In this wide-ranging and utterly fascinating episode, host Augustine sits down with Vandana — doctor, public health expert, MBA, entrepreneur, beekeeper, candle maker, and one of the most multi-dimensional humans to ever grace this podcast. Born and raised in Bangalore, India, now based on Long Island, New York, Vandana has spent over two decades working across 13 countries in disaster zones, war zones, and underserved communities — always following the woman, always asking: what does she actually need to thrive?

This conversation moves from the villages of rural India to the boardrooms of global philanthropy, from beehives in Brooklyn to the operating table, and from the burnout of nonprofit founderitis to the liberating power of learning to ask. There is so much in this episode for midwives, birth workers, nonprofit founders, and anyone who has ever built something from scratch and wondered why it won't grow.

Resources & Links:

🌐 Learn more about Komselj: https://www.komselj.com/
🏡 Join our Skool community: skool.com/midwiferywisdom
🌿 Midwifery Wisdom Collective: midwiferywisdomcollective.com

In today's episode, host Augustine sits down with Kayla Branstetter — English instructor, TEDx speaker, doctoral candidate in healthcare education, and author of the forthcoming book Don't Be an Athena — for a conversation that sits right at the intersection of storytelling, reproductive trauma, and the future of patient-centered care.

Kayla's work in narrative medicine is a beautiful reminder that behind every chart, every lab result, and every clinical encounter is a human being with a story that deserves to be heard. And for midwives and birth workers who already know this in their bones — this episode gives you the language, the research, and the tools to do it even better.

In this episode we cover:

• What narrative medicine actually is — and why it's been around for centuries, we're just now naming it
• Kayla's personal journey through her mother's teen pregnancy, her own infertility and miscarriage, and how storytelling found her
• How a patient's chart tells a story — and what we miss when we only look at the numbers
• The growing mistrust between the medical community and patients — and what narrative medicine offers as a bridge
• How providers can support traumatized clients after unwished-for birth outcomes — including the power of offering writing as an alternative to talking
• Obstetric violence, medical gaslighting, and what patients can actually do — from documenting their experience to filing grievances and amending their own medical records
• How a midwife or doula can be a powerful patient advocate in the aftermath of trauma
• Vicarious and secondary trauma in providers — and how narrative medicine workshops create space for clinicians to reflect and heal
• The myth of Medusa and Athena — and why Kayla's book asks us to stop turning survivors into monsters
• Why medical humanities is on the rise — and the medical school built next to an art museum that's changing how future doctors are trained

Resources & Links:

📖 Pre-order Don't Be an Athena by Kayla Branstetter — available July 20th on Amazon and in independent bookstores
🌐 Follow Kayla: Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn — search Kayla Branstetter
🎤 Watch Kayla's TEDx Talk on narrative medicine and reproductive trauma
🏡 Join our community: skool.com/midwiferywisdom

This episode of the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast is a beautiful, globe-spanning conversation about what happens when birth workers step out of their comfort zones. Host Chetana sits down with Brooke, a US-based midwife, and Johanna, the founder of a birthing clinic in India, to discuss the "sisterhood of midwives," cultural humility, and the universal language of birth.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• From Opera and Animals to Midwifery: The unconventional paths that led Brooke (a former vet tech) and Johanna (a former opera singer) to birth work.
• Navigating the Indian Medical System: Johanna discusses the challenges of running Jeevalaya Birthing Home and the "diplomacy" required to advocate for gentle birth in a rigid obstetric environment.
• A Journey to Papua, Indonesia: Chetna shares her experience volunteering at a remote, non-profit birth center and the differences between physiologic birth and the mainstream medical model in Indonesia.
• The Global Epidemic of Anemia: A clinical discussion on why low hemoglobin is a worldwide challenge and how different systems address it.
• Cultural Competency vs. Connection: Brooke shares a moving story about attending a twin breech birth for a Ukrainian refugee family without a common language, proving that being "with woman" transcends words.
• High-Tech Solutions: A look at how real-time translation earbuds are changing the game for international midwifery care.

Key Takeaways

• Midwifery is a Versatile Species: Whether it's navigating "midwifery deserts" or adjusting to spicy local diets, midwives are uniquely equipped to blend into and serve diverse communities.

• The Power of Presence: In many cultures, the most radical intervention a midwife can offer is simply holding a hand, looking into a mother's eyes, and returning her agency.

• Bridging the Gap: International collaboration isn't just about sharing clinical skills; it's about providing the emotional support and "sisterhood" that keeps birth workers sustainable.

Resources Mentioned

• Jeevalaya Birthing Home: Johanna’s clinic providing care to marginalized women in India.
• Timekettle Translation Earbuds: The tech Brooke uses to communicate with her Slavic-speaking clients in real-time.

