The Real Birth Podcast https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm en Copyright 2022 Lucy Hill This is the Real Birth Podcast: a safe, welcoming platform to share birth stories. I'm Lucy Hill, a doula, mother, wife and total birth nerd living in Frome, Somerset in the UK. When I was pregnant, one of my favourite things to do was to listen to birth stories. During this time I read and listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of birth experiences shared by all kinds of parents, having all kinds of births. I quickly became obsessed with the narrative of birth and the power of storytelling. I am convinced that because I was so regularly exposed to hearing about REAL birth - the glory, the mess, the trauma, the comedy, the boredom, the ecstasy - I didn't fear it, because I knew so much about what could unfold. When eventually I went into labour, my planned natural home birth turned into an undiagnosed breech and very unexpected cesarian. Of course I felt shocked. But beneath this, I felt calm and safe in the knowledge that birth can and does take twists and turns we can't predict. I had, in essence, heard it all before. I felt part of a wider collective of humans, each with stories as unique yet familiar as mine. The magic of birth stories existed not just for me as an expectant parent learning something unknown, but I also noticed the profound healing and peaceful resolution which often came from families revisiting and reflecting on their births. All of the podcasts I found dedicated to birth stories were either American or Australian, and I deeply wished there had been a bank of UK birth stories I could have mined for information, particularly when it came to NHS care which is so different to care models overseas. Since having my son in 2019 I have continued to listen to birth story podcasts, but have still yet to find a consistent, birth-story-dedicated podcast in the UK. Enter The Real Birth Podcast! Series 1 launches in early 2022, featuring a range of stories from UK parents and a variety of different birth experiences. Whether you're pregnant, on the other side of birth or just love geeking out about birth, I'm so excited for you to join me. https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/0435ed1a-6bf0-11ed-9fc7-a7264cae9193/image/wSQjnPOwKe_0cXNGJmjyO-eo.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress The Real Birth Podcast https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm yes episodic Empowering, educational birth stories from real parents. Lucy Hill This is the Real Birth Podcast: a safe, welcoming platform to share birth stories. I'm Lucy Hill, a doula, mother, wife and total birth nerd living in Frome, Somerset in the UK. When I was pregnant, one of my favourite things to do was to listen to birth stories. During this time I read and listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of birth experiences shared by all kinds of parents, having all kinds of births. I quickly became obsessed with the narrative of birth and the power of storytelling. I am convinced that because I was so regularly exposed to hearing about REAL birth - the glory, the mess, the trauma, the comedy, the boredom, the ecstasy - I didn't fear it, because I knew so much about what could unfold. When eventually I went into labour, my planned natural home birth turned into an undiagnosed breech and very unexpected cesarian. Of course I felt shocked. But beneath this, I felt calm and safe in the knowledge that birth can and does take twists and turns we can't predict. I had, in essence, heard it all before. I felt part of a wider collective of humans, each with stories as unique yet familiar as mine. The magic of birth stories existed not just for me as an expectant parent learning something unknown, but I also noticed the profound healing and peaceful resolution which often came from families revisiting and reflecting on their births. All of the podcasts I found dedicated to birth stories were either American or Australian, and I deeply wished there had been a bank of UK birth stories I could have mined for information, particularly when it came to NHS care which is so different to care models overseas. Since having my son in 2019 I have continued to listen to birth story podcasts, but have still yet to find a consistent, birth-story-dedicated podcast in the UK. Enter The Real Birth Podcast! Series 1 launches in early 2022, featuring a range of stories from UK parents and a variety of different birth experiences. Whether you're pregnant, on the other side of birth or just love geeking out about birth, I'm so excited for you to join me. This is the Real Birth Podcast: a safe, welcoming platform to share birth stories. I'm Lucy Hill, a doula, mother, wife and total birth nerd living in Frome, Somerset in the UK. When I was pregnant, one of my favourite things to do was to listen to birth stories. During this time I read and listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of birth experiences shared by all kinds of parents, having all kinds of births. I quickly became obsessed with the narrative of birth and the power of storytelling. I am convinced that because I was so regularly exposed to hearing about REAL birth - the glory, the mess, the trauma, the comedy, the boredom, the ecstasy - I didn't fear it, because I knew so much about what could unfold. When eventually I went into labour, my planned natural home birth turned into an undiagnosed breech and very unexpected cesarian. Of course I felt shocked. But beneath this, I felt calm and safe in the knowledge that birth can and does take twists and turns we can't predict. I had, in essence, heard it all before. I felt part of a wider collective of humans, each with stories as unique yet familiar as mine. The magic of birth stories existed not just for me as an expectant parent learning something unknown, but I also noticed the profound healing and peaceful resolution which often came from families revisiting and reflecting on their births. All of the podcasts I found dedicated to birth stories were either American or Australian, and I deeply wished there had been a bank of UK birth stories I could have mined for information, particularly when it came to NHS care which is so different to care models overseas. Since having my son in 2019 I have continued to listen to birth story podcasts, but have still yet to find a consistent, birth-story-dedicated podcast in the UK. Enter The Real Birth Podcast! Series 1 launches in early 2022, featuring a range of stories from UK parents and a variety of different birth experiences. Whether you're pregnant, on the other side of birth or just love geeking out about birth, I'm so excited for you to join me.

]]> Lucy Hill lucy@realbirth.co.uk EP37 Bea | Born in the car! BBA, Fast Second Labour, Long First Birth, Birthing Stool, Birth Centre https://www.realbirth.co.uk Today's two birth stories are from Beatrice Haines, a fantastic artist living in Wiltshire. Bea has two sons, one of whom was born at a birth centre after a long and exhausting labour, and the other who arrived at the speed of light in the car! Bea's second birth happened in the front seat of her knackered old Honda Jazz just two hours after contractions began, whilst her husband was driving as calmly as possible to hospital. Bea's story is as beautiful as it is entertaining, and she has such a lovely calm energy about her, that this episode really is one of my very favourites. I'm willing to bet you'll love it too. ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 03 Jul 2024 07:00:00 -0000 Bea | Born in the car! BBA, Fast Second Labour, Long First Birth, Birthing Stool, Birth Centre full 4 6 Lucy Hill Bea shares two very different birth stories: a long first labour at a birth centre, and a fast born-before-arrival in the car! Today's two birth stories are from Beatrice Haines, a fantastic artist living in Wiltshire. Bea has two sons, one of whom was born at a birth centre after a long and exhausting labour, and the other who arrived at the speed of light in the car! Bea's second birth happened in the front seat of her knackered old Honda Jazz just two hours after contractions began, whilst her husband was driving as calmly as possible to hospital. Bea's story is as beautiful as it is entertaining, and she has such a lovely calm energy about her, that this episode really is one of my very favourites. I'm willing to bet you'll love it too. ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Today's two birth stories are from Beatrice Haines, a fantastic artist living in Wiltshire. Bea has two sons, one of whom was born at a birth centre after a long and exhausting labour, and the other who arrived at the speed of light in the car!


Bea's second birth happened in the front seat of her knackered old Honda Jazz just two hours after contractions began, whilst her husband was driving as calmly as possible to hospital.


Bea's story is as beautiful as it is entertaining, and she has such a lovely calm energy about her, that this episode really is one of my very favourites. I'm willing to bet you'll love it too.


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If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2784 EP36 Hannah | Long Labour, Water Birth, Medical Gaslighting, Broken Arm, Healing C-Section Birth https://www.realbirth.co.uk Today’s guest is Hannah, who shares her two births - which could not be more different from each other. Her first son was born when she was 21, and as a young mum Hannah felt she was continually ignored by the medical staff - who denied her pain relief, refused to listen when she said she felt something was wrong with her baby, and left her alone and unable to sit up or hold her baby immediately after birth. Hannah's intuition was right, as her baby was born with a broken arm, something which was continually referred to as 'impossible'. What Hannah went through was extremely traumatic, and while I don’t usually do content warnings, I wanted to let listeners know that this experience was deeply distressing for Hannah - and I think it would be very understandable for you to feel that while listening, too. Hannah’s second baby was born 8 years later by elective c-section - and was profoundly healing for her. I’m so glad Hannah was able to share both her stories with me - I hope you enjoy hearing them! ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 14 Feb 2024 08:00:00 -0000 Hannah | Long Labour, Water Birth, Medical Gaslighting, Broken Arm, Healing C-Section Birth full 4 5 Lucy Hill Hannah shares her two birth stories: one a traumatic natural birth where her son was born with a broken arm, and the second a healing elective c-section birth. Today’s guest is Hannah, who shares her two births - which could not be more different from each other. Her first son was born when she was 21, and as a young mum Hannah felt she was continually ignored by the medical staff - who denied her pain relief, refused to listen when she said she felt something was wrong with her baby, and left her alone and unable to sit up or hold her baby immediately after birth. Hannah's intuition was right, as her baby was born with a broken arm, something which was continually referred to as 'impossible'. What Hannah went through was extremely traumatic, and while I don’t usually do content warnings, I wanted to let listeners know that this experience was deeply distressing for Hannah - and I think it would be very understandable for you to feel that while listening, too. Hannah’s second baby was born 8 years later by elective c-section - and was profoundly healing for her. I’m so glad Hannah was able to share both her stories with me - I hope you enjoy hearing them! ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Today’s guest is Hannah, who shares her two births - which could not be more different from each other.

Her first son was born when she was 21, and as a young mum Hannah felt she was continually ignored by the medical staff - who denied her pain relief, refused to listen when she said she felt something was wrong with her baby, and left her alone and unable to sit up or hold her baby immediately after birth. Hannah's intuition was right, as her baby was born with a broken arm, something which was continually referred to as 'impossible'.

What Hannah went through was extremely traumatic, and while I don’t usually do content warnings, I wanted to let listeners know that this experience was deeply distressing for Hannah - and I think it would be very understandable for you to feel that while listening, too.

Hannah’s second baby was born 8 years later by elective c-section - and was profoundly healing for her. I’m so glad Hannah was able to share both her stories with me - I hope you enjoy hearing them!


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If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3963 EP35 Jo | Fast Labour, Heart Defect, NICU Baby, Necrotising Enterocolitis (NECS), Surgery https://realbirth.co.uk Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week I chat to Jo, whose daughter was diagnosed with a heart defect at her 20 week scan. This meant she needed surgery very soon after birth, and so Jo and her husband were preparing for an induction in Bristol, where a team of paediatric experts would be on hand. However, Jo's waters broke early and what followed was an incredibly stressful journey to hospital during a bank holiday weekend, where they encountered several major road collisions and more than quadrupled their estimated journey time, all without pain relief. When she arrived at hospital, Jo was fully dilated and her baby was born soon afterwards. Whilst in NICU waiting for surgery, baby Malia was also diagnosed with NEC, a serious bowel disease. Jo shares how the support of other NICU parents and people who had children with heart defects was invaluable to her - but is also very honest about her ongoing trauma from those weeks and months in and out of hospital with her little girl. Malia is now a very happy and healthy little girl - and it's wonderful to hear Jo talk about her. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did. ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0000 Jo | Fast Labour, Heart Defect, NICU Baby, Necrotising Enterocolitis (NECS), Surgery full 4 4 Lucy Hill Jo shares the birth of her daughter, who was diagnosed with a heart defect whilst still in the womb. Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week I chat to Jo, whose daughter was diagnosed with a heart defect at her 20 week scan. This meant she needed surgery very soon after birth, and so Jo and her husband were preparing for an induction in Bristol, where a team of paediatric experts would be on hand. However, Jo's waters broke early and what followed was an incredibly stressful journey to hospital during a bank holiday weekend, where they encountered several major road collisions and more than quadrupled their estimated journey time, all without pain relief. When she arrived at hospital, Jo was fully dilated and her baby was born soon afterwards. Whilst in NICU waiting for surgery, baby Malia was also diagnosed with NEC, a serious bowel disease. Jo shares how the support of other NICU parents and people who had children with heart defects was invaluable to her - but is also very honest about her ongoing trauma from those weeks and months in and out of hospital with her little girl. Malia is now a very happy and healthy little girl - and it's wonderful to hear Jo talk about her. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did. ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week I chat to Jo, whose daughter was diagnosed with a heart defect at her 20 week scan. This meant she needed surgery very soon after birth, and so Jo and her husband were preparing for an induction in Bristol, where a team of paediatric experts would be on hand.

