Are you managing your life rather than living it? In this episode, Augustine sits down with Kristen Brickl, an intuitive licensed professional counselor, to explore the transformative journey of women in midlife. They dive deep into the "Good Girl" arc—how childhood conditioning leads to adult over-functioning, people-pleasing, and eventually, physical and emotional burnout.

Specifically tailored for midwives and high-pressure caregivers, this conversation explores why "self-care" isn't just a luxury but a professional necessity. Kristen shares how our nervous systems impact not just our own health, but the way we co-regulate with the families we serve. If you’ve ever felt like you’re "giving from an empty cup" or losing your passion for your calling, this episode is a permission slip to stop, breathe, and reclaim your joy.

Key Highlights

• The Evolution of the Martyr: How the "Good Girl" of childhood becomes the "People Pleaser" of young adulthood and the "Over-functioning Martyr" of midlife.
• The Power of the Whisper: Recognizing the subtle signs of burnout before they turn into a "cosmic two-by-four" (health crises or autoimmune issues).
• The "Pause" Practice: A simple, transformative tool to reset your nervous system in the middle of a chaotic day or between client calls.
• Reparenting Your Inner Mean Girl: Shifting your internal monologue from criticism to the "loving bosom" of the Wise Adult.
• The Liminal Space: Navigating the "cringey" discomfort of transition—that moment in the birth canal of your own life where you can’t go back, but can’t yet see the way forward.
• Channel vs. Source: A revolutionary mindset shift for caregivers: how to be a channel for service without becoming the depleted source of it.
• Perinatal Psychology & Attachment: How a caregiver’s distracted or overwhelmed state affects a newborn’s ability to form secure attachments.

Resources Mentioned

• Book: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.
• Course: Boundaries for Birthworkers

Connect with Kristen Brickl

• Website: KristenBrickl.com
• Instagram: @kristen.brickl

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MWC Spring Break Sale! Course Bundles, Midwifery Equipment and more - upto 80% off!

In this warm and deeply moving episode, host Chetana sits down with Rachel — a mother, visionary, and midwifery student from Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia — who turned her own transformative birth experience into a mission to bring gentle, dignified birth care to one of the most underserved regions in the world.

Rachel shares how a VBAC at Bumi Sehat in Bali — under the care of the legendary Ibu Robin Lim — changed the entire course of her life. Returning home to Papua, she and her husband Ronald built AHBS (Angel Hiromi Bumi Sehat Papua) from the ground up: starting with just a plot of land, moving their own furniture into the building, and slowly gathering the equipment, midwives, and mentorship needed to open their doors in December 2019.

This episode is a love letter to the women of Papua — and to everyone who believes that every mother, no matter where she lives, deserves to be treated like a goddess.

In this episode we cover:

• Rachel's first C-section, and the longing for a normal birth that led her to Robin Lim in Bali
• What a VBAC at Bumi Sehat felt like — and why it changed everything
• The founding of Angel Hiromi Bumi Sehat (AHBS) - the only midwife-led birth center in Papua
• The role of Augustine (Maggie) in bringing gentle birth philosophy to Papua — and why her six-month visit left a lasting imprint
• Why Rachel decided to enroll in midwifery school herself — after her own staff told her she "knew nothing"
• The ongoing challenge of training midwives in gentle birth when mainstream protocols dominate
• What changed in the birth rooms after Chetana's visit — upright births, birthing balls, dim lighting, and mothers who don't want to go home
• Rachel's vision for AHBS: a third floor, an operating room for gentle cesareans, a dedicated training space, and an ultrasound room
• How AHBS is funded — and what continued support looks like

Resources & Links:
🌸 SPRING BREAK SALE Save BIG with our clearance and Course Bundle sale of the year! Save up to 50% on course bundles, grab our full Informed Consent & Refusal doc suite for $799 (reg. $1,599), shop our everything-must-go midwifery tools clearance, and get Premium Skool membership for just $69/month (reg. $89). Shop now → midwiferywisdomcollective.com

🌏 Learn more & follow AHBS: Instagram @AHBSPapua

🤝 Support AHBS - Travel with us to Papua: Join Chetana and a group of midwives visiting AHBS in August 2025 — more details on www.midwiferywisdom.com

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Mothering the Mother: African American Postpartum Traditions with Shafia Monroe

In this rich and powerful episode, host Augustine is joined by co-host Israel Johnson, Licensed Direct Entry Midwife and Certified Professional Midwife from Oregon, to welcome the legendary Shafia Monroe — midwife, author, cultural historian, and founder of the SMC Full Circle Doula Training, the first Black doula training launched nationally in 2002 in Portland, Oregon.

Shafia has just published her long-awaited book, Mothering the Mother: African American Postpartum Traditions, Recipes and Healing, and this conversation is a celebration of that birth — and so much more.

In this episode we cover:

• Shafia's 11-year journey from journal entry to published book
• Why African American postpartum care has been largely invisible — and why that must change
• The historical trauma Black mothers carry, and the healing power of returning to traditions
• Why anemia may be at the root of more postpartum depression than we realize
• The herbs every postpartum mother should have on hand
• Shafia's relationship with Erykah Badu, who wrote the foreword and called the book "the postpartum Bible"
• Why more clinical visits is NOT the same as postpartum care
• The ongoing "midwife problem" in America — and why change is urgently needed.
• The critical mass of home birth across US states and what it means for the future of midwifery
• Why we need to retire the word "patient" for pregnant people — and the word BIPOC
• The burnout crisis in midwifery and why we must return to a collective model

Resources & Links:

• 📖 Get the book: Mothering the Mother — Amazon
• 🌐 Learn more about Shafia Monroe: shafiamonroe.com
• 💼 Now Hiring: Clinical Director at New Birth Midwifery, Chaska MN — newbirthmidwifery.com/job-openings
• 🌿 New Course: Plant Medicine Midwife with Tara Compehos — midwiferywisdomcollective.com
• 🏡 Join our community: skool.com/midwiferywisdom