Australian Birth Stories

Jo Hunter has been at the heart of the home birth movement in Australia for almost thirty years. She birthed three of her four babies at home, became the National Convener of Home Birth Australia, worked as a doula and childbirth educator, and then studied midwifery and went straight into private practice. In this episode she unpacks an urgent and very current problem: from December, an insurance requirement means the second midwife at every home birth must be endorsed, and the flow on effect could see more than half of Australia's privately practising midwives close their books. She explains...

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode I chat with Laura, a midwife and first time mother from Melbourne who birthed her daughter Ariella in the very hospital where she works. Laura takes us through an unexpected pregnancy discovery during a fertility ultrasound, a frightening early bleed on the same day, a week of frustrating prodromal labour, and a swift, mostly physiological birth that shifted to continuous monitoring in its final stage. She also speaks candidly about a painful and little known breastfeeding complication called nipple vasospasm, something she had never come across in five years of midwifery practice. This episode is a...

Today I chat to Mel about her path into motherhood. Mel met her partner Antonio later in life, after having come to terms with the idea that she might never become a mother. Living with emetophobia, a fear of vomiting, shaped nearly every decision Mel made in pregnancy, from her choice of care provider to her decision to have an elective caesarean. This is a candid conversation about recurrent miscarriage, navigating severe nausea and a genuine phobia throughout pregnancy, and finding calm through a planned caesarean birth.

Aussie sleepwear brand ergoPouch makes TOG-rated swaddles and sleeping bags...

Today I chat to Kate Jones about becoming a mum for the first time to her daughter Lila. Kate takes us through months of frustrating fertility tracking, a tricky local hospital landscape after her area's only private birthing suite closed, and the vaginal water birth she had hoped for from the very beginning. She's honest and funny throughout, especially when describing labouring at home, the mental shift of transitioning to hospital, and the moment her umbilical cord snapped after her daughter was born.

To see Kate's birth video head to @australianbirthstories on Instagram.

________________
OUR...

Beth shares two beautiful birth stories. Her first with Bernie was an unmedicated hospital birth at the Mercy, and Quinn's home birth through the Joan Kerner programme, where her partner Paddy caught their daughter in their own lounge room. Beth talks honestly about the power of continuity of care, hiring a doula for both births, and why birthing at home felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Mother Dose by Land Lab

I rarely talk about supplements on here – mostly because so many aren’t backed by real evidence, and as someone who’s alwa...

In this episode, I chat to Sarah Viliamu, content creator, model and founder of The Self Love Supply, about her two very different birth experiences four years apart. Her first birth took place in Melbourne during the height of the 2020 lockdowns and ended in a long induction with a frightening postpartum haemorrhage. In between her two children, Sarah experienced two miscarriages and speaks honestly about that grief and the anxiety that followed her into her next pregnancy. Her second birth, a spontaneous labour at home followed by a short, powerful vaginal birth in hospital, could not have looked more...

In this episode I chat to Mel about her road to motherhood, which began with a year of unexplained infertility and a round of IVF squeezed in during a short trip home from remote Northern Territory. Her pregnancy played out almost entirely in a small community several hours from the nearest town before an unsettled labour led to an emergency caesarean and a frightening panic attack on the operating table. Mel speaks candidly about feeling disconnected from her newborn son in those first days, the baby blues that tipped into something far more serious, and the two week stay...

In this episode, I speak with Senator Marielle Smith about the newly established Senate Select Committee on Women’s Health and what it could mean for women and families across Australia.

We unpack what a Senate Select Committee actually is, how it differs from a Royal Commission or state-based inquiry, and - importantly - how the stories and experiences shared with the committee can help inform recommendations and future policy.

We also discuss why the inquiry extends beyond postpartum care to examine broader issues affecting women’s health, including women’s pain, medical misogyny, fertility and re...

In this episode I chat to Mia, a mother of two living in Canberra, about her two vaginal births, close in age but very different in circumstance. Mia's first birth followed an unplanned pregnancy at twenty three, was quick  and left her with a healthy respect for gas and air. Her second birth was carefully planned as a home birth through Canberra's continuity of care programme, but a posterior baby, reduced movements and a racing heart rate meant she ended up induced in hospital instead, birthing on an epidural she never expected to need. Mia also speaks candidly about s...

In this episode I chat to Alex, a yoga and bodywork facilitator from Hobart, about the ten year journey she and her husband David went through to become parents. Alex takes us through years of unexplained infertility, a life threatening ectopic pregnancy, multiple rounds of IVF, several miscarriages and the moment she finally made peace with a child-free future, only to fall pregnant naturally soon after. She speaks so openly about the mental health toll of fertility treatment, the identity shifts along the way, and her vaginal birth following a two-day labour and augmentation. This is a raw, generous...

