Hi my loves!
I have something special planned for you for the next 3 weeks as I am stepping out of the podcast studio and into the Sacred Birth Worker Gathering here on my land. Tomorrow the first mentees and graduates fly in or drive on in to my land and for the next week we are going to have so much fun!
We are going on excursions to sacred sites and historical places I love and then spending the weekend in deep ceremony and sisterhood on my land.
I can’t wait!
And after the gathering I am taking a couple of weeks off to go to a spa with my best friend and then heading away for a midwifery conference in the south of Sweden.
But!
Do not despair! I’ve got you covered!
I thought I’d bring back some oldies but goldies!
I looked through my top 5 episodes of all time and thought “These are too good to not reshare!”.
So we are starting out with no 1, Ellen Fisher’s 5 Home Birth Stories.
If you don’t know Ellen, she is a mama of 5 living in Hawaii. She is a home birthing and home schooling mama who loves growing her own food and is a vegan of 18 years.
She’s also a podcast host of her own podcast called The Ellen Fisher Podcast.
In today’s episode you get to hear about each of her 5 natural and empowering home births. She dives on into the pearls of wisdom she gained from each and every one of them and the difference between them.
Being our no 1 this episode is not to be missed!
Curious about Ellen? Find her on instagram as @ellenfisher
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 Cassie.
Cassie is a birthkeeper, homeopath, yoga teacher, and devoted mama of two, based in the Midlands, UK.
With deep roots in holistic care and over a decade of experience, she supports women, children, and families through every season of life — offering homeopathic medicine, the frequency embodiment method, and powerful, intuitive birthkeeping. She's the only person in the world trained in all three disciplines.
Cassie’s path was forged through personal transformation. After a traumatic, medicalised first birth that left her with PTSD, postnatal depression, and breastfeeding grief, she committed to deep healing.
The first part of this episode explores this first traumatic birth if you don’t wish to listen to that part in your birth prep.
It is filled with wisdom packaged in beautiful story telling but if you want to prime your subconscious with just the redemptive positive home birth story then go ahead and listen in at around the 30min mark.
Her healing journey that she took between her first and second birth led her to reclaim her power and go on to have a completely sovereign, supported home birth with her second baby despite a broken maternity system and a difficult NHS experience up until 37 weeks when she chose to discharge herself and find a radical independent midwife.
Now, Cassie helps other women by guiding them to trust their bodies, reclaim their autonomy, and create deeply aligned, sovereign birth experiences.
Curious about Cassie? Find her on Instagram as @cassierosedudgon
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 Jenna
Jenna is a stay-at-home mom of two who finds joy in motherhood, creativity, and the beauty of everyday life.
With an English degree and a passion for writing, she explores themes of romance, faith, and family through poetry and storytelling. She hopes to one day publish her poetry and create short films that bring her words to life.
When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, exercising, and spending time outdoors with her family and two dogs.
Through her work, she seeks to inspire and connect with others on the journey of motherhood and beyond. You can find her on WordPress at findingmatrescence.wordpress.com
Today she shares her two birth stories. One a hospital birth after navigating prodromal labour and coached pushing with her baby aspirating meconium (or so she was told) to a her dream birth that she had visualized - a day time home water birth.
Here are Jenna's pearls of wisdom for you.
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 Debra Pascali-Bonaro, the globally renowned speaker, filmmaker, author, doula trainer and host of the Orgasmic Birth podcast, where she opens door to exploring love, intimacy, and pleasure in the transformative journeys of birth and parenting.
Debra is a mother, grandmother, and a sought-after expert featured in parenting publications and media worldwide.
She serves as Co-Chair of the International Childbirth Initiative and Chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative, advocating for safe, respectful and equitable maternity care.
A Lamaze International childbirth educator and DONA International birth and postpartum doula trainer, Debra directed the award-winning documentary Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret and co-authored the book Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth.
She teaches online classes for parents and advanced workshops for doulas and midwives and also leads the transformative Eat Pray Doula Retreats in Bali each year with Midwife Robin Lim, inspiring doulas, midwives and birth professionals worldwide to support and embrace the power of birth.
