In this episode we hear from physio and internal pelvic release practitioner, Olivia, about the births of her two sons. Olivia received private midwifery care in her first pregnancy. Her plans for homebirth changed when she chose induction at 41+3, and Olivia talks us through her experience of birthing in hospital without the support of her private midwife due to covid restrictions, and the unplanned emergency caesarean section under general anaesthetic that followed. Olivia reflects on the damaging narratives around people who have birth preferences (or plan to birth at home), and her and her husband’s experiences of trauma from that birth, and how that shaped her selection of care provider for her healing VBAC that followed — a carefully selected private obstetrician with the additional support of a doula. We also touch on the role of physio in pregnancy, birth preparation and postpartum recovery (including, wait for it, reaching your ‘poo potential’), and what internal pelvic release and training from Fiona Hallinan has brought to her practice.

Links:

• Find out more about Olivia’s work as a physio at Health Canvas or via @physio.therapeutic.yoga.
• Olivia is available for internal pelvic release work at Health Canvas and in June and July at The Pelvic Space.
• Read more about shared care with a private midwife (Olivia engaged MAMA Midwives) and other models of care via our care provide guide

Chapters:

(19:11) First birth — the morning of 41+3

(33:39) First postpartum and recovery

(38:05) Second pregnancy — planning for a VBAC

(49:04) Second birth

In this episode we speak Fiona Hallinan and Agia Nenke, midwives and internal pelvic release practitioners, about the role of the pelvis in understanding labour and birth, the role of soft tissue and the impact of tension, perineal massage (or more relevantly, perineal kneading, and what not to do!), spinning babies and how to best support women and babies bodies to work together and minimise trauma both emotionally and physically when doing the birth dance.

Fiona and Agia speak beautifully about the history we all hold in our bodies, and the need for midwives and other birth workers to have the skills to be able to support physiology when that history gets in the way.

This is an incredible opportunity to hear from two leaders in this space in this space and we know you (whether you are preparing to birth, or supporting others in birth) will love it.

Links:

• The Pelvic Space
• No Bullsh*!t Birth Preparation course with Fiona, Agia and Lani at The Pelvic Space

In this episode we hear from co-host Alice and her husband Dave about their road from birthing in a private hospital under private obstetric care, through the grief of two miscarriages, to then birth at home via a publicly funded homebirth program. Alice looks back on her first vaginal birth, which she emerged from feeling victorious, now through the lens of greater understanding of birth and the role that her model of care and place of birth played in influencing the dynamic in the birth space, and the interventions that resulted.

We speak about the process leading up to the decision to birth at home, and the common questions that come up for partners and support people along that road. This is a great listen for anyone wanting to hear about the difference in experience between continuity of obstetric care and continuity of midwifery care, for those considering homebirth, and for partners who would benefit from another story from both sides (see also Elysia & Andrew’s episode!)

Links:

• Fiona Hallinan & internal pelvic release via The Pelvic Space, and birth education with Agia, Fiona + Ilana
• Women’s Health Physio - Embrace Physio & Pilates
• Doula Sue Lee
• The Great Birth Rebellion on Episiotomies
• “Is Home Birth Safe” Summary of Evidence
• Safer Care Victoria Homebirth Guideline
• “Puts the magic back into life — Fathers’ experience of planned homebirthhh
• “It could not have been more different.” Comparing experiences of hospital-based birth and homebirth in Ireland: A mixed-methods survey
• Private birth education with midwife Danielle Sorbello

Chapters

(00:54) Introduction

(06:34) Choosing private obstetric care

(25:25) Hugo’s labour and birth

(42:17) First postpartum

(48:36) Pregnancy loss

(01:06:09) Billy’s pregnancy and the road to homebirth

(01:19:18) Experiences of midwifery continuity of care

(01:23:32) Managing other people’s opinions on homebirth

(01:36:35) Billy’s labour and homebirth

Disclaimer: This podcast aims to share stories and education to assist you in navigating your pregnancy and birth and in discussing these choices with your chosen pregnancy care provider. The information and resources provided are educational in nature and do not constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice.

While we have worked hard to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and based on reliable and up to date evidence, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of this information. Our website and podcast are intended to complement, and never to substitute, your midwifery or medical clinical care.

In this episode we speak with obstetrician Dr Natalie Elphingstone about her obstetric training and how that contributes to a certain dominant philosophy of birth, her road to “doing” less and learning from and collaborating with midwives and doulas, the question of obstetric care for “low risk” or uncomplicated pregnancies, homebirth, curating postpartum support, and your choices in caesarean section. As you can see, this is a juicy one, and a must listen for all entering the maternity setting whether you are seeking obstetric care or not.

Links:

Dr Natalie Elphingstone on Instagram

Disclaimer: This podcast aims to share stories and education to assist you in navigating your pregnancy and birth and in discussing these choices with your chosen pregnancy care provider. The information and resources provided are educational in nature and do not constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice.