In this episode I chat to Hannah, a mum of three living in Darwin with her husband Joff and their boys Atlas, Abel and Solomon. Hannah takes us through three very different birth stories, starting with an induced hospital birth in Melbourne during lockdown, through to a calmer second labour in Darwin, and finally a fast third birth that unfolded just as Darwin's private maternity hospital closed its doors. She speaks openly about episiotomy recovery, breastfeeding, an early pregnancy loss and what it felt like to be moved into an already stretched public system. It's a warm, honest conversation...

In this episode I chat with Jess Evans, a mother of two from Melbourne who has spent eight years working with baby brand ErgoPouch. Jess takes us through the misdiagnosis that delayed her first pregnancy, a joyful and completely intervention free vaginal birth with her son Hunter, and then the devastating loss she experienced when trying for a second baby, not long after her husband Craig was diagnosed with testicular cancer. She talks candidly about grief, pregnancy after loss anxiety, and finally, the whirlwind two hour vaginal birth of her second son August. This episode is honest, moving and...

In this episode I chat to Elise, originally from Scotland and now living on Sydney's Northern Beaches with her partner Dan and their three children. Elise has experienced severe hyperemesis gravidarum in all three of her pregnancies, and she takes us through an incredibly quick, vaginal birth with her first daughter Delilah, the heartbreaking termination for medical reasons of her daughter Rain following a trisomy 18 diagnosis, and finally the induced vaginal birth of her twins, Posey and Ziggy, which included a frightening resuscitation moment in the birth suite. Elise speaks openly about hyperemesis gravidarum, secondary fertility while breastfeeding, and...

In this episode I chat to Tully Smyth about her winding road to motherhood and the birth of her daughter, Elke. Tully shares her honest experience of being single well into her thirties, the decision to freeze her eggs twice, and how that choice changed the way she approached dating and eventually met her partner, Ned. She talks candidly about choosing an elective caesarean, the guilt and shame she carried around that decision, and the realities of her recovery, which was far from the straightforward experience she expected. Tully also opens up about grieving her mother, who she lost...

In this episode I chat with Amy, a birth photographer and former doula living on the Sunshine Coast, about the birth of her fifth baby, her first with her now husband after a divorce from the father of her first four children. Amy takes us through meeting her husband, the decision to grow their blended family, a frightening heterotopic pregnancy scare, weeks of prodromal labour, her waters breaking in the frozen aisle at Coles, and a birth that took some unexpected turns when her baby wouldn't move down into a good position. She speaks so honestly about needing to...

Breastfeeding and sleep concerns are common in early parenthood but unfortunately, many GP’s aren’t qualified to support you through these challenges. So where do you go for professional advice? In this episode, Dr Eliza Hannam discusses her early motherhood experiences alongside her role as a GP, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and a Neuroprotective Development Care practitioner. What does all this mean? She’s the gold standard when it comes to perinatal care. Eliza explains how she supports new parents, the rebates available for allied health services including mental health plans, and how you can access free breast...

In this episode, I chat with Jessie Stephens, who many of you will remember from her first birth story with her daughter Luna in episode 415. Jessie returns to share her second pregnancy and birth journey, this time with a twist nobody expected, twins. She takes us through the heartbreak of a miscarriage, the shock of discovering twins at her scan, gestational diabetes, a premature caesarean birth at 33 weeks, weeks in NICU and the reality of triple feeding two newborns. It's an honest and moving conversation about the highs and lows of a twin pregnancy and birth.

Today's...

I chat with Danni, a mother of four living on the Gold Coast, who takes us through eight remarkably eventful years of motherhood. Danni shares her path to becoming a mum of four, including a miscarriage before her first pregnancy, the surprise of conceiving twins through ovulation induction, an emergency caesarean for her daughter Harlow, a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) she fought hard for with her fourth baby, and finally, the bowel cancer diagnosis that arrived just seven months after giving birth to her youngest, London. Danni speaks candidly about postpartum body image, breastfeeding struggles, the heartbreak of...

In this episode, high school teacher and mother of two Grace shares her contrasting birth stories from Wollongong, NSW. Her first pregnancy was meticulously researched and planned. Grace approached conception with the same precision she'd bring to organising a holiday, using ovulation tracking and basal temperature monitoring to conceive her daughter Frankie. Though she'd arranged a private homebirth midwife, a late-pregnancy scan showing low amniotic fluid led to an unplanned induction and vaginal birth in hospital. Four years later, her second pregnancy with son William unfolded very differently: a slow, gentle build-up of pre-labour signs culminated in an unassisted...

