Birth Time: the podcast

Interlude

Interlude Two: Debra Pascali-Bonaro

This is our second interlude where we invite a guest who was in our film, to come and join us to discuss where life has taken them since the film.

In this episode Jerusha Sutton, Zoe Naylor and Jo Hunter chat with the powerhouse that is Debra Pascali-Bonaro.

Debra is a globally renowned speaker, filmmaker, author, doula trainer and host of the Orgasmic Birth podcast, where she breaks barriers and explores love, intimacy, and pleasure in birth and parenting.

Debra is a mother, grandmother, and sought-after expert featured in parenting publications, documentaries, and media outlets worldwide.

Amongst many other things Debra directed the award-winning documentary Orgasmic Birth: The Best Kept Secret and co-authored the book Orgasmic Birth: Your guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth. She also leads the transformative Eat Pray Doula Retreats in Bali each year with Midwife Robin Lim.

We had such an inspiring catch up with Debra and we could’ve listened to her talk for hours. She shares with us her personal journey to birth work and advocacy and her experiences creating Orgasmic Birth: The Best Kept Secret documentary.

Debra offers invaluable insights into ways we can shift the mainstream narrative around birth and change traditional views by offering the concept that birth can be a pleasurable experience.

We also chat about her important work around the International Childbirth Initiative, her DONA International birth and postpartum doula training work, along with how she and Robin Lim together inspire doulas, midwives and birth professionals worldwide to support and embrace the power of birth through their Eat Pray Doula Retreats in Bali.

Debra has been supporting birthing women and people for over 40 years and her deep commitment to improving maternal health and education shines through with warmth and love in this episode. Enjoy.

Links

Debra Pacali-Bonaro
Website: www.debrapascalibonaro.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/debrapascalibonaro

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld

Jerusha Sutton
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo Hunter
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaftanmama

Zoe Naylor
Website: www.kaftanmama.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kaftanmama
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaftanmama

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Enjoying the podcast?

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

Series Two: Risk Factors in Childbirth and Who Defines Risk?

This series topic was borne from the recent happenings in the world of homebirth in Australia around Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practicing Midwives and the potential parameters that they will have to practice within.

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

Episode Five: Whose risk is it anyway? Dr Stuart J. Fischbein MD

Dr Stuart J. Fischbein MD or otherwise lovingly known as Dr Stu, is a community-based obstetrician and an Associate of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

He is a published author of the book “Fearless Pregnancy, Wisdom & Reassurance from a Doctor, A Midwife and A Mom” and has published many peer-reviewed papers relating to homebirth and breech birth out of the hospital setting.

His research on 100 home twin births has been submitted for publication.

After completing his residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, Dr Stu, spent 24 years assisting women with hospital birthing and, for the next 13 years, was a homebirth obstetrician who worked directly with midwives.

Since retiring from attending home births in 2022, Dr Stu has turned his focus to traveling around the world as a lecturer and advocate for reteaching breech & twin birth skills, respect for the normalcy of birth and honouring informed consent.

He hosts the weekly Birthing Instincts podcast with co-host Blyss Young and together they offer hope, reassurance and safe, honest evidence supported choices for those women who understand pregnancy is a normal bodily function not to be feared.

We talk with Dr Stu about his vast experience supporting breech and twin birth at home, we discuss risk and what it means to different women and different practitioners, and we pick his brain about insurance, the political climate around birth, money, obstetrics, the system and plenty more.

Be sure not to miss this one. Dr Stu isn’t scared to say it how it is, and we are so grateful and hold the deepest respect for his honesty and knowledge.

Links

Dr Stu
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthinginstincts
Website: www.birthinginstincts.com
Podcast: www.birthinginstinctspodcast.com

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Enjoying the podcast?

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

Series Two: Risk Factors in Childbirth and Who Defines Risk?

This series topic was borne from the recent happenings in the world of homebirth in Australia around Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practicing Midwives and the potential parameters that they will have to practice within.

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

Episode Four: Two birth stories with Mia Briski

Mia is a transformational birth coach and vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) mumma of two, whose daughter Kali was born at home on this day (the day of our interview) in 2022.

In this episode Mia shares with us her two very different births stories - an emergency caesarean and then a home birth.

Like so many, Mia’s emergency caesarean story kicks off with being induced and not knowing if and how to push back - the next chapter involves her overcoming her obstacles and having a beautiful birth at home.

If Mia was planning a VBAC at home today having previous gestational hypertension, Mia would fall into Cat B/C within the Australian College of Midwives Guidelines for Consultation and Referral.

As a result, Mia would not meet the proposed ‘low risk’ criteria which would allow a privately practising midwifes practice to be covered by professional indemnity insurance under the proposed changes, despite the fact that Mia had a straight forward, safe and beautiful VBAC at home.

Mia’s story shows us why a woman should be the person who determines what risk she is or is not willing to take.

