"Birth" encompasses a multitude of social, cultural, and political dimensions. Whether considering human rights, power dynamics in families, bodily autonomy, government schemes, hospital protocols, reproductive rights, or policies, all the macro and micro aspects of our existence that constitute 'Life' impact a woman's birth. Today, I'm joined by Sanjana Krishnan, a Political Scientist by profession, with a passion for regeneration. She is the co-founder of the Beejvan Biodiversity and Collaborative Research Foundation and also a home birthing mother of two daughters, who enjoys learning about ..read more

Sign up for the Free Birth Awareness Session: https://www.birthagni.com/contactus - Select 'upcoming free birth awareness' in the form Direct Registration: https://forms.gle/kYeTcRPMzZvWKcYA9 Contrary to her previous experience (EP 102) of a quick birth at the birth center, Sanjana manifested a slower transition this time and knew instinctively that she wanted to give birth at home, with her daughter as a witness to the simplicity of life and birth. We are often presented with the narrative of a painless birth and today the 'option' of a painless birth with medical interventions at play. Wha ..read more

If you have not heard Part I of this episode , please do to learn about the details of Namrita's empowering hospital birth that will help you connect the dots in this one.   This episode discusses Why did Namrita choose a homebirth after the first empowering hospital birth experience? What is the difference in care between a Gynaecologist or Midwife What does laboring in a home birth set up look like? How does leaving a vaginal tear to heal on its own look like as against a stiches? Find out the answers in Namrita's story , tune in now. Namrita is the founder of The Nesting Heart (@th ..read more

Namrita's first birth was at a hospital. This was her first exposure to childbirth education and her intuitive power in Birth. She changed doctors thrice eventually to build a team that supported her vision of birth. Yet, labour which cannot be tamed, took its own twisted path. How did Namrita traverse the labor land and came out euphoric is discussed in this part of her story? The experience was so powerful that she became a birth worker herself. Namrita is the founder of The Nesting Heart (@the.nestingheart). She is a birth and parenting educator, mentor and coach. Namrita is the mother of ..read more

Indian ecosystem greatly lacks the wisdom to support natural or normal births. Big cities are catching up with fancy equipments , packages and rooms.  The issue of Surgical births remains big still in India. What then are someone's options to birth naturally ? I often hear women say , " I understand all that you are saying but there are no doctors here who can support me" . We answer this for you !  Tune in to listen now. If you have any questions leave them on our mail or website or answer the question that comes with spotify! We will cover it in the future episodes. Support t ..read more

Birth Education is crucial to a positive , women centric birth experience, every birth worker would say that! In India, the industrialization of birth is rampant. The wave is being supported by hospitals where the birth classes are often filtered to suit the different commercial scenarios that may be taken into consideration during your Labor. I often, still see a lot of confusion on what birth looks like, "what can I do? Are my fears going to interfere with the process", asked a mother inspite of the preparation from the hospital.". This , in an independent birth preparation set up where you ..read more

Nurturing a mother goes beyond the physical aspects of dimming the lights during labor. While that is beneficial, listening to her throughout the pregnancy, her fears, dreams, aspirations, visions and views about her new life are crucial to her feeling empowered in her body and ability to birth. Feeling held and special during pregnancy also ensures the well being of the baby. The idea is to look at pregnancy as a wholesome experience, physical as well as emotional. The baby and the mother are a single entity long after birth as well. Their health and emotional well being function together ..read more

Ask a mother what she has heard about labor and she will quickly tell you, "It is a pain that is capable of breaking many bones". "It is the worst kind of pain any human can undertake" "My mum said it was horrible." Moreso, this is exactly what is shown in movies, media, print or social because we all love sensationalizing things. Our mothers, a generation ago were birthing in the hospitals, even if they had a normal birth, their experience may not be good because it was not a natural, physiological birth. It was very well a medically managed event. Tapasya , a natural birth advocate , bir ..read more

What happened when a mother in law did not let the mother feed her baby after delivery? Sanvita lying on a hospital bed waiting for the crying baby to find some comfort through her, anxious and guilty. She did not know what to do ! There was a chaos and in that chaos a Lactation Counselor was stuck with her duty to get the baby inititated on Breastfeeding as early as possible. Today's story has been inspired by a post from Yogyata Gandhi, a lactation counselor from Gurgram, India. The story although inspired is based on true events shared by Yogyata. We thank her for consenting to use the ref ..read more

What makes a birthing experience Respectful and Positive?  Is everything out of control when you birth?  Would you rather plan things?  Do we know how a positive birth experience really looks like? Our guest on today's podcast , Dr Janhavi Nilekani, a development economist, Founder and Chairperson of Aastrika Foundation - A Nilekani Philanthropies initiative that aims to bring respectful maternity care as a women's right to all sectors of the country through various entities, speaks to us about her experience of birthing in India and what led to this massive transformational ..read more