In this episode I sit down with a friend to talk through her birth story and the years it took to really make sense of it. We talk about the powerful influence of Free Birth Society teachings, the pressure and dogma that can exist in birth spaces, and what it was like for her to navigate a breech baby, a c-section under general anesthesia, and the long process of untangling what she had internalized about birth, autonomy, and motherhood.

In this episode, I coach Trisha, a birth worker navigating how to best use a recent financial windfall. We dive into balancing big decisions—like investing in a marketing program—against other priorities like organic strategies, childcare, self-care, and creating business momentum.

We explore actionable tips tailored for doulas and birth workers, including leveraging local Facebook groups, improving online presence with a Google business listing, and refreshing a website to attract the right clients. I also share insights into balancing family demands with business growth and making thoughtful financial choices that align with long-term goals.

Whether you’re in birth work or another small business, this episode is packed with practical advice to help you grow sustainably while staying true to your values. If you’re considering a big investment or just need ideas for smarter marketing, tune in for inspiration and support!

In this episode of Midwifery for the People I have a quick chat with doula Elisha Anderson about her experience trying to accept state medical care funds for her doula services in Oregon. She had reached out to me about midwifery school and shared a little about her experience, and I invited to come on and share more fully on the podcast because I think this topic is SO IMPORTANT. I am not professing to have the answers, but I do know that inviting the government into birth (through licensing or insurance) is not going to ultimately help women reclaim their power and sovereignty in birth.

Find Elisha at https://medicinalmom.company.site/

On this episode I wanted to share a reading from our book Indie Birth: A Story of Radical Birth Love, and in keeping with the recent theme, I’m sharing the complete story of my first miscarriage. This is one of the most “popular” pieces of content I’ve ever created. I wrote it in 2013 when there were almost zero stories like this available. Even now, there aren’t many, especially from the perspective of a midwife. For that reason, and to honor my own experience (I was so longing to own my own birth story) I wrote this. I have never read it out loud, and it was more emotional for me than I anticipated, so pardon my sniffles.

In this episode of ‘Midwifery for the People,’ host Margo Blackstone shares deeply personal experiences exploring her evolving relationship with death, both in her personal life and professional work as a midwife. She reflects on the profound impact of attending a birth where a baby unexpectedly died, which contributed to her first panic attack and a journey into understanding her fears related to death and leaving her children behind. Margo discusses the importance of confronting and understanding one’s relationship with death for birth workers and society at large. She emphasizes the need for a regulated nervous system in the birth work environment, acknowledging the inherent risks of childbirth.

Join Margo on this exploratory first part of a series on death and navigating our relationship to it as birth workers. If we want to shift the cultural narrative so that we honor birth as a right of passage, we will also need to reimagine death as a right of passage. The Western medical perspective is that death is the ultimate defeat. That often means there is someone or something to blame. On our quest to eliminate death from the pregnancy and birth continuum (which is ultimately the aim of “evidence based midwifery” and medicine) what do we lose? Is this the right goal? Or do we need to ask different questions to come up with different solutions for living and birthing in a sacred way?

In this candid episode, Margo discusses her spiritual journey and how it intersects with her work at Indie Birth. She discusses her shift away from conventional religion towards a more earth-based spirituality that embraces elements from different practices such as earth prayers, shamanic journeying, and tarot. These approaches provide a crucial context for understanding the spiritual dimensions of birth and womanhood, challenging the mainstream, evidence-based, and black-and-white paradigms dominating midwifery. Margo also talks about how incorporating these spiritual practices into her everyday life enhances her personal and professional growth. She encourages aspiring midwives and doulas to explore their spiritual dimensions and integrate them into their practices to provide holistic and deeply connected care.

I’m sharing a lesson from my new project Mindful Money Magic because we are also offering a new program called Midwifery Magic, a comprehensive mentorship, up-leveling, magic infusing experience for midwives (or advanced midwifery students).

A lot of what I offer in Midwifery Magic crosses over with my work as a financial wellness coach, and I wanted to give a little taste of the kind of content you can expect to receive as part of this program. I want all midwives to “get right with money”, meaning they feel abundantly supported in their work, instead of feeling undervalued and like they are working their asses off just to make ends meet.

Listen in and let me know how this resonates with you at margo@indiebirth.org!

Enroll in Midwifery Magic here.

Find my new Mindful Money Magic course here.

Thousands of women have contacted us over the years expressing their bone deep desire to be a midwife. BUT BUT BUT…they are afraid they will go to jail, be criminalized, or be put on trial. We have addressed their fear of persecution in lots of ways, but in this episode, I talk to Angee Hock, a midwife we have known for a long time now. She shares her story of…..you guessed it! Being criminalized, spending nights in jail, and being put on trial. Hear what she wants to share about her experience and what she would tell aspiring midwives today. She also talks about how she believes her PMA probably protected her (another question we get asked about all the time!). I’m so excited to share this with you, especially if you are one of these women who want to become a midwife “BUT”. The world doesn’t have time for more buts, and I hope you come away from this episode with a fresh and inspired perspective.

