Midwife Life: Midwifing you through health, motherhood, and the sacred mess of life’s transformations with Diane Ortega

Podfox Media
Podfox Media
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Alternative Health
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to The Midwife Life—part podcast, part revolution that empowers and educates women on all things related to pregnancy, birth, postpartum care, and careers in healthcare. Whether it's understanding the options available to you, advocating for yourself in a health care setting, or simply knowing that you're not alone, I want you to leave each episode feeling stronger and more equipped.

  1. 3d ago

    The Pause You Didn't Choose

    Last week I opened the doors to my program, The Rebirth Journey. The doors closed and no one came through. This episode is me sitting in that pause, honestly. My first feeling was relief, and I wasn't sure I was allowed to feel it. After eighteen years of watching babies be born, I know what happens when something comes before it's ready. So I'm letting this one finish gestating. If you're in a pause you didn't choose, the career on hold, the plan that stalled because someone needed you more, this one's for you. In this episode: Why my first honest feeling was relief, and why that felt like something I wasn't allowed to feel Transition in labor: what happens when we try to push before it's time The labor I attended that simply stopped, and what happened when we let her rest What I did with the hour that was supposed to be our first call Why stillness feels unsafe, and what that has to do with your nervous system What I'd tell you if you're sitting in a pause right now Something Is Shifting: a free 10-minute audio for the car or a walk, for when you're in a season like this one: themidwifelife.kit.com/shifting Local to the East Valley? Join me for Rebirth Conversations, "The Pause You Didn't Choose," Thursday, October 15, 6:00 to 7:30 PM, Erma Bombeck Room, Queen Creek Library. $10 holds your seat: themidwifelife.kit.com/rebirthconversations If this episode meant something to you, share it with a friend, and leave a rating and a couple of lines on your podcast app. It helps the show reach more women who need these conversations.

  2. Oct 5

    I Deserved Every Penny

    This summer, one of the women in my pilot group came to week three with a story. When a real estate deal went sideways, she'd always quietly absorbed the cost. This time, on what she called "a miserable transaction," she fought for her commission and kept every penny. "That was super uncomfortable, but afterwards it was like, I should do this more often!" This episode is about the wall she hit, why mothers hit the same one every time they want something for themselves, and what got her over it. In this episode: Why knowing what to do was never enough, in her own words from week one The commission story, and the sentence she said afterwards The braces-and-cleats test: what you spend on your kids without a second thought, and what you won't spend on yourself Burn, Slow, Listen, Move: her four words across four weeks, and why the slow weeks have to be built in What a room of women witnessing each other actually does The Rebirth Journey: twelve weeks, a small group of women (eight at most), Wednesdays 6:30 to 7:30pm AZ, starts Wednesday, October 7th. Enrollment closes Tuesday, October 6th at 11:59pm AZ: The Rebirth Journey Close but not sure? Email hello@themidwifelife.co with "talk" in the subject line, and we'll find twenty minutes before the doors close. Not ready for any of that? Start with the free guided audio reflection, about ten minutes: Something is shifting audio

  3. Sep 28

    Reclaim You: The Workshop

    Last Tuesday I taught a free workshop called Reclaim You. Two women came. I taught it like the room was full, and I walked out surer than I walked in. This is the teaching, start to finish, so you can do it with me. Grab a pen. There are two places where I'll ask you to write, and I want you to actually pause me when I do. In this episode: Why I went into this workshop treating it as a test, and what happened when one woman came The Missing Phase: how mothers absorb everyone else's schedules and needs until they lose their own data points The Root prompt, and what to do with whatever you write down The Reclaim prompt: one piece of yourself you're ready to take back because of who you are now Why I stop before Rise, on purpose The two prompts, if you want them in front of you: Root: Look at your last 48 hours. If we stripped away everyone else's schedules, demands, and "I'm fine" moments, what did you actually want to do with just one free hour? Write down the raw, unfiltered truth of what you are currently tolerating. Reclaim: Think of the version of you before motherhood, or the version of you that existed before this current season shifted. What is one piece of her, a feeling, a boundary, a hobby, or a standard, that you didn't notice slipped away, but you are ready to reclaim because of who you are now? The Rebirth Journey, twelve weeks, eight women, Wednesdays 6:30 to 7:30pm AZ, starts Wednesday, October 7th. Enrollment closes Tuesday, October 6th at 11:59pm AZ: The Rebirth Journey Not sure yet? Email me at hello@themidwifelife.co with "talk" in the subject line, and we'll find twenty minutes. Not ready for any of that? Start with the free guided audio reflection instead, about ten minutes: Something is shifting audio

  4. Sep 21

    Do I Need a Costume?

