The Kick Pregnancy Podcast

Welcome back to The Kick Pregnancy Podcast! We’ve been very busy behind the scenes and are so excited to be back in your ears.  In this episode, we’re discussing everything about the menstrual cycle. We have many frequent questions from listeners about their periods and the symptoms they’re experiencing so Dr Pat is pulling back the curtain today to answer every question that impacts the cycle.  W...

When you become pregnant, endless information is thrown at you regarding what foods you can and can’t eat for the next 9 months. It can be very difficult to work out what is scientifically accurate and what has just been passed down from older relatives.  In this episode, Brigid is talking about safe food in pregnancy with food and safety expert, Gary Kennedy. Gary has worked with more than 1000 c...

This episode has a trigger warning for parents who have experienced loss.  Planning your pregnancy after the loss of a baby can be a very difficult and anxious time. There are thousands of worries running through your mind and you will want to check on the health of your baby constantly. But it’s important to remember there is also life, hope and joy after loss. Our next guest will bravely share h...

Clotting in pregnancy and during the postpartum period can be a significant concern for a new Mum. To treat clots, doctors will try to adopt a preventative approach and prescribe anticoagulants during pregnancy and the postpartum phase to reduce the risk in at risk patients.  But who is an at risk patient?  Will the baby be affected?  In this episode, we are discussing everything you need to know...

Can you choose the sex of your baby?  This is probably one of the most commonly asked questions when someone becomes pregnant and has been requested from one of our listeners.   It’s easy to understand why people would want to choose the sex. Perhaps you have a family of three boys already and are hoping for a girl or vice versa.  In this episode, we discuss the stories floating around that promis...

We have all heard about how important iron is during pregnancy, but did you know that it is just as important when you are pre-pregnancy and breastfeeding?  In today’s episode, we are talking about all matters relating to iron. Pregnant mothers' bodies need to literally make more blood to support the growing baby, and to do this she needs adequate iron levels. Through the birthing process, wo...

If there was a gold standard for being a Dad, it’s sure to look like Mitch Papas, who joins us today to talk about how to be a supportive partner during pregnancy and beyond. In this episode, Mitch shares the journey he and his wife, Georgia, went on as they planned to conceive and the importance of being curious, doing research and supporting your partner as much as you can.  We talk about tracki...

Nausea and vomiting during the first trimester of pregnancy is pretty common, which doesn’t make it any less yucky, but most women do start feeling better around 12 weeks. Unfortunately for some women who are diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), their experience is much more severe. We have a lot of compassion for those women battling through pregnancy. Hyperemesis Gravidarum is something t...

We have an important bonus episode for you today to keep all our listeners up to date with the latest Australian recommendations for the Covid vaccination during pregnancy.  Due to the nature of Covid, we’re learning information as we go along. In this episode, Pat gives us the run down on previous advice from the Australian government and how this advice has changed now that we have more signific...

We get a lot of questions coming in through our DM’s and this episode is a response to a request from one of those lovely listeners who was diagnosed with Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) at week 15 of pregnancy. What is Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, you ask? Apart from being a mouthful to say, it can also be referred to as pelvic girdle pain and it’s something I struggled with during my third and...

The phrase "your baby is in distress" can change the course of your baby's birth... and your experience of becoming mama. This topic is a request from a second time mama, ready to have her second baby but still holding the memory of her first birth. Remember, we want you to birth the first time like its your second. What does this mean? This means that we get educated! We know secon...

At your antenatal appointments, from about 20 weeks of your pregnancy you will (…should) be having some monitoring of your baby’s growth.  Firstly, by the simple tape measure test, up over your tummy to the top of your uterus and then by ultrasound if needed.  What we are trying to determine is if your baby is small for dates. This is known as Intrauterine Growth Restriction or IUGR. In this podca...

How long between babies is a question that pops up ALOT. It is a big topic with lots of different factors in helping you make your decision. Financially able? Physically ready? Emotionally ready? Mentally ready?  Even how many babies are you planning? All of these things matter when trying to decide when to have your next baby. In this episode we sneak in a little chat about our own journey and th...