However, Jo's waters broke early and what followed was an incredibly stressful journey to hospital during a bank holiday weekend, where they encountered several major road collisions and more than quadrupled their estimated journey time, all without pain relief. When she arrived at hospital, Jo was fully dilated and her baby was born soon afterwards.

Whilst in NICU waiting for surgery, baby Malia was also diagnosed with NEC, a serious bowel disease. Jo shares how the support of other NICU parents and people who had children with heart defects was invaluable to her - but is also very honest about her ongoing trauma from those weeks and months in and out of hospital with her little girl.

Malia is now a very happy and healthy little girl - and it's wonderful to hear Jo talk about her. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did.

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If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3720 EP34 Mez | Non-Binary Parent, IVF, Induction, Hypnobirthing, Queer Family, Inclusive Midwife https://realbirth.co.uk Hello everyone! This week I'm thrilled to be joined by Mez, who shares the birth story of their son. Mez is a non-binary parent who has 4 older children with their wife - however this pregnancy was the first time Mez had carried and birthed a child themselves. After a successful IVF round, Mez threw themselves into learning everything they could about pregnancy, labour and birth, and used hypnobirthing techniques to combat anxiety during their induction process. Mez's midwife in pregnancy and birth was supportive, inclusive and respectful, but the care they received afterwards was not so positive. Huge thanks to Mez for sharing their experience on the podcast today - it's wonderful to be able to highlight the experiences of queer and non-binary parents on this platform, and I have no doubt your story will be a great resource to many. I hope you love listening to this one as much as I enjoyed making it... ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 17 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0000 Mez | Non-Binary Parent, IVF, Induction, Hypnobirthing, Queer Family, Inclusive Midwife full 4 3 Lucy Hill Mez shares the birth of their son after undergoing IVF with their wife. Mez used hypnobirthing during their induction. Hello everyone! This week I'm thrilled to be joined by Mez, who shares the birth story of their son. Mez is a non-binary parent who has 4 older children with their wife - however this pregnancy was the first time Mez had carried and birthed a child themselves. After a successful IVF round, Mez threw themselves into learning everything they could about pregnancy, labour and birth, and used hypnobirthing techniques to combat anxiety during their induction process. Mez's midwife in pregnancy and birth was supportive, inclusive and respectful, but the care they received afterwards was not so positive. Huge thanks to Mez for sharing their experience on the podcast today - it's wonderful to be able to highlight the experiences of queer and non-binary parents on this platform, and I have no doubt your story will be a great resource to many. I hope you love listening to this one as much as I enjoyed making it... ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello everyone! This week I'm thrilled to be joined by Mez, who shares the birth story of their son. Mez is a non-binary parent who has 4 older children with their wife - however this pregnancy was the first time Mez had carried and birthed a child themselves.

After a successful IVF round, Mez threw themselves into learning everything they could about pregnancy, labour and birth, and used hypnobirthing techniques to combat anxiety during their induction process.

Mez's midwife in pregnancy and birth was supportive, inclusive and respectful, but the care they received afterwards was not so positive. Huge thanks to Mez for sharing their experience on the podcast today - it's wonderful to be able to highlight the experiences of queer and non-binary parents on this platform, and I have no doubt your story will be a great resource to many.

I hope you love listening to this one as much as I enjoyed making it...

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If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3743 EP33 Jenny | Positive Induction Story, Multiple Miscarriage, Silent Coeliac, Water Birth, Lockdown https://realbirth.co.uk Hello all! This week my guest is Jenny, who shares her two birth stories. Jenny's first birth was many people's ideal experience - a natural delivery in the water, with very little intervention - and so when she was faced with an induction for her second baby's birth she was unsure she could have the same kind of positive experience. But as you will hear from Jenny's birth stories, she and her team came together and made the birth of her second daughter a truly positive induction. Jenny and I also discuss her experience of multiple miscarriage, and how her forward-thinking GP helped diagnose her with silent coeliac disease - a condition linked with recurrent miscarriage. By making diet changes, Jenny was able to go on to have a healthy pregnancy with her second baby. I hope you enjoy listening to Jenny's birth stories! ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 03 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0000 Jenny | Positive Induction Story, Multiple Miscarriage, Silent Coeliac, Water Birth, Lockdown full 4 2 Lucy Hill Jenny shares her two birth stories - a natural water birth, and a positive induction story. Hello all! This week my guest is Jenny, who shares her two birth stories. Jenny's first birth was many people's ideal experience - a natural delivery in the water, with very little intervention - and so when she was faced with an induction for her second baby's birth she was unsure she could have the same kind of positive experience. But as you will hear from Jenny's birth stories, she and her team came together and made the birth of her second daughter a truly positive induction. Jenny and I also discuss her experience of multiple miscarriage, and how her forward-thinking GP helped diagnose her with silent coeliac disease - a condition linked with recurrent miscarriage. By making diet changes, Jenny was able to go on to have a healthy pregnancy with her second baby. I hope you enjoy listening to Jenny's birth stories! ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello all!

This week my guest is Jenny, who shares her two birth stories. Jenny's first birth was many people's ideal experience - a natural delivery in the water, with very little intervention - and so when she was faced with an induction for her second baby's birth she was unsure she could have the same kind of positive experience. But as you will hear from Jenny's birth stories, she and her team came together and made the birth of her second daughter a truly positive induction.

Jenny and I also discuss her experience of multiple miscarriage, and how her forward-thinking GP helped diagnose her with silent coeliac disease - a condition linked with recurrent miscarriage. By making diet changes, Jenny was able to go on to have a healthy pregnancy with her second baby.

I hope you enjoy listening to Jenny's birth stories!


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If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2803 EP32 Lucy | CBAC, Home Birth Transfer, Back to Back Baby, Miscarriage https://realbirth.co.uk Hello and welcome back to series 4 of The Real Birth Podcast! To mark the start of a new season, and my return from maternity leave, I'll be sharing my own birth story. My second baby arrived in April 2023, and was born by CBAC - caesarean birth after a previous caesarean. I did everything in my power to achieve a HBAC - home birth after caesarean - but events unfolded in a way which meant this didn't happen for me. While I am still grieving the birth I never had, I am proud to share our story and hope you enjoy hearing it. It's wonderful to be back! ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 20 Dec 2023 05:14:00 -0000 Lucy | CBAC, Home Birth Transfer, Back to Back Baby, Miscarriage full 4 1 Lucy Hill Podcast host Lucy shares her second birth story - an attempted home birth after caesarean, which ended in repeat surgery Hello and welcome back to series 4 of The Real Birth Podcast! To mark the start of a new season, and my return from maternity leave, I'll be sharing my own birth story. My second baby arrived in April 2023, and was born by CBAC - caesarean birth after a previous caesarean. I did everything in my power to achieve a HBAC - home birth after caesarean - but events unfolded in a way which meant this didn't happen for me. While I am still grieving the birth I never had, I am proud to share our story and hope you enjoy hearing it. It's wonderful to be back! ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome back to series 4 of The Real Birth Podcast!

To mark the start of a new season, and my return from maternity leave, I'll be sharing my own birth story. My second baby arrived in April 2023, and was born by CBAC - caesarean birth after a previous caesarean. I did everything in my power to achieve a HBAC - home birth after caesarean - but events unfolded in a way which meant this didn't happen for me. While I am still grieving the birth I never had, I am proud to share our story and hope you enjoy hearing it.

It's wonderful to be back!

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If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4163 S3BONUS Ashley | High BMI, Induction, 2 caesareans, VBAC, Home Birth, Freebirth, HBAC Hello everyone! Welcome to this special bonus episode of The Real Birth Podcast. I actually wasn't intending to release something so soon after the last episode, but sometimes an opportunity presents itself and it's just too good to pass on! This special episode features Ashley Winning, the host of the VBAC Home Birth Stories podcast. VBAC stands for vaginal birth after caesarean and is a safe and valid choice for most - if not all - women having a subsequent baby after a surgical birth. However it's rare that home birth is encouraged or discussed, and it largely comes down to families and care providers not necessarily understanding the risks of HBAC. Many people assume it's not even an option! After two C-sections, birth trauma and being discriminated against during both her pregnancies, Ashley decided her third birth would be a different story. She had an undisturbed home birth VBAC with her third daughter - attended only by her husband and doula. Ashley has so much wisdom to share, not only through her podcast which is committed to sharing stories and evidence based information about home birthing after caesarean, but also through her coaching business (The Motherhood Circle) where she works with women to help them plan and achieve empowered births - however they may turn out.  Thanks for joining me for this special bonus episode - please feel free to share it with someone you know! As I go off on maternity leave properly, remember we have over 30 episodes of The Real Birth Podcast you can catch up with, and you can always get in touch with me via my social media - I'm @realbirthpodcast on Instagram and Facebook. Until next time, I wish you all love and happy birthing! Bye... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 22 Mar 2023 08:00:00 -0000 Ashley | High BMI, Induction, 2 caesareans, VBAC, Home Birth, Freebirth, HBAC bonus 3 11 Lucy Hill Ashley shares her 2 c-section stories, as well as her home birth VBAC freebirth with her third child Hello everyone! Welcome to this special bonus episode of The Real Birth Podcast. I actually wasn't intending to release something so soon after the last episode, but sometimes an opportunity presents itself and it's just too good to pass on! This special episode features Ashley Winning, the host of the VBAC Home Birth Stories podcast. VBAC stands for vaginal birth after caesarean and is a safe and valid choice for most - if not all - women having a subsequent baby after a surgical birth. However it's rare that home birth is encouraged or discussed, and it largely comes down to families and care providers not necessarily understanding the risks of HBAC. Many people assume it's not even an option! After two C-sections, birth trauma and being discriminated against during both her pregnancies, Ashley decided her third birth would be a different story. She had an undisturbed home birth VBAC with her third daughter - attended only by her husband and doula. Ashley has so much wisdom to share, not only through her podcast which is committed to sharing stories and evidence based information about home birthing after caesarean, but also through her coaching business (The Motherhood Circle) where she works with women to help them plan and achieve empowered births - however they may turn out.  Thanks for joining me for this special bonus episode - please feel free to share it with someone you know! As I go off on maternity leave properly, remember we have over 30 episodes of The Real Birth Podcast you can catch up with, and you can always get in touch with me via my social media - I'm @realbirthpodcast on Instagram and Facebook. Until next time, I wish you all love and happy birthing! Bye... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello everyone! Welcome to this special bonus episode of The Real Birth Podcast. I actually wasn't intending to release something so soon after the last episode, but sometimes an opportunity presents itself and it's just too good to pass on! This special episode features Ashley Winning, the host of the VBAC Home Birth Stories podcast.

