Keep Birth Wild

E41 Ashley Ziegerink | Two Births, Calmbirth, Hospital Birth, Episiotomy, Irritable Uterus, Homebirth, Tandem Feeding

In this episode Ashley shares the birth stories of her two children Zoe and Piper.

During her first pregnancy Ashley put a lot of thought into what she would like her birth to look like and after attending a Calmbirth course, planned an unmedicated and low intervention hospital birth. Zoe’s labour was long and Ashley laboured for days without sleep before finally delivering Zoe in hospital with the aid of an episiotomy.

It took a while for her to integrate the emotional impact of her birth and challenging postpartum, and it wasn’t until she fell pregnant again that she realised she wanted to do things differently for her next birth. She engaged private midwives for her planned homebirth and spent a lot of time preparing for labour. Ashley was diagnosed with an irritable uterus during her pregnancy with Piper so she talks about the challenges of enduring that regular discomfort throughout her pregnancy. She goes on to describe in detail her beautiful homebirth and slow supported postpartum.

 

Books Ashley recommends;

Well Adjusted Babies - Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and Spiritual Midwifery - Ina May Gaskin

Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering - Dr Sarah Buckley

Birth with Confidence - Rhea Dempsey

The First Forty Days - Heng Ou

Group B Strep Explained - Sara Wickham

Vitamin K and the Newborn - Sara Wickham

Your Birth, Your Baby - Hollie de Cruz

Hypnobirthing Australia audio tracks and ebook

Calmbirth Antenatal course

Flourish Integrative Health https://flourishintegrativehealthco.com.au/

E40 Kirsty-Ann Nicholls | Two Homebirths, Doula, Postpartum Anxiety & Depression

In this episode Kirsty aka The Zen Birthkeeper shares the birth stories of her two children Sophyr and Rio.

Growing up, Kirsty never wanted to have children, but within a couple of months of meeting her partner she had had a change of heart and Sophyr was conceived soon after.

Kirsty birthed both of her babies at home under the care of private midwives. Through the telling of her pregnancy, birth and postpartum stories she weaves in the ups and downs of her relationship, friendships and mental health in a beautifully vulnerable and relatable way.

You can see a video from Sophyr’s birth in the birth highlights on instagram @keepbirthwild.podcast and a video from Rio’s birth here.

Kirsty is a holistic birthkeeper and doula who is passionate women feeling empowered during pregnancy, birth and postpartum and practises out of Brisbane. You can visit her website here or find her on instagram @thezenbirthkeeper.

E39 Lulu Marie | First Birth, Atypical Progression of Labour, Homebirth

In this episode I chatting with Lulu, who shares the story of her first daughter Ayla’s birth. 

Lulu shares a gorgeous tale of Ayla’s conception and the moment that she found at that she was finally pregnant. She went through quite a few different models of care, before finally deciding at 38 weeks pregnant to hire a private midwife and birth at home. 

She then goes on to share Ayla’s labour and birth, which didn’t follow the expected progression of labour and came with some unusual challenges. 

We also talk postpartum and specifically about the huge emotional and spiritual shift that takes place in the weeks and months following birth and the fears that came up for her during that time.

 

Thank you for listening in to today’s episode with Lulu. You can find some photos from her birth on the website www.keepbirthwild.com.au or on instagram @keepbirthwild.podcast. 

 

You can also find links to some resources that Lulu found helpful when preparing for her birth on the website.

E38 Leah Daniel | First Birth, Termination, Midwife, Gestational Diabetes, Waterbirth, COVID

In this episode Leah shares the story of her first baby Sonny’s birth. 

Leah had one earlier pregnancy which she chose to terminate. Her pregnancy with Sonny was another surprise, but a joyful and much wanted one this time around. Leah is a midwife herself, so she shares a little about her work, what led her to choose homebirth and how she chose a birth team. 

She experienced a nasty candida infection during her pregnancy and was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so we chat about how those issues impacted her pregnancy and how she managed them naturally. 

Covid 19 restrictions came into place during Leah’s pregnancy, so she shares about how her friends were able to create a beautiful mother blessing for her remotely and how Covid impacted her postpartum.

As a midwife, Leah was well aware that first time births are often overdue and can be long, so she was surprised when Sonny arrived at 38 weeks following quite a fast labour. 

This is such a special birth story which was a pleasure to hear, and I also recommend jumping on the Keep Birth Wild website and having a look at the photos because they are just gorgeous! 

 

Di Diddle’s birth classes

https://www.birtheducation.com.au/

 

Prenatal yoga with Michelle

http://www.yogashalaspace.com.au/phone/classes.html

 

Laura Pegoli - Chinese Medicine Practicioner

https://instagram.com/the_acupuncture_palette?igshid=epn2fkn92oq1

 

You can find Leah on instagram @leahmdaniel. Send her a dm to find out more about her upcoming Birth Circle she is co-hosting and her other offerings.

 

Sign up as a Patreon supporter here: https://www.keepbirthwild.com.au/donate

E37 Nina Lake | First Birth, Termination, Fertility Challenges, Homebirth, COVID

In this episode I am chatting to Nina about the birth of her daughter Sunday. 

Nina had one pregnancy prior to Sunday’s which she chose to terminate, and then went on to have some fertility challenges when trying to conceive again. Once she did fall pregnant, she was planning to birth in hospital but decided to switch to a homebirth as covid unfolded and it became clear that she wasn’t going to get the experience she was hoping for in a hospital setting. 

