Australian Birth Stories

In today’s episode, Breeana gives a very open and honest account of her struggles with severe antenatal depression in her pregnancy with her son. Breeana’s pregnancy began with severe morning sickness and emotionally she became quite unwell. Supported through the mental health unit at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne, Bree saw a physiatrist throughout the pregnancy and together they decided that the best option to support her mental health was to have an elective caesarean. The Women’s were supportive of Bree’s decision and allowed her to book in her delivery. Thankfully immediately after baby Ari’s delivery Bree said she felt immediately better. Although Bree is extremely grateful that her recovery was quite quick, she wants to reiterate that post natal depression often follows antenatal depression. Bree also shares with us her decision to have a tubal ligation after Ari was born. She knew that she didn’t want to have any more children and that she didn’t feel she could possibly go through pregnancy again. Bree touches on issues of guild and shame at some of her choices she made in her pregnancy but wants to share her experience to help others support and understand antenatal depression in more detail. Issues touched upon in this episode: Depression, pregnancy termination, mental health, suicide, antenatal depression, severe morning sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum),  tubal ligation, elective caesarean section, anti depressants. Resources: Pregnancy Counselling Australia ph: 1300 737 732 Life line ph: 13 11 14 PANDA Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia ph:1300 726 306 Australian Birth Stories If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode I had the privilege of speaking with Lael Stone. Lael has worked in the birth community for over 14 years. She has worked as a doula, childbirth educator and Calmbirth practitioner. Lael is also an Aware Parenting instructor who has worked with women who have had birth trauma. Further to this she also teaches Sex Education to teenagers. Lael has interviewed and collected birth experience data from hundreds of Australian women throughout her career. This data provided insight and motivation to develop the About Birth Online Education Program. Today she shares with us the births of her three children who are now 17, 14 and 9 years old. Lael beautifully recounts the journey of her first pregnancy and labour where she had little to no birth knowledge and experience. This lead to a long, intervention filled, traumatic birth. This experience lead to her to explore alternative birthing options for her second birth. She decided to hire an independent midwife and doctor for a home birth. For her third pregnancy Lael explains that she wanted to draw on all her birth experience and knowledge from having worked in the field to have the best possible birth. Her third and most challenging birth unfolded very differently and challenged her in the most profound way. Tune in to hear what happened in more detail. Topics covered in today’s show: Hospital birth, epidural, episiotomy, birth trauma, home birth, water birth, footling breech baby, emergency section, neonatal care, breastfeeding, midwifery care, calmbirth. Here are a list of resources mentioned in this episode: - - If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode Amy Ozmanhodzic shares three very different and beautiful birth stories. During Amy’s first pregnancy she discovered hypnobirthing and she credits the skills she learnt from her hypnobirthing training for the three unmedicated beautiful births she was able to achieve. Amy was so blown away by hypnobirthing, that after her second child she trained as a hypnobirth practitioner and she now also works as a birthing Doula in the Byron Bay Hinterlands. If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  After seeing her sister in law have a home birth, Amy decided at 31 weeks that she wanted to change her birth plans and have a home birth herself. She moved on to the community midwifery care program and didn't look back.  During her second pregnancy at 39 weeks Amy’s fundal measurement (the measure of the size of the uterus used to assess fetal growth) showed that there had been little change in growth over three weeks. The midwife was concerned that the baby wasn’t growing so Amy was sent to have an ultrasound at King Edward Memorial Hospital to check on the baby's development and amniotic fluid levels.  The doctor advised that her amniotic fluid was on the lower side of normal. She was advised there was 5% chance her baby would become stressed in labour. She was then advised that she would have to deliver her second baby in hospital. Amy's waters then broke as she left the hospital. to hear more tune into episode 11 of the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode Renae openly shares going through pregnancy and raising her little ‘Tinder Surprise’ baby Avery as a single parent. Renae had hyperemesis gravidarum (sever morning sickness) throughout the pregnancy which required medication. She also discovered at 37 weeks that she had pre eclampsia. The swelling symptoms of pre eclampsia coupled with living in another state from her immediate family made for an uncomfortable pregnancy which Renae didn't enjoy. After receiving test results back from the lab Renae’s private obstetrician rang her when she was 37 weeks and told her to leave work and come into the hospital as soon as possible. Avery was born by caesarean section the next day after her pre eclampsia became dangerous for both Renae and her baby. GRUBEZE: Take the mess and stress out of feeding little grubbers. Keeping their clothes dry and stain-free. The ultimate messy kids full body hazmat. Encourage baby led weaning and self-feeding with grubeze coverall, waterproof onesies for eating.  