Midwifery Travel Experience August 2026

This 2-week experience takes you to Angel Hiromi Bhumi Sehat (AHBS), the only midwife-led birth center in Papua, Indonesia. Set near the stunning Lake Sentani, AHBS serves indigenous families who often travel long distances to access respectful, midwifery-centered care.

Are you managing your life rather than living it? In this episode, Augustine sits down with Kristen Brickl, an intuitive licensed professional counselor, to explore the transformative journey of women in midlife. They dive deep into the "Good Girl" arc—how childhood conditioning leads to adult over-functioning, people-pleasing, and eventually, physical and emotional burnout.

Specifically tailored for midwives and high-pressure caregivers, this conversation explores why "self-care" isn't just a luxury but a professional necessity. Kristen shares how our nervous systems impact not just our own health, but the way we co-regulate with the families we serve. If you’ve ever felt like you’re "giving from an empty cup" or losing your passion for your calling, this episode is a permission slip to stop, breathe, and reclaim your joy.

Key Highlights

• The Evolution of the Martyr: How the "Good Girl" of childhood becomes the "People Pleaser" of young adulthood and the "Over-functioning Martyr" of midlife.
• The Power of the Whisper: Recognizing the subtle signs of burnout before they turn into a "cosmic two-by-four" (health crises or autoimmune issues).
• The "Pause" Practice: A simple, transformative tool to reset your nervous system in the middle of a chaotic day or between client calls.
• Reparenting Your Inner Mean Girl: Shifting your internal monologue from criticism to the "loving bosom" of the Wise Adult.
• The Liminal Space: Navigating the "cringey" discomfort of transition—that moment in the birth canal of your own life where you can’t go back, but can’t yet see the way forward.
• Channel vs. Source: A revolutionary mindset shift for caregivers: how to be a channel for service without becoming the depleted source of it.
• Perinatal Psychology & Attachment: How a caregiver’s distracted or overwhelmed state affects a newborn’s ability to form secure attachments.

Resources Mentioned

• Book: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.
• Course: Boundaries for Birthworkers

Connect with Kristen Brickl

• Website: KristenBrickl.com
• Instagram: @kristen.brickl

Want more? Join our Skool community to access 90% of our CEU courses and more!
MWC Spring Break Sale! Course Bundles, Midwifery Equipment and more - upto 80% off!

In this warm and deeply moving episode, host Chetana sits down with Rachel — a mother, visionary, and midwifery student from Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia — who turned her own transformative birth experience into a mission to bring gentle, dignified birth care to one of the most underserved regions in the world.

Rachel shares how a VBAC at Bumi Sehat in Bali — under the care of the legendary Ibu Robin Lim — changed the entire course of her life. Returning home to Papua, she and her husband Ronald built AHBS (Angel Hiromi Bumi Sehat Papua) from the ground up: starting with just a plot of land, moving their own furniture into the building, and slowly gathering the equipment, midwives, and mentorship needed to open their doors in December 2019.

This episode is a love letter to the women of Papua — and to everyone who believes that every mother, no matter where she lives, deserves to be treated like a goddess.

In this episode we cover:

• Rachel's first C-section, and the longing for a normal birth that led her to Robin Lim in Bali
• What a VBAC at Bumi Sehat felt like — and why it changed everything
• The founding of Angel Hiromi Bumi Sehat (AHBS) - the only midwife-led birth center in Papua
• The role of Augustine (Maggie) in bringing gentle birth philosophy to Papua — and why her six-month visit left a lasting imprint
• Why Rachel decided to enroll in midwifery school herself — after her own staff told her she "knew nothing"
• The ongoing challenge of training midwives in gentle birth when mainstream protocols dominate
• What changed in the birth rooms after Chetana's visit — upright births, birthing balls, dim lighting, and mothers who don't want to go home
• Rachel's vision for AHBS: a third floor, an operating room for gentle cesareans, a dedicated training space, and an ultrasound room
• How AHBS is funded — and what continued support looks like

Resources & Links:
🌸 SPRING BREAK SALE Save BIG with our clearance and Course Bundle sale of the year! Save up to 50% on course bundles, grab our full Informed Consent & Refusal doc suite for $799 (reg. $1,599), shop our everything-must-go midwifery tools clearance, and get Premium Skool membership for just $69/month (reg. $89). Shop now → midwiferywisdomcollective.com

🌏 Learn more & follow AHBS: Instagram @AHBSPapua

🤝 Support AHBS - Travel with us to Papua: Join Chetana and a group of midwives visiting AHBS in August 2025 — more details on www.midwiferywisdom.com

🏡 Join our community: skool.com/midwiferywisdom

Mothering the Mother: African American Postpartum Traditions with Shafia Monroe

In this rich and powerful episode, host Augustine is joined by co-host Israel Johnson, Licensed Direct Entry Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife from Oregon, to welcome the legendary Shafia Monroe — midwife, author, cultural historian, and founder of the SMC Full Circle Doula Training, the first Black doula training launched nationally in 2002 in Portland, Oregon.

