On today’s show I chat with birth photographer and mother of three, Bianca. Having birthed her first two babies within the hospital system, it wasn’t until she started documenting birth that the potent contrast between birth environments and the impact that can have on women, became apparent. When she conceived her third baby, she applied all the knowledge and wisdom she had gained through supporting other women to manifest the transformative birth she knew was possible. We chat about the surrea...
Nov 10, 2021•50 min
On this week's episode I chat with first-time mum, Lucy, about her unmedicated birth in the hospital. Lucy admits she knew nothing about birth when she first fell pregnant but dreamed of having a natural, physiological birthing experience. Seeking out the knowledge she required, she found a hypnobirthing course provided her, and her partner, with all the tools and wisdom she needed for her journey to the birth realm. With the added support of a doula, the birth Lucy strived for manifested before...
Nov 03, 2021•25 min
Today’s episode features the four births of Brisbane midwife and soon-to-be mother of five, Dayna. Having her first child at a young age meant she entered her journey from maiden to mother with very little knowledge on birth or the type of care she wanted. Although at the time she considered that experience a positive one, seeing her sister have a water birth prompted her to change her of model of care with baby number two. A colostasis diagnosis during her third pregnancy meant an induction was...
Oct 27, 2021•51 min
Today’s episode is one of miracles and heartache - featuring the long journey of birth photographer and mother of two, Amy. After losing one of her fallopian tubes to an ectopic pregnancy and being told by a specialist that she had minimal chances of conceiving naturally, Amy finally got her miracle baby. Although feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for her healthy baby, it wasn’t until her work as a birth photographer and witnessing the power of physiological, women-centred birth that she reflec...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 22 min
On today’s show I chat with Melbourne chiropractor and mother of two, Diana. Coming from a long-line of generational birth trauma, Diana chose to change the narrative with her own birth journey. She hired a doula, did a hypnobirthing course and learnt all she could about physiological birth to give her the tools and knowledge she needed to navigate the system and give birth, drug-free, at her local hospital. When she became pregnant with her second child, she again planned to birth at the local ...
Oct 13, 2021•45 min
Featuring on today’s episode is award-winning Hypnobirthing Practitioner and mother of two, Shari, from Belly2Birth. Initially fearful of birth, she found herself being pulled to hypnobirthing and decided that despite the financial pressure at the time, completing a course was a non-negotiable. She describes the birth of her son as a huge awakening, transforming her in every way, and the experience that guided her to her calling - educating and supporting mothers on their own journey using hypno...
Oct 06, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Featuring on today’s show is author and founder of the Positive Birth Movement, Milli Hill. Today we discuss the lessons and insights gained through her own birth experiences and how a small weekly column catapulted her to become one of the leading voices for women’s rights in childbirth. Taking snippets from her book "Give Birth Like a Feminist" we chat about why the language used in your birth space can be so influential, the significance of a birth plan, and so much more. Instagram: @milli.hi...
Sep 29, 2021•41 min
Today’s episode features the two birth stories of Adelaide mother, Emma. Scheduling an induction after a rise in concern around her baby’s growth, Emma experienced a fast, whirlwind birth that left her feeling stunned and dazed. Second time around she educated herself by completing a hypnobirthing course and describes her daughter’s birth as painless and deeply beautiful. Instagram: @raising.naturally Mentioned in this episode: Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was cr...
Sep 15, 2021•43 min
Today’s episode features midwife, Anna, taking us through her breech birth journey. Originally wanting to birth at home through her hospitals midwifery program, she realised it was not an option after exhausting all efforts to turn her baby. Initially expecting to feel devastated when her final attempt ,doing an ECV failed, she left that appointment with a deep knowing and trust that her baby was breech presentation for a reason and she surrendered fully to the journey ahead of her. At 37+3 she ...
Sep 08, 2021•57 min
On today’s episode we hear the birth story of first-time mum, Madelin. Having no concept of the types of care available to her, she entered the system and quickly felt overwhelmed and stressed by certain experiences. After completing a hypnobirthing course with her husband, they felt armed with knowledge walking into a midwife appointment at the hospital to discuss their birth preferences. Leaving that appointment feeling shut-down and unheard, Madelin knew a change in care was essential for her...
