Log in

goodpods headphones icon

To access all our features

Open the Goodpods app
Close icon
headphones
The Renegade Mama

The Renegade Mama

Natalie Rees

The Renegade Mama is about following your intuition not the institution. We are sovereign, we are free. We start at birth and end at death.
bookmark
Share icon

All episodes

Best episodes

Seasons

Top 10 The Renegade Mama Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Renegade Mama episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Renegade Mama for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Renegade Mama episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Renegade Mama - My Perfect ‘High Risk’ Freebirth
play

02/11/24 • 85 min

Today on the show I speak to the wonderful and bubbly Sarah. Hailing from Ireland - Sarah is a natural story teller and you just won’t be able to stop listening to this one. Sarah has 3 children and has had 4 losses. She is the epitome of ‘high risk’ for the system! Having had a c-section with her first, an advanced maternal age because she is 40, she’d had significant postpartum haemorrhages and also had taken a cocktail of drugs to ‘sustain’ this pregnancy - she had all the high risk boxes ticked. Sarah talks us through her absolutely horrific first birth where she was taken for a c-section at 10cm dilated - she was separated from her baby and only met her many hours after. Her second was a VBAC in hospital and although at the time is was comparatively amazing - in retrospect she realises all the flaws there. For her last pregnancy - she decided to freebirth late into the pregnancy and had the most amazing perfect birth. Sarah tells us how she handled her postpartum haemorrhage at home - clue - just look to nature. She finishes by telling us how amazing the feeling is after a freebirth and how she believes every mother deserves to feel this. You can hear in the interview how genuine and necessary this feeling is. Sarah is an absolute delight to listen and I hope you get as big a thrill out of listening to her as I did.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
Today on the show I speak to experienced doula and Mama of 3 Moran. Originally hailing from Israel - Moran fell pregnant with her first at 24 (nearly 20 years ago now!) after she had moved to Australia. Not knowing any friends who were pregnant or much about pregnancy at all - she went down the typical route and hired a private obstetrician and ended up with a birth that had ‘all the intervention’- just minus the c-section. Consequently the birth left her with postpartum anxiety and the thought that she would never have another biological child after that experience. But with time, came healing, awareness and a change in location where she had attracted like-minded friends. She decided to have another babe and by this stage heard about Doulas and hired one. This was a game changer for her and she emersed herself in learning about natural birth. Still in the medical paradigm - Moran had went with a private ob for this pregnancy too. As she was in labour at home, Moran listened to her body and she made the conscious decision to simply just stay home - proof that you can change your path at anytime. She talks about the joyous experience this was and how it changed everything for her. For her third Moran wanted to have another birth at home but ended up settling on a birth centre. This labour was much harder for her and we talk about the psychology of this - especially the fact that she really didn’t want to birth in hospital. We end by chatting about her opinion of circumcision as a Jewish woman and her tips for birthing women as an experienced Doula. I loved chatting to Moran - someone who came to freebirth well before it was in the 'zeitgeist' and did it simply because it felt right. Enjoy! About Moran: My name is Moran and I am a birth Doula, Lamaze childbirth educator, HypnoBirthing practitioner, Stillbirthday Doula and a Placenta encapsulation specialist. I have been working with families in birth for nearly 12 years now and it came as a work of passion which originally culminated from my own birth experiences. I have now supported hundreds of families through their birth preparation and through their births and I truly believe when women change their mindset around birth they open up the immense possibility of walking away from their births truly transformed into empowered mothers.
bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Today on the show I speak to mother of eight Elise. After losing her first (and only girl) in a hospital birth, Elise was devastated. She talks us through the process of being told her baby had died during labour and how having nearly every intervention possible didn’t save her baby. She doesn’t vilify the hospital or staff but rather reflects that sometimes as sad and as grief struck as we are - death happens. She then describes how her subsequent 3 pregnancies were test heavy and scheduled inductions. For number five she was with a new partner and decided on a homebirth with midwife which was a big change for her. Number 6 was an unnecessary home birth transfer and number 7 another home birth. For her last Elsie finally decided on a wild pregnancy and freebirth. Having experienced death of a baby first hand - Elise knew this was the safest option for her and her baby. She describes this birth as redeeming of her past traumas and cemented her trust in herself and her husband.

More about Elise -

Hi, I'm Elise, a mum to a boisterous boy tribe!

Having started my family journey young and green, I've moved through many levels of utilising the system, from blindly trusting.. to wholly trusting myself.

After my first birth ended in tragedy, I learnt many lessons with each subsequent birth.. and an now a fierce advocate for women embracing bodily and birth autonomy.. and birthing in their own power.

