On this weeks episode, Ksenija introduces us to a previous chat Mamamia's Jessie Stephens had with Prue Thomas. At 19 Prue was setting up for a function at work when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. As the day went on, the pain increased, so Prue and her mum headed to the hospital. It was here, that Prue found out that her pain was actually labour. Prue was about to give birth, and up until that point, she didn't realise she was pregnant. CREDITS Host : Jessie Stephens Guests: Prue Thomas P...
Aug 12, 2025•21 min
In this weeks episode, Ksenija is pulling our attention back to an incredible interview between Jessie Stephens and Nothing To Wear & You Beauty host Leigh Campbell. When it comes to life, Leigh Campbell is very prepared. But there was one thing she really couldn't prepare for, the birth of her son. Because even the most well-intentioned of plans can be derailed in an instant, or in this case, 32 hours. Leigh sits down with Jessie Stephens, alongside her husband Rich, to talk about their bir...
Aug 05, 2025•27 min
When Carly's doctor told her it was time to consider surrogacy after 25 failed IVF transfers, her sister Sophie had already made an offer that would transform their family forever. After eight years of trying and watching all her siblings grow their families while she couldn't, Carly was about to embark on the most emotionally complex journey of her life. In today's episode, Carly vulnerably shares the profound experience of watching her sister carry her biological child—from the struggle to con...
Jul 29, 2025•21 min
On this weeks episode, we take a look back at an insightful interview Mamamia's very own Jessie Stephens had with Model and former Biggest Loser host Fiona Falkiner and her now wife, journalist Hayley Willis. They didn’t really have a birth plan, Fiona did know two things. She wanted to be induced. And she didn’t want to see a pair of forceps in the room with her. So, did her birth wishes come true? In this episode of The Delivery Room, Fiona and Hayley join Jessie to discuss the long road that ...
Jul 22, 2025•24 min
When Marni's IVF embryo spontaneously split at 13 weeks, she was excited to be bringing not one but two babies into the world. But over half way through her pregnancy her doctors discovered one of the rarest twin complications - TAPS. In today's emotional episode, Marni shares how TAPS turned her pregnancy into a fight for survival, with one twin slowly losing blood while the other's blood became dangerously thick. Marni takes us through the incredible medical interventions that followed—two gro...
Jul 15, 2025•26 min
When Lauren planned her second birth, she envisioned a calm home birth with her private midwife—complete with a birth pool, fairy lights, and her trusted care team by her side. After feeling unsupported in the public system, she'd carefully crafted the perfect birth environment at 41 weeks. But when labour finally began on a quiet Monday afternoon while her husband was at work, everything unfolded faster than anyone could have imagined. What started as a few bathroom trips quickly escalated into...
Jul 08, 2025•31 min
After having to go under general anaesthetics for the birth of her first baby, Jordan spent her second pregnancy working with anaesthetists to ensure she'd be awake for baby Dakota's arrival. But when two spinal blocks failed and doctors warned they'd never given a third dose to anyone, Jordan had seconds to decide whether to go under or fight through the pain. In today's episode, Jordan shares how witnessing Dakota's arrival—despite the physical pain—became profoundly healing, and opens up abou...
Jul 01, 2025•28 min
Pregnancy is often described as a transformative journey, but for Briar, it became something far more complex. Having already navigated the life-altering experience of spinal surgery and disability in her twenties, she approached motherhood with both excitement and careful consideration. She'd rebuilt her life, regained her independence, and felt ready to embrace this new chapter. From the very beginning of her pregnancy, however, Briar's body began responding in ways that challenged everything ...
Jun 24, 2025•35 min
After navigating IVF and finally welcoming her beautiful daughter Camilla into the world, Anna Bamford's birth journey took an unexpected and frightening turn. In this weeks episode, Anna shares her story, and her journey to get answers for a medical complication which was initially dismissed, despite her growing intuition that something wasn't right. When Anna lost nearly 1.5 litres of blood immediately after delivery, doctors assured her they had removed all placental tissue—but her body told ...
Jun 17, 2025•33 min
After years of heartache, disappointment, and countless tears, Kirsten McLennan discovered her endometrial lining was too thin to nurture a pregnancy—a devastating revelation after multiple failed IVF attempts. When specialists suggested surrogacy might be her path to parenthood, Kirsten and her husband Ryan embarked on an emotional international journey filled with both crushing setbacks and beautiful moments of hope. In today's touching episode, Kirsten vulnerably shares her difficult path to ...
