How a Midwife Transformed Maternal Wellness Worldwide

Summary

Podcast Summary: Living Your Legacy
Episode: How a Midwife Transformed Maternal Wellness Worldwide
Host: Ray Gutierrez (for Rudy Mawer, as per transcript)
Guest: Karina Fitch, Midwife, Founder of Motherfly
Date: June 5, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the inspiring journey of Karina Fitch, a longtime midwife who became a global maternal wellness advocate after facing her own maternal mental health struggle. Through honest storytelling, Karina shares how she transitioned from traditional birth work to founding Motherfly, a movement redefining motherhood, self-compassion, and maternal support. Listeners will gain insight into the realities behind modern motherhood, the crisis facing maternal health, and actionable advice on how mothers can reclaim their wellness and identity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Karina’s Journey: From Commune Birth to Midwife & Advocate

[02:17 – 03:25]

• Origins: Grew up on a hippie commune in Tennessee, “born on a bus,” surrounded by midwives and communal living.

• Calling to Midwifery: Chose to become a midwife at 12; midwifery career of over 30 years.

• Transformational Moment: After the birth of her third daughter, Karina experienced severe postpartum depression and anxiety, which led to questioning traditional roles and the foundation of Motherfly.

  “I went from being a midwife in the traditional sense to becoming more like a midwife of transformation for mothers.”
  — Karina Fitch [00:00, 02:17]

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2. The Hidden Struggles of Motherhood & Maternal Mental Health

[03:25 – 06:41]

• The Switch: Physical, hormonal, psychological, and spiritual changes during pregnancy and postpartum.

• Matrescence: The word used to describe the transformative process of becoming a mother—like adolescence for mothers.

  “When we can give language to a process, then we are much more capable of supporting that process and understanding that process.”
  — Karina Fitch [05:45]

• Staggering Statistics:

  • 1 in 5 women experience maternal mental illness (20%).
  • The US is the only developed nation with a rising maternal mortality rate.
  • Suicide is a leading cause of maternal death in the first year postpartum.
  • Black mothers die at 3–4 times the rate of white mothers due to systemic racism and provider bias.

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3. Challenging the Myth of the Perfect Mother

[06:56 – 08:53]

• Beyond Postpartum Depression: Postpartum anxiety even more common, plus less recognized subtypes (OCD, bipolar, etc.).

• Myth of the Perfect Mother: The unrealistic, superhuman standards placed on mothers—rooted in patriarchy—cause burnout and shame.

  “Ultimately, that construction of motherhood comes from patriarchy... We've been functioning under the martyr and the super mom, and they're both killing us.”
  — Karina Fitch [06:56, 08:13]

• The Motherfly Archetype: A new maternal model Karina proposes—one that includes self-care, supports mothers' dreams, and exists within a supportive community.

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4. Building the Motherfly Movement

[09:13 – 11:30]

• Transition from Midwifery to Motherfly: Born from personal need and the needs seen in others; many participants are past midwifery clients.
• How Mothers Connect with Motherfly: Podcast (Mother Tongue), word of mouth, global summits (2021, 2022), and social media.

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5. Community and Program Structure

[10:14 – 12:20]

• Motherfly Tribe (Facebook group): First online community for mothers.
• Matresan Circle (Membership group): For mothers at all stages, from infancy to grown children.
• Motherfly Program: A nine-month, transformational, hybrid (virtual/in-person) program taking mothers from burnout to wellness and purpose.
  • Curriculum includes: Transformational facilitation, feminine power, embodied movement/dance, deep rest, ceremony, and soulful inquiry.

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6. Actionable Advice for Mothers: Self-Compassion & Wellness

[12:45 – 13:54]

• Building Your Container: Metaphor for self-care and self-compassion as the foundation for maternal wellness.

• Practical Steps:

  • Self-compassion is as key as self-care—without it, “self-care becomes another stick to beat ourselves up with.”
  • Letting go of perfectionism, delegating, prioritizing rest.

