It is with great pleasure I introduce the next guest on the MOTHERLANDS Podcast.I first encountered Nicole Morales when I was a new doula, seeking out additional training and education on supporting clients through birth. I attended a Spinning Babies course in San Diego and Nicole was my instructor. She left such an impression on me as she taught me to be deeply curious about how a baby’s position in labor has everything to do with how labor progresses. Thanks for reading Keely’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Nicole Morales is a mother, a homebirth midwife, an Approved Spinning Babies Trainer and a Certified Birthing from Within Mentor. She was also an instructor for The Nizhoni Institute of Midwifery and is part of Breechbirthsd.com which helps breech families navigate the system as best as possible by being an online resource center.She also recently co-authored a book entitled Restorative Midwifery: Heart Sacrifice, which is about breech and twin births.In this conversation we talk about the importance of listening as an active practice in midwifery care. She shares that to her, birthwork is nervous system work and nervous system work is legacy work, which is part of a multi-generational nervous system.We also discuss how medical research is storytelling.In her experience as a practicing midwife, normal labor and birth is not usually reflective in medical research. Why?When money is embedded in how medical research is conducted, it can change how a story is told. About 75% of modern day Obstetrics is not evidence based. It has been handed down, indoctrinating new medical providers by practicing medicine in a way that does not promote the best maternal health outcomes.What I found most interesting was when Nicole explained that sometimes we compromise what we say and do because we want other people to be at ease with our decisions.It made me reflect on all of the clients I’ve supported over the years; the journey it is for each person to discover what feels right to them, the loving presence it takes to give someone permission to explore and ask questions as they move through pregnancy and birth, how you can always change your mind, and how this makes a world of difference in how someone feels safe. You can Support Nicole’s work by purchasing her book on AmazonConnect with her on Instagram @nicolemoralesmidwifeOr visit her website https://artofopening.comThank you for being here. If you find this episode helpful or enlightening I would be so grateful if you left a rating or a write a review.MOTHERLANDS is a podcast which traverses the current landscape of fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Sharing evidence based information through honest conversations, my hope is that these interviews will help listeners become more educated, make informed choices, and ultimately foster better maternal health outcomes.** Register for Medical Informed Consent: A Deep Dive Live Session with Keely Semler.Use Code: MOTHERLANDS for 10% off.Connect with our host, Keely Semler on Instagram @k.eelys or @motherlands.podcast This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keelysemler.substack.com