Oni Blecher spent twelve years preparing for motherhood from the moment she witnessed one of her sisters giving birth. This event led her into exploring the many facets of women's work, in particular birth, where she served as a doula, and maternity services advocate, facilitator of the Earthed to Birth pregnancy and postpartum circle, presenter for this podcast, commenced training as a midwife and practising as a cranio sacral therapist.

This deep preparation is rare in these times where many women begin their preparation when they fall pregnant.

This is a follow up interview with Oni after an initial interview when she was 35 weeks pregnant with her first child. The first interview with Oni prior to her birth can be found here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/a-most-intentional-pregnancy-with-oni-blecher--68549829

Now 18 weeks postpartum, Sally follows up with Oni who takes us through the last weeks of her pregnancy, her labour, birth and post partum period. In particular we hear about:

the impacts of having a big belly and contending with people's comments about it
how that shook her confidence in the last weeks
how she regained her confidence prior to going into labour
letting go of wanting the baby the come and just letting him choose the right time
thanking her baby in early labour for the life changing experience of growing him and acknowledging their next journey together through the rite of passage of birth
how in spite of being at 41 weeks' gestation, she couldn't quite believe that she was really in labour
labour coping strategies (e.g., not saying 'No', insteading saying 'Yes' to contractions)
birthing the baby in the water
birthing the placenta
her newborn's breast crawl
post partum support
claiming the success of her birth as being in large part due to all her preparation, leaving no stone unturned
what she would do differently next time
tips for expectant mums

Enjoy the many nuggets of golden wisdom Oni has to share for other mothers embarking on their journey.

Also mentioned: Best Birth Finder for reviews of birth services www.bestbirthfinder.org.au

Links:
www.oniblecher.com
Instagram @earthedtobirth

Produced and presented by Sally Cusack
Guest: Oni Blecher

Copyright 2026 PBB Media and Sally Cusack
All rights reserved.

www.pbbmedia.org

Reaping the rewards of deep preparation with Oni Blecher