Destiny shares about her “almost-boring” freebirth with her second pregnancy. She sets the stage by sharing about her thought procesees & journey of preparation with her first baby, a hospital birth that fell flat of her expectations. She shares vulnerably about the emotional difficulties she encountered during her first birth, and how she felt forced to get an epidural and start pushing even with hospital based midwives. She noted that being observed hindered her progress during birth. Destiny shares about how she ultimately chose to go unassisted with her second birth. She shares about the preparation that went into that, how she took the recommendation “go on with your life as usual” in early labor very seriously. She shares about the support her backup doula gave to her during her freebirth, which ended up being the perfect fit for her!Destiny ends with her advice to moms wanting to become birthworkers. You can find Destiny and her birth services in Central Missouri here: @destinymoralesdoulaBIRTH STORY DISCLAIMER:The choices, beliefs, and opinions of the mamas sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller herself and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or recommended choices of Lauren and/or Brooke.Connect:Email us to say hi: [email protected] in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the formApply to tell your birth story on the podcastHang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): https://hearthmotherministries.app.clientclub.net/communities/groups/community/home?invite=6a3acb7b9e1f37cda3920fb6Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother JourneyFrom Lauren:InstagramMidwifery consults: Email  [email protected] Brooke:InstagramTrust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inboxEmbrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Sister Birth: The Podcast - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the wayIntro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Today’s guest, Vonda, has been a midwife longer than Lauren has been alive! She is an HJ graduate, HMU student, and wise-woman midwife.Lauren and Vonda discuss birth team processing or, “Backstitching,” as an absolutely necessary process as a midwife. They talk about how it is a common temptation of midwives to just move on with life instead of integrating and processing that birth experience, however small or however simple the birth.Lauren shares her saying that “The birth is not over until you have recovered,” and now adds that neither is it over until the birth team processes together!Lauren & Vonda talk aboutThe Biblical reason Vonda chooses the third day to process the birthHow the birth team becomes stronger when they are able to process together & be honest with each other5 ground rules for the birth processing experienceHard birth experiences and forgiveness among birth teamQuestions to ask to take the process deeper: How have we shared Jesus during this birth? What has the Lord showed me/changed in me/etc. through this birth?The handwashing ritual Lauren started for after birthsProcessing and experiencing hard births with your mind & bodyHow to process if you don’t have a birth teamThe difference between a helpful birth team & a “birth party”Musings on the size of the birth teamSupporting not just the birthing couple, but also the birth teamYou can find Vonda atEmail: [email protected] her on FacebookVonda generously shares her process in the form of a PDF for birth processing. We would love to hear if you use it and found it helpful!Connect:Email us to say hi: ⁠[email protected]⁠Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): ⁠https://hearthmotherministries.app.clientclub.net/communities/groups/community/home⁠Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside ⁠Hearthmother Journey⁠From Lauren:Midwifery consults: Email ⁠[email protected]⁠From Brooke:⁠Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop⁠ - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)⁠Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop ⁠- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox⁠Embrace Birth Journey ⁠- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Intro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By ⁠Blue Dot Sessions⁠ is licensed under a ⁠Creative Commons License⁠.

In this episode, Brooke & Lauren discuss something they have talked about with many women over the years: fears, worries, hesitations, resistance to the call to serve women in their childbearing year. This episode is like sitting down for coffee with Brooke & Lauren. They crack open all the real questions that come up when someone first thinks about entering the birth room.I am a mom & have too many littles; how will this work for me?How will I deal with the financial cost of training?Will this support my family or detract from my family? → will I end up divorced or with kids who resent me?Am I too young or too old?Can I serve women without having children of my own yet?Am I unworthy to serve in the birth space?How do I figure out how to live the on-call life?Do I have the capacity to do this work?If I am called to birth work, when is the right time?Brooke & Lauren share some of the wisdom they have gained over their years in birth work and address each of these questions, not by giving a perfect answer, but by uncovering the real fears & doubts underneath these questions.The obstacles most women wrestle with when it comes to birth work can likely be divided up into the following categories, with related fears underneath each one: capacity, worthiness, permission, path confusion, or timing.They discuss tools for discernment, and what being called to birth work more specifically looks like. They chat how to discern and follow His path for you into birthwork, as well break open several Biblical stories on discernment. They wrap up with some practical next steps you can take in your discernment.The ultimate question is: does He have your yes?Podcasts episodes for your continuing discernment:Faith Over Fear: No Safe Path into BirthworkWhen Motherhood & Birthwork CollideConnect:Email us to say hi: [email protected] in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the formApply to tell your birth story on the podcast: Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest ApplicationHang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): Hearthmother MinistriesBecome a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother JourneyFrom Lauren:InstagramMidwifery consults: Email  [email protected] Brooke:InstagramTrust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inboxEmbrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Sister Birth: The Podcast - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the wayIntro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

