EP 200: "Birth Control" - Maternal Agency, Education, and Systems of Perinatal Care with Allison Yarrow
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
Release Date: 10/16/2023
EP 240: Hunting and Making God – Motherhood, Creativity, and Building a Church of Her Own with Ranier Amiel
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
In this episode, the third in the Santa Fe trilogy, Kimberly speaks with Ranier Amiel, an artist, bodyworker, and single mother who is restoring a century-old church in Truchas, New Mexico, and turning it into a home, studio, and eventually a space of community and sacred inquiry. Recorded inside the church itself, their conversation moves between the balance of motherhood and creativity, the grounding power of physical labor, and what it means to hunt for and make God after losing faith in the spiritual community you were raised in. Ranier shares her vulva portraiture work, including its...
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EP 239: The Image of the Wound – Emergent Teaching, Art as Alchemy, and Living Between Languages with Dr. Chanti Tacoronte-Perez
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
In this episode, Kimberly speaks with Dr. Chanti Tacoronte-Perez, an artist, educator, and depth psychologist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the designer of the cover of Kimberly’s upcoming book Erotic Seasons. Part of Kimberly's Santa Fe trilogy, this conversation explores what it means to teach and live emergently: responding to what’s present rather than what’s planned. Chanti shares her doctoral work on the wound of homelandlessness as a Cuban American, and how she developed a practice of creating and living with the image of one’s wound as a daily, evolving relationship rather...
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EP 238: The Body Innate – Yin Warriorship, Communal Eros, and Leading Atmospheres with Jaye Marolla
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
In this episode, Kimberly speaks with Jaye Marolla, a bodyworker, martial artist, Qigong teacher, and founder of The Body Innate and the Yin Dojo in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They explore the integration of martial arts, bodywork, and Qigong as a path of healing and sovereignty, and what Jaye calls “yin warriorship:” a reclamation of the warrior archetype rooted in surrender, Eros, and facing one’s own mortality rather than competition or heroism. They discuss how Jaye came to open her home as a dojo, the ancient tradition of merging practice space with living space, and the energetic...
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EP 237: “Sage-escence” – The Natural Menopause Movement, Shamanic Midwifery, and Birthing the Wise Woman with Jane Hardwicke Collings
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
In this episode, Kimberly speaks with Jane Hardwicke Collings, a post-menopausal grandmother, former midwife, and founder of the School of Shamanic Womancraft. They explore how the lessons learned from the natural childbirth movement must now be applied to menopause, discussing what Jane calls “sage-escence,” the becoming of the wise woman. Jane shares her journey from hospital nurse to home birth midwife, how her midwifery awakened her to the patriarchy’s medicalization of women’s bodies, and why she sees a natural menopause movement emerging. They dive deep into the connections...
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EP 236: The Art of Receiving and Giving - The Wheel of Consent with Dr. Betty Martin
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
Kimberly is joined by luminary thinker Dr. Betty Martin as they discuss the evolution and impact of the Wheel of Consent, a vanguard model for enthusiastic consent, asking for what you want, and living out embodied intimacy. Dr. Martin, who developed the model, shares her journey from creating the wheel through her hands-on workshops to writing a book so the wheel may reach an even larger audience, with Kimberly noting just how deep of an impact Betty’s work has had on Kimberly’s teaching and offerings. They explore the challenges of enthusiastic consent, the importance of feeling with...
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EP 235: “Hold Nothing” - Radical Forgiveness, Daily Stillness, and Finding Stability with Elena Brower
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
In this episode, Kimberly and Elena discuss and reflect on their life experiences through nearly two decades of knowing one another. They discuss radical forgiveness for our families of origin, the importance of stillness and meditation, children leaving the home, and menopause. They also discuss what led Elena to write her upcoming book “Hold Nothing,” which offers stories and prompts as an artful contemplative guide towards personal, daily practice for self-discovery and self-wisdom. Kimberly reads powerful excerpts aloud, and you can preorder the book in the link below. Bio Elena...
