))
A Podcast of Mothers' stories of childbirth. Weekly interviews with mothers giving their first hand accounts of child birth in Australia. Designed to help educate and inform first time pregnant women, parents wanting to have better subsequent births and birth enthusiasts who love to hear and tell birth stories. An entertaining and heartfelt resource for pregnancy, labour and delivery and postpartum.
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
441 | Maria, fraternal twins, ovulation induction, cervical stitch, bed rest, IUGR, caesarean birth, NICU
54:07
54:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
54:07
In today’s episode Maria shares her fraternal twin pregnancy which required her to spend 14 weeks on bedrest. Her pregnancy was considered normal until 20 weeks when a routine scan showed her cervix was shortening, exacerbated by the pressure of excess amniotic fluid. The following day a cervix stitch was inserted and Maria spent the next 10 weeks …
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
440 Postpartum | Sarah, three babies, vaginal birth, third-degree tear, OASI, internal massage, hypertonic pelvic floor, women’s health physiotherapist
1:10:13
1:10:13
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:10:13
In this episode Sarah shares her experience with two third-degree perineal tears, also known as Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injury (OASI). The general understanding of birth recovery - even when it comes to perineal trauma - is six weeks yet the reality is much different. For some women it can take two years to heal and strengthen and as Sarah says, w…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
439 | Shuana, two babies, unplanned pregnancy, vulva varicosities, MGP, the birth class, unplanned homebirth
1:11:54
1:11:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:11:54
You can listen to Shuana’s first birth in episode 296 where she details her really positive physiological birth under midwifery care. Today she takes us through her unplanned second pregnancy which took her months to embrace considering she’d just returned to work and didn’t feel prepared for two under two. She was allocated the same midwife throug…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
438 Postpartum | Alex, one baby, solo parenthood, donor-conceived, MGP, IUGR, physiological birth, donor milk
53:27
53:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:27
In this episode Alex shares his pregnancy and birth journey as a trans man, including his choice to embark on solo parenthood. He sought guidance from an IVF clinic and embarked on a number of tests to ensure his egg quality and reserve were favourable before deciding on a sperm donor. Once pregnant, he opted for MGP care through his local public h…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
437 | Julie two babies, pregnant at 42, emergency caesarean, HG, IVF, Down Syndrome
1:04:20
1:04:20
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:20
In today’s episode, Julie shares her journey and all the beautiful lessons she’s learnt along the way. At once ambivalent about motherhood, her first pregnancy ended in miscarriage and proved that she did have a yearning to have a baby. Two failed rounds of IVF followed and then she fell pregnant naturally at 42. The NIPT results showed high risk o…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
436 Postpartum | Dom, Indigenous, birthing on country model of care, waterbirth, PAD, panic attacks, mother + baby unit, psychiatric unit, ECT
1:29:15
1:29:15
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:29:15
In honour of Perinatal Mental Health Week, Dom shares her experience of perinatal anxiety and depression (PAD) and details her three-month stay in a mother and baby psychiatric unit. At six weeks postpartum her anxiety became debilitating; she was having panic attacks, pulling out her hair and thought her husband and baby would be better off withou…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
435 | Caitlin, two babies, posterior, induction, epidural, prodromal labour, doula, unplanned homebirth
1:26:30
1:26:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:26:30
In today’s episode Caitlin details her two very different labours - her first was 40 hours long, her second only two hours. She was accepted into an MGP programme and while she did a hypnobirthing course for preparation, she admits she wasn’t prepared for the intensity of labour. Her early labour stage was long and painful because of her baby’s pos…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
434 Postpartum | Tess, PPH, triple-feeding, EBM, PND, private obstetrician, postpartum day-stay
49:50
49:50
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
49:50
In today’s episode Tess shares her two very different breastfeeding experiences. She starts by detailing her traumatic birth experience which ended in a postpartum haemorrhage and left her depleted and anxious. Her baby lost 11 percent of her birthweight so triple-feeding was recommended and after a few challenging weeks, Tess made the decision to …
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
433 | Kelsey three babies, induction, epidural, vacuum-assisted birth, PPH, miscarriage, progesterone, retained placenta, the birth class
1:25:32
1:25:32
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:25:32
In today’s episode, Kelsey shares her three birth stories which detail her evolution as a birthing mother. In her first birth she requested an induction which led to the cascade of intervention; an epidural, instrumental birth, PPH and retained placenta. She found her first postpartum particularly challenging and when she felt ready to conceive aga…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
432 Postpartum | Claire, one baby, vaginal birth, midwifery care, faecal incontinence, women’s health physiotherapy
34:29
34:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
34:29
Faecal incontinence affects one in 25 women in postpartum and today, Claire shares her experience. She takes us briefly through her labour and birth and details the confronting realisation that she had no control of her anal sphincter. Thanks to a women’s health physiotherapist who demanded horizontal rest - essential for all new mothers! - pelvic …
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
431 | Renee, three babies, spontaneous labour, physiological births, water birth, homebirth, doula
1:02:40
1:02:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:40
Today Renee shares her three physiological birth stories so consider this a wonderfully positive episode in honour of Homebirth Awareness Week. She was living in New York with her partner when she fell pregnant at 21 so they hightailed it home to Queensland and had a really positive birth at their local public hospital. Renee admits that the first …
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
430 Postpartum | Katie Rose, yoga teacher, Ayurveda, five babies, blended family
42:04
42:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:04
Katie Rose, a yoga teacher, doula and mother of five discusses her postpartum experiences and the joy and chaos of having a big family. Her eldest is 17 and her youngest is two so she brings a beautiful wisdom to her story, reflecting on her perfectionist early parenting years and the ease and joy she has found by letting go of control and simply b…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