  “You can't overachieve your way out of burnout. You have to take things off your plate. You have to learn to delegate and rest.”
  — Karina Fitch [13:18]

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7. Affirmation to All Mothers

[14:11 – 15:15]

• Message to Her Past Self (and all mothers):

  “You are enough. Despite the myriad of messages that you receive daily from the media, from society, from the voices in your own head, you are enough. Even when there's more to do, even when you're weak, even when you need support, even when you make mistakes, you are enough. And your wellness matters. It deeply matters. It is not a reward for good mothering. It is your birthright.”
  — Karina Fitch [14:11]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If moms aren't well, nobody's well.” — Karina Fitch [00:15, 02:17]
• “We've been functioning under the martyr and the super mom, and they're both killing us.” — Karina Fitch [08:13]
• “The motherfly has learned to include herself in her circle of care and nourish her dreams with the same love and attention that she gives to her own children.” — Karina Fitch [08:24]
• “Self-compassion… without it, self-care just becomes another stick to beat ourselves up with.” — Karina Fitch [13:18]
• “Your wellness matters. It deeply matters. It is not a reward for good mothering. It is your birthright.” — Karina Fitch [15:08]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:17] Karina’s origin story and path to midwifery
• [03:58] The physical, psychological, and spiritual transformation of pregnant and postpartum women
• [05:08] Introduction of the concept of matrescence
• [06:41] Maternal health crisis statistics and systemic issues
• [08:13] Debunking the “martyr” and “super mom” archetypes
• [10:14] Community building: Motherfly Tribe, Matresan Circle
• [11:41] Structure of the nine-month Motherfly program
• [12:45] Practical maternal wellness advice: containers, self-compassion, and rest
• [14:11] Closing affirmation and message to all mothers

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Key Takeaways

• Maternal wellness is essential for families and is in crisis globally, especially in the U.S.
• Language empowers support: “Matrescence,” like adolescence, helps frame and validate the transformation mothers undergo.
• Reject the perfect mother myth: It’s vital to create and celebrate more inclusive, compassionate, and honest models of motherhood.
• Community and support—not isolation—are keys to thriving mothers.
• Self-care and self-compassion aren’t luxuries but birthrights for every mother.

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Connect with Karina Fitch

• Website: motherflymom.com
• Podcast: Mother Tongue (Spotify & Apple Podcasts)
• Facebook Group: Motherfly Tribe
• Membership: Matresan Circle

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This summary captures the major insights and tone of the conversation, providing a useful resource for those seeking inspiration, information, or support on the topic of maternal wellness and legacy.

Transcript

[A]

I went through a major journey through postpartum depression and anxiety that completely changed the nature of my work. I went from being a midwife in the traditional sense to becoming more like a midwife of transformation for mothers. And really discovered firsthand through my own experience how important maternal wellness is. Because ultimately, if moms aren't well, nobody's well.

[B]

Karina Fitch is a maternal wellness advocate, midwife, and the founder of Motherfly. Drawing from decades of experience supporting women through pregnancy, birth, and motherhood, she empowers mothers to reclaim their identity, embrace personal growth, and thrive beyond the pressures of modern motherhood.

[A]

One in five women will experience maternal mental illness. That's 20% of the birthing population. We need to let go of this perfect mother myth where mothers are held to this never ending list of superhuman standards. It's a patriarchal construction of motherhood. I think we need to redefine motherhood on our own terms. And what that looks like for me is Motherfly.

[C]

It spans the globe like a super

[D]

high cold Internet Elvis.

[A]

Ready?

[D]

I'm for free. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win the Living your legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible has. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan Open Chicago. With the lead is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.

[C]

Welcome to another episode of the living your legacy podcast for inside success. I am Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is another powerful woman fresh off the filming conveyor belt. Karina Fitch is joining me today. Karina, welcome to the show.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

How did your session go? Filming? You literally just finished filming your episode. How'd it go?

[A]

Yeah, it went really well, despite, you know, I told you I was getting over a cold and so I was nervous about coughing, but it went really well.

[C]

What will we learn about you? Kind of give us a preview.