Sep 01, 2021•29 min
On today’s episode I chat with Lisa about her fast and furious birth. Prior to her daughter being born Lisa says she felt terrified of birth and completely unprepared for what was ahead of her. Having only heard trauma-filled birth stories, she was consumed with doubt in her bodies abilities and lacked the knowledge to navigate the system. After booking an induction for 40 weeks, she went into spontaneous labour at home and ended up having a water birth 2 hours after arriving at hospital. Her bi...
Aug 25, 2021•33 min
Todays show features the two contrasting births of Perth mum, Shannon. She describes her first birth as a traumatic and powerless experience that led her into a dark postpartum period, leaving her feeling incompetent. When she and her husband decided to try for another baby, they both agreed they did not want to relive that same story and opted to have a homebirth through the hospitals Community Midwifery Program. Having given birth to what would be consider big babies, we chat about the fears p...
Aug 18, 2021•53 min
Today I have the honour of interviewing a mother and midwife, podcast host (The Midwives’ Cauldron), award-winning blog writer (Midwife Thinking), author and academic, Dr Rachel Reed. On today’s episode we discuss the link between labelling pregnant women and interventions, the true risks associated with meconium stained waters, beyond the label of gestational diabetes, and so much more. Rachel also shares her own birth experiences and gives us an insight into the creation of her most recent boo...
Aug 11, 2021•50 min
Today’s episode features the inspiring journey of mum of two, Carlie. She had originally planned to birth in her local hospital but was encouraged by a midwife to access their homebirth program. A scan at 38 weeks revealed her baby was frank breech (bum down) meaning she wouldn’t be able to birth at home unless her baby turned. Fortunately, her waters broke shortly after and she went on to have a completely unplanned but incredibly beautiful freebirth at home. Her son was born posterior and fran...
Aug 04, 2021•50 min
On todays show I chat with artist and birthkeeper, Amy, about her three births. It was never a question that she would birth her babies in the safety and comfort of her home; having an innate trust in her body, Amy went on to have two powerful, life-changing experiences, utilising midwifery care. When she called in her third baby, she never felt the need to contact anyone and intuitively went down the path to freebirth. She shares the real and raw emotions she felt during an unexpected quick lab...
Jul 28, 2021•50 min
Today is a special episode focused solely on, and highlighting, the importance of the postpartum period - or fourth trimester. Previous PBA guest and postpartum doula, Loz, from Mother Bloom, dives deep into why our postpartum period matters and how we can best nurture and support ourselves to replete, recover and restore our bodies after pregnancy and birth. Loz breaks down the general timeline of a postpartum period, what to expect in those early days, why grieving your maiden-self is okay, an...
Jul 21, 2021•48 min
On today’s show I chat with Emily about her three births. Her first planned homebirth, through the community midwifery program, unfortunately ended in a somewhat traumatic transfer to hospital. Emily then had to do a lot of work to unpack the fears left behind from that experience for her next birth, which was at home with a private midwife. She went on to have the birth of her dreams that she describes as leaving her on a high for years to come. When she consciously conceived her daughter, she ...
Jul 14, 2021•54 min
On today’s show I interview Crystal, from The Gentle Counsellor, about her two hospital births. Crystal went into her first birth armed with the knowledge gained from a 'Calm Birth' course. Although feeling deflated by prolonged pre-labour, she went on to have the ideal water birth she desired. Her second birth was met with the same prolonged pre-labour and although there were elements of intervention and trauma, with the support and guidance of her fantastic (male) midwife, she went on to have ...
Jul 07, 2021•41 min
On today's show I chat with midwife, Amanda, about her two homebirths. Being a midwife almost made it harder for Amanda to get out of her head during labour, particularly when she reached those 'crisis of confidence' moments. She shares with us the valuable tools she took away from each of her births to use in her practice supporting woman in the hospital. We also chat about the effects her mental game had on her perception of pain, and why she thinks mothers should be putting as much planning i...
Jun 30, 2021•46 min
Today’s episode features birthkeeper, Emily, sharing her two births. Emily’s first birth was at home with the support of a private midwife which she describes as an empowering experience that changed her forever. This was also the birth that ignited the fire in her to support women on their own rite of passage. When she consciously conceived her daughter, she decided to take back her power, choosing to tune into her body and trusting her intuition to guide her through her pregnancy and birth. Li...
