Ireland's Birth Stories

In this week's episode I chat to Laura who talks me through her two pregnancies and births. Laura and her husband started investigating their fertility after trying to conceive for a number of months. After deciding to opt out of the fertility clinic route Laura fell pregnant spontaneously. She enjoyed her first pregnancy and decided to go down the homebirth route for no other reason bar she felt...

In this episode I chat to Ivana who talks me through her pregnancy & the birth of her son. Ivana was in the care of the hospital for much of her pregnancy but decided much later to opt for a homebirth. She previously had surgery to remove part of her cervix but thankfully, all was well at the time of her pregnancy and her cervix had actually lengthened. Ivana's midwife made the decision to transfe...

In this episode I chat with Lucianne  about the birth of her two little girls, Daisey & Poppy. Lucianne chose the Domino Scheme with her first pregnancy as she felt they supported her decision and interest in having a natural birth. She has nothing but positive things to say about the service and the women who helped her birth her little girl. She tells me how incredible she felt after giving birt...

In this episode I chat to Jessica, we actually discovered we live within walking distance of one another which was lovely. Jessica chats me through her pregnancy & the birth of her son, Louie. She originally from Australia, as you will hear from her gorgeous accent and married an Irish man making the permanent move to Ireland in 2017.  She attended hypnobirthing with @brenda_communitymidwife and f...

In this weeks episode I chat to Siobhán who talks me through her experience with pregnancy and birth. She shared many up and downs including a diagnosis of HELLP syndrome, an emergency C-section, isolation and an a tough post partum journey. Siobhán also chats about her experience with miscarriage so openly which I know so many of you will relate to. We then dive into her third pregnancy which she...

In this episode I chat to Maria who talks through her two pregnancies and births. Maria enjoyed both pregnancies but suffered with cholestasis through her first pregnancy which meant she needed close monitoring. Her first birth wasn't necessarily what she had hoped for. Despite being disappointed that she had an induction and epidural she found found her outlook on birth was a lot more balanced.  ...

*Trigger warning* This episode contains sensitive content surrounding loss which may not be suitable for you at this time. In this episode I speak to Sarah-Jane who chats to me about her journey with pregnancy, birth and unfortunately loss. During a routine scan Sarah-Jane and her husband received the devastating news that their little boy was incompatible with life. She brings us through how they...

In this episode I chat to Ellen and she talks me through the birth of her little boy & girl. Ellen had a particularly long labour with her first baby leading her to believe her little girl would follow suit. This wasn't the case. Olivia made her way into the world very quickly. Ellen laboured in the water with her first birth and recalls how it aided her to relax along with the support of her amaz...

In this episode I chat to Jen about her three pregnancies & births. Jen decided to employ a doula on her first pregnancy and she proved to be an amazing support. She helped prepare them for the birth and held their space within the hospital allowing Jen to have that much needed quiet time to really tap into her final stages of labour. She was such an anchor throughout and importantly helped Jen &...

In this episode I chat to Michelle and she talks me through her five pregnancies & births. Her first three babies were born in the US.  She was pregnant at 16 with her first baby and very much felt unsupported in the hospital environment. She went on to have a free birth with her third child after an unwanted experience in the hospital with her second pregnancy.  Michelle was supported by her clos...

In this episode I chat to Tracey and she talks me through her two pregnancies and births. Tracey's first labour and birth was not what she expected and unfortunately she had a tough experience. The birth of her son Billy was aided with interventions which led to an extended stay in the hospital. .She availed of the birth reflection service which is offered by maternity hospitals as a means of unde...

In this episode I chat to Michelle who talks me through her two pregnancies & births. Michelle is mum to three kids as she found out she was expecting twins on her second pregnancy. She chats to me about her first pregnancy and how she felt throughout her postpartum weeks & months. She then chats about the moment they received the news they were expecting twins and describes her immediate feelings...

