Episodes

  • Answers From the Hearth :: Kids At Birth

    Answers From the Hearth :: Kids At Birth
    Apr 22 2026

    In this episode, we sit down and talk through what it actually looks like to have kids present at a home birth. We share honestly about the nerves, the beauty, and all the unknowns that can come with it. From how we can prepare our children ahead of time, to having the right support in place during labor, this conversation really leans into being both intentional and flexible.

    We talk about how kids often come into birth with curiosity more than fear, and how our role is less about controlling their experience and more about creating a calm, safe space where they can observe, ask questions, and even participate in small ways if they want to. We also talk about letting go of perfect expectations and trusting that everyone will find their place in the moment.

    At the heart of it, this episode is about inviting our children into something that’s deeply normal and deeply sacred. It’s about the long-term impact of letting them witness birth, not as something scary or hidden, but as a natural part of family life and care.

    Connect:

    • Email us to say hi: hello@hearthmotherministries.com

    • Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the form

    • Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application

    • Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): Rooted in Eden PMA

    • Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother Journey

    From Lauren:

    • Instagram

    • Midwifery consults: Email rootedinedenpma@gmail.com

    From Brooke:

    • Instagram

    • Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)

    • Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox

    • Embrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)

    • Sister Birth: The Podcast - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the way

    Intro and Outra Music Credit -
    Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
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    21 mins
  • Answers from the Hearth: Husbands Role In Homebirth

    Answers from the Hearth: Husbands Role In Homebirth
    Apr 15 2026

    In our first Q&A episode , we’re talking about the powerful, grounding role dads can play during a home birth. From emotional support to practical help, husbands aren’t just “in the room”.

    We cover:

    • How dads can prepare ahead of time
    • Simple but meaningful ways to support mom during labor
    • What to expect when things get intense or unpredictable
    • The emotional impact this moment can have on partners too

    Connect:

    • Email us to say hi: hello@hearthmotherministries.com

    • Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the form

    • Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application

    • Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our private community (off Facebook): Rooted in Eden PMA

    • Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us inside Hearthmother Journey

    From Lauren:

    • Instagram

    • Midwifery consults: Email rootedinedenpma@gmail.com

    From Brooke:

    • Instagram

    • Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)

    • Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox

    • Embrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)

    • Sister Birth: The Podcast - short, beautifully scripted episode to encourage your along the way

    Intro and Outra Music Credit -
    Betty Dear By Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

    BIRTH STORY DISCLAIMER:

    The choices, beliefs, and opinions of the mamas sharing their stories are as individual as the storyteller herself and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or recommended choices of Lauren and/or Brooke.
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    17 mins
  • Preface To A New Mini Series

    Preface To A New Mini Series
    Apr 13 2026

    Welcome to our new mini series — think of this like voice texts you’d send your best friend.

    Short, honest, and unfiltered… these episodes are where we answer your questions in real time, share what’s actually going on behind the scenes, and talk through things the way we would if we were sitting on the couch together.

    Just real conversations about birth, motherhood, faith, and everything in between — the things you’re wondering, the things you’re walking through, and the things people don’t always say out loud.

    Some episodes will be light and chatty, some might go deeper, but all of them are meant to feel like you’re in the conversation with us.

    So send in your questions, listen in while you fold laundry or drive around with your kids, and come hang out with us for a few minutes at a time.
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    3 mins
  • Placenta Consumption: An Evolution of Conviction and Practice

    Placenta Consumption: An Evolution of Conviction and Practice
    Apr 8 2026
    This is one of those topics that can feel a little uncomfortable, but also really important to think through.consuming the placenta after birth has become pretty normalized in natural birth spaces. It’s often framed as instinctual, nourishing, even necessary for recovery. We’ve both had our own journeys with this. Asking, “Is this actually how the body was designed to function?”A lot of the arguments for it sound really convincing. Mammals do it, blood loss during birth, iron replenishment. Then there’s hormone balancing. The idea is that consuming the placenta helps smooth out the hormonal drop after birth. But that drop is part of the design. It signals the body to shift into postpartum mode. Reintroducing those hormones may actually interfere with that process instead of supporting it.There’s also the claim that it helps prevent postpartum mood disorders. That’s a powerful pull, but the research is mixed and largely anecdotal. Postpartum mental health is influenced by so many factors that it’s not something one practice can reliably control.Something we both experienced, before we could fully explain it, was just a sense of hesitation. That feeling of, “I’m not sure about this.” And sometimes your body is picking up on something before your mind has words for it.For us, this ultimately came down to alignment—physiologically, nutritionally, and spiritually.We aren’t just like other mammals or animals. We uniquely bear God’s image. The postpartum hormone shift is intentional, not something to override. Animals consume the placenta largely for survival reasons, which doesn’t apply to us. And scripturally, the only reference to anything like this is in a context of desperation, not wisdom.There’s also the reality that the placenta acts as a filter during pregnancy, holding onto substances from the environment. That’s something to consider in today’s world.The needs behind this are real—women need support after birth. But there are ways to meet those needs that work with the body: nutrient-dense foods for iron, rest and adequate nourishment for hormones, and strong support systems for mental health.At the end of the day, this isn’t about fear or judgment. It’s about slowing down, asking better questions, and making decisions from a place of clarity—not pressure.Eating the placenta after birth carries no health benefits, new study finds SHOW NOTES:The Sanctifed Womb article: Why You Might Want to Think Twice About Consuming the Placenta Postpartum as an Orthodox Christian — The Sanctified WombPlacenta is a dumping ground for genetic defectshttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03345-1Deuteronomy 28 Christian Standard BibleIn Search of Human Placentophagy: A Cross-Cultural Survey of Human Placenta Consumption, Disposal Practices, and Cultural BeliefsEating the placenta after birth carries no health benefits, new study findsConnect with the Holy Wild Birth team:Email us to say hi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠holywildbirth@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fill out the form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our FREE, private community (off Facebook):⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Hearthmother Ministries Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us this fall inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hearthmother Journey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Lauren:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Midwifery consults: Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rootedinedenpma@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Brooke:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Embrace Birth Journey ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)
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    47 mins
  • Gemma:: A Radically Holy Birth (and Re-Birth)!

