Ireland's Birth Stories

This week, I share my chat with Laura, who talks me through the birth of her daughter, Saoirse. Laura is so honest at the beginning of our conversation, sharing how she felt when she saw the positive pregnancy test. Her pregnancy was unplanned, which brought a huge shock and a mix of emotions. She changed her mindset and started putting a lot of time into educating herself and preparing for the mo...

This week, I share my chat with Silvija. Together with her wife, she went through a long journey to bring their baby girl into the world. After nine fertility treatments and four pregnancy losses, they finally saw that positive pregnancy test with no fading lines. Silvija shares everything about their fertility experiences, including the decision to try double reciprocal IVF. We talk through her p...

This week, I share my chat with Paige, who I'm sure many of you will recognise. In this episode, Paige shares the birth of her fourth baby. During her pregnancy, Paige experienced sickness and quickly realised that medication would be necessary this time around. Later, in her third trimester, she noticed reduced fetal movements on a number of occasions. During a routine appointment with her consul...

This week, I’m sharing my chat with Úna, who talks me through her three very different birth experiences. During her first pregnancy, Úna was closely monitored after her baby was diagnosed with IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction). As concerns grew, she was admitted to hospital for more intensive monitoring, and her baby was born by c-section at just 29 weeks. Úna shares her experience of naviga...

This week I share my chat with Alana, who talks me through each of her two birth experiences. Alana dedicated a lot of time and effort to preparing for birth, making sure she stayed fit and strong throughout both of her pregnancies. With her first baby, she laboured at home for as long as possible before heading to the hospital, arriving just in time. Her baby was born shortly after, with the supp...

This week, I share my chat with Shauna who talks me through each of her birth stories. Shauna absolutely loved being pregnant and really thrived in the lead-up to welcoming her first baby. At 42 weeks pregnant, she was induced, and what followed were two long and intense days of labour. Shauna credits hypnobirthing with helping her stay grounded and focused throughout the experience. At 42 weeks +...

This week, I’m sharing my chat with Sarah as she talks through each of her three birth experiences. After spending a year trying to conceive, Sarah discovered she was pregnant just before making the final decision to move forward with fertility treatment. She reflects on the birth of her first daughter, a birth she still looks back on fondly, despite some difficult moments surrounding intervention...

This week I share my chat with Gráinne who talks me through her three positive hospital births. Gráinne gave birth to her first baby in hospital which was a positive experience once she got settled into the delivery suite. Following her first experience she decided to opt for home birth with her second baby. Although she didn't end up giving birth to her baby at home she did have the continued sup...

This week, I share my chat with Stephanie, who talks me through each of her three positive hospital births. Stephanie first shares her TTC journey and everything that surrounded it, from visiting multiple HCPs for advice and support to reading a book recommended to her that changed everything. After welcoming her first baby, Stephanie experienced multiple pregnancy losses, which we discuss in deta...

This week I share my chat with Leah who revisits her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter. Leah discovered she was pregnant shortly after a move to New Zealand. Together Leah and her partner decided being closer to home was the best choice for them when raising a family. The made their way back to Ireland and immediately got in touch with a home birth midwife. Leah chats through labour which sh...

This week, I share my chat with Susan, who talks me through the birth of her son. Susan enjoyed her pregnancy but found the last few weeks waiting for baby to arrive really tough. She was ready to meet her baby, but each day that came and went felt so long. She shares just how tough she found waiting for signs of labour and for her baby to come into the world. Susan went into labour spontaneously,...

This week, I share my chat with Lyndsey, who talks through each of her pregnancy and birth experiences. With the support of fertility treatment, Lyndsey became pregnant with twins, she was over the moon. Throughout her pregnancy, one of the twins was measuring small, so she was closely monitored. Lyndsey shares the story of the twins’ birth by caesarean section, along with everything that followed...

