Taylor sat down with me to share her story just twelve weeks after her second homebirth. She says she felt reborn after both of her birth experiences, but describes this most recent one as especially healing. It came after an early second trimester miscarriage and a traumatic D&C, which led her to explore femininity, softness, loss, spirituality, and more. Fear emerged at different points during the pregnancy, but she returned to faith in the unknown time and time again.

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you'd like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net.

Intro / Outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Podcast cover photo by Karina Jensen @karinajensenphoto

Why do so many women leave birth feeling overwhelmed, unheard, or even traumatized? And what actually helps create a better birth experience?

In this episode, I'm joined by Erica Manto Paulson, a certified doula, childbirth educator, and certified clinical hypnotherapist who has supported families in birth for more than 20 years.

Erica's passion for this work began after her own VBAC experience, where the support of a skilled doula transformed her birth. That experience inspired her to dedicate her life to helping women feel informed, supported, and empowered throughout pregnancy and birth.

Erica brings not only deep knowledge, but also a genuine heart for this work that shines through in her every word.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why pregnancy and birth are nervous system experiences, not just medical events
• How to find the right care team
• Patterns Erica has seen in positive birth outcomes versus traumatic ones
• Words of wisdom for women who have experienced a traumatic birth
• How feeling heard, safe, and supported impacts labor, postpartum recovery, and mental health
• What advocacy really looks like in birth, and how families can speak up without creating conflict
• The powerful role doulas and support systems play in creating calmer, more confident birth experiences

Find Erica on Instagram @nurturecincy

Her website: www.welcometonurture.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nurturecincy

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you'd like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Intro / Outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Podcast cover photo by Karina Jensen @karinajensenphoto

Eva was working in a maternity home, a residential program that provides housing, prenatal care, and support for pregnant women in need, when she became pregnant with her first baby. Clear in her vision for birth, she chose midwifery care and planned a physiological, unmedicated birth at a midwife-run birth center.

Her labor was smooth, relatively quick, and deeply supported. But the weeks that followed were far more difficult than she expected. Reflecting now, Eva realizes that while she prepared carefully for birth, she had not prepared for postpartum, that tender, life-changing time when your body is still shared ground.

Today, Eva is a birth and postpartum doula. Her passion for supporting new families was born from her own experience navigating the beautiful and challenging transition into motherhood

Find Eva on Instagram @lunanataldoulacare

And at www.lunanataldoulacare.com

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you'd like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Intro / Outro music: Dreams by Markvard

Podcast cover photo by Karina Jensen @karinajensenphoto