Australian Birth Stories

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.

In this weeks episode, Lucy tells the story of the birth of her second child Holly. Both Lucy’s pregnancies were achieved with the assistance of IVF. Lucy discusses the challenges IVF, having Hyperemesis Gravidarum (server morning sickness) and gestational diabetes. Lucy was very pleased to have achieved an unmedicated vaginal delivery after having undergone an epidural, episiotomy and forceps with her first delivery of her son Dan. Lucy describes her labour as a positive induction story as she felt like it was carefully monitored by a midwife she quickly built a good rapport with. Topics Covered: IVF, Low sperm count, morning sickness, private obsetricain, induced labour, breastfeeding. 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.

Hilary's waters went at home the day before Sonny's due date. As she had tested Strep B positive, her midwife asked her to come into the hospital to be induced immediately. Sonny's labour was incredibly intense and Hilary found little to no relief in between contractions. She recalls that her husband only left her side for a one minute toilet break during the 8.5 hour labour, and even that was duly noted as being too long. Despite practicing yoga and active birth techniques from Juju Sundin's book 'Birth Skills' , Hilary found the pain overwhelming and cried out for a c-section after 5 hours. She then attempted Gas and Air which she loved. She discusses her birth plan (which stated to offer no pain relief) and doesn't recommend detailing your birth plan in this way - she wishes she had been offered Gas and Air earlier. Sonny was mal positioned and Hilary was on all fours for part of her birth, trying to turn him into a better position for delivery. She ended up delivering on her back, which was not what she had envisioned for herself. After 35 minutes of pushing, Sonny arrived. These beautiful images are the very few she has of her labour, which she'd hoped to have been able to document in more detail (being a photographer). Hilary looks forward to a second attempt at putting Juju Sundin's techniques in an unmedicated birth if she decides to try for a second baby. 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.

After a long 36 hour first birth with my son Niko, (which included an epidural, an episiotomy, forceps and then a postpartum haemorrhage) I was determined to have another attempt at an unmedicated birth centre birth. Louis' birth came right as planned the day before his due date allowing for his Dad to help out during his school holidays. Louis' labour started quickly at home in the middle of the night and resulted in the birth centre birth I had planned for. Arriving at the birth centre at 5am Louis was born at 7am and we were all home for dinner at 7pm. I used hypnobirthing techniques, yoga, pilates, massage and acupuncture to assist in the preparation for the second birth I had dreamt of. Louis dropped very little weight after his birth and I attribute this to his voracious appetite. I supplemented his first feeds with colostrum that I had pumped and frozen prior to his birth. I used the frozen colostrum and fed him through a syringe so as to avoid any early possible nipple confusion. The photo above shows me and my sister Hilary (see episode 2 for Sonny's birth story) breastfeeding together in my birth centre room just 2 hours after Louis' birth. 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.