    Gemma:: A Radically Holy Birth (and Re-Birth)!
    Apr 1 2026
    This episode is a deeply personal conversation with Gemma, who shares her journey through birth work, loss, faith, and what it has meant for her to be transformed along the way.Gemma has spent over eight years in the birth world, moving between the medical system, traditional midwifery, and unassisted birth, while building a homesteading life in rural British Columbia. Her story opens with profound loss, carrying and birthing twins at home, followed by a hemorrhage that brought her face to face with surrender in a way she had never experienced before. Just two weeks later, she found herself pregnant again, stepping into a season where peace and fear coexisted in a very real way.She shares how her upbringing in New Age and how her previous births left her feeling physically overwhelmed and, at times, traumatized. There was a deep longing to be rescued from the intensity of it all, paired with the weight of feeling like she had to carry everything on her own. During this pregnancy, everything began to shift. Gemma describes encounters with Jesus through dreams and visions, even as she wrestled with resistance. A question stayed with her, “Who told you you couldn’t be saved?” It marked the beginning of releasing the need to prove her strength and allowing herself to receive help.Hearing other women’s stories of inviting Christ into their births gave her language for what that could look like & she began to lean into faith more intentionally, especially as she navigated concerning symptoms and long stretches of time alone while her husband worked as a train conductor, often gone 12 hours a day.When labor began, she eventually came up against a wall of fear. In that moment, she felt a sense of being given true choice, an invitation to continue or seek help, and she chose to surrender more deeply.. Alone, she describes it as peaceful, flowing, and effective in a way that surprised her.She shares candidly about navigating meconium-stained waters and then a larger amount appearing later, and how she worked through the emotions that came with that. Worship music became a powerful anchor throughout labor, and at one point, crying out to God brought an immediate shift in her body and spirit.As birth progressed, she realized her baby was breech. She describes feeling coached through the pushing phase, staying present and supported as she brought her baby into the world.Throughout the story, fear becomes something different than an obstacle. It becomes an invitation to lean in, to trust more deeply, and to continue surrendering. LINKSHer post in our FB group: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=2274989219664289&set=gm.1601978701221077&idorvanity=181048103314151Gemma on IG (it’s on pause/archived for now): Gemma Epp 🕊️ (@wyldbirth) • Instagram profilereach out by email wyldbirth@gmail.comA Sacred Beginning book: A Sacred Beginning: Nurturing Your Body, Mind, and Soul during Baby's First Forty DaysConnect with the Holy Wild Birth team:Email us to say hi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠holywildbirth@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fill out the form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our FREE, private community (off Facebook):⁠⁠⁠⁠ Hearthmother Ministries Community⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us this fall inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hearthmother Journey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Lauren:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Midwifery consults: Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rootedinedenpma@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Brooke:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Embrace Birth Journey ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • Cup of Tea :: Slow Growth, Sacred Work

    Cup of Tea :: Slow Growth, Sacred Work
    Mar 11 2026

    In this episode of This Cup of Tea, we share what’s been unfolding behind the scenes in our lives and work lately — the questions that keep coming up, the slower-than-expected growth of Hearthmother Journey, and the sacred moments reminding us why we’re doing this work.

    From an 8-year marriage misunderstanding that finally came into clarity, to Brooke’s confirmation, to witnessing a breathtaking breech birth, we talk about the small and big ways God has been moving.

    We also share about the development of our Hearthmother Midwifery Unschool, our love of spreadsheets, app creation, and why building slowly might actually be the point.

    Pour a cup of tea and join us for a conversation about faith, vocation, motherhood, and trusting the quiet seasons.