And today ladies and the 5% of gents listening to this poddy here is “The Orgasmic Birth Lady’s” Birth Stories.
Curious about Debra? Find her on instagram as @orgasmicbirth
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 Megan.
Megan is a mama of two who’s had two hospital births.
She really wanted a home birth but her husband was not comfortable with that and so she wasn’t either.
To have a natural birth in a hospital today is almost impossible, especially without a kick ass birth advocate by your side and lots of education beforehand.
You’re stepping into their territory that pathologises birth with their interventions, policies and guidelines. This is just a fact.
To have a natural birth today you need to get lucky with who’s on shift, have a really quick birth or for the birth suits to be really busy so they have to leave you alone or have a birth support person there to advocate and protect your birth space.
It’s important to understand the reality you are choosing in order to make informed decisions.
With this in mind, here are Megan's stories for all of you who are planning a natural hospital birth.
Both Megan’s births were with midwives but in different states. One in Alabama and one in South Carolina.
She shares that her first was empowering as it was vaginal birth after induction. And just because you have midwives does not equate a better birth outcome. It all depends on their birth philosophy, their education and experience as well as where they work and for whom.
Megan’s second birth was an even better experience because she got to labor and birth in the water. She did however agree to a painful membrane sweep and to IV antibiotics for GBS+ status, which we will dive deeper into for your knowledge as many women face this decision in pregnancy.
If you are, like many women, planning a natural hospital birth then please go and download my free ebook on the most common routine hospital birth procedures so that you can make a birth plan according to your wishes and that will help you optimize your chances of a natural birth.
Find it at sacredbirthinternational.com under free resources or via the link in the show notes.
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 Karina.
Karina is a mama of two from Australia and the creator of The Cosmic Mother Pregnancy Oracle.
After feeling disconnected during her first pregnancy, and ending up with a home birth transfer and a medicalized first birth, she sensed an opportunity for healing with her second.
She recognised in hind sight her disconnection and mind played a big part in her first birth experience.
So after doing the inner work during the second pregnancy and choosing an independent home birth midwife she really trusted her second was a 4 hour painfree birth experience.
This experience opened her to a deeper connection with herself, with something greater, and with the mysticism of motherhood.
The pregnancy and birth of her daughter became a return to inner knowing and a deep trust in both the experience of birth and her own capability.
Curious about Karina? Find her on IG as @cosmic__mother
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 Jessica
Jessica is a mama of one from Dorset, UK.
She is a first time mama who chose to have a wild pregnancy and a freebirth.
She has been obsessed with birth for about 4 years now after discovering she no longer wanted to have a relationship with the medical system and had to work out how to do that when it came down to pregnancy and birth.
She now works as a birth keeper and educator. Supporting mothers and educating them about physiological birth and helping them get their dream births. This work lights a fire in her belly!
Today we get to hear all about her undisturbed birth at home with just her partner. And she has a very interesting story about the birth of her placenta which I have never heard of before and I am curious to know if you have.
Pop into our FB natural birth podcast community and share your experiences! Join via the link in the show notes.
If you’re curious about Jessica. Find her on Instagram as @birthasdesigned
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: https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Jasmine
Jasmine is a mama of one from Auckland, New Zealand. She works as a HR Business Partner while studying law and she used to be a professional nanny which gave her a deep appreciation for caregiving and family dynamics .
She’s very connected to her spirituality, and that connection gave her the confidence to trust her body and have a home birth. It was the best decision for her and she is so proud of herself despite many opinions and comments made around her and to her during her pregnancy which continued post birth - the experience taught her many lessons and pieces of wisdom she wishes to share to inspire other women to chase their dreams as they can come true.
Curious about Jasmine? Find her on instagram as @mumwithnannywisdom
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: https://www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Carly
Carly is a mama of 3 from Australia. She’s a Midwife, Lactation Consultant and Parenting Mentor.
She’s had the privilege of supporting families from different cultures through the childbearing journey into parenthood and invite people to take ownership of their experiences during their childbearing, infant feeding and parenting journeys and recognise that they are the experts. She believes that people's intuition can be their greatest asset and I couldn’t agree more.
