Ruth Ehrhardt's Blog

Last week’s Study Spiral, Peace on Earth Begins at Birth, was one of those gatherings that quietly settles into the bones. Days later, I am still carrying the tenderness and the sense of profound connection that arose as we came together to honour the life and legacy of Michel Odent, a man whose work has shaped, guided, and challenged so many of us walking the path of True Midwifery.

There are moments in this work that feel like thresholds, where something subtle shifts in the collective field. This Spiral felt like one of them.

A Visit From Liliana

The most moving part of our time together was the presence of Liliana, Michel’s partner in life, birth, and death.

With an honesty that was both steady and fragile, she shared a recent birth she attended, a story woven with sensitivity, intuition, and that unmistakable presence of someone who has lived and breathed birth for decades.

She also spoke about the tenderness of Michel’s passing, her own grieving, and the intimacy of accompanying someone you have walked beside for so long. Her words did not come as teaching, but as transmission: a kind of living echo of Michel’s essence.

We became, without needing to try, a circle of elephants, quietly standing with her, holding her experience, her remembering, and her love.

In that moment, the Spiral became what it always hopes to be:
a place where wisdom meets humanity, and where our collective holding becomes a form of care.

The Lineage of Love and Attention

One of Michel’s most important teachings — and one Liliana echoed — is this:

“Birth is a story between two people — the mother and the baby.”

It’s such a simple sentence. And yet, in a world where birth has become increasingly technologised, politicised, and crowded with opinions, this truth feels more radical than ever.

The mother.
The baby.
Two nervous systems finding each other.
Two bodies completing an ancient dance.

Everything else is secondary.

Our Spiral felt like a return to that simplicity, not in a nostalgic way, but in a deeply embodied, grounded way. A remembering of what is actually essential.

Continuing Michel’s Care

After the session, I reached out to thank Liliana and asked whether there was a charity or cause that reflected Michel’s values, something to which we could donate the proceeds of the gathering.

Her answer surprised me with its sweetness.

She told me that Michel had always been especially protective of the birds and squirrels in their neighbourhood in London. Feeding them was a daily ritual of kindness. She still continues this small act on his behalf.

She suggested we donate to London Wildlife Protection, a local organisation that cares for urban wildlife.

And so, in honour of Michel, that is exactly what we will do.

I find something beautiful in this:
that our Spiral community, gathered in his name, will help feed the birds and squirrels he loved.

A simple, humble continuation of his care.

An Invitation Into Our Final Spiral of 2025

As we close this year of Study Spirals, a year rich with learning, remembering, and returning to the roots of our craft, we have one final gathering remaining.

And it is a special one.

Closing the Bones with Jodi Jade

In December, we welcome Jodi Jade, who will guide us into the lineage, history, and deeper purpose of the Traditional Mexican Closing of the Bones ceremony.

This Spiral will be an exploration of:

the origins of the Rebozothe wisdom of rites of passagehow ritual restores what modern life often fracturesthe variations and deep healing potential of Closing the Bonesand the essential elements of postpartum care and community holding

It feels like the perfect way to end the year — grounding us back into tradition, touch, and the sacred transitions that shape a woman’s life.

Join Us: 18 December 2025 // 11 am – 2 pm SAST (South African Standard Time)

Link: https://true-midwifery1.teachable.com/p/true-midwifery-study-spirals

Whether you are new to the Spirals or have been walking with us for some time, you are warmly welcomed. Each gathering is a circle unto itself — shaped by those who show up, and enriched by the wisdom held in our shared field.

As we continue to honour the lineages that nourish this work, I hope you will join us in closing the year with intention, reverence, and community.

The post Reflections on Our Study Spiral Honouring Michel Odent appeared first on True Midwifery.

As I prepare for my talk this coming Thursday, Peace on Earth Begins at Birth — Honouring the Work and Legacy of Michel Odent with Ruth Ehrhardt and Clara Scropetta, I am filled with tender emotion.

Tenderness – a reminder that this loss, this grief, is still very new and fresh and that grief comes in cycles, waves and stages.

There is a feeling of loss, of things slipping away, of wanting to grab on to the tendrils before they slip away. Of truly wanting to stay true and to honour Michel’s work and his legacy.

As I make my way through his books, underlining what stands out to me (so much!), I am amazed, blown away, in awe of the depths to which he explored these topics – these rabbit holes he went down to uncover such precious truths on behalf of humanity and which he offered up to us again and again and again, always saying the same thing, but through a different lens.