    Show Notes:


    rainbow arch - Chris Harrison | BibleViz

    Laurens Bible Plan app - Threads of Scripture — Hearthmother Reading Plans

    bible project podcast Two Psalms That Sum Up the Hebrew Bible

    brookes substack - https://open.substack.com/pub/sothisisbrooke/p/on-the-eve-of-my-confirmation?r=6cizmf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

      • Connect with the Holy Wild Birth team:

        • Email us to say hi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠holywildbirth@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

        • Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fill out the form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

        • Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

        • Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our FREE, private community (off Facebook):⁠⁠⁠ Hearthmother Ministries Community⁠⁠⁠

        • Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us this fall inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hearthmother Journey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

        From Lauren:

        • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

        • Midwifery consults: Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rootedinedenpma@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

        From Brooke:

        • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

        • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)

        • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox

        • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Embrace Birth Journey ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)
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    56 mins
  • Roundtable:: Ways of the Hearthmother in all of life

    Roundtable:: Ways of the Hearthmother in all of life
    Feb 25 2026
    The Way of the Hearthmother episodeIn this special roundtable conversation, we gather students and graduates of the Hearthmother Journey to reflect on how The Way of the Hearthmother has shaped not only their birth work, but their inner lives, families, and daily rhythms.From first impressions to unexpected transformation, this conversation is honest, grounded, and deeply encouraging for anyone walking the path of sacred birth work — or considering it.Whether you are a doula, birthkeeper, mother, or woman longing for rooted work that flows from presence rather than performance, this episode offers lived testimony of what happens when formation runs deeper than information. In This Episode We Discuss:First EncountersEach woman shares her first introduction to The Way of the Hearthmother — whether through the podcast or through the course itself — and her initial reaction.What surprised themWhat felt confronting or affirmingHow they knew (or didn’t know yet) that this would change something in themWe explore the difference between consuming content and being formed by a way of life.The shift from technique to presenceOffering care that flows from rootedness rather than hustleReimagining what “success” looks like in birth spacesCreating offerings that feel aligned, spacious, and deeply personalThey reflect on how their posture — not just their skills — has changed.Marriage and communicationParenting and homemakingCommunity leadershipPersonal boundaries and discernmentSpiritual formationHow does The Way of the Hearthmother show up in the ordinary?In morning rhythmsIn hospitalityIn tending a homeIn how they listenIn how they hold space for themselvesPanel participants (all Hearthmother Journey grads or current students):Olivia Shingledecker, midwife apprentice, doula, and health coachAutumn Rose, traditional midwifeKrista Matlock, birthkeeperTrinity Miller, student midwife and doulaHannah Gingerich, doula and student midwifeConnect with the Holy Wild Birth team:Email us to say hi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠holywildbirth@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fill out the form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our FREE, private community (off Facebook):⁠⁠ Hearthmother Ministries Community⁠⁠Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us this fall inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hearthmother Journey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Lauren:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Midwifery consults: Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rootedinedenpma@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Brooke:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Embrace Birth Journey ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)
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    59 mins
  • Brandy:: Behold, I Am Doing A New Thing

    Brandy:: Behold, I Am Doing A New Thing
    Feb 18 2026
    We recorded this conversation on the anniversary of her sixth birth story — a sacred full-circle moment that set the tone for everything we shared.In this deeply vulnerable episode, Brandy opens her heart about the way God gently positioned her marriage and family to be ready to welcome new life. What looked ordinary at the time was actually divine preparation.During this pregnancy, she said yes to two big things:Enrolling in Hearthmother JourneyHiring Brooke as her birthkeeperThose decisions shaped not only her birth experience — but her spiritual formation in motherhood.We talk about the beauty and freedom of a wild pregnancy — where “prenatal care” meant whatever truly nourished her body, soul, and spirit. From our lakeside picnic prenatal visit to the quiet rhythms of listening and trusting, this pregnancy unfolded differently.She shares about:The false labor that surfaced deep emotional layers she needed to addressThe walking, sobbing, and long showers that became her late-pregnancy coping ritualsThe bold prayer: “Bring this baby forth.”We explore the sacred space at the end of pregnancy — the surrender, the unknown, the allowing things to flow instead of forcing.Brandy also opens up about something tender:The weight March has carried in her life. The loss and death associations tied to that month. And then — the redemption.“Behold, I am doing a new thing.”This episode is about trust.About surrender.About facing generational fear.About God rewriting timelines and associations.About new life blooming in months that once held grief.Connect with Brandy:Website || InstagramBlythe's written birth story and vlog by BrandyBirth Film made by BrookeBrooke's poetic reflections on Brandy's birthConnect with the Holy Wild Birth team:Email us to say hi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠holywildbirth@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fill out the form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our FREE, private community (off Facebook):⁠ Hearthmother Ministries Community⁠Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us this fall inside ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hearthmother Journey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Lauren:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Midwifery consults: Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rootedinedenpma@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠From Brooke:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Embrace Birth Journey ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)
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    1 hr and 32 mins