Jun 23, 2021•42 min
On today’s show I have the privilege of interviewing Dr Sarah J. Buckley. Dr Buckley is trained as a GP with qualifications in GP obstetrics and has been writing and lecturing to childbirth professionals and parents since 1997. She is also the author of the international best-selling book "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering" - which is available for purchase on the PBA website. Dr Buckley is well known for her groundbreaking report "Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing", the product of her ongoing in...
Jun 16, 2021•1 hr 10 min
On today’s show I interview Meg, homebirth midwife and co-founder of “It Takes a Village Midwifery” here in Brisbane. Meg takes us through her journey from maiden to mother, sharing how each of her births impacted her and the diversity she experienced over those four births. From her first birth where she felt inspired by her labour but traumatised by her baby needing special care, to a healing but quick second birth, a third euphoric homebirth that left her feeling high for days afterwards, and...
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Today’s show features Grace taking us through the birth of her daughter at home. She explains her search for care as a journey within itself that pushed her to look deeper into how women birth, exploring the option to free birth, but ultimately deciding to birth at home with the support of a doula and midwife. We chat about the emotion-charged conversations she had to herself during labour and how she managed to dig deep to get through what was a long, strenuous but powerful birth. Instagram: @g...
Jun 02, 2021•37 min
Today I interview Kate about her two positive births. Although wanting a homebirth, financially at the time it wasn’t a viable option so she opted to get into the local hospital’s Midwifery Group Practice. She went on to have a natural, water birth. When her family decided to relocate to New Castle, knowing they offered publicly funded homebirth was a great bonus in their decion to move, giving her the dream homebirth she desired. Kate shares how some valuable last minute advice from her doula h...
May 26, 2021•46 min
On today’s show I chat with Maha, founder and creator of Bellydance Birth and Embody Birth, about the births of her three children and her life’s work as an award-winning author, educator, and birth advocate. Maha describes birth as a transformative experience; a spiritual alignment that brings connection and awareness to everything in life. We chat about the difference between imposed fear and innate fear, and what each of her births revealed to her about her shadow self. Instagram: @maha_al_mu...
May 19, 2021•36 min
Today’s show features freebirthing mama, Sarah, sharing her three births. Her first two girls were born in a hospital with a private midwife, completely straight forward and somewhat fast. When she fell pregnant with her third baby, she took the approach of tuning into her intuition and being mindful of how she felt throughout her pregnancy, never feeling the need to call on anyone and ultimately deciding to freebirth at home. Sarah takes us through how she handled any fears that arose and how t...
May 12, 2021•36 min
Today’s episode features Woonona artist, Tegan, sharing the birth of her daughter. For as long as Tegan could remember she knew she wanted to birth outside of the system. After a surprise pregnancy, she immediately found the perfect midwife to educate and support her on her rite of passage into motherhood. She describes her early labour as being crucial preparation and practice for the deep surrender and rhythmic flow she needed to birth, and she explains how a random text from her father turned...
May 05, 2021•45 min
Today’s episode I chat with Meme about the birth of her daughter. Meme already had a great sense of what true physiological birth looks like from her work in the field as a doula, hypnobirthing practitioner and photographer, so it was a no-brainer that she chose to birth her baby safely at home. We chat about the positive impact getting in tune with her cycle had on her and what she learned from her birth about the suggestibility of women in labour. Instagram: @lalunabirthcollective Doula: @birt...
Apr 28, 2021•45 min
Today I chat with Elysha about the birth of her son at her local public hospital. Originally planning to go with the flow, a sudden onset of anxiety persuaded her to do a hypnobirthing course that changed her entrie mindset about birth and enabled her to stand firm on her decions along the way. She went on to have the drug-free, physiological birth she desired, receiving her son en caul at 42+3 weeks. Instagram: @elysha_buckingham Hypnobirthing Practitioner: @belly2birth Mentioned in this episod...
Apr 21, 2021•44 min
Today’s show features childbirth educator, birth attendant, counsellor and author, Rhea Dempsey. Rhea’s well-known book “Birth with Confidence” has helped awaken and guide so many of us along our own journeys, and her latest release “Beyond the Birth Plan” is of equal magnitude. Rhea shares her three birth stories, focusing a lot on her first birth and unpacking how that whole sequence of events impacted her. Although extremely confusing and confronting at that time, she attributes a lot of her ...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 10 min