We loved to hear what he had to say, but very few of us have been able to put into practice the truth he was speaking. Not for want of trying but because these deep truths make us stop and face our humanity, our cultural conditioning around birth, our blind spots – and this is uncomfortable.

And yet, he showed up again and again, until the sweet old age of 95, patiently, to share with us.

We hope to honour you this coming Thursday, Michel, to at least scratch the surface of what you uncovered for us all – and to remind ourselves of the impossible simplicity of birth.

We love you and thank you, Michel.

Hamba Kahle//Go Well

PS:Hamba Kahle is an isiXhosa and isiZulu expression meaning “go well.” It is a tender farewell — a blessing for the onward journey of a beloved one, offered with respect, love, and remembrance.

If you feel called to join this November’s Study Spiral, Peace on Earth Begins at Birth — Honouring the Work and Legacy of Michel Odent, we will gather to reflect on Michel’s profound teachings and the simple, world-shaping truths he dedicated his life to sharing.

Together with Clara Scropetta — Michel’s long-time Italian interpreter, translator, and collaborator — we will explore how the conditions of birth imprint mother, baby, and humanity, and how protecting the basic needs of women in labour is an act of protecting our collective future. Facilitated by myself and Clara, this session offers a space of honouring, inquiry, and deep integration.

Thursday, November 27, 2025 • 11am – 2pm SAST
true-midwifery1.teachable.com/p/true-midwifery-study-spirals

The post Carrying the Thread: A Soft Tribute to Michel Odent appeared first on True Midwifery.

As we prepare for the next journey of The Silent Birthkeeper — beginning February 2026 — I’d like to take a moment to honour and introduce the three women who will be holding and guiding this circle: myself, Lana Petersen, and Samara Hawthorn.

Each of us comes to this work through our own lived experience, ancestry, and path of learning. Together, we share a devotion to birth, to silence, and to the remembrance of what it means to walk gently with life.

RUTH EHRHARDT

Traditional Birth Attendant, Midwife, Educator, Author, and Founder of True Midwifery

My journey as a birthkeeper has been shaped by my lineage, by the women who came before me, and by the births of my own four homeborn children. I am a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), Traditional Birth Attendant, and author of The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour, a small book rooted in the understanding that when we protect the hormonal flow of birth, we protect humanity itself.

For me, The Silent Birthkeeper is a space of remembering — a weaving of story, science, and soul. It continues to remind me that birth, in its simplicity, holds the power to transform.

LANA PETERSEN

Traditional Birth Attendant, Doula, and Founder of Lalilu Doula Services

Lana and I have journeyed alongside one another for many years — through births, gatherings, and shared work within the birth community of South Africa. With over two decades of experience, she brings a grounded and compassionate presence to the families she supports.

Lana’s work centres around physiological birth, self-responsibility, and trust in the innate intelligence of women and their bodies. She co-founded Home Birth South Africa in 2010, creating a vital community space for connection, education, and support. Her way of holding space is gentle yet firm — rooted in respect and a deep faith in the power of birth as initiation.

SAMARA HAWTHORN

Grandmother, Elder, and Founder of WellMama CIC

Samara joins us from the UK, bringing nearly three decades of experience in traditional birthkeeping, herbalism, and rites of passage. As the founder of WellMama CIC, she has guided hundreds of mothers, families, and birthworkers through the seasons of womanhood, always grounded in ancestral remembrance and reciprocity with the land.

Her work weaves together earth-based living, midwifery skills, and ceremonial practice — reminding us that tending to birth is part of tending to life itself.

Together

The three of us come together in this work through friendship, respect, and a shared love for women, babies, and birth. Our collaboration is not about teaching from the top, but about listening — to one another, to the women who gather, and to the silence that guides us all.

It is a privilege to journey alongside one another and with the women who continue to answer the call of The Silent Birthkeeper.

The Silent Birthkeeper 2026 begins 5 February 2026 – 11 February 2027.
Only a few spaces remain for this intimate one-year immersion.

Join The Silent Birthkeeper 2026 →

The post The Women Behind The Upcoming Silent Birthkeeper appeared first on True Midwifery.

“It will take a long time to rediscover the importance of silence and to accept that the dominant quality of a midwife should be her capacity to keep her mouth shut.”

— Michel Odent, The Functions of the Orgasms (2009)

I laughed out loud when I re-read these words from Michel recently. It felt as though he was shouting from beyond the grave — reminding us again of the impossible simplicity of creating the optimal environment for birth.

