International Birth Stories with Expert Midwife - Kristine Lauria

Kristine Lauria is an international treasure and an absolute legend in the birth world. As a midwife for 36 years, she's attended over 5,000 births in at least 25 countries including hundreds of vaginal breeches and twins. Kristine uses most of her time working with MSF (Doctors Without Borders) and teaching for Breech Without Borders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breech education, training, and advocacy. In this episode, we explore:-Her origin story and what inspired her to be a midwife-How her mother's births impacted her-The challenges of supporting vaginal birth in low-resourced settings in her work with MSF (Doctors without Borders)-The problem with the perception of obstetrical risk in the United States-One of her biggest triumphs in the field: building rapport through postpartum psychosis and a language barrier in Sierra Leone-Staying grounded and present in challenging situations and maintaining nervous system resilience -The birth of her own son in Guatemala-Her biggest fear, living life to the fullest, and honoring the preciousness of lifeYou can find Kristine via:-Instagram @globalmidwife -Her blog https://midwifewithoutboundaries.wordpress.com/-Breech Without Borders: https://www.breechwithoutborders.org/