My family happily live outside the norm on a daily basis, as Unschoolers, life-learners, free birthers and (semi!) homesteaders.. generally finding our path off the beaten track.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Today on the show I speak to Jacqui about the peaceful birth and death of her baby girl Elise. Death is not often something talked about openly, especially since it’s almost always institutionalised and hidden away from the community. I personally feel it’s so important to honour death and become friends with it, as it’s a given we will all have to face it one day. Jacqui tells us of her wild pregnancy and freebirth and how some hours after, her baby girl passed away peacefully at home. Even though this was the hardest thing Jacqui has ever had to do (some parts of the interview are truly heart breaking) and there was a lot of grief for her and her family - she feels at peace with what happened. She talks about the benefits of freebirth when your baby dies and how she has integrated the experience. It’s an incredible honour to share Jacqui’s story and I am so grateful that she is open and vulnerable enough to let us in on one of the hardest yet most powerful experiences of her life. Thank you Jacqui.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Renegade Mama - Gloria Lemay - The grandmother of birth
play

12/10/23 • 90 min

Today on the show I speak to the phenomenal Gloria Le May. Gloria is a ex-midwife turned birth attendant after the Canadian government co-opted the word in 1998. Gloria starts by telling us of her own birth story and how she gave up her daughter for adoption when she was 17. Later she met her husband who was a physician and was a stockbroker herself. She never thought she would get into birth work, but how wrong she was. When she had her second daughter - she looked for the ‘best obstetrician’ and when none of them would meet her very basic requests, she sort help from a dutch midwife and had her baby at home. From then, there was no going back. Gloria since then has spent most of her time in birth work and talks us through her career including the very public court cases and 2 months in jail due to the witch hunt for midwives in Canada. If there ever was a picture of integrity - Gloria is it. She walks her talk and has so much wisdom to impart to us all. We end by talking about how she has changed over the years as a birth worker and where she sees birth heading in the future. Gloria is so much fun to talk to and I love how bold and brash she is - just what we need in the world right now!

Bio:

Gloria is an author, teacher and grandmother. She has worked in the childbirth field for the past 40 years, (17 of those as a midwife) and has had experience with over 1500 births. Gloria's film “Birth with Gloria Lemay” has sold over a thousand copies. Gloria has written many articles and has been published in Midwifery Today magazine and she is a popular online blogger at www.wisewomanwayofbirth.com. Gloria is a passionate advocate for the bodily integrity of boys and girls. She lives in Canada and travels all over North America in her role as a teacher and speak

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Today on the show I speak with Hayley Wilson about her journey to surrogacy. Hayley had two children of her own and decided she wanted to experience having another birth but without the baby at the end. She researched surrogacy and found a family she aligned with to carry their biological baby for them. She had five attempts to fall pregnant with the embryo, and it finally took on the last attempt. The pregnancy as you would suspect was a lot of drugs which she now sees as probably unnecessary. She said it was a hard pregnancy and in retrospect puts this down to the energetics of carrying someone else’s baby. Even though her and the parents were on the same page and both very respectful of each other - she talks about how there were still bumps in the road regarding bodily autonomy and conflicts in the birth space. In Australia commercial surrogacy is not legal and you can not be paid to be a surrogate, which you many may think is a better system. Altruistic Surrogacy which is legal in Australia and what Hayley did, still has it’s problems though. Hayley ends by telling us why she would never be a surrogate again and in reflection the other reasons why she did it. Hayley is beautifully honest and respectful. I loved hearing her journey of surrogacy and ultimately of her personal growth.

Bio:

Hayley Wilson is a self-led, matriarchal birth worker and mentor who wants every woman to access her inner depth, intuition and power. She believes in embodying matriarchy and uses a range of heart-led energetic practices to guide women toward their internal wisdom. Hayley supports her clients to unlearn and live in feminine alignment so they can curate the births and businesses of their dreams.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Today on the show I speak to Christie about her home birth and subsequent freebirth on her partners family farm in New Zealand. Although her first birth was overall “pretty great” there were things that she wasn’t quite happy with such as coached pushing, her babe being yanked out and a syntocinon shot for the placenta. For her second, even though her partner was gunning for a freebirth right from the start she was still unsure. She dipped in and out of the system and just a few weeks before the birth she decided to freebirth. This birth she decided to breath her baby out and said she slipped out with the perfect ‘textbook twist’. Her placenta didn’t come out straight away and she called the midwife who gave her the syntocinon shot in her first birth for advice. The midwife suggested for her to go to hospital but that didn’t feel right and she waited it out with her placenta being born 7.5 hours later. Christie and her partner Ben are such a beautiful couple and I love the faith and trust they have in each other.

