What if preparing for birth could also prepare you for a lifetime of deeper intimacy, healing, and connection—for you and for your children? In this powerful conversation, Debra talks with Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers, internationally recognized sex and gender feminist psychotherapist, bestselling author of Sex, God, and the Conservative Church and Shameless Parenting, and founder of Inanna Rising. Together, they explore how sexual shame shows up in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and how embracing pleasure can transform not just your birth, but your w...
What if preparing for birth could also prepare you for a lifetime of deeper intimacy, healing, and connection—for you and for your children? In this powerful conversation, Debra talks with Dr. Tina Schermer Sellers, internationally recognized sex and gender feminist psychotherapist, bestselling author of Sex, God, and the Conservative Church and Shameless Parenting, and founder of Inanna Rising. Together, they explore how sexual shame shows up in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and how embracing pleasure can transform not just your birth, but your whole family's story.
Dr. Tina shares her own birth story of a fast, "big baby" delivery that made her appreciate just how much birth asks of our bodies and hearts. She then breaks down how early and deep shame takes root—many girls start modifying their diets as young as six—and why pregnancy often brings those old stories to the surface. You'll hear practical, compassionate steps to begin "reparenting" yourself, shedding inherited shame, and raising confident, body‑positive, pleasure‑literate kids, starting from birth.
Along the way, Debra and Tina invite you to honor your unique body, your unique baby, and the profound truth that there has never been a human exactly like either of you.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- How pregnancy and birth can surface long‑held stories of body shame and "not enoughness," and why that's actually an invitation to healing.
- Why culture profits from women and birthing people feeling "not good enough," and how that affects how we see our pregnant and postpartum bodies.
- How embracing pleasure and your five senses in pregnancy can positively impact labor, bonding, and the way you welcome your baby.
- The heartbreaking research on how early body shame begins—and how to interrupt that cycle for your children.
- A simple, powerful first step Dr. Tina recommends if you're pregnant and recognizing you've been carrying shame for a long time.
- How to use Shameless Parenting even if you don't have children—to gently reparent yourself, stage by stage, and let shame "drip off."
- Why postpartum is a year‑long physiological and emotional transition, and how to honor your needs alongside your baby's.
- The importance of postpartum support and "wise elder women," from doulas to community, to help normalize your experience.
- How Dr. Tina defines sexuality as sharing connection and pleasure—not just behaviors—and why transactional sex leaves our hearts out of the picture.
- How her books and her work at Inanna Rising are helping people heal religious and cultural sexual shame and reclaim joyful intimacy.
Resources mentioned:
Pleasurable Birth Essentials online childbirth class with Debra: https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/pleasurable-birth-essentials
Shameless Parenting: Everything You Need to Raise Shame‑Free, Confident Kids and Heal Your Shame Too – Tina Schermer Sellers
Sex, God, and the Conservative Church: Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy – Tina Schermer Sellers
Dr. Tina's website: https://tinaschermersellers.com
Dr. Tina on Instagram: @drtinashameless
Inanna Rising (psychedelic‑assisted therapy community): https://inannarising.org
Inanna Rising on Instagram: @inanna_rising_pat
Dr. Tina also shares that if you cannot afford her books, you can DM her on Instagram to request a promo code for an audio version.
Connect with Debra & Orgasmic Birth:
Learn more and join Pleasurable Birth Essentials: https://www.orgasmicbirth.com/pleasurable-birth-essentials
Website: https://www.orgasmicbirth.com
Instagram: @orgasmicbirth
Are you ready to transform childbirth into an empowering, pleasurable, joyful experience? My online course, Pleasurable Birth Essentials, gives you the tools and confidence to make labor something to celebrate. You'll learn comfort techniques, embrace your body's natural rhythms, and discover how to invite pleasure—yes, even orgasm—into birth. Join thousands of parents who call this class birth‑ and life‑changing at orgasmicbirth.com/pleasurable-birth-essentials.
