Explore every episode of the podcast Womb Stories Project
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| Avoiding Unnecessary C-Section: Self Advocacy for Hospital Births and Healing from Coercion | 17 Apr 2026 | 00:33:13 | |
In this episode of Womb Stories Project, Kit Maloney, founder of Kitara, shares her raw birth story on a phone call with two sisters… just 3 weeks after giving birth (in her 40s) to a healthy baby girl. An incorrect ultrasound report shows Kit's baby in transverse position and completely derails her home birth plans. What followed was the very real possibility of an emergency C-section. Her work with Kitara informed that moment. She recognized the pattern because she had heard it so many times. "Everything was fine, and then suddenly it became an emergency C-section." With an EPIC labor support team ( her husband and midwife ) and years experience in women's health and advocacy, Kit was able to have an unmedicated hospital birth within a highly medicalized system. But what if she didn't? Her experience speaks to the importance of support in hospital birth, patient advocacy during labor, and how challenging it can be to navigate informed consent and avoid unnecessary birth interventions. At one point, the situation escalated to threats of the Department of Health and Human Services being called. Kit found herself wondering, "how am I going to get out of here?" What followed wasn't just about getting through the experience, but what it meant to come out the other side of it with a sense of agency and wholeness. Birth trauma is real. Kit has come to see that a huge part of trauma prevention is being able to process more quickly. To be witnessed and affirmed almost in the moment of it can set you up for a totally different recovery. This episode reaffirms the "why" behind the Womb Stories Project. Sharing our stories is an invaluable piece of spreading awareness, education, and advocacy within the women's health and wellness world. If this resonates, like, subscribe and share your birth story below in the comments.
Kitara provides beautifully designed, expertly crafted tools for safe and easy in-home yoni steaming. Learn more about the benefits of yoni steaming Follow Kitara on Instagram
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| Reclaiming Pleasure after Chronic Infection, Pelvic Pain & Trauma | 04 Apr 2026 | 00:33:20 | |
Chaya Leia Aronson of Your Sacred Pelvis shares her powerful journey from chronic bladder infections and interstitial cystitis to living pain-free and deeply connected to her womb. After years of pelvic pain, invasive medical experiences, and being told there was no solution, Chaya turned to natural healing, including herbal medicine, diet and lifestyle changes, Mayan Abdominal Massage, and Yoni Steaming. Through this work, she not only resolved her symptoms but reclaimed pleasure, nervous system regulation, and trust in her body. We discuss how pelvic pain and uterine disorders are often rooted in trauma, and Chaya illuminates how trauma can arise from a much broader range of experiences than we typically consider, including a hard fall to the sacrum.
Through natural healing practices like yoni steaming, which supports deep nervous system regulation and invites gentle emotional release, we are able to move through pain and towards pleasure. Chaya speaks to the fact that activism is best sustained by joy, pleasure, and a regulated nervous system.
This episode is a testament to the possibility of moving beyond chronic pelvic pain and dis-ease in your own womb healing journey. A hopeful and inspiring story offering natural remedies, ancient practices, and wise teachers within the world of holistic women's reproductive health. About our Guest Chaya Leia Aronson, RN BSN offers both in person and virtual healing experiences that blend hands-on bodywork, somatic practices, and gentle lifestyle and herbal support to help you reconnect with this powerful part of yourself. She utilizes Maya Abdominal Massage, Holistic Pelvic Care™, Yoni Steaming, movement and posture practices, and holistic coaching to help you reclaim pelvic health and wellness. Connect to Chaya on Instagram. Learn more on her website.
Kitara provides beautifully designed, expertly crafted tools for safe and easy in-home yoni steaming. 🌸www.kitaralove.com🌸
Beautiful Yoni Steam Seats, Organic Herbs, Consultations & More... Connect with Kitara on IG @bykitara
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| Healing Fibriods Naturally: Yoni Steaming and Holistic Health with Madam CJ | 08 Aug 2022 | 01:14:11 | |
If you are listening to this near the release date, I'm now ever so gently dipping my toes back into the waters of work after a beautiful cocoon of postpartum time. Our baby boy arrived the morning of May 22. He is a gem, we are wildly smitten new parents, and I look forward to sharing the journey of our home birth with you here on Womb Stories Project in a future episode. Today's interview is with Madam CJ who has a dynamic, bold, and compelling story of womb healing. She also celebrates her use of yoni steaming to support her fibroid release and passing fibroids naturally. In this episode, Madam CJ also shares her journey of connecting to her innate and natural beauty as well as finding freedom through sensuality and dance. Like many of our episodes on Womb Stories Project, the conversation takes us beyond a particular diagnosis and into a deeply real conversation about the profound ripple effect that womb space health and healing have on one's life and community.
Healing Your Body from Fibroids Madam CJ was diagnosed with fibroids when she was 35 years old. Her grandmother used to suffer from fibroids, so she knew something was wrong when she started experiencing similar symptoms. The surgery and intensive recovery period were inaccessible to her, so she threw herself into natural remedies and emotional healing to heal her own fibroids.
Vaginal Steaming Practices for Fibroids A commitment to extreme self-care inspired Madame CJ to order her own steam seat. She has a home vaginal steaming process where she steams every day so that she isn't bleeding. Vaginal tissues are extremely absorbent, so Madam CJ reflects on how her yoni steaming practice has helped her to recover from multiple illnesses, including her fibroids.
Eliminating Toxic Skincare to Prevent Fibroids Soaps, hair products, nail polish, hair color, and even feminine hygiene products have xenoestrogens that feed fibroids. Eliminating these products and releasing the beauty standards that keep women hooked on these products is essential to fibroid healing and prevention. Madam CJ reflects on her journey of learning how to make her own natural soaps and embracing her natural look.
In This Episode
Links Use code madamlove at KitaraLove.com | |||
| 6. Yoni Steaming and Healing from Birth Trauma with Blaney Carter | 03 May 2022 | 01:06:47 | |
Steaming for post-partum recovery is often only spoken about for vaginal deliveries, but Blaney booked a steam session to heal from her c-section. She was also seeking support in her recovery from obstetric violence. Today, we will go into what obstetric violence means, and how that term supports women by putting a name to what they may have experienced. In this episode, we center on Blaney's healing. Part of that involves naming the trauma and telling her story. So as you go into the episode, I encourage you to check in with yourself. Is this the right time for you to go in-depth on the topic of obstetric violence? If you feel a full-body yes, then I hope you find this episode supportive. If this topic isn't right for you at this moment in your journey, then we will have new episodes of womb stories soon.
In This Episode
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| 5. Yoni Steaming and Healing Endometriosis with Chasca Summerville | 22 Apr 2022 | 01:30:40 | |
Your menstrual time is supposed to be a sacred moment of the month, but for so many women, that time comes with pain. This is especially true for women who live with endometriosis. Today's guest comes to bring hope to women who may be struggling with endometriosis. Today's interview is with- Chasca Summerville, an Ayurvedic Diet & Lifestyle Consultant and author of a truly beautiful book called Ayurvedic Rituals: Wisdom, Recipes and the Ancient Art of Self-Care. Chasca is as approachable as she is knowledgeable and has an incredible personal story of womb healing. For decades Chasca suffered from the immense pain and disruption caused by symptoms of endometriosis. Even after years of exploration and devotion to Ayurvedic principles and lifestyle, which had reconnected Chasca to her soul's purpose and much healing, Chasca's menstrual cycle remained a source of conflict and struggle. In this episode, she shares how the practice of yoni steaming was THE game-changing addition to her health and healing routine. For all of you on your endo warrior journies, this episode is absolutely for you and my wish is that it leaves you inspired and with hope. And for all of us, regardless of any particular diagnosis, this is a rich and juicy and deeply real conversation about how once unimaginable womb health is truly accessible to us all.
In This Episode
Links Chasca's Book, Ayurvedic Rituals: Wisdom, Recipes and the Ancient Art of Self-Care | |||
| 4. Alchemizing Holistic Health with Western Gynecology with Dr. Laurena White | 03 Mar 2022 | 01:40:19 | |
Laurena White is a western trained doctor who grew up in a home where herbs were medicine too. Many times women have sought medical care for their womb space and are presented only the option of surgery or birth control. So today we have a spacious conversation with a gynecologist who alchemizes holistic options with her medical training. We hope this conversation shows you how you can ask doctors for more when it comes to the health of your womb space.
In This Episode
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| 3. Steam Stories with Keli Garza, founder of Steamy Chick | 12 Feb 2022 | 01:32:30 | |
This is the first episode in a series called "steam stories". I can't get over the powerful feedback I have received on the power of steaming. Pelvic pain has been heavily normalized by modern medicine along with many other abnormalities that can show up during a period. This episode introduces some of the ways that we can support our wombs during bleeding and postpartum.
