The Kick Pregnancy Podcast

Unless you are a blood donor or have had an operation in the past, you may not know your blood type until you are pregnant. This is really common. Why does it matter? As well as blood type, the ABO system, there are lots of different markers on the surface of our red blood cells. The system in pregnancy that we are interested in is the Rhesus system and the effect it can have on your baby (and sub...

Tearing might be on your mind as you get nearer to the birth of your baby. We know you are worried about the pain and how it might impact on your pelvic floor health. Your sex life. Your continence. For first time mamas, please know everybody gets a little bit of tearing. Whether it is a little - like a graze, or a lot, like a rare fourth degree tear - depends on a few factors and we have tips in...

1 in 5 pregnancies will end in a miscarriage but even as common as this is, it's not an easy topic to talk about it. This episode may be hard for some (or all) to hear. Please make sure you have your supports in place if you choose to listen. And we hope everyone listens. In this episode we have a poignant story from one of listeners, Mai, talking about her miscarriage, the process and the pain an...

Sometimes we need to go back to basics. This episode is for anyone who is thinking they might need a few hints on what they can be doing to increase their chances of getting pregnant. It's a bit light hearted and for some couples, this ep will be enough to help you well on your way to BABY. In this episode Dr Pat and Brigid talk about: What we mean when we say 'better nick' What a regular cycle me...

This is a tough subject. Bleeding or more specifically, a postpartum haemorrhage is a common fear women have as they get closer to the birth of their baby. Does everyone bleed at birth? Well yes, everybody has blood loss during childbirth but normal blood loss is not what everyone is worried about. It is postpartum haemorrhage. The lights and sirens emergency.  In this podcast we cover: Why n...

PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome is not simply a disease of the ovaries. The ovaries are one part of this complex hormonal syndrome which CAN include symptoms such as excess body hair, increased weight, acne and insulin resistance. Or just to trick us, no obvious symptoms until you start to trying to get pregnant. The focus then becomes the ovaries. This is because for some women with PCOS they...

Pre-eclampsia is not rare so it is worth finding out something about it. About 7% of all pregnancies are affected by pre-eclampsia. Sometimes it just needs to be monitored, sometimes it can rapidly deteriorate and the treatment for you and your baby becomes a decision about whether your baby is better off ‘out than in’. In this episode we cover: What is high blood pressure What are the...

This is a long list of ALL of the symptoms in LATE pregnancy. Ok, not all. It is already the longest episode we have ever recorded. But if you’ve been wondering if you should worry about the itch on your belly or see someone about your swollen ankles or what you can do about not sleeping at night then you need to listen to this podcast. In this episode we talk about: Good benefits of late st...

Two heart beats. Everyone has questions about twins. Fraternal, identical, same placenta, double ovulation, why twins seem more common? We are fascinated by how twins occur, how they grow in utero, how they are born... In this ep we give some gold for twin mamas and for those simply curious about twins. We also have a special treat – the women from “too peas in a podcast’ have a little cameo and g...

1 in 10 women have endometriosis - painful periods, pain with sex, bloating, pelvic pain, infertility or NO symptoms at all. Until they try to get pregnant.  In this ep we talk about: The diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis Having a laparoscopy for endo treatment How the normal rules of ‘how long does it take to get pregnant?’ do not apply The steps you need to take after a l...

We don’t usually learn about recovering from a Caesarean section until we are IN recovery. That’s not what we recommend. This can leave you blindsided, confused and disheartened. If you listened to our last ep, you’d know that caesarean section is NOT rare SO good birth prep means we need to include how to recover from Caesarean section right? In this ep we talk about: The hours...

We all know Caesarean birth is not rare – it seems as though many of our friends have had Caesarean sections, some of our neighbours, maybe our sisters too. BUT  Even for something this common, a Caesarean section for some women is a mystery right up until it becomes her reality. This is where we hear, “if only someone had told me”. Well here is the good news, we’ve put some gold into this podcast...

