In Part V of our six-part video series with Dr. Sarah Buckley, we discuss the sexuality of childbirth. Childbirth is Sexual?? Yes, it actually is! There are so many parallels between sex and birth, and neither flow as well when … Continued
Induction of labor has become increasingly common but is not always successful because of how it differs from physiological onset of labor. The optimal number of oxytocin receptors are often not yet ready during induction which means contractions can be longer, stronger, and closer together. This hormonal gap can be closed, however, with skin to skin contact as well as breastfeeding.
While pre-labor cesarean sections can lead to hormone gaps for MotherBaby, beginning labor before the cesarean birth can limit these effects. This allows hormones such as catecholamine to surge and ready the baby to exit the womb. Skin to skin contact and breastfeeding are post-labor ways to bridge the hormone gap as well. Find out more about Dr. Sarah Buckley’s perspectives on gentle cesarean births.
In Part II of our six-part video series with Dr. Sarah Buckley, we weigh the benefits and risks of using an epidural for pain management in labor.
Our naturally occurring hormones of labor also act as pain relievers.
Together with Dr. Buckley we discuss how these work, how an epidural can effect our hormones, and ways to close the gaps when we do need an epidural.
We do want to honor those that chose to have an epidural. No one should ever suffer in birth and sometimes an epidural is the right choice.
However, knowing all of the benefits and risks, will help you weigh whether an epidural is right for you.
Watch below for more.
Your Brain, Birth and Pleasure: Mother Nature’s Superb Design – Dr. Sarah Buckley discusses the positive feedback loop of hormones in childbirth. Learn why birth is designed to be the best first date ever to fall in love and get ready for a lifetime of parenting. Understand how to have an ecstatic birth, how to set up a birth environment according to the science of our brains and why birthing a baby requires the same environment as making a baby.
Stella looked curiously into our eyes. It felt as if I had always had her in my arms. After about 40 minutes Josh cut the cord and we went up. The midwives thought I was bleeding a little too much so they gave me a shot of synthetic oxytocin to stop the bleeding quicker. On my way into our bedroom I said that I wanted to do this at least 10 more times. Everyone laughed. In the light of a torch, Leopi gave me a few stitches since I had tore a little bit, probably because I had pushed so hard and fast. At last we got into bed and the midwives left quietly. The following day they came back to check on us and Stella. We stayed in bed for the rest of the week and were cared for by friends and family who came over with nutritious meals. That way we could spend all our energy on our little star.
When I became a doula 5 months after my VBAC birth, I didn’t “believe” in home birth. As if home birth needs me to believe in it (ha!). And less than a year and a half later I would be giving birth in a fishy pool in my living room. I had preconceived notions about home birth being unsafe, about mothers and babies dying, about home birth being something only radical and rebellious people did (I hadn’t quite tuned into that part of my life yet). And yet, when I decided on my youngest son’s 1st birthday to have another baby, and subsequently found myself pregnant 3 weeks later, I couldn’t help but feel curious about it.
This birth turned off the little voice in my head that shut down every ambition and good idea I had and turned on my self-confidence, my power, my curiosity, and erased every bit of fear I have ever had. It was a transformative moment that changed me forever. The work I did during my pregnancy, the support team I built for myself, the active role I took in my birth, it all had impacts far beyond the delivery room, and is the fuel behind my lifelong passion to improve the maternal experience.
When Birth Isn’t What You Expected: 3 Lessons by Kaitlin McGreyes Kaitlin had three very different births that reflect her journey from new mom to seasoned birthworker and advocate for women’s health. Each experience offered lessons and room for growth … Continued
by Ariel BK On Saturday, November 9, 2019, I had my first contraction at 10:33pm. Contractions continued from this point onward, throughout the rest of the evening and into Sunday morning, lasting about 30 seconds, about 10-20 minutes apart. All … Continued
Bengkung or Stagen is considered as the ancient way of healing. This product’s primary function for the postnatal mother is to make the mother feel warm and comfortable.
When you were planning to give birth, how many choices of location did you consider? 1, 2, 3? I am always reminded of my dear friend and colleague Roberta Scarer’s quote, “if you don’t know your options you don’t have … Continued
Is there something going on that you know you must address, as Debra did?
Is this your wake up call?
Debra has decided to do another 30 Day Transformation in January and we are excited to invite you to learn more about what’s involved as you design your pleasurable 2021.
Join us December 16th at 1pm PT | 4pm ET to an intimate Zoom with Debra and I, where we will share more about our journeys and how this nutrition may support you. Here’s the link. We look forward to midwifing you along the path of transforming your health.
by Naomi In February I gave birth to our second daughter, Nirvana Freya Lee. I was alone when she arrived and received her into my arms myself. It was a powerful and sacred moment. Here’s how her amazing birth unfolded… … Continued
Our home birth was so amazing, I keep going over the events in my mind, hoping to remember every little detail. It was three months ago now, and I still get goosebumps.
by Nena Complo When you were almost here, about ready to emerge I knelt upon my bed, and fell into deep prayer To you I told you about everyone in the room, loving you and waiting for you I confided … Continued
by Alejandra Lozano, LCCE, Midwife, Orgasmic Birth Community Manager Since the birth of her son Mariano, she became passionate about birth, and began her preparation to become a professional and traditional midwife, with the intention that more women have the … Continued
October is Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month. About one in four pregnancies ends in pregnancy loss. For many people this can be an emotional process, and it is important that they receive care in a setting that is comfortable and safe.
Amy Wright Glenn, the Founder of The Institute for Birth, Breathe and Death has a special, limited time offer for you to expand your knowledge in supporting families around loss.
You are the expert on your body and your baby! Your care providers should be like lifeguards there to help you when you need assistance, but otherwise they sit quietly in the corner as you navigate the gentle waters, giving you the privacy and safety you need to experience the intimacy and joy of childbirth.
How do you begin to prepare for an Orgasmic Birth?
I coped so well through that labour. I was lying in bed but comfortable, totally in lala labourland. But at one point a nurse came in and tried asking me some questions. I was so in the zone that I could only answer with a slight nod of my head.
“She must know better than me…”
She then told me “I know you wanted to avoid the epidural but if you can’t even speak with me now how on earth are you going to push a baby out?”.
I woke up around 5am due to a light ache in my belly. I knew that it was a beginning and I felt very quiet. I just knew that we would meet very soon and decided to continue sleeping and give Arturas time to rest. Every morning we had the same things: fresh papayas, oatmeal with dates, sesame seeds and peanut butter, but this time it felt different. It was a strange feeling overall, I felt slow, everything I did was slower than usual, thinking, moving around, almost like taking time to experience every moment in full. I felt like I had a secret which no one saw or knew about. But there were special processes within me – the little one was coming into this world.
I felt strong and capable. There was little left, and after some pushing, Tereza’s little body also came out. Guinho took our daughter, took the cord ring and handed it to me. I took my big, slippery baby in my arms. I looked at her face, I smelled her smell, I cried, I cried with joy.
I had these intense and close-knit contractions for over 14 hours, and now comes the surprising thing about my case: Those uterine contractions were completely painless to me.
Despite the stupefaction of the nurses and the gynecologist who attended me, my uterine contractions were completely painless …
On multiple occasions they offered me epidural anesthesia, I always rejected it. I felt no pain at all.
