Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Arie Lee. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Arie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

It was 2022 & I was knee deep in the sovereign birth moment and had been for a long time. Everything about it ignited my inner passion & drive (and still does). In spring of 2022 I graduated from the Radical Birthkeeper school. A friend of mine who was already working in sovereign birth was pregnant so she could no-longer attend births in person. When she saw a woman looking for a wise woman to support her home birth, completely outside the medical system, she referred her to me. We clicked and I told her that I would love to support her. Throughout her pregnancy, we connected & I supported her as she navigated making decisions further & further outside the realms of “normal” — because let’s be real, maternity & birth norms in America are anything BUT normal. Months passed & finally, the time came! Her husband called saying her water had just broken (which is actually a very rare start to labor) and that she was in labor! So I headed over to their home. It was just her, her husband & their mothers. Awesome — everyone we discussed being present prior. What I didn’t know, was that despite our discussions, she never told her mother that she was having a natural birth with no medical personnel present. As you can imagine, there was lots to discuss in the midst of supporting this amazing woman through labor. But I got the job done!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Arie Lee and I am a 25 year old California native. I’m a mother sister daughter & soon to be wife & I’ve chosen to center my life’s work around sovereign birth & postpartum practices.

I found myself here after years of being chronically ill, and finding that the key to my healing was a change in diet & lifestyle all along — something no doctor ever figured out. Embarking on a more natural path led my me straight to herbalists & the one I was inspired by most was the founder of The the Goddess Collection. She’s also a home birth doula & advocates for sovereign birth practices. From there I found Free Birth Society & that’s when the path became even more clear. I took their program and decided to start attending births myself! And then, in October 2023, I had my very own free birth after a 10 month long wild pregnancy (wild meaning sovereign & unmedicalized. I did all my OWN prenatal care) & it’s really pushed me even deeper into this work. Now, I’m able to show up for women, families & mothers with a deeper understanding, more experience & a new love.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

In order to succeed in the business of sovereign birth, most people need to take a lot of time rethinking birth. You have to do the work, whatever that may be to learn to trust birth and understand deeply that it’s a natural process that we’re meant for, that almost always goes right when we’re undisturbed. Once you trust birth you can step into this work. It may be a lot easier said than done depending on the messages you received about pregnancy, birth and motherhood growing up.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The story where my resilience was tested the most, would 100% be the story of my son’s birth & everything leading up to it. Even when you have all of the knowledge & understanding & you’ve done the work of trusting in birth — there are always more layers to unravel.

Over and over again throughout my pregnancy I had to remind myself that I could trust my inner know that everything was okay, even if I didn’t have outside sources validating me or telling me so. I bounced back from the fear & reminded myself that I didn’t need anyone’s validation, this was about me & my baby. And in labor, the thought crossed my mind a million times that I could not do this. But in the depths of each contraction I felt a new sense of surrender until finally my son was here. There’s something in our brains that allows us to bounce back almost immediately from the pain. It’s incredible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Mamaluvgrounds.com
• Instagram: @Mamaluvgrounds
• Facebook: Arie Lee
• Youtube: @mamaluvgrounds