Now Mia is harnessing the power of positive psychology and her own experience to guide women through home birth and to break down barriers.

Links

Mia Briski
Instagram: www.instagram.com/miabriski

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Enjoying the podcast?

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

Series Two: Risk Factors in Childbirth and Who Defines Risk?

This series topic was borne from the recent happenings in the world of homebirth in Australia around Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practicing Midwives and the potential parameters that they will have to practice within.

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

Episode Two: Choosing a future homebirth after two caesareans with Katelyn Commerford

In this episode Jerusha and Jo talk with Katelyn, who is a mother of two gorgeous girls, both born via caesarean – one under the care of a private obstetrician and one following a homebirth transfer with a private midwife.

Katelyn lives in Western Sydney on Darug land with her children and husband, Sam. She works as a doula, vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) mentor and educator, Kangatraining instructor, and women's circle facilitator, specifically hosting homebirth transfer circles and VBAC support circles.

She is also President of Homebirth NSW, co-host of the Australian VBAC Stories podcast, and perhaps most importantly, is a woman whose future birth choices would be drastically impacted by the professional indemnity insurance changes as they are currently proposed.

Katelyn takes us on the journey of her two labour and birth stories and openly shares some of the intricate details of her experiences and how they have shaped her decision making. She discusses with us the emotions that come with a homebirth transfer and how often women feel like they don’t belong.

We loved chatting with Katelyn and were struck by her ability to share her story with such raw and honest conviction. She shows us through her story the significance of a woman’s right to choose and the absolute importance of the woman defining risk for herself and her baby.

Links

Katelyn Commerford
Website: www.katelynthedoula.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/katelyn.doulaandnbac
Kangatraining: www.instragram.com/kangatraining_penrith
VBAC Podcast: www.instagram.com/australianvbacstories

Homebirth NSW
Website: www.homebirthnsw.org.au
Instagram: www.instragram.com/homebirthnewsouthwales
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HomebirthNSW

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Enjoying the podcast?

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.

Series Two: Risk Factors in Childbirth and Who Defines Risk?

This series topic was borne from the recent happenings in the world of homebirth in Australia around Professional Indemnity Insurance for Privately Practicing Midwives and the potential parameters that they will have to practice within.

Advocacy efforts are underway to ensure that women can continue to choose where and with whom they give birth and that midwives can continue to support them. Homebirth Australia (HBA) are asking people to write to their MPs informing them of how the proposed insurance will impact them personally. Please refer to HBA Instagram for more information: www.instagram.com/homebirth_australia

Episode Two: Homebirthing twins with Bibi Coxon

In this episode we are delighted to share our chat with Bibi Coxon. Bibi shares her own birth stories including the unassisted homebirth of her twins, as well as her work as a midwife supporting physiological twin births.

Bibi is a midwife and mum to 3 babies all born at home, including twins in Australia.

Her work and passion is in supporting women to have a positive birth experience.

Bibi has two degrees in Midwifery. One Italian and one Australian.

She has been teaching and educating actively in both countries and in both Italian and English.

Bibi is learning more and more from Breech Without Borders about breech and twins and will be training along side the Global Midwifery Director, Kristine Lauria in Italy 2024 and in Australia in April 2025 (registration link below).

The current situation places twin pregnancy into high risk clinics without continuity of care and without midwifery care which leads to higher rate of cesarean section and often trauma and separation from babies.

Bibi's dream is to be able to offer to every woman pregnant with twins at least midwifery continuity of care and normalise vaginal twin birth even when 1 or 2 babies are breech.

Her ultimate dream is to normalise twin homebirth, when conditions are physiological.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed talking to Bibi.

Links

Bibi Coxon
Websites for Homebirth: www.yourholisticmidwife.com.au
Website for Twins (under construction) www.birthingtwins.com
Breech Without Borders: www.breechwithoutborders.org
Newcastle Link for registering for Breech Without Border training for April 2025: www.breechwithoutborders.regfox.com/newcastle

Bibi's Instagram: www.instagram.com/your_holisticmidwife
Twins Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthingtwins

Podcast - Your Holistic Midwife: www.podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/your-holistic-midwife/id1714194516
Podcast - Birthing Twins (Launching 1st October 2024): www.podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/birthing-twins/id1768434007

Birth Time
Website: www.birthtime.world
Instagram: www.instagram.com/birthtimeworld
Facebook: www.facebook.com/birthtimeworld

Jerusha
Website: www.jerusha.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerushasutton
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerushasuttonphotography

Jo
Website: www.midwifejo.com.au
Instagram: www.instagram.com/midwifejohunter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidwifeJo

BIRTH TIME GIFT CARD: www.birthtime.world/watch-now
THE HANDBOOK: www.birthtime.world/the-handbook
MERCH: www.birthtime.world/shop

Enjoying the podcast?

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Thanks for listening, we appreciate every single one of you.