In this episode I chat to Ali who talks me through the births of her four kids, Georgia, Ted, Lenny & Bruce. Ali's first experience with birth was tough with a difficult few weeks recovery. She discusses the importance of being honest with women about what to expect in the pregnancy and also what our bodies go through in those few weeks after baby arrives. She then talks us through the shock of di...

In the next episode I chat to Rana who talks me through her 3 pregnancies & births Rana gave birth to her first son in Turkey where the culture is C-section strong which wasn't necessarily her preference.  Men aren't allowed into the hospital so she laboured and birthed alone after chosing to go with an epidural which failed to take. Unfortunately, this was the case on her second labour too. .Rana...

In this episode I chat to Clare about her pregnancy and the birth of  her little boy, Teddy. As a midwife, Clare understood the importance of preparing for her birth so took various classes to ensure she was ready for what lay ahead. Unfortunately her labour was tough and a difficult birth followed. Clare also talks about her breastfeeding journey and struggles and how she decided to re-lactate wi...

In this next episode I chat to Steph about her journey with IVF both in Ireland & abroad. Steph endured 5 rounds of treatment before a successful pregnancy which thankfully brought her beautiful daughter Sophie into this world. Steph suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum but saw her sickness as a sign that all was well with baby which shows a completely different perspective. During Steph's pregnan...

In this weeks episode I chat to Emma and her husband Mikey. They talk me through Emmas two pregnancies and births. Emma initially wanted a homebirth on her first pregnancy but the location was unsuitable as they were in the process of building their home. They talk me through Emmas experience with an induction and her hospital birth. Emmas refers to one of her midwives and an "angel", I love how s...

In this episode I chat to Ciara about her four pregnancies & births. Ciara had three hospital births and chose to birth her last little girl at home in a birth pool. Ciara & here husband lived in Russia throughout her second and third pregnancy but decided to travel home on both occasions to birth her babies in Ireland. Ciara was determined to have a natural birth on Hannah and prepared as much as...

In this week episode Katie talks us through the pregnancies & births of her four gorgeous  kids. Although Katie had various interventions throughout her labours and birth she stills sees her experiences in such a positive light which is fantastic. She also discusses miscarriage which she was unfortunate to suffer on more than one occasion.    Katie is a PHN and a paediatric nurse and also run her...

In this episode I chat to Kitty who talks me through her pregnancy and the birth of her son Atticus. Kitty is a doula, nurse, lactation consultant and hypnobirthing practitioner amongst other things. It great to get the perspective from a women in the industry of expecting mums, postpartum care and breastfeeding. Kitty had planned for a homebirth but was transferred to a hospital for the final sta...

Gill talks us through her pregnancy & the birth of her little man Oisin. She had regular appointments throughout her pregnancy as she also attended a private OBGYN therefore had checkups bi-monthly. She was full term in the middle of the horrendous snow in 2018 which stopped most of us in our tracks. Gill opted for an epidural after being induced due to her waters breaking over 24 hours prior. She...

Lorraine chats to me about her 3 pregnancies and births. All births were in a hospital environment but each very different. Lorraine & her family suffered the loss of her dad after the arrival of her first baby. She recalls those first few weeks and I will let you hear how she coped with other stresses that they were going through at the time. So much strength! She also chats about suffering with...

Carol talks us through her journey with four pregnancies and births. She has had four very positive experiences and speaks so fondly of each. Carol had decided she wanted a waterbirth at the at of 16, you can imagine the reception she received 20 years ago. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be at that moment but despite this she speaks of her experience with passion. Carol also had a waterbirth in a hos...

Daniela brings us through her pregnancy with her son Kieran. She touches on how she dealt with grief, mental health issues and the reality of life with a newborn. At 20 weeks, Daniela & Isaac discovered Kieran was breech and he was happy to stay in that position throughout the remainder of her pregnancy. At 37 weeks she went into spontaneous labour followed by a C-section. Daniela has such a posit...

Hazel chats to us about her two pregnancies & births and also about the diagnosis of her daughters cleft lip and palette.  Get in touch E: irelandsbirthstories@gmail.com IG: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IG Produced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks Productions Show Your Support Buy Me A Coffee Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.