Join me today for a conversation with my sister, Hilary who shares her second pregnancy and birth with her daughter Rhoda.  I was in the birth centre from the moment her waters broke. It was the first birth I’ve ever attended and such a precious experience (although I think it confirmed that I wouldn’t be the best doula). I had a few roles on the day: support sister, photographer and baby catcher. Needless to say, it was unforgettable.

Today's episode is brought to you by Nutra Naturals.

 
Made from Australian grass-fed beef and pa...

In this episode I chat with Freya, a paediatric doctor from Melbourne, about her pregnancy and premature vaginal birth of her daughter Goldie. Freya's journey to motherhood came with more challenges than most; she battled severe hyperemesis gravidarum for her entire pregnancy, was involved in a serious car accident at 34 weeks, and went into spontaneous labour at just 35 weeks. Her professional background in paediatrics influenced many of her fears around childbirth, yet she still managed to find a positive, empowering birth experience. Freya also speaks candidly about the guilt and shame that so often accompanies pregnancy sickness, the emotional...

Jade is a registered nurse of fourteen years, a newly qualified doula, and a birth photographer living on Sydney's Northern Beaches with her husband Matt, her daughters Milla, four, and Remi, seventeen months, and their beloved Westie, Doug. Diagnosed with stage four endometriosis at twenty-one, Jade spent years wondering whether motherhood would come easily. Thankfully it did, but what followed were two pregnancies and births that could not have been more different. Her first, marked by severe hyperemesis, a prolonged epidural process, postural headaches, and a postpartum she is still making sense of. Her second, a deeply prepared, woman-centred...

Lauren is a yoga teacher, women's circle facilitator and prenatal yoga educator living in Sydney's northwest with her husband James and their two children, Joel, who is nearly four, and Grace, who is just three months old. From the moment she came off the contraceptive pill, Lauren embarked on a deeply intentional journey into her own body, her cycle, and ultimately, her path to motherhood. She shares two profoundly different yet equally positive birth experiences at the same private hospital, and takes us through the grief, the ritual, the surrender, and the extraordinary moments that shaped both.

Hannah first shared her birth story in a previous episode (episode 402) a home water birth with her 5.1kg son Archie. Now, four years later, she returns to share the story of her second home water birth with baby August, born at 41+2 weeks and weighing 5.2kg. This episode is rich with clinical insight, raw honesty and the kind of grounded wisdom that only comes from someone who has walked both sides of the birth room. Hannah talks candidly about gestational diabetes, pelvic girdle pain, the mental load of a prolonged latent phase, stretch and sweeps, using a breast pump to...

This episode is part of The Fourth Trimester Village, a four-part series in partnership with Bugaboo exploring what it actually takes to navigate those first twelve weeks after birth. Not just physically, but emotionally, socially and practically. Because we spend so much time preparing for birth, but not nearly enough time talking about what comes after.

Francesca Hung joins us to share her pregnacy and birth expereince. From a pregnancy marked by low platelet levels and a tumble down a cliff face at twelve weeks, to waking at 3:30am on Christmas morning in precipitous labour and...

When Hana went in for her thirteen-week scan on a road trip through Western Australia, she was expecting to confirm a due date. What she got instead was the shock of her life — two babies. Identical, monochorionic diamniotic (MCDA) twins, sharing a placenta, and completely unplanned. Having already had two beautiful home births — a water birth with her first son Zephyr in Sydney, and a rapid two-hour birth with her second son Dali through the Byron Bay homebirth programme — Hana had assumed her third birth would follow a similar path. It didn't. But what unfolded was something she now descri...

This episode is part of The Fourth Trimester Village, a four-part series in partnership with Bugaboo exploring what it actually takes to navigate those first twelve weeks after birth. Not just physically, but emotionally, socially and practically. Because we spend so much time preparing for birth, but not nearly enough time talking about what comes after.

In this episode, Sophie speaks with Dr Nicole Gale, a specialist GP, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and founder of Juno Specialists in Richmond, Melbourne. Nicole brings a rare combination of clinical expertise and deep compassion to the conversation...

Our sale is ending soon!

Save 20% off all courses and products with the code: Ready20

The Birth Bundle - unsually $349 now $279

The Birth Class - usually $249 now $199

All prodcuts books and courses are 20% off untill midnight on the 11th July 2026

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm joined by Heidi, women's health physiotherapist and the woman behind Women's Health with Heidi. With over a million followers, she's become a trusted voice in pelvic floor health and postpartum recovery.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode, and honestly, I think every pregnant and postpartum woman needs to hear it. In this episode, we talk about:

Jordan birthed her daughter Hali in the water at the birth centre of the Royal Hospital for Women, supported by her MGP midwife, after just three hours and forty minutes of active labour. She talks about managing symphysis pubis dysfunction throughout pregnancy, using a TENS machine at home, labouring on all fours in her lounge room, and how preparation through the podcast, books and birth course helped her go into labour feeling genuinely open and ready for whatever unfolded.