More about Christie:

A couple of months after discovering she was pregnant covid hit and Christie and her long time partner chose his family farm in NZ to ride out the lockdowns and start their family. In a small hut on the property without power or hot water they water birthed their first child with the local midwife and chose the same spot to have their second. This time a simple free birth with no one but themselves. Their family now complete, they travel around the world following their whims and work.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Today on the show I speak to the gorgeous and young first time Mama Emma. Hailing from Burma Emma grew up in a world of pathology with both her parents as doctors and her Mum a literal pathologist. Emma’s birth was as far as you could get from freebirth with a planned c-section and her Mum making a decision from the start to not breastfeed her. After meeting her husband and them both converting to Catholicism - they fell pregnant and delved into their options. After a short period of denial about the pregnancy, Emma decided on freebirth as the most logical option. Although her husband didn’t agree he was supportive of her and her decision. The birth was a 3 day long labour but relatively pain free and simple. Breastfeeding was a breeze and Emma is absolutely loving motherhood. I love Emma’s confident and sure of herself nature. It’s inspiring to see this next generation coming through who’s rebellion is returning to their intuition, natural living and traditional values.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode
The Renegade Mama - Jamie Purdy - 2 unnecessary caesareans and 2 freebirths
play

10/22/23 • 83 min

Today on the show I speak with Jamie about the freebirth of her fourth child. After 2 unnecessary caesarean’s - Jaime had a left the system at 30 weeks and had a freebirth for her 3rd. You can listen this story in season 2 of the podcast.

For 4th, of course, there was no going back and she had a wild pregnancy and freebirth. We get to hear about how this baby come to her, even though her husband had said they were done and challenges with her friends along the way.

Overall though Jamie had uneventful pregnancy and a short 3.5 hour birth. The most remarkable thing about Jamie’s story is, how calm and centred she was when her babe took some minutes to take their first proper breath.

As we know in hospital this would have been completely pathologised and the interventions would have likely endangered her and her baby.

Jamie welcomed her baby into the world in their own time by simply talking, kissing and gently stroking him. She says she was not worried once and if you watch the video on her insta @thebondsofbirth you can see how natural and normal this process was for her.

What I love about Jamie is her no bullshit approach, what you see is what you get. She is so relatable and unpretentious you just want to be her friend. Enjoy this interview of this bold and strong woman.

More about Jamie:

My FBA2C, fourth pregnancy, first wild pregnancy, second freebirth; was a journey of how to handle things when shit gets hard and rewriting/changing the cycles and reactions to them instead of falling into the victim mode.

Navigating the loss of friendships and plans constantly falling through whilst trying to set myself up for a relaxed postpartum. Then working through an intense and fast 3.5 hour labour and honouring my babe as he took an extra long time to come into his body.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Today on the show I speak with Cat Price. Cat is a Mama of 2, an ex-midwifery student and more recently a birthkeeper. Cat had a wonderful first homebirth with a midwife which opened up a whole new world to her. For her second pregnancy she went on to decide that she’d like a freebirth but says that she was only 90% there. I find Cat’s story really interesting, as it’s an example of when we are not 100% aligned - how things can have the potential to go haywire. Although the birth was relatively straight forward - a comment from her doula really affected her. When her daughter was born - she decided to call an ambulance at the suggestion of the doula. These kind of power leaks where we listen to others over ourselves can have detrimental effects. The ambulance came - Cat knew everything was well and they left. But - consequently in the coming days - social services rocked up on her door unannounced. They berated her and harassed her in her vulnerable postpartum state. Cat understandably felt overwhelmed and shut done - she even started to question herself. She endured some very dark days postpartum but has recently come out the other side and has graciously been brave enough to share her story, which I know will be able to help others. I thank Cat for her open vulnerability - I am honoured to share her story.

More about Cat -

My name is Cat. I was born in South Africa but have lived in the UK since I was a baby. I am a wife and a mother-of-two. I'm a birthkeeper, a holder of sacred spaces and a weaver of words.

In 2017 I was training as a midwife in the system when I became unexpectedly pregnant with my first child. I gave birth to him in a simple and powerful birth at home (midwife-attended) that undid everything. As a result I swore off attending births myself and left my training, instead immersing myself in full-time mothering.

I later returned to assisting a local doula in running groups for new mothers and trained as a postpartum doula myself. I became unexpectedly pregnant again just before the Covid madness descended. After a wild pregnancy and freebirth (which was ultimately disturbed) with my daughter, I was subject to a Social Services investigation which desecrated my sacred postpartum time. These events inspired the darkest night of the soul that I've ever experienced.

Subsequently in early 2021, I witnessed the death of my beloved father-in-law at home. It opened my heart to the magic inherent in the rites of passage of both birth AND death.

With all that I have learned and embodied in the past few years, I have been moved recently to claim the title of "birthkeeper" and to begin to hold sacred space once again. It feels like coming home after the most arduous journey.

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

Show more best episodes

Toggle view more icon

FAQ

How many episodes does The Renegade Mama have?

The Renegade Mama currently has 90 episodes available.

What topics does The Renegade Mama cover?

The podcast is about Health & Fitness, Alternative Health and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on The Renegade Mama?

The episode title 'Freebirth Right From The Start - Thanks To The Path My Mother Laid.' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Renegade Mama?

The average episode length on The Renegade Mama is 73 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Renegade Mama released?

Episodes of The Renegade Mama are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Renegade Mama?

The first episode of The Renegade Mama was released on Apr 29, 2020.

Show more FAQ

Toggle view more icon

Comments