This week on the show I’m joined by Shari from Belly2Birth, a birth educator of over 13 years and now trauma-informed coach whose work has evolved into supporting women through the deeper emotional layers of birth and beyond.

In this conversation, we move into something that isn’t spoken about enough… the reality that more than 1 in 3 women walk away from birth carrying trauma. Today we explore how these experiences can stay with us long after birth… shaping the way we feel, respond, and move through motherhood.

This is a powerful conversation that brings birth trauma into the light… highlighting the depth of impact these experiences can have on a woman’s body, mind, and sense of self… and how important it is to have the space, support, and tools to process and release them as part of this rite of passage.

• The reality of birth trauma… and why it’s more common than we think
• How trauma can form through how a woman feels in her birth
• Shari’s personal experience and what shaped her work
• Why women can feel unheard or disconnected within the system
• The fawning response… and why many don’t speak up in the moment
• How trauma can show up later… often when something triggers it
• Why these experiences are held in the body
• The difference between reflecting on birth and actually processing it
• How past patterns and the subconscious can influence birth
• What it looks like to process, release, and move forward

Show Notes:

Shari | Belly2Birth

Instagram: @belly2birth

Website: www.belly2birth.com

Free Birth Debrief:

Shari offers free 1:1 birth debrief sessions - you can reach out to her via Instagram to book and check availability.

Use code POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all Shari's programs.

Mentioned in this episode:

Free Birth Debrief with Shari from Belly2Birth + 10% Off All Programs

Use code: POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all programs including Journey to Birth + a free birth debrief.

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

This week on the show I’m joined by Jaylene, a Canadian-born mother now living in New Zealand, whose journey into motherhood carries deep threads of grief, healing, intuition and trust.

Long before conception, Jaylene was navigating the devastating loss of her younger brother… a grief that reshaped her sense of timing, readiness.. It wasn’t until years later, after consciously creating space to reconnect with herself, that she stepped into pregnancy with intention and openness.

Throughout her pregnancy, Jaylene followed what felt aligned for her… immersing herself in positive birth stories, and trusting her body, which ultimately led her to choose to birth at home. However, when she discovered her baby was breech, she was met with resistance and had to deeply advocate for her choices, educating herself and standing firmly in what she knew to be right for her and her baby.

What unfolds is an extraordinary birth story… a fast, instinctive, under four-hour labour at home, where her son was born breech, in his own time and in his own way… on a date that carries profound meaning for her family.

Jaylene’s story is a powerful reflection of surrender, sovereignty, and trusting both the seen and unseen elements of birth.

In This Episode We Cover

1. Navigating deep grief before stepping into motherhood
2. Creating intentional space before conception
3. Pregnancy as a time of healing, reflection, and transition
4. Choosing a planned home birth in New Zealand
5. Discovering baby was breech and exploring options
6. Advocating for a breech vaginal birth outside standard recommendations
7. Preparing mentally, emotionally, and physically for birth
8. A fast and instinctive 3 hour 45 minute labour
9. Physiological breech birth at home with midwife support
10. Baby born on her late brother’s birthday

Resources + Mentions

Books

Hypnobirthing – Siobhan Miller

Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage – Rachel Reed

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – Ina May Gaskin

Education

Breech Without Borders

Spinning Babies

Share The Episode

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram @positivebirthaustralia so more women can discover these stories and feel supported in their own journey.

Mentioned in this episode:

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

Free Birth Debrief with Shari from Belly2Birth + 10% Off All Programs

Use code: POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all programs including Journey to Birth + a free birth debrief.

This week on the show I’m joined by Bianca, a Brisbane mum of two whose journey into motherhood is a powerful reflection of intuition, advocacy, and deep self-trust.

After experiencing a missed miscarriage, Bianca consciously prepared her body and mind before conceiving her first daughter, Bliss. Throughout her pregnancy, she immersed herself in birth education and began to question the mainstream narrative around birth, feeling strongly drawn toward a physiological home birth.

However, after being classified as “high risk” due to her epilepsy, Bianca found her options limited and ultimately entered the hospital system, where her plans began to unravel.

Bianca’s second pregnancy became a turning point… because this time she chose to follow the inner knowing she had felt all along. What unfolds is a deeply personal and transformative birth at home, where she sinks into the inner work, meets her fears head-on, and anchors into a level of trust she had always carried within.

In This Episode We Cover

1. Missed miscarriage and conscious conception
2. Preconception detox and preparing the body for pregnancy
3. Navigating pregnancy with epilepsy and being labelled “high risk”
4. Discovering physiological birth and the desire for home birth
5. Feeling limited by the system and shifting birth plans
6. Hospital birth experience and cascade of interventions
7. The emotional impact of feeling overridden during birth
8. Reflecting on giving away power vs reclaiming it
9. Choosing a sovereign/home birth for her second pregnancy
10. Inner work, fear release, and fully trusting her body during birth

Resources + Mentions

Instagram

@theblissfulwaters

Books

Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Dr Sarah Buckley

Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Dr Rachel Reed

Birth Course:

Free Birth Society

Birth Affirmations:

Yolande Norris-Clark

Share The Episode

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram so more women can discover these stories and feel supported in their own journey.

Mentioned in this episode:

Free Birth Debrief with Shari from Belly2Birth + 10% Off All Programs

Use code: POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all programs including Journey to Birth + a free birth debrief.

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs