Siobhán de Paor & Sarah Kelliher

The Decolonisation of Birth

Siobhán has been an advocate for maternity rights in Ireland since her first pregnancy seven years ago when she encountered the highly medicalised model of maternity care in Ireland. From hospital to home, her three births have travelled the broad spectrum of birthing experiences in Ireland.

"The traumatisation of birthing women and children in Irish hospitals is so routine as to have been completely normalised. The absence of a functioning homebirth service in Ireland, as compared to mainland Europe, is compelling Irish women to become radical pioneers of a third way; the freebirth. The number of  'unassisted' or sovereign childbirths has risen exponientially in Ireland in recent years, as has an early ecosystem of 'off grid' midwives and doulas."

Sarah is a mother to 6 beautiful wild souls 4 born within the Irish maternity system 2 born undisturbed at home babies caught by their father baby's first sounds that of their siblings excited whispers a souls first witnessing by only family surrounded in only love.

These experiences led to following a deep calling of supporting women and families on a similar path holding space for them as they declonised their mindset around birth and providing care for these families on this pivotal journey.

Sarah brings to the discussion her own embodied experience of undisturbed birth and dealing with a maternity system and legal systems as well as her trainings with elder midwife Whapio Diane Bartlett of the School of Quantum midwifery and Nicola Mahdiyyah Goodhall at the Red Tent Doula Collective as well as her own extensive research into our indigenous birthing practices.

Sarah along with a growing community of passionate women are focused on returning birth to its sacred place within the home surrounded by people who are only invested in the family and building a movement to return birthing wisdom to the hands and hearts of women and those that care for them.