info_outline![EP 235: Becoming Bilingual in Intuition and Science, Learning to Phrase New Questions, and the Socialization of Birth with Michel Odent [ENCORE] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/192558440?height=50&width=50)
EP 235: Becoming Bilingual in Intuition and Science, Learning to Phrase New Questions, and the Socialization of Birth with Michel Odent [ENCORE]
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
Bio Michel Odent, MD, is a French obstetrician trained as a general surgeon known for his tireless research on how environmental factors present during pregnancy and birth affect babies, children, and our communities. He is the founder of the Primal Health Research Centre and authored the first articles on the initiation of lactation and the use of birthing pools. He has authored 15 books and passed on August 19, 2025. What He Shares: Why birth is an important subject not only for birth workers, but for all people interested in the future of our species. Why the period of birth is a...
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EP 234: Building Intentional Community, Navigating Conflicts, and Finding Belonging with Sarah Wildeman
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
In this episode, Kimberly and Sarah Wildeman dive into the importance of community and relational support and the experiences that led each of them to prioritize community building so centrally in each of their lives. Sarah shares her journey from a communal Christian upbringing to building her own “space of welcome” as an adult. Both Kimberly and Sarah emphasize the need for practical community-building practices, balancing personal needs with community support, and the challenges of maintaining a village in today’s world. Sarah's "Our Common Life" program offers a four-month course to...
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EP 233: A Creative and Curious Life after Childhood Trauma with Jamie Mustard, author of Child X
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
On this episode, Kimberly and, author, artist, and researcher, Jamie Mustard dive deep into Jamie’s childhood in Scientology and his healing and research quest to understand his complex childhood PTSI (Post-Traumatic Stress Injury). This conversation moves between Mustard’s autobiographical story, which features heavily in his upcoming novel Child X and graphic novel Hybred, in addition to his previous research into trauma that stemmed from a transformative experience with Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) treatment. After benefitting so deeply from the treatment, Jamie spent years researching...
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EP 232: Attachment and Mothering through Life’s Seasons with Bethany Saltman
Sex Birth Trauma with Kimberly Ann Johnson
In this episode, Kimberly and Bethany discuss their reflections and experiences of attachment and mothering their adult children. Bethany describes changes in how she viewed herself and parenting while her daughter became an adult herself while Kimberly shares her experiences mothering her daughter who is about to move out of their home for the first time. They share challenges, frustrations, and confusing moments around their attachment and parenting, particularly as they age themselves. As most parenting content focuses on the early years, this conversation reveals the nuances of what...
info_outlineIn this conversation, journalist Allison Yarrow and Kimberly discuss Allison's new book “Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood.” They go in depth about the culture and systems of perinatal birth care. They explore Allison’s extensive research around the differences between home birth care and hospital birth care, and go into depth about their personal experiences with each scenario. They wonder how future generations will approach their birth, as well as the deep impact of race on varying birth experience. With all of the information out there, they ask how do you prepare for birth?
Bio
Allisoni Yarrow is a journalist for nearly two decades (in newsrooms like NBC News, Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and Vice), a national magazine finalist, the author of 90s Bitch (finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club Book Award), and she has written about the shortcomings of the perinatal experience in America for the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, Vox, Harper's Bazaar, and Insider. Her new book Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood, which is out July 18 and arose out of my TED Talk. With the recent news that maternal mortality has risen 40 percent to the highest level in our lifetime, this subject couldn't be more important. The book draws on extensive reporting, interviews, an original survey of 1300 birthing people and mothers, and my own personal experiences, to document how women are controlled, traumatized, injured, and even killed, because of traditionalist practices of medical professionals and hospitals during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and after.
What You’ll Hear
How birth procedures and techniques were not developed by science by traditions?
The overriding of midwives knowledge by doctors.
How has birth become such a profitable medical field?
Why C-sections are so prominent despite their limited need?
How does home birth care differ from hospital care?
What kind of mother culture do we need around birth trauma?
The pressure to educate onesellf in the perinatal experience.
What role does agency play in the birth experience?
What needs to change about the system of birth?
How will future generations experience birth care?
Our bodies perceive surgery as interruption.
The importance of sex education to the birth experience.
The racial dimensions of birth culture.
Links
www.allisonyarrow.com
Instagram: @aliyarrow