If you would like to support Angee by donating to help with legal fees, you can do that here.

Listen in on a recent conversation I had with midwives Jessica and Bethel! We talked about the difficulties of educating midwives, why we should focus on educating more awesome birth assistants then, how mandatory MEAC education is crippling Alaskan midwifery, and how Alaskan regulation is restricting women’s access to midwifery care. These two midwives are really lovely, passionate women and I had so much fun chatting with them. I think you’ll enjoy listening in on the conversation – tell me what you think! Maybe I’ll create more midwife shop talk episodes

LINKS AND TRANSCRIPT

Indie Birth Midwifery School

Pacific Birth Institute

This is a unique episode where you can listen in on a section of our Answering the Call to Radical Midwifery Retreat from April 2022 where Maryn and Margo share the origins of Indie Birth and answer questions from attendees about licensing, underground midwifery, what happens when clients aren’t a good match, fear of persecution and more!

SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Answering the Call from Radical Midwifery

TRANSCRIPTION: An Intimate Retelling of the Indie Birth Story from the Answering the Call to Radical Midwifery Retreat

Listen in on this coaching and consulting session where Margo answers questions and talks all things preceptorship with a lovely Greek midwife. She had trained in the UK where the apprenticeship/hands on learning looks quite different than the model we teach. One of our students reached out to her about the potential to apprentice and she wanted to pick my brain about how that might look. It was a pleasure to connect and we think you will enjoy this different format!

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

IBMS Networking and Preceptors

Contact info for Sophia:
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Holistic-Midwifery-Ολιστική-Μαιευτική-107671367451554/
Instagram: holistic_midwifery
Website: https://www.birthincorfu.com/

TRANSCRIPTION: Offering Support to Midwifery Preceptors:A Mentoring Session with a Greek Midwife!

In this inspiring episode of Midwifery for the People, I sit down with Daniel White, Co-Founder of QNTMLY & The CRD Challenge, and Founder & NPO Chair of Sleep Better Live Better.

Nikko Kennedy, long time friend of Indie Birth introduced me to Daniel recently when she suggested I might want to be an ambassador for the CRD challenge (ti is so good, go sign up for free! Link down below). Nikko’s education and support around my own circadian health was pivotal in healing my anxiety and panic “disorder” (not really a disorder, a totally normal and understandable response to the stress/trauma/life changes I was undergoing and unraveling through a major spiritual lesson) earlier this year. To say I’m a circadian health convert is an understatement. I have blackout curtains scotch taped over my bedroom windows and my kids switch to red lights with me at sunset now, lol.

But I digress! In this episode Daniel shares his personal journey from mental health issues, excessive screen time, and poor dietary habits during his teenage years to committing to holistic health and wellness. He discusses the founding of the Sleep Better Live Better Foundation and groundbreaking research on the adverse impacts of technology on today’s youth, including the benefits of blue light blocking glasses. This is an episode for EVERYONE, but of course is exceptional for anyone trying to optimize the health of themselves and their families. Daniel introduces the CRD Challenge, an initiative aimed at improving circadian rhythms, and emphasizes the importance of natural light exposure and community education. We explore what the creation of optimal environments for families might look like. This episode illustrates the profound impact of small lifestyle changes and Daniel’s mission to educate and inspire communities to embrace a healthier, more balanced life.

Go check out the CRD challenge at http://thecrdchallenge.com/

Join me for another awesome discussion (best one yet?!) with Jennifer, whose work I admire so much. As a midwife I have seen how mental health, overcoming limiting beliefs, and tapping into your own power is essential if we are going to reclaim birth. Jennifer’s nervous system focused approach feels like it is an essential piece in prepping for birth, and also in reintegrating after birth. Listen in an take away tons of pearls of wisdom in this episode, and share it with every mom or someday mom you know.

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

ASK Therapy for MOMS

Nervous System Information

TRANSCRIPTION: Understanding the Landscape of Mental Health and Wellness in Pregnancy and the Postpartum with Jennifer Summerfeldt

I’ve been talking to some really cool midwives lately, and this episode is no exception. Jessica, affectionately known as the Combat Midwife, tells us about her origin story, her work teaching birth skills to military medics, and midwifing in a refugee camp. Her energy is contagious! I was so excited to explore some unique ways that being a midwife can look in the world, and Jessica did not disappoint. We need more smart midwives in the world doing their thing and bringing this wisdom to all different parts of our culture in order to make a change. I hope that Jessica inspires you to do that.