Today Carly shares her 3 fast unassisted free births. She shares that one was Epic, one was Challenging and one was Easeful.
I loved my conversation with Carly and I hope you do too.
Curious about Carly? Find her on instagram as @seed_pod_
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 Hanna.
Hanna is a mama of one from the US.
She is a therapist, photographer, doula and all around birth and baby nerd who spent her entire 20s preparing to become a mother; while also navigating grief, being a caretaker, and her own mental health/career challenges. Hannah desired a birth beyond it being a medical event, she craved a spiritual celebration to honor the transition from maiden to mother and birthed her first baby safely and swiftly in her home with her childhood sweetheart and birth team.
Curious about Hannah? Find her on IG as @hanhazel.therapy
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 Patricia.
Patricia is from the US now living in South Korea and is a former Air Force military, now a veterinarian, birth doula and yoga teacher.
Her and her husband are a military family stationed in South Korea due to her husband's job. They moved there when Patricia was 35 weeks pregnant and today we get to hear about her fast unplanned home birth with just her husband and doula present. And her dad somewhere in the mix too, but she’ll tell you all about it ;)!
Curious about Patricia? Find her on instagram as @birthandbreathe_inkorea
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 Jesse.
Jesse is a mama of 3 boys under 3 and she lives outside of Idaho, USA.
She is a stay at home mama and have known she wanted to be a mother ever since she was a little girl.
In today’s episode she shares her journey of wanting a natural pregnancy and birth from the getgo, being an avid listener to this podcast from her first pregnancy, but how she was convinced by medical professionals it couldn’t happen for her.
She went through two births in hospital that left her feeling incapable and sad. The first with an OBGYN and the second with a hospital midwife. She was told she could contract normally and wouldn’t be able to birth without medical assistance.
For her third baby however she went with a private birth center midwife who embraced Jesse and her fears and helped her deal with them head on.
And finally, surrounded by a birth team that believed in her and supported her in the way she needed she had her perfect, magical, blissful birth as she explains it. She even had a partial shoulder dystocia or sticki shoulders that the midwife swiftly resolved.
Jesse feels with each day that passes that she loves her birth more and more and that she feels so happy and healed.
Curious about Jesse? Find her on instagram as @jesslawrence2020
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 Sarah.
Sarah is a super fan of the podcast.
She has been listening since the beginning in 2020 and this is the 3rd time she comes on to share her own natural birth story and it’s an honor to have her back. Her previous episodes are called “A Natural Birth Center Birth” & “Sarah Changed her Midwives and had her Stargazing Baby at 40 weeks” if you’d like to listen to them first.
It’s wonderful to follow Sarah’s birthing journey and the deepening embodiment of sovereignty and self through all.
Here is her 3rd Natural Birth Center Birth!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Swedish Mamas listening to the show. Today is your day here in Sweden and I celebrate and honor you.
I treated my own mother to an infra red sauna session and dinner during the week and I hope that you are being extra loved up and cared for today.
Whether you are a Swedish mama or not, I am gifting all my listeners a mother’s day special 2 for 1 offer on The Natural Birth Course & The Nourishing Postpartum Course. Use the coupon code MOTHERSDAY25 at the checkout for The Bundle to get both courses for the price of just one. And my online community the village is also of course a part of the offer.
Inside The Bundle, you’ll find everything you need to feel prepared on every level—physiological, emotional, spiritual, and practical.
You’ll learn:
But knowledge is just one part of it.
That’s where The Village comes in—your sacred online gathering space included in The Bundle.
This is your circle. Your virtual sanctuary. Where you’ll be surrounded by women who get it—mamas preparing just like you, birth workers, and me, holding space for your journey.
In our monthly live Q&A calls, you can bring your fears, your questions, your excitement, your “is this normal?” moments—and be met with honesty, wisdom, and warmth.
Whether you’re navigating medical pressure, choosing where to birth, or just need to be reminded that you can do this—The Village is where you’ll be reminded that you are not alone.
In the village you also get access to monthly classes and circles in embodiment, yoga, art, journaling and other lovely LIVE circles. It’s a wonderful community ready to embrace you.
