Midwife Life: Educating Women on All Things Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum Care, and Careers in Healthcare with Diane Ortega

About Midwife Life: Educating Women on All Things Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum Care, and Careers in Healthcare with Diane Ortega

Welcome to The Midwife Life—part podcast, part revolution that empowers and educates women on all things related to pregnancy, birth, postpartum care, and careers in healthcare. Whether it's understanding the options available to you, advocating for yourself in a health care setting, or simply knowing that you're not alone, I want you to leave each episode feeling stronger and more equipped.

Publisher

Diane Ortega of Willow Birth Center

Category

health & fitness · kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Nov 2024

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

97 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   82: The Pause You Didn't Choose

   Last week I opened the doors to my program, The Rebirth Journey. The doors closed and no one came through. This episode is me sitting in that pause, honestly. My first feeling was relief, and I wasn't sure I was allowed to feel it. After eighteen years of watching babies be born, I know what happens when something comes before it's ready. So I'm letting this one finish gestating. If you're in a pause you didn't choose, the career on hold, the plan that stalled because someone needed you more, this one's for you. In this episode: Why my first honest feeling was relief, and why that felt like something I wasn't allowed to feel Transition in labor: what happens when we try to push before it's time The labor I attended that simply stopped, and what happened when we let her rest What I did with the hour that was supposed to be our first call Why stillness feels unsafe, and what that has to do with your nervous system What I'd tell you if you're sitting in a pause right now Something Is Shifting: a free 10-minute audio for the car or a walk, for when you're in a season like this one: themidwifelife.kit.com/shifting Local to the East Valley? Join me for Rebirth Conversations, "The Pause You Didn't Choose," Thursday, October 15, 6:00 to 7:30 PM, Erma Bombeck Room, Queen Creek Library. $10 holds your seat: themidwifelife.kit.com/rebirthconversations If this episode meant something to you, share it with a friend, and leave a rating and a couple of lines on your podcast app. It helps the show reach more women who need these conversations.

2. 

   5 Oct 2026

   81: I Deserved Every Penny

   This summer, one of the women in my pilot group came to week three with a story. When a real estate deal went sideways, she'd always quietly absorbed the cost. This time, on what she called "a miserable transaction," she fought for her commission and kept every penny. "That was super uncomfortable, but afterwards it was like, I should do this more often!" This episode is about the wall she hit, why mothers hit the same one every time they want something for themselves, and what got her over it. In this episode: Why knowing what to do was never enough, in her own words from week one The commission story, and the sentence she said afterwards The braces-and-cleats test: what you spend on your kids without a second thought, and what you won't spend on yourself Burn, Slow, Listen, Move: her four words across four weeks, and why the slow weeks have to be built in What a room of women witnessing each other actually does The Rebirth Journey: twelve weeks, a small group of women (eight at most), Wednesdays 6:30 to 7:30pm AZ, starts Wednesday, October 7th. Enrollment closes Tuesday, October 6th at 11:59pm AZ: The Rebirth Journey Close but not sure? Email hello@themidwifelife.co with "talk" in the subject line, and we'll find twenty minutes before the doors close. Not ready for any of that? Start with the free guided audio reflection, about ten minutes: Something is shifting audio

3. 

   28 Sept 2026

   80: Reclaim You: The Workshop

   Last Tuesday I taught a free workshop called Reclaim You. Two women came. I taught it like the room was full, and I walked out surer than I walked in. This is the teaching, start to finish, so you can do it with me. Grab a pen. There are two places where I'll ask you to write, and I want you to actually pause me when I do. In this episode: Why I went into this workshop treating it as a test, and what happened when one woman came The Missing Phase: how mothers absorb everyone else's schedules and needs until they lose their own data points The Root prompt, and what to do with whatever you write down The Reclaim prompt: one piece of yourself you're ready to take back because of who you are now Why I stop before Rise, on purpose The two prompts, if you want them in front of you: Root: Look at your last 48 hours. If we stripped away everyone else's schedules, demands, and "I'm fine" moments, what did you actually want to do with just one free hour? Write down the raw, unfiltered truth of what you are currently tolerating. Reclaim: Think of the version of you before motherhood, or the version of you that existed before this current season shifted. What is one piece of her, a feeling, a boundary, a hobby, or a standard, that you didn't notice slipped away, but you are ready to reclaim because of who you are now? The Rebirth Journey, twelve weeks, eight women, Wednesdays 6:30 to 7:30pm AZ, starts Wednesday, October 7th. Enrollment closes Tuesday, October 6th at 11:59pm AZ: The Rebirth Journey Not sure yet? Email me at hello@themidwifelife.co with "talk" in the subject line, and we'll find twenty minutes. Not ready for any of that? Start with the free guided audio reflection instead, about ten minutes: Something is shifting audio

Who has been a guest on Midwife Life: Educating Women on All Things Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum Care, and Careers in Healthcare with Diane Ortega

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Michelle Ludwig
• Nikki Brewer
• Dr Cara English
• Anna Lodder

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 59 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

88

Social presence

91

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Midwife Life: Educating Women on All Things Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum Care, and Careers in Healthcare with Diane Ortega

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Midwife Life: Educating Women on All Things Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum Care, and Careers in Healthcare with Diane Ortega