At Her Feet
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.
Episodes
Raven Lang Part 3 of 3: Midwifery, Boundaries, and the Weight of Change
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 tr
Raven Lang Part 2 of 3: Rising as a Leader in the Homebirth Movement
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.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 mov
Raven Lang : The Birth Book and the Reawakening Part 1
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 midwiv
Ellen’s Fight for Midwifery: From Outlaw Practice to Legal Recognition
In this episode of At Her Feet, Ellen Levitt, LM, shares the winding path that brought her from Long Island to San Francisco in the 1980s—and into the heart of the home birth movement. Her story carries us through the political battles that shaped California midwifery, the grassroots collectives that built community, and the deeply personal experiences of loss, motherhood, and resilience that cont
Mother of Midwifery Today: A Conversation with Jan Tritten
In this intimate conversation, Blyss visits the home of Jan Tritten—midwife, visionary, and the founding editor of Midwifery Today magazine. Surrounded by her garden, animals, and family history, Jan reflects on a life devoted to birth, storytelling, and community.From her own births to attending dozens within a birth co-op, Jan found her calling not only in midwifery but in weaving together the v
Listening, Lineage, and Letting Go with Home Birth Midwife Carla Viles
Carla Viles’ story is one of circling back—through loss and redemption, apprenticeship and partnership, intuition and listening. From snowy nights in Eugene with her children decorating a Christmas tree while she birthed at home, to the weight of responsibility at difficult births, she has carried the thread of midwifery with quiet strength. Now, as she slowly winds her practice down, Carla reflec
Herbal Wisdom, Holy Trust, and 50 Years of Birth with Betty Griffith, LDM
In this intimate conversation, Blyss sits with Betty Griffith, LDM, a licensed midwife in Salem, Oregon, whose five decades of practice bridge the early days of the home birth revival with today’s changing landscape. From her beginnings as a labor-and-delivery nurse in the 1970s to years of practicing home birth prior to licensure, Betty shares the shifts she’s witnessed—both in women’s bodies and
Finding Her Own Way: Midwifery, Activism, and the Babies Who Called Her — with Adele Rose
In this rich and soulful conversation, Blyss sits with Adele Rose, a traditional birth attendant whose path has been guided by instinct, a fierce sense of justice, and a deep trust in the body’s wisdom. Her journey winds through counterculture communities, births in unexpected places, and decades of rural care — all anchored in devotion to gentle landings for mothers and babies alike.Adele Shares:
With Woman: A Life of Midwifery and Legislative Legacy with Holly Scholles
In this insightful and candid conversation, Blyss sits at the feet of Holly Scholles, a pioneering midwife, educator, and legislative advocate from Beaverton, Oregon. Raised in Texas and called to healing work from a young age, Holly shares her journey from pre-med student to grassroots birth worker, from founding the Association of Texas Midwives to shaping Oregon’s unique licensure model. With c
“God Is in Control”: A Midwife’s Faithful Journey with Mary Lothman
In this warm and spirited conversation, Blyss sits at the feet of retired traditional midwife Mary Lothman of Portland, Oregon. Raised in Denver during the cultural upheaval of the 60s, Mary shares her path from rebellion to faith, from commune life to motherhood, and ultimately to midwifery. Her story is infused with humor, honesty, and devotion—to birth, to women, and to God.Mary recounts how he
"We Knew What Was Normal": Midwifery and the Long View with Gail Hart
In this powerful and unfiltered conversation, elder midwife Gail Hart reflects on a lifetime of birth work shaped by lived experience, deep physiology, and a fierce commitment to women’s autonomy. From her early exposure to home birth in a religious commune, to a traumatic hospital delivery that changed everything, to helping shape Oregon’s midwifery culture, Gail shares the kind of perspective on
Radical Beginnings: The Midwifery of Linda Bennett
In this full-circle conversation, Blyss sits with elder midwife Linda Bennett—her own midwife during her first birth and a key figure in the resurgence of home birth midwifery in 1970s Santa Cruz.From attending births alongside Raven Lang to being arrested twice for practicing midwifery without a license, Linda shares stories from a time when birth work was raw, rebellious, and rooted in community
The Simplicity of Trust: Kelly Frohnauer, Traditional Midwife
In this gentle and grounded episode, Blyss sits with Kelly Frohnauer, a retired traditional midwife from Merlin, Oregon. Kelly’s story is one of trust—in birth, in women, and in the quiet power of simplicity. She shares how her path unfolded outside the bounds of licensure, guided instead by elder midwives, spiritual conviction, and hands-on learning.Kelly shares:Practicing outside licensure in pr
All There Is, Is Love: The Midwifery of Anita Rojas
In this radiant conversation, Blyss sits with beloved elder midwife Anita Rojas, whose story spans from milking cows in the remote mountains of Nayarit, Mexico to nearly four decades of midwifery in Oregon. Anita shares her early life in a self-sustaining village, the traumatic hospital birth of her twins that awakened her calling, and the path that led her to serve families with reverence, faith,
"The Art of Midwifery Is Being Lost": Yelena Kolodji, LM, CNM
In this moving episode, midwife Shannon Staloch sits down with Yelena Kolodji—an elder midwife whose roots in California midwifery stretch back to the early 1970s. From her humble beginnings on a Minnesota dairy farm to catching over 1,600 babies, Yelena shares a vivid, powerful reflection on what it means to truly be with woman. This conversation touches on the soul of midwifery, the loss of trus
Called by God, Tried by the State: Brenda Capps
In this episode, we sit down with Brenda Capps, the first elder midwife to speak her truth for this project. It’s the story of a life woven with loss, love, and deep faith. Brenda shares:Growing up in the South, surrounded by church and early memories of Black granny midwives who showed her the sacred power of birthHer own fast and instinctive births—some caught by her husband, some arriving so qu
The Call to Remember: Midwifery, a Journey, and the Birth of a Podcast
In this deeply personal first episode, host Blyss Young shares the story behind At Her Feet, The Bridge Midwives inaugural podcast. From the awe of witnessing her niece’s birth as a teenager to the running of a birth center whose midwifery students seemed increasingly clinical, to then becoming a midwife herself, Blyss traces the quiet call that led her to the wisdom of the elders. This is the ori
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