156. MyMaine Birth: Katie's planned home birth turned cesarean followed by two free births

Send us Fan Mail A home birth plan can unravel fast when fear, deadlines, and other people’s priorities start driving the room. Katie joins me to share three very different birth experiences that span from Maine, to France, and then Connecticut and what those births taught her about informed consent, and physiological birth. We talk honestly about her first pregnancy during COVID, the move to midcoast Maine, and how pressure when she was overdue shaped her options. Katie walks through a castor oil induction, a manual water break, a hospital transfer, and a cesarean birth, then names the real postpartum fallout: recovery limits, breastfeeding pressure, and the emotional weight that can linger for years after a C-section. From there, the story turns toward redemption and self-trust. Katie describes preparing for a VBAC abroad when providers won’t support her, using education, movement, rest, and a calmer environment to create the conditions she wants for labor. She also shares the side of free birth that rarely gets discussed: the bureaucratic and legal intimidation that can follow an out-of-system birth, and the hard choices families make to protect themselves. Additional Resources: MyMaineBirth.com Closing song by Kate Sutherland. You can find Kate's community songs and deep nature connection work online at KateSutherland.ca The Guardian Article - Title: Infludencer's made millions pushing 'wild' births - now the free birth society is linked to baby deaths around the world The Guardian Article - Title: She was like a deer in the headlights': How unskilled radical birthkeepers took hold in Canada The Guardian Article - Title: Five Key Findings from our investigation into the Free Birth Society The Guardian Article - Title: Friday Briefing: How the free birth society's philosophy contributed to a preventable death Interview - Exposed: the business linked to baby deaths around the world The Guardian Podcast - the BirthKeepers