The Real Birth Podcast

Welcome to another episode of TRBP. Today's guest is Holly, who shares her two birth stories and her experience of NICU stays. At her 20 week scan, Holly and her husband Mark were told that their daughter Ivy had a heart abnormality known as Transposition of the Great Arteries (or TGA). In essence, Ivy's two main heart arteries had grown around the wrong way, meaning her heart wasn't pumping oxyge...

Welcome back to Series 2 of The Real Birth Podcast! In this episode, Grace shares her birth story. Shortly after finding out she was pregnant, Grace's relationship with her partner at the time broke down and she embarked upon motherhood as part of a co-parenting team. Grace's labour progressed quickly and she used hypnobirthing techniques to help her through. After a time at her local birth centre...

In the final episode of season 1, I speak to Rhiannon, who is a midwife and hypnobirthing teacher. Rhiannon planned a calm home birth with her colleagues from the community midwife team to support her. However, her pregnancy was difficult and at around 42 weeks she opted for an outpatient induction. Rhiannon experienced hyperstimulation and was contracting far more regularly than is normal, safe o...

This week I interview Lisa, who suffered two pregnancy losses before her son was born. This led to extreme anxiety, which meant Lisa felt her most appropriate birth choice was an elective c-section. The night before her planned caesarean, Lisa's water broke and she went into spontaneous labour! Lisa talks openly about the huge transition into parenthood, the guilt she felt for electing to have her...

In today's episode, Emma shares her two very different birth stories. Emma's baby boy Ted was born nine years ago, and suffered oxygen deprivation during his delivery - which resulted in a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Emma and her husband were shocked to learn that the hospital trust admitted full responsibility for Ted's brain damage and said this was due to a series of errors. Emma shares how th...

In this week's episode, Kate shares her two birth stories. Her first birth was a long, slow labour which resulted in a hospital transfer due to exhaustion. Kate's second birth was just six months ago, and was a very fast labour and successful home birth. She was supported by community midwives, her partner, her mum and a birth photographer. Kate tells us about her complex medical history - as she...

In today's episode, Jade shares her two birth stories. Her first birth was a natural water birth with only gas and air, in a midwife led unit. She gave birth in the pool and says it was an amazing experience. Her second birth took place on Labour Ward as Jade was induced due to her baby measuring big. Her waters were broken artificially and her baby's umbilical cord prolapsed, meaning she needed t...

Jackie is a family and wedding photographer, and is married to Joe. She has three biological children and two step-children, so her home is a busy one! Jackie had a drug-free home birth 'on land' - i.e. not in water! - just 12 weeks ago with her little baby Otto. After two previous births, one on a midwife led unit and another at home, Jackie knew she wanted to have another home birth and did ever...

Deanna is a body piercer from Newbury, UK, who had a complete - and we mean *complete* -surprise pregnancy with her daughter. We've all heard those mythical playground tales of women not knowing they were expecting until a baby literally came out of them, right? Well, it can happen - and it did happen to this week's guest, Deanna. Dee shares her incredible story of not knowing she was pregnant unt...

Sarah is a birth and postnatal doula working in Somerset. She is also a birth photographer and captures incredible images of pregnancy , birth and the postnatal period. You can see her work at www.doulasarah.co.uk or on her Instagram page. Sarah was living and working as a nanny in LA when she made an intentional choice to have her baby on her own. She talks about her decision to have a peaceful h...

Leanne and her partner underwent IVF treatment to have their son who is now 2 and a half years old. During treatment, Leanne developed an extreme reaction to the stimulating IVF drugs, known as OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome). Her pregnancy was difficult as she bled throughout, and was diagnosed with complete placenta previa. This meant her dream of a vaginal birth in water was not going...

Lucy Hill is the founder of The Real Birth Podcast, and in episode 1 she shares her birth story. Lucy and her husband Mike suffered a miscarriage before falling pregnant with their son, Rufus. In preparation for their birth, they chose to take a hypnobirthing course, hire a doula and also decided on a home birth. After going into labour spontaneously at 39+6 weeks (in the supermarket!) Lucy labour...

Welcome to The Real Birth Podcast. In this short trailer episode, you can find out more about your host Lucy Hill, how TRBP came to be, and why everyone should be listening to real birth stories! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices