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 groups, living-room prenatals, and the creation of the Santa Cruz Birth Center. Out of these gatherings came her groundbreaking book, The Birth Book, a collection of women’s stories that carried the movement forward.

She also recalls the resistance — public health warnings, phones tapped, and the raid on the birth center. Even under pressure, Raven and her peers kept going, building midwifery from the ground up.

This episode marks the moment when Raven stepped from witness to leader, helping shape a new culture of birth.

Mentioned in This Episode

• Kitty Lakos — RN and midwife, co-founder of the Santa Cruz Birth Center
• Kate Bowland — early homebirth midwife, part of the Santa Cruz collective
• Dr. Stuart “Don” Creevy — OB who mentored Raven and supported natural birth
• Dr. Thomas Brewer — physician known for research on nutrition and hypertension in pregnancy
• Dr. Marshall Klaus — pediatrician who introduced the concept of bonding between mother and baby
• Dr. Barry Brazelton — pediatrician and researcher who worked with Klaus on attachment studies
• Dr. Rebecca Barroso — Cuban-born midwife, later earned a PhD and became a professor at Frontier Nursing University

Books & Resources

• The Birth Book by Raven Lang — one of the first modern collections of women’s birth stories
• Manual for Rural Midwives — concise international midwifery text translated into English
• Writings of Dr. Thomas Brewer — focused on diet, blood pressure, and maternal health
• Research on bonding and attachment by Marshall Klaus & Barry Brazelton — foundational studies on maternal-infant connection

Herbs, Homeopathy & Hands-on Skills

• Palpation and maternal touch — learning through feel and observation
• Perineal massage — something Raven encouraged for preparing the body for birth, though midwives hold differing opinions on its value
• Study-group learning — urine dipsticks, blood pressure, and case-by-case pathology
• Suturing — early skills passed through mentorship and peer support

Pharmaceuticals Mentioned

• Demerol — an opioid pain medication widely used in hospital births at the time, often leaving mothers groggy and newborns sedated
• Pitocin — routinely given in hospitals to induce or speed up labor

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