The Great Birth Rebellion
You can have a GREAT pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience. You just need the information and strategies to make it happen. The Great Birth Rebellion podcast, hosted by Midwife Dr Melanie Jackson offers evidence- based information to help you make informed decisions about your maternity care. The Great Birth Birth Rebellion helps you get the best out of your pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey. Want more? Follow along at @melaniethemidwife and @thegreatbirthrebellion on SM Subscribe to get access to the resources behind the episodes at melaniethemidwife.com and get your merch at thegreatbirthrebellion.com.
Episodes
Orgasmic birth doesn’t mean you are going to orgasm at birth… but that certainly is a possibility when you realise how involved your clitoris and oxytocin (the orgasm hormone) are during labour and birth. In this episode Mel speaks with Deborah Pascali Bonaro about Orgasmic birth and how we are wired to feel joy, bliss and euphoria during birth. We talk about how women can tap into the possi...
And that’s a wrap on 2025! Mel and her right and left hand man, Dan, host this final episode of 2025 and spill all the tea on the highs and lows of the year. Mel shares what happened to THAT episode, why her hair went grey and what spurs us on to make better and better episodes. This one is a sneak peak behind the curtain of the great birth rebellion podcast. Thank you for a fabulous year, w...
Part 2 of the risks of induction. Episode 181 was all about the assessment and first steps of induction and this episode follows on with the risks of the final steps of induction of labour. These are a must-listen if you are being presented with the option of induction - especially if it’s a routine induction
Having your labour induced has risks and benefits. This episode is part 1 of a discussion of the labour induction process and the associated risks that go along with each stage of an induction. The discussion continues in episode 182. Sometimes the benefits of an induction outweigh the risks, but sometimes an induction is more risky than staying pregnant. This episode offers information to h...
Women are warned about environmental hazards in pregnancy, but why not microplastics?
In this episode I share the research about how microplastic gets into your placenta and baby and give you practical strategies to help you avoid microplastics during pregnancy.
Just as children transition into adulthood through adolescence, women transition into motherhood through matrescence. Jane Hardwicke Collings joins Mel on the podcast today to speak about the transitions through our different life stages including to motherhood and onto menopause where we are gifted new powers! Dis...
Is your baby moving normally during pregnancy? 15% of women report reduced movement of their baby at some point during their pregnancy, but what are normal movements, how you monitor movement and what could it mean if your baby is moving less? In this episode Mel takes you through the current recommendations for how to monitor your baby’s movement during pregnancy and what to do if you are worried and also the research beh...
The UK used to be held up as an idyllic maternity care system worth replicating, but in the past 10 years, the caesarean section rate has increased to over 45% and poor maternal outcomes are rising as a result. Midwives are leaving in droves, birth services that once facilitate physiological birth are closing and the whole system is becoming hostile toward normal birth. There are people peti...
Birth mapping is an evidence-based tool to help with decision making in pregnancy and childbirth. Dr Catherine Bell @birthmapping, joins Mel to discuss the birth map and the research behind it. Birth mapping can help you make confident decisions at forks in the road on your journey through pregnancy and birth.
Some women feel stuck in a traumatic experience after childbirth, but another possibility is post-traumatic growth. Mel explores this possibility with Midwife and Psychotherapist Dr Athena Hammond. Athena specialises in trauma therapy, specifically around childbirth. In this episode we have a conversation about post-traumatic growth as Athena gives words to the long term experience of recove...
Being alive at the end of your birth is different than being kept safe. In this episode Mel invites midwife and psychotherapist Dr Athena Hammond to talk about emotional safety during childbirth, how to enhance emotional safety and some strategies for nervous system preparation. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Episode 175 is about the possibility of post-traumatic growth, a helpful discus...
This episode is for your birth support people, your partner, doula, mum, friend… whoever you’ve chosen to be with you for your birth. Mel explains the role of a great support person clearly to give practical tips to your support people about how they can prepare to be the best support person ever!
Raspberry leaf tea and dates are often recommended to you women with the thought that consuming them during pregnancy will assist with a more efficient labour and fewer complications. Today Mel looks at the evidence behind the use of raspberry leaf tea and eating date fruit during pregnancy. Find out what impact th...
Betty-Anne Daviss has seemingly endless energy and motivation to continue her midwifery mission. This week Betty-Anne Daviss (Canadian Midwife of nearly 50 years!) speaks to Mel about her career as a midwife, her learnings about breech (she invented the crowning touch manoeuvre), her midwifery activism and where to from here. Betty-Anne is an inspiration to midwives who maybe are muddling ar...
Sometimes labour can hurt a little or a lot. Either way, there are things that you can do to increase your capacity to manage the pain of labour. This includes your mental game, the capacity of your support team, some free things that can be done anywhere and some other tools that require pre-planning and money. For 18 years I’ve witnessed women giving birth without medical pain management a...
You might be one of the 60% of women who have an epidural during their labour or birth. If you plan a caesarean you’ll have one and 40% of labouring women have one, but do you really know what it is, how it’s done and the positive and negative impact of accepting an epidural? We’ve got you covered - this episode is for everyone. Be prepared for every possibility, including the possibility of epidural.
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The fetus ejection reflex vs the Ferguson reflex. Did you feel your baby shoot out of you unexpectedly, or that irresistible urge that made it impossible not to push? This episode is to help understand these incredible birth reflexes that make birth so much easier and faster and how to make them work for you. Today Mel discusses the difference between the fetus ejection reflex and the ferguson reflex and gives practical st...
Pushing out your baby is NOT about the eye popping, no breathing, PUSH PUSH PUSH PUUUUUUUSH scene that you see in movies. Unfortunately though many women are coached by their care provider to push a particular way. It doesn’t have to be like that. The evidence shows that you and your baby would be better off without a coach guiding your pushing or breathing during the pushing phase. In this ...
On Aug 19th 2025 the world farewelled legendary Obstetrician Michel Odent. He spent his career trying to warn us of the generational impact of interrupting labour and birth and gave timeless advice on the practice of authentic midwifery and obstetrics. Today in this Ode to Odent I give a broad sweeping overview on the work of Odent that I believe should be preserved and passed on to this gen...
A long and lovely career in midwifery requires strategic effort, the midwifery workforce is in a crisis of unsustainability so how can you be one of the midwives that makes it to a long and lovely career? In today's episode Mel gives direct and clear steps and strategy to creating a career that you love. She also reflects on the convergence of rebellious midwives and invites participation is...
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