At Her Feet
Claim This Podcastby Blyss Young
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Podcast Overview
<p>Join the Bridge Midwives as they pull up a chair at the feet of elder midwives—from communities around the world—for heartfelt conversations about birth, memory, tradition, and transformation. Each episode unfolds stories rooted in lived experience, weaving personal narrative with the urgent need to preserve ancestral wisdom and bridge traditional knowledge with modern midwifery. With reverence and soul, this podcast honors midwives whose hands have shaped generations, listens deeply, and ensures their teachings continue to guide and inspire.</p><p><br></p><p>In the photo: Marina Alzugaray and Tanya Walker</p><p>Photo taken by: Kimberly Summer Zuleger</p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
6/12/2025
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Recent Episodes
October 2, 2025
Raven Lang Part 3 of 3: Midwifery, Boundaries, and the Weight of Change
<p>In this closing chapter of her three-part interview, Raven Lang reflects on the evolution of midwifery and her own transformation along the way. She remembers the simplicity of her early birth bag—herbs, string, and attentive listening—and contrasts it with later years when acupuncture and Chinese medicine informed her practice. From dramatic resuscitations to the quiet power of community birth traditions, her stories illuminate the breadth of what it meant to serve as a midwife in changing times.</p><p>Raven also speaks candidly about the pressures of money, licensure, and patriarchy, which fractured once-unified circles of midwives and reshaped the work into something more medicalized and fearful. In response, she emphasizes the necessity of boundaries, protecting one’s own energy, and reclaiming midwifery as a calling rooted in curiosity, courage, and reverence.</p><p>This conversation weaves together memory, poetry, and hard-won wisdom. It is both sobering and hopeful—a reminder that midwives are not only attendants at birth but gatekeepers at life’s thresholds, holding space with resilience, integrity, and love.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Mentioned in This Episode</strong></p><ul><li>Dr. Miriam Lee — pioneering acupuncturist and midwife who helped legalize acupuncture in California</li><li>Dr. Susan Chen — OB/GYN and Chinese medicine teacher</li><li>Dr. Kreavy — physician reference during Raven’s practice years</li><li>Dr. Resnick — physician mentioned in Raven’s reflections</li><li>Marshall Klaus — physician and author who influenced Raven’s thinking on medicine and power</li><li>Nathan Riley, MD — contemporary OB who supports midwives, and Blyss’ friend and colleague</li><li>Linda Bennett — one of the Santa Cruz midwives and Raven’s colleague. Listen to her episode <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2kbATyNM3GtiyxImoobzuL?si=3ed6c63eaa6d4eef" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</li><li>Kat and Kitty — early collaborators at the Santa Cruz birth center</li><li>Grandfather Semu & Grandmother Sisi — elders who presided at ceremonial community births</li><li>Gregory Bateson — anthropologist, referenced in Raven’s stories</li><li>Dave Brubeck — jazz musician connected through family lineage</li><li>Robin Lim — midwife and author of Placenta: The Forgotten Chakra. Find it <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Placenta-Forgotten-Chakra-Robin-Lim/dp/0976290758" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</li><li>Mayway Herbs Podcast — series where Raven later shared Chinese herbal teachings. Listen <a href="https://www.mayway.com/articles/mayway-herbs-podcast" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</li><li>The Lama Foundation (Taos, NM) — gathering place for early midwives</li><li>“The Voice of Labor” poem — an anonymous blessing gifted to Raven at a midwives’ gathering (full text below)</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Herbal Wisdom</strong></p><ul><li>Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) — used traditionally to slow postpartum bleeding and tone the uterus.</li><li>Dried Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica) — mineral-rich, restorative, and supportive for lactation and recovery after blood loss.</li><li>Trillium (“Beth Root,” Trillium erectum) — historically called “birthroot,” valued as a uterine tonic and hemostatic.</li><li>Ginseng (Panax ginseng) — strengthens vitality and qi, sometimes included in hemorrhage protocols.</li><li>Yunnan Baiyao (云南白药) — a renowned Chinese formula for stopping bleeding, carried in many birth bags.</li><li>Pollen Type A (Typha angustifolia pollen, Pu Huang) — a Chinese remedy specifically for uterine bleeding, especially effective when charred.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>The Voice of Labor</strong></p><p>An anonymous poem, gifted to Raven at a midwives’ gathering</p><p><br></p><p>Let my touch move through you as the time draws near.