When Ashlee Roland, a Christ-centered nutritionist and wellness educator, was told she might never have children, she never imagined she’d one day deliver a breech baby at home—pain-free, without tearing, and in full surrender to God’s plan. But her journey to motherhood wasn’t simple. It was filled with layers of physical illness, emotional trauma, spiritual warfare, and ultimately, healing, trust, and divine breakthrough.
In this episode of the Pain Free Birth Podcast, host Karen invites Ashlee to share her raw, powerful story—one that every woman walking through fear, health battles, or birth anxiety needs to hear.
Infertility, Autoimmunity, and the Start of a Healing Journey
Before becoming a mother of two, Ashlee lived with a series of overwhelming health diagnoses. She was told she had Hashimoto’s, PCOS, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, and was considered infertile. Despite following a clean, organic lifestyle, Ashlee still couldn’t get pregnant for five years. Her journey led her to uncover the deeper root causes of her imbalances and begin supporting her body through nutrition, minerals, and nervous system healing.
Her transformation became the foundation of her online platform, SimplHolistic, where she now teaches women how to quiet the noise of the wellness world and support their hormones naturally. But even as she began to experience healing, her journey into motherhood was only just beginning—and it would be tested in unimaginable ways.
Pregnancy in a Toxic Home
During her second pregnancy, Ashlee was unknowingly living in a house contaminated with toxic mold—a biohazard-level exposure that severely impacted her health. She battled daily nausea, brain fog, appetite loss, and stress while continuing to breastfeed her toddler.
“I was eating maybe 800 calories a day while nursing a 3-year-old and growing a baby,” she shared. “But every single bite I ate was nutritive.”
Despite the challenges, she trusted her body’s ability to nourish her baby and relied on whole foods, raw milk, egg yolks, and mineral-rich nutrition. Still, the physical toll and emotional weight were overwhelming.
“My whole pregnancy was 10 out of 10 stress,” she said. “There wasn’t a single day I wasn’t stressed.”
The Labor She Didn’t See Coming
When labor started ten days before her due date, Ashlee didn’t even recognize it. Her contractions were irregular—some short, some long, some intense, others mild—and they felt totally different from her first birth.
“I thought I was cramping or just having a weird day,” she laughed. “I didn’t realize I was in labor.”
She even filmed a YouTube video that day while unknowingly contracting. Meanwhile, her husband filled the birth pool, texted the midwife, and quietly prepared the house. Ashlee, still convinced it was false labor, told him he was overreacting.
But when the midwife arrived, she dropped a bombshell: “You’re at 10 centimeters.”
Even then, the surprise wasn’t over. What the midwife believed was the baby’s head turned out to be his foot. Her baby was frank breech—legs up by his head, bottom coming first—and was still in the amniotic sac.
“She said, ‘Ashlee, your baby’s breech!’ And I just said, ‘Cool. Let’s keep going.’”
A Frank Breech Homebirth—Without Pain or Tearing
Ashlee moved instinctively into runner’s lunge—one knee up, leaning over an exercise ball—a position that opens the pelvis by up to 30%. Though she felt the ring of fire intensely, she never experienced fear or panic.
“I didn’t tear at all,” she said. “My body said, ‘Don’t push,’ so I didn’t.”
She waited for the next contraction before bearing down, allowing her body to guide the process completely. And when the moment came, she reached down and caught her own baby—a 6 lb 5 oz, nearly 24-inch long boy who “sprung open like a frog” after being folded in half.
“His feet and head came out at the same time,” she remembered. “It was powerful, but not painful. I just kept thinking, ‘This head must be huge!’”
Ashlee’s story challenges the medical narrative that breech births are dangerous or impossible outside a hospital. Through intuition, trust, and surrender, she experienced a pain-free breech homebirth that honored her body and glorified God.
The Power of Surrender in Labor
One of the most profound aspects of Ashlee’s story is the spiritual significance of surrender—not just during labor, but in the moments leading up to and following it.
“There’s nothing you can do to stop it,” she said of those final moments of birth. “You either fight it—and tense up—or you surrender.”
In that moment of full expansion, she knew the next contraction would bring her baby. She waited. She breathed. She listened. And her body delivered him with grace.