VBAC stands for vaginal birth after caesarean and is a safe and valid choice for most - if not all - women having a subsequent baby after a surgical birth. However it's rare that home birth is encouraged or discussed, and it largely comes down to families and care providers not necessarily understanding the risks of HBAC. Many people assume it's not even an option!

After two C-sections, birth trauma and being discriminated against during both her pregnancies, Ashley decided her third birth would be a different story. She had an undisturbed home birth VBAC with her third daughter - attended only by her husband and doula. Ashley has so much wisdom to share, not only through her podcast which is committed to sharing stories and evidence based information about home birthing after caesarean, but also through her coaching business (The Motherhood Circle) where she works with women to help them plan and achieve empowered births - however they may turn out. 

Thanks for joining me for this special bonus episode - please feel free to share it with someone you know! As I go off on maternity leave properly, remember we have over 30 episodes of The Real Birth Podcast you can catch up with, and you can always get in touch with me via my social media - I'm @realbirthpodcast on Instagram and Facebook.

Until next time, I wish you all love and happy birthing! Bye...


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4698 EP30 Melissa | Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), Successful Induction, Arthritis, Miscarriage, Failed Epidural https://realbirth.co.uk Today's episode features the lovely Melissa, who shares her two birth stories. Melissa suffers from psoriatic arthritis - a condition which requires her to take a medication not usually compatible with conception, pregnancy or breastfeeding. Melissa talks about how her pregnancies were timed around stints of being off her meds, and how this impacted her. She also shares her experience of having a miscarriage between her two daughters, and how the hospital restrictions at the time meant she was largely alone when facing such a devastating loss.  It's a gorgeous episode and I really hope you enjoy it. ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 08 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0000 Melissa | Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), Successful Induction, Arthritis, Miscarriage, Failed Epidural full 3 10 Lucy Hill Melissa shares her stories of birth and loss while suffering from psoriatic arthritis. Today's episode features the lovely Melissa, who shares her two birth stories. Melissa suffers from psoriatic arthritis - a condition which requires her to take a medication not usually compatible with conception, pregnancy or breastfeeding. Melissa talks about how her pregnancies were timed around stints of being off her meds, and how this impacted her. She also shares her experience of having a miscarriage between her two daughters, and how the hospital restrictions at the time meant she was largely alone when facing such a devastating loss.  It's a gorgeous episode and I really hope you enjoy it. ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Today's episode features the lovely Melissa, who shares her two birth stories. Melissa suffers from psoriatic arthritis - a condition which requires her to take a medication not usually compatible with conception, pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Melissa talks about how her pregnancies were timed around stints of being off her meds, and how this impacted her. She also shares her experience of having a miscarriage between her two daughters, and how the hospital restrictions at the time meant she was largely alone when facing such a devastating loss. 

It's a gorgeous episode and I really hope you enjoy it.

------------------------------------------------------------------

If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4138 EP29 Alice | Birth Centre, High BMI, Gestational Diabetes, TFMR, Twin Loss, Home Birth Transfer https://www.realbirth.co.uk Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week I'm joined by Alice, who talks about the births of her two daughters, both of which were impacted by her diagnosis of borderline gestational diabetes, and high BMI - but which Alice tackled very differently in her second daughter's pregnancy to her first.  Alice also shares her story of grief and loss - in between her two daughters, she became pregnant with conjoined twins, who sadly would not have been able to survive. Alice and I talk about having a termination for medical reasons and some of the issues surrounding how parents are cared for in these devastating moments.  Alice has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share - I hope you find her stories as inspiring as I do. Here she is to tell them... If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 01 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0000 Alice | Birth Centre, High BMI, Gestational Diabetes, TFMR, Twin Loss, Home Birth Transfer full 3 9 Lucy Hill Alice shares her birth experiences - including two vaginal births, and a pregnancy loss with conjoined twins. Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week I'm joined by Alice, who talks about the births of her two daughters, both of which were impacted by her diagnosis of borderline gestational diabetes, and high BMI - but which Alice tackled very differently in her second daughter's pregnancy to her first.  Alice also shares her story of grief and loss - in between her two daughters, she became pregnant with conjoined twins, who sadly would not have been able to survive. Alice and I talk about having a termination for medical reasons and some of the issues surrounding how parents are cared for in these devastating moments.  Alice has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share - I hope you find her stories as inspiring as I do. Here she is to tell them... If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week I'm joined by Alice, who talks about the births of her two daughters, both of which were impacted by her diagnosis of borderline gestational diabetes, and high BMI - but which Alice tackled very differently in her second daughter's pregnancy to her first. 

Alice also shares her story of grief and loss - in between her two daughters, she became pregnant with conjoined twins, who sadly would not have been able to survive. Alice and I talk about having a termination for medical reasons and some of the issues surrounding how parents are cared for in these devastating moments. 

Alice has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share - I hope you find her stories as inspiring as I do. Here she is to tell them...

If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3459 EP28 Sabina | Post-dates Pregnancy, Long Labour, Induction, Epidural, C-Section, GA Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Sabina, who had her baby by caesarean under general anaesthetic, after a long and difficult labour. Sabina's story is important to acknowledge - as after growing up in a family where natural, unmedicated birth was the norm, she felt huge amounts of grief and anger at her caesarean experience - especially given the restrictions placed on her and her husband due to covid.  Sabina has some very raw, honest reflections on what she would now do differently given her knowledge, and some great advice for new parents when it comes to feeding support too. While Sabina's birth story isn't the euphoric, positive experience many expectant parents might want to hear, for many it will really resonate, and I'm sure Sabina wouldn't mind me saying that it may be a useful example of some of the interventions which can occur when in a hospital setting, particularly without an advocate by your side.  Huge thank you to Sabina for being so open and honest with me today - here she is to tell her story... If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 25 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0000 Post-dates Pregnancy, Long Labour, Induction, Epidural, C-Section, GA full Lucy Hill Sabina shares the caesarean birth of her baby girl. Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Sabina, who had her baby by caesarean under general anaesthetic, after a long and difficult labour. Sabina's story is important to acknowledge - as after growing up in a family where natural, unmedicated birth was the norm, she felt huge amounts of grief and anger at her caesarean experience - especially given the restrictions placed on her and her husband due to covid.  Sabina has some very raw, honest reflections on what she would now do differently given her knowledge, and some great advice for new parents when it comes to feeding support too. While Sabina's birth story isn't the euphoric, positive experience many expectant parents might want to hear, for many it will really resonate, and I'm sure Sabina wouldn't mind me saying that it may be a useful example of some of the interventions which can occur when in a hospital setting, particularly without an advocate by your side.  Huge thank you to Sabina for being so open and honest with me today - here she is to tell her story... If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Sabina, who had her baby by caesarean under general anaesthetic, after a long and difficult labour. Sabina's story is important to acknowledge - as after growing up in a family where natural, unmedicated birth was the norm, she felt huge amounts of grief and anger at her caesarean experience - especially given the restrictions placed on her and her husband due to covid. 

Sabina has some very raw, honest reflections on what she would now do differently given her knowledge, and some great advice for new parents when it comes to feeding support too. While Sabina's birth story isn't the euphoric, positive experience many expectant parents might want to hear, for many it will really resonate, and I'm sure Sabina wouldn't mind me saying that it may be a useful example of some of the interventions which can occur when in a hospital setting, particularly without an advocate by your side. 

Huge thank you to Sabina for being so open and honest with me today - here she is to tell her story...


If you enjoyed this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3666 EP27 Cassie | Surrogacy, Cervical Cancer, IVF, Stretch and Sweeps, Induction https://realbirth.co.uk Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week Cassie shares her story of becoming a mother via surrogacy, after her cancer treatment left her unable to conceive naturally. I am genuinely SO excited to be sharing this episode with you. When she was just 27, Cassie was diagnosed with cervical cancer - the treatment for which meant she would be thrown into an early menopause, and would not be able to become pregnant or carry a baby herself. Cassie was able to undergo an IVF round before starting her chemo and radiation, which allowed her to create embryos to keep on ice for when she was ready to start the search for a surrogate.  I’m really thrilled to be sharing a story of surrogacy on the podcast today - I particularly love how clearly Cassie explains the process of how someone might go about starting the process of using a surrogate, and how she ended up choosing hers! I think you’ll agree after hearing her share her experience that she is a real inspiration to anyone facing the prospect of surrogacy or infertility after cancer. If you enjoy this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 18 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0000 Cassie | Surrogacy, Cervical Cancer, IVF, Stretch and Sweeps, Induction full 3 7 Lucy Hill Cassie shares her story of becoming a mother via surrogacy, after her cancer treatment left her unable to conceive naturally. Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week Cassie shares her story of becoming a mother via surrogacy, after her cancer treatment left her unable to conceive naturally. I am genuinely SO excited to be sharing this episode with you. When she was just 27, Cassie was diagnosed with cervical cancer - the treatment for which meant she would be thrown into an early menopause, and would not be able to become pregnant or carry a baby herself. Cassie was able to undergo an IVF round before starting her chemo and radiation, which allowed her to create embryos to keep on ice for when she was ready to start the search for a surrogate.  I’m really thrilled to be sharing a story of surrogacy on the podcast today - I particularly love how clearly Cassie explains the process of how someone might go about starting the process of using a surrogate, and how she ended up choosing hers! I think you’ll agree after hearing her share her experience that she is a real inspiration to anyone facing the prospect of surrogacy or infertility after cancer. If you enjoy this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week Cassie shares her story of becoming a mother via surrogacy, after her cancer treatment left her unable to conceive naturally.

I am genuinely SO excited to be sharing this episode with you. When she was just 27, Cassie was diagnosed with cervical cancer - the treatment for which meant she would be thrown into an early menopause, and would not be able to become pregnant or carry a baby herself. Cassie was able to undergo an IVF round before starting her chemo and radiation, which allowed her to create embryos to keep on ice for when she was ready to start the search for a surrogate. 

I’m really thrilled to be sharing a story of surrogacy on the podcast today - I particularly love how clearly Cassie explains the process of how someone might go about starting the process of using a surrogate, and how she ended up choosing hers! I think you’ll agree after hearing her share her experience that she is a real inspiration to anyone facing the prospect of surrogacy or infertility after cancer.

If you enjoy this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4266 EP26 Catherine | Reduced Movements, Induction, Prolapse, Positive Home Birth, Fast Labours, Miscarriage https://www.realbirth.co.uk Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Catherine, who shares her two birth stories. Catherine was induced with her first baby after several episodes of reduced movement. Although she required very little intervention in the end, Catherine’s experience left her struggling physically and mentally. The birth of her second son was at home, which was an incredible fast labour and a physiological 3rd stage - i.e. the placenta was left alone and came away naturally. Catherine shares her experience of breastfeeding struggles, how she coped with mental health issues, and also details a miscarriage she had in between her two living children. I’ll mention now that Catherine does go into the details when it comes to her pregnancy loss and the surgery she required - just in case you’d like prior warning of this. There’s always a small part of me unsure about whether it’s OK to air these things but I actually think it’s incredibly important that people are aware of what actually has to happen when a pregnancy is lost - it makes us better able to empathise and support the people we love - so thank you for being so open and honest with me today.  It was a real pleasure to hear about Catherine’s births, and her determination to have as hands-off an experience as possible will resonate with so many of you. If you enjoy this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 11 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0000 Catherine | Reduced Movements, Induction, Prolapse, Positive Home Birth, Fast Labours, Miscarriage full 3 6 Lucy Hill Catherine shares her two birth stories, as well as her experience of pregnancy loss. Two fast labours, one induced and one at home. Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Catherine, who shares her two birth stories. Catherine was induced with her first baby after several episodes of reduced movement. Although she required very little intervention in the end, Catherine’s experience left her struggling physically and mentally. The birth of her second son was at home, which was an incredible fast labour and a physiological 3rd stage - i.e. the placenta was left alone and came away naturally. Catherine shares her experience of breastfeeding struggles, how she coped with mental health issues, and also details a miscarriage she had in between her two living children. I’ll mention now that Catherine does go into the details when it comes to her pregnancy loss and the surgery she required - just in case you’d like prior warning of this. There’s always a small part of me unsure about whether it’s OK to air these things but I actually think it’s incredibly important that people are aware of what actually has to happen when a pregnancy is lost - it makes us better able to empathise and support the people we love - so thank you for being so open and honest with me today.  It was a real pleasure to hear about Catherine’s births, and her determination to have as hands-off an experience as possible will resonate with so many of you. If you enjoy this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night! Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Catherine, who shares her two birth stories. Catherine was induced with her first baby after several episodes of reduced movement. Although she required very little intervention in the end, Catherine’s experience left her struggling physically and mentally. The birth of her second son was at home, which was an incredible fast labour and a physiological 3rd stage - i.e. the placenta was left alone and came away naturally.