429 | Celia Pacquola, needle phobia, hypnotherapy, private obstetrician, pelvic girdle pain, induction, anxiety, breastfeeding, formula
1:06:42
1:06:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:06:42
In today’s episode, I chat to comedian Celia Pacquola about her pregnancy and birth experience. Motherhood was never a top priority for Celia but when she met her partner, it only took a few months for them to conceive. She chose continuity of care with a private obstetrician, used hypnotism to recover from her phobia of needles and opted for an in…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
428 | Kirby five babies, septate uterus, breech, emergency caesarean, tongue tie, VBAC, miscarriage, second trimester pregnancy loss, IVF
1:16:35
1:16:35
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:16:35
In today's episode, and in honour of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, Kirby shares her story. After her first two pregnancies and births, she experienced her first miscarriage but knew it was a common experience and wasn’t perturbed by it. However, what followed was a period of infertility and the devastating loss of her two boys, Walt an…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
427 | Elizabeth, physiological birth with MGP, The Birth Class, spontaneous labour, TENS machine
1:09:35
1:09:35
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:09:35
In this episode Elizabeth shares her first pregnancy and birth experience. She had bloods done before her copper IUD was removed as she has coeliac disease and wanted to ensure her iron levels were adequate before she conceived. Having been a listener of the podcast, she was interested in her local MGP programme and ensured her GP referral was sent…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
426 Postpartum | Samantha, postpartum preparation, postpartum doula, social media, matrescence
41:26
41:26
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:26
In today’s episode, Samantha details her postpartum journey with her second baby and explains why switching off social media was the best option for her. As a postpartum doula she knew exactly how to prepare for postpartum and prioritised filling her freezer with nutritious food. Yet she was still floored by the intensity of it, challenged by the g…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
425 | Bridie, two births, endometriosis, MGP, pubis symphysis dysfunction, posterior labour, induction, epidural, water birth
1:11:01
1:11:01
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:11:01
In today’s episode, Bridie (one half of the witty/hilarious new podcast Cool Story that will undoubtedly make you smarter at dinner parties) shares her two birth stories. Bridie’s mum is a midwife so she had the utmost faith in her knowledge and expertise and felt supported and safe throughout her entire pregnancy and birth. Her first labour was lo…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
424 Postpartum | Brylee, hydrops fetalis, foetal medicine team, amniocentesis, thoracentesis, caesarean birth, NICU
1:04:55
1:04:55
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:55
Almost 1 in 5 babies spend time in the Special Care Nursery (SCN) or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Australia. For the mothers of these babies, postpartum is very different to what they planned or hoped for and there’s often a distinct grief that accompanies the stress of having an unwell or premature baby. We can encourage new mothers to o…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
423 | Leonie, two babies, perinatal anxiety and depression (PAD), psychology, episiotomy, postpartum depression, mother rage, private obstetrician
58:17
58:17
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
58:17
In today’s episode Leonie shares her experience with perinatal anxiety and depression which manifested as a profound sense of defeat in pregnancy and visceral rage in postpartum. She opted for talking therapy with a psychologist and managed her symptoms but she was still overwhelmed at birth when the love for her baby wasn’t immediate. It’s so impo…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
422 Postpartum | Leila, fraternal twins, breastfeeding twins, postpartum doula
40:22
40:22
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:22
Following on from her birth story in episode 419, Leila shares her early postpartum experience with twins. She organised a foundation of strong and trustworthy support including private midwifery care, a postpartum doula and a meal train involving her closest friends. Despite her preparation she still had moments of overwhelm; the sheer amount of h…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
421 | Shelley, Herpes virus, planned caesarean, VBAC, Breastfeeding challenges
1:00:34
1:00:34
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:00:34
In today’s episode, I interview Shelley who shares her two pregnancies and births. Shelley has herpes simplex virus (HSV) and experienced considerable stress throughout pregnancy which led to an outbreak. Despite planning a vaginal birth, Shelley consulted with her care provider and made the informed decision to have a caesarean birth (there are si…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
420 Postpartum | Elizabeth, one baby, MGP, jaundice, hospital readmission, light therapy, biliblanket
34:12
34:12
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
34:12
Elizabeth’s newborn baby was readmitted to hospital to treat jaundice which is one of the primary reasons a baby will need to return to hospital after discharge. She had to navigate conflicting medical advice and opinions on the ward which isn’t an uncommon experience in the postpartum health space. I encourage you to listen to this episode because…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
419 | Leila, two births, homebirth, fraternal twin vaginal birth without epidural, private midwife, planned postpartum
58:49
58:49
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
58:49
In today’s episode Leila shares her beautiful birth stories; her first at home, and her second which was a twin birth in hospital at 41+2. Leila thoroughly educated herself about birth and postpartum in her first pregnancy so when it came to her twin pregnancy, she was well aware of how she wanted to be supported and opted for a private midwife to …
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
418 Postpartum | Naomi, two births, birth trauma, postpartum doula, postpartum preparation, homebirth, postpartum cookbook
50:21
50:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:21
In today’s episode Naomi takes us through her first pregnancy and admits that she was so focussed on her birth preparation that she didn’t once think about her postpartum journey. Her birth was challenging and the newborn days were full of anxiety, severe sleep deprivation and a lot of not-knowing. Four months later she learnt about traditional pos…
…
continue reading
A
Australian Birth Stories
1
417 | Dara, one baby, miscarriage, thyroid, private obstetrician, birth education, planned caesarean, mother’s group
1:01:09
1:01:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:09
In today’s episode Dara discusses her choice to have a private obstetrician and the steps she took to educate herself and plan a vaginal birth. Towards the end of her pregnancy she decided that being focussed on one birth option didn’t feel right so she started exploring what an induction, emergency caesarean and planned caesarean may look like. It…
…
continue reading