What was going on in my uterus? For a time I thought that I might have some kind of special sensitivity to pain. But later I found out that it wasn’t that at all.
I was overdue and went to Red Tent for acupuncture induction. Five days later I had the most amazing birth experience.
My partner and I were at the beach all day walking and resting as I was experiencing the gentle beginning of contractions.
I want to share with you the 4 ways that breastfeeding impacts you and your relationship that you won’t find in all the searches!
You have become a mother/parent. Life has changed, you have changed, and so has your body. The sooner you learn to love the new you, the many benefits you, your partner your baby will see and feel.
Are you so consumed with thinking about birthing your baby that the thoughts of parenting seem far in the distance?
Prepare your roadmap for fun and sex now. Why your birth matters.
I honor and celebrate you! You have become (or are about to become) a parent. You are doing the most important job in the world to shape the next generation with your love and parenting.
I remember when I first became a parent and wondered why there is no preparation for parenting that includes all the changes you will experience in your relationship and sexuality.
I couldn’t find any book that honored this aspect of the major life transition of parenting.
There was nothing out there that celebrated mothers, and all birthing people, and our new and changed bodies.
Childbirth is a portal of self-knowledge and connection, and motherhood is a channel for the present. I was studying postmodern midwifery at the Da-a-Luz school, Andalucía, Spain, in a community very focused on women, nature and alternative ways of living. Most of the people there live in trailers, caravans and tents; they spend most of the day outside and live very closely with their neighbors. The school’s classes take place in a vagina-shaped building, and we study inside the womb. After having spent 5 years using IUDs, and 4 of them without menstruating, it was a huge reconnection with my feminine to know this school and these people: to live with women planting their menstrual blood, holding women’s circles, singing at the fire and bathing in the river. After the first year at school, I got pregnant by my partner Elijah, and we decided to give birth there.
Join Debra Pascali-Bonaro and Carlita Singletary as they talk about community doulas, life lessons learned and what being a doula means for you and your clients.
Join our Pleasurable Birth Essentials Online Class to Positively Prepare for your Birth!
“I knew this birth would be different from Odyns, from all that came in between, and it was my second baby after all, but I don’t think I could’ve seen this. Since around December 12 I’d been having start and stop contractions and felt like labor would come at any time. Of course the next weeks were torture because nothing ever came of any of it…”
El nacimiento de Mariano, el día que pari mi cuerpo.
Desde el momento en que supe que estaba embarazada todo mi pensamiento se fue a investigar el proceso, los cambios que sucederían, el desarrollo de mi bebé y el parto, lo que mas me intrigaba era el tema de la epidural, le tenia una especie de terror a esa intervención… no había a quien preguntarle mas que a mi mamá que decía que no era para tanto, seguí investigando hasta que encontré la opción del parto en agua en Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, lo que me llevo a encontrar cursos de preparación para el parto (me sirvieron muchísimo) y fue donde encontré a mi partera, en ese momento mi vida cambio totalmente, estaba decidida a tener un parto en casa (y a convertirme en partera), no había otra opción posible en mi cabeza, así tendría que ser, a costa de lo que fuera.
Hi! I’m Alejandra Lozano, a Midwife in continuous learning and development. My history has been long and will continue, today I want to share a little bit of it…
The love for midwifery started when I got pregnant and I meet the midwives who would attend the birth of my son Mariano, who is 8 years old today. As soon as I met the first midwife I had ever seen in my entire life, I felt a deep admiration and inspiration inside me that led me to forget about my birth for a few moments and strongly desire to be a Midwife, I wanted it so much so much that I said it out loud without thinking, that was the beginning of everything…
I accompanied the first birth as a doula, I quickly realized that my place was not in hospitals. I love being a Doula and it’s a job that I deeply honor, yet my heart has always belonged to midwifery and home births. Then my Midwife became my teacher, and when my son was 2 years old she started teaching me.
I began moaning and doing my best to keep the sound flowing, as it seemed to help me stay afloat. With my knees on the floor and my arms gripping the pillows tightly in front of me, my body was in control. I attempted to quiet my mind and began rocking back and forth now, as opposed to side to side like I’d done while standing. I kept thinking about how I should try to perceive the sensations as interesting instead of painful. Some of the time, I found I was able to flow through part of a contraction as though I were simply witnessing an intense feeling, observing a wild ride that my body was on. Though, much of the time, I was experiencing it as the most intense pain I’ve ever felt, only comparable to the birth of my son.
by Asta I wanted what “they were having” I was determined. It was November of 2014 and I had just discovered the film that would completely change my world – “Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret”. The documentary left me in complete … Continued
I fell back to using my hypnobirthing practices, telling myself to breathe through each contraction rather than letting myself get upset and tense. I genuinely feel that this mindset is what allowed me to have such a peaceful and wonderful birthing experience.
I climbed onto all fours and leaned my top half over a beanbag for support. My body told me to sway my hips back and forth and I gave in, listening to every cue that I was being given.
I’m pretty sure that you were conceived just before Christmas and during one of the craziest storms I’ve ever experienced. I was supporting someone as their doula at the birth centre here in Ubud, and Daddy was in Java working. The energy from the birth combined with that of the storm made for a crazy night. I was taking a quick breather outside the birth room in the middle of the night, when one of the midwives walked past and said, “I didn’t know that you were pregnant”. “I’m not” I replied. Suastini looked at me funny. I later learned that she has an innate intuition for knowing when people are pregnant. Sometimes, it turns out, even before they do themselves.
You were also born during an epic storm on the night that the following rainy season started. It rained through the roof of our house and in through the ceiling of the room we were birthing in.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Interestingly, Daddy and I had only very recently had a conversation about having another baby. About how, after being told that it was unlikely that we would have children naturally and trying for three and a half years for Indi, we felt incredibly blessed and completely accepting of the fact that we may only have one child.
Clearly you had other ideas about that!
Indi and I went for a walk to the pharmacy and that night, after she was asleep and without thinking to tell Daddy about my suspicions, I did the pregnancy test. I was so shocked at the positive result that I couldn’t speak and just went downstairs and showed it to Papa. Understandably, he was a little confused about the situation, and it took a few minutes for what he was seeing to sink in.
We sat and held one another for quite a long time while we let the news soak in. What a truly wonderful Christmas gift. I did have one concern though: how on earth was I going to find the same amount of love for another baby, that I had for your sister? Was my capacity to love that great?
Apart from nausea and some extra tiredness until I was around 14 weeks pregnant, early pregnancy was fairly uneventful with you! The biggest challenge for me was breastfeeding your sister through the intensely sensitive nipples I had during those first weeks! My pregnancy was busy, healthy and active and the months whizzed by. Naturally, we planned a home birth for you.
Over long years teaching acupuncturists and students at a busy L&D unit in New York, and listening carefully to other birth professionals such as Debra, I have come to rely on needles less and less. Instead I focus mainly on understanding what is happening in birth from the perspective of Yin or Yang abundance or deficiency, and the free or obstructed flow of Qi. From that understanding, I teach a mixture of approaches for helping out before, during and after birth, using Chinese home care methods such as foot soaks, exercises and simple dietary modifications, as well as acupressure and Chinese bodywork (Tuina). Few acupuncturists are allowed to needle in hospitals, but most of them have friends, family and beloved patients who can benefit from their insight and touch throughout the birth journey. I therefore proposed to the publisher that the book should be a resource of primarily non-needling approaches for acupuncturists, and they agreed.