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Emergency and Mobile Medicine Learning Network

Midwifery Apprenticeship 101

TRANSCRIPTION: “Birth Isn’t That Big of a Deal”: A Fun and Inspiring Convo with the Combat Midwife

I changed the name of my podcast! Now it is called Midwifery for the People and in this episode I will tell you all about why that is, and some of the history of this podcast and how it reflects my evolution as a midwife.

I hope to provide even more aligned content that feels like it stokes the fire of the birth revolution now that I have a clearer vision for how to do that. Tell me what you want to hear about and I will consider it, too

To go back and listen to all of the episodes of this podcast so far, go to your favorite podcast app, or to our Podcast Archives

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

13 Moons: Epic Education for the Birthing Year

Doula Academy: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation

Indie Birth Midwifery School

TRANSCRIPT: Why I Changed the Name of This Podcast

Jennifer graciously shares her origin story with us, including her own birth experiences (2 midwife attended and one freebirth), her journey of learning about birth from Gloria Lemay, Jeannine Parvati Baker, Whapio and Michel Odent, two birth center apprenticeship experiences, and the multiple initiations and reckonings she has experienced that have brought her to a more nuanced place around birth and birth work. Lots of questions and beautiful visions for a grounded, authentic, shamanic midwifery are shared. We talk about the need for a deeper understanding of the mystery of birth and it’s counterpart, death, and for a complete cultural shift so that this type of midwifery can even be received.

To learn more about Jennifer’s work and check out her offerings, you can visit her website at www.midwiferyforthesoul.com

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Duluth Midwife website

13 Moons: Epic Education for the Birthing Year

Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation

Indie Birth Midwifery School

TRANSCRIPT: Another Conversation with Jennifer Summerfeldt: Her Origin Story and Eschewing Even the Radical Rules Around Birth

Doula Training and Midwifery Training: Is Having Kids a Requirement?

Description:

“I want to be a doula or a midwife, but I haven’t had kids yet. Does it matter?”

This is a question I hear constantly from aspiring doulas and midwives. In this exciting episode, I finally address this topic that has been on my mind for a while. Join me as I share my personal journey through different stages of life while working in the birth field. From pre-baby days to experiencing miscarriages, and the joys of having full-term babies in 2014 and 2019, I offer my insights and advice.

If you’re hesitant to listen, let me assure you that if your heart and soul are beckoning you toward birth work, now is the perfect time to start—regardless of whether you’ve had children of your own yet. Don’t miss out on this enlightening discussion that can ignite your passion and propel you into the world of doula training and midwifery training.

Tune in to gain valuable insights and discover why embarking on this transformative path is within your grasp, no matter where you are in your own personal journey.

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Duluth Midwife website

Doula Academy

Indie Birth Midwifery School

TRANSCRIPTION: Birthwork Before Kids

Join this conversation with Day Schildkret, an absolutely lovely guest, where he shares about the importance of ritual in marking life’s transitions and thresholds. Here at Indie Birth we love infusing our work with the sacred, and ceremony, and are always looking for more ways to offer this in an authentic and heart-centered way. Day’s new book Hello,Goodbye: 75 Rituals for Times of Loss, Celebration and Change is a manual that will help wherever you are at in your life and on your path into using ritual. The easy to follow and inspired rituals he lays out are a real treat. In the episode he shares a beautiful bath ritual for after birth, and a ritual to help honor an older child who is becoming a big brother or sister. I may tear up a little. This conversation left me with lots of ideas of how I will incorporate more ritual into my work as a midwife and into my life as a woman. I hope you are similarly inspired.

Learn more about at Morning Altars and dayschildkret.com

Learn about his teacher training at here

Get his book everywhere his books are sold- Day’s Website, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Duluth Midwife

Follow Day’s work on Instagram

13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year

Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation

Indie Birth Midwifery School

TRANSCRIPTION: Ritual as a Tool for Meaning Making In Birth and Beyond with Day Schildkret

Isa is the author of The New Return to the Great Mother: Birth, Initiation, and the Sacred Feminine and I had her on the podcast to share more about how we might implement these incredible tools and perspectives into the work we are doing as mothers, doulas and midwives. Join us as we explore Isa’s background, including her experience during the 70’s and 80’s during the renaissance of home birth, her birth experiences as a medical interpreter, and how her meditation for connecting with The Great Mother has impacted many thousands of women already. I am really excited to have her book to hand out to clients at the first visit, so that she can come to her second visit ready to more explore her relationship with her body, her spirituality, and the initiations she has already been through. All so that we can help her ready and steady herself as she prepares for BIRTH, one of the most intense initiations of all.

