Welcome to the True Midwifery Study Spirals!

The Spirals are monthly online gatherings for birthkeepers from around the world — midwives, doulas, aspiring and student midwives, independent birth attendants, and those who hold space for pregnant and birthing families in both traditional and medical settings.

What we hold in common is a commitment to honouring, sustaining, and protecting the fundamental and basic needs of all pregnant, labouring, and birthing mothers, and their babies. This shared foundation is what binds our community, regardless of the setting we work in or the paths we have travelled.

How the Spirals Began

The True Midwifery Study Spirals began in 2021 — originally called the True Midwifery Study Circles. They were born in response to the deep need for support, connection, and embodied knowledge during the COVID pandemic and global lockdowns.

Created and facilitated by Ruth Ehrhardt of True Midwifery, and supported by Samara Hawthorn (WellMama) and Alex Khula, these gatherings quickly became a sanctuary of learning, reflection, and companionship for birthkeepers everywhere.

As the community evolved, so did the name. What began as “circles” revealed itself as something larger, more alive. Each gathering is held in circle, yes — but the teachings, stories, and connections spiral outwards, creating new layers of understanding, new networks, and new growth.

Our Monthly Rhythm

We gather every month for a three-hour live Zoom session.

Each Spiral centres around a theme that grows organically from the needs and conversations arising in our private Telegram community. Some months we invite a guest teacher to share their expertise; other times we learn from one another through shared reflection, story, and inquiry.

Every gathering leaves us feeling inspired, enriched, and held within a strong and widening community of practice.

“With each new circle that Ruth facilitates there will be a new elixir of sisters and birthkeepers to share stories and create new networks. And hopefully all of our networks will spiral together. Which is really exciting!”
— Billie, student midwife and Silent Birthkeeper 2022

Why Do We Call These Sessions Spirals?

1. A community that spirals outward
   As Billie once said: her hope is that each circle spirals outward, creating more circles — a ripple of True Midwifery growing across the world.
2. A spiral is open, alive, and expansive
   A circle is a closed shape, but a spiral moves from the centre outward, continually opening, growing, and evolving. This mirrors how our learning, our community, and our understanding of midwifery naturally expands.
3. Birth itself is spiralling
   Traditional obstetric diagrams show cervical dilation as a closed circle, but we now understand that the cervix opens more like a spiral — just as nature is filled with spirals, from the unfurling of a fern to the Fibonacci sequence.

The Spirals remind us that birth, learning, and community are never fixed or linear. They unfold. They widen. They return us to the centre while continually inviting us outward again.