Raising Shame‑Free, Pleasure‑Positive Children Begins at Birth with Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers
Release Date: 03/09/2026
Deepening Intimacy, Partner Support, and Everyday Pleasure with Tarah Alexis
Orgasmic Birth
In this heartfelt episode, Debra Pascali‑Bonaro sits down with birth doula and retired professional women’s football champion, Girl Scout, and chef, Tarah Alexis of Nurturing Embrace Doula Services. Tarah shares how a surprising C‑section birth, witnessing her niece and nephew arrive earthside, and a “divine appointment” with a pregnant stranger on a plane all led her to answer her calling as a doula. Together, Debra and Tarah explore how partners can move far beyond “just rubbing a back” to become active, loving participants in the birth journey. Tarah offers simple, powerful...
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Raising Shame‑Free, Pleasure‑Positive Children Begins at Birth with Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers
Orgasmic Birth
What if preparing for birth could also prepare you for a lifetime of deeper intimacy, healing, and connection—for you and for your children? In this powerful conversation, Debra talks with Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers, internationally recognized sex and gender feminist psychotherapist, bestselling author of Sex, God, and the Conservative Church and Shameless Parenting, and founder of Inanna Rising. Together, they explore how sexual shame shows up in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and how embracing pleasure can transform not just your birth, but your whole family’s story. Dr. Tina shares...
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Spicing Up Postpartum with Maranda Bower - Episode 177
Orgasmic Birth
In this episode of Orgasmic Birth: The Podcast, Debra welcomes Maranda Bower, who shares her raw journey through postpartum depression, anxiety, autoimmune challenges, and triumph after four births. Maranda reveals how functional nutrition revolutionized her healing, turning depletion into energy, desire, and joy via her Postpartum Restoration Method—now training providers worldwide. Together, they unpack hormone-balancing foods, self-care rituals, and why postpartum meals foster community, pleasure, and deep emotional release. Key Takeaways: Postpartum depletion is normal—like pinkless...
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A Vibrator as a “Natural Epidural”? Thabata Devecchi on Pleasure, Intuition, and Birth Connection - Ep 176
Orgasmic Birth
In this enlightening episode of Orgasmic Birth: The Podcast, Debra meets Thabata Devecchi, a prenatal educator and founder of Feeling Moms, who shares her powerful home birth story and how pleasure practices helped her turn pain into power. Thabata reveals how self-pleasure, embodied movement, sound, and safety transformed her birth experience. She describes using a vibrator during labor to soften the peak of contractions — calling it her “natural epidural” — and shares how deep preparation, somatic awareness, and tantra shaped her pregnancy, birth, and sense of empowerment. Together,...
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Pain to Bliss: Liya’s Orgasmic Birth and Radical Reproductive Health - Episode 175
Orgasmic Birth
In this powerful episode, Debra Pascali-Bonaro sits down with reproductive health coach and mom of three, Liya Teplitsky, to explore how mindset, nutrition, and intentional pleasure turned birth from excruciating pain into ecstatic orgasmic bliss. Liya shares her three home birth stories—from a long, painful first labor on a yoga mat to a painless second birth and finally an intentional orgasmic birth supported by a vibrator, midwife, and an unshakable belief that birth can be pleasurable. You’ll hear how Liya: -Discovered the concept of home and orgasmic birth from a chance...
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Maternal Health Awareness Day - Holding Ground on Maternal Health: From Survival to Thrival
Orgasmic Birth
What if maternal health goals expanded beyond “alive and healthy”? In honor of Maternal Health Awareness Day, Debra Pascali-Bonaro invites us to imagine a world where pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care are not only safe but also deeply respectful, emotionally whole, and infused with comfort and pleasure. In this moving solo episode, Debra shares her personal connection to the origins of Maternal Health Awareness Day—beginning in her home state of New Jersey—and explores how far the movement has come, and how far we still must go. With maternal mortality rates rising across the U.S....
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The Pleasure Practice: Rekindling Desire After Baby with Dr. Diane Mueller - Ep. 173
Orgasmic Birth
In this episode of the Orgasmic Birth Podcast, Debra Pascali-Bonaro sits down with Dr. Diane Mueller—board-certified sexologist, naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist, and host of The Libido Lounge—to explore how pleasure can become your most powerful mindfulness practice and a lifeline for intimacy after baby. Dr. Diane shares how slowing down, savoring sensation, and weaving pleasure into everyday moments can reset stress hormones, support mental health, and rebuild connection in long-term relationships. Together, Debra and Dr. Diane unpack why passion often fades over time (and especially...
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Kali Rising: Pleasure, Power & Birth in NYC with Genevieve - Ep. 172
Orgasmic Birth
In this transformative episode of Orgasmic Birth: The Podcast, Debra Pascali‑Bonaro is joined by bestselling author and pleasure mentor Genevieve for a fierce, tender, and wildly honest story of birthing a 10‑pound baby at home in New York City. Genevieve entered pregnancy expecting soft, sensual, “bliss‑in‑the‑birth‑pool” vibes—only to meet a very different expression of pleasure: the raw, fiery power of Kali. She shares how her labor moved from serenity and sensual touch into full‑bodied rage, speaking in tongues, drumming, dancing, and primal vocalization, and how...