Download This Podcast Transcript

Learn more about Isa’s work at sacredstream.org

Isa is generously offering a free “Great Mother” meditation to all listeners of this podcast! Use the code INDIEBIRTH at checkout.

To receive future special offers, exclusive discounts, course announcements, and featured content, subscribe Sacred Stream’s email list today. New subscribers will receive a free guided meditation download, delivered straight to their inboxes.

Order the signed collector’s edition of “The New Return To the Great Mother…” from The Sacred Stream Store

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Duluth Midwife

Order “The New Return to the Great Mother…” on Amazon

13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year

Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation

Indie Birth Midwifery School

TRANSCRIPTION: A Conversation about The New Return to the Great Mother_ Birth, Initiation, and the Sacred Feminine with author Isa Gucciardi

Get ready to unleash your inner entrepreneur as we delve into the journey of Dez, a powerhouse life coach and women’s empowerment advocate. But hold onto your seats because Dez is taking her game to the next level by adding doula offerings to her already impressive repertoire! In this episode, Dez spills the beans with Margo, as they dive headfirst into the nitty-gritty of building a business from scratch. Enjoy a discussion on SEO sorcery, web design wizardry, captivating marketing strategies, and a whole lot more! Tune in as Dez and Margo share their wisdom, ignite your entrepreneurial spirit, and leave you feeling inspired to take the leap and launch your own business. It’s time to turn your dreams into reality, too!

Download this podcast transcript

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Indie Birth Doula Academy

Doula Dez Ottawa (Dez’s website)
Dez’s Instagram page @douladezottawa
Doula Dez Ottawa (Facebook page)
Duluth Midwife
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: Badass Business Coaching for Birthworkers #5_ Dez the Doula is Launching Her Doula Business!

Join Margo and this sweet mama as they process her first birth, an induction in the hospital where she felt like she was disrespected and not given space to tune into her intuition. Gestational diabetes and hypertension (sort of) also played into her first story. She is preparing for a home birth this time, and is worried about what it might look like if her midwives risk her out but she wants to stay home. Join this tender, rich conversation that goes beyond the typical conversation around risk and decision making and really digs into the wise woman model of care in real time.

Margo is offering a limited number of free virtual prenatal sessions in exchange for recording them as Well, Actually… episodes. The world needs to know what real prenatal care sounds like! To have your virtual prenatal be featured on this series,
sign up here.

To simply book a virtual, one-on-one prenatal with Margo (or Maryn), click here for more details.

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT
Duluth Midwife
Hypertension in Pregnancy Research File
Hypertension Handout
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: In the Midwife’s Office #5 – Processing Birth Provider Trauma and Preparing for a Homebirth

Join Margo and this 2nd trimester mama who had a postpartum hemorrhage with her first home birth, and is looking for ways to refind her confidence going into her second now. They also talk about hyperemesis gravidarum, the emotional aspects of vomiting, anterior cervical lips, coached pushing, placenta birth, and more. In other words, they cover a LOT of ground in this rich session.

Margo is offering a limited number of free virtual prenatal sessions in exchange for recording them as Well, Actually… episodes. The world needs to know what real prenatal care sounds like! To have your virtual prenatal be featured on this series,
sign up here.

To simply book a virtual, one-on-one prenatal with Margo (or Maryn), click here for more details.

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT
Duluth Midwife
“The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth” via Midwife Thinking
“Trick of the Trade: Isopropyl Alcohol Vapor Inhalation for Nausea and Vomiting” by Mark Culver, PharmD, BCPS via Academic Life in Emergency Medicine
“Demystifying the Posterior Baby” episode via Taking Back Birth
“Reflections of Former After-Bleeder” by Maryn Green (Indie Birth blog post)
“Exposing the Postpartum Hemmorhage Deception” episode via Taking Back Birth
Creating the Space: How to Manifest an Undisturbed Third Stage
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: In The Midwife’s Office #4-Debriefing a Prior Postpartum Hemorrhage and Finding a New Way Forward

In this reissued episode, I sit down with Isa Gucciardi to talk about her powerful book, *The New Return to the Great Mother*. We explore the deep connection between spirituality and birth, and how reclaiming that connection can profoundly change women. Isa shares her insights into shamanic practices, birth rituals, and how tapping into the wisdom of the Great Mother can transform the entire birthing experience. We discuss the evolution of birth culture since the 1970s and the growing recognition of women’s spiritual and physical journeys. Packed with inspiring stories and practical wisdom, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the sacred intersection of birth and spirituality.

Isa is ALSO a contributor for our program the Sacred Birth Certificate which is enrolling through October 15th. Check that out here.

