Healing Birth, Tauranga (2026)

13/02/2026

There is such power in telling your birth story.

For many parents, being able to speak their experience out loud, in a space that feels safe and free from judgement, can be a meaningful step towards healing and peace. Story sharing can bring clarity, reduce self-blame, and help untangle emotions that may have been carried quietly for months or even years.

At Healing Birth, supporting women and their partners to unpack and understand their birth experiences is central to the work they do.
Healing Birth offers:
• 1:1 birth trauma healing sessions
• Havening techniques to gently reduce distress linked to traumatic birth memories
• Support when preparing for a future healing birth
• Practitioner training for those wanting to hold space for others in a trauma-informed way

Your story matters.

And you don’t have to process it alone.

Learn more at www.healingbirth.co.nz
Or feel free to send me a message.

12/02/2026

Birth trauma is often misunderstood.

Many people believe trauma only happens when there is a medical emergency or physical injury. But birth trauma is also about how a woman experiences their birth and early parenting journey - emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually - something that is not always so obvious to others who are present.

A birth can be traumatic even when a mother and her baby are physically healthy.
Feeling unheard, unsupported, overwhelmed, powerless, or disconnected can leave lasting impacts.

These feelings are valid.

You are not alone.

And there is no “right” way to feel about your birth experience.

At Healing Birth, we acknowledge that birth experiences matter. They matter a great deal because they can have lasting negative consequences, not just for the mother, but for her wider family and society as a whole! Understanding and unpacking traumatic birth experiences can be an important step toward healing, confidence, and empowerment.

If this resonates with you, whether for your own healing or to help others in their own healing journey, support and education opportunities are available.

Our next Healing Birth Practitioner Training course begins February 23rd and there are only a few places left so please get in touch!

And as always, there are 1:1 support options to work with Carla on your healing journey.

To learn more head to healingbirth.co.nz - follow .birth – or send us a direct message.

https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training
https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/healing

10/02/2026

Meet Carla- the heart behind Healing Birth. With decades in birth work and trauma-healing, she’s redefining how we support families after challenging births. Join her movement toward a more compassionate, trauma-informed birth culture.

Carla has turned her experience of midwifery and birth trauma support into a powerful training for birth workers ready to make a deeper impact. There is so much more to gain in this course than becoming a certified Healing Birth practitioner- this is a movement toward true emotional healing in birth.

Our founder Carla blends midwifery knowledge with trauma-healing wisdom to train a new generation of compassionate birth workers. This is your invitation to be part of the vital birthing revolution that is underway, one that will see women reclaiming birth, and all of society benefitting from that.

To reach out to Carla or to find out more information about the Healing Birth Practitioner Training course, or any of Carla’s other offerings, please feel free to send a message or head the website-

https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training
https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/healing
https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/

08/02/2026

Learn the Art & Science of holistic birth trauma support.

Next course starts February 23rd and there are only a few spots left!

To join, send us a message or head straight to the link in bio - https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

07/02/2026

Birth isn’t just a physiological event; it is the foundation of our collective well-being. But to change the world, we must also change how we protect and honour the birth experience.

Healing birth isn’t just about picking up the pieces afterward—it’s about prevention. When we support women to have births where they feel deeply respected, heard and autonomous, we create a shield against trauma becoming a part of the birth process. By shifting the birth culture now, we can ensure fewer families ever have to walk the path of recovery.

Our Healing Birth Practitioner Training gives you the tools to do both. Whether you want to specialize in trauma support or integrate holistic care into your current role, this course teaches you how to advocate for the empowered experiences that prevent birth trauma from taking root.

Join a passionate community of practitioners dedicated to honouring birth and healing our world, one birth at a time.

Ready to be part of the change?

Join the Healing Birth Practitioner Training course to begin your journey. DM us now for the webpage link for further information, and to apply - https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

06/02/2026

Despite other's judgements that women who choose to birth outside of mainstream practises are knowingly endangering their baby's or their own life, the fact of the matter is that NO ONE wants a safe birth outcome more so than the person giving birth. Full stop.

Our conditioning has led many of us to indiscriminately trust authority figures and to unquestioningly comply with their 'requests'. When an OB says, "It's unsafe to continue this pregnancy because your baby is getting too big and may get stuck during birth, so let's book you in for an induction", there are many within the birthing population who would go ahead with that recommendation without a second thought.

