Australian Birth Stories

Maddie shares her transformative journey from receiving an unexpected cleft lip and palate diagnosis at 22 weeks to achieving her dream home birth despite numerous challenges. As a 36-year-old first-time mother living in Melbourne's Bayside area, Maddie's story beautifully illustrates the power of informed choice, trusting your body, and finding the right support team. Her experience navigating the complexities of birthing a baby w...

Lauren shares her contrasting birth experiences with her two boys, Charles and Harvey, whilst navigating the challenges of building two innovative businesses for parents. From her anxiety-filled first pregnancy during COVID to her blissfully calm second experience, Lauren's story highlights the profound difference that continuity of care and mental preparation can make. She opens up about her struggle with postnatal anxiety, the he...

In today's episode I chat with Dr Daniela Aiello, a registered osteopath specialising in pregnancy and postpartum care at Bulleen Osteopathy in Melbourne's northern suburbs. Daniela brings over two decades of experience treating pregnant and postpartum women, combined with her personal journey as a mother of two (aged 14 and 11) and founder of Continuall, a compression wear brand designed specifically for women during pregnancy and...

Liza takes us through her transformative journey across three very different birth experiences in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. From an unexpected first pregnancy at 24 whilst her husband was deployed, through a traumatic second birth that led to essential mental health support, to finally achieving her dream VBAC after two caesareans - Liza's story is one of resilience, growth, and the power of therapeutic healing...

Claire - a midwife and nurse from south of Sydney - shares her first birth experience with baby Maeve. Despite her professional background, Claire's journey from planned home water birth to emergency caesarean beautifully illustrates that birth often doesn’t goes to plan, but can still be incredibly empowering. Her story offers invaluable insights for birth workers and expectant parents alike, showing how informed decision-making, ...

Nonny Naitanui shares her journey from fertility concerns to an unexpectedly early but beautiful birth experience. After receiving concerning AMH results that initially sparked fears about her fertility, Nonny conceived within three months of trying.

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Today I chat with Sophie, a clinical psychologist and mother of two who runs her own practice, Nimble Minds Clinical Psychology, in Sydney's Sutherland Shire. Sophie shares her journey from a 10-month conception period during COVID lockdowns to two incredibly positive birth experiences at the Royal Hospital for Women. Her first birth with daughter Charlotte (Lottie) was a beautifully managed hospital birth, whilst her second pregna...

Tamsyn shares her journey from first-time mum to birthing fraternal twins vaginaly at 40+6 weeks. After experiencing a medicalised first birth with Maya during COVID lockdowns, Tamsyn was determined to achieve the physiological birth she envisaged for her twins. Despite facing significant pressure from hospital staff to accept routine interventions, Tamsyn's story demonstrates the importance of having strong support people and trus...

In this episode, Ruby - a registered nurse turned midwife and maternal child health nurse - shares her positive birth experience through the Royal Women's Hospital homebirth program in Melbourne. After initially planning a homebirth, Ruby's journey took several turns including a low-lying placenta scare that kept her in limbo for months, waters breaking early, and ultimately birthing her daughter Clementine in hospital with syntoci...

In this episode, personal trainer and mother of three Gen takes us through her complete motherhood journey from Richmond to the Victorian coast. Her first pregnancy was unplanned but led to a powerful physiological birth at the Royal Women's Hospital. After moving through various challenges including COVID lockdowns, job redundancy, and relocating interstate, Gen welcomed her second daughter in a beautiful water birth. Her third pr...

Today I chat with Chris, a registered nurse and midwife who has been working with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood's milk program for eight years. Chris takes us through the fascinating world of donor breast milk - from the rigorous screening process for donors to how this precious resource supports the tiniest and most vulnerable babies in neonatal intensive care units across Australia. Whether you're curious about donating your exc...

In this episode, Jordan, a 28-year-old midwife from rural South Australia, shares her two incredibly positive birth experiences at the hospital where she works. Living 600 kilometres from Adelaide in the tiny farming town of Port Neill, Jordan navigated the unique experience of birthing alongside her colleagues whilst balancing her partner's demanding harvest schedule. Her first labour was a marathon 31-hour journey that tested her...

Today Steph Claire Smith returns to share her second birth experience with daughter Billie. After Harvey's induction at 41 weeks, Steph was determined to experience spontaneous labour this time around. Her journey included navigating a breech presentation, trying every trick in the book to encourage baby to turn, and ultimately achieving the birth she'd always dreamed of.

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Celeste's three births showcase dramatically different experiences within the same hospital system. Her first birth involved an induction that led to forceps delivery and NICU admission, her second was a precipitous labour where she dilated from 3cm to fully dilated in just 30 minutes, and her third was a planned induction that resulted in her dream water birth. Throughout all three experiences, managing her multiple sclerosis adde...

In this deeply moving episode, we speak with Hannah, a midwife and lactation consultant from the Southern Highlands, who shares her profound journey through two very different birth experiences. Hannah takes us through her first pregnancy with daughter Beatrix, including the unexpected discovery of a breech presentation, her decision to pursue vaginal breech birth at Westmead Hospital, and the challenging NICU journey that followed...

In honour of World Breastfeeding Week today I sit down with Dr. Amber Hart, a Melbourne-based GP and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Dr. Hart shares her expertise on the realities of breastfeeding, the importance of antenatal education, and addresses the controversial rise in tongue tie diagnoses. Amber offers a refreshing perspective on supporting new mothers through their feeding journeys whilst prioritising m...

In this powerful episode, lawyer and mother-of-two Tessa shares her contrasting birth experiences in Darwin, Northern Territory. Her first birth with daughter Frankie was everything she'd hoped for - a quick, low-intervention delivery at a private hospital with excellent postnatal care. But when she fell pregnant with her second daughter Millie, everything changed. Healthscope announced without warning that they were closing the ma...