In This Episode
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| 2. Connecting to Your Authentic Truth with Tig Notaro | 09 Feb 2022 | 01:18:09 | |
Comic, actor, director, podcast host, and my dear sister-in-law. Tig is acclaimed for her honesty, and ability to bring her insightful humor to reflect on the most difficult moments of her life. It was an honor to have Tig on the show, because of the impact she has had on the entertainment industry, and to have the chance to connect with a beloved family member. This episode is a spacious and vulnerable conversation where we explore the theme of truth-telling.
In This Episode
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| 1. Unlocking Your Womb Healing Story with Anita Kopacz | 04 Feb 2022 | 01:11:13 | |
This is episode 1 of Womb Stories, and I wanted to welcome Anita Kopacz as my very first guest because she has helped to unlock my own womb story. Anita and I first connected on a podcast episode towards the end of 2015, where I was interviewing people about pleasure, and she talked about some of her trauma work. She helped me to understand another dimension of how to understand the victim and survivor story. This changed the course of my life, and it engaged me in my trauma healing in a way I had never experienced before. This episode centers on womb stories and centers the healing aspect of it.
In This Episode 3:02 - reframing the idea of power through Anita's womb story 13:21 - tending to wounds through storytelling 16:38 - when it's time to seek safety and when it's time to allow yourself to be uncomfortable 27:27 - questioning the fear-based imagination while empowering the creative imagination 29:53 - how to connect with your body and use it as a part of your creative process 38:18 - using the divine masculine to share what the divine feminine has created 41:28 - grounding into childhood trauma and seeing it as a blessing 57:45 - coming into the understanding that black women are the divine
Quotes "The beautiful thing about doing trauma work is that we already survived." "It's almost like trauma is the door we have to go through to get home. And so many of us run from that door, so we are running away from home all the time."
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| Trailer | 26 Jan 2022 | 00:04:49 | |
Womb Stories shares conversations with renowned activists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders as they reveal their journeys back home to the body. This is a show honoring the truth the female body is a gift that brings with it potent power, epic healing potential, and boundless opportunity. | |||
| Over the Steam Pot, Everything Changed | 21 Mar 2026 | 00:34:00 | |
Yoni steaming offers a gentle, effective approach to healing period pain naturally. In this episode of Womb Stories Project, Natalie Elliott shares how yoni steaming helped end years of severe period pain and opened a new relationship with her body and menstrual cycle. Natalie shares her journey from severe cramps, dissociation, and trauma to discovering yoni steaming as the pathway to releasing, healing, and coming to live in deep alignment with her cycle and her womb. What began as a personal healing practice of resting while bleeding became the foundation of her work as a women's health practitioner, and ultimately helped inspire a deeper, more cyclical way of operating for the entire Kitara team.
About our Guest: Natalie Elliott is a women's health practitioner offering in-person and online coaching for a whole body approach to healing period pain, PMS and hormonal imbalance, naturally. Explore her many delicious offerings: https://www.moonbabymagic.com/offerings Connect with Natalie on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalie.marieclaire/
Kitara provides beautifully designed, expertly crafted tools for safe and easy in-home yoni steaming.
Beautiful Yoni Steam Seats, Organic Herbs, Consultations & More... Connect with Kitara on IG @bykitara Timestamps
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| Healing the Father Wound: Minerals, Yoni Steaming and Nervous System Regulation with Yasmine Minnifield | 20 Nov 2025 | 00:27:54 | |
In this powerful transmission, Yasmine Minnifield, founder of Womb of Peace, joins Kit Maloney for a profound exploration of the Father Wound and how healing our inner masculine is a path to feminine restoration. Yasmine shares how wounding to our inner masculine affects our sense of safety, openness to intimacy, and feeling worthy of provision and protection - often showing up as overfunctioning, burnout, or a hard, protective shell. She maps the energetics of the wound onto the body through mineral imbalances, offering a tangible, multidimensional pathway to healing through herbal medicine, remineralization, and inner work. Yasmine describes how Yoni Steaming supports every level of this process, from the physical release of old blood, tissue, and emotions to remineralization through the herbs in the steam. She invites us to use our steam practice to develop deeper intimacy with self and the ancestral line to create lasting mental and emotional repatterning. Healing the inner masculine allows the mature feminine to rise, the Queen, who knows how to live and lead in a deeply nourishing, empowered way.
