The Real Birth Podcast

Today's two birth stories are from Beatrice Haines, a fantastic artist living in Wiltshire. Bea has two sons, one of whom was born at a birth centre after a long and exhausting labour, and the other who arrived at the speed of light in the car! Bea's second birth happened in the front seat of her knackered old Honda Jazz just two hours after contractions began, whilst her husband was driving as ca...

Today’s guest is Hannah, who shares her two births - which could not be more different from each other. Her first son was born when she was 21, and as a young mum Hannah felt she was continually ignored by the medical staff - who denied her pain relief, refused to listen when she said she felt something was wrong with her baby, and left her alone and unable to sit up or hold her baby immediately a...

Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week I chat to Jo, whose daughter was diagnosed with a heart defect at her 20 week scan. This meant she needed surgery very soon after birth, and so Jo and her husband were preparing for an induction in Bristol, where a team of paediatric experts would be on hand. However, Jo's waters broke early and what followed was an incredibly stressful j...

Hello everyone! This week I'm thrilled to be joined by Mez, who shares the birth story of their son. Mez is a non-binary parent who has 4 older children with their wife - however this pregnancy was the first time Mez had carried and birthed a child themselves. After a successful IVF round, Mez threw themselves into learning everything they could about pregnancy, labour and birth, and used hypnobir...

Hello all! This week my guest is Jenny, who shares her two birth stories. Jenny's first birth was many people's ideal experience - a natural delivery in the water, with very little intervention - and so when she was faced with an induction for her second baby's birth she was unsure she could have the same kind of positive experience. But as you will hear from Jenny's birth stories, she and her tea...

Hello and welcome back to series 4 of The Real Birth Podcast! To mark the start of a new season, and my return from maternity leave, I'll be sharing my own birth story. My second baby arrived in April 2023, and was born by CBAC - caesarean birth after a previous caesarean. I did everything in my power to achieve a HBAC - home birth after caesarean - but events unfolded in a way which meant this di...

Hello everyone! Welcome to this special bonus episode of The Real Birth Podcast. I actually wasn't intending to release something so soon after the last episode, but sometimes an opportunity presents itself and it's just too good to pass on! This special episode features Ashley Winning, the host of the VBAC Home Birth Stories podcast. VBAC stands for vaginal birth after caesarean and is a safe and...

Today's episode features the lovely Melissa, who shares her two birth stories. Melissa suffers from psoriatic arthritis - a condition which requires her to take a medication not usually compatible with conception, pregnancy or breastfeeding. Melissa talks about how her pregnancies were timed around stints of being off her meds, and how this impacted her. She also shares her experience of having a...

Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week I'm joined by Alice, who talks about the births of her two daughters, both of which were impacted by her diagnosis of borderline gestational diabetes, and high BMI - but which Alice tackled very differently in her second daughter's pregnancy to her first.  Alice also shares her story of grief and loss - in between her two daughters, she became...

Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Sabina, who had her baby by caesarean under general anaesthetic, after a long and difficult labour. Sabina's story is important to acknowledge - as after growing up in a family where natural, unmedicated birth was the norm, she felt huge amounts of grief and anger at her caesarean experience - especially given the restrictions plac...

Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week Cassie shares her story of becoming a mother via surrogacy, after her cancer treatment left her unable to conceive naturally. I am genuinely SO excited to be sharing this episode with you. When she was just 27, Cassie was diagnosed with cervical cancer - the treatment for which meant she would be thrown into an early menopause, and would not b...

Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Catherine, who shares her two birth stories. Catherine was induced with her first baby after several episodes of reduced movement. Although she required very little intervention in the end, Catherine’s experience left her struggling physically and mentally. The birth of her second son was at home, which was an incredible fast labou...

Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week to start the New Year right, my guest is Stefanie, a mother of three from Canada. Stefanie has been a Lamaze® Educator and doula since 2002. After the birth of her second son, Stefanie saw just how valuable it is to be prepared for birth and to have good support around you. Stefanie trained as a childbirth educator and doula, running clas...

Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week our birth story comes from Hannah, who discovered during her first pregnancy that she has coeliac’s disease. Hannah’s condition presented with almost no symptoms but the implications of having coeliac disease during pregnancy are far more serious than I knew. As well as managing a brand new health condition during her pregnancy, Hannah’s...

Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Laura, who shares the birth story of her son after two heartbreaking miscarriages. Just so you know, Laura and I talk about these losses in depth at the start of the episode, so you can skip a little ahead if you’re not feeling in the right place to listen just now. Laura was encouraged to accept an induction after her waters...

This week I interview Maha Al Musa, a childbirth educator, mother and birth activist living in Australia. Maha is the founder of EMBODYBIRTH and has been sharing her wisdom surrounding the physiology of birth for almost three decades. Maha shares her three birth stories - including a home birth with midwives at the age of 46. We also talk about cultivating autonomy in birth, and discuss natural te...

Welcome back to series 3 of The Real Birth Podcast! Kicking off the series is an interview with my good friend Emma, who gave birth to her son in 2016. Emma is a teacher and a single mum to her son Wren. She and her partner at the time struggled with unexplained infertility, but eventually did fall pregnant after trying for several years. Emma has a history of Colposcopy - where tissue is removed...

This episode is the final episode of season 2! Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported me this series, it's been an incredible time and the stories I've been able to share have been amazing. To mark the season finale, I'm thrilled to have interviewed Cat Strawbridge, who you may know if you're on instagram in the TTC/IVF/pregnancy after loss space. Cat and her husband started trying f...

This week my guest is Oona, who shares two very different birth stories. Oona planned home births for both her babies, but was transferred to hospital with her first daughter for suspected meconium (that's baby poo!) in her waters, and with her second daughter Oona was admitted to the birth centre for having a rare antibody show up in her blood tests in pregnancy. This meant her baby may need addi...

This week's guest is Andrea, whose son Bodhi was stillborn at 30 weeks. Andrea suffers from endometriosis, and after two failed rounds of IVF, Andrea and her husband Sam found themselves unexpectedly pregnant naturally. At just over 29 weeks, Andrea noticed Bodhi had stopped moving, and immediately knew something wasn't right. It is every parent's worst nightmare to be told their baby has died - a...

This week I interview Tara, who had her daughter after two pregnancy losses. Tara and her partners had actually stopped trying to conceive when she found herself pregnant unexpectedly - much to their delight! Tara's baby measured big throughout her pregnancy and she was offered additional growth scans to track her size. She was placed under consultant care and recommended either early induction or...

Today I interview Jo, who had her baby in 2021. Jo has Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affects her joints and ligaments. This was an extra consideration during pregnancy and when planning for her birth. After speaking to a consultant, Jo decided to birth in hospital, and after several episodes of protein in her urine and feeling unwell, opted for an induction. Her body was already going...

This week my guest is Maggie, who joins me all the way from Texas, USA. Maggie's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, and she was understandably nervous about falling pregnant again. When she did conceive, she planned a home birth with a midwife, which is unusual for her area in Texas. Despite being a positive birth at home (with an undiagnosed breech baby!), Maggie didn't click with her midwif...

In this episode, Rosie shares the birth story of her first baby. Rosie planned a home birth and was supported by a continuity of care midwife whom she saw for every appointment. After a long labour at home, Rosie decided to transfer to hospital due to exhaustion - but realised when she arrived at hospital her baby was imminent! Two weeks after her baby was born, COVID hit and Rosie's maternity lea...

In today's episode I meet Sarah, who had two very fast labour and births. Her husband was more keen to have a baby than she was, and so she was surprised when she stopped taking the pill and discovered she was pregnant before she'd even had a period. Sarah's first pregnancy was discovered late, and her exact dates were unknown - but all suspected her baby was post-dates. Her labour was fast and fu...