Healing Birth with Carla

This podcast episode delves deep into the art of tuning into our bodies and trusting the messages we hear in response. Zarna’s story is a profound example of this. Her first birth was planned to be at home, but at 42 weeks of pregnancy her midwife was no longer willing to support her in a home birth. Zarna reluctantly agreed to a Misoprostol induction at the hospital. On entering her room, the obstetrician proclaimed, “What are you doing, your baby is not coming out this way!”, believing that Zarna’s uterine fibroids would be in the way of birthing her baby vaginally. A c section under GA ensued, along with the added threat of a potential hysterectomy should the fibroids cause extensive bleeding.
The OB advised Zarna against attempting a VBAC for any future pregnancies. But when pregnant with her next baby, her body told her otherwise. Zarna chose not to have any medical or midwifery care throughout her pregnancy, and despite her fibroids clearly taking up a good portion of space in her lower womb, she planned a home birth with just her man present, and a birth keeper in the wings.
Zarna’s is a remarkable story of tuning in, trust, and healing. She is eager to share her story of birthing with fibroids because she found there was such a lack of such stories for her to lean on in her own pregnancies. Just after our interview she sent me a message to say:
“... part of why I had wanted to share my story about having fibroids is because drs had told me that so many women have them but just don’t know they do, but many women have all of the symptoms of having them and will often be told that’s ’normal.’ I think the stats are even 1/4, and with me having them I haven't yet found a lot of support for holistically supporting the female body, and the options from the medical world I have been offered are for chemical menopause, surgery or womb removal! A huuuge part of my journey leading up to Taeo’s accidental conception was supporting my body to get ‘rid’ of the fibroids as I thought that if I did, that would be one less ‘obstacle’ for me to overcome in birth, and when we conceived him I had come to this point where I had no more symptoms of having the fibroids aside from being able to feel them with my hands. So I had wanted it to be known for any women who were listening and had fibroids and who wanted to speak or connect as well, I would love that, also because I’d love to hear what other women are doing and their wisdom and learning around them. It is cool that now after this birth the fibroids no longer feel like obstacles - I have such acceptance and love for them and all they have brought me for calling me deeper into trust in my body.”

Also discussed in this podcast episode:
* Microbiome seeding
* Managing fears that came up in pregnancy
* Women’s Circle support in Far North
* Empathy Angels service
* Meconium in the waters
* Partner’s ecstasy
* Vaginal tear - healed naturally with Manuka honey
* Wonderful postpartum

Connect with Zarna via her Instagram page @alignedwithzarna
Find out more about the far North Women’s Circle via Zarna or Hannah @embody_ensoul
Learn about Empathy Angels support (NZ only): empathyangels.co.nz

Today I speak with blossoming birth worker, and mother of two, Libby, from Birth Liberation. Her story reveals the lessons and growth her mothering journey has brought about, especially in trying to plan a reverent and undisturbed second birth. Libby birthed both of her babies at home, with the second being a free birth.
Tune in to hear about the challenges Libby faced in trying to achieve her desired birth, the reasons why her free birth was not the experience she had hoped for, but was the one she’d needed, and how the work that we did together helped Libby to unravel her trauma. Part of that work was training with me to become a certified Healing Birth practitioner so that she is now equipped with the skills and tools to help others to find healing after a traumatic birth experience.
If this podcast episode piques your own interest around my Healing Birth Practitioner Training course, you might want to explore joining my next training round, beginning on February 23rd, 2026. It’s an online course with both self-paced lesson content, and a weekly interactive Zoom session. This course is open to anyone with an interest in holistic birth trauma support, no matter where in the world you are based. A link to further details is posted below.
But for now, enjoy this enlightening journey that Libby takes us on, in sharing her story.
Follow Libby’s work on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birthliberation/
Learn more about the Healing Birth Practitioner Training course: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training
And more on an ‘Unravelling Your Trauma’ session: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/unravelling-your-trauma
Follow Ella’s work on Instagram to find out when upcoming Freebirth Circles are happening: https://www.instagram.com/earth.mama.wellbeing/
Take a look at Sophia’s offerings on her website: https://www.motherscircle.co.nz/
Libby’s postpartum doula, Leeya’s, Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/leeya_essence/

In this podcast episode I chat with Aleisha Black. She and her sister co-founded Miscarriage Matters, a charitable organisation whose aim is to improve the experiences of families who are met with the heartbreak of an early pregnancy loss. 
Tune in to hear about the compassionate work that Miscarriage Matters is undertaking, and the campaigning they’re doing to ensure maternity services are better meeting the needs of women who experience miscarriage.

