Are you aware of the benefits of our natural flow of hormones? In this eye-opening episode, midwife Marina Lembo shares her profound wisdom about birthing high - harnessing the power of our natural hormones to facilitate easier, safer births. She explains how activities like hugging, dancing, laughing, and relaxing prompt our bodies to release healthy hormones like oxytocin and endorphins. Meanwhile, common hospital interventions like restrictions on eating/drinking and separation from loved ones spike stress hormones like adrenaline, leading to complications. Marina details the cascading benefits of optimizing hormones during labor and birth, from easier breathing transitions to immediate breastfeeding success, stronger immunity, and even positive epigenetic effects. She delivers an empowering message: no matter what twists and turns a birth story takes, we can tap into our inner “pharmacy” to bathe our babies in hormonal health.

Marina Lembo is an Argentine Homebirth midwife, with 24 years of practice. 4300 assisted births. She is a TEDx speaker (2019). Translator of midwifery books (Spiritual Midwifery) and documentary films including our (Orgasmic Birth and Birth Story, Ina May, and The Farm Midwives). Founder and twice president of the Argentine Association of Independent Midwives. She Led the lobby to preserve home birth practice in midwifery regulation and started a national Birth centers network initiative. Marina is a Midwifery professor and Technical expert She is a National and international lecturer. Human rights in childbirth activist. Homeopath. Mom of 2 children born at home. We had the pleasure of reconnecting this June in Bali at the International Confederation of Midwives Congress where I was once again inspired by her passion and activism.

In This Episode:

Midwife Marina Lembo explains how activities that make us feel good like hugging, dancing, and relaxation prompt the release of healthy hormones like oxytocin and endorphins into our bloodstream.

Common hospital interventions like not allowing eating/drinking, and separating women from loved ones triggers increased stress hormones often leading to complications.

Optimizing the natural flow of hormones facilitates labor progress and transitions, allows the intelligence of hormones to self-regulate pace and identify problems, and confers many benefits to the baby.

Home births allow women to control their environment to lower stress and facilitate the unimpeded flow of natural hormones.

Even high-intervention births can help repair a baby's hormonal health by using bonding behaviors like skin-to-skin, eye contact, hugging, and more.

Key Takeaways:

You do not need to rely on machines or pills for healthy hormones - you can produce them naturally

Harness pleasurable activities to release healthy hormones for a healthy birth

Restrictions on normal behavior spike harmful stress hormones

Natural hormone flow intelligently regulates labor and protects mom & baby

Lowering stress facilitates healthy hormone release

Bonding repairs a baby's hormones after difficult births

Everyday behaviors boost helpful hormones

Poor hormonal flows imprint for generations

Key Quotes:

"Many people think that they can get [a healthy pregnancy/birth] with all the machines and pills and checkups but in fact...when we do activities that we enjoy and when we relax, we are releasing these healthy hormones into our bloodstream." - Marina Lembo

“In some countries, being out of the hospital is related to poverty. [Natural] birth has worked for thousands of years in the history of humanity… Start being more open-minded.” - Marina Lembo

“Taking care of a newborn, it's tough work. Anybody who has had a child knows that. So if you can get all the benefits of this natural cocktail of hormones, it helps a lot to make this work that it's really tough a little bit easier.” - Marina