He is, of course, speaking about the basic needs of the labouring woman, and how to create the ideal conditions for oxytocin to flow freely.

Silence, a key component, connects to the understanding that when in labour, stimulating a woman’s neocortex (her thinking brain) will only “wake her” from the primal mammalian state needed for the rich cocktail of hormones to flow — allowing pure physiology to unfold.

“You cannot manage an involuntary process, the point is not to disturb it.”

Why do I call this an impossible simplicity?

Because we humans love to talk.

Even if we understand in theory that birth unfolds best in silence, it is difficult in practice. Whether to ask practical questions like:

“How long since your waters broke?”“When did labour start?”“How far apart are the contractions?”

Or to offer words of comfort like:

“You’re doing so well.”“You can do this.”

Each of these requires the mother to leave her primal state and re-engage her thinking brain.

An important practice of true midwifery is therefore to learn to say little to nothing in the birthing space — unless it is truly required.

The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour

To feel safeTo switch off the neocortex (thinking brain)SilenceDarknessNot feeling observedWarmthLow levels of adrenaline

When these needs are honoured, the result can be the foetus ejection reflex — the natural, undisturbed unfolding of birth.

Michel reminds us:

“From a practical perspective we are now in a position to present authentic midwifery as the art of creating the conditions for a foetus ejection reflex.”

Why The Silent Birthkeeper?

The Silent Birthkeeper is a one-year journey into True Midwifery.

It is for those who feel the quiet calling in their bones — who know there is more to birthwork than protocols and procedures, and who long to sit at the edges of birth, holding space with reverence, humility, and trust.

Over 12 months, we will walk together through presence, knowledge, and practice — exploring the basic needs, the art of listening, self-care and community care, storytelling, ceremony, and the foundations of midwifery.

This is not a course, but a year-long initiation — a space to soften, listen, and remember.

Join the Circle

The Silent Birthkeeper runs from 5 February 2026 – 11 February 2027.
Bookings are now open, with early bird pricing until the end of November.

Learn more and book your place here

The post The Silent Birthkeeper – The Art of Honouring Silence in Birth appeared first on True Midwifery.

“Flowers are consciousness celebrating.” — Eckhart Tolle

A year ago or so, I decided to tend a little corner of our garden — a patch of earth that was neither beautiful nor beloved. It gets plenty of sun, but it was a “dead spot,” the path we take to hang the laundry and fetch it again. Not a place to linger, just one to pass through.

Each time I carried the washing, though, I felt it quietly calling. So I began laying down compost, shaping small beds, and waiting to see what wanted to grow there. Slowly, the ground began to answer.

Now, after the winter rains, that forgotten patch is abundant — granadillas climbing, mint spreading its fragrance, strawberries rooting, and flowers opening with joy. A once-neglected place has become a celebration.

Yesterday was the Spring Equinox here in the South. As the earth tips back into balance, the sun grows warmer, the birds begin their morning songs, and the blossoms announce the season’s return.

It was also a special day in my family: my eldest daughter, my Spring Equinox baby, turned 21. Though she is far away in the North, I reminded her that her birthday always brings sunshine, berries, and flowers. A blessing woven into the rhythm of the season.

May this Spring invite you too into renewal — tending forgotten corners, noticing what is ready to bloom, and remembering that balance always returns.

A reminder for our True Midwifery Study Spiral with Vera Dubrovina this week

Supporting IVF pregnancy and birth
25 September 2025 @ 11am – 2pm SAST

IVF pregnancy, especially after years of fertility struggles, carries profound layers — blending medical science with ancestral, energetic, and spiritual dimensions. Birth following assisted conception is not only a physical event but also a spiritual alignment, weaving past and future together.

In this Study Spiral, Vera will share her observations on why assisted birth and C-sections are so common after IVF, what this reveals, and how to hold these journeys with depth, reverence, and care.

Join the Study Spiral here

The post Blossoms, Balance, and the Return of Spring appeared first on True Midwifery.

It is nearly two weeks since our dear Michel passed away, and the loss of this incredible human still sits heavy in my heart.

The news of Michel’s passing reached me just days after I returned home from a pilgrimage to my own birth land, Switzerland — the place of my earliest years, where I had not been back since my 20th birthday, 25 years ago. I spent time in the home I lived in as a baby, with my god family, in the mountains. The places, smells, and sounds stirred long-forgotten memories — a quiet homecoming of sorts. I stood beneath the trees that were planted when I was a baby and now tower over me, holding their own stories of time passed.

