Welcome to the Free Birth Podcast, a supportive space for people who are learning, exploring,

and celebrating their autonomous choices in childbirth.

Together, while unpacked truths, share personal stories, and claim our ability to birth freely

and intuitively.

Here's your host, Emily Saldaya.

Exciting news listeners, the Free Birth Society apparel store has opened.

Head on over to freebirthsociety.com and check out the adorable onesies and toddler shirts,

adult tank tops, hoodies, and more, all celebrating messages of free birth.

Again, that's www.freebirthsociety.com.

This week I'm joined by Kristen from Orange County, California, who shares her intimate story

of self-discovery through pregnancy birth in postpartum. I particularly love Kristen's story

because she chose to work with a regulated midwife and created a way to still be the captain

of her pregnancy and birth. Kristen also shares about her struggles postpartum with breastfeeding

due to her son's lip and tongue ties and speaks to how the postpartum period is a true journey

of the underworld.

I always knew I wanted a home birth, like for several years, and then when I became pregnant,

I was like, all right, I want a home birth. I kind of fell into that category of like,

I'm a home birther, so this is what I need to do. These are the steps I need to take to make that

happen. And what I realized, like, slowly over the course of my pregnancy is like, okay, well,

I'm kind of just like going almost with the flow of what I expect, but what do I actually want?

Like, what is this actually about? And that's when it started to get really interesting,

right? Because then it's like, okay, well, if I could drop all the labels of trying to figure out

...