00:00 Introduction and Reissue Announcement
03:29 Introducing Isa Gucciardi and Her Work
04:23 Isa’s Journey and the Evolution of Birth Practices
07:42 Empowering Women Through Spiritual Connection
12:04 The Role of the Great Mother in Birth
19:24 Integrating Spirituality in Midwifery
31:44 Addressing Trauma and Repatterning Initiations
37:43 Stories of the Great Mother
46:44 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Join Margo and this mama who has reached her “due window” and is excited to chat with a midwife outside the system about everything from labor preparation as a first time mom, to induction at 41 weeks (and how to not go down that road), to postpartum baby choices like vitamin k, the newborn screen and vaccines.

Margo is offering a limited number of free virtual prenatal sessions in exchange for recording them as Well, Actually… episodes. The world needs to know what real prenatal care sounds like! To have your virtual prenatal be featured on this series,
sign up here.

To simply book a virtual, one-on-one prenatal with Margo (or Maryn), click here for more details.

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT
Duluth Midwife
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: In The Midwife’s Office #3-Visit With a 37 Week First Time Mama

Join Margo and this 24 week mama in a session where they talk about the second trimester of pregnancy, the culture of fear and how to step outside of it, blood volume expansion and nutrition, and setting realistic goals for the end of pregnancy (plus Margo’s favorite tip for swelling!)

Margo is offering a limited number of free virtual prenatal sessions in exchange for recording them as Well, Actually… episodes. The world needs to know what real prenatal care sounds like! To have your virtual prenatal be featured on this series,
sign up here.

To simply book a virtual, one-on-one prenatal with Margo (or Maryn), click here for more details.

Download This Podcast Transcript

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT
Duluth Midwife
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: In the Midwife’s Office #2-Visit with a 24 Week Mama- The Sweet Spot of Pregnancy

Listen in on Margo’s preconception consultation with a woman who had a full term birth 5 years ago with her first pregnancy, and then had two first trimester miscarriages last year in 2020. We talk about blood work (including the blood work her OB did and didn’t order!), uncovering possible causes, ideas to strengthen her fertility, the emotional and spiritual processing of loss, and the surprising studies around “TLC” reducing miscarriage rates in women who have experienced loss. Margo also shares some of her own similar experiences with loss, and the decisions she made in terms of treatment.

Margo is offering a limited number of free virtual prenatal sessions in exchange for recording them as Well, Actually… episodes. The world needs to know what real prenatal care sounds like! To have your virtual prenatal be featured on this series,
sign up here.

To simply book a virtual, one-on-one prenatal with Margo (or Maryn), click here for more details.

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT
Duluth Midwife
Natural Fertility Info: Your Complete Source for Fertility Information and Products
“A Miscarriage Story” by Margo Blackstone (blog post)
“Pregnancy After Loss” by Margo Blackstone (blog post)
Natural Conception Plan for Women with PCOS and Unexplained Fertility Issues
“The Fifth Vital Sign: Master Your Cycles and Optimize Your Fertility” by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack
“Coming to Term: Uncovering the Truth About Miscarriage” by Jon Cohen
“The Garden of Fertility: Reading Your Fertility Cycles for Natural Family Planning and Reproductive Health” by Katie Singer
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School

In an effort to support small businesses, all of the book titles listed above are linked for purchase from Zenith Bookstore, an independently owned book shop in Duluth, Minnesota – Margo’s stomping grounds. Find out more about them at www.zenithbookstore.com . All of these titles are also available via Amazon.

TRANSCRIPTION: In The Midwife’s Office #1 – Pre-conception Planning After Two Miscarriages

Get ready to dive headfirst into Lindsey’s incredible journey as she takes on the world of midwifery! Join us for a captivating conversation where Lindsey spills all the tea on how she seamlessly combines her gig as an apprentice midwife with rocking the doula scene and leading epic prenatal yoga sessions. Expect an unfiltered chat that covers everything from the wild ride of apprenticeship expectations to navigating births with multiple midwives. Plus, we’ll uncover the real talk about making moolah as an apprentice and discover just how similar (or totally different!) these roles can be. Grab your favorite cozy spot and tune in for a casual yet thrilling exploration of Lindsey’s exhilarating world!

Download this podcast transcript

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Duluth Midwife
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: Badass Business Coaching for Birthworkers #4: Exploring How to Combine the Doula and Apprentice Midwife Roles with Lindsey

In this episode, Margo and Dr. Tina Payne Bryson (co-author of The Whole Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline) have a conversation about her new book Bottom Line for Baby, which covers all the most important baby topics from A to Z, looking at the science and also incorporating story and intuition. Listen in as they talk about baby sleep, the tooth fairy, and everything in between. Learn more about her newest book at tinabryson.com/thebottomlineforbaby.