Catherine shares her experience of breastfeeding struggles, how she coped with mental health issues, and also details a miscarriage she had in between her two living children. I’ll mention now that Catherine does go into the details when it comes to her pregnancy loss and the surgery she required - just in case you’d like prior warning of this. There’s always a small part of me unsure about whether it’s OK to air these things but I actually think it’s incredibly important that people are aware of what actually has to happen when a pregnancy is lost - it makes us better able to empathise and support the people we love - so thank you for being so open and honest with me today. 

It was a real pleasure to hear about Catherine’s births, and her determination to have as hands-off an experience as possible will resonate with so many of you.

If you enjoy this episode please do share it with a friend, rate and review the podcast on whichever platform you're using, and subscribe or follow to keep up to date with future episodes. If you have found the work I do valuable in any way, you can buy me a coffee - it helps fuel the passion when I’m editing into the night!

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.

---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3942 EP25 Stefanie | Fast Births, Epidural vs No Epidural, Afterpains, Home Birth Transfer, Doula, Hypnobirthing Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week to start the New Year right, my guest is Stefanie, a mother of three from Canada. Stefanie has been a Lamaze® Educator and doula since 2002. After the birth of her second son, Stefanie saw just how valuable it is to be prepared for birth and to have good support around you. Stefanie trained as a childbirth educator and doula, running classes from her basement. Now, over 20 years later, she is the founder of Doula School which offers training for birth and postnatal doulas, as well as prenatal yoga teacher training and doula education retreats. Her belief is that the world can be a better place if parents can have more positive childbirth experiences that allow them to bond properly with their babies. She works tirelessly to change the world in this aspect… one family at a time. Stefanie shares her three birth stories, and talks in particular about how she found birth both with and without epidurals. Big thanks to Stefanie for speaking with me this week - here she is to share her stories! If you want to find out more about Doula School and Stefanie’s work, you can reach her on instagram @doulaschool or via her website doulaschool.ca. I’ll link to her on my social media too so you’ll be able to find her there.   Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 04 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0000 Fast Births, Epidural vs No Epidural, Afterpains, Home Birth Transfer, Doula, Hypnobirthing full 3 5 Lucy Hill Birth educator Stefanie shares her three birth stories, including Fast Births, Epidural vs No Epidural, Afterpains, Home Birth Transfer, Doula, Hypnobirthing Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week to start the New Year right, my guest is Stefanie, a mother of three from Canada. Stefanie has been a Lamaze® Educator and doula since 2002. After the birth of her second son, Stefanie saw just how valuable it is to be prepared for birth and to have good support around you. Stefanie trained as a childbirth educator and doula, running classes from her basement. Now, over 20 years later, she is the founder of Doula School which offers training for birth and postnatal doulas, as well as prenatal yoga teacher training and doula education retreats. Her belief is that the world can be a better place if parents can have more positive childbirth experiences that allow them to bond properly with their babies. She works tirelessly to change the world in this aspect… one family at a time. Stefanie shares her three birth stories, and talks in particular about how she found birth both with and without epidurals. Big thanks to Stefanie for speaking with me this week - here she is to share her stories! If you want to find out more about Doula School and Stefanie’s work, you can reach her on instagram @doulaschool or via her website doulaschool.ca. I’ll link to her on my social media too so you’ll be able to find her there.   Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast!

This week to start the New Year right, my guest is Stefanie, a mother of three from Canada. Stefanie has been a Lamaze® Educator and doula since 2002. After the birth of her second son, Stefanie saw just how valuable it is to be prepared for birth and to have good support around you.

Stefanie trained as a childbirth educator and doula, running classes from her basement. Now, over 20 years later, she is the founder of Doula School which offers training for birth and postnatal doulas, as well as prenatal yoga teacher training and doula education retreats. Her belief is that the world can be a better place if parents can have more positive childbirth experiences that allow them to bond properly with their babies. She works tirelessly to change the world in this aspect… one family at a time.

Stefanie shares her three birth stories, and talks in particular about how she found birth both with and without epidurals. Big thanks to Stefanie for speaking with me this week - here she is to share her stories!

If you want to find out more about Doula School and Stefanie’s work, you can reach her on instagram @doulaschool or via her website doulaschool.ca. I’ll link to her on my social media too so you’ll be able to find her there.  

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.


---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3674 EP24 Hannah | Coeliac's Disease, Anemia, Breech Baby, ECV, Induction, Epidural, Forceps Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week our birth story comes from Hannah, who discovered during her first pregnancy that she has coeliac’s disease. Hannah’s condition presented with almost no symptoms but the implications of having coeliac disease during pregnancy are far more serious than I knew. As well as managing a brand new health condition during her pregnancy, Hannah’s baby was also breech and she had a successful ECV to turn her. At almost 40 weeks, Hannah was involved in a car accident - not ideal for building those lovely oxytocin vibes which kick start labour! Thank you again to Hannah for telling us about your experiences of your pregnancy, managing coeliac’s disease, your ECV, your induction, the birth and everything that happened in between! I am really pleased to have been able to feature a story from someone with Coeliac disease - a condition which affects more than 1 in 100 people in the UK - as I’m sure I will not have been the only one who didn’t know much about how this might affect pregnancy and maternal health.  Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 21 Dec 2022 08:00:00 -0000 Hannah | Coeliac's Disease, Anemia, Breech Baby, ECV, Induction, Epidural, Forceps full 3 4 Lucy Hill Hannah tells her birth story, featuring Coeliac's Disease, Anemia, Breech Baby, ECV, Induction, Epidural, Forceps Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week our birth story comes from Hannah, who discovered during her first pregnancy that she has coeliac’s disease. Hannah’s condition presented with almost no symptoms but the implications of having coeliac disease during pregnancy are far more serious than I knew. As well as managing a brand new health condition during her pregnancy, Hannah’s baby was also breech and she had a successful ECV to turn her. At almost 40 weeks, Hannah was involved in a car accident - not ideal for building those lovely oxytocin vibes which kick start labour! Thank you again to Hannah for telling us about your experiences of your pregnancy, managing coeliac’s disease, your ECV, your induction, the birth and everything that happened in between! I am really pleased to have been able to feature a story from someone with Coeliac disease - a condition which affects more than 1 in 100 people in the UK - as I’m sure I will not have been the only one who didn’t know much about how this might affect pregnancy and maternal health.  Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast!

This week our birth story comes from Hannah, who discovered during her first pregnancy that she has coeliac’s disease. Hannah’s condition presented with almost no symptoms but the implications of having coeliac disease during pregnancy are far more serious than I knew. As well as managing a brand new health condition during her pregnancy, Hannah’s baby was also breech and she had a successful ECV to turn her. At almost 40 weeks, Hannah was involved in a car accident - not ideal for building those lovely oxytocin vibes which kick start labour!

Thank you again to Hannah for telling us about your experiences of your pregnancy, managing coeliac’s disease, your ECV, your induction, the birth and everything that happened in between!

I am really pleased to have been able to feature a story from someone with Coeliac disease - a condition which affects more than 1 in 100 people in the UK - as I’m sure I will not have been the only one who didn’t know much about how this might affect pregnancy and maternal health. 

Please do follow me on social media - I'm @RealBirthPodcast on Instagram, and Real Birth Podcast on Facebook.


---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2839 EP23 Laura | Miscarriage, Induction, Epidural, Heath Anxiety, Forceps, Jaundice Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Laura, who shares the birth story of her son after two heartbreaking miscarriages. Just so you know, Laura and I talk about these losses in depth at the start of the episode, so you can skip a little ahead if you’re not feeling in the right place to listen just now. Laura was encouraged to accept an induction after her waters broke before labour began. Although it’s not something she initially wanted, Laura made the decision to have an epidural to allow her to rest properly. I’ll let Laura tell the rest of her story, and she has some really useful advice to share too as she reflects on her birth one year on.  --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 14 Dec 2022 08:00:00 -0000 Laura | Miscarriage, Induction, Epidural, Heath Anxiety, Forceps, Jaundice full 3 3 Lucy Hill Laura tells her birth story - featuring Induction, Epidural, Heath Anxiety, Forceps, Jaundice Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast! This week my guest is Laura, who shares the birth story of her son after two heartbreaking miscarriages. Just so you know, Laura and I talk about these losses in depth at the start of the episode, so you can skip a little ahead if you’re not feeling in the right place to listen just now. Laura was encouraged to accept an induction after her waters broke before labour began. Although it’s not something she initially wanted, Laura made the decision to have an epidural to allow her to rest properly. I’ll let Laura tell the rest of her story, and she has some really useful advice to share too as she reflects on her birth one year on.  --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Hello and welcome back to The Real Birth Podcast!

This week my guest is Laura, who shares the birth story of her son after two heartbreaking miscarriages. Just so you know, Laura and I talk about these losses in depth at the start of the episode, so you can skip a little ahead if you’re not feeling in the right place to listen just now.

Laura was encouraged to accept an induction after her waters broke before labour began. Although it’s not something she initially wanted, Laura made the decision to have an epidural to allow her to rest properly.

I’ll let Laura tell the rest of her story, and she has some really useful advice to share too as she reflects on her birth one year on. 