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The Great Birth Rebellion: Reclaiming Joy, Courage, and Choice in Birth with Midwife Melanie Jackson
Orgasmic Birth
Get ready to challenge the dominant narrative around birth in this deeply inspiring conversation with Australian midwife, researcher, and rebel, Dr. Melanie Jackson — host of The Great Birth Rebellion podcast. Melanie joins Debra Pascali‑Bonaro for a heartfelt and provocative exploration of what happens when we choose to birth outside the system — and within our power. Together, they unpack why more families are stepping away from institutional birth, how true midwifery care transforms outcomes, and how bliss, laughter, and joy can ripple through even the most intense moments of labor....
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Pleasurable Birth Begins Within: How Embodiment, Rest, and Self-Pleasure Transform Birth and Life with Lisa Strohdach
Orgasmic Birth
Orgasmic Birth Story Ep 170 Description: "Embodiment only happens if you have a body, so if you have a physical shell, and that physical shell is showing you signs. That physical shell can be sore, it can be tender, it can ache, it can also feel good and nurtured and soft and warm." —Lisa Strohdach What if the secret to a more joyful birth and life isn’t about pushing harder, but about tuning in, letting go, and giving yourself permission to feel good? If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body or doubted that pleasure belongs in pregnancy and parenting, you’re not...
info_outlineWhat if preparing for birth could also prepare you for a lifetime of deeper intimacy, healing, and connection—for you and for your children? In this powerful conversation, Debra talks with Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers, internationally recognized sex and gender feminist psychotherapist, bestselling author of Sex, God, and the Conservative Church and Shameless Parenting, and founder of Inanna Rising. Together, they explore how sexual shame shows up in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and how embracing pleasure can transform not just your birth, but your whole family’s story.
Dr. Tina shares her own birth story of a fast, “big baby” delivery that made her appreciate just how much birth asks of our bodies and hearts. She then breaks down how early and deep shame takes root—many girls start modifying their diets as young as six—and why pregnancy often brings those old stories to the surface. You’ll hear practical, compassionate steps to begin “reparenting” yourself, shedding inherited shame, and raising confident, body‑positive, pleasure‑literate kids, starting from birth.
Along the way, Debra and Tina invite you to honor your unique body, your unique baby, and the profound truth that there has never been a human exactly like either of you.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How pregnancy and birth can surface long‑held stories of body shame and “not enoughness,” and why that’s actually an invitation to healing.
- Why culture profits from women and birthing people feeling “not good enough,” and how that affects how we see our pregnant and postpartum bodies.
- How embracing pleasure and your five senses in pregnancy can positively impact labor, bonding, and the way you welcome your baby.
- The heartbreaking research on how early body shame begins—and how to interrupt that cycle for your children.
- A simple, powerful first step Dr. Tina recommends if you’re pregnant and recognizing you’ve been carrying shame for a long time.
- How to use Shameless Parenting even if you don’t have children—to gently reparent yourself, stage by stage, and let shame “drip off.”
- Why postpartum is a year‑long physiological and emotional transition, and how to honor your needs alongside your baby’s.
- The importance of postpartum support and “wise elder women,” from doulas to community, to help normalize your experience.
- How Dr. Tina defines sexuality as sharing connection and pleasure—not just behaviors—and why transactional sex leaves our hearts out of the picture.
- How her books and her work at Inanna Rising are helping people heal religious and cultural sexual shame and reclaim joyful intimacy.
Resources mentioned:
Pleasurable Birth Essentials online childbirth class with Debra: https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/pleasurable-birth-essentials
Shameless Parenting: Everything You Need to Raise Shame‑Free, Confident Kids and Heal Your Shame Too – Tina Schermer Sellers
Sex, God, and the Conservative Church: Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy – Tina Schermer Sellers
Dr. Tina’s website: https://tinaschermersellers.com
Dr. Tina on Instagram: @drtinashameless
Inanna Rising (psychedelic‑assisted therapy community): https://inannarising.org
Inanna Rising on Instagram: @inanna_rising_pat
Dr. Tina also shares that if you cannot afford her books, you can DM her on Instagram to request a promo code for an audio version.
Connect with Debra & Orgasmic Birth:
Learn more and join Pleasurable Birth Essentials: https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/pleasurable-birth-essentials
Website: https://www.orgasmicbirth.com
Instagram: @orgasmicbirth
Are you ready to transform childbirth into an empowering, pleasurable, joyful experience? My online course, Pleasurable Birth Essentials, gives you the tools and confidence to make labor something to celebrate. You’ll learn comfort techniques, embrace your body’s natural rhythms, and discover how to invite pleasure—yes, even orgasm—into birth. Join thousands of parents who call this class birth‑ and life‑changing at orgasmicbirth.com/pleasurable-birth-essentials.