Visiting my eldest daughter, who is now living and working very close to where I once lived, was also profoundly connecting. Sharing a landscape familiar to us both, but for our own reasons, felt very special.

While there, I had the honour of attending the birth of a beautiful little girl high up in the mountains overlooking a magical lake. Samara and I have been friends and colleagues for over a decade, but this was our first birth together. Joined by Ale, a new midwife friend, we formed a circle of elephants around this birth — weaving a silent, steady web of safety around the birthing mother and her family.

Now, back home, I find myself in an integration phase — holding both the tenderness of Michel’s passing and the enormity of my journey. Here in South Africa, spring is beginning to show herself: longer, warmer days and African daisies greeting the sun each morning.

I am holding my heart gently as I continue to sit with it all. The enormity of Michel’s legacy sits with me, and many ideas bubble to the surface about how I — and we — can stay true to his work. Yet I also feel the need to honour the fact that he himself is still transitioning, and that he and his family require our quiet holding and respect. Transitions must be honoured with reverence.

As I shared in my previous newsletter, Michel repeated one message again and again: every mother and baby require our silence to find one another. “Do not wake the mother!” he would say. In this moment, I feel the same is true for Michel. May we offer him that silence as he crosses over.

If you feel called to walk more deeply with these themes of birth, life, and transition, here are some upcoming offerings:

Birth First Aid — a global, home birth–friendly learning space for birthkeepers.True Midwifery Study Spiral — with our next session on Supporting IVF Pregnancy and Birth led by Vera Dubrovine, 25 September 2025. Silent Birthkeeper (2026/2027) — add your name to the waiting list to be the first to know when bookings open.

The post Weaving Birth, Life and Death… appeared first on True Midwifery.

In all honesty, I have no words to express the loss of my friend, mentor, teacher Michel Odent.

At this time I feel I just want to sit in silence to honour his passing…in the same way he encouraged us to do for mother and baby as they transition.

I will miss his wisdom, his humility, his endless curiosity, his ability to think outside the box, his constantly challenging us…

His sense of humour…

May those of us left behind remember and stay true to his work and legacy. May we continue to bring peace to Earth by healing birth on this planet.

Go well Michel.

Hamba Kahle….*

“Hamba kahle” is an isiZulu and isiXhosa phrase meaning “Go well“. It is used as a farewell, often said to someone who is leaving, and it can also be a respectful way to say goodbye to a person who has died. 

The post Remembering my friend Michel… appeared first on True Midwifery.

I’ve been travelling and mostly unplugged these past weeks, but I keep dipping back into the True Midwifery online community to feel its pulse. And every time, I’m reminded how rare it is to find a space that runs on love, trust, and discernment.

It’s not that we all agree. Far from it. We come from different trainings, traditions, and ways of working. But there’s a deep respect for one another’s paths — and in the birth world, that’s something precious.

Lately, our upcoming Study Spiral has stirred up some big feelings for me around the topic of modern-day witch hunts. And I keep coming back to this: so often, they are about women not trusting each other. Turning on each other to feel safe, or to keep our footing in a system that doesn’t truly support us.

In birth work, it’s the same old pattern — patriarchy’s favourite trick: divide and rule.

The Splintering of Our Roles

One way this shows up is in the way we’ve created countless “safe” titles so we can be allowed to serve mothers and babies. Birthkeeper. Doula. Traditional Birth Attendant.

Once, all of these roles were simply what it meant to be a midwife — a person who stood beside the mother and baby through the threshold of birth. Now, we’ve been split and split and split again. With every division, we’re more restricted, more regulated, more over-specialised… and less able to offer the full, holistic care mothers and babies actually need.

A Lesson from the Anamaboya

I was reminded of this when I sat with the Anamaboya — the traditional Shona midwives in Zimbabwe. I shared with them the different titles we see nowadays, and they looked at me with quiet confusion, as if I’d just asked for a different word for love, or for water.

“What do you call yourselves?” I asked.

“Anamaboya,” they said simply. Midwife. Grandmother.

Their qualification? Being called to the work by God. A dream.
Their gift? Deep humility. Trust in birth. A willingness to learn. The knowledge that their true work is to love the mother.

Who Decides?

Not long ago, an empirical midwife I met offered me a definition I’ve been holding close:

A midwife is a midwife when recognised as such by her community.