Jun 10, 2025•29 min
When contractions began during a Succession marathon with her mum, Lucinda Pikkat wasn't particularly concerned—her husband Simon was asleep at home an hour away, and surely there would be plenty of time to alert him. In today's episode, Lucinda shares how her third daughter Saachi followed her older sisters remarkable pattern of arriving precisely at 38 weeks. As labor progressed quickly and phone calls went unanswered, Lucinda gave birth with her mother by her side, while her husband slept bli...
Jun 03, 2025•31 min
In this weeks episode, Seize the Yay's Sarah Davidson takes us through her emotional journey to motherhood—one made even more unique by her experience as a cross-cultural adoptee. From experiencing a heartbreaking missed miscarriage that left her waiting three painful weeks for a D&C procedure, to the surprising natural conception that followed unsuccessful fertility treatments; Sarah navigated her pregnancy with cautious hope until her waters dramatically broke in the hospital car park at e...
May 27, 2025•32 min
Imagine discovering you're pregnant just two days after receiving a rare blood cancer diagnosis at 30. For journalist Elle Halliwell, this unimaginable scenario became reality when her routine health check revealed chronic myeloid leukemia—an incurable but treatable condition that would change everything. Despite doctors advising she terminate the pregnancy to begin life-saving treatment, Elle made the extraordinary decision to continue, feeling it was "meant to be." She takes us through the pea...
May 20, 2025•34 min
When Mamamia's Head of Content, Eliza , found herself unexpectedly pregnant with her third child during what was meant to be a one-year Swedish adventure, life took a beautiful detour. But her planned C-section was not so routine when the spinal anaesthesia failed midway through, causing Eliza to feel the surgical procedure. After a desperate plea for help and being rushed to be put under general anaesthetic, Eliza describes waking up to the joy of meeting her son August. She shares the cultural...
May 13, 2025•36 min
When 26-year-old Silje and her husband Jordan decided to expand their family beyond their 18-month-old son Mads, they never imagined what would happen next. In today's episode, Silje shares the breathtaking moment at her dating scan when the sonographer counted not one, not two, but three heartbeats—completely spontaneous fraternal triplets with no family history of multiples. From navigating a high-risk pregnancy while caring for a toddler and maintaining her legal career, to the extraordinary ...
May 06, 2025•32 min
This episode of Diary of a Birth contains graphic descriptions including blood loss and traumatic injury. Please proceed with caution. Additional resources can be found in the show notes. A pop. A gush. And suddenly, a huge amount of blood running down her legs. What started as a peaceful first day of maternity leave became a fight for two lives when Sabrina Banayad experienced a rare and life-threatening placental abruption. Sabrina shares the story of her second birth, that ended in a code gre...
Apr 29, 2025•39 min
From epidural to delivery in minutes—Nikolina's second baby Leo stunned even veteran doctors with his lightning-fast arrival. Despite a physically "cruisy" pregnancy with her children just 16 months apart, Nikolina Koevska Kharoufeh battled intense anxiety about giving birth a second time. After casually attending brunch during early contractions, her labor rapidly intensified. Just as doctors prepared for her curved spine complication during the epidural, Leo's heart rate dropped, and with a si...
Apr 22, 2025•36 min
Waters breaking in public, a head popping out in the shower, and neighbours rushing to help—Kate Longley's second birth took a very different path than planned! In today’s episode, Kate shares how her birth with Jesse took a surprisingly swift turn when, shortly after her waters broke at home, she found herself cradling her newborn in the shower before help could even arrive. With no time to reach the hospital, Kate's neighbours—who happened to be mothers themselves—stepped in to help as Jesse w...
Apr 15, 2025•22 min
One embryo. Two heartbeats. After years of fertility treatments, Laura Parr found herself staring at an ultrasound screen showing the impossible—her single frozen embryo had split into identical twins. In today's episode, Laura shares her extraordinary journey from having her son Lucas through IVF, to the shock of discovering her second embryo—frozen for two years—had developed into identical twins - with no history of twins in the family. She takes us through the emotional rollercoaster of mult...
Apr 08, 2025•32 min
It's Christmas morning, you're on all fours and your dad's just accidentally broken your waters. This wasn't how Francesca Hung imagined birth - but we all know motherhood often arrives unexpectedly. In today's episode, the model and presenter shares the dramatic story of finding herself in active labour just 30 minutes after her first contraction, creating a Christmas morning her family will never forget. Francesca recounts her daughter Bridie's remarkably swift arrival—a birth that completely ...