    A woman I worked with spent twenty-six years as a midwife and is becoming a lawyer. She told me both outfits feel fake. This episode is about what she said next, the real question underneath "which one is really me," and why the answer isn't about choosing the right costume at all. In this episode: The line a 26-year midwife said to me about leaving her career for law, and why it stopped me Her worth monologue, and the specific thing she doesn't believe about herself that has nothing to do with her competence My own version of this, said out loud months before I said it to myself: what it felt like to close three birth centers Why "wife-shaped, mother-shaped, employee-shaped" isn't a character flaw, it's a nervous system response What actually changed things for her, and it wasn't insight What Root, Reclaim, and Rise mean when the thing you're releasing isn't a person, it's a costume Join the free live workshop, Reclaim You, Tuesday September 22nd at 6:30pm AZ: themidwifelife.kit.com/reclaimyou Not ready for a live room yet? Start with the free guided audio reflection instead, about ten minutes: themidwifelife.kit.com/22d2e5d807

  5. Sep 14

    I'm Scared You Won't Think You're Worth It

    Eight days out from the workshop I've been building toward all year. I almost didn't record this one, because the truth in it isn't the polished kind. In this episode: Where the idea for The Rebirth Journey actually came from, and the rebirth I was living while I built it What it was like to sit in a room during the pilot and watch women say out loud how seen they felt The fear I didn't expect to have about this launch, and it isn't that nobody shows up The twenty minutes I sat staring at this episode before I could make myself hit record Reclaim You, live, September 22nd, 7pm AZ, free: Register HERE Not ready to register yet? I made a free 10-minute audio for exactly that moment: three questions, no fixing, no crisis: Something is Shifting

  6. Sep 7

    The Workshop I Cancelled

    It's my birthday. I'm recording this a few days ahead, a little tender, and more honest than I planned on being. This episode is about the pattern underneath every role I've ever held, and the workshop I cancelled because of it. In this episode: Why I don't call what's happening this year a pivot, and what I call it instead The real reason I went back for my doctorate in the middle of running three birth centers What walking out of Willow for the last time actually felt like The pattern I've never said out loud on this show before, and where it was hiding in every role I've ever held The real reason I cancelled a workshop this year, and the fear I didn't expect underneath it What I actually believe about turning another year older, no tidy answer included The same workshop I cancelled, reopening September 22nd as Reclaim You Register for Reclaim You, live September 22nd, 7pm AZ: Reclaim You WorkshopFeeling like something's shifting but you can't name it yet? I made a free 10-minute audio for exactly that moment: three questions, no fixing, no crisis. themidwifelife.kit.com/22d2e5d807

  7. Aug 31 ·  Bonus

    Your Body Isn’t Broken: Rethinking Women’s Health, Hormones, and Longevity with Stephanie Gambetta

    For decades, women have been told that fatigue, weight gain, slower recovery, brain fog, and hormone shifts are simply part of aging. But what if the real issue isn’t that women’s bodies are failing them? What if the real problem is that we’ve been given incomplete information about how our bodies actually work - especially in midlife. In this episode of The Midwife Life, Diane sits down with Stephanie Gambetta, founder of Loop and host of The Loop Podcast, to explore a new way of thinking about women’s health, metabolic wellness, and longevity. Stephanie’s journey into this work began after a serious skiing accident led her into a long recovery and sparked a deep curiosity about peptides and the science of healing and resilience. That curiosity eventually led her to create Loop, a wellness platform focused on education, coaching, and helping people approach new health tools with both curiosity and discernment. Together, Diane and Stephanie unpack: What peptides actually are (and why they’re suddenly everywhere) Why women’s metabolic health often changes in midlife The conversation around GLP medications and sustainable weight loss Why bloodwork and personalization matter more than trends How women can move from information overload to informed decision-making What it means to support your body instead of fighting it This conversation is not about quick fixes or biohacking hype. It’s about helping women understand their bodies in a deeper way — and reclaiming the power that comes with that knowledge. In This Episode We Discuss: Stephanie’s recovery journey and how it led to founding Loop Peptides explained in plain language The missing conversation around women’s metabolism and aging GLP medications and sustainable metabolic health Why coaching and education matter in the wellness space Building a values-driven company in an emerging industry Connect with Stephanie Website: ⁠https://www.theloopway.com⁠ Podcast: The Loop Podcast Instagram: @theloopway Connect with Diane Website: ⁠themidwifelife.co⁠ Instagram: @the.midwife.life.co

  8. Aug 24

    There's No Such Thing As Dad Guilt

    Last week at Rebirth Conversations, I asked a room full of women one question: what do you want that you haven't let yourself say out loud. What showed up right after they answered is the reason this episode exists. In this episode: The question I asked the room tonight, and what showed up the second they answered it The retreat story that came out of that conversation, and the one sentence that mattered more than the rest of it What the whole room agreed on, without anyone planning to talk about it My own version of this, from twelve years of single-parenting through building three birth centers The honest question I can't stop asking about the dads in this equation The ten-second daily practice I hand every woman in Root, Reclaim, Rise The Reclaim You workshop, August 26th, what it is and who it's for Join the free live workshop on August 26th: https://themidwifelife.kit.com/masterclass Feeling like something's shifting but you can't name it yet? I made a free 10-minute audio for exactly that moment: three questions, no fixing, no crisis. themidwifelife.kit.com/22d2e5d807

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Welcome to The Midwife Life—part podcast, part revolution that empowers and educates women on all things related to pregnancy, birth, postpartum care, and careers in healthcare. Whether it's understanding the options available to you, advocating for yourself in a health care setting, or simply knowing that you're not alone, I want you to leave each episode feeling stronger and more equipped.

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