628 | Tully Smyth - finding love, egg freezing, elective caesarean, breastfeeding, grief and motherhood

In this episode I chat to Tully Smyth about her winding road to motherhood and the birth of her daughter, Elke. Tully shares her honest experience of being single well into her thirties, the decision to freeze her eggs twice, and how that choice changed the way she approached dating and eventually …

627 | Amy - Five births, blended family, prodromal labour, assisted vaginal birth

In this episode I chat with Amy, a birth photographer and former doula living on the Sunshine Coast, about the birth of her fifth baby, her first with her now husband after a divorce from the father of her first four children. Amy takes us through meeting her husband, the decision to grow their ble…

626 Navigating Postpartum Support with Dr Eliza Hannam

Breastfeeding and sleep concerns are common in early parenthood but unfortunately, many GP’s aren’t qualified to support you through these challenges. So where do you go for professional advice? In this episode, Dr Eliza Hannam discusses her early motherhood experiences alongside her role as a GP, …

625 Jessie Stephens | twin pregnancy, gestational diabetes, premature birth, NICU, breastfeeding twins

In this episode, I chat with Jessie Stephens, who many of you will remember from her first birth story with her daughter Luna in episode 415. Jessie returns to share her second pregnancy and birth journey, this time with a twist nobody expected, twins. She takes us through the heartbreak of a misca…

624 Danni Duncan four babies, twin birth, emergency caesarean, VBAC, bowel cancer survivor

I chat with Danni, a mother of four living on the Gold Coast, who takes us through eight remarkably eventful years of motherhood. Danni shares her path to becoming a mum of four, including a miscarriage before her first pregnancy, the surprise of conceiving twins through ovulation induction, an eme…

623 | Grace - Two births, midwifery care, induction, homebirth, physiological birth, fetal ejection reflex

In this episode, high school teacher and mother of two Grace shares her contrasting birth stories from Wollongong, NSW. Her first pregnancy was meticulously researched and planned. Grace approached conception with the same precision she'd bring to organising a holiday, using ovulation tracking and …

622 | Hilary’s Birth, MGP, Secondary Infertility, Missed miscarriage, Advanced Maternal Age, Induction, Cervical Lip

Join me today for a conversation with my sister, Hilary who shares her second pregnancy and birth with her daughter Rhoda.  I was in the birth centre from the moment her waters broke. It was the first birth I’ve ever attended and such a precious experience (although I think it confirmed that I woul…

621 | Freya - 35-week premature birth after car accident, hyperemesis gravidarum, tongue tie, perinatal anxiety

In this episode I chat with Freya, a paediatric doctor from Melbourne, about her pregnancy and premature vaginal birth of her daughter Goldie. Freya's journey to motherhood came with more challenges than most; she battled severe hyperemesis gravidarum for her entire pregnancy, was involved in a ser…

620 | Jade - Stage four endometriosis, two vastly different births, postural headaches, fear of second birth, dream water birth, PND

Jade is a registered nurse of fourteen years, a newly qualified doula, and a birth photographer living on Sydney's Northern Beaches with her husband Matt, her daughters Milla, four, and Remi, seventeen months, and their beloved Westie, Doug. Diagnosed with stage four endometriosis at twenty-one, Ja…

619 | Lauren - Yoga teacher, intentional conception, positive induction, dream water birth, navigating grief in pregnancy, two births

Lauren is a yoga teacher, women's circle facilitator and prenatal yoga educator living in Sydney's northwest with her husband James and their two children, Joel, who is nearly four, and Grace, who is just three months old. From the moment she came off the contraceptive pill, Lauren embarked on a de…