Daddy and I were swimming in a lagoon off of Tsoi Lik, when it occurred to me that my bleeding was almost a week late, which never happened. In fact, after almost three and a half years of unsuccessfully trying to conceive, we were near to giving up hope of having a baby. Grandma had come to Papua New Guinea on holiday and the three of us were adventuring in New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea’s most remote.
Floating in that magical lagoon, I took deep calming breaths.
I could be pregnant.
I told Papa.
In my documentary, Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret, Dr. Sarah Buckley says: “Personally I think the most effective form of pain relief for a laboring woman is to have people around her to support her and with whom she feels comfortable and relaxed.If she’s in a state where the hormones are working superbly as they do in an undisturbed birth, the need for pain relief will be very low.”
This is an essential concept in all of my work – the need for privacy, safety, support and encouragement.
If you want to learn how to achieve a pleasurable birth, I have the roadmap for you.
Cliteracy
What a wonderful word!
I love the reaction I receive when I say the word clitoris. At our Eat Pray Doula retreats in Bali, Ibu Robin Lim has us all yell clitoris every time we take a group picture.
Yes we count to three and yell “clitoris” and the pictures captured are always amazing – every person shining and laughing. I have brought that tradition to my Birth Day Presence doula workshops in Brooklyn, NY with the same wonderful results.
You can see it now that you look, can’t you? 😂
So I began to envision my upcoming birth. I wrote a detailed birth plan – things to resolve, changes to make and an experience to embrace. Even without taking one test or sonogram during pregnancy, I remained positive about my body’s natural ability to birth my baby. I began a process of undoing some of the fearful thinking that had prevented me from experiencing motherhood on a more blissful level. I also began internalizing the belief that birth – as with other aspects of life – is very much a self-fulfilling prophecy. My state of mind will determine its outcome.
Friday night the week spring arrived, I lit Shabbat candles and began feeling signs of labor. I sat on the couch reading a newspaper as my almost-five-year-old daughter played in the empty birthing pool my husband had pumped up earlier. We wouldn’t fill it with water until I was ready to get inside so that the water would be warm.
For the last fifty years, women have been told that hospital birth is safer than home birth, despite the research showing that this not true. Obviously, if you or your baby have a problem then having a hospital birth would be a sensible decision. If, however, you and your baby are fit and healthy home birth is as safe as birth in hospital.
Obstetric technology was developed to help women and babies with problems but, throughout the developed world those technologies are over-used, and as a result, many women end up with a cesarean operation to save them from the problems the interventions caused in the first place.
What if birth could be one of the most ecstatic, pleasurable and positive experiences of your life?
Our new ebook will guide you through the ABCs of Orgasmic Birth, how to use pleasure as a tool for birth and a bonus real-life orgasmic birth story.
Kelly Hoover Greenway from Yahoo Lifestyle says that Orgasmic Birth isn’t a myth – it’s actually a movement. But can birth really be orgasmic?
For many years I had wanted to tell my story to someone who would totally understand and “get it” and that person was Debra Pascali-Bonaro. After sharing my birth stories with Debra in Bali, I have never felt so validated and heard before, it was such a beautiful moment to share together and will remain very special to me forever. Debra affirmed my experience, with celebration, gentleness and so much love and understanding, and it was such a pleasure to feel that I could be true to the truth of what happened in those moments of my life.
Fortunately, the scientific community is finally catching up with what many of us already knew. There has been an overwhelming amount of studies with findings that are backing up the importance of having doula support during labor. These include fewer birth complications, reduced labor time, a decrease in pain levels, a boost in early breastfeeding scores, and positive mother-infant interaction. WeTheParents demonstrate the importance of 17 evidence-based benefits of doula-support.
So, what can you do?
Review my ten tips above and think about their importance for you to be able to open to birth. Birth is intimate and requires the same hormones to flow as when we are opening to orgasm. Things that will disturb your intimacy will disturb you when you are laboring and giving birth to your baby, can also make birth longer and more painful. Talk to your partner about your feelings, hire a doula and consider taking our online Pleasurable Birth Labor Essentials class to help you expand your Comfort and Pleasure kit, release your fears, and gain the confidence to create the birth your desire in any location with our tips and secrets to a birth filled with pleasure and love.
At that moment 2 Fire fighters show up to witness my husband catching my daughter and lifting her up for the world to see. Not a drop of blood ended up on my husbands clothes or feet which to me is hilarious and amazing!
The moment I pushed her out was the most euphoric feeling I have ever felt.
Unrecognized by medicine for years, myself and other birth workers were noting that childbirth was a fully integrated mind-body-soul experience, full of hormone release, emotions, and with deeply sacred and physical components. It was apparent that birth was designed to create ease in breastfeeding, bonding and the important attachment of MotherBaby love. Dr. Sarah Buckley’s Hormonal Physiology report was the science to back up all we knew and believed deep down – that a challenging or traumatic birth was creating more difficulties to overcome, often making it harder to breastfeed, increasing risks of depression and adjustment to parenthood.
The larger a child grows the more a mother will be subjected to the judgment of others, and this can push some to give up on breastfeeding earlier than they otherwise would.
Despite the World Health Organization recommending that breast milk can make up a part of a child’s diet for two years and beyond, it is rare to see Mothers make it past six months in western countries.
But why?
When I learned that I was pregnant to my second child the first thing that came to mind was “How am I going to give birth this time?”. My first birth although being quick and healthy was still a hospital birth and I felt very far from good during the whole process.
The “Giving Voice to Mothers Study” only further ignites my excitement to be named Co-Chair of the new International Childbirth Initiative (ICI). The International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization (IMBCO) and the Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) have joined forces developing a single global initiative to provide guidance and support for safe and respectful maternity care, building upon their previous work and incorporating the most recent evidence and insights into what constitutes optimal maternal and newborn health. The Initiative is endorsed by leading birth organizations around the world, and includes “12 Steps to Safe and Respectful MotherBaby-Family Maternity Care.”
Orgasms for the win! I am honored to be included in Kelly Hoover Greenway’s article this week in Romper recently – “5 Benefits Of Orgasm During Pregnancy You Need To Know About!” “If you haven’t heard the term “orgasmic birth,” … Continued
On Sunday, February 11th I woke up feeling a little strange. Nonetheless, as mom’s do- I got ready and my family and I left for the 9:30am service at Orchard Hill Church in Wexford, PA. I was a bit nauseous during the service, and remember stepping out into the lobby for some air. When we returned home, I took this adorable photo of my son, which would become the last picture I took of him as an only child! He was SO excited to become a big brother, and took practicing very seriously.
The Beautiful Work Challenge: On Birth
What are the essentials of birth? Who broke maternity care? Is transformation possible? Empowerment, disempowerment, the health of babies & society all begin at birth. Have you thought about these questions? I am honored to be a part along with many of my mentors, colleagues and friends in this powerful discussion in The Beautiful Work Challenge: On Birth–a new podcast.
