After two home births with midwives, which were beautiful but still full of compromises she didn't want to make, such as repeated ultrasounds and intense pressure to induce, Lauren chose to birth her third baby without hiring any outside medical management.

This pregnancy and birth pushed her to the brink. She confronted a profound fear of death, her baby remained breech until the very end, and the birth itself was wild, painful, and difficult, completely unlike her first two.

She emerged from this underworld experience having met herself in a deeper way, fully grounded in her intuition, and more confident than ever in her choices as a mother, especially her medical ones.

Find Lauren on instagram @laurenmclean_ and @iam_becomingmama

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you'd like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Intro / Outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Podcast cover photo by Karina Jensen @karinajensenphoto

At the end of Jenna's pregnancy, she chose to be induced. The process lasted several days and was grueling, ultimately ending in a traumatic cesarean and a NICU stay for her baby.

Both Jenna and her husband left the hospital with PTSD, and in the early days of postpartum, Jenna wasn't even sure their marriage would survive.

Healing began when Jenna reconnected with one of her passions: photography. She became a birth photographer and doula to support other families in ways that had been missing from her own experience. Jenna says that capturing images of birth helps people visually process the experience, and she brings a deep sense of empathy to the families she serves, shaped by her own traumatic birth.

I often share redemptive birth stories on this podcast, but what I love so much about Jenna's story is that it beautifully illustrates that there's more than one way to heal a traumatic birth.

Connect with Jenna on Instagram @doulatognj

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you'd like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / Outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Podcast cover photo by Karina Jensen @karinajensenphoto

Before becoming pregnant herself, Alicia, a medical professional working in obstetrics, had the opportunity to witness birth working in a freestanding birth center. Seeing families welcome their babies in that calm, home-like environment opened her eyes to a different side of birth, one centered on trust, autonomy, and the natural process itself. So when it came time for her own pregnancy, Alicia drew on that experience and chose a home birth with confidence, stepping away from the conventional hospital setting she knew so well.

Find Alicia on Instagram @wildflowerbirtheducation

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you'd like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / Outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Podcast cover photo by Karina Jensen @karinajensenphoto