---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3549 EP22 Maha | 5 years TTC, Home Birth Aged 46, Natural Term Breastfeeding, Separation From Mother, Childbirth Educator https://realbirth.co.uk/ This week I interview Maha Al Musa, a childbirth educator, mother and birth activist living in Australia. Maha is the founder of EMBODYBIRTH and has been sharing her wisdom surrounding the physiology of birth for almost three decades. Maha shares her three birth stories - including a home birth with midwives at the age of 46. We also talk about cultivating autonomy in birth, and discuss natural term breastfeeding. Maha gained a fair bit of publicity when she allowed her daughter to breastfeed as long as she wanted, taking cues from her child rather than society's rules! We also delve into Maha's own childhood experiences, which is an incredible tale. At just 6 months of age, Maha was kidnapped by her father and separated from her birth mother, taken overseas and raised in Australia. We speak about her connection to the maternal lineage and how finding her mother helped heal parts of her which helped her to go on and have her own family. This episode feels different to my others, and really very special. I hope you enjoy hearing Maha speak so passionately about pregnancy and birth! You can find her at https://mahaalmusa.com/ where she teaches her EMBODYBIRTH programme, and also certifies others to teach her work, too. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 07 Dec 2022 08:00:00 -0000 Maha | 5 years TTC, Home Birth Aged 46, Natural Term Breastfeeding, Separation From Mother, Childbirth Educator full 3 2 Lucy Hill Maha tells her story of pregnancy and birth, including her home birth at aged 46! This week I interview Maha Al Musa, a childbirth educator, mother and birth activist living in Australia. Maha is the founder of EMBODYBIRTH and has been sharing her wisdom surrounding the physiology of birth for almost three decades. Maha shares her three birth stories - including a home birth with midwives at the age of 46. We also talk about cultivating autonomy in birth, and discuss natural term breastfeeding. Maha gained a fair bit of publicity when she allowed her daughter to breastfeed as long as she wanted, taking cues from her child rather than society's rules! We also delve into Maha's own childhood experiences, which is an incredible tale. At just 6 months of age, Maha was kidnapped by her father and separated from her birth mother, taken overseas and raised in Australia. We speak about her connection to the maternal lineage and how finding her mother helped heal parts of her which helped her to go on and have her own family. This episode feels different to my others, and really very special. I hope you enjoy hearing Maha speak so passionately about pregnancy and birth! You can find her at https://mahaalmusa.com/ where she teaches her EMBODYBIRTH programme, and also certifies others to teach her work, too. --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This week I interview Maha Al Musa, a childbirth educator, mother and birth activist living in Australia. Maha is the founder of EMBODYBIRTH and has been sharing her wisdom surrounding the physiology of birth for almost three decades.

Maha shares her three birth stories - including a home birth with midwives at the age of 46. We also talk about cultivating autonomy in birth, and discuss natural term breastfeeding. Maha gained a fair bit of publicity when she allowed her daughter to breastfeed as long as she wanted, taking cues from her child rather than society's rules!

We also delve into Maha's own childhood experiences, which is an incredible tale. At just 6 months of age, Maha was kidnapped by her father and separated from her birth mother, taken overseas and raised in Australia. We speak about her connection to the maternal lineage and how finding her mother helped heal parts of her which helped her to go on and have her own family.

This episode feels different to my others, and really very special. I hope you enjoy hearing Maha speak so passionately about pregnancy and birth! You can find her at https://mahaalmusa.com/ where she teaches her EMBODYBIRTH programme, and also certifies others to teach her work, too.

---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3219 EP21 Emma | Unexplained Infertility, Cervical Stitch, No Epidural Available, GBS Positive, Breastfeeding Struggles https://realbirth.co.uk/ Welcome back to series 3 of The Real Birth Podcast! Kicking off the series is an interview with my good friend Emma, who gave birth to her son in 2016. Emma is a teacher and a single mum to her son Wren. She and her partner at the time struggled with unexplained infertility, but eventually did fall pregnant after trying for several years. Emma has a history of Colposcopy - where tissue is removed from the cervix as part of cancer-prevention treatment. Because of this, she needed to have a cervical stitch placed early in her pregnancy, which would stop her cervix opening too early and preventing early birth. Emma also tested positive for Group B strep during pregnancy, and decided to birth in hospital so she could access antibiotics. Her birth didn't go to plan when there was no one available to administer a much-wanted epidural! I hope you love this episode - I certainly do - and thank you SO much again for joining me for season 3! --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 30 Nov 2022 08:00:00 -0000 Emma | Unexplained Infertility, Cervical Stitch, No Epidural Available, GBS Positive, Breastfeeding Struggles full 3 1 Lucy Hill Hear Emma's birth story - from unexplained infertility to cervical stitch and breastfeeding struggles. Welcome back to series 3 of The Real Birth Podcast! Kicking off the series is an interview with my good friend Emma, who gave birth to her son in 2016. Emma is a teacher and a single mum to her son Wren. She and her partner at the time struggled with unexplained infertility, but eventually did fall pregnant after trying for several years. Emma has a history of Colposcopy - where tissue is removed from the cervix as part of cancer-prevention treatment. Because of this, she needed to have a cervical stitch placed early in her pregnancy, which would stop her cervix opening too early and preventing early birth. Emma also tested positive for Group B strep during pregnancy, and decided to birth in hospital so she could access antibiotics. Her birth didn't go to plan when there was no one available to administer a much-wanted epidural! I hope you love this episode - I certainly do - and thank you SO much again for joining me for season 3! --------------------------------- This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates. Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course. As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course.  Here's a bit more about the course: Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home.  The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain.  The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future. To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Welcome back to series 3 of The Real Birth Podcast! Kicking off the series is an interview with my good friend Emma, who gave birth to her son in 2016.

Emma is a teacher and a single mum to her son Wren. She and her partner at the time struggled with unexplained infertility, but eventually did fall pregnant after trying for several years. Emma has a history of Colposcopy - where tissue is removed from the cervix as part of cancer-prevention treatment. Because of this, she needed to have a cervical stitch placed early in her pregnancy, which would stop her cervix opening too early and preventing early birth.

Emma also tested positive for Group B strep during pregnancy, and decided to birth in hospital so she could access antibiotics. Her birth didn't go to plan when there was no one available to administer a much-wanted epidural!

I hope you love this episode - I certainly do - and thank you SO much again for joining me for season 3!

---------------------------------

This season I'm thrilled to be working with my first ever sponsor: Bridge House Pilates.

Bridge House Pilates was founded by Meaghan, a Texan-born pregnancy, postnatal and low back pain specialist Pilates teacher now living in Somerset. Meaghan is a fan of the show and reached out to see whether my listeners might be interested in a special discount for her brand new postnatal Pilates course.

As well as sponsoring the show, Meaghan has created an exclusive discount for my listeners and I'm really thrilled to be able to offer you guys 20% off the Bridge House Pilates postnatal pilates online course. 

Here's a bit more about the course:

Thinking about moving your body after having a baby can be daunting, not least because you somehow need to get yourself dressed and out the house - but Bridge House Pilates' NEW online, on-demand postnatal course can be enjoyed at any time, all from the comfort of your own home. 

The course is flexible, bite-sized and perfectly suited to the chaos of new parenthood! Weekly sessions focus on relaxation, building core strength, healing your pelvic floor and addressing common muscular issues such as diastasis recti and back pain. 

The course is designed with busy new mums in mind. Each week is broken down into 5 videos lasting between 5-15 minutes each. The platform will even track your progress if you get stopped partway through a video

Signing up also grants you lifetime access to all the course material, so you can return to your workouts whenever you need to - even if you go on to have more pregnancies in future.

To find out more about Bridge House Pilates' course and to benefit from our sponsorship discount, click here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4838 EP20 Cat | TTC, IVF, Twin Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Induction, Pregnancy Over 40 https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/cat This episode is the final episode of season 2! Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported me this series, it's been an incredible time and the stories I've been able to share have been amazing. To mark the season finale, I'm thrilled to have interviewed Cat Strawbridge, who you may know if you're on instagram in the TTC/IVF/pregnancy after loss space. Cat and her husband started trying for a baby when they got married in 2016, but it was almost a decade of trying, IUI, IVF and pregnancy loss before their beautiful rainbow baby Wren was in their arms. Due to a shortage of beds in her local hospital, Cat's induction was lengthier than planned, but Cat worked hard to keep positive, knowing her much longed-for baby was soon to be with her at last. Cat now works with families who are struggling to conceive, or those who are finally pregnant after infertility and loss. You can connect with her on instagram - @tryingyears and @finallypregnant. I hope you enjoy this week's episode and I'll see you again for season 3 very soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 17 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP20 Cat | TTC, IVF, Twin Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Induction, Pregnancy Over 40 full 2 10 Lucy Hill This episode is the final episode of season 2! Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported me this series, it's been an incredible time and the stories I've been able to share have been amazing. To mark the season finale, I'm thrilled to have interviewed Cat Strawbridge, who you may know if you're on instagram in the TTC/IVF/pregnancy after loss space. Cat and her husband started trying for a baby when they got married in 2016, but it was almost a decade of trying, IUI, IVF and pregnancy loss before their beautiful rainbow baby Wren was in their arms. Due to a shortage of beds in her local hospital, Cat's induction was lengthier than planned, but Cat worked hard to keep positive, knowing her much longed-for baby was soon to be with her at last. Cat now works with families who are struggling to conceive, or those who are finally pregnant after infertility and loss. You can connect with her on instagram - @tryingyears and @finallypregnant. I hope you enjoy this week's episode and I'll see you again for season 3 very soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This episode is the final episode of season 2! Thank you to everyone who has listened and supported me this series, it's been an incredible time and the stories I've been able to share have been amazing.

To mark the season finale, I'm thrilled to have interviewed Cat Strawbridge, who you may know if you're on instagram in the TTC/IVF/pregnancy after loss space.

Cat and her husband started trying for a baby when they got married in 2016, but it was almost a decade of trying, IUI, IVF and pregnancy loss before their beautiful rainbow baby Wren was in their arms.

Due to a shortage of beds in her local hospital, Cat's induction was lengthier than planned, but Cat worked hard to keep positive, knowing her much longed-for baby was soon to be with her at last.

Cat now works with families who are struggling to conceive, or those who are finally pregnant after infertility and loss. You can connect with her on instagram - @tryingyears and @finallypregnant.

I hope you enjoy this week's episode and I'll see you again for season 3 very soon!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3492 yes EP19 Oona | Home Birth Transfer, Meconium, Postpartum Haemorrhage PPH, Independent Midwife, Birth Centre Birth https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/oona This week my guest is Oona, who shares two very different birth stories. Oona planned home births for both her babies, but was transferred to hospital with her first daughter for suspected meconium (that's baby poo!) in her waters, and with her second daughter Oona was admitted to the birth centre for having a rare antibody show up in her blood tests in pregnancy. This meant her baby may need additional care after birth (which no one could predict or know about until the day) and so their plans understandably changed. During her second pregnancy, Oona had a negative experience with her NHS appointments, and was immediately labelled 'high risk' due to a postpartum haemorrhage in her first birth. In order to feel calm and in control of the birth she wanted, Oona hired an independent midwife - something she highly recommends - who worked hard to protect her from the pressure to be induced once she got to 40 weeks. Oona lives in Penzance in Cornwall and you'll hear the seagulls overhead while we talk. I love this episode for many reasons but I am really thrilled that I can bring you a story of a mother who can explain what it's really like to hire an independent midwife as this is something I am asked about now and again. I hope you enjoy today's story... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP19 Oona | Home Birth Transfer, Meconium, Postpartum Haemorrhage PPH, Independent Midwife, Birth Centre Birth full 2 9 Lucy Hill This week my guest is Oona, who shares two very different birth stories. Oona planned home births for both her babies, but was transferred to hospital with her first daughter for suspected meconium (that's baby poo!) in her waters, and with her second daughter Oona was admitted to the birth centre for having a rare antibody show up in her blood tests in pregnancy. This meant her baby may need additional care after birth (which no one could predict or know about until the day) and so their plans understandably changed. During her second pregnancy, Oona had a negative experience with her NHS appointments, and was immediately labelled 'high risk' due to a postpartum haemorrhage in her first birth. In order to feel calm and in control of the birth she wanted, Oona hired an independent midwife - something she highly recommends - who worked hard to protect her from the pressure to be induced once she got to 40 weeks. Oona lives in Penzance in Cornwall and you'll hear the seagulls overhead while we talk. I love this episode for many reasons but I am really thrilled that I can bring you a story of a mother who can explain what it's really like to hire an independent midwife as this is something I am asked about now and again. I hope you enjoy today's story... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This week my guest is Oona, who shares two very different birth stories. Oona planned home births for both her babies, but was transferred to hospital with her first daughter for suspected meconium (that's baby poo!) in her waters, and with her second daughter Oona was admitted to the birth centre for having a rare antibody show up in her blood tests in pregnancy.