Creating Space for a Sexy Birth
with Debra Pascali-Bonaro and Amy L. Gilliland, Ph.D., BDT(DONA)
Amy Gilliland joined me for a sexy webinar all about pleasure and birth in any setting.
We share:
Creating comfortable space for your sexuality in birth (even in the hospital)
The role of a doula and partner for your sexy birth
How sexual beliefs, perception and trauma can get in the way of a pleasurable birth
“Great info!! Thank you. Loved the rule of 3, Friendliness hormone, and the fact that pleasure and safety go together. Looking forward to more of these webinars, Amy and Debra!!!”
Red Miller joined me for a pleasure filled, orgasmic webinar. It’s filled with so many amazing tips for finding your own pleasure in birth and life.
We share:
-Preparing for a Pleasurable Birth
-How to Claim your Power Instead of Giving it Away
-Orgasmic Birth is more than Orgasm
-Self-Love Practices Every Pregnant Mamma Needs
-The most loving way to address an intervention
-What do your throat and your vagina have in common?
Today I have a very special reason to thank and celebrate Midwife, Lonnie Morris for not only being my midwife 30 years ago at her birth center in New Jersey, but as a dear friend, colleague and most recently for caring for my daughter Megan and helping to welcome my 4th grandson Jordan into the world!Lonnie and I have had the opportunity to attend many births together – friends, family and clients and most recently for my daughter too. It is so special when you can trust your children’s birth to the wise loving hands of a midwife you have know since my own births.
10 Years ago, we introduced you to Piper and Chaz as they welcomed their baby in our film, Orgasmic Birth. Since then, they have gone on to have 5 more babies, move to Hawaii, are unschooling their children, and are on a mission to support parents in their journeys to become parents.
Together they are Lovemore Lamaze, teaching Lamaze Childbirth Classes to expectant parents. Piper also serves families as a birth doula, midwife, and freebirthing consultant. Chaz shares his wisdom counseling partners in addressing their own fears and finding their intuition.
In our latest webinar, Piper and Chaz (along with cameos from the Lovemore pack), share their top tips for Communication and preparing for birth as partners. As Piper said “Birth is a grand foreshadowing of the tools you’ll need as a parent. So the less obstruction there is in downloading that information that is trying to come through, perhaps the more ease you’ll have in growing and expanding into parenthood.”
Gabriella A. Nelson shares “”City planners were no innocent bystanders in the abusive history of Black women’s bodies… Evidence indicates that housing instability is associated with low and very low birth weights, preterm delivery, infants that are small for their gestational age, and maternal and infant mortality.”
I gave myself to the process of birth. I trusted it unconditionally. I let go in every way that I could. I completely and entirely surrendered to my body and to the universe. I spent the years after my first cesarean truly soul-searching and working very hard on myself, to heal, to be at peace with my first birth story and most importantly to relinquish the concept of control. This took years of spiritual practice and yoga. When I got pregnant this time around, I felt empowered, peaceful and relaxed. I had no fear, no tension and no anxiety. I finally understood the connection amongst mind, body and soul, as it relates to pregnancy and birthing.
Birth is controlled by the natural flow of our hormones. It’s a perfectly orchestrated process for MotherBaby. As Valeriana says in our webinar below “it’s a perfectly choreographed dance with no dress rehearsal.”Watch our special webinar below and learn:Valeriana’s Top 6 books to read in pregnancyWhat’s a birth alter and why would you want to create oneWhy a homebirth supports hormones more than the hospitalWhy the pain of birth is extremely different than an injuryYou too can enjoy the flow of hormones at birth, as one of Valerian’s client’s said “hormones at birth made me feel like I was in an altered state, a lot like a dream. It allowed me to let go and just be with the experience. It took me out of my head, and put me into my body, I knew exactly what to do.”
“He saw the baby’s head come out, the baby sliding out and this time he was able to catch the baby! They then put her on my back to get some skin to skin. Daniel loved the experience and thought it was the best birth ever!”
About two and half years into my nursing career, I cared for a woman who changed the trajectory of what birth meant to me. She laughed her way through labor, made out with her husband between contractions, and was supported by her mother. This woman labored during a night shift, so the on-call OBGYN was asleep. It was just this woman, her husband, her mother and I, all working together to bring her baby into the world safely. Wow, what an incredible thing to be a part of! About two weeks after I helped this woman deliver her baby earthside, I applied to a Certified Nurse Midwifery Program. I am so pleased to say that I begin classes this April. As I go forth in my career, I carry the stories of many birthing people who were mistreated, just like my mom. In the United States, where intervention and cesarean rates have skyrocketed, I feel called to leave a positive mark in the birthing community, no matter how small.
I know it is hard to believe but YES, I got an ORGASMIC BIRTH! I literally DANCED my baby down! People around me know that I am passionate about birth and pregnancy, and since I found out about orgasmic birth I was preparing myself to get one! I mean, who wouldn’t want to get waves of pleasure instead of waves of pain during childbirth?
![Overcoming the fear of birth [video]](https://16sa5u2h2e9y8awyn2ktcnas-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Screen-Shot-2019-01-22-at-2.58.44-PM-365x365.png)
Expanding your sexuality, extreme sports, locking the door and a toothbrush for pleasure…
That’s just a taste of what Julie Bonapace and I chatted about on our webinar! It was so special connecting with my dear friend and together sharing ways to overcome fear and the pain that is created by it – in birth and in life.
It was in that class that I was first introduced to the book Orgasmic Birth.
I remember the whole class snickered at first at the concept that birth could be orgasmic, but I admit my ears perked up. I was already frustrated by how medicalized birth had become in the US but I had been so programmed that birth was painful and dangerous. This was the start of beginning to unlearn, or deprogram from that mindset.
If birth were treated as the intimate experience that it is – so much would change!
Like most everyone who’s ever given birth, I remember exactly when it started. It was around 4 am on a cold, winter Wednesday morning. Lying in bed in the darkness, trying to decide if “this” was “it.”
Nothing else existed, and I relished in the moment. In a secret knowing between baby and me, that -for now- was only ours to hold.