</p><p>Gentle at first my call you will hear,</p><p>Let go and come freely to bathe in me,</p><p>Sink deeper and deeper into my belly.</p><p><br></p><p>Feel my caresses become strong and fierce.</p><p>Don’t turn away. Glide into the darkness.</p><p>Let my waves rush and ease over you.</p><p><br></p><p>Let my fury unfold as I make my way through.</p><p>Though my dance becomes harsh, my love is your guide.</p><p>Though my valley is fearsome, you will see through my eyes.</p><p><br></p><p>I know the way well. You are never alone.</p><p>Your path is well lit for this new journey home.</p><p><br></p><p>So come into my womb and surrender your fear,</p><p>For the great transformation is once again here.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.</p><p>Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit<a href="https://form.jotform.com/250828236664160" rel="nofollow"> bridgemidwives.com</a> for more information on how to donate.</p><p><a href="https://bridgemidwives.com/communitycircles" rel="nofollow">Community Circles</a> (First Thursdays of each month)</p><p>Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons</p><p>Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young</p><p>Instagram:<a href="http://instagram.com/thebridgemidwives" rel="nofollow"> @TheBridgeMidwives</a></p><p>Join our Facebook community:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1221793742682859" rel="nofollow"> The Bridge Midwives Project</a></p>
September 25, 2025
Raven Lang Part 2 of 3: Rising as a Leader in the Homebirth Movement
<p><span>In last week’s episode, Raven shared how she was first called into midwifery. This week, we hear how she rose as a leader during the early homebirth movement in Santa Cruz.</span></p><p><span>Raven describes the study groups, living-room prenatals, and the creation of the Santa Cruz Birth Center. Out of these gatherings came her groundbreaking book, The Birth Book, a collection of women’s stories that carried the movement forward.</span></p><p><span>She also recalls the resistance — public health warnings, phones tapped, and the raid on the birth center. Even under pressure, Raven and her peers kept going, building midwifery from the ground up.</span></p><p><span>This episode marks the moment when Raven stepped from witness to leader, helping shape a new culture of birth.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Mentioned in This Episode</strong></p><ul><li><span>Kitty Lakos — RN and midwife, co-founder of the Santa Cruz Birth Center </span></li><li><span>Kate Bowland — early homebirth midwife, part of the Santa Cruz collective </span></li><li><span>Dr. Stuart “Don” Creevy — OB who mentored Raven and supported natural birth </span></li><li><span>Dr. Thomas Brewer — physician known for research on nutrition and hypertension in pregnancy </span></li><li><span>Dr. Marshall Klaus — pediatrician who introduced the concept of bonding between mother and baby </span></li><li><span>Dr. Barry Brazelton — pediatrician and researcher who worked with Klaus on attachment studies </span></li><li><span>Dr. Rebecca Barroso — Cuban-born midwife, later earned a PhD and became a professor at Frontier Nursing University</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Books & Resources</strong></p><ul><li><span>The Birth Book by Raven Lang — one of the first modern collections of women’s birth stories </span></li><li><span>Manual for Rural Midwives — concise international midwifery text translated into English </span></li><li><span>Writings of Dr. Thomas Brewer — focused on diet, blood pressure, and maternal health </span></li><li><span>Research on bonding and attachment by Marshall Klaus & Barry Brazelton — foundational studies on maternal-infant connection</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Herbs, Homeopathy & Hands-on Skills</strong></p><ul><li><span>Palpation and maternal touch — learning through feel and observation </span></li><li><span>Perineal massage — something Raven encouraged for preparing the body for birth, though midwives hold differing opinions on its value </span></li><li><span>Study-group learning — urine dipsticks, blood pressure, and case-by-case pathology </span></li><li><span>Suturing — early skills passed through mentorship and peer support</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Pharmaceuticals Mentioned</strong></p><ul><li><span>Demerol — an opioid pain medication widely used in hospital births at the time, often leaving mothers groggy and newborns sedated </span></li><li><span>Pitocin — routinely given in hospitals to induce or speed up labor</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><span>Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.