Marianne Tafani is a Pilates instructor known in the UAE as the "core strength guru". Three years ago, she gave birth to her first son, Adam, but things did not go to plan. Marianne had decided on a natural birth, but an unfortunate series of events and neglect on behalf of her care providers resulted in a traumatic experience.
Warning: This episode may be ... Show More
Jul 2022
Leen Sadder: The Decision to Freeze Your Eggs – and All It Entails
Leen Sadder is a Dubai-based designer, founder, community builder, and one of my dearest friends. On this episode of the podcast, she discusses her decision to freeze her eggs, why it took her so long and the fears that held her back from it, and the reaction of the people around ... Show More
1h 1m
Jun 2022
Kelsey Wells: A Story of Healing
One of world's biggest fitness personalities, Kelsey Wells, opens up about her healing journey, overcoming postpartum depression, managing her anxiety, overcoming body image issues, and making peace with her body.
48m 51s
Jun 2022
Dr. Heather Eade: Rethinking the Treatment of PCOS
Dr. Heather Eade is a naturopathic physician, specializing in integrative medicine in Dubai. On this episode of the podcast, she unpacks one of the most common disorders plaguing women today, polycystic ovary syndrome, and offers a refreshingly different take on the treatment of ... Show More
58m 18s
Jul 2023
You Are the Key | Part One of Neena’s Birth Stories
Neena’s first baby was breech at term, so she was given no other option but a planned cesarean. When she conceived again, she knew she wanted a VBAC, but even at her local “VBAC-friendly” practice, she was coerced, gaslit, and shamed, at nearly every interaction with them. Neena’ ... Show More
48m 40s
Oct 2020
Meet Jennie | A Dragon Mother is Born
My guest this week shares the story of the births of all three of her babies, with an emphasis on the birth of her twins one year ago. Her story is of the clearest examples of coercive, abusive, obstetric violence I have ever heard. We also talk about the importance of telling yo ... Show More
1h 6m
Feb 2024
Healing From a Homebirth Transfer
Busy with graduate school, and pregnant with her first child, Christina carefully chose her birth team and planned a to have a home birth. But her birth experience took an unexpected turn when, deep into her labor, her midwife decided they needed to transfer. Her baby was born on ... Show More
56m 33s
Oct 2023
Freebirth in the Peruvian Jungle
In her former role as a newborn photographer, Laura had witnessed plenty of births before having her own. She intuitively felt that something about the experience, as it occurs for most women, was wrong. When it came time for her to have her own first baby, she chose to have a wi ... Show More
53m 2s
Jun 2023
Choosing Sovereign Birth after the NICU
After a birth with many interventions, ending in a cesarean, Tamika’s first baby spent a harrowing few weeks in the NICU. When enough time had passed for Tamika to process it and heal, she was able to release the heavy weight of guilt she carried. And with a deeper trust in her b ... Show More
1h 9m
May 2024
Healing After Midwife Abandonment | Mindy’s Story
Mindy was a social worker, working in the labor and delivery ward of a hospital, when she became pregnant with her first child. She planned a home birth with a midwife with that first baby, but at 40 weeks and 4 days her midwife abandoned her care, leaving her with no other choic ... Show More
54m 48s
Sep 2023
Giving Birth in a Midwife-Run Hospital
Stephanie shares her two birth stories, both of which took place in a hospital staffed only by midwives, in rural Australia. Her first birth experience cracked her intuition wide open, and she says that it initiated her into the person she was meant to be. Her second birth was a ... Show More
1h 1m