Can We Talk About This?

In a world where 1 in 3 women describe their birth experience as traumatic and up to 1 in 10 go on to develop PTSD following childbirth, conversations like this are a necessity. Raising awareness and openly talking about ways to recognise and seek support. I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr Rosie Pajak, a clinical psychologist about all things birth trauma. We go into detail about the varying...

With the ongoing political & religious debate on abortion, a mother of a genetic disorder opens up about her experience of TFMR and the impact this has had on her. Bec shares information about her genetic disorder and how that changed what her family would look like, having a 'missed miscarriage' D&C and a 'chemical miscarriage' after the birth of her healthy daughter. Bec opens up about finding o...

In Australia we have a high caesarean section rate (37%) and a very low VBAC rate (12%). Dr Hazel Keedle is a VBAC researcher and VBAC mama herself and she joins me to chat about why it is so challenging for women to have a VBAC, the truth about risk of uterine rupture and vaginal tearing, what to do to increase your chances of a VBAC, advocating for yourself and what to do if you have been scared...

This is an episode FULL of gems!! Have you struggled with the pressures of being a perfect mother or never feeling good enough?! Ali Pember, a coach and psychotherapist for 10 years who works with mothers shares a snippet of her experience becoming a mother unexpectedly later in life and the role matrescence played in her life choices. Ali also shares her wisdom on the pressures of motherhood, the...

This episode is a little different as it is just me, Amber-lee, your host behind the mic chatting about my recent Honours research study on subjective birth trauma and birth debriefing and my findings but also what led me down the childbirth rabbit hole 18 months ago. There’s a lot of information in this episode but I hope you find it interesting!   If you would like a copy of the results of this...

There’s no such thing as a perfect parent, right?! Yet there is a myriad of conflicting parenting advice that puts pressure on parents to be perfect, particularly mothers, and it is hard to know if we are getting it right. Becoming a mother has a funny way of getting us to reflect on how we were parented and at times gives us a way of reparenting ourselves in the process of parenting our children....

An honest conversation about the realities of mothering within a culture that does not centre mothers. Emma Gray chats to me about her experience entering motherhood, everything she ever wanted and the first time around really was a dream, to then add another child and the transition be much more difficult. Emma talks candidly about her experience with a colicky baby, resentment in relationships,...

Stephanie Thompson, author of The Day My Vagina Broke – What They Don’t Tell You About Childbirth, had already endured cancer prior to becoming a mum and so entering motherhood, she had very big hopes for her future family, however her birth was not what she expected and changed her life forever. Stephanie suffered a traumatic birth injury that rocked her to the core and she openly talks about her...

*Trigger warning for this episode*  Nikki so beautifully and with so much vulnerability shares her experience of her premature twin birth and the loss of both of her baby girls, Nayara & Nabela. Her birth was quite traumatic and Nikki shares the confusion, the shock, the grief, the pain, the cost, and the emotions around premature birth, infant death, NICU stay, and the separation from her babies....

Ptyalism (Ty-a-lis-im) and Hyperemesis Gravidarum are brutal conditions in pregnancy that we don’t often hear about or understand. Chante Campbell-Morrison shares her experience with these relentless conditions, her mistreatment, what life looked like, what happens to your mind and your body, her diagnosis with PTSD and anxiety, bonding with her baby and the long term impact on her life. Chante al...

Birth plans tend to be controversial, insufficient and not respected, for the most part. So should we have one? What goes in it? Does your birth just all come down to luck? Well, let me introduce you to Catherine Bell who is an absolute go getter and completely hilarious! And she shares the revolution of birth mapping – not a birth plan but a map and it’s genius! The concepts are different and bir...

Does gestation matter when it comes to loss? Who gets to decide this? Early pregnancy loss is full of mixed emotions, often not spoken about and an experience most women don’t feel validated in because of how we, as society, think about early miscarriage. Sarah chats to me about the excitement of her first pregnancy and her devastating experience losing her baby “sprinkle” a few weeks later. Sarah...