While we have worked hard to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and based on reliable and up to date evidence, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of this information. Our website and podcast are intended to complement, and never to substitute, your midwifery or medical clinical care.

In this episode we speak with Karli Smith, a doula with a background in international human rights law and humanitarian aid, who now spends her time supporting women and birthing people on an individual and broader systems level in advocating for rights in maternity care. We speak about the role of doulas in pregnancy, birth and postpartum, the power and magic of birth and having someone hold you in your vision for birth, the importance of informed consent and autonomous decision-making in birth, and strategies for navigating the (public and private) hospital system.

Karli gives us some great pointers for language you or your support people can use in the birth space, something she builds on more deeply in her amazing course, “The Hospital Birth Course” (with a version for women and birthing people, and another specifically geared to birth workers).

Links:

• The Hospital Birth Course
• Report of the Special Rapporteur — violence against women, its causes and consequences on a human rights-based approach to mistreatment and violence against women in reproductive health services with a focus on childbirth and obstetric violence
• AIHW: Australia’s Mothers and Babies (the birth stats we touched on)

In this episode we hear from our very own Elysia, as she and her husband Andrew give us a snapshot of their first three birth experiences — the first two in integrated birth centres in the UK, the third in a Melbourne public hospital, before delving into what led them to choose homebirth for their most recent birth of baby number 4, at home via a publicly funded homebirth program.

We discuss the cultural and social influences on your choices around how and where to birth, as well as the journey towards choosing homebirth. We touch on Elysia’s experience of a third degree tear in her first birth (and the improved perineal outcomes with each subsequent birth), and when it came to homebirth — the common partner questions, the role of a student midwife, and their reflections on just how different that model of care, and experience of being in your own home was, for both Elysia and Andrew.

Links:

- The Great Birth Rebellion on Group B Strep (GBS) and Pushing Out Your Baby
- The Midwives Cauldron episode on Gestational Diabetes
- Rachel Reed on Big Babies
- Cochrane Review into midwifery-led continuity of care: Sandall, J., Soltani, H., Gates, S., Shennan, A., & Devane, D. (2015). Midwife-led continuity models versus other models of care for childbearing women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 9, CD004667–CD004667. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub4

Birth Choices, through this website and our podcast, aims to share stories and collate information to assist you in navigating your pregnancy and birth and in discussing these choices with your chosen pregnancy care provider. The information and resources provided are informational and educational in nature and does not constitute medical or midwifery advice and shall not be construed as constituting or replacing medical or midwifery advice.

While we have worked hard to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and based on reliable and up to date evidence, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of this information. Our website and podcast are intended to complement, and never to substitute, your midwifery or medical clinical care.

In this episode we welcome back Dr Hazel Keedle to discuss all things vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). We speak about her research that collated in her book, Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth, what informed consent looks like in this space, the benefits of relationship-based care, the four contextual factors impacting on women’s experiences of VBAC, and how the ripple effect of a positive VBAC can echo through communities and pass down through generations.

Links:
- Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth
- Dr Kristen Small of Birth Small Talk for more resources on CTG Monitoring

Disclaimer: This podcast aims to share stories and education to assist you in navigating your pregnancy and birth and in discussing these choices with your chosen pregnancy care provider. The information and resources provided are educational in nature and do not constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice.

While we have worked hard to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and based on reliable and up to date evidence, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of this information. Our website and podcast are intended to complement, and never to substitute, your midwifery or medical clinical care.

In this episode we speak with postpartum doula, Jules Meyer of @flo.to.grow, about her experience of the “cascade of intervention” in her first birth following induction, her journey of preparing for a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC), the ongoing advocacy required through her pregnancy, and birth, and how it felt to birth her second baby vaginally, both in those minutes and hours post-birth, and now, weeks into her postpartum. She reflects beautifully on the shift from being what she thought was informed first time around, to getting really informed, and standing in her power to birth her baby as she wanted to. This is a great story for anyone preparing to birth their baby, as well as for anyone preparing for a VBAC. Jules also takes us through how she prepared for and is experiencing postpartum second time around.

Links:

Jules drew on the following resources in preparing for VBAC

• Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth (we cover this with Hazel in an upcoming episode)
• Flor Cruz https://www.instagram.com/badassmotherbirther/
• B from Core and Floor Restore https://www.instagram.com/coreandfloorrestore/
• Rachel Reed on VBAC
• Rhea Dempsey - Birth with Confidence
• Evidence Based Midwife on the ARRIVE Trial

Learn more about Jules and her postpartum doula offerings at: https://flotogrow.com/

Disclaimer: This podcast aims to share stories and education to assist you in navigating your pregnancy and birth and in discussing these choices with your chosen pregnancy care provider. The information and resources provided are educational in nature and do not constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice.

While we have worked hard to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and based on reliable and up to date evidence, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of this information. Our website and podcast are intended to complement, and never to substitute, your midwifery or medical clinical care.