Birth and Poetry with Sarah Auna
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What is the opening story and setting of Sarah Auna’s birth experience?
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This is the Nocturnous. I'm Emily Silverman. Today I'm joined by Sarah Anna, a birth doula, educator, and poet. Sarah has attended nearly 500 births at homes, hospitals, and freestanding birth centers. In 2024, she shared her story on stage at Intersections, a live event produced by the Center for the Art of Medicine in Minneapolis. As you'll hear, Sarah's story comes accompanied by the song Lioness, performed by Rachel Kurtz. In my conversation with Sarah, we talk about the art and science of doula work, why presence itself can actually change birth outcomes, how fear, control, and surrender play out in the birthing room, and of course, the story behind the song Lioness. Before we begin, take a listen to Sarah's story from Minneapolis.
It's a Saturday. I've got plans, but I'm on call. You know how it goes. Those plans are done. I'm on my way to a birth. I drive to Saint Paul, up over the high bridge, over the Mississippi, into a small residential neighborhood. There's a small brick building, very inconspicuous. You think maybe there's a person who's done taxes for other people for thirty years in that building. But what's actually happening inside those walls is the most wonderful ordinary miracle, hundreds of times a year. I'm a birth doula. I'm at a freestanding birth center. And I park in the back. I've spent hundreds of hours at this birth center. As I walk in, there's a lobby. Folks are waiting to be seen for their regular prenatal care.
But that's not where I'm headed. I'm actually headed to the right, down a dimly lit hall, where there are some sounds coming from the end of the hall. I wait at the edge of the door in the hallway for the sounds to subside and then knock softly. It's Sarah. Can I come in? I hear something that sounds a little bit like a sigh and a yes and I know it's okay for me to come in. In the room it looks a little bit like a hotel room. There's a plush bed There's a nice standing shower. There's a hard plumbed tub in the corner. It also looks a little bit like a clinic. It also looks a little bit like someone's bedroom. In these freestanding birth centers, which are often associated near hospitals, but not explicitly associated with hospitals, certified nurse midwives are helping people give birth vaginally.
It's all the kind of birth they do and they do it really well. In the middle of the room are standing Katie and Jason. They weren't able to join us here tonight, but they did give me permission to use their names in this story. They're doing something that looks a little bit like a slow dance. Her arms are wrapped around his neck, his by her hips, they're swaying. And I know we're well into labor because she can't lift her head to meet my gaze, but I know that she's happy that I'm there. I place my hand on her lower back. Soothe her with words, with kind touch, and tell her what an exceptional job she's doing. You see, Katie has been in labor for quite some time. Early, early, early that morning her water let go.
And instead of rushing into the birth center, her midwives decided it was okay for her to stay home for a while as long as she was still feeling the baby kick regularly. And so she and Jason decided to go for a walk in the cover of early morning before the neighbors started looking out the window being like, why is that lady hunched over in the road? We had decided ahead of time what Katie could do to distract herself in those early labor times, and she had decided on hand making cinnamon rolls from scratch. Now I don't know what happened to those cinnamon rolls. Either they were made and baked or abandoned mid progress, but when I got to them there were no cinnamon rolls in sight, nor could Katie maybe even think about what a cinnamon roll was.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the opening story and setting of Sarah Auna’s birth experience?
0:00–6:12
2
How does Sarah describe the physiological role of oxytocin and the ‘sphincter law’ during labor?
6:12–11:50
3
What is the Groupman (GROOPMAN) decision‑making tool and how does it help families choose a birth setting?
11:50–17:38
4
How does a birth doula’s presence change labor outcomes and support nervous‑system regulation?
17:38–24:58
5
What training, certifications, and personal qualities are required to become a birth doula in Minnesota?
24:58–32:03
6
How does Sarah help clients navigate fear, control, and people‑pleasing during pregnancy and birth?
32:03–38:43
7
How do poetry, music, and the song “Lioness” integrate with Sarah’s doula practice?
38:43–44:54
8
What final advice does Sarah give listeners about accessing doula support and embodying the ‘lioness’ mindset?
44:54–50:04