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In our last episode, Peta and Thea talked about Vera's practitioner training, and why no one should have to do this work alone. This week, we're introducing you to one of the women who reminds us of that every day.
Lauren Williams has been a midwife for most of her life. She'll tell you it's part of the thread of who she is. She's worked in birth suite, led research that changed how a large hospital cares for women in early labour, and built a new model of care from the ground up. By most measures, she'd made it.
And then her body started telling her something she couldn't ignore any longer.
In this episode, Lauren sits down with Dr Peta (one of her closest friends) and Sam to talk about the moment she chose her body wisdom over the executive ladder.
She shares what it took to walk away, what she learnt about herself as a mother, and why she now feels like she's meeting herself for the first time.
In this episode, we explore:
- Lauren's path from nursing to birth suite, research and leadership, and why she kept coming back to being "with woman"
- The moment her body said no, and what it cost to listen
- Mothering the mother – why a supported mother matters for the whole family
- What Lauren wishes every new mother understood about her nervous system and co-regulation
- Matrescence, the word we need for the transformation of becoming a mother
- Rites of passage across a woman's life, from adolescence to matrescence to perimenopause
- Burnout in midwifery, and finding a way to do this work that doesn't cost you yourself
This episode is for you if:
You're standing at a crossroads in your work or your life, and you already know the answer but you're scared to act on it. Or you're a mother who's felt stretched too thin to be present. Or you're a practitioner wondering whether there's another way to do the work you love.
About Lauren
Lauren is our midwife at Vera Wellness and a private endorsed midwife. She offers pregnancy and postnatal care, including home visits, and runs her own practice, Tapestry of Life, where you'll also find her retreats for midwives and her Matrescence Matters T-shirts.
You can visit her website here: www.tapestryoflife.com.au
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DISCLAIMER:
This podcast is for information and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