But there is no evidence that says induction of labour improves safety outcomes for 'big' babies (the scan which determined the baby to be big was, in itself, a largely unreliable source of information!)... and in my decade of having worked with people who experience birth trauma, I have learnt that inductions are incredibly UNSAFE for many women and their babies (and yet, are rarely warned of this).

In the book, The Roar Behind the Silence: Why kindness, compassion and respect matter in maternity care, Amali Lokugamage and Theresa Bourne (p162) state that an evaluation of ACOG clinical guidelines revealed that only one third of obstetric recommendations are based on good and consistent scientific evidence. A similar analysis of UK RCOG guidelines showed that only 9-12% of the recommendations are from grade A evidence.

Do your research, people! And undo that conditioning that has taught you not to trust your innate birthing wisdom. Listen to your body, communicate with your baby, trust the messages that your gut is giving you, and know that YOU are the person who knows what is SAFEST for you and your baby.

The next Healing Birth Practitioner Training course starts in less than 3 weeks and there are only 4 spots left! Send me a message for more info or head straight to my website to apply - https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

04/02/2026

These quotes are taken from women who experienced birth trauma in Aotearoa, NZ, a place where maternity ‘care’ is free, including for those who choose to birth at home, and where continuity of care from a known midwife is the norm. The is still So Much preventable trauma, and what’s more, the leading cause of maternal deaths in NZ is su***de. This speaks volumes about the lack of support many of our new mothers/whānau are given... for many, there simply is no support.

For those of us who have the opportunity to experience a really positive birth, the struggles associated with navigating new parenthood are still VERY real for many of us - lack of sleep, self doubt, overwhelm, birth recovery, breastfeeding struggles, financial concerns, societal pressures, isolation, lack of community/village/family support. To add recovery from a traumatic birth to those struggles, is hard to fathom. And yet so many of the women I see in my work have not been offered any support or guidance surrounding their experience. In fact, they are often led to believe that, ‘that’s just how birth is’ and that focusing on the positives and being grateful are the most appropriate ways of managing their feelings.

That narrative needs to change. We need to stop undermining the very real impacts of a traumatic birth experience and we need to start offering some effective support for struggling new parents.

🌿Learn the art and science of holistic birth trauma support… from me, someone who has been helping hundreds of women and families to experience healing after a traumatic birth for over a decade now.🌿

✨Join my Healing Birth Practitioner Training course today. Starts 23rd February. Only 4 spots left. DM me now or head here: https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training ✨

healbirthhealtheearth mothersmatter healingbirthpractitioner

04/02/2026

It's not surprising that the type of birth trauma training I provide is not part of mainstream birth worker education programmes. The systems and people that design the training programmes are oftentimes the very reason why birth trauma is so prevalent!

When we train and/or work within an oppressive institution, like that of our current maternity 'care' system, we tend to internalise (and therefore externalise in our work) damaging beliefs around birth and birthing women...

That the birth process is inherently untrustworthy and is safer when monitored by 'experts'...

That women cannot be trusted to make safe decisions for themselves and their babies...

That there is a hierarchy in the birth space, and the woman is at the bottom of the heap...

That technology and expert opinion hold much more relevance than a woman's own inner knowing...

That birth is meant to be painful and undignified, and is viewed as a means-to-an-
end...

That risk and safety are objectively determined when it comes to birth decisions...

That interventions in birth are the norm, rather than the exception...

That informed consent doesn't count in the birth space...

That it's not abuse or r**e if it happens to a birthing woman by a 'care' provider...

That all aspects of labour and birth are required to fit within narrowly and arbitrarily defined norms, or else something is wrong and needs to be fixed, managed or altered...

That someone other than the birthing woman has her baby's best interests at heart more so than she does, especially if she is choosing a non-mainstream approach to her pregnancy or birth care.

My Healing Birth Practitioner Training course will help you to unravel all this, it will help you to heal from your own trauma, it will give you the skills and tools to effectively guide someone to find healing and peace after a traumatic birth experience, and it will equip you with the confidence to know that you are able to provide the full spectrum of support that your clients deserve.

Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions regarding your own birth trauma or for more information regarding my Training. Limited spots are left for the next course starting in less than 3 weeks! Follow the link to join now -
https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

03/02/2026

Tired of the Status Quo? Be part of the change that is so desperately needed.

You see the damage. You witness the blatant trauma. You know, deep in your soul, that maternal healthcare in its current state is failing families.