In this episode, Brooke & Lauren chatMorning routinesThe Art of GatheringThe joy of reading fictionRoutines and Rituals that help them resetPrayer lifeGearing up for Thresholds HMU and Lauren's family's visit to Brooke's family later this monthCurrent state of their kitchen table, and yours...literally right now?The scriptures that keep showing up in their lives lately. Mentioned in this episode:Women of Genesis series - ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QMBXJTD?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tpbk⁠The Art of Gathering (book) - ⁠https://a.co/d/07cFCoeO⁠Your'e invited to the Hearthmother Journey Open House - August 17th - in HM community, after which we open enrollment for fall cohort!Comment below: what does YOUR kitchen table look like right now? Comment or send us an email!Connect:Email us to say hi: ⁠[email protected]⁠Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: ⁠Fill out the form⁠Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: ⁠Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application⁠Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): ⁠Hearthmother Ministries⁠Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside ⁠Hearthmother Journey⁠From Lauren:⁠Instagram⁠Midwifery consults: Email  ⁠[email protected]⁠From Brooke:⁠Instagram⁠⁠Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop⁠ - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)⁠Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop ⁠- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox⁠Embrace Birth Journey ⁠- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)⁠Sister Birth: The Podcast⁠ - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the wayIntro and Outra Music Credit - Betty Dear By ⁠Blue Dot Sessions⁠ is licensed under a ⁠Creative Commons License⁠.

In this episode, Lauren talks about the spiritual warfare that comes when you show up as a midwife. She discusesFear of persecution/what this work will cost meOvercoming fear by through faith in HimWhy following Jesus' call into birthwork is your ultimate safeguardWhy the real question is not whether or not you can be safe in birth work but whether or not you are calledHow screening your clients for the Lord’s release to serve them is the #1 discernment tool in light of feeling safeUltimately, the persecution midwives experience comes from the enemy against those who safeguard lifeLauren ends with a very beautiful prayer for faith over fear for those who are called to serve Him in birthwork.Connect:Email us to say hi: ⁠[email protected]⁠Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): ⁠https://hearthmotherministries.app.clientclub.net/communities/groups/community/home⁠Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside ⁠Hearthmother Journey⁠From Lauren:Midwifery consults: Email ⁠[email protected]⁠From Brooke:⁠Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop⁠ - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)⁠Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop ⁠- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox⁠Embrace Birth Journey ⁠- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Intro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By ⁠Blue Dot Sessions⁠ is licensed under a ⁠Creative Commons License⁠.

In this episode, Jess shares her experience choosing unassisted birth for the second time, alongside her birthkeeper, Olivia. A special birth story told from two perspectives.You'll hear Intuition guiding Jess to want another set of handsHow they each came to a peaceful “yes” about doing this birth togetherSurrender moment to possibly needing a hospital birthMinimalist prenatal care and the role of journaling in thatSkipping ultrasound & connecting to baby3rd Trimester fatigue and the discovery of low ironand how Olivia helped Jess through that in a birthkeeper way (collaboration)Joy of postpartum support from a birthkeeper perspectiveTake-away as mom & as birth attendantHow the Way of the Hearthmother guided Olivia You can find Olivia & her services here:https://www.visitationbirthkeeper.com/IG: https://www.instagram.com/nourishedfemininity/BIRTH STORY DISCLAIMER:The choices, beliefs, and opinions of the mamas sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller herself and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or recommended choices of Lauren and/or Brooke.Connect:Email us to say hi: [email protected] in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the formApply to tell your birth story on the podcast: Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest ApplicationHang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): Hearthmother MinistriesBecome a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother JourneyFrom Lauren:InstagramMidwifery consults: Email  [email protected] Brooke:InstagramTrust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inboxEmbrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Sister Birth: The Podcast - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the wayIntro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Have you ever been curious to hear the story of how a birthworker becomes a birthworker? In this episode, Brooke shares her own story of becoming, how she moved through different phases over the 14 years, and has played different roles (birth photographer, apprentice midwife, doula-ish, birthkeeper, aspiring traditional midwife). This is a story of unfurling, of obedience and adaptation. It's a story of one woman's continual YES to the Lord to serve birthing families while also birthing and mothering her own babies. In the end, we hope it's a story that encourages you on your unique, one-of-a-kind journey in response to your undeniable pull toward birth work.Mentioned in this episode:- Confidently Called: 21 Days to Clarity for Women Drawn to Birth Work (starts 7/27/2026)!- Hearthmother Journey: Raising The Next Generation of Holy, Wild Birthkeepers (next cohort opens for enrollment on 8/17/2026)!!- Brooke's first birth story- Brooke's freebirth (baby #5)Connect:Email us to say hi: [email protected] in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the formApply to tell your birth story on the podcast: http://sisterbirth.com/podcast-guestHang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): https://hearthmotherministries.app.clientclub.net/communities/groups/community/home?invite=6a3acb7b9e1f37cda3920fb6Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother JourneyFrom Lauren:InstagramMidwifery consults: Email  [email protected] Brooke:InstagramTrust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inboxEmbrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Sister Birth: The Podcast - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the wayIntro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