[A]

Well, you would learn about my origins on a hippie commune in Tennessee or I was born on a bus and my experience growing up around birth and midwives and then deciding when I was 12 that I was going to be a midwife myself. And then I did become a midwife. And after I had one daughter and then another daughter, after the birth of my third daughter, I went through a major journey through postpartum depression and anxiety that completely changed the nature of my work and the direction of my work. And that was when I founded Motherfly. So I went from being a midwife in the traditional sense to becoming more like a midwife of the spirit. A midwife of transformation for mothers and really discovered firsthand through my own experience how much mothers are struggling and how much support they need and how important maternal wellness is. Because ultimately if moms aren't well, nobody's well.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, let's talk about that wellness. I myself have experienced, you know, the different stages of the experience through family and friends. So I'm always curious about the subject. When why does the system kind of just shift? There's almost like a switch that flips off. And I'm only asking because I'm obviously a male that is still kind of curious about the mysteries of what happens to a woman, the vessel that is carrying the child, and the transformations, not just psychologically and physically, but spiritually. What is happening? Educate me here.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So when women get pregnant, they go through massive changes. Their body literally changes form, their hormones change, their social role changes, their spirituality changes. Now they're holding a new life, the brain changes. And that's something that often just gets referred to as like baby brain or mommy brain. And it gets this bad rap of just making mom spacey and forgetful, but it's actually very purposeful. The changes that happen in the brain make us more capable of reading non verbal cues, more empathetic, more able to multitask, more tolerant of monotony and more ambitious, which are hugely important. When you're caring for a tiny human,

[C]

what do you tell someone that goes, you've lived your way a certain way, this is your personality, but the moment you are on the journey of bringing new life, you're going to expect some changes. How did you tell that to someone that goes, well, I have control of my own soul and my own decisions, but hormones have a different story.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And it's not just hormones. They do play a big role. But I think one of the ways that I help women understand that is by giving them language. So there's a word that describes all of these changes and that is matrescence. Okay, so matrescence, like adolescence, is a time of great change and neuroplasticity and changing of roles, changing of expectations, changing of your body, changing of your hormones. Right. So that's a word that most people don't know. I just learned it like seven years

[C]

ago and I, I just learned it.

[A]

Just been a midwife for 30 years, you know, So I think when we can give language to a process, then we are much more capable of supporting that process and understanding that process. Where we are now is that in terms of maternal health and well being is in crisis. We are the only developed nation with a rising maternal mortality rate. One in five women will experience maternal mental illness. That's 20% of the birthing population. And suicide remains a leading cause of maternal death in the first year after birth. And then we have gross racial disparities in maternal health outcomes with black mothers dying at three to four times the rate of white mothers due to systemic racism and provider bias. So we're at a crisis point for sure.

[C]

Is this very commonly known or is this kind of just swept underneath the rug like we got bigger fish to fry? Like, yes, this is a very diluted world reality that we live in. We're gonna have issues. Is this something that's easily remedied? Like, what is the approach here?

[A]

Yeah. As far as how well it's known, I don't. I think that postpartum depression is something that people know about now because thankfully, it's more talked about, but it's actually. Postpartum anxiety is actually more common than postpartum depression. You also have postpartum ocd, postpartum bipolar. There's all sorts of ways that mental illness can manifest. The solution, I believe, is that we mothers need a lot more support. We need to let go of this perfect mother myth where mothers are held to this never ending list of superhuman standards. Right? Like we're supposed to be infinitely patient while functioning on two hours of sleep, or, you know, bake everything from scratch with all organic ingredients and take our kids to every extracurricular activity known to man to make them the best person that they can be, while at the same time continually sacrificing our own wellness in the process. And ultimately, that construction of motherhood comes from patriarchy. It's a patriarchal construction of motherhood. I think we need to redefine motherhood on our own terms. And what that looks like for me is Motherfly, which is my name, not only for my business, but also for a new maternal archetype. So we've been functioning under the martyr and the super mom, and they're both killing us. The motherfly has learned to include herself in her circle of care and nourish her dreams with the same love and attention that she gives to her own children. And most importantly, she is living inside of a matrix of relational support. She's not doing it alone. This whole super mom thing, do everything yourself, juggle it all.

[C]

It's very 1940s way of philosophy.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's. And it's. And that's why we live in a culture of mom burnout and, and shame and isolation.

[C]

Oh, gosh. There's so many trajectories that we can pick here. I got to rewind a little bit. How does one discover your. Your. Your journey? How does the mid. Midwife, Sorry, midwife? Yes. How does a process work? Like, do clients find you or is it just a matter of time? How does this process work?

[A]

So are we talking about midwifery clients or my motherfly?

[C]

Motherfly work specifically? Because I know you started in one way, but now you've transitioned into this. I'm kind of curious how you started here and then the transition to this.

