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It is a total MYTH that nursing is birth control, so if you've heard that I'm sorry to say, you're out of luck. It is true that for some people, lactation may deter ovulation for many months or years. But it is NOT true for everyone, unfortunately.

This is why there are so many unexpected pregnancies that come soon after a previous one. And honestly, unless you are planning on that, it can be pretty shocking and a lot to navigate a new pregnancy with a nursing babe and still healing postpartum.

One of the most confusing times to track our cycles, especially if we're practicing FAM for contraception, is postpartum.

A few weeks ago, I received a question about this on Instagram, so I figured, why not answer it here so everyone can benefit.

So many folks would prefer to prevent pregnancy in this time if possible.

But between the sleep disturbances, stress, depletion, body healing, and hormones adjusting of the postpartum time, cycles can be WONKY.

And you won't bleed before you ovulate, so you can't rely on that to tell if you're fertile either...

So what CAN you do? What's important to consider? What's reliable and what's not?

I go into all my thoughts on this, pretty Q+A free-flow style today. I hope it feels like a helpful resource for you, now or in the future when you need it.

Resouces:

• Get on the waitlist for a special offer: Natural Contraception Winter 2026 waitlist
• Grab the free guide: Track Your Cycle using FAM
• Today's shownotes: Cycle tracking postpartum?
• Episode 90: 5 effective non hormonal birth control options

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Support the show

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How does living in deep relationship to the seasons and cycles of nature impact your sense of belonging on the earth?

Today's guest, co-founder of Moon Seeds planner - Erica Ela Bartoli, spent some formative years traveling and living in intimate connection with the elements, first in a yurt and later as she traveled around Africa, with the sky often as her ceiling.

During these "rewilding" years, she began to more deeply connect with the lunar cycles (new and full moons), the seasons, and her own body.

Eventually, she began leading moon circles, and from there found her way to co-creating this planner which got her more in touch with tracking her menstrual cycle and realizing how aligned cyclical living was with her lifestyle of seasonal living.

Her story is hers to tell and in this conversation, you'll hear how life-changing synching to her cycle has been, and why she's chosen to continue living in a yurt with her children in the forests of Oregon.

We also talk about the history and practice of holding red tent spaces in large gatherings or in communities, what they entail, why they're important and so much more!

Resources:

• Sign up for the waitlist for winter 2026 Natural Contraception the Herbal Way program!
• Free Track Your Cycle Naturally (FAM) guide
• Episode 42: Reclaim your menstruation with rest, ritual & replenishment
• Check out the planner! Moonseeds.love (discount code: wombwisdom)

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal health concerns.

Support the show

Click here to send me a quick message :)

So much of life these days seems to be polarized. As if the world is black and white, right and wrong. And this is no different in the birth world.

As social media reach has taken hold, I've been watching the rise of polarity especially in the "free birth" community. Honestly, I had friends freebirthing before Instagram existed, but I also trained in homebirth midwifery for 5 years.

So my frame has always been pretty nuanced.

I've witnessed empowered hands-off births at home, more hands-on home birth midwifery styles, birth center births with nurse midwives, empowered hospital births and even the cascade of interventions happen in hospitals.

Over the years of my midwifery training and birth work (this was 10-15 years ago), I became curious about more hands-off styles in home settings. My favorite births I witnessed were the ones where the midwives left (I was a doula) and/or sat in the corner knitting or reading for hours.

And this is exactly the kind of story Leah shares in this week's episode. Except even more surprising in some ways. Her birth was truly self-directed, and the midwives seemed to be holding the container of safety, offering options and reminders and cervical checks when she asked for them, but always deferring back to her direction.

There is so much in this story that I hope plants seeds of possibility of nuance in the spectrum of what's possible in birth.

And she also shares about the practice of postpartum yoni steaming, and how that was a key to her personal pelvic floor healing after her severe tear which required surgery. So you'll hear about that, too!

Resources:

• Sign up for the waitlist for Natural Contraception the Herbal Way program!
• Free Track Your Cycle Naturally (FAM) guide
• Today's shownotes: Get links to Leah's steaming + birthwork offerings
• Episode 25: Immediate postpartum care the herbal way w Liz Philbrick
• Harvard study -- reduced inflammation through kinder self-talk
  • couldn't find the study but found these:
    • Mindfulness + positive health outcomes - Harvard professor Ellen Langer + Harvard Health
    • Emodiversity + Biomarkers of Inflammation

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal health concerns.

Support the show

Click here to send me a quick message :)

Holy mama! This week is monumental and I want to honor it with you because this podcast would be nothing without the community of thousands of listeners who have tuned in over time. THANK YOU.

Today marks episode 200!!

So I decided to craft a simple episode highlighting the power of celebration -- to embody the practice of celebrating (including 2 of my biggest celebrations from this podcast journey) and invite you to join me in this podcast party too.

A lot of times we associate the buoyancy of summer with joy and celebration.

But ancestral traditions across cultures also come together in the darkest nights of the year to find and bring the light into the darkness, often together, often in celebration.

So, while this time of the year has a very different quality than bright summer days, it is an entirely appropriate time to tune into quiet reflection and receptivity AS you are also finding the guiding light and celebration.

So please join me in celebrating Herbal Womb Wisdom's 200th episode!! In whatever ways feel great for you.