This meant her baby may need additional care after birth (which no one could predict or know about until the day) and so their plans understandably changed. During her second pregnancy, Oona had a negative experience with her NHS appointments, and was immediately labelled 'high risk' due to a postpartum haemorrhage in her first birth.

In order to feel calm and in control of the birth she wanted, Oona hired an independent midwife - something she highly recommends - who worked hard to protect her from the pressure to be induced once she got to 40 weeks.

Oona lives in Penzance in Cornwall and you'll hear the seagulls overhead while we talk. I love this episode for many reasons but I am really thrilled that I can bring you a story of a mother who can explain what it's really like to hire an independent midwife as this is something I am asked about now and again. I hope you enjoy today's story...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4028 yes EP18 Andrea | Stillbirth, Endometriosis, Polyhydramnios, Breast Milk Donation, IVF https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/andrea This week's guest is Andrea, whose son Bodhi was stillborn at 30 weeks. Andrea suffers from endometriosis, and after two failed rounds of IVF, Andrea and her husband Sam found themselves unexpectedly pregnant naturally. At just over 29 weeks, Andrea noticed Bodhi had stopped moving, and immediately knew something wasn't right. It is every parent's worst nightmare to be told their baby has died - and this episode is understandably very emotional. After Bodhi's death, she and husband Sam made a conscious choice to live good, full lives in their son's honour - and Andrea went on to donate her breastmilk to help care for sick babies who needed it. She regularly raises money, donates to charitable causes and makes positive choices because of Bodhi. One of the things that helped Andrea and Sam after Bodhi died, was the arrival of a gorgeous French bulldog, Marley. I visited Andrea at her home not to far from me, and you'll hear Marley having a good old snort away in the background - which personally I love as he is such a shining light in Andrea's life and deserves to be featured! This episode is extremely honest, raw and open about stillbirth - and if you're not feeling in a good place to listen to this right now, then please do skip over this episode and come back when you're feeling ready. I believe it is so important to share all birth stories - and it was a complete honour and a privilege that Andrea has shared Bodhi's memory with me - and by extension, all of you. Thanks for listening and I hope you fall in love with Andrea as hard as I did! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 03 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP18 Andrea | Stillbirth, Endometriosis, Polyhydramnios, Breast Milk Donation, IVF full 2 8 Lucy Hill This week's guest is Andrea, whose son Bodhi was stillborn at 30 weeks. Andrea suffers from endometriosis, and after two failed rounds of IVF, Andrea and her husband Sam found themselves unexpectedly pregnant naturally. At just over 29 weeks, Andrea noticed Bodhi had stopped moving, and immediately knew something wasn't right. It is every parent's worst nightmare to be told their baby has died - and this episode is understandably very emotional. After Bodhi's death, she and husband Sam made a conscious choice to live good, full lives in their son's honour - and Andrea went on to donate her breastmilk to help care for sick babies who needed it. She regularly raises money, donates to charitable causes and makes positive choices because of Bodhi. One of the things that helped Andrea and Sam after Bodhi died, was the arrival of a gorgeous French bulldog, Marley. I visited Andrea at her home not to far from me, and you'll hear Marley having a good old snort away in the background - which personally I love as he is such a shining light in Andrea's life and deserves to be featured! This episode is extremely honest, raw and open about stillbirth - and if you're not feeling in a good place to listen to this right now, then please do skip over this episode and come back when you're feeling ready. I believe it is so important to share all birth stories - and it was a complete honour and a privilege that Andrea has shared Bodhi's memory with me - and by extension, all of you. Thanks for listening and I hope you fall in love with Andrea as hard as I did! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This week's guest is Andrea, whose son Bodhi was stillborn at 30 weeks. Andrea suffers from endometriosis, and after two failed rounds of IVF, Andrea and her husband Sam found themselves unexpectedly pregnant naturally.

At just over 29 weeks, Andrea noticed Bodhi had stopped moving, and immediately knew something wasn't right. It is every parent's worst nightmare to be told their baby has died - and this episode is understandably very emotional. After Bodhi's death, she and husband Sam made a conscious choice to live good, full lives in their son's honour - and Andrea went on to donate her breastmilk to help care for sick babies who needed it. She regularly raises money, donates to charitable causes and makes positive choices because of Bodhi.

One of the things that helped Andrea and Sam after Bodhi died, was the arrival of a gorgeous French bulldog, Marley. I visited Andrea at her home not to far from me, and you'll hear Marley having a good old snort away in the background - which personally I love as he is such a shining light in Andrea's life and deserves to be featured!

This episode is extremely honest, raw and open about stillbirth - and if you're not feeling in a good place to listen to this right now, then please do skip over this episode and come back when you're feeling ready. I believe it is so important to share all birth stories - and it was a complete honour and a privilege that Andrea has shared Bodhi's memory with me - and by extension, all of you.

Thanks for listening and I hope you fall in love with Andrea as hard as I did!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4588 yes EP17 Tara | Pregnancy Loss, Suspected Big Baby, Planned Caesarean, Breastfeeding Struggles https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/tara This week I interview Tara, who had her daughter after two pregnancy losses. Tara and her partners had actually stopped trying to conceive when she found herself pregnant unexpectedly - much to their delight! Tara's baby measured big throughout her pregnancy and she was offered additional growth scans to track her size. She was placed under consultant care and recommended either early induction or a c-section due to perceived risks. Tara was happy to plan her caesarean birth as she found having this plan helped her anxiety. When her baby was born, she was much smaller than they'd predicted, much to everyone's surprise. We chatted a lot about Tara's postnatal experience and the importance of getting the right support when it comes to recovery and breastfeeding. I hope you enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 27 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP17 Tara | Pregnancy Loss, Suspected Big Baby, Planned Caesarean, Breastfeeding Struggles full 7 Lucy Hill This week I interview Tara, who had her daughter after two pregnancy losses. Tara and her partners had actually stopped trying to conceive when she found herself pregnant unexpectedly - much to their delight! Tara's baby measured big throughout her pregnancy and she was offered additional growth scans to track her size. She was placed under consultant care and recommended either early induction or a c-section due to perceived risks. Tara was happy to plan her caesarean birth as she found having this plan helped her anxiety. When her baby was born, she was much smaller than they'd predicted, much to everyone's surprise. We chatted a lot about Tara's postnatal experience and the importance of getting the right support when it comes to recovery and breastfeeding. I hope you enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This week I interview Tara, who had her daughter after two pregnancy losses. Tara and her partners had actually stopped trying to conceive when she found herself pregnant unexpectedly - much to their delight!

Tara's baby measured big throughout her pregnancy and she was offered additional growth scans to track her size. She was placed under consultant care and recommended either early induction or a c-section due to perceived risks.

Tara was happy to plan her caesarean birth as she found having this plan helped her anxiety. When her baby was born, she was much smaller than they'd predicted, much to everyone's surprise.

We chatted a lot about Tara's postnatal experience and the importance of getting the right support when it comes to recovery and breastfeeding.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2598 yes EP16 Jo | Surprise Pregnancy, Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Induction, Episiotomy, https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/jo Today I interview Jo, who had her baby in 2021. Jo has Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affects her joints and ligaments. This was an extra consideration during pregnancy and when planning for her birth. After speaking to a consultant, Jo decided to birth in hospital, and after several episodes of protein in her urine and feeling unwell, opted for an induction. Her body was already going into labour however, and it wasn't long before she was having her baby. Jo had an episiotomy, and birthed on her back which isn't what she initially wanted, but she feels her birth was positive overall. She has some great resources, such as The Naked Doula on instagram and Rachel Fitz-Desorgher, an expert midwife who speaks about EDS a lot. I hope you enjoy this week's episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 20 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP16 Jo | Surprise Pregnancy, Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Induction, Episiotomy, full 2 6 Lucy Hill Today I interview Jo, who had her baby in 2021. Jo has Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affects her joints and ligaments. This was an extra consideration during pregnancy and when planning for her birth. After speaking to a consultant, Jo decided to birth in hospital, and after several episodes of protein in her urine and feeling unwell, opted for an induction. Her body was already going into labour however, and it wasn't long before she was having her baby. Jo had an episiotomy, and birthed on her back which isn't what she initially wanted, but she feels her birth was positive overall. She has some great resources, such as The Naked Doula on instagram and Rachel Fitz-Desorgher, an expert midwife who speaks about EDS a lot. I hope you enjoy this week's episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Today I interview Jo, who had her baby in 2021.

Jo has Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affects her joints and ligaments. This was an extra consideration during pregnancy and when planning for her birth.

After speaking to a consultant, Jo decided to birth in hospital, and after several episodes of protein in her urine and feeling unwell, opted for an induction. Her body was already going into labour however, and it wasn't long before she was having her baby.

Jo had an episiotomy, and birthed on her back which isn't what she initially wanted, but she feels her birth was positive overall. She has some great resources, such as The Naked Doula on instagram and Rachel Fitz-Desorgher, an expert midwife who speaks about EDS a lot.

I hope you enjoy this week's episode!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4181 yes EP15 Maggie | Miscarriage, Home Birth, Undiagnosed Breech, Freebirth, Unassisted Birth https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/maggie This week my guest is Maggie, who joins me all the way from Texas, USA. Maggie's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, and she was understandably nervous about falling pregnant again. When she did conceive, she planned a home birth with a midwife, which is unusual for her area in Texas. Despite being a positive birth at home (with an undiagnosed breech baby!), Maggie didn't click with her midwife and felt there was a lot of tension caused by her. For her second pregnancy, Maggie knew she again wanted a home birth and employed the same midwifery team as they were financially the best option for her. However, due to covid restrictions, her midwife refused to attend a home birth and she was pressured into agreeing to a birth centre birth - despite knowing she didn't want to do this. In the lead up to her due date, Maggie knew she was never going to attend the birth centre, and she started preparing to birth unassisted. Maggie's story is inspiring and demonstrates what true autonomous, empowered birth can look like. I hope you enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 13 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP15 Maggie | Miscarriage, Home Birth, Undiagnosed Breech, Freebirth, Unassisted Birth full 2 5 Lucy Hill This week my guest is Maggie, who joins me all the way from Texas, USA. Maggie's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, and she was understandably nervous about falling pregnant again. When she did conceive, she planned a home birth with a midwife, which is unusual for her area in Texas. Despite being a positive birth at home (with an undiagnosed breech baby!), Maggie didn't click with her midwife and felt there was a lot of tension caused by her. For her second pregnancy, Maggie knew she again wanted a home birth and employed the same midwifery team as they were financially the best option for her. However, due to covid restrictions, her midwife refused to attend a home birth and she was pressured into agreeing to a birth centre birth - despite knowing she didn't want to do this. In the lead up to her due date, Maggie knew she was never going to attend the birth centre, and she started preparing to birth unassisted. Maggie's story is inspiring and demonstrates what true autonomous, empowered birth can look like. I hope you enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices This week my guest is Maggie, who joins me all the way from Texas, USA.

Maggie's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, and she was understandably nervous about falling pregnant again. When she did conceive, she planned a home birth with a midwife, which is unusual for her area in Texas.

Despite being a positive birth at home (with an undiagnosed breech baby!), Maggie didn't click with her midwife and felt there was a lot of tension caused by her. For her second pregnancy, Maggie knew she again wanted a home birth and employed the same midwifery team as they were financially the best option for her.