Have you ever felt like being a woman was a burden? Periods, pregnancy, birth, pelvic health, motherhood, menopause and so on, it’s not always pleasant. But maybe because the culture we live in doesn’t value the feminine, and so we internalise the messages our culture tells us, that being a woman is a burden, physically, mentally, socially, financially, in all aspects of life. Jane Hardwicke Colli...

Milli Hill is an absolute powerhouse in the birth world and her books are a testament to that. We chat about encouraging women to think about their births and creating a birth plan, power imbalances, obstetric violence, #metoo in birth and bodily autonomy. We chat further about feminism and the messages we as women receive about our bodies and the shame around women’s bodies and how it starts righ...

You prepare for birth, you prepare your baby essentials, you have your baby and then you are sent on your way – for most people – and now what? We even saw during the covid pandemic that postpartum care was deemed “non essential”, which continued the narrative that postpartum, particularly the 4th trimester, wasn’t important and mothers were doing it on their own. In this episode, Leila Armour, a...

Dr Rachel Reed is one of the leading researcher’s in childbirth who discusses physiological birth and how misunderstood women’s bodies are. She also talks about birth as a rite of passage, birth culture, interventions, herstory, policy vs evidence based practice, and midwifery practice, and the complications that arise juggling culture, policy, informed consent and evidenced based practice. Dr Ree...

Only 2% of Aussie mums birth at home and even less have a free birth. Home births tend to have a “dangerous” stigma attached to it and it appears home births are very misunderstood, despite plenty of evidence to show they are safe. Natasha shares her experiences in this episode as a rural mum of 4, home schooling her children, all while helping her husband run their dairy farm. Natasha also shares...

Samantha Keen chats to me about her birth experiences; induced vaginal birth that went relatively smoothly and then her planned caesarean and recovery. Samantha shares her reasons for opting for a caesarean after a positive vaginal birth experience due to lack of education and support for her pelvic floor and the trouble that followed. Samantha’s story is important because it shows not only a posi...

A humorous conversation with Micah from Waco, Texas USA, a birth doula for over 20 years, mum of 6 and author of The Humour in Birth. Micah currently trains upcoming doulas and has supported over 200 births in her phenomenal career. Micah shares her experiences home birthing and her preterm birth with baby number 6 and shares her wisdom with us for what it’s like being a doula, mentor, author and...

Sheree shares her experience navigating pelvic health conditions; endometriosis and later diagnosed Adenomyosis and how she copes with these conditions raising children, working and studying. Sheree also talks about the model of care she chose for birth and why she would choose differently next time. She also shares the impact covid had on her mental health, her postnatal anxiety and depression an...

Kate Smith from @yourmumfriend shares her experiences entering motherhood, her struggles, her third birth which was a CAT1 emergency caesarean section to save her baby’s life and how she processed and coped with her intense birth experience. Kate also shares her experience with undiagnosed postnatal depression which manifested as rage and how life is going now with her 3 boys aged 6, 4 & 2 and the...

Laura from @unwindpilates chats to me about the physical and mental benefits of pilates for pre and postnatal women and why its important to listen to your body, slow down and find the right kind of movement for you when carrying a baby or recovering from birth. We chat about pelvic floor and Women’s Health Physio’s and how local pilates instructors can work together with them to help women be edu...

Once upon a time, women did not fear birth, and yet today, fear in birth is common and problematic. Rebecca Black, a psychologist, mother, hypnobirth practitioner and founder of The Mindful Birth Movement chats to me about the role of fear in birth, where it comes from, how to eliminate it and how hypnobirthing can help you unpack, process and release it. She talks about how important it is to wor...

We chat to Imajyn Walker who was categorised as low risk in pregnancy to then deliver her baby who got ‘stuck’ for a significant amount of time resulting in baby Asher’s death in the NICU. Immi is very vocal about shoulder dystocia and how a woman’s intuition should always be considered in birth decisions and outcomes and knowing your rights as it has completely flipped her world upside down. How...

Birth doulas can be the difference in positive birth experiences and outcomes, yet, it is rare for birthing women to have a doula support her. We even have the research to back up the need for a doula in our current maternity system, so why aren’t we using them!? A lot of people still remain unaware of the role a doula has in birth and the benefits. So we chat to Amelia, a birth doula who breaks d...