The Importance of Gathering for Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum with Sali and Naomi

Today I speak with Sali McIntyre and Naomi Jannsson.

Sali is an antenatal educator, author midwife, Arvigo practitioner and teacher, and mother of four adult children, all born at home. She also runs Heart and Soul of Wellness which is a wellness centre in Murwillumbah where she runs pregnancy and postpartum groups, amongst many more offerings. 

Naomi is a traditional medicine practitioner, with over 20 years of experience. She weaves a wealth of expertise from diverse healthcare settings to provide clinical care and education.  She is dedicated Advocate for Traditional Medicine especially in Women's Health and Birth/Reproductive Health services. She holds the vision of Culturally oriented and Mother centred experiences for Women during childbearing and rites of passage. Naomi often speaks at conferences and for podcasts to inform on the importance of Cultural Practices and Medicines in Women's Health.

Together, these two run a festival called Birth Wellness festival, which is a coming together of parents, families, and practitioners and clinicians in the area for greater connection of community and services relevant to the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period. In this interview we speak a lot about the importance of gathering in real life embodied spaces to create greater sense of care and togetherness in community. 

Birth Wellness Festival: 

https://events.humanitix.com/birth-wellness-festival-2024

Sali: 

https://heartandsoulofwellness.com.au

Naomi: 

https://www.gentletraditions.xyz/