[A]

Yeah, well, I mean, that transition happened because of my journey with the mental illness, but some of. A lot of the people that do my motherfly programs were midwifery clients. They already know and they already trust me. They've been with me through birth, you know, but other people find me through my podcast. I have a podcast called Mother Tongue that is on Spotify and Apple podcasts and then through word of mouth. And I Also, in 2021 and 2022, I hosted two global summits, which is actually how the podcast started, because I realized that I really love to interview people and. Yeah. And so people have learned about me through. Through those means and social media.

[C]

Right on. And how's. How big is your tribe now? How is that going?

[A]

Still growing?

[C]

Sure.

[A]

I. I have a membership group that started in 2021 and that's called the Matresan Circle.

[C]

These are great names, by the way. All great names.

[A]

And when you say group, did you

[C]

start as a Facebook group? As a private. Walk us through.

[A]

I have a Facebook group. That one's called Motherfly Tribe. And that's the first thing. Actually, the first thing I started was the Motherfly Tribe Facebook group. That's how I came out as Motherfly.

[C]

Awesome.

[A]

And then I did the summits, and out of the summits, a lot of the participants said they really wanted community. So I created the Matresin Circle. And that is for mothers with children of any ages. We have people in it with infants and adult children. And then my motherfly program is a nine month transformational program that takes mothers through. They could be pregnant, they could already be mothers. Doesn't really matter. Takes them from, you know, the beginning, point of burnout, overwhelmed depletion, maybe depression or anxiety. Moves them through my motherfly matrix to come out the other side feeling radiant wellness and having found their purpose and living their purpose.

[C]

What is some of the curriculum? Can you give us a sneak peek of what happens in these Nine months. Is it zoom Sessions in persons? Is it downloads, affirmations, Cold showers? What is the curriculum here for these nine months?

[A]

Yeah, well, it is a blend of my 30 years of experience, experience as a midwife with 18 years of motherhood, transformational facilitation, feminine power. I am a certified feminine power facilitator. Embodied movement. I am a mover. I'm a dancer. Deep rest, practices and ceremony, and soulful inquiry. So it combines all those things. For people that don't live locally, then it's all virtual. For people that do live locally, there are a couple of ceremonies that are a part of it. So they get that live in person.

[C]

Right on. For folks that want to learn more and discover more of your journey, where's the easiest way to find you?

[A]

I would say motherflymom.com.

[C]

right on. Motherflymom.com for folks that are watching listening, what's a quick way for them to feel good right away? If you had some feedback, some tips for folks that are listening, for moms that are like, oh, gosh, I want to reach out to her, but I need to feel good right now. What's a good one, two, three, rub the ears? Woosa.

[A]

Well, I'll just say that the first step in my motherfly matrix in the program is building your container. So when we think of a container, we think of something that holds something else, right? And as mothers, we are containers for our children. We create a safe space for them to learn and grow and explore, but we have to do that for ourselves. So our container is made up of self care, which everyone's heard about. And so that's probably kind of annoying to hear about at this point. So the other piece that's. That's even more important, I think that I learned through my own experience is self compassion. Because without the compassion, self care just becomes another stick to beat ourselves up with. So that means giving yourself grace, letting go of some of your to do lists. You can't overachieve your way out of burnout. You have to take things off your plate. You have to learn to delegate and rest. Rest is so undervalued in our culture and so necessary for mental health and for just wellness in general.

[C]

Right on.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Gosh. Is there any inspirational things you'd like to say before we wrap up? Karina, anything you'd like to add or maybe even speaking to your past self for? What would you do if you were listening to this podcast? What, 30 years ago you were in the beginning of this journey, what would you say to yourself.

[A]

Well, I said this in the episode, and I think it's appropriate now, so I'll say it again. This is something that I want every mother to take in and that I needed to hear. I wrote it when I was still in my depression. You are enough. Despite the myriad of messages that you receive daily from the media, from society, from the voices in your own head, you are enough. Even when there's more to do, even when you're weak, even when you need support, even when you make mistakes, you are enough. And your wellness matters. It deeply matters. It is not a reward for good mothering. It is your birthright. I want you to take that message and let it seep into every muscle and bone. Let it trickle into every cell of your body. Your wellness matters.

[C]

That was great. Thank you so much for that affirmation and absolutely your wellness matters. Karina. Thank you so much for your time and energy. This wraps up another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast. This is Karina. I'm Ray Gutierrez, and we are inside Success.

[A]

Sam.