“It was intense, but it was never panic. Never fear. It was just… expansion.”
This idea of spiritual and physical surrender continued into her postpartum season in a very real and raw way.
Postpartum, Mold, and a Spiritual Battle
Just one week after giving birth, Ashlee ran a mold test on her home—and the results confirmed what she feared: the home was dangerously contaminated. At just three weeks postpartum, her entire family evacuated the house.
“My baby was sick. My toddler was sick. My husband was sick. And I was sick,” she said. “But we had to leave. We had to surrender.”
This season tested her faith more than ever before. She battled intrusive thoughts, fear, and anxiety—all compounded by the physical effects of mold exposure.
“I was having thoughts like, ‘I’m going to drop the knife on my baby,’ and he wasn’t even in the room,” she shared. “I had to catch those thoughts and say, ‘No. That’s not my thought. That’s anxiety. That’s not who I am.’”
Her friend reminded her that anxiety is loud and fast, while intuition is still and calm—a truth that helped her navigate the spiritual warfare of postpartum.
“There’s nothing that makes you surrender more than having a sick newborn you can’t give supplements to,” she said. “I had to trust that God would care for him.”
Grounding, Healing, and Regulation
To cope with anxiety and regulate her nervous system, Ashlee began incorporating physical, sensory rituals that grounded her in the present moment:
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Spraying rose and chamomile hydrosol
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Listening to healing frequencies
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Lighting beeswax candles
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Doing breathwork and affirmations
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Reading scripture and repeating declarations like:
“I have power. I am safe. I am healthy.”
She trained her subconscious mind to believe what was true and to reject lies from fear or the enemy. She later discovered a patch that supported her nervous system even more effectively, bringing her into balance after months of lingering dysregulation.
Birth as a Spiritual Experience
This episode beautifully ties together the spiritual and physical aspects of birth. As Karen says, “When we’re crowning, we are the most open we’ll ever be—physically and spiritually.”
For Ashlee, labor became a metaphor for the rest of her life—surrender, softness, trust, expansion. And her faith deepened as she realized just how much God was orchestrating every detail.
“I used to be hard, blunt, a brick wall,” she said. “Now my friends say, ‘You’ve softened.’ And I’m okay with that. It’s okay to be soft.”
A Prayer for Women Walking Through Fear
To close the episode, Ashlee speaks a prayer over every woman walking through fear, anxiety, or uncertainty in motherhood:
“You get to choose life or death. Fear or faith.
I pray you remember that intrusive thoughts are not your own.
I pray your heart softens. Your body relaxes.
That God shows you how to surrender and trust what He’s written over your life.”
Final Thoughts
Ashlee’s story is a reminder that you are not crazy for believing in your body, and you’re not alone if you’re walking through stress, sickness, or fear. There is another side. Healing is possible. And birth can be redemptive, empowering, and even pain-free—no matter what the world says.
Through faith, trust, and surrender, Ashlee birthed her breech baby in the most peaceful, powerful way—and now she’s sharing her testimony to help other women believe for more, too.
Resources
Try Lifewave x39 patches: https://lifewave.com/painfreebirth
Check out Ashlee’s courses:
More about Ashlee:
Ashlee is a Christ-centered nutritionist, course creator, and wellness educator on a mission to simplify women’s health and quiet the noise of the wellness world. Through her brand, Simplholistic, she empowers women to heal naturally, prioritize what truly matters, and take actionable steps toward their health goals. Rooted in the power of nose-to-tail living and healing with nature, Ashlee helps women nourish their bodies the way they were designed to thrive. With a no-fluff, down-to-earth approach, she has guided thousands of women in overcoming chronic health issues, balancing hormones, and embracing non-toxic living. Whether through her transformative courses or vibrant Simpl Circle community, Ashlee’s passion for making wellness accessible shines in everything she does.
Connect with Ashlee:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplholistic/
- Website: simplholistic.org
Want to Experience a Faith-Filled Birth Too?
If you’re ready to transform your mindset and birth with peace and purpose, check out the free Unlocking a Pain Free Birth Masterclass. Discover the 3 keys to a Pain-Free birth so you can experience the joyful, supernatural power of birth the way God designed it.