Shafia has just published her long-awaited book, Mothering the Mother: African American Postpartum Traditions, Recipes and Healing, and this conversation is a celebration of that birth — and so much more.

In this episode we cover:

• Shafia's 11-year journey from journal entry to published book
• Why African American postpartum care has been largely invisible — and why that must change
• The historical trauma Black mothers carry, and the healing power of returning to traditions
• Why anemia may be at the root of more postpartum depression than we realize
• The herbs every postpartum mother should have on hand
• Shafia's relationship with Erykah Badu, who wrote the foreword and called the book "the postpartum Bible"
• Why more clinical visits is NOT the same as postpartum care
• The ongoing "midwife problem" in America — and why change is urgently needed.
• The critical mass of home birth across US states and what it means for the future of midwifery
• Why we need to retire the word "patient" for pregnant people — and the word BIPOC
• The burnout crisis in midwifery and why we must return to a collective model

Resources & Links:

• 📖 Get the book: Mothering the Mother — Amazon
• 🌐 Learn more about Shafia Monroe: shafiamonroe.com
• 💼 Now Hiring: Clinical Director at New Birth Midwifery, Chaska MN — newbirthmidwifery.com/job-openings
• 🌿 New Course: Plant Medicine Midwife with Tara Compehos — midwiferywisdomcollective.com
• 🏡 Join our community: skool.com/midwiferywisdom

Join Augustine on the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast as she welcomes Ashley from Michigan, who shares her transformative journey from birth trauma to healing and empowerment. Ashley, a former ICU nurse, candidly discusses the importance of recognizing and honoring birth trauma, advocating for co-care and collaborative care, and the revolutionary experience of having a maternal assisted C-section. Together, they delve into the significance of patient rights, the balance between medical intervention and natural processes, and the profound impact compassionate, dignified care can have on the birthing experience. This episode is a powerful testament to the possibility of change and hope within the birthing community.

Links:
For more information about the Turnkey Birth Centre for Sale in Abilene, Texas, write to amy@midwiferywisdom.com
Follow Ashley's Instagram @birthonherterms

00:00 Introduction and Special Announcement
01:26 Meet Ashley: A Journey of Change
03:32 Balancing Art and Science in Birth
04:08 Challenges in Community-Based Midwifery
08:48 Ashley’s Personal Birth Experiences
21:40 The Maternal Assisted C-Section
37:41 Standing Firm on Informed Decisions
38:21 The Importance of Family Inclusion
39:52 Advocating for Support During Birth
41:16 The Impact of Birth Experiences on Mental Health
42:28 The Need for Patient Rights and Advocacy
44:14 The Role of Communication in Healing
48:36 Transforming Pain into Power
49:11 Balancing Passion and Parenthood
54:12 The Value of Midwives and Postpartum Support
01:04:20 The Importance of Trauma-Informed Care
01:12:58 Advocating for Change in Healthcare
01:16:54 Sharing the Journey and Future Plans

Today’s rerun episode features the incredible Professor Hannah Dahlen, an Australian midwife, researcher, and international leader in maternity care. Hannah has published over 100 papers, spoken at more than 100 conferences, and appeared in documentaries and major media worldwide.

In this conversation, Hannah shares:

• Her powerful journey into midwifery, growing up in Yemen alongside her mother, a practicing midwife.
• The art of holding space in birth, and why it’s often misunderstood as “doing nothing.”
• Stories of humility, intuition, and the delicate balance between action and inaction in midwifery.
• Her vision for shifting the global understanding of midwifery alongside obstetrics.

We're also thrilled to announce the launch of the Midwifery Wisdom Fellowship. Christie Davis and I created this mentorship to help future leaders step into advanced practice with confidence, build sustainable careers, and truly change the culture of midwifery for good.

And here’s the best part — to celebrate, we’re hosting a giveaway! One lucky midwife will win a complete starter kit valued at over $500 — everything from a Doppler and neonatal stethoscope, to a scale, instruments, NRP kit, blood pressure cuff and more. PLUS, a gorgeous handmade Patchwork Carpet Bag from St. Clair Designs to carry it all in.

More details on our website www.midwiferywisdom.com