S7 EP186: Vanessa Harding: Two Home births / 26-Hour Posterior Labour at 41+4 / House Renovation + Wild Pregnancy

Vanessa joins me from Coffs Harbour to share the story of birthing both of her daughters at home… her first during lockdown in a tiny studio apartment after a 26-hour posterior labour at 41+4 weeks, and her second in the quiet stillness of dawn - a sunrise water birth that unfolded almost exactly as she had envisioned.

After reflecting deeply on her first birth experience, Vanessa immersed herself in emotional womb healing, mantra, and the teachings of freebirth philosophy. Her second labour became an exploration of mindset, responsibility, and self-trust… labouring alone through much of the night and anchoring into a simple phrase that transformed her experience.

In this episode we discuss:

1. Posterior labour and going 41+4
2. Labouring at home without scans or medical testing
3. The role of mindset in physiological birth
4. Emotional womb work and releasing stored tension
5. Labouring solo and conscious birth preparation
6. Having an older child witness birth
7. Placenta encapsulation and postpartum recovery
8. Taking responsibility for your birth choices
9. The power of “knowing”

This is a conversation about transformation… about shifting from endurance to intention, and from hoping for a positive birth to consciously choosing one.

Resources & Mentions:

Personal Instagram:

@coramba_cottage

Books:

📖 Portal by Yolande Norris-Clark

Instagram: @bauhauswife

Birth Sling:

@the.birth.sling

Pregnancy Yoga (Coffs Harbour):

@wildernessyoga.coffs

Womb & Pelvic Healing Work with Chaitanya:

@wombtemple.healing

Sydney Midwife (First Birth):

@janineatibirth

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Mentioned in this episode:

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia