Hanna Fischer was born in Sindelfingen/Germany in 1938, the youngest child of six siblings. She grew up in the countryside, raised by her mother, who showered her with love and taught her to become an independent young woman. On the subject of childbirth, Fischer recalls, her mother would say "Just when you think you're about to die, that's when the child comes."

At the age of 23, Hanna Fischer completed her midwifery training in Tübingen, southern Germany, and went on to work at a hospital for several years. After giving birth to two sons herself and a long break, she returned to work at the hospital for another 10 years.

Starting in 1979, she worked freelance in the fields of antenatal instruction, postnatal care and home birth support. Stimulated by these experiences, she became increasingly interested in birthing postures and the associated principles of anatomy, as well as with the miracle of birth itself.

Her work with Liselotte Kuttner, who researched the vertical birthing postures of indigenous civilisations, firmly convinced Hanna Fischer that women have the innate ability to give birth naturally and that we, as midwives, can re-ignite their sense of empowerment and be wonderful companions to women as they prepare for natural childbirth.