There is something so special being with Angelika, my host at Elysia Red Tent when we facilitate Doula circles. We are sisters on a journey Singing now as one Remembering the ancient ones The women and the wisdom We are … Continued
Art, Eroticism, Love, Passion, Pleasure Have you ever had one of those days that you waited for with excited anticipation and then it was even more magical than you could’ve imagined? After my first time speaking at ICM Congress in … Continued
I didn’t know that it could get better… And then it did! Midwifery Today is a special home for me and so many of my colleagues. I always meet new doulas, midwives, nurses, educators, and doctors who often feel alone … Continued
By Mary A. Whitlock At my recent DONA Doula training lead by the heartwarming and inspirational Doula trainer, Debra Pascali-Bonaro, I was reminded why I love my work as a doula and its positive impact on the community. It also … Continued
By Debra Pascali-Bonaro Imagine the day you will give birth, bringing a new life into the world. You have waited 9+ months – feeling new life moving within, anticipating labor, birth and what life will be like as a parent. … Continued
by Melissa Ambrosini There’s so much shame and taboo in society when it comes to sexuality… particularly women’s sexuality. This kind of shame is deeply ingrained in us — and so embedded in our stories and culture — that even … Continued
Byron Bay hinterlands – a dream homebirth story 18.9.2013 – The day before my estimated due date. After seeing my friend Priscylla and asking her little darling daughter Lyluna to tell the baby boy in my belly to finally come … Continued
10 essential questions to prepare for a safe gentle and pleasurable birth 1. Respect Do you feel respected by your caregiver and that all of your questions are answered with care and compassion? Respectful care and informed decision-making are … Continued
Mamas, Let’s Unite Over Breastfeeding by WeTheParents This year’s World Breastfeeding Week rocked! Finishing last week, this global celebration, once again, brought people together from all countries and cultures to pay homage to that most incredible and ancient of parenting … Continued
The United States is failing women and infants. Maternal and newborn health outcomes are worse than in other high-income nations, costs are high and many women cannot access safe, evidence-based maternity care that truly reflects their needs and preferences. The … Continued
by Sam Sundara My birth experience taught me about being open emotionally and how holding onto fear actually creates pain. I remember a moment through transitioning where I actually completely opened to those overwhelming sensations & feelings, and it was … Continued
What does a parent need postpartum? Information shared by Dr. Alessandra Bortolotti at a recent Postpartum Doula Workshop To be heard Trust Relationship Relaxation Intimacy: Sensuality – Connection Respect Consideration Protection Nourishment Nurturing To be accepted Rest What does a baby … Continued
As an activist, mother, and grandmother I am grateful for my connection to the past, present, and to vision my dreams and desires for a peaceful world that honors and respects all people and their ability to give birth and … Continued
Dads can bond with baby just as well as mom can. A loving, supportive father can provide much needed love and comfort during pregnancy and birth, they can bond with the newborn baby, and care for the mother. Daddies have … Continued
By @bornathome5 This is the story of my fifth homebirth. With four successful homebirths under my belt and a strong belief in the birth process and my body’s ability, my partner and I decided to try for an unassisted birth. … Continued
Eita Segawa was the inspirational organizer of the first Orgasmic Birth Screening in Japan. I was moved to meet him as the universe’s divine timing had me in Japan with Kiyoe to teach doula workshops at the exact time Orgasmic … Continued
As a childbirth educator and doula / Dona doula trainer, I see fear in childbirth growing, both in providers and consumers. While we are making improvement in many areas of life – in the U.S and some other countries childbirth … Continued
There is something magical about watching participants arrive into a doula workshop and slowly blossom and open like a lotus flower as they become part of the special circle of doulas supporting one another in birth and life. As … Continued
by Wholistic_unity During the time leading up to my daughters first birthday, all I could think about is the day she was born and how I’ll never be the same again. Being pregnant and going through labor and birth has … Continued
by shared by Brittney of Fractal Birth On the morning of November 29th, I woke up before my husband and daughter, which was unusual for me as I had been sleeping in so much the whole pregnancy. This was the exact … Continued
by Nichole B I discovered how inspiring photography could be for healing while sending pictures of myself to a good girlfriend a few years after I had my baby. During my pregnancy I had gained a good amount of … Continued
V-day is a great day to explore and create “Orgasmic – Pleasure”. Whether you are expecting to have a baby on Valentine’s, are pregnant, are a parent, or see parenthood in your future or not, you can create an Orgasmic … Continued
I am a mother of 3 beautiful children. My first 2 I had delivered in a hospital and my third was delivered [as a homebirth] in my living room. by Nichole from Wisconsin My first labor was pretty quick. 6 … Continued
It was almost a year ago that I marched on Washington for the Women’s March. What a year it has been since that powerful and transformative day. Since then the #MeToo Campaign began – with women from around the world … Continued
Enjoy this home birth story / natural delivery story submitted by Heather Iverson July 26, 2016 8pm surges start…I’m thinking it’s more prodromal labor that I had been having foe a few weeks off and on. So Kayden (my 5 year … Continued
by Natalie Telyatnikov When I was just 1 day shy of 41 weeks gestation, my midwife called me, concerned. “There are a few things that make homebirths less safe,” she said, “and this is one of them.” In this instance, my midwife … Continued
Throughout her-story there were rituals to prepare people for the rite of passage of birth and parenthood. These were often ceremonies that built self esteem, connection to family and community, healed and cleared obstacles in our relationship with parents, our … Continued
Savitha Kopperla Breech Birth Of One Brave Mamma, and her Breech Birth Story at 43 weeks complete! Rewind: Feb 2015: I helped her birth her footling breech baby girl naturally. In that pregnancy, she got so fed up with the … Continued
I take drugs, but only when I’m giving birth How is it that we have become more comfortable with technology, drugs and artificial hormones in childbirth, while at the same time we are seeing a movement back towards natural food … Continued
Will you be daring with me? Enjoy the replay of my webinar with Karen Brody talking about her new paradigm-breaking book, Daring to Rest: Reclaim Your Power with Yoga Nidra Rest Meditation. On the call, many of us were inspired … Continued
Note from Debra: My dear friend, Jaqueline Eddaoudi has been on an amazing journey giving birth to five children at home with her 6th is on the way. Jaqueline and I met when she was my translator for a big … Continued
“When you add Pleasure to Pain – Pain can become Pleasurable!” -Carina to Arizona in Grey’s Anatomy when discussing using masturbation to get a laboring mother’s natural oxytocin to flow, moving labor along in the most pleasurable way possible! Grey’s … Continued
For mothers who are thrilled with their birthing experience, For mothers that are not, For mothers to be that have no clue what to expect. By Tanja Nenadovic Vasquez This is the story about my pregnancy and natural, vaginal, … Continued
Lots of midwives and doulas have discovered in the last years how to use the Rebozo for their pregnant and birthing clients. This way of relaxing and moving during Pregnancy and birth comes from traditional midwives from Mexico (like Naoli … Continued
Birth story Sifra Door Caroline Devulder op 28-04-2017 Sweet Sifra, Your birth story begins on Saturday the 22nd of April 2017. At 00h40 I received a call from your mom telling me that her water broke. I was only asleep … Continued
Over 100 Reasons To Choose the Breast This World Breastfeeding Week Breastfeeding makes the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” all too real. The success of breastfeeding isn’t just reliant upon mom & baby, but upon … Continued
New research is strong that doulas reduce the chance of cesarean birth (or vacuum/forcep assisted birth, shorten length of labor, reduced use of pain medication, and a more positive birth experience. The newest review from the Cochrane Collective states that … Continued
Take 3 minutes to sit comfortably and consider which door you will choose when planning to birth with pleasure. Feel your connection to the earth, the floor, your breathe. Now, take 3 deep breaths and begin to feel your body … Continued
As a doula and film-maker, I’ve had the honor of attending all types of births, in all different locations – hospital, homebirth, and birth center births. Each birth is unique, each mother/father/partner/family, each care provider, each location. While homebirth is … Continued
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Why having a doula at your birth will help you to create a safe, satisfying and pleasurable birth experience! 1. Your (hospital, Doctor, Midwife) is AWESOME Many women believe they don’t need to hire a doula because their hospital is … Continued
We each bring our trust, confidence, courage and/or fears to birth. Our emotions are contagious and thus each person in a birth circle affects the others and the ability to slow or ease labor. As a doula, we begin the … Continued
What if someone told you that there was this magical button you could push – it would provide you with a safer outcome for your birth (less chance of cesarean and other interventions), you’d walk away with a better sense … Continued
I always planned a homebirth. My mother had planned for me to be born at home and it always just seemed like normal. But unfortunately due to a haemorrhage after my first was born I felt safer in hospital for … Continued
Science to the rescue for a Safe, Sexy, Scientific and (yes) Orgasmic Birth By Debra Pascali-Bonaro First, it’s important to talk about what makes birth UNSAFE. In our current model of maternity care there are many practices that increase … Continued
Turning a page for Maternity Care I am pleasantly surprised that we may be FINALLY turning a page in the her-story of medicalized maternity care. While most fields of medicine base their practices on the latest and best science, maternity care … Continued
What’s It Actually Like to Have an Orgasmic Birth? By Nina Bahadur “Orgasmic birth—a phenomenon of labor and delivery being pleasurable, also called ecstatic birth—is a controversial topic. One study estimates about 0.3 percent of women experience one. Some … Continued
After having a home birth with our first pregnancy, Daniel and I knew we would want to do another home birth with this pregnancy. We thought we would know what to expect… but this time was very different than our first!