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: The medicine of celebration
• Join the waitlist: Natural Contraception, The Herbal Way
• Episode 19: Pelvic liberation and softening w Chaya Leia Aronson
• Episode 61: Pelvic wisdom - healing trauma w Dr Emily Wilson
• Episode 77: Myofascial release for pelvis + chest w Lindsay Courcelle
• Episode 119: Clearing womb trauma w Dr Sarah Wylie
• Episode 141: Uterine unwinding w Dr Kathryn Kloos
• Episode 192: Pleasure as medicine w Dr Emily Wilson

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal health concerns.

Support the show

Click here to send me a quick message :)

What does it mean to connect with your inner wild woman (or wild womb)?

And how can you more fully embody this innate creative, sensual, generative, wisdom-keeping part of yourself in ways that feel inspiring and unique to you?

It can be easy to look online at social media accounts painting with menstrual blood or embodying some fierce quality of themselves with animal hides and think... "that's what the wild woman looks like"...

But really, as wild woman photographer Vanessa Wingerath shares, it's not about looking outside of us for what others wild womb expressions are, but tuning into the unique ways YOUR being expresses that archetype that matters.

If you're curious to hear about Vanessa's journey to her "wild woman era" and how you can begin to engage with these parts of yourself too - through photography, circles, retreats etc - as well as HOW transformational this kind of practice can be, this week's episode is perfect for you.

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Grab links to any of Vanessa's offerings
• Free Womb connection and Clearing Guided Practice (22 mins)
• Episode 65: Grief & pleasure postpartum & beyond w Stacey Ramsower

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal health concerns.

Support the show

Click here to send me a quick message :)

Navigating the whirls and twirls of perimenopause can feel like a wild ride.

But amidst all of this transitional terrain, what if there was also a potential for immense power?

There is! And this is a lot of what we explore in this week's episode.

Business mentor and life coach Olivia Bowen shares about everything from how her births supported her spiritual growth to how her surprising entry into perimenopause catapulted her into prioritizing what really mattered and letting go of what didn't.

Her perimenopausal clients have affirmed the power inherent in this time too.

She also shares about the map she's created of the chakras of business (which could easily be translated to creative projects of any kind) which reflects a comprehensive view of all the foundational elements of any successful endeavor.

It's such a cool lens to look through, and I hope you enjoy learning about it too.

A beautiful exploration in this time of thin veils.

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Grab links to Olivia's resources + offerings
• Start tracking your menstrual cycle to learn about what your cycle is telling you: Track Your Cycle Naturally
• Sign up for the waitlist for Natural Contraception the Herbal Way program!
• Episode 37: Easing into menopause
• Episode 188: Perimenopause the Ayurvedic way

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal health concerns.

Support the show

Click here to send me a quick message :)

So many of us are walking around with the beliefs we created in childhood running the show.

And almost always, we are unconscious of it. Largely because we have other parts of ourselves protecting us from feeling or becoming aware of the hurt parts of ourselves.

These "parts" protect us, or try to, and in a way cause us to act and react to everything from social interactions to work to relationships to sexual connections to how-we-treat-our-own-selves.

So, what can we do to heal some of these deep core wounds (whether they came from obvious trauma or from less-visible places in our lives)?

And how can we use embodied practices to help us do that?

This is what Kristen Stake and I talk about on this week's episode.

Not only is she a licensed professional counselor trained deeply in Internal Family Systems (aka "parts work"). She is also a mover, and somatic practices have been a huge part of her life and healing path.

So she has developed her own style of bridging the world of "parts work" and somatic practices like authentic movement into an embodied form of "Moving With Our Parts."

If you're new to IFS, or seasoned in the work, this episode is a great foundation on what it is, how it can help you become a better version of yourself, and how to bring some of those "parts" into your body and move with them to help them be accepted, expressed, and maybe even let their hold go a little bit, too.

I hope this conversation offers you some glimpses into what's possible for you.

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Get links to Kristen's offerings + the books she mentioned
• Grab the free Womb Connection & Clearing guided practice
• Sign up for the waitlist for Natural Contraception the Herbal Way program!
• Episode 121: Healing heartbreak with IFS with Sara Avant Stover

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal health concerns.

Support the show

Click here to send me a quick message :)

Let's be honest that most of us are poorly informed about all the non-hormonal birth control options we have.

Our providers basically tell us we should either choose something they have on offer (whether that's IUD's or hormonal contraception of one kind or another), and dismiss the efficacy of the myriad non-hormonal birth control options we have access to outside of the medical system.

IUD's are incredibly commonplace, and while they work for many, they also have risks and side-effects that are often overlooked.

Our bodies are our own, and my biggest wish is for you to make the choice that's right for your body in whatever season of life you're in.

But if you are curious about non-hormonal birth control options, this episode is a great place to start.

I've been practicing a combination of Fertility Awareness Method, withdrawal, occasional condom use and occasional herbal allies for my contraception practice for nearly two decades.

This is not some short-lived thing. This is long term, deeply embodied confidence I have in these forms of contraception working effectively - especially when combined.

It's empowering to know what's possible, which is why I wanted to do an entire episode on withdrawal, really detailing what it is, how to make it more effective, when in your cycle you may want to try it if you're newer to it or more experienced, and how edging can play a role as well.

I hope it offers you some grounded information you can use as you explore what feels true and right for you!

Resources:

• Get started tracking your cycle: Track Your Cycle (FAM) guide
• Sign up for the waitlist here: Natural Contraception winter 2025/2026 waitlist
• Today's shownotes: Is withdrawal effective?
• Episode 90: Effective Non-hormonal birth control options
• Episode 146: 5 benefits of practicing natural contraception
• Episode 186: When contraception fails!

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom.

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal health concerns.

Support the show