However, due to covid restrictions, her midwife refused to attend a home birth and she was pressured into agreeing to a birth centre birth - despite knowing she didn't want to do this. In the lead up to her due date, Maggie knew she was never going to attend the birth centre, and she started preparing to birth unassisted.

Maggie's story is inspiring and demonstrates what true autonomous, empowered birth can look like. I hope you enjoy this episode!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3752 yes EP14 Rosie | Home Birth Transfer, Long Labour, Perineal Massage, Mastitis, Extended Breastfeeding https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/rosie In this episode, Rosie shares the birth story of her first baby. Rosie planned a home birth and was supported by a continuity of care midwife whom she saw for every appointment. After a long labour at home, Rosie decided to transfer to hospital due to exhaustion - but realised when she arrived at hospital her baby was imminent! Two weeks after her baby was born, COVID hit and Rosie's maternity leave experience was spent in isolation, which was tough mentally but allowed for a wonderful breastfeeding relationship to be established. Rosie also experienced mastitis, but chose not to go in to hospital as, due to COVID, she would have been separated from her 10-day old baby. I hope you enjoy Rosie's story! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 06 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP14 Rosie | Home Birth Transfer, Long Labour, Perineal Massage, Mastitis, Extended Breastfeeding full 2 4 Lucy Hill In this episode, Rosie shares the birth story of her first baby. Rosie planned a home birth and was supported by a continuity of care midwife whom she saw for every appointment. After a long labour at home, Rosie decided to transfer to hospital due to exhaustion - but realised when she arrived at hospital her baby was imminent! Two weeks after her baby was born, COVID hit and Rosie's maternity leave experience was spent in isolation, which was tough mentally but allowed for a wonderful breastfeeding relationship to be established. Rosie also experienced mastitis, but chose not to go in to hospital as, due to COVID, she would have been separated from her 10-day old baby. I hope you enjoy Rosie's story! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices In this episode, Rosie shares the birth story of her first baby.

Rosie planned a home birth and was supported by a continuity of care midwife whom she saw for every appointment. After a long labour at home, Rosie decided to transfer to hospital due to exhaustion - but realised when she arrived at hospital her baby was imminent!

Two weeks after her baby was born, COVID hit and Rosie's maternity leave experience was spent in isolation, which was tough mentally but allowed for a wonderful breastfeeding relationship to be established.

Rosie also experienced mastitis, but chose not to go in to hospital as, due to COVID, she would have been separated from her 10-day old baby.

I hope you enjoy Rosie's story!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3040 yes EP13 Sarah | 2 Fast Labours, Overdue Baby, Fertility Awareness Method, Painless Contractions https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/sarahb In today's episode I meet Sarah, who had two very fast labour and births. Her husband was more keen to have a baby than she was, and so she was surprised when she stopped taking the pill and discovered she was pregnant before she'd even had a period. Sarah's first pregnancy was discovered late, and her exact dates were unknown - but all suspected her baby was post-dates. Her labour was fast and furious but without the 'pain' she had been told to expect. Her medical team couldn't believe she was having a baby! Her second birth was equally as speedy, but her baby was in a suboptimal position which caused some issues. When he finally shifted position, he was out very quickly! Between pregnancies, Sarah discovered the Fertility Awareness Method of Birth Control and used this to both achieve and avoid pregnancy without artificial hormones. She believes this made her second pregnancy much more relaxed as she knew exactly when she had conceived. We hope you enjoy this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 29 Jun 2022 12:00:00 -0000 EP13 Sarah | 2 Fast Labours, Overdue Baby, Fertility Awareness Method, Painless Contractions full 2 3 Lucy Hill In today's episode I meet Sarah, who had two very fast labour and births. Her husband was more keen to have a baby than she was, and so she was surprised when she stopped taking the pill and discovered she was pregnant before she'd even had a period. Sarah's first pregnancy was discovered late, and her exact dates were unknown - but all suspected her baby was post-dates. Her labour was fast and furious but without the 'pain' she had been told to expect. Her medical team couldn't believe she was having a baby! Her second birth was equally as speedy, but her baby was in a suboptimal position which caused some issues. When he finally shifted position, he was out very quickly! Between pregnancies, Sarah discovered the Fertility Awareness Method of Birth Control and used this to both achieve and avoid pregnancy without artificial hormones. She believes this made her second pregnancy much more relaxed as she knew exactly when she had conceived. We hope you enjoy this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices In today's episode I meet Sarah, who had two very fast labour and births. Her husband was more keen to have a baby than she was, and so she was surprised when she stopped taking the pill and discovered she was pregnant before she'd even had a period.

Sarah's first pregnancy was discovered late, and her exact dates were unknown - but all suspected her baby was post-dates. Her labour was fast and furious but without the 'pain' she had been told to expect. Her medical team couldn't believe she was having a baby!

Her second birth was equally as speedy, but her baby was in a suboptimal position which caused some issues. When he finally shifted position, he was out very quickly!

Between pregnancies, Sarah discovered the Fertility Awareness Method of Birth Control and used this to both achieve and avoid pregnancy without artificial hormones. She believes this made her second pregnancy much more relaxed as she knew exactly when she had conceived.

We hope you enjoy this episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4060 yes EP12 Holly | Congenital Heart Defect, Planned C-Section, Newborn Surgery, NICU Stays https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/holly 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 oxygen rich blood around the body. Their consultant described her condition as 'incompatible with life' unless baby Ivy had surgery within days of her birth. Holly tells the story of what it was like to accept a diagnosis for her baby before she had even been born, and how she prepared for the inevitable surgery which was to come. Holly also shares her second birth story, with her son Walter, who (for completely unrelated reasons!) also spent a short time in NICU. Holly is so articulate, so calm and so easy to talk to and I hope you enjoy this episode - I learned so much from listening to her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 22 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP12 Holly | Congenital Heart Defect, Planned C-Section, Newborn Surgery, NICU Stays full 2 2 Lucy Hill 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 oxygen rich blood around the body. Their consultant described her condition as 'incompatible with life' unless baby Ivy had surgery within days of her birth. Holly tells the story of what it was like to accept a diagnosis for her baby before she had even been born, and how she prepared for the inevitable surgery which was to come. Holly also shares her second birth story, with her son Walter, who (for completely unrelated reasons!) also spent a short time in NICU. Holly is so articulate, so calm and so easy to talk to and I hope you enjoy this episode - I learned so much from listening to her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 oxygen rich blood around the body. Their consultant described her condition as 'incompatible with life' unless baby Ivy had surgery within days of her birth.

Holly tells the story of what it was like to accept a diagnosis for her baby before she had even been born, and how she prepared for the inevitable surgery which was to come.

Holly also shares her second birth story, with her son Walter, who (for completely unrelated reasons!) also spent a short time in NICU.

Holly is so articulate, so calm and so easy to talk to and I hope you enjoy this episode - I learned so much from listening to her.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3058 yes EP11 Grace | Birth Centre Transfer, Episiotomy, Single Motherhood, Sister Support https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/grace 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, Grace transferred to hospital and had an episiotomy in theatre to help her baby be born. Giving birth during the height of the pandemic meant Grace had to make some difficult decisions about who she wanted present at her birth - her sister, who's love and support she desired the most, or her baby's father. I hope you enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 15 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP11 Grace | Birth Centre Transfer, Episiotomy, Single Motherhood, Sister Support full 2 1 Lucy Hill 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, Grace transferred to hospital and had an episiotomy in theatre to help her baby be born. Giving birth during the height of the pandemic meant Grace had to make some difficult decisions about who she wanted present at her birth - her sister, who's love and support she desired the most, or her baby's father. I hope you enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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, Grace transferred to hospital and had an episiotomy in theatre to help her baby be born.

Giving birth during the height of the pandemic meant Grace had to make some difficult decisions about who she wanted present at her birth - her sister, who's love and support she desired the most, or her baby's father.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4007 yes EP10 Rhiannon | Induction, Hyperstimulation, Walking Epidural, Unplanned Caesarean, Exclusive Pumping https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/rhiannon 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 or effective. She chose to have an epidural, and after several hours of her labour not progressing in a healthy way, she made the empowered and informed decision to have a c-section. After her baby was born, Rhiannon struggled to breastfeed and talks about her incredible journey of exclusively pumping - making more than enough milk for her baby and helping to feed another sick little one, too. I really hope you enjoy this episode, and I look forward to seeing you for season 2! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 13 Apr 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP10 Rhiannon | Induction, Hyperstimulation, Walking Epidural, Unplanned Caesarean, Exclusive Pumping full 1 10 Lucy Hill 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 or effective. She chose to have an epidural, and after several hours of her labour not progressing in a healthy way, she made the empowered and informed decision to have a c-section. After her baby was born, Rhiannon struggled to breastfeed and talks about her incredible journey of exclusively pumping - making more than enough milk for her baby and helping to feed another sick little one, too. I really hope you enjoy this episode, and I look forward to seeing you for season 2! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 or effective. She chose to have an epidural, and after several hours of her labour not progressing in a healthy way, she made the empowered and informed decision to have a c-section.

After her baby was born, Rhiannon struggled to breastfeed and talks about her incredible journey of exclusively pumping - making more than enough milk for her baby and helping to feed another sick little one, too.

I really hope you enjoy this episode, and I look forward to seeing you for season 2!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4080 yes EP9 Lisa | Elective Caesarean, Birth Rights, Anxiety, Miscarriage, Breastfeeding Struggles https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/lisa 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 baby by caesarean, and the misinformation she encountered surrounding breastfeeding her baby. Her words of advice are wonderful for anyone who is thinking about their birth choices and their rights in pregnancy, labour and birth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 06 Apr 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP9 Lisa | Elective Caesarean, Birth Rights, Anxiety, Miscarriage, Breastfeeding Struggles full 1 9 Lucy Hill 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 baby by caesarean, and the misinformation she encountered surrounding breastfeeding her baby. Her words of advice are wonderful for anyone who is thinking about their birth choices and their rights in pregnancy, labour and birth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 baby by caesarean, and the misinformation she encountered surrounding breastfeeding her baby. Her words of advice are wonderful for anyone who is thinking about their birth choices and their rights in pregnancy, labour and birth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3164 no EP8 Emma | Home Birth Transfer, Oxygen Deprivation, Cerebral Palsy, NICU Stay, Healing Second Birth, Hypnobirthing, Water Birth https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/emma 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 their family processed this information while seeking the compensation they needed in order to effectively care for Ted. Emma's second birth was a water birth using hypnobirthing, which she describes as healing, and exactly what she needed. Emma speaks with such clarity and has some wonderful words of wisdom and advice for families faced with a similar diagnosis or scenario. My thanks go to her for sharing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 30 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP8 Emma | Home Birth Transfer, Oxygen Deprivation, Cerebral Palsy, NICU Stay, Healing Second Birth, Hypnobirthing, Water Birth full 1 8 Lucy Hill 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 their family processed this information while seeking the compensation they needed in order to effectively care for Ted. Emma's second birth was a water birth using hypnobirthing, which she describes as healing, and exactly what she needed. Emma speaks with such clarity and has some wonderful words of wisdom and advice for families faced with a similar diagnosis or scenario. My thanks go to her for sharing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 their family processed this information while seeking the compensation they needed in order to effectively care for Ted.

Emma's second birth was a water birth using hypnobirthing, which she describes as healing, and exactly what she needed.