If you're a passionate birth worker (or a survivor called to this work) who is eager to challenge that status quo, this is for you.

We are calling for people who are done with routine disempowerment and the utter disregard for the damage this 'care' causes mums, babies, and new families.

What if you could do more than just observe the problem? What if you could become part of the solution?
The Healing Birth Practitioner Training is not just another course; it is a 10-week immersion that gives you the exact tools Carla uses in her decade-long, successful practice.

Carla teaches you the art and science of effective, holistic birth trauma support.
This isn't about being angry; it's about being effective. It's about equipping you to provide the Trauma-Informed Care and space holding that is missing from so many maternity systems.

It's time to channel your passion into a powerful purpose and build a sustainable, impactful career.

Become a certified Healing Birth practitioner and help us change the world, one birth story at a time.

To find out how, simply send me a message or head straight to - https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

01/02/2026

The Healing Birth Practitioner Training programme is designed to set you up to be able to offer the same care that I offer my clients. There is nothing that I do in my Healing Birth work that I won't share with you in this course... I want to see you soar in this important work!

Perhaps you're still 'on the fence' about whether or not to sign up. Maybe you're drawn to this programme of work, but are unsure whether it's a worthwhile investment of your time, energy and finances. Or maybe you're wondering whether you're a 'good fit' for this training.

Rather than having me, the person who developed and runs the course, convince you of why yes, you absolutely should get onboard this training, I figure you're going to feel much more convinced by hearing from other's who have become certified Healing Birth practitioners with me.

If you’re keen to explore what joining the February 2026 round of my Healing Birth Practitioner Training could look like for you, either send me a message so we can arrange a time to talk it through, or click this link -
https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

28/01/2026

Unlearn the narrative that trusting yourself is "irresponsible."

Where do our fears about birth actually come from?

Often, they aren’t ours—they are inherited stories, societal pressures, and the discomfort of setting boundaries in a system that prizes compliance over intuition.

As birth workers, and as birthing women, these are really important questions to unpack. If we lack awareness of our conditioned beliefs, we tend to be at the mercy of them. And essentially our conditioning is primed for compliance, not agency, when it comes to birth. In a time when the overmedicalisation and pathologising of birth is rife, groomed compliance is a leading cause of needless trauma.

Our Healing Birth Practitioner Training is designed to help you peel back these layers, reclaim your autonomy, and understand the root of these confrontations. It’s time to move from external validation to internal authority.

Ready to transform the way we approach birth?

Join our next Healing Birth Practitioner Training cohort and start your journey toward healing and supporting others to heal, too.

To view course details & to register head to -
https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

To learn about how to heal and find peace head to -
https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/healing

25/01/2026

Healing birth trauma requires more than just a listening ear—it requires a uniquely nuanced approach. 🕊️

Many well-meaning professionals, from midwives and doulas to therapists and doctors, can unwittingly exacerbate birth trauma simply because they haven't been trained in the specific complexities of the birthing psyche. Without a trauma-informed framework that weaves into it vital birth wisdom, even professional advice can feel like another layer of being unheard.

To truly support a woman in her healing, we must understand the delicate intersection of physical safety, emotional autonomy, and systemic pressure.
Our Healing Birth Practitioner Training is designed to bridge this gap. We provide you with the specialized tools and deep understanding necessary to safely guide someone on their healing journey, ensuring your support is a catalyst for restoration rather than a source of further distress.

“The Healing Birth Trauma course that Carla offers is a level of care that is often shied away from in the mainstream birth world. I understand that practitioners do not want to hold responsibility for harm, because they probably entered their field of healthcare to prevent harm, however, it exists and is growing. We practitioners need to acknowledge it, look into what we do to perpetuate it, and address how we can do our work with less fear-inducing language and damage. The awareness itself is huge, as its origins and the narratives of those who experience trauma during birthing tell us we are falling in our standard of care. Congratulations Carla for being a massive voice and example of care through self-determined choice with knowledge and belief in sovereignty as belonging to the person we care for and work alongside.” -Suzan Lee Anderson

Refine your practice and provide the care women truly deserve.

Explore our Healing Birth Practitioner Training course to learn a more nuanced, effective approach to healing birth trauma. To find out more please send me a DM or head to this link - https://www.healingbirth.co.nz/hb-practitioner-training

Healing Birth

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