</span></p><p><span>Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit</span><a href="https://form.jotform.com/250828236664160" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="https://form.jotform.com/250828236664160" rel="nofollow">bridgemidwives.com</a><span> for more information on how to donate.</span></p><p><a href="https://bridgemidwives.com/communitycircles" rel="nofollow">Community Circles</a><span> (First Thursdays of each month)</span></p><p><span>Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons</span></p><p><span>Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young</span></p><p><span>Instagram:</span><a href="http://instagram.com/thebridgemidwives" rel="nofollow"> @TheBridgeMidwives</a></p><p><span>Join our Facebook community:</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1221793742682859" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1221793742682859" rel="nofollow">The Bridge Midwives Project</a></p>
September 18, 2025
Raven Lang : The Birth Book and the Reawakening Part 1
<p><span>In this first of a three-part series, Blyss sits with Raven Lang — one of the most influential midwives in America and author of The Birth Book (1972). Often credited with sparking the home birth revival on the West Coast, Raven’s voice and vision helped lay the foundation for modern midwifery in the United States. Her groundbreaking Birth Book became a touchstone for countless families and midwives seeking alternatives to hospital birth, and her ideas on imprinting and the formation of motherly love changed how generations would understand the postpartum bond.</span></p><p><span>This episode sets the stage for the next two parts of Raven’s remarkable story.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Raven Shares</strong></p><ul><li><span>She shares about her upbringing in San Francisco’s North Beach,</span></li><li><span>her struggles with childhood illness and Catholic schooling, and</span></li><li><span>the fierce independence that shaped her feminist awakening.</span></li><li><span>Raven reflects on her first birth at Stanford in 1968 — an experience both empowering and unsettling — that propelled her into childbirth education, goat-keeping, and eventually attending births in Santa Cruz.</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Mentioned in this Episode</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Book-Raven-Lang/dp/0394713335" rel="nofollow">The Birth Book by Raven Lang</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Immaculate-Deception-Myth-Childbirth/dp/0914252035" rel="nofollow">Immaculate Deception by Suzanne Arms</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Childbirth-Without-Fear-Principles-Practice/dp/0953096467" rel="nofollow">Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Painless-Childbirth-Natural-Lamaze-Method/dp/0812880214" rel="nofollow">Painless Childbirth by Fernand Lamaze</a></li><li><span>Peter Nash – California physician who briefly attended home births</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><span>Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.</span></p><p><span>Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit</span><a href="https://form.jotform.com/250828236664160" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="https://form.jotform.com/250828236664160" rel="nofollow">bridgemidwives.com</a><span> for more information on how to donate.</span></p><p><a href="https://bridgemidwives.com/communitycircles" rel="nofollow">Community Circles</a><span> (First Thursdays of each month)</span></p><p><span>Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons</span></p><p><span>Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young</span></p><p><span>Instagram:</span><a href="http://instagram.com/thebridgemidwives" rel="nofollow"> @TheBridgeMidwives</a></p><p><span>Join our Facebook community:</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1221793742682859" rel="nofollow"> </a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1221793742682859" rel="nofollow">The Bridge Midwives Project</a></p><p><br></p>
17 total episodes available
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- What is At Her Feet?
<p>Join the Bridge Midwives as they pull up a chair at the feet of elder midwives—from communities around the world—for heartfelt conversations about birth, memory, tradition, and transformation. Each episode unfolds stories rooted in lived experience, weaving personal narrative with the urgent need to preserve ancestral wisdom and bridge traditional knowledge with modern midwifery. With reverence and soul, this podcast honors midwives whose hands have shaped generations, listens deeply, and ensures their teachings continue to guide and inspire.</p><p><br></p><p>In the photo: Marina Alzugaray and Tanya Walker</p><p>Photo taken by: Kimberly Summer Zuleger</p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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