EP29 - Jen's 2VBACs (caesarean post vaginal birth, missed miscarriage, retained placenta, instrumental birth, shoulder dystocia, COVID, homebirth transfer, hyperfertility, intuition, healing)

In this deeply moving and multifaceted episode, we sit down with Jen to explore her extraordinary journey through six births and five miscarriages, with a diagnosis of hyperfertility. Jen shares openly and honestly about her experiences, the medical complexities and the fierce resilience that led to her reclaiming her birth and deeply trusting her intuition, shaping her motherhood story.

Jen leads us through her first two births, both vaginal births with doula support, and includes a run over of some of the complexities she experienced (retained placenta in her first birth and a snapped cord in her second). Jen then shares about her third birth where she experienced a shoulder dystocia - a complication that would weigh heavily on her decisions for her future pregnancy.

Following her shoulder dystocia experience and another experience of miscarriage, Jen conceived her next baby, a pregnancy involving more complexity with multiple bleeds, a subchorionic hematoma and lots of discussions around risk of shoulder dystocia for this baby's birth. Jen shares of her anxiety throughout this pregnancy and the eventual decision to agree to a planned caesarean birth, but her journey didn’t end there.

With her next pregnancy, Jen embarked on a path of deep research and self-advocacy, culminating in a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) that she describes as incredibly healing. She walks us through her path leading back to her intuition, her advocacy for herself and her babies and how she came to the decisions she did as she navigated a high risk pregnancy that she felt was anything but. Finally, Jen shares her final birth of her sixth baby, a planned homebirth supported by a privately practising midwife who trusted her intuition and listened to her every step of the way. Jen describes her decision to transfer to hospital, how she was supported through this and her journey from feeling that she failed at homebirth to recognising that this was a successful homebirth, despite the transfer.

Throughout it all, Jen’s story is one of profound loss, strength, and reclamation. She speaks candidly about her experiences with miscarriage, the complexities of hyperfertility, the trauma and triumphs of birth, and how she ultimately found her voice and autonomy as a mother.

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If you've experienced mistreatment or disrespectful care in your pregnancy, birth or postpartum and are seeking advocacy support, please contact one of the following organisations:

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Maternity Consumer Network ⁠⁠⁠https://www.maternityconsumernetwork.org.au/⁠⁠⁠

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