Pregnancy in diabetes, or gestational diabetes, is really common. Up to about 12-14 percent of all pregnancies. There are certain women that are more at risk of developing gestational diabetes but in fact, everybody is at risk. This can be hard because you might think – I am young, healthy and without symptoms so what am I doing with diabetes? And it is an issue in pregnancy that needs to be addre...

This ep is a bit of a pandora’s box. What can you say no to during pregnancy and birth? Well, you can literally say NO to everything. Ethically a health care provider can’t force a woman to accept any sort of treatment, even if they strongly believe their treatment plan is in the best interests of the mother and/or her baby. You have choice in your pregnancy and birth, your consent needs to be giv...

Having a baby in the breech position presents its own set of challenges. A baby from 20 – 30 weeks moves around tonnes and that is expected and wanted because a healthy baby moves. If though, your baby is still ‘head up’ at 35 weeks we will need a plan for your baby’s birth. Why did we start this podcast? Well we think there is a barrier for women to get EXPERT pregnancy info that is practical, re...

This is one of those tests that can feel a bit icky and remind you that yep, the process of growing a baby is at times, undignified. Some women choose not to have the GBS test and that is totally their right. Some women have the test and wonder later “what was that for?” This ep is 20 mins of power to help you be the full bottle on GBS testing so you can make some red hot decisions about your heal...

First trimester screening is a test for genetic abnormality and is commonly called the Down Syndrome screen. The types of test, the accuracy, the costs and the ability to give you a definitive answer about genetic abnormality is really not well understood by patients…and sometimes care providers. At times, a screening test can create more questions than answers. Firstly, it is normal to assume all...

Most women spend most of their fertile time trying to NOT get pregnant but for those who want babies in the future, thoughts can wander to “what if my history of contraception impacts my fertility?” And it’s a common question. Contraception forms an integral part of a women’s life and is a very individual journey. What suits one woman may not suit another, even what suits you right now may not sui...

Baby movements is your baby’s way of telling you all is well. A healthy baby should move. Imagine if you were really sick, you would still move around the bed and get up several times a day to go the toilet. If you lay in bed for many hours, not moving at all, you would probably be dreadfully ill. A baby that’s doing nothing is not normal.  And why are we so insistent about baby m...

What to do about visitors to your newborn baby? Firstly, feel confident to stand by YOUR rules. This episode talks about one potential rule 'all visitors to have a whooping cough booster before visiting the baby'. Banning people from having contact with your baby, particularly if they are showing signs of a persistent cough, is really smart. We know it’s hard to not share the joy of a br...

Induction of labour. This is recommended listening for every woman who is pregnant, particularly those getting close to the end of their pregnancy. Inductions AREN'T rare and can represent a challenge for some who feel blindsided by the significant change of plans. And blindsided is like a dirty word in your pregnancy, right? It's our mission to help women everywhere have access to information tha...

The placenta is the frisbee shaped wonder pack that really has so many jobs as you grow your baby.  Firstly, it sends oxygen and nutrients from the mother's circulation, down the cord into the baby. In reverse, it sends fetal waste products back up the cord into the placenta and off around the mother's body for excretion. It also is a gland that makes pregnancy hormones. BUT sometimes your pl...

We've all heard the term 'Premmie" and we've seen the little babies in the Special Care nurseries with their naso-gastric tubes, little caps on their heads and surrounded by monitors. It's a frightening image but sometimes it always seems to happen to someone else - until it doesn't. This podcast is all about defining what prematurity is. It covers: The known reasons for why a baby comes early. Th...

Bleeding and spotting in early pregnancy can be really frightening.  We've got our own experience of Brigid having a big bleed when she was seven weeks pregnant and it came as such a shock and I remember feeling anxious -  thinking we lost the baby.  Even with my expert knowledge, I was really scared. This episode is about giving you the knowledge so you know what types of bleeding...

In the early stages of pregnancy, up to 12 weeks, you will question every symptom you are feeling. This is so normal. Sore nipples, shortness of breath, metallic taste in your mouth, a super sensitive gag reflex making toothbrushing a nightmare - there is a big long list which we cover in detail and offer suggestions as to what is going on to you physically, mentally and emotionally as you grow yo...