1 years access!
So if you are pregnant right now, or wanting to become pregnant then this deal is for you.
You can also gift this deal to a partner, friend or sister who’s pregnant. What better mother’s day present is there than support and guidance through the biggest, most life altering event there is?
The 2 for 1 deal ends in a week. So don’t hesitate, get the deal today with the coupon code MOTHERSDAY25 at the checkout for the bundle. The Bundle
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
In this heartfelt and powerful episode of The Natural Birth Podcast, I’m offering you a special gift in honor of Mother’s Day. 💝
I’ve gathered together 35 mamas pearls of wisdom from across the globe—each one a sacred story holder who has walked through the rite of passage of birth and had a natural and positive experience.
These women share their most potent advice from the other side of labor and birth.
Whether you're preparing for your first birth, healing from a past one, or supporting others on the path—this episode is a soulful, story-filled well of birth wisdom you can return to again and again.
So make yourself a cup of tea, find a quiet moment, and soak in the collective knowing of women who’ve had the birth you're looking for.
Happy Mother’s Day, beautiful one. May this episode nourish and inspire you.
🎁 And don’t forget to check out the Mother’s Day 2 for 1 Bundle ! Use the coupon code MOTHERSDAY25 at the checkout.
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Stacey.
Stacey is a mama of two from the US.She is a mental health therapist who is certified in peri and postnatal mood disorders.
She is also a trained EMDR therapist and yoga teacher. Stacey discovered this niche in therapy through her own healing journey after her first born was born at 32 weeks and was in the NICU for 30 days.
Today she spends the first part of this episode sharing about her first birth that was supposed to be natural birth on a natural birthing floor in a hospital but ended up being premature and heavily medicalized.
She shares about this birth as it informed how she prepared for her second and the people who joined her.
The second was a home birth with the midwife and doula that she got to know in her postpartum with her first baby.
They helped her with breastfeeding and emotional support and she trusted them deeply and ended up having her longed for natural birth in the comfort of her own home together with them and her partner.
She mentioned wishing that she had had a doula for her first birth that could have informed her more along the way throughout her premature birth journey.
And I couldn’t agree more.
Especially if you are planning a hospital birth, hire a birth worker that is there for you.
And download my free ebook on routine hospital birth procedures via the free resources link in the show notes.
You can also find all the graduated Sacred Birth Workers and current mentorship students on sacred birth international if you want to find a kick ass birth advocate and space holder close to you.Now let’s dive into the episode.
Find out more about The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, Anna's Courses & How to Work with Anna, as well as all the Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:
www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast
Follow @thenaturalbirthpodcast on insta for more natural and empowering birth stories!
Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Brett
Brett is a mama of 8 spirit babies, 2 daughters and a son.
In this episode she shares about her unique journey of birthing her daughter as a 20 year old only to experience 8 more losses in between her first, second and third baby.
She has the embodied experience of a birth center birth, a home birth after a stitch in her cervix called cerclage and the diagnosis of an “incompetent cervix” (what a bloody idiotic term) and then a free birth with just her partner for her last baby.
It’s a story full of medicine and I’m so happy Brett chose to share it. Not only is she a sacred birth worker graduate of mine but also a dear friend.
And I am so grateful she choose to come and deepen her skills as a doula with me this year and can’t wait for her to birth her new offerings as she steps out of her postpartum with her son and share her gifts with the world.
Curious about Brett?
Find her in instagram as @thevillagewitch_
I also want to take a quick moment to speak to the women listening who feel a stirring in their womb… a calling in their bones… a deep knowing that you're meant to walk the sacred path of birth work, just like Brett and so many women before her.
My Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship begins in just 2 weeks time.
This isn’t just a birth worker training — it’s a remembrance.
It’s for the woman who knows she was born to be a space holder for other women…
Who feels the ache for sisterhood, sacred leadership, and a deeper reclamation of birth as a powerful sacred portal of transformation.
Inside this mentorship, we dive into ancient feminine wisdom, lineage healing, and the art of guiding women through one of the most potent thresholds of their lives — all while being held in a circle of like-minded, heart-led birth workers.