LINKS & SHOW NOTES
Duluth Midwife
Tina’s website
Buy Tina’s books on Amazon
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School

In this episode, Margo interviews Etienne Peirsmann about his approach to craniosacral therapy for pregnant and postpartum women, as well as newborns. Listen in as he shares some of his perspective about the energetic importance of respectful placenta care and lotus birth, and how he can tell the difference between these babies and those who have had more mainstream placenta care. Learn more about Etienne and his work at https://www.peirsmancraniosacral.com/courses

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT
Duluth Midwife
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: Craniosacral Therapy for Pregnancy, Postpartum and Newborns with Etienne Peirsmann

Margo does a live 1:1 coaching session with Zara, a Birth Warrior Project student from New Zealand! They cover quite a lot of ground, including:

– overcoming self-doubt and the need for “permission” to do birth education
– how to attract the RIGHT clients for consultations
– the state of midwifery in New Zealand
– educating communities about the value of birth work (and why they should invest in it)
– how to adequately value birth work that is ” out of the box”.

Zara also asks some amazing questions like, “What do I want to be visible” in terms of the content she creates and puts out into the world via social media. Join us for this soulful coaching session and you’ll be sure to feel inspired, too!

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Duluth Midwife
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: Badass Business Coaching for Birth Workers #3-An Eavesdropping Episode with Zara from New Zealand

Join us while Margo and Stacey talk about Stacey’s business Sacred Body. Stacey is a somatic sex educator and Ayurvedic doula, and we talk about how to blend that all into something approachable for people who may not always know what those things are. We also talk about marketing for online courses, how to get in front of new people (who are the ideal client) , networking and being consistent on social media, and really BECOMING VISIBLE when sometimes plagued with self-doubt. Come join us as we talk strategy around all of these topics and more, and get a free birth business coaching session by proxy. If you’re interested in working with Margo one on one around your own birth business issues and strategy, email margo@indiebirth.org or visit the Business Coaching section on the website at indiebirth.org

Download this podcast transcript

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Duluth Midwife
Stacey’s Instagram account (with links to her current offerings)
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: Badass Business Coaching for Birthworkers #2- An Eavesdropping Episode with Stacey of Sacred Body

Listen in on the first of this new series where Margo gives live business coaching advice to birth workers who are feeling stuck on their path. Margo is committed to fuelign the birth revolution through her own work but ALSO by getting more incredible birth workers out into the world, shining bright and kicking ass. Listen to this 1 on 1 birth business coaching session with Margo and her first guest doula, Genesis, a skilled physical therapist looking to transition into doula work. They tackle the places her previous training left her hanging, ways to build confidence and break through imposter syndrome post-training, the need for a doula “system” when working with clients, how to use CBE to get new clients even in the age of Covid, and how to defeat writer’s block when it comes to finishing your doula website.

Download this podcast transcript

LINKS, SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT

Duluth Midwife
Get Cold Turkey – Writer app for your computer
Focused
Indie Birth homepage (Sign up for our newsletter!)
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School
TRANSCRIPTION: Badass Business Coaching for Birthworkers #1- An Eavesdropping Episode with Genesis

A postpartum, bedside retelling of Alisha’s recent birth of her third baby, a boy named Justus. Alisha was Margo’s first midwifery apprentice, who in 2020 transitioned into serving her community as a midwife. This birth was her “final project” they joke, and what a birth it was! Listen in to hear the story of how Margo missed the birth and how being a midwife impacted Alisha’s birth experience this time around.

Download this Podcast Transcript

LINKS & SHOW NOTES
Duluth Midwife
The Birth Servant (Alisha’s homebirth midwifery services website)
13 Moons: Epic Education for The Birthing Year
Birth Warrior Project: 120 Day Doula Training and Transformation
Indie Birth Midwifery School

In this episode of ‘Midwifery for the People,’ I allude to our new Sacred Birth Certificate Program which we are launching September 15th :)!

For this first one, I’m joined by Stacey Ramsower, a contributor to our brand new, soon to be launched program, who shares her personal journey with pregnancy loss and how she has woven those lessons into her extensive training as a doula and somatic experiencing practitioner.

We discuss her profound experiences with pregnancy loss, how it transformed her relationship with her body and work, and talk about conencting ot the sacred. We also touch on the broader goals of our new project, which aims to deepen and expand the conversation around sacred birth. I hope you love this one as much I do!

On this episode of Well, Actually, Margo talks with Lisa Henrickson-Jack of the Fertility Friday podcast! Fertility Awareness was the way that Margo became interested in women’s health and bodily autonomy, and has the potential to capture the imagination and excitement of a whole new generation of powerful women.

Listen in as she and Lisa talk about
– the politics of fertility awareness
– the consequences of altering women’s hormonal cycle with the use of oral contraceptives
– Lisa’s awesome new book The Fifth Vital Sign
– and why strippers make more money when they are ovulating.

Wee!!!