Yasmine Minnifield blends functional mineral science and somatic healing to help women decode their body's messages, with hair mineral testing as the doorway into deep restoration. Order a Hair Mineral Test with Yasmine Connect with Yasmine on Facebook and Instagram
Kitara provides beautifully designed, expertly crafted tools for safe and easy in-home yoni steaming.
Beautiful Yoni Steam Seats, Organic Herbs, Consultations & More... Connect with Kitara on IG @bykitara Timestamps 00:00 Healing the Father Wound to Access Feminine Power 00:57 The Father Wound, Minerals, & Cellular Level Healing 05:58 Wounding of the Inner Masculine or Animus, and Yasmine's Experience of Trauma, PTSD, PCOS 10:29 Linking the Effects of the Father Wound to Mineral Imbalances in the Body 13:13 Healing through Yoni Steaming and Herbalism 15:43 Archetypal Medicine, Energetic and Ancestral Healing Reclaiming Power and Sensitivity 18:13 Deep Physical and Ancestral Release and Repatterning through Yoni Steaming 21:12 The Transformative Power of Minerals 22:42 Yoni Steaming: More Than Just Hydrotherapy 26:48 Final Thoughts
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| Fibroids, Refusing Hysterectomy, and the Healing Power of Yoni Steaming with Miara Pack | 26 Jul 2025 | 00:58:14 | |
Far too often we hear the same story, a woman gets diagnosed with fibroids and is told her only option is a full hysterectomy. In this interview, Kit Maloney and Rachel Rose talk with Miara Pack, who shares her journey of saying no to the white coat and bravely charting her own course. Miara opens up about her experience with painful cycles and dismissive doctors and her choice to pursue natural healing: yoni steaming, breathwork, and lifestyle changes alongside western medical care. A cornerstone of her healing was her connection with Kit, the founder of Kitara, whose compassionate presence was a consistent source of strength, wisdom, and love. We're honored to share this conversation of healing, self-empowerment, and the sacred bond between women supporting each other to reconnect to their wombs and inner wisdom. Visit www.kitaralove.com for intentionally designed and expertly crafted products for safe and easy yoni steaming at home. Learn more about yoni steaming and fibroids. Connect with Kitara on IG @bykitara. Timestamps 01:26 – Miara's first steam and meeting Kit 07:00 – Steaming at home without a seat 11:00 – Lifelong painful cycles and dismissive medical care 13:00 – Fibroid diagnosis and pressure to undergo full hysterectomy 17:30 – Daily steaming, tracking progress, and signs of improvement 18:30 – Making the emotional decision to have a myomectomy 26:50 – Post-surgery cycles, red blood, and no more pain meds 30:00 – Slowing down: movement, food, and nervous system support 35:00 – Reframing surgery as a reboot, not a failure 38:30 – Breaking the cycle for the next generation 42:00 – Sisterhood, journaling, and the power of being witnessed | |||
| Meet Our Midwife | 26 Jun 2024 | 01:30:46 | |
Welcome to another episode of Season 2 of Womb Stories Project, a series of conversations with people involved in the home birth of our son. This is a really important conversation as part of this series because it is with the incredibly wise and amazingly wonderful Tiffany Skillings, who is a midwife and was my midwife through our fertility journey, throughout my pregnancy, and the primary midwife in the delivery of our son at our home. I can't say enough about Tiffany. She is an incredible gift to the birthing community here in Maine, to me and my family, and we really consider her part of our family now. I imagine that after listening to this conversation, you will understand why. Visit www.kitaralove.com for intentionally designed and expertly crafted products for safe and easy yoni steaming at home. Connect with Kit on IG @bykitara. Connect with Tiffany Skillings on IG @tworiverslactation and at www.tworiverslactation.com.