This week, I share my chat with Nancy, who shares each of her experiences through pregnancy, loss, and motherhood. Nancy suffered two early pregnancy losses, including a missed miscarriage and a chemical pregnancy. Her first birth brought her daughter into the world by c-section. Shortly after her daughter’s arrival, Nancy and her partner, Niall, were told that their baby had Down syndrome. She re...

This week, I share my chat with Julia, who lives in Austria .Julia talks us through four pregnancies, each very different experiences. She begins by sharing on the birth of her first daughter, which took place in a hospital via caesarean section. Julia describes feeling unheard and unsupported throughout the process, noting that it was not the birth experience she had hoped for. This experience in...

This week, I share my chat with Laura, who talks us through the birth of her daughter. Together with her partner, Jack, Laura they spent time educating themselves as part of preparation for the labour and birth. As Laura approached the later stages of pregnancy, she started to hear conversations around induction. Her decision was to decline an induction which she stuck to but she recalls feeling s...

This week I share my chat with Judy who talks me through each of her four pregnancies. Judy gave birth to her first little boy at 26 weeks gestation. His birth was a total shock with no indication he was on the way. Judy shares how life looks with such a premature baby from holding him for the first time, meeting other people in a similar situation to bringing her little man home. After we chat th...

This week I share my chat with Niamh who talkse through each of her three pregnancies and two birth stories. Niamh gave birth to her first little boy vaginally in hospital. She shares her experience with Remifentanil which is an alternative to an epidural. Between her first and third birth she suffered early pregnancy loss which she touches on. Niamh loved the idea of a Homebirth so immediately pu...

This week I share my chat with Bebhinn who shares each of her experiences from pregnancy, loss, grief and coping with pregnancy after loss. Bebhinn has suffered so much loss. At her routine 12 week appointment she heard that silence that women have described before, no heartbeat was found. Bebhinn shares how life looked after experiencing such loss. Devastatingly Bebhinn suffered more loss once ag...

This week I share my chat with the gorgeous Aidín who revisits each of her eight pregnancies and five births. After the birth of Aidíns first daughter she suffered three miscarriages which we go through individually. We then chat through her experience with a fertility clinic and what led to her fifth pregnancy. What followed was four beautiful and very quick hospital births supported by her husba...

This week, I share my chat with Erin, who talks me through each of her pregnancies. Erin first revisits the birth of her first daughter, bringing us through her induction and those precious early moments after her baby was born. We also speak about early pregnancy loss, which Erin experienced during her second pregnancy. Erin then conceived again and enjoyed a smooth pregnancy until 32 weeks, when...

This week, I share my chat with Katrina, who talks me through each of her three pregnancies and two births. At 13 weeks’ gestation, Katrina experienced pregnancy loss that came as a complete shock. We talk openly about how taboo pregnancy loss still is, despite so many people living through loss at different stages of pregnancy. Katrina then takes us through her second pregnancy. Labour and the bi...

This week I share my chat with Stephanie, who talks me through her third experience with birth. We talk through pregnancy while also looking after other kids, life, and work. The original plan was to give birth at home, just as she had with her previous experiences. At 41 weeks, Stephanie was admitted to hospital as baby wasn’t head down and there were increased waters. Throughout her experience,...

This week I share my chat with Aisling who talks me through each of her two birth stories. Aisling invested so much time preparing for birth, so when the delivery room became very busy and interventions were needed, she felt informed and ready. The decision was made to bring baby into the world via emergency c-section. During her second pregnancy, at 35 weeks pregnant, Aisling’s dear dad passed aw...

This week I share my chat with Joan, who shares each of her two birth stories with us. She reflects on the incredible support of her midwife throughout labour and opens up about her experience with an episiotomy, recovery, breastfeeding, and those early postpartum days. We then move on to her second pregnancy, including a challenging kidney infection just days before her baby arrived. Joan shares...

This week I share my chat with Louise, who talks me through each of her three very different birth stories. Louise opens up about her long journey with multiple pregnancy losses over 7 years. After undergoing treatment, she fell pregnant once again, and thankfully the treatment was successful, allowing her to carry to full term. We talk through her first birth experience, which was particularly to...