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Lisa Hendrickson-Jack is a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner who teaches women to chart their menstrual cycles for natural birth control, conception, and monitoring overall health. In her new book The Fifth Vital Sign, Lisa debunks the myth that regular ovulation is only important when you want children by recognizing the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Drawing heavily from the current scientific literature, Lisa presents an evidence-based approach to fertility awareness and menstrual cycle optimization. She hosts the Fertility Friday Podcast, a weekly radio show devoted to helping women connect to their fifth vital sign by uncovering the connection between menstrual cycle health, fertility, and overall health.

more of Lisa’s work at https://fertilityfriday.com/

This time I get to sit down with Jessie Harrold and talk about how the shift into motherhood takes way longer than the typical 6 weeks that we think of in our dominant culture.

Join us as we explore
– how this looks
– what this means for us as mothers
– how we can honor this time as a sacred rite of passage
– their common interest in ecofeminism
– and hear some of Margo’s reflections as she traverses this landscape for now the second time (her son was still a newborn when this was recorded!).

Jessie Harrold is a doula, coach, women’s mentor, author of the recent book Project Body Love and her upcoming title, MotherSHIFT. Her work weaves between the worlds of science and magic, the personal and the political, exploring life transition and rites of passage, ecofeminism and mythology, neuroscience and attachment psychology, ancestral skills and restoring the wild feminine. She serves women and mothers one-to-one as a doula and life coach, teaches two online programs, reWILD and MotherSHIFT, and leads wilderness quests and pregnancy retreats. She lives in a tiny oceanside cottage in Atlantic Canada, where she writes, works, mothers her two children, and tends to her many gardens.

https://jessieharrold.lpages.co/mothershift/

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Jennifer Summerfeldt, Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP), has nearly two decades of experience in maternal health and psychology. In addition to being a counselor, Jennifer has also been a childbirth advocate, maternal educator, doula, midwifery apprentice, and published writer.

As the founder and creator of the Healing After Birth program, Jennifer uses her expertise and pioneering voice to help advance the dialogue on motherhood, mental health, and healing.

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https://www.jennifersummerfeldt.com/

In this episode of Well, Actually… Margo talks about self-care from the car!

In this episode of Well, Actually… Margo interviews Kimberly Ann Johnson, author of the newly released book The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality.

In this episode of Well, Actually… Margo interviews Keli Garza of Steamy Chick (steamychick.com)

In this episode of Well, Actually… Margo interviews Ijeoma about her unassisted breech homebirth.

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In this episode of Well, Actually… Margo interviews Jena la Flamme about instinctual eating in pregnancy, getting in tune with your “female animal” and other sexy stuff!

Jena has devoted her life to showing women around the world how to be in tune with the innate wisdom of their bodies and how they too can be at peace with food while feeling great every step of the way. She takes a fierce stand for all women to take pride in themselves and their feminine nature. Listen in and check out Jena’s website at www.jenalaflamme.com.

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In this interview, Ed will share with us his experiences of the births of his four children, ranging from cesarean births, to home births, to an accidentally unassisted home birth.

He has great insight for fellow dads who may not be so sure about home birth, but are interested in learning more. I’m so grateful that Ed shared this with us, and think many of you will find it a super useful resource! **Due to technical difficulties on my end, the audio is a little garbled at times, but you’ll hear Ed’s message loud and clear.

Maria Mengel joins Margo on the podcast to talk about her birth experiences and the lessons she has taken away from them.

Maria is a mother of two, wife, music teacher, doula, childbirth educator, placenta specialist, and owner of the newly launched Thrive Birth Services of Delmarva. She began her professional career as a musician at West Virginia University.

After college, spent 5 years teaching music education in public schools. Following her first birth, her life completely changed. She continued teaching French horn lessons privately, but devoted the rest of her life to her family and to birth work and study.

It was only after her second birth, one year ago today, that she learned the true meaning of power. Self power, the power of birth, and the power of listening to oneself and letting go. Maria is committed to creating a local birth community on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where women can guide each other in finding their own power together.

She finds joy in sharing the influential lessons she learned in her two birth experiences with others, hoping that they, too, will find joy in sharing theirs.

Check out her website at http://www.thrivebirth.org/

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In this episode of ‘Midwifery for the People,’ I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicole Morales, a home birth midwife based in San Diego, California. Nicole shares insights from her diverse background, which includes teaching, co-authoring books on midwifery, and training others in breech birth techniques. She discusses the various roles and internal conflicts midwives face while emphasizing the importance of storytelling, nervous system work, and the evolving nature of midwifery education. The episode delves into the complexities of practicing midwifery today and offers perspectives on how to navigate the ideological and practical challenges that midwives encounter. Below I’ll include the caption quote of hers that we discuss in the episode, and that inspired me to ask her to come on the show.