Emma speaks with such clarity and has some wonderful words of wisdom and advice for families faced with a similar diagnosis or scenario. My thanks go to her for sharing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4001 no EP7 Kate | Home Birth Transfer, Cystic Fibrosis, Tongue Tie, Fast Labour, Thyroid Issue https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/kate 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 lives with Cystic Fibrosis, and in between her pregnancies, Kate suffered with thyroid issues as well as very high blood pressure. Her story is a brilliant example of advocating for yourself in the medical system, whether pregnancy related or not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 23 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP7 Kate | Home Birth Transfer, Cystic Fibrosis, Tongue Tie, Fast Labour, Thyroid Issue full 1 7 Lucy Hill 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 lives with Cystic Fibrosis, and in between her pregnancies, Kate suffered with thyroid issues as well as very high blood pressure. Her story is a brilliant example of advocating for yourself in the medical system, whether pregnancy related or not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 lives with Cystic Fibrosis, and in between her pregnancies, Kate suffered with thyroid issues as well as very high blood pressure. Her story is a brilliant example of advocating for yourself in the medical system, whether pregnancy related or not.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 4256 yes EP6 Jade | 2 Big Babies, 1 Waterbirth, 1 Emergency Caesarean, Induction, Cord Prolapse https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/jade 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 to have an emergency c-section. Jade talks at length about the stark difference between her two birth experiences, in particular giving birth during the Covid-19 pandemic - which meant a whole host of rules and restrictions surrounded her hospital stay. She describes her second birth as 'dramatic, not traumatic', but Jade did feel that the experience of her son being born was not as positive due to the pandemic, and also her induction. I hope you enjoy this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 16 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP6 Jade | 2 Big Babies, 1 Waterbirth, 1 Emergency Caesarean, Induction, Cord Prolapse full 1 6 Lucy Hill 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 to have an emergency c-section. Jade talks at length about the stark difference between her two birth experiences, in particular giving birth during the Covid-19 pandemic - which meant a whole host of rules and restrictions surrounded her hospital stay. She describes her second birth as 'dramatic, not traumatic', but Jade did feel that the experience of her son being born was not as positive due to the pandemic, and also her induction. I hope you enjoy this week's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 to have an emergency c-section.

Jade talks at length about the stark difference between her two birth experiences, in particular giving birth during the Covid-19 pandemic - which meant a whole host of rules and restrictions surrounded her hospital stay.

She describes her second birth as 'dramatic, not traumatic', but Jade did feel that the experience of her son being born was not as positive due to the pandemic, and also her induction.

I hope you enjoy this week's episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3237 yes EP5 Jackie | Home Birth, Third Baby, Husband's Birth Preparation, Student Midwife Support https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/jackie 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 everything she could to make this happen. Jackie's husband Joe had attended the births of his two elder children, but as both were caesarean births this was his first experience of a vaginal birth - and of a home birth. She shares how Joe was able to mentally prepare for the day thanks to a local Doula who offered a 1:1 preparation session for them both. Despite the midwifery staffing crisis meaning she was urged to transfer into the labour ward whilst she was in advanced labour, Jackie's student midwife advocated for the family's wishes and refused to abandon the home birth plan. Otto was born shortly after in the living room! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 09 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP5 Jackie | Home Birth, Third Baby, Husband's Birth Preparation, Student Midwife Support full 1 5 Lucy Hill 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 everything she could to make this happen. Jackie's husband Joe had attended the births of his two elder children, but as both were caesarean births this was his first experience of a vaginal birth - and of a home birth. She shares how Joe was able to mentally prepare for the day thanks to a local Doula who offered a 1:1 preparation session for them both. Despite the midwifery staffing crisis meaning she was urged to transfer into the labour ward whilst she was in advanced labour, Jackie's student midwife advocated for the family's wishes and refused to abandon the home birth plan. Otto was born shortly after in the living room! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 everything she could to make this happen.

Jackie's husband Joe had attended the births of his two elder children, but as both were caesarean births this was his first experience of a vaginal birth - and of a home birth. She shares how Joe was able to mentally prepare for the day thanks to a local Doula who offered a 1:1 preparation session for them both.

Despite the midwifery staffing crisis meaning she was urged to transfer into the labour ward whilst she was in advanced labour, Jackie's student midwife advocated for the family's wishes and refused to abandon the home birth plan. Otto was born shortly after in the living room!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2632 yes EP4 Deanna | Didn't Know I Was Pregnant! PCOS, Premature Baby, NICU, Postnatal Depression https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/deanna 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 until she was in fll-blown labour. Just four hours after being admitted to hospital with what she thought was severe abdominal pain, her daughter was born and placed in her arms! Having suffered from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) since she was 11, Dee had always experienced irregular periods and hormonal imbalances making her fertility hard to determine. Dee's daughter was delivered with no one knowing her gestational age, and so she spent some time in the NICU after her birth. Dee shares her emotional story of how such a massive shock impacted her mental health, and how she went about seeking support for her mental health in the first year of parenting. This truly is a rollercoaster ride of emotions - we hope you enjoy Dee's story! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 02 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP4 Deanna | Didn't Know I Was Pregnant! PCOS, Premature Baby, NICU, Postnatal Depression full 1 4 Lucy Hill 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 until she was in fll-blown labour. Just four hours after being admitted to hospital with what she thought was severe abdominal pain, her daughter was born and placed in her arms! Having suffered from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) since she was 11, Dee had always experienced irregular periods and hormonal imbalances making her fertility hard to determine. Dee's daughter was delivered with no one knowing her gestational age, and so she spent some time in the NICU after her birth. Dee shares her emotional story of how such a massive shock impacted her mental health, and how she went about seeking support for her mental health in the first year of parenting. This truly is a rollercoaster ride of emotions - we hope you enjoy Dee's story! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 until she was in fll-blown labour. Just four hours after being admitted to hospital with what she thought was severe abdominal pain, her daughter was born and placed in her arms!

Having suffered from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) since she was 11, Dee had always experienced irregular periods and hormonal imbalances making her fertility hard to determine.

Dee's daughter was delivered with no one knowing her gestational age, and so she spent some time in the NICU after her birth. Dee shares her emotional story of how such a massive shock impacted her mental health, and how she went about seeking support for her mental health in the first year of parenting.

This truly is a rollercoaster ride of emotions - we hope you enjoy Dee's story!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3696 yes EP3 Sarah | Drug-Free Home Birth, Water Birth, Solo Mothering, Birth in USA https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/sarah 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 home birth in a culture which so heavily promotes hospital birth and medical interventions, and how one progressive doctor turned her experience from stressful to blissful. After trying several natural induction methods, Sarah went into labour and birthed her baby at home in a pool. She was surrounded by strong female support, including her room mate, a photographer and her mum who had flown over to be present at her grandson's birth. Sarah later returned home to the UK and her story is a wonderful example of the differences in medical care here vs. across the pond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 23 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP3 Sarah | Drug-Free Home Birth, Water Birth, Solo Mothering, Birth in USA full 1 3 Lucy Hill 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 home birth in a culture which so heavily promotes hospital birth and medical interventions, and how one progressive doctor turned her experience from stressful to blissful. After trying several natural induction methods, Sarah went into labour and birthed her baby at home in a pool. She was surrounded by strong female support, including her room mate, a photographer and her mum who had flown over to be present at her grandson's birth. Sarah later returned home to the UK and her story is a wonderful example of the differences in medical care here vs. across the pond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 home birth in a culture which so heavily promotes hospital birth and medical interventions, and how one progressive doctor turned her experience from stressful to blissful.


After trying several natural induction methods, Sarah went into labour and birthed her baby at home in a pool. She was surrounded by strong female support, including her room mate, a photographer and her mum who had flown over to be present at her grandson's birth.


Sarah later returned home to the UK and her story is a wonderful example of the differences in medical care here vs. across the pond.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 2584 no EP2 Leanne | IVF, Placenta Previa, OHSS, Planned Caesarean, Bleeding In Pregnancy https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/leanne 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 to be possible, as a c-section is the only safe way to deliver a baby due to a high risk of blood loss with placenta previa. Despite having a planned caesarean due to a potential emergency in the event of spontaneous labour, the date of Leanne's surgery was moved several times and only after strongly advocating for themselves did Leanne and her husband manage to secure a fixed day for their son's birth. Leanne talks about the realities of how OHSS and IVF affected her body, and we also discuss how she handled letting go of the birth she thought she would have and accepted the cards she was dealt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 16 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP2 Leanne | IVF, Placenta Previa, OHSS, Planned Caesarean, Bleeding In Pregnancy full 1 2 Lucy Hill 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 to be possible, as a c-section is the only safe way to deliver a baby due to a high risk of blood loss with placenta previa. Despite having a planned caesarean due to a potential emergency in the event of spontaneous labour, the date of Leanne's surgery was moved several times and only after strongly advocating for themselves did Leanne and her husband manage to secure a fixed day for their son's birth. Leanne talks about the realities of how OHSS and IVF affected her body, and we also discuss how she handled letting go of the birth she thought she would have and accepted the cards she was dealt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 to be possible, as a c-section is the only safe way to deliver a baby due to a high risk of blood loss with placenta previa.

Despite having a planned caesarean due to a potential emergency in the event of spontaneous labour, the date of Leanne's surgery was moved several times and only after strongly advocating for themselves did Leanne and her husband manage to secure a fixed day for their son's birth.

Leanne talks about the realities of how OHSS and IVF affected her body, and we also discuss how she handled letting go of the birth she thought she would have and accepted the cards she was dealt.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3538 no EP1 Lucy | Home Birth Transfer, Undiagnosed Breech, Caesarean Birth, Doula Support https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/lucy 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 laboured at home with her husband and doula until her midwife arrived. Around 16 hours into labour, it was discovered that Lucy's baby was breech - a complete surprise to everyone. Lucy decided to transfer into her local hospital and made an informed, empowered choice to have a c-section birth. Rufus was born weighing 7lbs 8oz and latched immediately. Lucy shares her story of how planning and preparing for the unexpected helped her to avoid a traumatic birth, and how doula support not only helped during her pregnancy and birth, but also led to a life-changing career decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wed, 09 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0000 EP1 Lucy | Home Birth Transfer, Undiagnosed Breech, Caesarean Birth, Doula Support full 1 1 Lucy Hill 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 laboured at home with her husband and doula until her midwife arrived. Around 16 hours into labour, it was discovered that Lucy's baby was breech - a complete surprise to everyone. Lucy decided to transfer into her local hospital and made an informed, empowered choice to have a c-section birth. Rufus was born weighing 7lbs 8oz and latched immediately. Lucy shares her story of how planning and preparing for the unexpected helped her to avoid a traumatic birth, and how doula support not only helped during her pregnancy and birth, but also led to a life-changing career decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 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 laboured at home with her husband and doula until her midwife arrived. Around 16 hours into labour, it was discovered that Lucy's baby was breech - a complete surprise to everyone. Lucy decided to transfer into her local hospital and made an informed, empowered choice to have a c-section birth. Rufus was born weighing 7lbs 8oz and latched immediately.


Lucy shares her story of how planning and preparing for the unexpected helped her to avoid a traumatic birth, and how doula support not only helped during her pregnancy and birth, but also led to a life-changing career decision.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

]]> 3777 no Welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! https://the-real-birth-podcast.captivate.fm/episode/episode-0-welcome-to-the-real-birth-podcast 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 Mon, 24 Jan 2022 10:00:00 -0000 Welcome to The Real Birth Podcast! trailer 1 Lucy Hill 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 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

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