In this episode, Brooke & Lauren chat about their Fourth of July experiences, taking thoughts captive, homesteading chats, fostering a pregnant cat (Brooke), and suturing knees (Lauren). They also share about their newest offering, Confidently Called: 21 Days to Clarity for Women Drawn to Birth Work. If you are interested in serving birth in any way, we would love to have you for these 21 days of clarity and community. Resources we mentioned:Radiance of the Ordinary (Radiance of the Ordinary: Essays on Life, Death, and the Sinews that Bind )Confidently Called (starts 7/27 and goes through 8/16) enrollment open now hearthmotherministries.com/calledEmbrace Birth Journey Live cohort - sisterbirth.com/journeyConnect:Email us to say hi: [email protected] in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the formApply to tell your birth story on the podcast: Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest ApplicationHang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): Rooted in Eden PMABecome a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother JourneyFrom Lauren:InstagramMidwifery consults: Email  [email protected] Brooke:InstagramTrust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inboxEmbrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Sister Birth: The Podcast - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the wayIntro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Nicola's two birth stories include several abnormal and/or frightening elements. Her first was an ultimately uneventful breech birth (but a surprise breech!). Her second, however, included placental abruption, emergency cesarean, neonatal resuscitation, a helicopter lift, and a NICU stay. Through it all, Nicola points out the ways she saw God's hand at work, protecting them, providing for them, and ultimately showering them with blessings. She wouldn't do it any other way; she's still a fierce advocate for home birth and midwifery care. Please note that we had a lot of challenges recording these stories, and editing the recording to make it salvageable posed significant hurdles. If it seems choppy or "off" at points, this is the reason. However, the stories are rich, and I hope you'll hang with us through the hiccups to mine the gold nuggets. You can find Nicola on IGGet on the First-To-Know list for our fall cohort of Hearthmother Journey and get an exclusive invitation to our open house.BIRTH STORY DISCLAIMER:The choices, beliefs, and opinions of the mamas sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller herself and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or recommended choices of Lauren and/or Brooke.Connect:Email us to say hi: [email protected] in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the formApply to tell your birth story on the podcast: http://sisterbirth.com/podcast-guestHang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): https://hearthmotherministries.app.clientclub.net/communities/groups/community/homeBecome a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother JourneyFrom Lauren:Midwifery consults: Email  [email protected] Brooke:Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inboxEmbrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Intro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

In this episode, Brooke and Lauren tackle the dilemma of needing (or feeling the tug!) to switch to a new midwife. They discuss...What to do if you feel the inkling that you need to change midwivesHow to discern what your next right step is when you are out of alignment with your midwife Questions to ask yourself about your relationship with your current (& prospective) midwife Making a decision with the Holy Spirit vs just your own desire/idols/traumaWhat might be behind your desire to do away with your midwife (hint: your own interior growth!)Mentioned in this episode:The Aligned Birth Team episode of HWBConnect:Email us to say hi: [email protected] in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the formApply to tell your birth story on the podcast: Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest ApplicationHang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): Rooted in Eden PMABecome a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother JourneyFrom Lauren:InstagramMidwifery consults: Email  [email protected] Brooke:InstagramTrust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inboxEmbrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)Sister Birth: The Podcast - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the wayIntro and Outra Music Credit -Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.