Australian Merino to wick any moisture into a leakproof core, keeping you dry and feeling good all the time.

Make sure you are wearing MILK by using code SHEBIRTHSLOVES at the checkout to get 15% off any purchase. Simply go to www.itsmilklabel.com 

Welcome to Season 10 Episode 4 of the She Births® Podcast.

Today I talk with She Births mum and opera singer Emily Edmonds. 

Emily is a mezzo-soprano who has worked extensively overseas. She is sought out for her interpretations of both contemporary and traditional work. She has worked with the Royal Ballet and Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Opera Philadelphia. This year she is making an exciting Opera Australia debut, in the role of Cinderella. I can’t wait to go and see it this Summer in Sydney.

Our conversation touches on the raw, transformative, and often uncomfortable experiences of matrescence. And how we enter that portal of change, from maiden to mother, even before we conceive.

We talk about how matrescence can encompass an entire identity shift. Emily shares how her birth was powerful, connecting her to nature. 

We discuss how women have been gaslit and often underestimate their capacity to handle the challenges of motherhood. The journey of motherhood is unique for each individual, shaped by personal experiences. There is actually a gift in juggling work and motherhood and a reciprocal enrichment I believe.

It's so important to discuss taboo truths about motherhood. We also chat about

Stay tuned to the very end when we summarise both birth and matrescence - taboos and truths - into 3 words. Words that I hope stay with you and offer you the hope and power for your own process.

Remember you can join a Soul Mama Circle and be within the safe container for matrescence and of course a She Births® Course to prepare for your beautiful birth either online or face to face via our website shebirths.com

Welcome to Season 10 Episode 3 of the She Births® Podcast. This is our Taboos and Truths season.

And today holds a bit of both, like our previous episodes. 

In episode 1 and 2 we covered conversations about our pelvic floor and our boobs. Two essential parts of the body as we birth are often filled with taboo, shame and confusion. So I hope those previous chats have helped bring more awareness, truth, and empowerment into your field in relationship with your body and mind.

Today I talk with Sharon Settecasse, a mother and community advocate from Better Births Illawarra @betterbirthsillawarra 

Sharon is a space holder whose work is rooted in reclaiming and healing self, community and culture. Her ancestry is Argentinean and her story and responsibilities are now interwoven on Dharawal Country, south of Sydney. 

Sharon’s work involves visioning collective liberation, connecting with each other, and dismantling colonial and patriarchal systems while honoring the intergenerational strength and collective resilience of marginalised peoples.

Sharon is the president and co-founder of Better Births Illawarra, a fierce grassroots community advocacy organisation committed to ensuring every mother and birthing parent has access to an empowered birth through respectful, just and humane maternity care.

In my chat today, we get to celebrate something rare yet powerful—triumph in the birthing space. For decades, we've seen choices taken away from women and their families, interventions on the rise, and far too much trauma as well. But amidst all this, a group of incredible women from the Wollongong area have been fighting for better births, not just for themselves, but for all of us.

I'm honored to be joined by one of these trailblazers, Sharon as she shares with us their recent victory in expanding the Midwifery Group Practice at Wollongong Hospital’s Birth Centre, and how this win is not just a triumph for the Illawarra, but represents even more in terms of the power of community, advocacy and the powerful ripple effects of writing to our ministers and recent birth trauma inquiry.

I have spoken about it before but we'll dive into the groundbreaking parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma—a victory that’s already igniting action in New Zealand, the UK, and beyond. Truths, when they are spoken and come into the open work like wildfire—each triumph fuels the next. Truths and healing on a collective level is one of the most powerful ways we can help ourselves and our sisters and children. Speaking the truth, breaking taboo, releasing pain and shame is actually helping us move toward a world where birth is safer, more empowering, and filled with choice.

I hope this conversation inspires you as much as it has inspired me. Let's celebrate these victories and continue pushing for change together!

I hope wherever you are on your journey as a parent or birthworker that this podcast helps to have a beautiful birth and create more beautiful births for others.

Please share with a friend, review and subscribe as it really helps us deliver more podcasts to more families. 

You can find Sharon and her crew @betterbirthsillawarra 

Why breastfeeding is hard & how to make it easier

Welcome to Season 10 Episode 2 of the She Births® Podcast. Today I talk with midwife and lactation consultant, Katie James from The Midwives' Cauldron & The Feeding Couch. 

Katie has been a midwife for over 23 years and Lactation Consultant for more than 17 years. She teaches midwives, doctors and doulas; as well as thousands of pregnant women and parents.

Together we talk about how amazing breastfeeding, lactation and human milk really is. And, we talk about the most common issues women have with feeding and why it is so goddamn hard!

There can be so much grief with our feeding journeys for so many women. I recently did a podcast for Katie's show and shared my journey with her and wow…it brought up so much maternal guilt and shame. It was really uncomfortable and felt so important. I really love what she is doing at The Feeding Couch by sharing stories, just like we do birth stories.

If you have finished your journey or if you are about to begin your feeding journey, I am sure that you will experience at least one of the issues we discuss. I promise you it will help to be informed now. Make sure you share this with all of your pregnant or wanna be pregnant friends and partners too.

Did you know that by the time a baby is 6 months old, more than 80% of mothers have ended their breastfeeding journey and this is not b/c they want to stop

Together we talk about the most common issue women stop, nipple pain and trauma plus all the other challenges. How to avoid them all and say no to the extremely common non evidence based forceful techniques and mother baby separation that happens every day in hospitals.

I really hope wherever you are on your journey with feeding that this podcast helps to alleviate any of the maternal guilt and shame and allows you to celebrate how amazing we all are in whatever we are able to do.

Please share with a friend, review and subscribe as it really helps us deliver more podcasts to more families. You can find Katie at her website. katiejames.site on instagram @katiejameslactation @themidwivescauldron and @thefeedingcouchpodcast.