Better than a bib or smock, grubeze full body coverage offers the ultimate in children's clothing protection - no more ruined clothes or multiple changes. Save valuable time and money on washing, soaking and laundry products. Easy to use, grubeze comes in a handy carry bag and features a convenient long double zip to allow for mid meal bum changes and adjustable wrist and ankles to suit any little grubber’s proportions. Extremely durable, grubeze is machine washable and can also be thrown in the tumble dyer. Made from super soft, lightweight, breathable fabric it releases heat and water vapour ensuring little grubbers stay cool and comfy while wearing it. What’s not to love? Grubeze has it all covered! If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode Melissa Ayling from Hypnobirthing Geraldton shares with us the beautiful and remarkable birth of her son Lockie who was born on the way to hospital in her car. Melissa drew on her training as a hypnobirthing practitioner to trust in her body’s ability to birth her baby unassisted with her husband receiving her little boy on the side of the road. This story is not to be missed. Melissa chose to deliver her placenta physiologically, that is without the use of the drug syntocinon. Commonly the third stage of labour is ‘actively managed’ in Australian hospitals in the management of the third stage of labour (placenta delivery). If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode Phoebe tells the story of the birth of her first child Alex. Phoebe had midwifery care through her local public hospital which has a birth centre attached. She had a healthy pregnancy with no major health concerns. When Phoebe went in for her stress test at 41 weeks, the midwives discovered that there were some irregularities with the foetal monitoring of her little boy. As a precaution Phoebe was kept in for monitoring and it turns out she wasn't able to go home until she had delivered a couple of days later. Phoebe discusses the challenges of using a balloon catheter to induce labour. She also shares how she chose to use the clip, (also known as a foetal scalp electrode which is inserted into the baby while still in utero) for monitoring her baby's heart rate. By using the clip Phoebe was not restricted by the monitoring tape that often slips and is uncomfortable for many women during labour. Phoebe drew on the skills she had gained through her reading of Juju Sundin’s Birth Skills to help her reframe the pain of her contractions to assist her through having an induced labour. If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode, Kate shares the story of the birth of her second son Jude. Kate had planned a VBAC for Jude's birth after having an emergency caesarean after a long posterior labour with her first child Archie. Kate discusses the challenges in falling pregnant a second time around and suffering a miscarriage. She sought help on an acupuncturist and decided to go through the private hospital system at Frances Perry House Instead of going through midwifery care at the Royal Women's. If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's epidode Cara shares the story of her son Banjo's birth at Frances Perry Private Hospital in Melbourne. After labouring at home for two days Cara went into hospital to find that the baby was in a posterior position. Cara had her waters broken by her midwife in an attempt to help progress the labour however the baby failed to rotate. After using Gas and Air and then having an epidural, Cara's baby boy was delivered by an emergency caesarean section. Cara discusses taking Calm Birth classes as well as Preggie Bellies exercise classes and how she kept very healthy drinking fruit and vegetable drinks throughout her pregnancy.  Cara also discusses the challenges of breastfeeding, post part blues and sever constipation that required her to return to hospital on day five after delivering Banjo. This episode will make you cry for all the right reasons. A must listen. If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Emma tells the story of her prolonged posterior labour with her little boy Raphael. Emma had a relatively easy pregnancy, overseen by her local GP and the midwives at the local public hospital. Her labour began with her waters rupturing in the middle of the night and contractions started a few hours later. After labouring at home for quite a few hours Emma transferred to the hospital to find she was in fact only dilated 1cm. After morphine and several more hours of difficult contractions, Emma’s labour failed to progress due to the baby’s positioning. After induction medication, two epidurals and an episiotomy Raphael was born and Emma was able to reach down and bring him to her chest. If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Katie shares the story of the birth of Edie and then her son Willem. Edie was conceived through IVF after 5 years of actively trying to conceive ‘naturally’.  Willem was conceived naturally as a complete and welcomed surprise two years later.  After very careful research and consideration, Katie planned to birth both her babies at home with private midwives. After labouring for 24 hours at home under the care of her private midwives, Katie transferred to hospital after the labour was slow to progress and exhaustion was setting in. Edie was delivered in a public hospital with the assistance of induction medication and an epidural. Willem's home birth took a turn when Katie passed a large blood clot early on in the labour. Katie's midwife advised her to go into hospital to ensure everything was ok and she delivered him later that day with the support of her husband and private midwife. Katie’s Recommended resources: Birth with Confidence: Savvy choices for normal birth - Rhea Dempsey Active Birth - Janet Balaskas Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth - Ina May Gaskin If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class  my online childbirth education course head to the shop  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.