“This question, who are you, gets asked by the universe not just amidst birthing babies or when we are faced by challenges in parenting, it is also asked of us birth workers after challenging births and overwhelming experiences. It gets asked of us during the emotions of both grief and triumph.

I have been many midwives. I have been the trust birth midwife. I’ve been at births where some might call me the medwife. I have emulated other midwives. I have been the burnt out midwife and the exhilarated midwife. I have felt I was even several of those midwives all at once. I have also come out of births and arrived in what I call midwife purgatory, awaiting my sentencing of how someone feels about me and about their birth.

I have awaited my sentencing of my inner critic after a birth, vowing to never make a certain decision or put myself in a certain position again, and I have broken that rule and cared for a family similarly again, but from a completely different perspective. In all the seasons of midwifery, I continue to deeply trust birth.” – Nicole Morales

You can find Nicole at restorybirthwork.com and on IG at @nicolemoralesmidwife

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
01:22 Nicole Morales’ Background and Work
02:23 Anthology and Storytelling in Midwifery
04:10 Perspectives on Midwifery and Birth Work
05:44 Reading and Discussing Nicole’s Quote
06:55 Navigating Midwifery Challenges and Ideologies
16:44 Midwifery Education and Nervous System Work
24:58 Breech Birth and Birth Work Experiences
28:35 Midwife Purgatory and Dealing with Outcomes
34:44 Shifting Conversations Around Birth and Death
43:41 Compassion and Generational Healing in Midwifery
48:21 Conclusion and Where to Find More Information

Wowee wow wow I have gotten to talk so some cool people lately on the podcast. This week I have Mel from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast on and we really get into some good stuff. I invited her on after I saw the clip that the birth world was resharing like crazy, where some official looking Australian folks were talking about limiting homebirth access (or so it sounded) to ultra low risk women, which is a pretty small percent of women. It all sounded very Handmaid’s Tale and I asked Mel if she could come help us north american folsk understand what’s going on and also learn more about the state of midwifery in Australia in general.

I love that Mel and I have pretty different ideas of “how” we can get to the same place with women and midwives having autonomy and power, etc, etc. She is working in the system. I’m working outside any systems. And yet we have a lovely chat, and I think there is a lot of richness because of the differences.

We talk educational pathways, how to find hope for the future of birth and midwifery, regulations, advocacy and so much more. Also be sure to check out The Convergence of Rebellious Midwives here and more of Mel’s awesome work here.

So have a listen and tell me what stood out for you or what you took away!

I was so blessed to record this conversation with Hannah Penaluna that was a long time coming! She is an experienced midwife who moved from state controlled midwifery landscape of Australia to the wild west (ok she is in the south but still) of Georgia, an unregulated state in the U.S. The episode delves into her journey, exploring her midwifery practice in rural Australia, how vaccine mandates led to her termination under disciplinary action for non compliance there, and her transition to home birth midwifery in the U.S.

Her experience in both of these locations and versions of midwifery help shed a lot of light and nuance on the regulatory challenges we are facing as midwives globally. This is a conversation between two unlicensed midwives who stand fof midwifery autonomy, and yet, we definitely also talk about the disturbing trend of unskilled unlicensed midwives or midwife adjacent practitioners cropping up in communities. Our conversation focuses in on humility, continuous learning, and accountability in midwifery, especially when we are working outside the system.

Listen if for some genuine midwifery wisdom and a fresh take on some of these old conversations that trend towards being too black and white.

This episode is SO MUCH FUN. I have really enjoyed stepping out of the normal birth circles and talking about birth with “non-birthy” people lately. The same old conversations are tiring and frankly boring. So this episode is an interview Jake and I did on Mother’s Day for the spiritual community called Aldea that I have been a part of since moving to Tucson. He asked me so many great questions about birth and spirituality, and the lessons I’ve gleaned, and hopefully you’ll enjoy hearing a different perspective and different stories than usual from me

You can check Aldea out at https://www.aldeaspiritualcommunity.org/

In this episode of Midwifery for the People, I’m sharing a recording of an interview where Kristen Nagle of the Reclaiming Birth Conference asked me about my journey into radical midwifery! Different things come out when different people ask me questions, so this was a lot of fun

I chat about my background in women’s and gender studies, my shift from studying domestic violence policy to becoming a midwife, and then the early years of apprenticing with Maryn. The conversation touches on the importance of community and autonomy in birth, the challenges of navigating midwifery regulations, and the impact of real-life connections and experiences in birth work. I definitely encourages you to check out the upcoming Reclaiming Birth Conference in London, Ontario (I might be there as a speaker!), where you can be surrounded and inspired by like-minded women.

https://www.reclaimingbirthconference.com/