Birth Tales

Today we're hearing from Arron Suzzette who was told at 21 she would be unlikely to have children due to having endometriosis and PCOS; amazingly she fell pregnant naturally just as her and her partner were about to start looking into their options. After an early diagnosis of gestational diabetes at 9 weeks pregnant, Arron Suzzette suddenly found both her diet and birth options restricted, so she...

Today I'm chatting to Anna about her daughter's birth in the midwife lead unit. Anna grew up hearing her mum speak positively about her own birth experiences so she was excited to throw herself into preparing for her own and she shares about the different courses, books and exercises that helped her through her pregnancy.   Anna's contractions started a few days before her estimated due date and s...

In this week's episode we're hearing from Leonora just 8 weeks after the birth of her daughter. She shares about her conception journey including the difficulty of her 4 early losses and the anxiety that came with her subsequent pregnancy; midway through which Leonora was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix. She underwent a cervical cerclage to prevent her going into preterm labour and was put on...

In this episode Clementine shares her experience of birthing her son Wilf. Having always known she wanted to be a mother and growing up hearing her own mum talk very positively about birth, she was super excited to find out she was pregnant. During her pregnancy she did lots of birth prep; reading books, taking antenatal classes, joining a hypnobirthing course and seeing a local physiotherapist. C...

In today's episode we're hearing from Harriet about her experience of conceiving via ICSI, struggling with hyperemesis gravidarum during her pregnancy and how her work as a midwife informed her decision to birth her daughter at home. Having witnessed numerous physiological births prior to her own, she felt confident in her body's ability to birth her baby and devoted her time to preparing herself...

In today's episode we're hearing from Lottie about the birth of her little boy. She was lucky enough to feel physically well during her pregnancy, but emotionally found it quite overwhelming. Her and her husband took an antenatal course in preparation for the birth which they found really useful for learning about all their options, so when she was offered an induction at 41 weeks Lottie felt conf...

In today's episode I'm speaking to Lottie about her daughter Scarlet's birth. Her and her husband were living in Mexico City when they conceived and her pregnancy came with plenty of anxiety - from a subchorionic haematoma in the first trimester to her daughter's diagnosis of hydronephrosis at the anomaly scan - and she shares how difficult it was dealing with all these extra worries without the s...

In today's episode we're hearing from Rachel about her third birth. Her 2 eldest children were born via emergency c-section and a forceps assisted delivery - experiences which Rachel found traumatic - and she knew she wanted to feel more present and involved in any subsequent births. Before conceiving her third baby, Rachel was diagnosed with congenital hepatic fibrosis;   a rare condition affecti...

In today's episode I'm speaking to Annie who conceived her little boy via IVF. After a clinical start to her pregnancy she had to work hard to rebuild trust in her body and found her yoga practice to be invaluable in helping her to reconnect to herself and her intuition. Towards the end of her pregnancy concerns were raised around her baby's size and after multiple scans to check growth and placen...

In today's episode we're hearing from Nina about the birth of her daughter Isla. Nina conceived a little sooner than planned and admits she knew very little about birth when she first got pregnant. She took an antenatal course and decided to go with the flow rather than overloading herself with birth prep. Around 41 weeks Nina chose to have a sweep and her labour began shortly afterwards. During a...

In today's episode I'm chatting to Leone about her positive homebirth experience. She loved being pregnant and really immersed herself in preparing for her baby's birth. Her labour began a few days before her estimated due date and she was surprised to feel all her contractions solely in her lower back. She laboured at home with the support of her husband and doula, using the TENS machine and the...

In today's episode Nicole shares her experience of consciously conceiving and birthing her son Oakley. She loved being pregnant and spent her time preparing for the transition from maiden to mother by hiring a doula, listening to positive birth stories and nourishing herself with good food, movement, yoga and massage. Having planned for a homebirth, Nicole and her husband spend the majority of her...

In today's episode I'm chatting to Laura about the birth of her daughter Winnie. Laura loved being pregnant; she enjoyed staying active and immersing herself in birth preparation. When her labour began and her contractions got going Laura found all the tools and techniques she had learned through hypnobirthing to be invaluable, but after a while progess slowed due to the baby's positioning and her...

In today's episode we're hearing from Georgie about the birth of her son Phaedra. During her first trimester she struggled with feeling unwell but put her symptoms down to her pregnancy. When things didn't improve over time her care providers investigated and Georgie was eventually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and placed under consultant lead care. Conversations about induction started early as...

In today's episode we're hearing from Lily about the birth of her second daughter, Nancy. Lily loved being pregnant but definitely found it harder to create time to relax this time around. She planned for a homebirth and really enjoyed having all her midwife appointments at home, but admits she felt much more nervous about giving birth than she had during her first pregnancy. When her labour began...

In today's episode I'm chatting to Zoe as she shares her insights on loss, pregnancy and the postpartum period both as a mother and as a psychotherapist. Zoe shares her two heartbreaking experiences of miscarriage and the emotional challenges of pregnancy after loss. Aside from the understandable anxiety, her third pregnancy went smoothly. Her waters broke nearly 2 weeks after her due date but whe...

In today's episode Emma shares her stories of birthing her two daughters. Her first pregnancy went smoothly on the whole; she fell pregnant easily, was lucky enough to experience the sought after second trimester glow and married her husband a few weeks before the baby arrived. She talks us through the emotional challenge of becoming a mother having sadly lost her own mother as a teenager and how...

In today's episode we're hearing from Georgie about the births of her two sons. Despite struggling with anaemia and being in lockdown for much of it, her first pregnancy was overall very positive, but in the final few weeks after a loss in the family and talk of potentially having to birth without her husband present, Georgie's confidence began to waver. She went into hospital for a check up have...

In today's episode I'm chatting to Natalie about her 2 experiences of birth. Natalie conceived sooner than she had planned and found herself feeling disengaged from her pregnancy. Having prepared for a homebirth, her plans were derailed when the country went into national lockdown during the final few weeks of her pregnancy, so when her waters broke she transferred in to the MLU. After a long, unc...

In today's episode I'm speaking to Grace about the birth of her son Jude. Grace knew she was going to need IVF to conceive having had both fallopian tubes removed at the age of 22. As a nutritional therapist specialising in fertility she knew exactly what to do to help her and her husband prepare themselves so she talks us through the conception preparation they both undertook before their success...

In today's episode we're hearing from Jess. As a midwife and one of 10 siblings she was no stranger to the world of birth when she found out she was pregnant. Jess was lucky enough to have continuity of care from an amazing friend and colleague of hers which had such a positive impact on her experience. She chose to give have her baby in the birth centre where she worked. After a long latent phase...

In today's episode we're hearing from Anna about her two vastly different births. She admits she did zero preparation during her first pregnancy, seeing birth as something that simply had to be endured. As a result, when she went in for her induction she had no coping techniques to rely on and ended up having an epidural and forceps delivery. It wasn't until she took a hypnobirthing course whilst...

In today's episode we're hearing from Ellie who conceived both her little boys via IVF due to primary amenorrhea. She shares how she struggled with anxiety during her first pregnancy, not trusting in her body's ability to carry a child. Her and her husband moved out of London just weeks before Bowie was born and despite a short hospital stay at 38 weeks due to a hemiplegic migraine, Ellie went on...

In today's episode I'm speaking to Phoebe who birthed her daughter at home in Bali. Phoebe and her husband were advised they would probably need to conceive via IVF, but gave themselves a month to relax and have fun before starting treatment. Miraculously their daughter came through that month! When Phoebe started experiencing contractions on her due date she had no idea that her baby wouldn't be...

In today's episode we're hearing from Ellie who had her baby whilst living out in LA. Ellie fell pregnant quickly and went on to struggle with anxiety during her first trimester. She shares her fascinating account of navigating the US maternity system where she had difficulty finding midwifery lead care to support the physiological birth she was hoping for. She hired a doula to help her advocate f...