#447: Midwifery Past, Present and Future: Wisdom from Adele Rose
Birthing Instincts
Dr. Stuart Fischbein + Midwife Blyss Young
4.8 • 691 Ratings
🗓️ 7 January 2026
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this week’s episode Blyss interviews Adele Rose, an elder and mentor in the midwifery community, about her long-standing career and insights on the evolution of midwifery. Adele shares her personal journey from listening to her mom’s birth stories at the age of five to practicing as both a lay and licensed midwife for decades. They discuss the significant changes in community practices, the impact of licensure, and the current struggles faced by midwives and birthing women. Adele reflects on her renewed passion for birth work after experiencing setbacks, including the revocation of her license, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining a spiritual and meditative approach to midwifery. The conversation also touches on the influence of patriarchal systems in Western medicine, the rise of unassisted births, and the need for midwives to create supportive, non-hierarchical communities.
About Adele:
Adele’s interest in birth is literally life long. As the 8th of 9 children she began asking about her moms birth stories when she was about 5. This interest is still with her at 68 yrs. Home birth came into her consciousness at 14 yrs of age when she learned of the Santa Cruz birth collective, Raven Lang & her birth work through her writings. She began studying birth in earnest at 19 & attending births that same year. She practiced as a lay midwife 23-38, attended Birthingway Midwifery School in Portland OR which allowed her to obtain a license in WA & OR, practiced as a licensed midwife for 16 yrs, and now mostly retired & helping other midwives as they establish their practices.
Discussed in This Episode
Licensure and Its Impact on Midwifery
Managing Fear in Midwifery
The Importance of Spiritual Mindfulness in Midwifery
Challenges with Modern Birth Practices
Creating a Sacred Space for Birth
Reflections on Unassisted Births
Critique of Radical Birth Keeper Course
The Role of Midwives in Modern Society
Podcast Produced by: Raquel Hernandez, Pride and Joy Doula Care
This show is supported by
- WeNatal | Go to WeNatal.com/Birthinginstincts for a free magnesium with any subscription order, or wenatal.com/birthinginstinctswnp for the new Protein + offer.
- Christian Hypnobirthing | Go to christianhypnobirthing.com and use the code BI50 for 50% off your monthly subscription.
- Restorative Roots | Go to restorativeroots.com and use code BIRTHINGINSTINCTS to get $20 off
- Girls Who Know | Go to girlswhoknow.com and use code INSTINCTS for 15% off
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Burling Instincts Podcast. |
| 0:05.0 | I'm Dr. Stewart Fishbein, community-based practicing obstetrician and long-time advocate for birth choices. |
| 0:10.0 | And I'm Bliss Young, a licensed midwife. |
| 0:13.0 | Join us in our conversational style podcast where we talk about everything birth. |
| 0:17.0 | Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, but we're happy that you're here. So here we go. |
| 0:23.2 | Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good middle of the night. |
| 0:27.6 | Dr. Stu is still healing from his knee surgery. |
| 0:30.5 | And so I have the great honor and privilege of requesting a conversation with one of my mentors and elders, Adele Rose. |
| 0:39.4 | So hi, Adele. |
| 0:40.5 | Hi, Blanche. |
| 0:41.6 | Hi. |
| 0:42.6 | So she's going to tell you a little bit about who she is. |
| 0:45.1 | And then we're just going to talk about the history of midwifery as far as Adele's history |
| 0:50.3 | is concerned because she is an elder and has been in the midwifery community for many |
| 0:55.9 | decades. And then like what she's noticing about the changes in her community and maybe some |
| 1:02.7 | things that she's looking to do to support a shift in her community. So I did interview Adele for |
| 1:10.2 | at her feet and you can go on the first season |
| 1:12.7 | and listen to her whole beautiful interview. And I, it was such a magical encounter, Adele, |
| 1:18.5 | when someone suggested you because you weren't on my original list and then I reached out to you |
| 1:23.3 | and I kind of just came over that day and stayed over at your beautiful house in Astoria |
| 1:29.2 | and just has grown so fond of you and reach out to you for my own mentorship as a midwife |
| 1:36.1 | who's struggling with some of the things that are going on. So welcome to the Burthing Instincts |
... |
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