Born on The Rock: Gibraltar Birth Stories

KEY TOPICS: 3 births, natural deliveries, placental abruption, stillbirth, depression, grandparent Today we're heading back to the old St Bernard's hospital with Eileen Sanchez, who had three children with her husband in 1985, 1986 and 1988. ⚠️ As a trigger warning, please note the first half of this episode contains discussion of baby loss, as Eileen tragically experienced the stillbirth of her f...

KEY TOPICS: 3 births, large age gap, natural deliveries, advanced maternal age, pandemic Jenny Ainsworth is our guest today, describing the births of her three children in 2000, 2004... and 2019. Jenny's pregnancies were unplanned but straightforward, and she references feelings of strong maternal instinct. She's a single mum, and regards motherhood as the best experience of her life. Pregnancy ge...

KEY TOPICS: 3 births, PCOS, hyperemesis gravidarum, caesarean, VBAC, precipitous labour, premature, home births Jo Abergel and her husband are parents to three children, born in 2002, 2005 and 2011. After over a year of trying for a baby and investigations that identified PCOS, the couple conceived when they least expected! A serious issue throughout all of Jo’s journeys was the severe and de...

A little recap of our 13 wonderful guests from season one - we're so grateful for these beautiful and emotional shared experiences, helping launch Born on the Rock! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and find all episodes on your favourite streaming platform or at gbc.gi New episodes released every Thursday. Contact bornontherock@gbc.gi if you'd like to get involved! Lucinda Snape Find 'Born on...

KEY TOPICS: 1 birth, fast labour, natural birth, positive experience, midwife To finish season 1, it’s wonderful to welcome local midwife Denise Camilleri with almost 20 years experience delivering babies on the Rock! This episode is in two halves – the first is an insight into the Maternity Unit at St Bernard’s Hospital and the workload of a midwife, as Denise gives a fascinating insight int...

KEY TOPICS: 2 births, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), infertility treatment, emergency & elective caesarean, 13-month age gap, suspected postnatal depression In this episode we meet our first 1990's babies, born to Justine Fava-Cartwright and her ex-partner. They faced fertility struggles due to Justine's hormonal imbalances and erratic cycles... in later life she was diagnosed with pr...

KEY TOPICS: 3 births, miscarriage, twins, premature, baby loss, caesarean, VBAC, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) In this emotional episode, we meet Louise Busto and her partner: parents to twin boys born in 2010, and a third son born in 2014. As a trigger warning, please note that this episode is a very difficult listen as it involves discussion of baby loss. Louise describes a generally goo...

KEY TOPICS: 2 births, adolescent mother, rhesus disease, assisted delivery, wet nursing, positive support, grandmother Our guest in this episode is Annette Tunbridge, a Gibraltarian wife, mother and grandmother in her early 70's at the time of recording (November 2024). Annette first met her husband when she was just 15 years old, and the two quickly fell in love and made plans to marry. She speak...

KEY TOPICS: 4 births, early miscarriage, triplets, hyperemis gravidarum, caesarean, cerebral-spinal fluid leak, postpartum haemorrhage, premature In this episode we meet Katrine Borge, her husband and four sons. Kat had a tough start to motherhood with an early miscarriage, then difficult first pregnancy with hyperemisis gravidarum and an emergency caesarean. Her recovery was hindered by a complic...

KEY TOPICS: 3 births, early miscarriages, stillbirth, incompetent cervix, assisted delivery, blood transfusion, retained placenta, postnatal depression, Christmas baby, expat In today’s episode, Hetty describes her experience of starting a family with her ex-husband in the late 2000’s. As a trigger warning, please be aware that Hetty suffered miscarriages and tragically lost her daughter before vi...

KEY TOPICS: 3 births, same-sex couple, IVF, twins, placenta previa, caesarean, Covid, postnatal depression, advanced maternal age We’re meeting Kadiuska in this episode, a wife and mother of three. Kadi is one half of our first same-sex couple on the podcast, and she gave birth to their daughter in 2016 and boy/girl twins in 2022, with the assistance of a Spanish fertility clinic. She talks us thr...

KEY TOPICS: 1 birth, expat, natural delivery, PUPPPS, positive experience We welcome our first non-Gibraltarian to the podcast in this episode: Michaela, a first-time mother from South Africa! Michaela explains how she and her husband moved to Gibraltar after the pandemic, and how the Rock quickly felt like home. They conceived their little boy very soon after trying for a baby, and she descr...

KEY TOPICS: 1 birth, pre-eclampsia, assisted delivery, birth trauma, suspected embolism, blood transfusion, postnatal depression   We're heading back to 1979 for this episode, as Priscilla Mañasco tells us about having her only child - a daughter - at the old St Bernard's hospital. Antenatal care has certainly changed since those days: Priscilla describes the many different practices surround...

KEY TOPICS: 2 births, fibroids, endometriosis, large babies, caesareans, hysterectomy, post-natal depression In this episode we’re meeting Michelle Rugeroni (known as Rouge) whose two adult kids were born in 2004 and 2006. This is a fast paced chat covering a range of topics. Rouge was told to expect difficulty conceiving due to fibroids and endometriosis… yet fell pregnant very quickly after tryi...

KEY TOPICS: 7 births, twins, hyperemesis, umbilical cord prolapse, 2 emergency caesareans, 1 miscarriage   Get ready to meet our biggest family so far! In this episode, Kathy Feetham talks about giving birth seven times over an 18 year period... to all girls! She describes how each of the pregnancies compared, with a mix of 'easy' textbook journeys, alongside more complicated deliveries....

KEY TOPICS: 3 pregnancies, hyperemesis gravidarum, miscarriage, Turner's syndrome, omphalocele, genetics, baby loss, secondary infertility, IV F We're meeting Tara Montegriffo in this episode: a Gibraltarian wife and mother of one young daughter at the time of recording (November 2024). Please be aware that this is an emotional listen, involving discussion of baby loss. Tara describes her three di...

KEY TOPICS: 2 births, PCOS, infertility, gestational diabetes, retained placenta, pandemic. In the very first episode of Gibraltar Birth Stories, we meet Kathy - who has a great story about her own arrival on the Rock in the 1980's! She and her husband first met at primary school, and they have two young children together. Kathy and her husband encountered fertility issues due to polycystic ovary...

Welcome to Born on the Rock: Gibraltar Birth Stories podcast, with Lucinda Snape New for 2025, GBC presents a collection of emotional, inspiring and true stories from parents about what it's like to have a baby on the Rock. Every experience is completely unique, and deserves to be heard! If you've had a baby in Gibraltar in any decade, we want to hear from you. To share your story or find out more...