Revolutionizing the System for Working Mothers — 065

About this Episode

Today’s guest, Summer Edwards, home-birthed her two sons and is the oldest of five home-birthed siblings. For her, the choice to home-birth was clear. She wasn’t aware of the philosophical reasons other women had for home-birthing, it was just something her family did. When she returned to work after her first child, she realized she wasn’t returning to her previously satisfying career but a segmented ‘Mommy track’ within the organization. She then morphed her creative side project into Lead Women Lead, a community working to revolutionize the workplace for women at a systemic level.

During our conversation, she describes the physically empowering, 20-hour intense first labor experience and how she believes it has impacted her first born child. She attributes her ability to move past the pain and trauma of the malpositioned birth to her midwife who reminded her of the beauty of surrender. Her second birth experience was completely different, and Summer shares her birth stories with so much joy and confidence you will be inspired.

Summer’s online course is designed for working mothers who grapple with imposter syndrome and overwhelm, and the next group will launch this fall.

Expectful is a guided meditation app for each stage of the motherhood journey — you can sign up for an exclusive one-month free trial here!

In This Episode:

• How she confronts systemic birthing and motherhood ideologies
• The difference in her first and subsequent birthing experiences
• How she learned to trust her intuition and her body’s natural abilities
• The Fear/Pain Tension Cycle
• How the childbirth experience translates to other areas of life
• The physical, emotional, and mental benefits of trust and surrender
• The hostility she faced when sharing her natural birth experiences with others
• The beginning of the Lead Mama Lead social change movement
• The benefit of a mother’s perspective in for-profit, nonprofit and government agencies
• How to get a free one-month trial of guided meditations through Expectful

Show Notes:

Lead Mama Lead
Overcoming Overwhelm Course
Motherbirth Exclusive — Trust Your Body Again Course
Motherbirth Podcast — Episode 60 — Vaginal Breech Birth
Expectful — One Month Free Trial for MotherBirth Community Members