Ava shares the sweet and simple story of choosing to birth her first baby at home (even while living with her in-laws!). Her confidence in home birth was shaped largely by growing up with a mother who spoke positively about her own natural birth experiences.

Her story is a beautiful reminder that a first birth is not just a trial run!

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

From a young age, Sophia felt a powerful calling to support babies entering the world. By the time she became pregnant with her first child, she was already deep into her midwifery training, and ready to welcome life, both professionally and personally.

She gave birth at home, surrounded by care and familiarity, with a trusted colleague by her side. But soon after her son arrived, it became clear that something wasn’t right. He was quickly diagnosed with VACTERL, a rare and complex combination of birth defects. At just 36 hours old, he underwent his first surgery — the first of many.

When Sophia became pregnant again, she hoped for a smoother path. But her second baby was breech, leading to a cesarean birth and more unexpected complications after delivery.

Through both of these challenging journeys, Sophia learned to navigate the medical system with resilience and grace, finding her voice as a mother and an advocate, not just for her children, but for others walking a similar path.

Sophia Henderson is a certified home birth midwife and host of the Born Wild Podcast. With over 16 years of experience, she blends traditional wisdom and evidence-based care to support families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Passionate about reproductive autonomy and the transformative power of birth, Sophia creates calm, connected spaces for families to welcome their babies in safety and love.

Find Sophia on Instagram @sophiabirth and @bornwildmidwifery

Born Wild Midwifery

Born Wild Podcast

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

Norah’s first birth experience was a medical induction that left both her and her husband traumatized. Despite this, she knew she wanted to have more children. The journey to her second baby, however, was long and difficult—marked by a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy, secondary infertility, and eventually, IVF.

Norah ultimately conceived her second baby naturally and began preparing for another birth. As part of her preparation, she visualized the birth exactly how she wanted it to unfold, replaying the scene in her mind each night before falling asleep. But every time she did this, she would fall asleep before reaching the part where they arrived at the hospital to deliver.

In retrospect, Norah understands why—her baby had other plans!

follow Norah @thenorah

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

As a first-time mom, Melanie arrived at the hospital ready to simply trust the experts to manage her birth experience. What transpired was twenty-three hours on Pitocin, and an only narrowly avoided cesarean. In the weeks that followed, Melanie suffered with postpartum depression, something that she now, in retrospect, partially attributes to the prolonged use of Pitocin.

She had a long healing journey ahead, including the loss of two pregnancies before finally welcoming in another baby. This time, she turned to the mothers in her community, asking how, and with whom, they birthed. That’s when she discovered that her town had a thriving home birth scene, and the idea of staying home to have her baby just felt right.

Melanie had the healing, peaceful, birth of her dreams in just four and half a hours.

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

As a young woman, Dana lost any blind trust she once had in the allopathic medical system after watching her father battle cancer within it. So when a popular TikToker introduced her to the concept of freebirth, it immediately resonated with her—a seed was sown.

Today, Dana opens up about the strength it took to trust her body and follow her intuition as she brought her first child into the world.

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

Emily enjoyed a blissful wild pregnancy, completely outside the medical paradigm, and planned to freebirth her first baby. After several days of a marathon birth experience, her baby was finally born—perfectly healthy. Emily, however, immediately recognized that she needed medical support. She transferred herself to a local hospital, where she was treated for a retained placenta and postpartum hemorrhage.

Despite having received no medical care during her pregnancy and freebirthing her baby, the hospital staff were kind, respectful, and honored all her wishes. Emily feels she received the care she needed and left the experience without trauma.

We wrap up our conversation with Emily’s thoughts on freebirth ideology, why black-and-white thinking has no place in birth, and the importance of seeking information from across the spectrum.

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

Kelly is the oldest of three siblings. Her own birth was a hospital induction—an experience that led her mother to choose home birth for her subsequent children. The intergenerational thread of trauma from Kelly’s birth carried forward into her own experiences with childbirth. With her first two children, she faced intense postpartum periods, and separation from her babies.

The birth of Kelly’s third child, however, was a transformative home birth. This healing experience not only helped her process the trauma of her previous births but also reached back a generation, bringing healing to her own birth story as well.

Follow Kelly on Instagram @kelly.atxdoulas

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

Emily, a home birth midwife, shares her personal birth story after years of supporting others through theirs. While her birth didn’t go as planned, she was able to advocate for herself and felt a strong sense of agency throughout the experience.

We discuss a wide range of topics, including how a midwife can “midwife” herself during her own birth and how to navigate a hospital birth experience. We end on a hopeful note with Emily’s perspective that positive changes are underway in the world of medicalized birth.

You can find Emily @expectingwithemily and at www.expectingwithemily.com.

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