It’s such a simple sentence, and yet it pulls at so many threads — identity, authority, recognition, belonging.

For me, this is not about deciding on one definition. It’s about opening the conversation and letting the questions breathe:

Who gets to decide what a midwife is?How does language include… and exclude?And how might our own divisions be keeping us from serving mothers and babies as fully as we could?

I’d love to explore these questions together in our upcoming Study Spiral.

With love,
Ruth

Join this month’s Spiral → true-midwifery1.teachable.com/p/true-midwifery-study-spirals

Last Spot in the Birth First Aid Course (starting 2 Sept) → true-midwifery1.teachable.com/p/birth-first-aid

The post What Does It Mean to Be a Midwife Today? appeared first on True Midwifery.

Yesterday was my birthday—my 45th trip around the sun—and I find myself reflecting on presence and surrender.

A few weeks ago, I took a bad tumble and hurt my foot. All my plans for hiking and walking with my family during the school holidays went out the window. Instead, I found myself mostly on the couch—delegating, surrendering. At first, I was frustrated. There’s only so much scrolling and streaming one can do (and there is a LOT of boring content out there!). Eventually, I had to shift.

I surrounded myself with my guitar, art supplies, and writing materials. I learned new songs, made some jewellery, sketched still lifes, and wrote—a lot. Sometimes, when we can’t “do,” we’re given a chance to receive. And in that stillness, long-dormant creativity can rise again.

I was finally back on my feet last week, and I relished the return of my walks. It’s winter here, and after the rains, everything is so green. The Aloes and Coral trees are in bloom—the fiery reds and oranges popping against the fresh green backdrop.

Then yesterday—on my birthday—I surrendered again, this time to the flu that’s been making its way through my household.

Apparently, the lessons of surrender aren’t quite over yet. So I write to you from bed, reflecting on all that this next chapter of life is asking me to let go of… and receive.

Upcoming Offerings

Study Spiral with Robyn Sheldon
Connect with the soul of the unborn child in this sacred, interactive circle.
Thursday 31 July | 11:00–14:00 SAST
Book your spot here

Early Bird Ends 31 July – Two Signature Courses:
Birth First Aid for Mother & Baby (starts 2 Sept)
For midwives, doulas, and birthkeepers—practical, respectful responses to real-life birth situations.
Enroll here

Basic Needs of Babies (starts 30 Sept)
A Montessori-informed exploration of newborn care for parents and professionals alike.
Join the course

Self Sufficiency in Childbirth
A 4-week journey for couples preparing for conscious, autonomous birth.
16, 23, 30 October & 6 November | 18:30–21:00 SAST
Reserve your place

The post My Birthday and Surrender appeared first on True Midwifery.

Reflections on a Weekend with Michel and Liliana

Meeting online can feel disconnected and disjointed—but over the last five years of holding online spaces through True Midwifery, I have come to know that it is possible to create a beautiful and safe container virtually. That when intention is pure and messages come from the heart, they always find their way to the hearts of others.

This past weekend, we were honoured to sit with Michel Odent and Liliana Lammers. Two humble, living legends who have committed their lives to sharing the deep, often forgotten truths of birth. They speak of birth through the lens of physiology and true human nature—reminding us again and again just how simple birth is… and how easy it is to get it wrong.

Or in Liliana’s own words:

“It’s easy to make a birth difficult.”

What they share is profound and deeply moving. That birth is powerful, for both mother and baby. And that when we simply leave them be—not abandoning them, but protecting them (as Michel so often says, “The key word is protection!”)—then what is ignited is love, connection, and a deep sense of safety and belonging.

For the baby, this is the beginning of being received by the world.

For the mother, her Mama Bear is born. Her inner knowing awakens—what it means to mother this child.

Michel and Liliana are torchbearers, both living and teaching this truth. They walk their talk. They show us, again and again, that this is the reality—the physiology of labour. And they keep sharing it, tirelessly, because we need to hear it. Again. And again.

Coming back to the simple.

I am grateful.

And I want to honour and remind us that here in the True Midwifery space—through every course, circle, and interaction—we begin from this place:

The basic needs of mother and baby. Always.

Stay Connected

Explore what’s unfolding in the True Midwifery space:

  Join the upcoming Study Spiral with Robyn Sheldon ›   Book your place for Birth First Aid ›   Enroll in The Basic Needs of Babies course ›

Come as you are. Be part of the conversation.
TrueMidwifery.com

The post Coming Back to the Simple appeared first on True Midwifery.