At Her Feet18 Sep 2025

Raven Lang : The Birth Book and the Reawakening Part 1

In this first of a three-part series, Blyss sits with Raven Lang — one of the most influential midwives in America and author of The Birth Book (1972). Often credited with sparking the home birth revival on the West Coast, Raven’s voice and vision helped lay the foundation for modern midwifery in the United States. Her groundbreaking Birth Book became a touchstone for countless families and midwives seeking alternatives to hospital birth, and her ideas on imprinting and the formation of motherly love changed how generations would understand the postpartum bond.

This episode sets the stage for the next two parts of Raven’s remarkable story.

Raven Shares

She shares about her upbringing in San Francisco’s North Beach,
her struggles with childhood illness and Catholic schooling, and
the fierce independence that shaped her feminist awakening.
Raven reflects on her first birth at Stanford in 1968 — an experience both empowering and unsettling — that propelled her into childbirth education, goat-keeping, and eventually attending births in Santa Cruz.

Mentioned in this Episode

The Birth Book by Raven Lang
Immaculate Deception by Suzanne Arms
Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read
Painless Childbirth by Fernand Lamaze
Peter Nash – California physician who briefly attended home births

Thank you to all the elders, donations and volunteers that have made this project possible.

Together, we can preserve the wisdom of elder midwives for generations to come. Give today and be part of this legacy.…please visit bridgemidwives.com for more information on how to donate.

Community Circles (First Thursdays of each month)

Podcast Editor: Shea Lyons

Archivist and Producer: Blyss Young

Instagram: @TheBridgeMidwives

Join our Facebook community: The Bridge Midwives Project

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(17)

Raven Lang Part 3 of 3: Midwifery, Boundaries, and the Weight of Change

In this closing chapter of her three-part interview, Raven Lang reflects on the evolution of midwifery and her own transformation along the way. She remembers the simplicity of her early birth bag—her...

2 Okt 20252h 22min

Raven Lang Part 2 of 3: Rising as a Leader in the Homebirth Movement

In last week’s episode, Raven shared how she was first called into midwifery. This week, we hear how she rose as a leader during the early homebirth movement in Santa Cruz.Raven describes the study gr...

25 Sep 20251h 49min

Ellen’s Fight for Midwifery: From Outlaw Practice to Legal Recognition

In this episode of At Her Feet, Ellen Levitt, LM, shares the winding path that brought her from Long Island to San Francisco in the 1980s—and into the heart of the home birth movement. Her story carri...

11 Sep 20251h 47min

Mother of Midwifery Today: A Conversation with Jan Tritten

In this intimate conversation, Blyss visits the home of Jan Tritten—midwife, visionary, and the founding editor of Midwifery Today magazine. Surrounded by her garden, animals, and family history, Jan ...

4 Sep 20251h 19min

Listening, Lineage, and Letting Go with Home Birth Midwife Carla Viles

Carla Viles’ story is one of circling back—through loss and redemption, apprenticeship and partnership, intuition and listening. From snowy nights in Eugene with her children decorating a Christmas tr...

28 Aug 20251h 49min

Herbal Wisdom, Holy Trust, and 50 Years of Birth with Betty Griffith, LDM

In this intimate conversation, Blyss sits with Betty Griffith, LDM, a licensed midwife in Salem, Oregon, whose five decades of practice bridge the early days of the home birth revival with today’s cha...

21 Aug 20251h 28min

Finding Her Own Way: Midwifery, Activism, and the Babies Who Called Her — with Adele Rose

In this rich and soulful conversation, Blyss sits with Adele Rose, a traditional birth attendant whose path has been guided by instinct, a fierce sense of justice, and a deep trust in the body’s wisdo...

14 Aug 20252h 3min