What if the way we experience childbirth pain is shaped as much by hormones, breathing, and emotional safety as it is by the physical process itself?

Jenny Smith tells Yalda how breath, mindset, and feeling supported can transform the birth experience and help the body release its own natural pain relief.

In Part 2 of this conversation, experienced midwife Jenny Smith shares powerful insights into how women can feel calmer and more in control during labour. The discussion explores the role of breathing techniques, visualisation, and sound in helping the body release endorphins, its own natural painkillers.

Jenny also explains vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), why listening to the mother’s instincts matters, and how the concept of a “natural cesarean” can create a more connected birth experience through delayed cord clamping and immediate skin-to-skin contact.

Jenny Smith is a clinical NHS and private midwife with over 35 years of experience across hospitals, community settings and home births. She has transformed mainstream labour wards, raising awareness of how infrastructure shapes birth culture — coining the term “Maternity Architecture.”
She has received awards for her work, lectured internationally, and is the author of Your Body, Your Baby, Your Birth and co-author of The Natural Caesarean: A Women-Centred Technique. Jenny founded the Jentle Childbirth Foundation and later established BirthContinua to empower and prepare parents for pregnancy, birth and parenthood.
Jenny is currently raising funds through her Walking the Circuit campaign to support her ongoing work improving maternity environments and birth experiences for families. You can support her fundraising efforts here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/walkingthecircuit
You can find out about Jenny at ⁠www.birthcontinua.com.

Share this episode with someone who is preparing for birth or who would benefit from understanding the powerful connection between mindset, physiology, and the birth experience.

#Childbirth #BirthEducation #EatBurnSleep