S2 EP5 | Kayla’s Story: You Get the Birth You Need, Not the Birth You Want | From Emergency Cesarean to Deep Surrender

In this episode, Kayla shares the story of becoming a mother twice and how each birth transformed her in completely different ways. Growing up as the eldest of seven children, Kayla always imagined motherhood would be part of her future.  After healing her own fertility challenges associated with PCOS, she conceived her first son quickly and entered pregnancy expecting birth and motherhood to unfold relatively naturally. Instead, she found herself navigating significant anxiety throughout pregnancy, focusing heavily on preparing for baby while giving very little thought to her own postpartum recovery. Kayla shares how her first birth ultimately ended in an emergency caesarean and the emotional impact of having her baby taken to be assessed immediately after birth when all she wanted was to hold him. While her physical recovery appeared straightforward, she reflects on how the deeper emotional and spiritual impacts surfaced in the months that followed, culminating in significant depletion around nine months postpartum. As she slowly rebuilt herself through motherhood, Kayla began exploring trauma healing, nervous system work and deeper spiritual practices. When the time came to conceive again, she approached pregnancy with a completely different perspective. She prepared intentionally for postpartum, stocked her freezer months in advance, built a stronger support network and became committed to trusting her intuition throughout pregnancy. One of the most fascinating parts of this conversation is Kayla's description of her second pregnancy, where she spent many late-night hours alone in the shower processing fears, childhood experiences, family patterns and emotions that surfaced as birth approached. Rather than distracting herself, she chose to lean into the discomfort and viewed this as part of her preparation for birth. Kayla also shares: - Her journey from teacher and PCOS mentor to women's healing work - Why she believes postpartum preparation matters more than most women realise - The role her doula played in helping her feel supported and seen - Labouring at home before heading to hospital - The intensity of birthing a posterior baby - Processing childhood conditioning, father wounds and sexual trauma during labour - Learning to release the need to be the "good girl" during birth - Why asking for help became one of her greatest lessons in motherhood - Her belief that birth is often as much about the mother's transformation as it is about the baby's arrival This is a conversation about surrender, healing, identity, motherhood and learning to trust that even when birth doesn't unfold the way we hoped, there may still be wisdom waiting within the experience. **Want more?** You can find episode photos over at: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/wearemotherspod/⁠ You can find me at: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/iamsarahcusack/⁠ You can find Kayla at: https://www.instagram.com/kaylaruston/ https://www.kaylaruston.com.au If you’re after a woman’s practitioner, here’s more info on Kayla and her work: Kayla is an energetic womb practitioner, Reiki Master and Intuitive Channel, whose work was born from her own profound healing journey.  After a PCOS diagnosis she discovered the transformative power of reconnecting with the womb space and went on to regulate her cycle and conceive naturally, against all medical expectations. Motherhood cracked her open further, deepening her calling to guide other women home to themselves.  Weaving energy healing, somatic wisdom, and soul guidance, she helps women reconnect with their creative power, intuition, and purpose reminding them that the wisdom they seek has been within them all along.