Unmedicated Episodes

Send us Fan Mail Kateryna's resources are below this description What happens when a healthcare system’s “just in case” meets a mother’s calm, clear questioning: “what’s actually happening right now?”, "How is my baby doing?" Originally from Ukraine, we meet Kateryna to explore her five-year fertility journey, her two planned home births in the Zurich area, and the tightrope walk between hospital protocol, fact-finding and personal autonomy. From a low fluid scare and a breech presentation to a ...

Send us Fan Mail Diana's resources are below this description: What happens when labour quickly goes from quiet to unstoppable and the only “birth room” around has four doors and a meter running? We sit down with Diana, a Brazilian living in Zurich, to relive two unforgettable births: a swift, positive first delivery at Spital Zollikerberg in Zurich and a second that arrives in a taxi during rush hour- no midwives, no doctors, no time, just instinct and inspirational courage. We start with the e...

Send us Fan Mail Sara is a researcher and doula in Zurich, her own website and her resources are below this description. What if the difference between a hard birth and a healing one was a few well-chosen words, a handful of choices and a team that truly listened? Sarah’s story spans two countries and two radically different experiences where she found her rhythm, her voice, and her power. Her first, an induction in Denmark marked by pressure toward an epidural that failed, and later, in Zurich,...

Send us Fan Mail Andrea's resources are below this description. A birth can change your life. Two births can change your map. Andrea, a teacher and author living in Lenzburg, opens up about a first labour that moved faster than anyone expected, a cramped exam room at Hirslanden Aargau standing in for a delivery suite, and the cascade that followed: retained placenta, agonising uterine compression, a major postpartum hemorrhage, and surgery during the height of pandemic restrictions. With her par...

Send us Fan Mail A wrong email address reshaped an entire birth story. We sat down with a scientist‑mum, Gülkiz, whose path wound from Berlin’s buzz to Zurich’s quiet trails, through months of trying to conceive, a surprise double‑line at dawn , and a chance discovery of a birth house (Geburtshaus Zollikerberg, in the Zurich, Switzerland area) that aligned with her values. What followed was a swift, deeply supported labour: hip squeezes practiced in class, affirmations in the bath at 1 a.m., a m...

Send us Fan Mail The journey to motherhood transforms us in ways we never expect. For Johanna , an Australian expat living in Switzerland, what began as a dream-come-true pregnancy turned into a birth story filled with unexpected twists – from her water breaking in the bath to a husband who wouldn't answer his phone (and was immediately presumed dead), a taxi driver who got lost en route to the hospital, and ultimately, a challenging posterior labor that demanded everything she had. She gave bir...

Send us Fan Mail Simone shares her remarkable journey of giving birth to her two sons in two different countries (the Netherlands and Switzerland), revealing how cultural and systemic differences profoundly shape the birth experience beyond just the physical process. Born and raised in Amsterdam before relocating to Switzerland with her family First pregnancy transformed from planned birth center delivery to unexpected home birth in the Netherlands Second pregnancy culminated in a planned home b...

Send us Fan Mail Agata , mother of five children, shares her experiences of pregnancy and giving birth at Hirslanden Hospital in Zurich with remarkable honesty, self-awareness, and optimism. Originally from Russia, Agata met her German husband in the UK before settling in Zurich in 2011 Always wanted a large family- had her first three children in less than three years, followed by her fourth and fifth Learned to listen to her body during pregnancy, which helped heal her relationship with food E...

Send us Fan Mail Karina shares her empowering unmedicated birth experience at Hirslanden Clinic in Zurich, where she welcomed her daughter Amalia Luna after navigating nine months of severe pregnancy nausea. First-time mother from Poland partnered with a Swiss father Endured persistent nausea throughout pregnancy that only subsided in the last trimester Prepared thoroughly for birth with meditation, environmental cues, birthing ball exercises, and ice cube practice Chose hospital birth for consi...

Send us Fan Mail Ashley shares her remarkable journey through IVF , international moves, and a picture perfect birth which she was encouraged to share. Her story demonstrates how resilience, support networks, and finding peace in unexpected circumstances can create beautiful pregnancy and birth experiences despite complex logistics. Started trying to conceive naturally before turning to IVF after a year Completed two rounds of IVF with traditional Chinese medicine support First son conceived dur...

Send us Fan Mail Delia shares her four powerful home birth stories that began when she was a young midwife trainee who discovered her pregnancy at 26 weeks . From catching each baby in her own hands to navigating birth as a young student, her stories exemplify trusting intuition and creating empowered experiences. Serendipitously discovering Ina May Gaskin's "Spiritual Midwifery" as a midwifery student and how that awakened her trust in physiological birth Working in the hospital during pregnanc...

Send us Fan Mail Mihaela shares her empowering breech birth story, defying medical expectations through tenacity and informed decision-making to deliver her daughter naturally at Hirslanden Clinic in Aarau, Switzerland. First-time mother determined to have a natural birth despite baby being in breech position Used hypnobirthing techniques to prepare mentally and emotionally with her partner Faced significant pressure from medical professionals to have a scheduled cesarean birth Found a supportiv...

Send us Fan Mail Ellie shares her journey of giving birth twice at the University Hospital in Zurich, exploring both the emotional challenges of pregnancy and the profound differences between her two birth experiences. Through her story, she highlights the importance of advocating for yourself during labor and recognizing that babies arrive with their own unique personalities from day one. There are a few gorgeous moments in this podcast where you can hear her little one snuggling in for a feed....