"I still can't believe I did an unmedicated water birth. But it was the most euphoric thing...

If you've ever felt blindsided by motherhood — the grief, the rage, the identity shift, the loneliness — this episode is for you. I sat down with Melbourne-based perinatal and reproductive psychiatrist Dr Edna Lekgabe to talk about one of the most profound and under-discussed transitions a woman can go through: matrescence. Edna has a gift for making the complex feel manageable, and this conversation is full of those lightbulb moments — the kind that make you exhale and think, oh, so that's what's happening to me.

About Dr Edna Lekgabe:

Dr Edna Lekgabe is a perinatal and re...

Renako, a Japanese-Australian creative, marketer and mum of two living on the Great Ocean Road, shares two very different caesarean birth stories. Her first, Kieran, arrived via emergency caesarean at the Royal Women's after being induced at 38 weeks for low amniotic fluid. Her second, Nori, was a planned caesarean at the Frances Perry, calm, joyful, and with a birth team that doubled as a photography crew. Renako speaks honestly about fight-or-flight mode, postnatal depression she didn't name at the time, and the slow, intentional work of coming back to herself.

Hosted on Acast...

Beth shares two beautiful birth stories — Bernie's unmedicated hospital birth at the Mercy, and Quinn's home birth through the Joan Kerner programme, where her partner Paddy caught their daughter in their own lounge room. Beth talks honestly about the power of continuity of care, hiring a doula for both births, and why birthing at home felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Download our 9 Birth Meditation collection today- available as a standalone product for $49 or included inside The Birth Class.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Se...

In today’s episode I chat with Dr Daniela Aiello, a registered osteopath specialising in pregnancy and postpartum care at Bulleen Osteopathy in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. Daniela brings over two decades of experience treating pregnant and postpartum women, combined with her personal journey as a mother of two (aged 14 and 11) and founder of Continuall, a compression wear brand designed specifically for women during pregnancy and postpartum recovery.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode, I chat to Clare about her two planned caesarean births. Despite severe endometriosis, Clare fell pregnant easily and sailed through the first half of her pregnancy. However, at her 20 week scan she discovered that her baby had ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJ) and shortly afterwards, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Her planned caesarean was straightforward but her recovery was not; extensive adhesions in her uterus caused a long and painful postpartum. She chose a private obstetrician for her second birth and jumped at the chance to have a maternal-assisted caesarean but nothing could prepare her fo...

Molly takes us on her remarkable birth journey in the remote mining town of Weipa, Cape York, Queensland. As a neurodivergent woman living 800 kilometres from the nearest major hospital, Molly's story beautifully illustrates how proper preparation, supportive care, and self-advocacy can lead to an empowering birth experience even in challenging circumstances. Her candid discussion of experiencing "baby pinks" - postpartum euphoria - rather than the more commonly discussed baby blues provides invaluable insight for families and care providers alike. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in remote birthing, neurodivergent experiences in pregnancy, and the full spectrum of...

In this remarkable episode, Lauren takes us through her extraordinary journey of birthing six children whilst building her career as a doula. From her first precipitous labour that saw her go from 3cm to fully dilated in 45 minutes, to her recent identical twin water birth, Lauren's story is one of trust, preparation, and the profound power of physiological birth. As a doula who has supported over 150 births, including nine vaginal twin births, Lauren brings both professional insight and deeply personal experience to this conversation. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

Bettina has experienced birth across two countries and healthcare systems. She had her first baby in London during COVID-19, navigating the NHS as an Australian expat, before returning to Australia for two more very different births - including choosing an elective caesarean with her third. Her story covers postpartum depression, prolapse management, and learning to advocate for her birth choices. What's so valuable about Bettina's experience is how she shows that each birth can be completely different, and that positive outcomes come from feeling informed and supported in your decisions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Tahlia was born with a complex congenital heart condition requiring three open-heart surgeries and a pacemaker. She was told early on that if she wanted children, sooner would be better than later. After conceiving through IVF, her high-risk pregnancy led to an emergency caesarean at 30 weeks, followed by an intensive 78-day NICU stay with her daughter Sunny.

Tahlia's story is one of extraordinary resilience, the power of expressing breast milk as connection, and finding hope in the darkest moments. She shares candidly about the emotional toll of leaving hospital without her baby, the...