Episode 31: Raising seven children, becoming a mom at 16, & a birth story that didn’t go as planned-interview with soulful mama Arianna Alloway
Episode Description
Passionate and determined about her own journey to regain self assertiveness, sovereignty and healing after her seventh birth; one that left her feeling deeply disrespected silenced and abandoned, Arianna began building and seeking tools to assist in finding her way back to self.
A survivor of her own trauma as a child, after being moved around through Foster care and an estranged relationship with her own mother. Then, seeking perfectionism and trying to dispel the label of “teen mom” she began experiencing anxiety and OCD type behavior.
Throughout her journey into motherhood, Arianna became laser focused on making sure each and every one of her children know they deserve to be loved. If you follow Arianna’s journey, you see an authentic, raw and nurturing mama, dedicated to teaching her kids self efficacy, while gifting them health, wellness and adoration. She learned many lessons in expansion and self knowing, especially through which her newest daughter gifted her in their journey together.
Arianna believes in the power of telling our birth stories, real self care, and connecting with other mamas to heal birth trauma. It was through these actions that she has found new truth and continues to move towards accepting her birth story with peace.
Along side mothering her seven children, Arianna has been working with women during her own pregnancy and birth journey’s since pregnant with her second baby. Arianna created a childbirth education class specifically designed to uplift, encourage, and support teen mothers as she was feeling something was lacking during her own teen pregnancy experience. Through these connections, she began branching out and supporting women and their families through full spectrum Doula work. In 2009 she stepped away from birth work completely, to turn her full attention to her family while they moved from Colorado to Texas where they live today.
Arianna has now begun moving back into connecting with other mothers through conscience conception, guidance, birth story debriefing, birth preparation, and postpartum support. With her babies in tow, she marvels in the magic of plant spirit healing, embodied movement, art and a big bowl of ice cream.
Arianna believes in the power of vulnerability, because accessing it wasn’t always easy, and is certainly practicing what she preaches. Now when she’s asked how she “does it all” she admits a mom can never “do it all” or “have it all together.” If that means having to feed the baby in the bathroom while getting ready, or “dropping the same banana on the floor you’ve been trying to eat for breakfast’ as a tired mama, so be it.
Take-Aways:
5:49: Seeking perfectionism as a teen mom only led her to anxiety and OCD type behavior. Arianna didn’t realize it was through her need to control that she was actually screaming for help.
13:08: Without having to take medication for her eventually diagnosed anxiety and OCD, Arianna was able to make space in her life for letting go of control and stopping the rituals. Empowered movement helped her immensely with this.
16:05: Arianna shares about being in Foster care as a child and having an estranged relationship with her mother.
24:02: Arianna believes in the power of sharing transparently & authentically about her life in order to help others on their journeys.
26:10: A big family was never a pre-determined thing for Arianna. She simply listened to her inner guidance as she felt more souls being called into her life.
29:49: Her seventh birth and the disappointment and disrespect she experienced/ Arianna reflects back on how she should’ve spoken up and not feared hurting other people’s feelings. Her inner guidance proved right.
38:43: Arianna discusses the importance she feels in sharing our sacred birth stories as a community of mothers.
