This episode is a deeply personal conversation with Gemma, who shares her journey through birth work, loss, faith, and what it has meant for her to be transformed along the way. Gemma has spent over eight years in the birth world, moving between the medical system, traditional midwifery, and unassisted birth, while building a homesteading life in rural British Columbia. Her story opens with profound loss, carrying and birthing twins at home, followed by a hemorrhage that brought her face to face with surrender in a way she had never experienced before. Just two weeks later, she found herself pregnant again, stepping into a season where peace and fear coexisted in a very real way. She shares how her upbringing in New Age and how her previous births left her feeling physically overwhelmed and, at times, traumatized. There was a deep longing to be rescued from the intensity of it all, paired with the weight of feeling like she had to carry everything on her own. During this pregnancy, everything began to shift. Gemma describes encounters with Jesus through dreams and visions, even as she wrestled with resistance. A question stayed with her, “Who told you you couldn’t be saved?” It marked the beginning of releasing the need to prove her strength and allowing herself to receive help. Hearing other women’s stories of inviting Christ into their births gave her language for what that could look like & she began to lean into faith more intentionally, especially as she navigated concerning symptoms and long stretches of time alone while her husband worked as a train conductor, often gone 12 hours a day. When labor began, she eventually came up against a wall of fear. In that moment, she felt a sense of being given true choice, an invitation to continue or seek help, and she chose to surrender more deeply.. Alone, she describes it as peaceful, flowing, and effective in a way that surprised her. She shares candidly about navigating meconium-stained waters and then a larger amount appearing later, and how she worked through the emotions that came with that. Worship music became a powerful anchor throughout labor, and at one point, crying out to God brought an immediate shift in her body and spirit. As birth progressed, she realized her baby was breech. She describes feeling coached through the pushing phase, staying present and supported as she brought her baby into the world. Throughout the story, fear becomes something different than an obstacle. It becomes an invitation to lean in, to trust more deeply, and to continue surrendering. LINKS Her post in our FB group: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=2274989219664289&set=gm.1601978701221077&idorvanity=181048103314151 Gemma on IG (it’s on pause/archived for now): Gemma Epp 🕊️ (@wyldbirth) • Instagram profile reach out by email wyldbirth@gmail.com A Sacred Beginning book: A Sacred Beginning: Nurturing Your Body, Mind, and Soul during Baby's First Forty Days Connect with the Holy Wild Birth team: Email us to say hi: holywildbirth@gmail.com Put in a request for future topics and/or submit a question for future Q&A episodes: Fill out the form Apply to tell your birth story on the podcast: Holy Wild Birth Podcast : Guest Application Hang out with us and other Holy Wild Women in our FREE, private community (off Facebook): Hearthmother Ministries Community Become a holy, wild birthkeeper with us this fall inside Hearthmother Journey From Lauren: Instagram Midwifery consults: Email rootedinedenpma@gmail.com From Brooke: Instagram Trust God, Trust Birth Workshop - a 5-part high-level roadmap to a confident home birth (pay what you can) Faith-Filled Home Birth Workshop - a free, 3-part video series delivered to your inbox Embrace Birth Journey - comprehensive and holistic faith-based home birth preparation (courses + private community)