From “The Mindful Cesarean”: “Jill Bergman on How to do Kangaroo Mother Care Following a Cesarean” By Mary Esther Malloy “When a baby must be born by cesarean, what can families do to optimize healthy birth hormones to best ensure … Continued
31 Years ago a doula movement began. Today I share my story of becoming a doula, the doula history – transformations that have begun, and the reality that so much more needs to be done. By Debra Pascali-Bonaro World Doula … Continued
by Mary Esther Malloy, MA Our Species’ Best Medicine for Parenting a Baby Following a Cesarean “Cesareans are good for many reasons,” says Nils Bergman, a South African physician and international promoter of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). “Yes, if medically … Continued
Introducing “The Mindful Cesarean” by Mary Esther Malloy, MA While most placentas move as the uterus grows, this one didn’t. It was covering Renee’s cervix, obstructing her baby’s exit. Her doctor was certain that a cesarean would be the best … Continued
Sarah Olney –we “underplay the achievements of mothers” in a Commons debate about International Women’s Day. “Although the experience leaves a lasting imprint, it is never fully acknowledged. the memory of childbirth remains with us, unshakeable, un-shareable, but never fully … Continued
by Blair Posmick We’d like to welcome Blair, our guest blogger for the next 24 or so weeks as she prepares to meet her baby. She starts her story with election day – a different kind of day for her … Continued
“The widespread use of synOT in managed labor warrants caution, as the influence of synOT on a new mother’s well-being is evident at 2 months postpartum.” Intrapartum Synthetic Oxytocin and Its Effects on Maternal Well-Being at 2 Months Postpartum. As … Continued
Parenthood. It’s a journey, an experience, and an evolution like no other. It changes the way you do, well, everything. From work, food, travel, fun, money, relationships and LIFE. There is an entire new person (or a few!) that needs … Continued
Kim Anami, sex and relationship coach shares how to lift weights with your vagina in this fun video. And then in this video Kim shows her STRONG vaginal muscles at work…and some amusing reactions! Love this and want more amazing … Continued
So many women are concerned about their postpartum recoveries… Will my vagina go back to the way it was? Will sex no longer be enjoyable? Will I have urinary incontinence? Kim Anami, is a globe-trotting coach, national media commentator … Continued
By: Dr Gauri Lowe is a mother, a doctor and a woman that empathizes with the journey of being a woman in today’s world. She appreciates the choices we face about birth, parenting and our own and our child’s … Continued
I am writing this as I fly home on a long overnight flight -I have so much energy and passion and thoughts swirling around in my head and I can’t sleep, nor have I been able to for the … Continued
Interview taken May 28th 2003 Seattle, WA – Penny Simkin’s home Wendy Freed the first “doula” shares how she couldn’t just observe women in labor. Click To Tweet In 1973, Wendy Freed, an undergraduate student at UC Irving, spent … Continued
I recently had the opportunity to be featured on Cosmopolitan Magazine’s Happy Hour Podcast. It was really fun sharing my message of love, power, pleasure and ORGASMIC BIRTH with the host. The podcast just went live, and it was a … Continued
“Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out. –Karl Augustus Menninger” YES. I really believe this – I believe that fear is mostly created by the unknown. I believe that by educating and empowering yourself, … Continued
Instead of crying, yelling or cursing when you stubbed your toe – what if you instead KISSED it? What would happen? @InaMayGaskin Click To Tweet My dear friend, colleague, and inspirational wise-woman, Ina May Gaskin recently joined me in New … Continued
I walked out of arrivals in Schipol airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands to the smiling face and big hugs from Thea van Tuyl. Our eyes and heart connected and the distance and time shrank away as it feels like yesterday we … Continued
As my journey continues… I arrived to Barcelona, Spain after 2 incredible weeks in Japan teaching and sharing about doulas – it was truly special and memorable – but I also fully ready for a holiday! I am often asked how I … Continued
by Samantha I should perhaps preface this story with the birth story of my first son. I was a Labor and Delivery nurse by trade, however my frustration with ‘the system’ led me to teaching. I teach nursing students … Continued
by Megan Stark What if every woman who wanted to breastfeed was supported in this choice, fully, by her family, peers, community, government, workplace, how different would our world be? World Breastfeeding Week is coming to a close today – and … Continued
Enjoying and enhancing your sexuality is an important aspect of your overall health and well-being. I have been following and learning from Kim Anami – an amazing sex and relationship coach, and was thrilled to meet Kim in person this … Continued
June 2016 Conference When I imagine travelling to Fiji, I envision the beautiful images that fill the internet – beaches, boats, scuba diving and snorkeling among coral reefs, colorful fish, manta rays and reef sharks, and the smiling faces of the … Continued
A documentary about three important passages of women : menstruation, childbirth and menopause Watch the trailer: Love this? Consider supporting the filmmaker and learn more about this awesome project! Learn more
I recently caught up with Arp Laszlo – a wonderful supportive partner and daddy who was featured in Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret. He has the famous line “For my next birth I would like a much bigger bathroom!” – … Continued
Do you ever wake and wonder what message your dream is telling you? When you are pregnant do you find that your dreams are even more vivid and offer insights to your changing body and world? Have you ever … Continued
By the CHANNEL MUM TEAM Revealing you experienced the Big O giving birth is almost always met with cries of ‘Oh No!’. From shock and revulsion to simple disbelief, so many people can’t comprehend that childbirth can be pain-free – … Continued
I was recently invited to speak at a women’s empowerment group in NYC to talk about the interconnected nature of birth, life and sexuality. I shared how powerful and supportive pleasure is at every stage of the birthing process- whether … Continued
Shared by Kristyn I was 41 weeks 4 days and had, had several bouts of practice labor that never went anywhere so I was growing discouraged. Baby had certainly kept me on my toes between having to be manually turned … Continued
Is your caregiver and/or facility Doula-Friendly? Read our guide for caregivers/providers & facilities to be more Doula-Friendly 1. Have a written policy that is routinely communicated to health-care staff explaining a mother’s right to unlimited support by a doula or persons … Continued
Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth can fill us many thoughts, fears, challenges and joys. I am honored to have been a part of the Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth Summit recently. Living a life that includes daily doses of pleasure has been … Continued
Now that Orgasmic Birth is becoming more mainstream, with coverage in major online publications such as Cosmo and Huff Post, where do we go from here? We were not alone in loving Angela Gallo’s recent declaration of how touching herself … Continued
Angela Gallo, author of “Why I touched myself in labour – here’s 3 reasons you should consider it, too!” shares her birth story with Orgasmic Birth readers. By Angela Gallo, Australia After a particularly trying week, emotions were running high … Continued
Thank you Saskia for sharing your story. I am honored to join Saskia for World Wide Fertility Week where I will be interviewed, along with 17 other experts from around the world, as we share what you can do to … Continued
I was excited to reconnect with Red Miller last fall when I was on a trip to Bali and my flight out of Singapore was cancelled due to volcanic activity. I sent messages to the two birth keepers I have … Continued
Click Listen Now or Play button to listen! Dr. Eve Agee is a mother, Founder of the Transform Coaching Academy, an anthropologist, and women’s empowerment expert. A healer and coach over 17 years, Eve’s #1 international bestselling book, The Uterine Health Companion: … Continued
By Angela Gallo, Australia After a particularly trying week, emotions were running high and that familiar late pregnancy impatience set in with a vengeance. I wasn’t sleeping much, and neither was RJ. Poor cricket certainly felt the strong pull of … Continued
By Angela Gallo “Yes, you heard me right. And don’t be so shocked. Birth & Sex operate in almost the exact same ways. The hormones, sensations, the anatomy involved, brain activity, receptors…they are all so heavily intertwined. Our vulvas swell, blood … Continued
Are you smiling and wondering if I mean in childbirth or as a part of your sexual life? I mean both – as childbirth is a part of our sexual life! I know you can agree with the idea of … Continued
The last meme in our Pain to Power Online Childbirth Class #languageofbirth series is released (see slideshow below)! Thank you for all the love! We have loved reading all your responses to the #languageofbirth series. Love this. . . such … Continued
By Jasper’s mother, Nichole Bergstrand I revised my birth story many times hoping to capture my audience in a way that would create emotion and thoughtfulness but, out of a personal desire to incorporate the private struggles that ultimately lead … Continued
Hidden dangers of baby cribs, baby mattresses, and baby skincare products. By Irina Webb I love working with new moms! It’s such a special time in a woman’s life; everything is new, everything their babies do is precious and newsworthy. … Continued
Written & Shared by Samantha Perkel, New Jersey Photos by Natalia Baechtol & Edited by Jane McCrae, Australia Thank you Samantha for sharing your birth story with Orgasmic Birth after taking Debra’s Birth Doula Workshop. Thank you Jane McCrae, featured … Continued
by Debra Pascali-Bonaro LCCE, BDT/PDT (DONA) A doula is in a unique position to protect, promote, support and advocate for respectful care for all MotherBabies. Doulas offer one on one care that is often lacking in childbirth around the world. … Continued
What do deafening (literally) orgasms and Orgasmic Birth (birthgasms) have in common? Find out from the latest episode of the fun, spicy and sexy podcast called “Sex Lives” by New York Magazine. Click image to listen now! What do deafening (literally) orgasms … Continued
Dr. Eve Agee joined Orgasmic Birth Debra Pascali-Bonaro to discuss “Vibrant Uterine Health for a Pleasurable Birth.” In the video clip below, Dr. Agee shares about the Power of the Uterus! Dr. Agee, PhD, is the international bestselling author of … Continued
Piper and Chaz were featured parents in the Orgasmic Birth movie and now join the movie director, Debra Pascali-Bonaro, for the Orgasmic Birth Virtual Conference to discuss “The Most Empowering Experience.” They are now parents of 5 free-learning children in … Continued
Get Up, Stand Up: Stand up for your Birth! Are you wondering what a Bob Marley song has to do with childbirth? Women around the world have labored and birthed standing up, often dancing their baby into the world with … Continued
Henry’s Easy Home Waterbirth in Sweden is shared by his mother, Amy I bundle up and waddle over to the neighbor with a bag of fancy granola and a small stuffed toy frog. It’s November 5th. Her baby is 2 … Continued
What do you think of when you think of a Powerful Birth? It’s possible to create a birth experience that you will treasure for a lifetime. What can you do as a partner, birthkeeper, friend to help a laboring woman … Continued
“Whenever and however you give birth, your experience will impact your emotions, your mind, your body, and your spirit for the rest of your life.” Ina May Gaskin. By Alison Sharma, Australia They knew, what I did not know then, … Continued
What I learn from home birth stories like this is that you will never know what to expect…. Shared by the mother Madison Lee Born: April 22nd at 1:20am (1 week after due date) When Daniel and I found out … Continued
Amanda shares her Birth story and her Ecstatic Childbirth Itzel (moon goddess, she of the rainbow) Rhea (flowing) The day before my due date, I woke up at 330 a.m. I was having trouble sleeping, I wrote two letters that the … Continued
Bree’s Natural Water Birth Story written and shared by Bree Neal, Texas I am so excited to finally sit down and write my birth story. Since the beginning of this amazing journey I have wanted to share my emotions, experiences … Continued
This past spring I had the pleasure of teaching a group of women at a DONA Birth Doula Workshop in New York City. One doula said “What you don’t know CAN hurt you!” so I asked her what she meant…. … Continued
At doula workshops, we contemplate doing vs. being…. Doula beginning with the word DO. I am suggesting that we become Be-las – practicing the art of being present and allowing the birthing woman and her partner to lead with their … Continued
“With birth comes power, both my births have made me realise the immense power and strength I hold within me”. – Mansi Ashta, India (who inspired this post) By Lina Duncan (Photo credit: @BornInBombay) I have witnessed many extremes of … Continued
BY ZAHRA MULROY On first reading, the term ‘birthgasm’ probably evokes a strong reaction. But of what? After all, while having an orgasm and childbirth do have ‘sex’ as a common denominator, they also seem worlds apart. READ MORE
As the sun rose one morning in late 2012, I gave birth to our son Charlie Reuben in a beautiful and relaxed birth at home. He was the first baby for my man, Brendan and I – and our first … Continued
What does finding pleasure in birth and life mean to you? The deeper I go into finding pleasure in life, the more the right teachers appear on my path. Enjoy some of my recent inspirations and let me know below … Continued
This article was originally published in DONA’s International Doula Magazine Volume 23, Issue 2 (Summer 2015) Issue “10 Tips for Doulas to Support MotherBaby Hormones: Lessons Learned From the Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing Report.” The Gentle Birth Revolution has gained … Continued
*River’s story is about childbearing loss, love, life and healing* Birth often takes us to a place we had never imagined. The extremes of all emotions can be felt in the short hours and long days. Birth can be so different … Continued
Last summer the Orgasmic Birth movie screened in Bulgaria. We are excited that it will screen again this year on June 20th at 10:30 am at Videlina Club in Varna and on July 1st at 6:30 pm at Estestveni Idei … Continued
After a few hours of feeling crampy on an evening in July, Amy & Dan decided to call their provider and their photographer…. Submitted by Amy & Dan Warren Dan (10:32 PM): I checked in with Amy and told her … Continued
Many of you have asked me how I have managed to bring my message out to so many, to speak and work around the world? I have shared one of the secret mentors (Marie Forleo), but up until now I … Continued
Last summer I was honored to attend an important meeting at the offices of the Ministry of Health in Rome with Dott. ssa (Doctor) Serena Battilomo, Director within the Ministry of Health for Prevention along with attorney Alessandra Battisti and … Continued
International Week of Respecting Childbirth (IWRC) May 17 – 24 is about speaking up and speaking out about all that is possible in childbirth so that we have more choices, receive more respect and are creating positive birth experiences and … Continued
