Ep. 83: Birth is physical: What we’ve forgotten and how we can remember - with Natalie Meddings.

Dear Listeners, The Healthy Vagina Project is gradually cycling itself to an end … but not quite! Today I have the great joy to introduce you to Natalie Meddings! She has been supporting women through birth for over twenty years as a mother, doula and active birth teacher. She is also the author of How to Have a Baby and Why Homebirth Matters. Natalie approaches birth with deep respect for the body’s innate intelligence and sees it as an ongoing journey of learning and trust.In this episode, we explore why birth support matters so deeply - not only for how we give birth, but for how we come to trust ourselves in the process. We talk about birth as an initiation: not just into motherhood for our babies, but into a deeper relationship with ourselves. We also touch on the very physical reality that the way we birth, and how we experience our births, can influence the health and state of our vaginas and pelvic bowls.In this conversation we explored:💫 How modern life can leave us disconnected from our bodies - “heads on walking sticks”- and how this affects the way we approach birth.💫 The tendency to theorise about birth while remaining disconnected from its true physicality and intensity.💫 Natalie’s perspective that a healthy birth is in the mother’s gift, and that the mother’s body is designed to work on the baby’s behalf - giving women every reason to trust themselves completely.💫 How to navigate the negative narratives surrounding childbirth today, and how understanding the anatomy and physiology of birth can help women and birthing people approach birth with confidence and common sense.💫 A deeper (and delightfully geeky) dive into the science and mechanics of childbirth - from oxytocin and the brain–womb connection, to the importance of movement in labour, and how birth is a process of releasing tension so the baby can mould its way out of the mother’s body.💫 The role of a doula, and how our respective work - doula support and holistic pelvic care- intersect and complement one another in supporting women through birth and beyond.Enjoy!BIG LOVE, Flurina This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit flurinathali.substack.com