In this episode of the Grace in the Growth podcast, hosts Beth and Micaela confront the raw and often silenced realities of birth trauma and medical abuse. Centering on a home birth in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, the conversation exposes how a midwife’s betrayal can devastate a mother’s trust, and how subtle coercion easily crosses into medical assault.
Hannah shares her deeply personal journey—one marked by misplaced trust, betrayal, and ultimately, resilience. She describes the abuse she endured at the hands of her midwife: the administration of Benadryl without true consent, the relentless pressure to transfer, and the manipulations that stripped her of safety in her most vulnerable hours. Hannah is a sweet, strong woman who believed she was in safe hands, only to be violated and abused by the very person meant to protect her. Yet even through this devastation, she rises with strength, transforming her pain into a story that unmasks the dark side of midwifery gone wrong and reminds women of their power.
The discussion goes beyond individual events, shining a light on the systemic issues of midwifery, informed consent, and medical interventions that so often blur into medical violence. Beth and Micaela reflect on the urgency of naming abuse for what it is, honoring maternal instincts, and amplifying women’s stories so that no mother feels silenced or alone in the aftermath of birth trauma. This episode is not just a testimony—it’s a reckoning with the reality that abuse in birth is real, it is happening, and it must be exposed.