Timestamps 1:38 Tiffany's Journey to Midwifery 13:59 Midwifery as Holistic Well-Bodied Care 25:07 Expertise in Clinical Midwifery Training 31:20 Midwifery Challenges and Misconceptions 45:47 Elevating Midwifery and Public Education 49:32 Healthcare Costs and Transparency 55:49 Collaboration in Emergency Situations 57:22 Home to Hospital Transfers and C-Section Rates 1:17:11 Importance of Trauma-Informed Care and Debriefing 1:22:28 Intentionality in Client Care and Privacy 1:24:49 Special Moments in Mark's Birth
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| What is a Postpartum Doula? And why everyone needs one. | 20 May 2024 | 01:08:12 | |
We live in an era of women over-giving and under-receiving. Data shows it is not working for us. Postpartum depression/anxiety is at unprecedented rates and we currently are offering new parents too few options for support. Listen in to hear an expanded perspective on what it means to receive in the earliest days of motherhood. Season 2 of Womb Stories Project is a collection of interviews with the people who were involved in my conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. It is for the listener curious about holistic and non-hormonal fertility treatments, the ins and outs of home birth, and how to thrive in postpartum. Timestamps
Visit www.kitaralove.com for intentionally designed and expertly crafted products for safe and easy yoni steaming at home. Connect with Kit on IG @bykitara Connect with Muriel on IG @heldpostpartum or at www.heldpostpartum.com | |||
| Fear, Faith, and Fertility: My Conception Journey | 22 May 2023 | 01:13:10 | |
Season 2 of Womb Stories Project will be a collection of interviews with the people who were involved in my conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journey. And it all kicks off on the one-year anniversary of the birth of my son. The first episode features an interview with Rachel, an incredible healer who held me in her heart as I navigated a humbling conception journey. Please be advised miscarriage is discussed in this interview, so please take care of your heart and listen only if you feel the discussion will be healing.
Timestamps
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| Season 2: My Birthing Story: From Conception to Postpartum | 22 May 2023 | 00:07:43 | |
Today is the first anniversary of the birth of my son, so I am kicking off season 2 of Womb Stories Project with a series of interviews with the people present for my son's birth. This episode is a reflection on the birth experience and the practice of condensing the birth plan into one simple mantra. The next season of Womb Stories Project will feature the sisters who held me during my conception journey, my primary midwife, assistant midwife, and my birth doula. We will also speak with my doctor, my husband, and my parents. | |||
| Integrating Safety, Pleasure & Expansion into Life and Career with Sabia Wade | 15 Nov 2022 | 01:31:25 | |
Today's interview is with Sabia Wade. I first connected with Sabia several years ago when I learned of their various initiatives in support of black maternal health several years ago. Sabia's organization, For the Village, does incredible work for marginalized birthing groups. It is beautifully aligned with the mission of The Kitara Fund. If you don't know, I set up The Kitara Fund even before I launched our yoni steam products on kitaralove.com Through the Kitara Fund, we honor Kitara's promise of sharing 1% of our revenue on every single item sold with Black-led community initiatives advancing birthing rights and maternal health in disenfranchised populations. It's a privilege to support Sabia's initiatives, as well as others, through the Kitara Fund. This conversation was actually recorded about six months ago. It was back during the end of my pregnancy when I secretly thought I'd be back at work within weeks of birthing our son… I hope to have the opportunity to share more of my birthing experience and postpartum journey in future episodes but for now, I'll just say that I am grateful for the space to slow down, trust a different pace, and savor the snuggles.
About Sabia Wade So today we get to hear from Sabia, not just about their work with For the Village but about their mission as a Black, Queer, CEO to build bridges for a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable world through Reproductive Justice, distribution of financial wealth to BIPOC communities, and investing in emergent and innovative businesses. Honestly, there are so many parts of this discussion that blew me away. Sabia's cool, grounded, determination to expand and expand and to create change through system overhauls is profound and inspiring. You'll hear moments where I am speechless at the capacity of their imagination and gumption.
Balancing Pleasure with Productivity Sabia reflects on how she sets boundaries and nourishes herself in a world where slowing down isn't always an option. She shares how true happiness for her comes from true satisfaction over instant gratification. In today's world, there is a lack of time for integration in a world filled to the brim with content to absorb. Sabia's wisdom and practice help guide her through the world as it is today, and maybe you can pick up some tips from her.
Creating a Value-Led Career Sabia is a doula who also runs a trucking company. No matter what she does, she embodies her values. She takes her knowledge as a doula to a diverse array of spaces and disciplines, while always being authentic to herself. She never wanted to be pidgeon-holed as a doula, who can only ever work and speak in spaces related to doulas. The way Sabia speaks about her work is inspiring, and maybe you can embody some of it in your own career.
In The Episode
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