Birth Agni

By: Divya Kapoor
  • Summary

  • This Podcast explores how indigenously Birth has always unfolded, among women - our tribe, where children could see how breastfeeding was done and how birth happened. This an attempt to fetch the stories of the past as well as bring out the new India’s Birth culture to expose the defining features in both. This shall join the dots to where the increasing problems of postpartum anxiety, rising rate of surgical births and poor breastfeeding outcomes are coming from.

    Birth Agni - Agni meaning Fire, the Fire that brings us alive, transforms us and has the ability to burn. Birth is designed to affect a woman’s integrity. It is the fire of awakening that makes her life experience wholesome. Deep down her body knows what Birth is supposed to feel - a euphoria of bringing a new life on Earth. The cocktail of hormones are designed to give her a high.

    However, birth today has quickly swayed away from a phase of joy to the one marked by Fear, the constant questioning of a woman’s capacity to Birth naturally and the ugly calculation of the odds of a healthy baby at the expense of the mother’s health. We forget that their health is interlinked and flourish as a dyad. In India, the urban rate of Cesarean Sections on an average until 2020 is a whopping 40% which is concerning.

    Birth is linked to Patriarchy, Healthcare Politics and Women’s Rights. Respect in Birth is long due to women and it affects the core of who they are.


    Join me Divya Kapoor, a Certified Birth and Lactation Counselor and aspiring Traditional Birth Attendant in the quest to shine light on what we can do as parents and a community to change the narrative.

    © 2025 Birth Agni
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Episodes
  • #118 - Stem Cell Banking - What you must know!
    Feb 5 2025

    Off late, numerous marketing events and strategies have been used by private cord stem cell banks in India to lure parents with the promise of potential benefits of storing stem cells for future malignancies their child may face. While this may seem like a lucrative and logical form of biological insurance, many of these companies rely on misleading—and in some cases, fraudulent—marketing techniques.

    This episode covers everything you need to know about cord stem cell banking!

    1. History of Cord Stem Cell Banking
    2. Myths vs. Facts
    3. News Reports Exposing the Fraud
    4. The Indian Academy of Pediatrics' (IAP) Stance
    5. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (ACOG) Position

    References:

    https://journals.lww.com/imsp/fulltext/2023/14010/umbilical_cord_blood_banking__myth_and_realities.1.aspx

    https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2019/03/umbilical-cord-blood-banking

    India's only public Cord Blood Bank: https://www.jeevan.org/media/jeevan-donor-information-form.pdf

    https://www.bethecure.in/public-cord-blood-bank/about-public-cord-blood-bank/

    Support the show

    Sign up for Childbirth Preparation Programs! visit www.birthagni.com/birthclasses

    Support the show:

    Donations (India) - https://birthagni.com/birthagnipodcast#podcast-list
    Donations (world) -
    buymeacoffee.com/birthagni

    • If you like what you hear, leave us
      • a rating on Spotify app and answer the question at each episode!
      • a review on Apple podcasts.
    • Share on Whatsapp/Insta/FB
    • Share on Instagram and tag us @divyakapoorvox
    • Support the production by making a donation at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birthagni. This ensures the continuity and quality and a good coffee on sleepless recording nights!
    • Subscribe to the FREE newsletter at https:/...
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    32 mins
  • #117 - Yashoda's Birth story - Hospital vs Water Birth experience at a Birth center
    Jan 24 2025

    Yashoda is a Sports Physiotherapist and an Aquatic therapist and a mom of 2 precious ones- is currently working at Aastrika midwifery centre.

    She had her first one born in a hospital after induction and her baby was separated from her after birth. The second time around she decided to take childbirth classes, prepare well and chose a midwifery center called Aastrika in Bangalore where she was not induced, she birthed her baby in the water and had a beautiful experience. Her breastfeeding journey was also way more respectful and supported a gentle welcome of the baby where skin to skin contact between the mother or father and the baby were prioritised.

    In this episode we explore

    1. Contractions after induction vs Natural spontaneous contractions
    2. A hospital birth experience vs a Birth center experience
    3. Role of Childbirth classes in the Birth experience
    4. Water birth experience


    Support the show

    Sign up for Childbirth Preparation Programs! visit www.birthagni.com/birthclasses

    Support the show:

    Donations (India) - https://birthagni.com/birthagnipodcast#podcast-list
    Donations (world) -
    buymeacoffee.com/birthagni

    • If you like what you hear, leave us
      • a rating on Spotify app and answer the question at each episode!
      • a review on Apple podcasts.
    • Share on Whatsapp/Insta/FB
    • Share on Instagram and tag us @divyakapoorvox
    • Support the production by making a donation at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birthagni. This ensures the continuity and quality and a good coffee on sleepless recording nights!
    • Subscribe to the FREE newsletter at https:/...
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 5 mins
  • #116 - Language around Birth and Breastfeeding with Effath Yasmin
    Jan 17 2025

    " I wonder Divya, if women today can escape a pill........a vaccine.......or being under the knife." - Effath Yasmin

    Calling this a reality of today's maternal healthcare system is not enough to point out the issues that need dire resolution because the problems are far more complex than 'one' solution being right and everything else, wrong.

    The issue is of the belief systems fuelled by years of medical marketing, cultural hearsay, shifting away from our traditional systems completely in the name of advancement without paying heed to the resulting loss.

    In this episode as we explore The language around Birth especially in the media pertaining to Home Births, we also speak about the collective 'discouraging' language around the whole spectrum of 'Womanhood', Birth and Breastfeeding with Effath Yasmin ma'am who is a pioneering Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, and registered Flower Practitioner. Founder Nourish & Nurture, a family wellness clinic in Mumbai, Yasmin’s unique & deep insightful wisdom on Birth, Breastfeeding, Parenting, Life Coaching & Skills, and Childhood Trauma have established her as a leading voice in Woman, Maternal & Family Wellness.

    An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Yasmin’s acclaimed film “Untying Breastfeeding” has garnered four international awards, highlighting the challenges in birth and motherfeeding. Yasmin also cofounded an international organisation for clinical education on tongue-tie for healthcare professionals and advocating for family-centered care in breastfeeding and maternal health worldwide.

    Explored Areas in this episode:

    Problems in the present Maternal Medical System

    1. Language around Home Births in Media vs coverage of the hospital births
    2. Misplaced initiative of the complete industrialisation of Birth
    3. Unclear demarcation of the role of medical system in Birth

    Possible solutions:

    1. Re-establishing the midwifery system by absorption of existing Dais and upscaling current system.
    2. The responsibility of fair and curious journalism that does not sensationalise Birth.
    3. An integrated system th

    Support the show

    Sign up for Childbirth Preparation Programs! visit www.birthagni.com/birthclasses

    Support the show:

    Donations (India) - https://birthagni.com/birthagnipodcast#podcast-list
    Donations (world) -
    buymeacoffee.com/birthagni

    • If you like what you hear, leave us
      • a rating on Spotify app and answer the question at each episode!
      • a review on Apple podcasts.
    • Share on Whatsapp/Insta/FB
    • Share on Instagram and tag us @divyakapoorvox
    • Support the production by making a donation at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/birthagni. This ensures the continuity and quality and a good coffee on sleepless recording nights!
    • Subscribe to the FREE newsletter at https:/...
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 23 mins

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