Elizabeth Bachner is a midwife, educator, speaker, and founder of GraceFull Birth. Originally from the east coast, she went to Tufts University and received her undergraduate degree in Child Psychology. She went back to school to become a National and California Licensed Acupuncturist and National Licensed Herbalist. In May 2003, she received “The Calling” to be a midwife. While training to become a midwife, she also gained additional therapeutic skills to support trauma and anxieties as a graduate of Ray Castellino’s Pre and Perinatal Psychology Foundation Training.

What happens to the clitoris during labor? Can you seed your baby after a C-section? Is it safe to have a home birth? Amanda chats with Elizabeth Bachner, CPM, educator, and founder of GraceFull Birth. They talk through freezing eggs, preparing for conception after 40, and how to approach birth if you have a history of sexual trauma.

Curious about a specific topic? Here’s what they cover:

  • Difference between midwifery and obstetrical care (0:25)
  • High risk vs low risk (5:00)
  • Is it safe to have a home birth (6:30)
  • How to prep the body pre-conception (9:27)
  • Birthing in your 40s (12:32)
  • Freezing eggs (18:26)
  • How to know what kind of birth you want (22:30)
  • How to approach birth if you have a history of sexual trauma (23:55)
  • EMDR and Havening techniques to prepare for birth (28:20)
  • What is Havening (34:04)
  • Pressure/expectations around the perfect birth (36:30)
  • VBAC (41:25)
  • Hip mobility (45)
  • Back labor and ideal baby positioning (47:30)
  • Laws around due date (53:17)
  • Induction and natural things you can do at home (1:02)
  • Hormonal release from membrane sweeping (1:05:22)
  • Semen and orgasm playing a role in induction (1:09:09)
  • How labor is similar to sex (1:09:54)
  • Empowered epidurals (1:20:33)
  • How to advocate for yourself in a hospital (1:26:30)
  • What happens to the clitoris during birth (1:30:12)
  • Tearing during birth (1:33:33)
  • Preparing for how birth will feel and the Epi-No (1:38:00)
  • The ejection reflex (1:42:20)
  • GBS (1:48:15)
  • Seeding after a c-section (1:52:25)
  • Babies born en caul (1:55:00)
  • Free birthing (1:58:15)
  • Similarities between birth and death (2:03:00)

Elizabeth Bachner, CPM: How to Advocate for Yourself in Birth

Watch the full interview here or listen below.

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