Australian Birth Stories

In honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sarah shares her experience with breast cancer diagnosis in her second pregnancy. She urges everyone to check their breasts regularly because it was only when she was massaging stretch mark cream into her breast at 28 weeks that she felt a lump. An ultrasound showed a tumour and a biopsy confirmed she had stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma; a triple positive cancer that feeds off hormones. She birthed her baby at 35 weeks and one week later, she started chemotherapy. Sarah is currently halfway through six rounds of chemotherapy and her baby, Pearl, is eight weeks old. She is particularly optimistic despite her fear and feels a responsibility to share her story and raise awareness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Teagan articulates the heartache of not being able to feel or see her baby being born, a moment she’ll never get back and one that still prompts a lot of sadness and regret. She had an emergency caesarean after an induction and this followed a covid pregnancy where she didn’t see a midwife till 37 weeks. Her story really highlights how imperative woman-centred care in the operating theatre is. After a birth debrief with an independent midwife, Teagan fell pregnant again and had done all the research on how to achieve a VBAC. She knew continuity of care with a known midwife was essential so she advocated for herself, got into an MGP programme and then at 20 weeks, found out she was moving interstate. So began her journey with a private midwife to prepare for a Home Birth After a Caesarean (HBAC). This is one of those episodes that covers so much ground and is absolutely brimming with pregnancy and birth wisdom. An absolute must-listen! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 346 Mikaela discusses her eating disorder and tendency to over exercise which prompted her body to stop menstruating. She was intent on conceiving so she stopped exercising, ate well and then fell pregnant within six months. Her first birth was positive and after feeling indifferent to breastfeeding, she was surprised to discover that she really enjoyed it and went on to feed for two years. Her second baby was diagnosed with omphalocele (when the bowel grows outside the abdomen) at her 20-week scan and after an amniocentesis and many specialist appointments, baby Macy was born via caesarean and had successful surgery soon after. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Phoebe from @sageandclare details her long journey to pregnancy and her two very different vaginal births. After close to three years of trying to conceive unsuccessfully, she was diagnosed with PCOS, endometriosis and Natural Killer (NK) cells. She began her IVF journey and fell pregnant on her second cycle but unfortunately, this coincided with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome which took weeks to resolve. It was in her first pregnancy that she started experiencing severe hip pain and years later she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, torn ligaments, arthritis and pelvic instability. She has made the conscious decision to grow her family before she has both hips replaced. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Emily shares the details of her challenging ectopic pregnancy which was treated with a strong medication called methotrexate. Unfortunately the pregnancy hormone levels stayed in her body for five months which extended her grief and contributed to an anxiety diagnosis. She immediately sought professional help from a psychologist and psychiatrist and went into her second pregnancy with tangible skills to navigate her OCD and overwhelm. She was induced at 39 weeks and after opting for the epidural she required an emergency caesarean. Emily admits she felt really prepared for the birth and recovery thanks to the caesarean module in . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Alana details her long and challenging fertility journey. After years of IVF using her own eggs and donor sperm, she navigated the loss and grief of multiple chemical pregnancies and miscarriages. Alana and her partner, Amanda, made the decision to use Amanda’s eggs because the quality of Alana’s weren’t genetically viable. After the first transfer Alana fell pregnant and, despite a scary bleed at six weeks, her pregnancy was a relatively smooth experience. A self-confessed researcher and planner, she opted for continuity of care with a private obstetrician and when her waters broke at 36 weeks, she laboured beautifully and experienced a physiological birth and third stage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 342 I talk to Casey about her three caesarean births. Casey’s story really highlights the importance of listening to your intuition, advocating for yourself and seeking continuity of care. In her first pregnancy, she entered the third trimester with migraines and persistent vomiting. After presenting to hospital for the second time, she was insistent on staying overnight before being discharged and she subsequently saved her baby’s life. Within hours Casey was given a general anaesthetic, birthed her baby via caesarean and was diagnosed with preeclampsia and Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelets Syndrome (HELLP) syndrome. It was a traumatic experience and it informed her next two pregnancies where she prioritised continuity of care, sought the guidance of high risk obstetricians and experienced positive caesarean births. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 341 Eliza shares her pregnancy and birth experience as a mother and a student midwife. Her first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage and she takes us through her grief and loneliness as well as her choice to miscarry naturally at home. Her next pregnancy was smooth and straightforward right up till 39 weeks when a late scan showed that her baby’s head was small and she was advised to have an induction. She went into spontaneous labour but after 28 hours she opted for an epidural that worked really well for her; she relaxed, dilated quickly and birthed her baby girl with ease. She had continuity of care with a known midwife for her second birth and she loved the lessons in The Birth Class which prepared her dream waterbirth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, Cammie shares her two wildly different birth experiences and emphasises a little known but important fact: if you don’t feel supported or respected, you can change care providers at any stage of pregnancy. For her first pregnancy she opted for private obstetric care and while she intended to have a low-intervention birth, she was induced and had an epidural and vacuum-assisted birth. After choosing public hospital care for her second birth, she was 22 weeks when she was told she would need to birth at a tertiary hospital far from home because of high BMI. Regardless of her health and wellness, the hospital policy dictated that she was high-risk because of her larger body. Disappointed and disheartened, she started looking into her options for homebirth. She worked through her fears, embraced care from Mama Services in Kensington, accessed her hospital records from her first birth and actively prepared for a physiological birth at home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Madi shares her experience with PCOS which was diagnosed when she was seventeen. She was warned that she may have fertility issues so when she was 21 she conceived her baby girl, Flow. Living in rural Tasmania, she opted for independent midwifery care through Launceston Birth Centre, despite the two-hour drive from her hometown. Her birth experience was quick and joyous but as she explains in detail, her breastfeeding journey has been nothing short of challenging and resulted in a hospital stay due to severe mastitis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.