Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond

Week 6: Part 1 of 4 episodes on informed decision making in maternity care; What is the safest form of maternity care? What are my rights in birth? By Sally Cusack. While there are no guarantees in life, including birth, these qualities are crucial for the safest and highest quality care. Respect, relationships, skill and proximity. In this episode we will look at the quality of Respect for your r...

Week 7: Part 2 of 4 episodes on informed decision making in maternity care; Am I allowed, with Sally Cusack. When you are pregnant your unborn baby has no separate legal rights to you. You hold the responsibility for making the decisions for the two of you. In order to make the many decisions you will come up against in pregnancy, you also have the right to receive evidence based information from...

Week 8: Part 3 of 4 episode on informed decision making in maternity care: How Knowing your Carer Leads to Optimal Birthing with Sally Cusack. In all areas of health, the best outcomes are achieved when you have continuous care with the same clinician who follows you through your health journey. This way they can build up a detailed profile of you and your wishes, and in turn you get to know them,...

Week 9: Part 4 or 4 episodes on informed decision making in maternity care; Choosing your maternity carer, with Sally Cusack co-founder of PBBmedia, maternity advocate and mother talks on your rights in childbirth. There are a range of maternity care options available in Australia including private obstetric care, GP care that is shared with the local hospital, care provided by a team of midwives...

Week 10: Are you wondering what model of care you want for your pregnancy, heard of case load or continuity midwifery? Ti Harrison, midwife of 30 years shares with you what it is like as a midwife to work in a continuity case load model of care.

Week 11: Kimberley takes a closer look at relationships. Tuning in and tuning up before baby comes along.

Week 12: This episode psychotherapist, film maker and story teller talks, Kimberley Lipschus shares practical ways you and your partner can prepare for parenting so that you are on the same page, even before pregnancy. Connect with Kimberley at kimberleylipschus.com

Week 13: Have you heard of the therm imprinting? Dr Holly Goldberg explains how imprinting on the newborn is formed. What is interesting about this episode is that, even if early trauma is unavoidable, healing and repair is always possible. Connect with Dr Goldberg at floweressenceapothecary.com

Week 14: Three key things that supported me in labour with Annalee.

Week 15: Becoming a mum with Meggie.

Week 16: We all the importance of keeping maintaining fitness during pregnancy. Prenatal yoga is one way millions of pregnant women around the globe stay healthy, fit and flexible in preparation for having a baby. Here we hear from Emma Grant of Red Tent Yoga on prenatal yoga. Redtentyoga.com

Week 17: Maha Al Musa founder of Embodied birth and belly dance for birth since 1997, share with you the importance of prenatal movement as preparation for autonomous birth. Maha says The living book is within, read her. Connect with Maha at mahaalmusa.com

Week 18: Paul on becoming a father. Paul shares his role and experience as a man/ partner during the antenatal period. Paul say, he came out of it with a huge appreciation for the human experience. Paul also shares how is was able to support his partner during pregnancy.

Week 19: This episode relationship therapist Sean Tonnet talks on becoming your best self as a dad. Connect with Sean at seantonnet.com.au

Week 20: This episode relationship therapist Sean Tonnet talks on dads and partners supporting their partner during pregnancy and beyond. Connect with Sean at seantonnet.com.au Produced by Lara Martin

Week 21: Paul, on becoming a father. Here Paul shares with you how he was able to support his partner through labour and birth to becoming a dad. Produced by Lara Martin

Week 22: Annie Byrant, storyteller and mother shares her story of maiden to mother. Connect with Annie at talesandsongs.com

Week 23: Anna Watts founder of Celebration of Birth Doula Academy, talks on doula's and their role, what you can expect from a doula. Connect with Anna celebrationofbirth.com

Week 24: Is there a magic formula to a great birth? The answer is unfortunately no, yet there are a number of ways you can prepare and things you can do in labour and birth for a greater likelihood of a physiological birth or a birth that you feel positive about. Take a listen to Natalie a doula and mother, on three things most helpful for a labouring woman or person. Connect with Natalie at byron...

Week 25: Erin, mother of two shares with you her two birth stories, what she learnt from her first experience and what she did differently the second time round for a more positive birth.

Week 26: Mother of two and hypno-birthing childbirth educator shares her journey from disempowered to empowered birth. Connect with Martin at www.facebook.com/birthinnaturesarms

Week 27: Virginia Bobro on mindfulness during pregnancy. Virginia goes on to discuss Rigidity vs flexibility in birth preparation and post birth. Noticing your own thoughts, fears and patterns of avoidance in relation to beliefs about what it is to have a particular kind of birth. Connect with Virginia at vbobro.com

Week 28. You maybe starting to think more about the kind of birth experience you want and what your options are. Here we hear from endorsed midwife Bronwyn Moir on water birth. Water birth isn't a modern invention, as early as 1805 the first water birth was recorded in a French medial journal. Later in the 1960's and 70's water birth started to reemerge in Europe and the western world. Today, most...

Week 29: Worry, fear, concerns, it is a normal part of any pregnancy or upcoming birth. Maha Al Musa founder of Embodied Birth shares with you a simple yet effective practice to examine your fears about birth. Feeling the fear and doing it anyway. This week we take a closer look at fear, internal and external fear. Connect with Maha at mahaalmusa.com

Week 30: One of the key tools for labour and birth is completely within you, you already know how to do it, plus it is scientifically proven to reduce stress and induce relaxation by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. If you haven't guessed it already, it's using your breath. Breath awareness and practices date back centuries, women all over the globe instinctually use their breath to...