Apr 01, 2025•33 min
At 38, with no partner but unwavering determination, Bree embarked on a fertility journey that would test her resilience but ultimately fulfill her lifelong dream. After navigating the emotional rollercoaster of two failed IUIs, Bree's persistence led her interstate where she accessed the Seattle sperm bank. From nine retrieved eggs emerged one perfect embryo—her miracle in waiting. The most remarkable chapter? Bree opted for a rare maternal-assisted C-section, literally pulling her son Oscar in...
Mar 25, 2025•24 min
When Minnie's home birth plans shifted to a hospital delivery after two days of stop-start labor, she didn't just accept her "Plan B" – she got creative. Her unexpected strategy? Dressing "like a celebrity avoiding paparazzi" complete with sunglasses, headphones, and clothes pulled over her head. Despite synthetic oxytocin making contractions feel "like being hit by lightning," Minnie found herself overcome with relief and joy during the final moments, laughing her daughter Charlie out into the ...
Mar 18, 2025•29 min
We all know that having a strong support system is vital during pregnancy and birth—but what happens when you're pregnant and your relationship is simultaneously falling apart? In today's episode, Simone Holtznagel discusses how her pregnancy journey coincided with relationship challenges that led to her becoming a single mother when her daughter Gia was just a few weeks old. Simone also shares how she handled an epidural despite an insane fear of needles, an unexpected spinal injury complicatio...
Mar 11, 2025•26 min
After experiencing a traumatic emergency cesarean with her first child at just 28 weeks, Rikki Lee Calleja shares how her healing VBAC birth experience with daughter Lily five years later was so transformative, it inspired her to become a doula herself. Through education, determination and support from her husband and doula, Rikki's successful vaginal birth after cesarean became a pivotal moment that helped her overcome past trauma and discover her incredible strength. Diary Of A Birth features ...
Mar 04, 2025•29 min
Sam Frost's journey to motherhood is the unfiltered story we all need to hear. From accidentally "baby trapping" her partner Jordy (her words!) to navigating pregnancy on crutches, she never expected her maternal instincts would be tested during a terrifying moment with baby Ted's heartbeat. Sam gets brutally honest about ditching the pressure to breastfeed, why her partner needed more medical attention than her during labour (yes, really), and how she's approaching round two with a Nintendo DS ...
Feb 25, 2025•24 min
Matt and Vince went through a 6 year journey to become parents. With the help of their surrogate and best friend Phoebe, Matt tells the heartwarming story of bringing baby Archer into the world. With heart and humour, Matt gives us his insights into becoming a father as a part of a same sex couple in Australia. Diary Of A Birth features mums telling their miraculous stories of bringing life into the world, If you’d like to share your birth story, we’d love to hear from you at podcast@mamamia.com...
Feb 18, 2025•33 min
Cassi and Scott were sure they were done having kids but unexpectedly fell pregnant with twins, and there were more surprises to come. With a goal to give birth to both vaginally, Cassi went into her labour with a plan. What comes next is a shock sprint down a hospital corridor worthy of Grey's Anatomy and a dramatic entrance into the world. This is Cassi's birth story with Charlie and Luna. Diary Of A Birth features mums telling their miraculous stories of bringing life into the world, If you’d...
Feb 11, 2025•33 min
Today on Diary of a Birth, we hear the remarkable story of how two women came together to bring baby Lily into the world through surrogacy. When Trudy Bateman was down to her last embryo and unable to carry her own child, she found an unexpected angel in Julie - a "retired" surrogate via a Facebook group. This dramatic story shines a light on the altruistic act that is becoming a surrogate through Australia's complex laws. THE END BITS: Support independent women's media Follow Diary Of A Birth o...
Feb 04, 2025•22 min
When Georgia Inglis suffered a spinal cord injury at age 10, she didn't let it stop her from becoming a Commonwealth Games silver medalist in wheelchair basketball. But her greatest challenge and triumph would be becoming a mother. In this powerful episode of Diary of a Birth, Georgia shares her remarkable journey of adapting to pregnancy and childbirth with a disability. This rare and inspiring story showcases the strength of mothers living with disability, a perspective that's seldom shared in...
Jan 28, 2025•20 min
Today Charlotte, a nurse living on the Sunshine Coast tells her incredible story of Koa's premature birth when at 27 weeks, her waters broke. Charlotte's story highlights the tireless work of our NICU doctors and midwives, and also the fascinating mindset she adopted to overcome the challenges having a premature baby present. Diary Of A Birth features mums telling their miraculous stories of bringing life into the world, and we have all medical questions and concerns cleared up by Australia’s fa...
Jan 21, 2025•36 min
