Candice, a midwife, recently gave birth to her second baby. We worked together during her pregnancy, helping her to unpack the story of her first birth and to prepare for a different experience this time around. Mildred’s birth had been shockingly painful for Candice, and she exhaustedly made the call to abandon her home birth plans in order to have an epidural in hospital. This left her with feelings of shame and self doubt, especially given she was a midwife. But doing the self-work required to unravel her traumatic experience and find compassion for how she had coped, enabled Candice to manage another very painful posterior labour in an entirely different way.

Candice’s story highlights our undeniable mind-body connection and its very real impacts on how we birth. When we enter labour with unhealed traumas and experience the inevitable loss of control that giving birth entails, many, like Candice, experience this as hugely triggering. Tune in to Candice’s vulnerable share about how she worked through her fears to ready herself, as best she could, for a beautiful and empowering home birth.

Also discussed in this episode:

* Posterior labour - direct OP birth

* Long early labour

* Nitrous oxide - gas & air (at home birth)

* Ventouse birth

* Second degree tear

* Effects of childhood trauma on birth

* Difficulties bonding with baby

* Work with me - Havening, Unravelling Your Trauma session, Planning Your Healing Birth session, Soulful Birth online course

* Journal prompts and guided meditation

* Tools for managing fears (especially around pain) in labour

* Affirmations

* Water birth

* Self vaginal exam

* Requesting a managed 3rd stage an hour postpartum

* Tandem feeding

Follow Candice on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villagebirthnz/

Learn more about healing with me (Carla) here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/healing

And learn more about my online Soulful Birth (holistic birth & postpartum preparation) course here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/soulfulbirthgroup