So if you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it.
The doors are closing soon. If your heart is pounding and your spirit is whispering yes — I invite you to book a clarity call with me today.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to take one sacred step.
And trust that the rest will rise to meet you.
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 Marju.
Marju is mama of 3 girls from Finland. She is a Sacred Birth Worker who fell fully in love with birth when she was preparing for her own home birth, which was her 3rd birth after 2 hospital births!
In today’s episode she shares her journey of wanting to have natural hospital births, her experience of both before realizing that she could actually just choose to stay at home and birth.
So for her 3rd she decided to go for it.
She employed a home birth midwife against her husband's wishes and had the birth she always secretly wanted since the first birth.
And this birth ignited a passion that made her create her own 8 week online journey to help women build a deep trust in themselves and their birth so they can have an amazing natural birth of their dreams!
Curious about Marju?
Find her in instagram as @luotan.synnytykseen
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 Another Surprise Breech Birth, today by a mama and a sacred birth worker graduate of mine Jessica who chose a wild pregnancy with her 4th baby.
Jessica begins her story by sharing about her surprise breech baby at home and how she for the first time had felt a lot of fear before this birth.
Her intuition told her this birth would be different from her 3 previous who had all been “easy” natural births.
She told me at one of our last mentorship sessions that she felt a lot of fear rising and she went and sat with it, listened and gathered all her strength and resilience and it ended up serving her as she and her husband were faced with a bum instead of a head in birth.
If you’re carrying a breech bubba close to your heart then the last two episodes (and all the other breech stories on here) will serve you well in listening to.
Breech truly is a variation of normal and we need to normalize them by sharing these stories!
If you’re planning a natural birth whether you are having a breech or head down bubba then go and check out my The Natural Birth Blog.
I just shared a blog on how to prepare for a natural birth!
And there’s more to come!
Find it at sacredbirthinternational.com/blog or via the link in the show notes.
And if you’re curious about Jessica. Find her on Instagram as @sacredcircleskeeper
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 Victoria.
Victoria is a mama of one and a bonus mum of two. She is an Irish immigrant now living in Ohio.
She is an EMDR therapist and works with clients who have ptsd, depression and anxiety. She has her own practice called Anima Counseling, in Dublin, Ohio.
Today she shares her surprise breech birth at home with her pastor doula and home birth midwife with a medical student tag along and of course her husband.
I just can not get enough breech stories on here displaying how normal and ordinary they are.
And of course absolutely magical as all other births are too.
Curious about Victoria? Find her on instagram as @randomhysterics.
Did you know you can join our private Podcast FB Community? And in it this week we share Victorias Breech Birth Video where you get to see all the magic unfold!
Just go to the link in the show notes or visit our facebook page called @sacredbirthinternational to find the community and join for free!
It’s a vibrant and wonderful community consisting of podcast guests and fans where you can interact with each other and connect!
I hope to see you there!
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 Lindsey
Lindsey is a mama of 2 from Denver Colorado.
She grew up dancing, running, practicing yoga and loving the outdoors. She owns a bakery with her husband Matt, dances professionally and is a hardcore extrovert.
Today she shares about her first birth at a 33 yrs old that was set to happen at a birth center. She was eventually transferred to the hospital during labour because the midwife couldn’t get a good read on the baby's heart rate. Lindsey birthed him naturally just 2 hours later.
The birth was ok but not what she had wanted.
In between babies she did an online holistic doula training and became pregnant again when her son turned 2 but miscarried at 13 weeks. She birthed her 13 week old baby naturally and later got pregnant again 2 months later.
During this time she realized that she herself was born unassisted by accident and felt called to try that.
She wasn't originally trying to have a wild pregnancy but recalled not learning much at all at the appointments with her son and since she didn't want any scans this time she just never saw anyone because she felt good her whole pregnancy.
Her daughter came quickly at 38 weeks on a super blue moon. It was INCREDIBLE.
Just Lindsey laboring with her husband who helped her catch her baby.
Curious about Lindsey? Find her on instagram as @lindseydolanjudd
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