Nina weaves a beautiful story of her birth which was very long and slow until close to the end and describes those golden first moments after birth.

We also discuss what postpartum was like in the midst of a stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne and how she recovered and nurtured herself during those early weeks with very little in person support.

If you’re listening with little ones around, just be aware that there is a language warning on this episode. 

 

Di Diddles Birthing Classes

https://www.birtheducation.com.au/

E36 Kate Thomson | First Birth, Registered Midwife, Early Pregnancy Loss, Homebirth

In this episode I’m speaking to Kate AKA The Mama’s Alchemist about the early loss of her first pregnancy, and then the pregnancy and birth of her little baby Arva.

Kate is a registered midwife and Chinese medicine practitioner herself so brings all that knowledge and experience to her reflection of birth and postpartum. She chose to birth outside of the hospital system with an independent midwife and had a positive and straight forward homebirth.

In this episode Kate shares how she prepared for postpartum and what the first 5 weeks of motherhood have been like so far. I really think this story is a wonderful example of how impactful actively preparing for those challenging early weeks of postpartum can be. 

 

You can find more photos from her pregnancy and birth on my website www.keepbirthwild.com.au and you can also find Kate on instagram @themamasalchemist. 

 

If you’re currently pregnant and preparing for birth and postpartum, firstly, I’m so glad you’re here listening along with me every week, thank you! And also I highly recommend heading over and listening to another podcast called ‘Postpartum with Steph’ as that’s a wonderful one for hearing specifically postpartum stories and getting more of an understanding of how best to be prepared for life after the birth of your baby.

 

I look forward to bringing you another episode next week!

E35 Michelle Kovacevic | First Birth, PCOS, Fast Homebirth, Donor Milk

In this episode Michelle shares the story of her pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding journey with her son Ollie. 

Michelle has polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS and having been told that she may find it difficult to conceive, she was quite surprised when she fell pregnant really quickly.

Michelle’s pregnancy was very straight forward, and she tells a beautiful story about how she celebrated and honoured her pregnancy at each stage to help her connect with her baby and honour her transition to motherhood. 

Following Ollie’s fast and complication free homebirth, Michelle went on to have a long and difficult breastfeeding journey, where she ended up relying predominantly on donor milk. We talk about the practice of breastmilk sharing and the community that has sprung up around it. We discuss how giving and receiving donor breastmilk through an online platform is a perfect example of bringing traditional practices of ‘Village Parenting’ into the current time, another step in our shared passion for breaking down the unsustainable ideal of nuclear parenting and shifting towards interdependence.

E34 Maggie Storm | Birth Keeper & Postpartum Doula, Publicly Funded Homebirth, Early Birth, Miscarriage

In this episode I am speaking to Maggie Storm. Maggie describes herself as a birth keeper and postpartum doula supporting and advocating for raw, embodied, intuitive birth. Her offerings are centred around deeply acknowledging pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period as a transformational time that deserves to be celebrated and honoured through all seasons, and her passion and wisdom certainly comes across in her sharing of her two birth stories.

Maggie’s first son was born at home through a publicly funded midwifery program at her local hospital. While there was a few things she would change, she was overall really happy with her birth and the care that she was provided through that program. 

Just over a month ago, Maggie had an early birth at just 13 weeks gestation. Her sharing of this birth is raw and honest and it really demonstrates her amazing ability to sit with what is and embrace the highs and lows that parenthood takes us on. 

A little content note here for anyone who may find it difficult to hear descriptions of miscarriage and grief, this episode might not be for you. 

You can find more photos from her two births on my website www.keepbirthwild.com.au or instagram @keepbirthwild.podcast. You can also follow Maggie on instagram @maggiestorm_ to seem more photos from her work and family, it’s a really beautiful account. 

E33 Bethany Stokes | Two Births, Birth Centre, Cancer Diagnosis, Homebirth

In this episode I speak to Bethany about the births of her two boys. 

Her first pregnancy was low risk and she opted to be cared for at her local birth centre. She went on to have a straight forward birth with some complications afterwards, but in general describes her birth and postpartum as easier than she expected, which is probably the first time I have ever heard those words uttered!

Bethany had a 3.5 year gap between her two children and was actually diagnosed with cancer during that time. She shares a little about her recovery and what it was like navigating maternity care options with a history of cancer. In the end she chose to have a homebirth and went on to have another straight forward vaginal delivery. 

 

In this episode Bethany references the book New Active Birth by Janet Balaskas.

E32 Elysia Anketell | First Birth, Body Positive Maternity Care, Waterbirth

In this episode I’m speaking to Elysia about the birth of her son Finley. Finley was just 4 weeks old when I recorded this interview and 5 weeks old now, and it was so special to speak to such a fresh mama!

Elysia has a history of disordered eating and negative body image and she speaks very honestly about how that contributed to fears that came up during her pregnancy and labour. Despite having a straight forward vaginal birth at home and a beautiful early postpartum, Elysia’s big take away from birth was that it was much MUCH more painful than she expected. She left the birth shocked and a bit traumatised by how painful it was and again speaks very honestly about that.

This is a really beautiful episode which I thoroughly enjoyed recording, but I do just want to briefly flag that if you’re 40 weeks pregnant and trying to protect your space, you might choose to listen to this one later as pain is a big feature in this episode.

You can follow Elysia on instagram @_thisiselysia and find more photos of her and baby Finley on my website www.keepbirthwild.com.au.