A spacious, survivor-centered conversation about birth control, fertility, and bodily sovereignty. Through personal stories, ancestral context, and lived experience, we explore how hormonal birth control and medicalized pregnancy prevention can reinforce dissociation, freeze, and the outsourcing of safety for many survivors of se ual trauma. Rather than offering prescriptions or medical advice, this episode reframes the conversation entirely. What becomes possible when fertility is approached through agency, intimacy, choice, and relationship with the body, the womb, and the cycles themselves?

Gentle disclaimer: the nature of this podcast is conversations about edgy stuff. Listen from a grounded, regulated place.

Topics Covered in This Episode

How dominant birth control narratives shape fear, control, and disembodiment

Personal birth control journeys, including the pill, condoms, ab rtion, and IUDs

The emotional and somatic impact of gynecological care on survivors

Outsourcing safety vs cultivating embodied agency and self-trust

Fertility awareness and cycle tracking as a relational practice, not a rule set

Free bleeding, reclaiming menstrual blood, and repairing shame around menstruation

The role of trauma, dissociation, and freeze in fertility decisions

Ancestral loss of herbal and cycle wisdom and its impact on women’s autonomy

Plant allies and non-hormonal approaches to pregnancy prevention

Intent, ritual, and conscious choice in se ual intimacy

Inviting men into cycle awareness, responsibility, and relational intimacy

When celibacy can be a reparative and empowering choice

Reframing fertility not as a problem to manage, but as power to steward

Resources mentioned in this episode:

🌿 Learn more about Lauren and her education on fertility tracking and natural birth control

🩸Learn more about Chaya and her womb work

🌺 Our favorite natural birth control cream: Wise Women's Choice

🌙 Our favorite period underwear: Wild Moon

📖 Taking Charge of Your Fertility: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health by Toni Weschler

🧶 Birth control tapestry by Alexandria Masse

🌊 Follow The Water We Swim In on Instagram

❤️‍🔥 Follow Ashley Waverley on Instagram, or learn more about her work here.

👁️ Follow Samara Valentina on Instagram or learn more about her work here.

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