Healing Birth

I don’t really do trigger warnings.

We can never anticipate all the things that will be activating for people, and sometimes the absence of difficult conversations can be just as painful as their presence.

So when I opened this carousel about obstetric r**e with, “this may be triggering for some, but…” I wasn’t asking permission to speak. I was naming the discomfort and choosing to speak anyway.

Because when a woman is subjected to vaginal procedures without her consent, without explanation, and without sensitivity or care, it has a name. And naming it is often where healing begins.

The woman in this story carried it for five years. Five years of wondering whether she was even allowed to be angry. Her conditioning gave rise to her compliance. Gaslighting did the rest.

Until someone spoke the truth.

This is the work my practitioners do. We sit with women as they tell their stories exactly as they experienced them. We witness. We listen. We help them release shame and reconnect with their own capacity to heal.

The system benefits when women stay silent. Healing begins when they don’t.

If you’ve witnessed this in the birth room and know women deserve better, consider becoming a Healing Birth Practitioner.

Send me a DM if you’d like to explore whether the training is a fit for you.

x Carla

If you’re a birth worker, or someone who works with new mums, who wants to support traumatised mothers but hasn’t known how to get there... I want to talk to you about something.

I created the Seen, Held & Heard workshop because I know there are birth workers out there who care deeply about supporting traumatised mothers... and just aren’t sure how.
This workshop teaches the fundamentals of holistic birth trauma support.
I know you want to do better.
I want to help you get there.

I also know the timing hasn’t been right for a lot of you.
Finances are tight right now.

I’m feeling it too.

So I’m making some changes.

Same content.
Same teachings.
Simpler format, and a price that actually works.

$377 early bird.
$427 full ticket.
Two tickets for $700.
Afterpay available.
And yes, there’s now an online option too.

If this is something you’ve been sitting on... now is the time.
I’d love you to fill out a short survey so I know where in NZ to bring this workshop first. Tap here: https://s.surveyplanet.com/a6a76l6t

Let’s do this.
x Carla

Something I want you to know about healing from birth trauma...

Women come to me carrying guilt, shame, and a birth experience they’ve never told anyone the full truth of.
A burden that was never theirs to carry.

And most of them think healing means years of therapy.
A diagnosis.
Something long and complicated.

It doesn’t.

The biggest turning point on a woman’s healing journey happens in one moment.

When she finally feels safe enough to say out loud what actually happened to her.
To someone who can hold it. Who knows what to do with it.
That’s where everything shifts.
And being that person... I won’t lie. It feels like magic. Every single time.

If you’re carrying something from your birth and you’re not sure where to start, DM me. Let’s talk about how I can help.

I’m here when it feels right for you.

x Carla

Language in birth can wound without anyone knowing it happened.

I met a woman recently. As soon as she learned about the work I do, she started sharing the story of her traumatic birth.

She didn’t realise the words used in her pregnancy and birth had shaped the story she’d been telling herself ever since.

This happens more than anyone realises, and I see it every week, in most traumatic birth stories.

When I offer a new lens through which to see the ‘why’ behind their birth trauma, women often describe a weight being lifted.
They can breathe again.
There’s hope.
A new story emerges.

DM me if you’re ready for the freedom and relief that this work offers.

x Carla

nzbirth maternitycare nzmums birthworker

If you’re a birth worker in Aotearoa who has ever sat with a woman after a traumatic birth and not known what to do next, including when she is pregnant again after a traumatic first birth... this is for you.

Most birth workers refer her on and hope for the best. Not for lack of care. But because the system you trained in didn’t cover this. It wasn’t designed to.

Birth trauma support is a skill. And it starts with understanding what birth trauma actually is, what it does to a woman, and how to hold safe space for it properly.

Swipe through. This might change how you see this work.

Seen, Held and Heard is a 2-day weekend intensive with me, beginning in Hamilton on June 20-21.
Earlybird tickets are $749 and close 28 May.
Afterpay available.
Comment ‘SEEN’ to secure your spot.

x Carla

If you can’t talk about your birth without a knot in your chest... this is for you.

Birth experiences don’t have to look catastrophic to be counted as trauma.
It doesn’t have to be an emergency, your body being broken and abused in a number of different ways, a near miss, or something that made the news.

Sometimes it’s quieter than that... a feeling you can’t shake, a story you’ve never fully told, a sense that something went wrong that nobody else seems to notice.

These are the words of real women in Aotearoa. From my NZ Birth Trauma Survey.
Women who sometimes carried their birth experience for years before they knew what it was called.

If any of these words are yours... you are not overreacting. You are not broken. You didn’t fail.

It doesn’t have to be catastrophic. It just has to be your experience.

Healing is possible. And you are absolutely worthy of that healing.

Save this if it resonates. Share it with a woman who needs to hear it. Reach out if you’d like support to find healing.

x Carla