This episode Brigid talks with early parenting consultant, Jen Butler. Jen is a midwife, maternal and child health nurse, IBCLC trained lactation consultant, sleep consultant and circle of security facilitator. Jen talks about her top tips when it comes to the common things on a new parent's mind. Namely - Feeding, Sleeping and understanding what is normal baby development. Jen is the creator...

Today we talk to Founder and Director of @naturalgraceaustralia Libby Moloney. It is a truly beautiful and at times heartbreaking conversation about the 'next steps' that a family can take if their baby dies.  We hope everyone listens if only to help support friends, family, strangers who might be going through the heartbreak of the loss of their baby. There are some incredible resources...

This is the first of our two part series about baby loss. It was recorded ages ago but we've delayed publishing it again and again. We just thought there's too much heartbreak at the moment to add something else to the mix of 2020. But you have requested this topic many times and we realised that it is needed. There are parents coping with the loss of their baby every day. This is for th...

In this episode we talk to Keira Rumble, founder of Krumbled foods and Beauty Bites. She candidly, and calmly, walks us through her 5 pregnancy losses as she continues on her rollercoaster journey to having a baby. She has experienced miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy, a loss of a fallopian tube, endometriosis surgery and the possibility of IVF to help her get to her goal of starting her family....

The umbilical cord is an incredible structure, the connection between mother and baby. It is beautifully adapted and designed to do exactly the job it needs to do, help us grow our baby. In this episode we talk about: A little bit about the anatomy How the umbilical is protected from compression True and false knots in the umbilical cord Cord accidents and what we can do to prevent them What happe...

Issues with your thyroid are common in the baby-making years. In Australia about 2-3% of pregnant women are hypo or hyperthyroid. Then there is post-partum thyroditis. This is something that happens to 1 in 20 women after their baby is born. This needs careful assessment because the signs and symptoms can be dismissed as 'just part of having a newborn' or it can look like postnatal depre...

Epilepsy is pretty common, about 1% of our population take some form of anti-epileptic medication and about 2000 women in Australia each year have a pregnancy when they have epilepsy. The effect of anti-epileptic drugs are highly relevant to women's health from the contraceptive choice, right up to the management of pregnancy and breastfeeding. If this is you, then this podcast will give you...

VBAC or vaginal birth after Caesarean is possible for lots of women. There are a few ‘rules’ to help get you to your goal of a vaginal birth after having a Caesarean but the primary driver is…you have to want it. There are some extra interventions that will happen and knowing this before your labour is key so the interventions don’t detract from your experience. In this podcast we talk about: What...

Did you know that by about 45 years old, nearly every women will have little fibroids, about 2-3 millimetres in their uterus? These are round hard swellings of your uterine muscle and are often the cause of heavy periods. Although reasonably uncommon in your pre-pregnancy years, if you have a diagnosis of fibroids there are some factors for you to consider when you are trying for a baby. In this p...

One of the things we are measuring when you have an ultrasound during pregnancy is the length of your cervix. We want it to be long and strong right up until late pregnancy and ideally past 37 weeks.  For some women, their cervix is found to be shortened or insufficient and they need surveillance and sometimes treatment to make sure their cervix doesn't open and trigger early labour. In this...

Ectopic pregnancy is another 'not rare' situation that is worthwhile knowing something about. This comes from a listener's request where she felt lost after being diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy at an early 6 week dating scan. And we see this happen. Suddenly you are in the system as you start your medical treatment. All while you are also trying to cope with the grief of your m...

We don't hear about assisted delivery as an intervention as commonly as we hear about Caesarean birth. BUT more than a third of mamas having their first baby will have their baby born with help from forceps or the vacuum. Seems like something we should know about right? In this podcast we talk about: When you need assistance in your delivery What type of assistance is used in what circumstanc...