By Hermine Hayes-Klein Like most people, I always thought childbirth was like the images I grew up seeing in the media. Women gave birth on their backs in hospital beds; doctors delivered babies, lifted them … Continued
Happy International Week of Respecting Childbirth! Gabriela, from Argentina, sent us these photos from last Thursday of women standing up for their human rights in childbirth, and right to midwife assisted homebirth. In the middle of one of the main … Continued
How did we come to disregard the sanctity of childbirth for MotherBaby? Why did we move from a social model where each woman was uniquely cared for and nurtured by a circle of women, friends, and family, to a technocractic … Continued
May is a month full of celebrations and honoring our Mothers, Midwives, Doulas and more! It was wonderful to start off the month as ‘Princess Kate’ (Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) shared with the world her confidence in waiting for labor to … Continued
I love to think about birth options as a menu- maybe it’s my Italian background that finds a good food analogy everywhere. When I think about birth I think about planning to go out for a special celebration dinner. I … Continued
When is the last time you played? Maybe you played with your children rolling around playing airplane on the floor landing in a cloud of giggles. Maybe you played with your partner intimately, who surprised you with a new intimate … Continued
Submitted by Kathryn Los The birth story of our sixth child begins with my Blessingway ceremony. Three weeks before my EDD, six friends and my sister came to my home to bless me on my journey to motherhood once again. … Continued
Submitted by Gypsy Whitford, Australia My Pregnancy and birth story… I knew that this was going to be a totally different pregnancy and birth experience- my first two were extremely medical and there were no midwives involved and they were … Continued
As you prepare for childbirth you are probably thinking about how to best care for your baby in the womb and your best options for giving birth so your baby arrives in a safe and pleasurable way. Sometimes we are … Continued
Do you watch birth on television? A study by Theresa Morris PhD and Katherine McInerney MA concluded, “Reality-based birth television programs do not give women an accurate portrayal of how women typically experience birth in the United States, nor are … Continued
Submitted by Samantha Noel Thank you, my beautiful son, for taking me on a journey like no other. Thank you for showing me patience. Thank you for teaching me to trust myself and for showing me the most blissful side … Continued
Sheila Kitzinger, social anthropologist and author of many books, including Birth & Sex, was such a treasure in more ways than I can express. (Read Orgasmic Birth blog, Why I Write About Birth and Sex by Sheila Kitzinger from October 2012). She … Continued
Submitted by Michelle, New York State Michelle’s First Birth… I was prepared for the worst… hoping for the best… and expected the average. The labor I got, was remarkable. My husband and I expected the average 16 hour first birth. … Continued
Have you considered why childbirth education began? Imagine it is 100 years ago- a time when birth all around the world took place in our homes. Birth was a part of our social, family life. Women gathered to offer support, … Continued
“For baby Koming, this is the biggest ceremony of her life as it is the first time she touches the earth- imagine if every child began their life with as much respect for our mother earth? What an amazing world … Continued
Every birth is a blessing! Being with Naomi was so special and sacred and yet we only met via email the day before! When I entered her home during labor I could feel immediately how to join the circle of … Continued
By Rebecca Mar Young My second birth was hotly anticipated. Would he come earlier than my daughter, being my second? I was taking no chances. Since my daughter was eight days over, I decided to tell everyone that our son … Continued
Submitted by: Dr. Amali Lokugamage Sir William Osler’s (1849-1919) Canadian physician and one of the four founding professors of John Hopkins Hospital had a famous quote which resonates with most clinical educators, their learners and, intuitively, patients alike: ‘for the … Continued
Have you thought about what you want to take with you from your birth into the rest of your life? What birth story do you want to tell your children and grandchildren? Have you wondered how you can create Pleasurable … Continued
International Women’s Day, March for Gender Equality and Women’s Rights March 8, 2015, New York City If you live near or would like to come visit New York City – let’s create and join the largest walk for Women’s Rights … Continued
View this 16 minute interview hosted by Anna Wilde of the Birth Whisperer with Orgasmic Birth Director, Debra Pascali Bonaro. Anna writes “find out what orgasmic birth is (it may not be what you think), and how to increase your … Continued
I believe this year is a turning point in understanding the power, pleasure and ecstasy that is available in childbirth for both MotherBaby. Dr. Sarah Buckley has published her landmark report on the hormones of childbirth, the ways they are … Continued
Submitted by Shiraz Ariel Drori, Israel I am a mother of three great kids, birth coach and doula and want to share with you a special story. The idea that there is a connection between the womb and orgasm had … Continued
Submitted by Emma Stewart (A story from the OBirth library) My birth journey began in 2005, when I became pregnant with my first daughter, Arwen. My husband and I believed that there must be a better way to birth than … Continued
The OBirth Community originally met Piper and Chaz in the Orgasmic Birth film and have been following them ever since, most recently as part of the en*theos Obirth Conference (their interview is now part of Pain to Power). Now we … Continued
The past few weeks we have been sharing the inspirational photo essay from OBirth alumns, Piper and Chaz. Today we are going to share a little background on what you have been seeing. How long did you imagine Piper had … Continued
Even the most confident birth goddesses in the world have their concerns! Photo courtesy of Sifra The trick is coping with those fears, concerns, worries or questions as they come up. Since we know that fear actually increases pain, it’s … Continued
What have hormones got to do with it? Do you know the amazing way you and your baby communicate hormonally during childbirth? For years now, I have been fascinated with the delicate process of how MotherBaby hormones work! I have … Continued
The OBirth Community originally met Piper and Chaz in the Orgasmic Birth film and have been following them ever since, most recently as part of the en*theos Obirth Conference (their interview is now part of Pain to Power). Now we … Continued
The OBirth Community originally met Piper and Chaz in the Orgasmic Birth film and have been following them ever since, most recently as part of the en*theos Obirth Conference (their interview is now part of Pain to Power). Now we … Continued
There is much to be grateful for in 2014 including my connection to you! Together we are making a difference as I believe Peace on Earth Begins at Birth! As a birth worker for 30 years, many of the events … Continued
Submitted by Eva, Sussex, England Orgasmic birth was a complete surprise to me. I had no idea women could orgasm during birth. I was 27 years old and pregnant with my third baby. I had planned on giving birth in … Continued
Exploring where your beliefs originated about your body and your sexuality is an important aspect to understanding what truly serves you and what view, values and restrictions you maybe putting on yourself that not only don’t serve you but also … Continued
