E43 Julie Bell | Four homebirths, Birthworker, Herbalist, Precipitous labour, Faith led birth, Private midwifery care

Julie Bell is a mother of four, a doula, herbalist, Christian, feminist, and the creative genius behind Blissful Herbs.

In this episode Julie shares the births of her four children. She conceived for the first time while living in Hong Kong and working in foreign aid, and ended up giving birth in her ancestral homeland, Ireland. Julie’s first birth was a homebirth under the care of a private midwife, who was hands off and allowed Julie to intuitively travel through her labour and birth. Julie’s second baby was born in a shopping mall in New Zealand, after she went into labour with almost no notice and ended up birthing in a breastfeeding cubicle in the parents’ room! Her next birth was again in New Zealand, at home and under the care of a private midwife. There was some complications in this birth and Julie shares about how she navigated a tricky birth and advocated for herself to achieve her homebirth. Eight years later she fell pregnant again, and delivered her fourth baby, and first son, at home in Australia.

Throughout her birth stories Julie has woven many pieces of wisdom she has picked up as a doula and mother. She shares her experiences of freeing herself from fundamentalist Christian faith, of living through the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, and speaks to her vision of what an alternative maternity care model could look like.