Just a wee note first, since recording this podcast, Aleisha brought to my attention that in March this year, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) released new 'Miscarriage, Recurrent Miscarriage and Ectopic Pregnancy Clinical Guidelines'. Within the document RANZCOG defines recurrent miscarriage as the loss of two or more intrauterine pregnancies of up to 20 weeks gestation, whereas in our interview, Aleisha defines recurrent miscarriage as being the old definition of 'three or more consecutive miscarriages' since she was unaware of the new guideline at the time.

Check out the Miscarriage Matters website, and sign up to be a supporting member: [email protected]
Follow Miscarriage Matters on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miscarriage_matters_nz/ and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miscarriagemattersnz

In this podcast episode I speak with Emma Perks, a pelvic health physiotherapist. Emma is not only incredibly talented in her work, she has a heart of gold and a trauma informed approach, vital pieces of the puzzle when it comes to birth trauma prevention and healing.
In talking with Emma, I learnt that our pelvic floor is basically the bottom of our nervous system. In other words, what is going on with our pelvic floor will pretty much tell us how safe we are on the planet. Through this lens she explains why those who have a history of period problems, or PCOS, or endometriosis, or painful sex, or recurrent UTIs, anything related to the pelvic region, would do well to work with a pelvic health physio before giving birth.
So much of what Emma and I discuss highlights the powerful mind-body connection, and how key a subjective experience of safety is in preventing needless birth trauma and pelvic floor damage. Among much else, we talk about perineal massage, prenatal movement, pelvic girdle pain, reducing the likelihood of bad tears in birth, and what postpartum physio support entails.
I hope you find this podcast episode as informative, enlightening and encouraging as I did.

To connect with Emma, head to the Full Circle Physiotherapy website: https://fcphysio.co.nz/
Find Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullcirclephysio/
And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FullCirclePhysio
Purchase Emma's Pregnancy Prehab course for a reduced price: Health Practitioner Discount Prehab

This isn’t Chloe’s first podcast episode with me. I interviewed her back in May 2024 after learning about her traumatic first birth when she requested a debriefing session with one of the trainees from my Healing Birth Practitioner Training course. At that stage, Chloe hadn’t yet become pregnant again, so she didn’t have a story to share of a healing birth experience. Instead, she talked about Olivia’s difficult birth, and the journey she had travelled over the time since, including the healing work she’d done, and readying herself for the conscious conception of her next baby.
Today’s interview is all about that ‘next baby’ of Chloe’s - her pregnancy with him, his birth, and their early postpartum weeks. The two birth and new motherhood experiences Chloe has had couldn’t be more contrasting. Throughout Ruben’s pregnancy and birth Chloe chose to have no medical or midwifery input, not even a pregnancy test to confirm that the signs her body was giving were indeed due to a little bub growing in her womb. She so generously shares her powerful story of tuning in, trusting, asking for what’s needed, and surrender.
I highly recommend having a listen to Chloe’s first interview with me before diving into this one, if you haven’t already done so. Links to watch or listen are found below.

YouTube link for Chloe’s 1st episode: https://youtu.be/w39KiuTGx-k?si=m0DgbHfs4O4kipVy
Podcast link for Chloe’s 1st episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6CzZtHBlPdK16JZnSf86xM?si=BknUK9quRGaegVFkrQ46iA

Also discussed in this episode:
* partner's hesitations with unassisted birth
* Mother Blessing
* Reconciling a positive birth and postpartum after a traumatic first
* postpartum preparation
* community postpartum support
* naturally healing a tear