“Freebirthing has left me feeling so inspired with life and that there is nothing I know I can’t do after birthing on my own terms. It’s a certain type of high-on-life feeling that I knew I wouldn’t get if I had birthed in the hospital again” ~ Rhi

In today's episode of the Birth Realm, Rhi shares her two birth stories.

Her first birth included a systemic inflicted PPH (post partum haemorrhage), unnecessary surgery which resulted in an extended period of time where she was separated from her newborn baby and her partner.

Her second birth was a healing, redemptive freebirth. Rhi shares her story and the impact it’s had on, not only her and her baby, but her entire family.

"My name is Danika Gleeson, I’m a 34 year old mum of 3 (currently 28 weeks with number 4).

We freebirthed our third baby, our first boy, after 2 c sections with our girls. There was a lot of trauma attached particularly to our second daughter’s birth, I had PTSD and struggled a lot to connect with myself after her birth. When I fell pregnant with Banksi, I contacted local midwives who were unable to attend because of distance from a vba2c friendly hospital. This was a blessing in disguise as I know our story would be very different being that I was in labour for 5 days and nights with our little love.

I can’t even explain how that birth changed me. I feel more connected to myself, to my family, to my life, than I ever have before.

It really was the best experience of our lives. Since then, I’ve been supporting women as a doula in birth. It brings me great joy to support women to birth undisturbed. What a journey it has been. Thank you for receiving our story."

"My name is Jess Etcell and I live with my beloved and our 4 beautiful daughters on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, where we homeschool our 2 eldest girls. Birthing Dorothy (this story) transformed me in the most profound ways I could never have expected. I studied and was serving women in birth work before her birth, and since, I have catapulted fully into a world of supporting women to stay and work from home with their babies and reclaim their radiance and power as women. This birth activated me and gave me the internal strength to go for dreams I never felt capable of before. Dorothy’s birth was the most challenging, harrowing, blissful, perfect, painful, healing, affirming and amazing experience of my life to date and I’m so honoured to share our story with you."

"I'm Lauren. I’m 25 and have a 3 month old son, Ziggy Sol, who was born free at my home in Rye Victoria. We live together with my partner Reece and our 4 cats (who I can’t believe I forgot to mention in the podcast and are very important members of our family).

Birthing my Sun at home with Reece, my mum, doula Felicity, photographer Olivia and her 7 month old daughter Stevie, felt like the most natural event in the world. Because birth is. My wish is that every woman birthing has an intuitive, empowering and even boring birth experience. You can do it!"

"I’m Kirstie, Mum to 3 daughters, Astrid (5), Iris (4) and Ochre (3 months). We live with my partner Jez also, at the foothills of the mountains in N/E Victoria. Our most recent journey of pregnancy and birth with Ochre was incredible and it is a joy to share our story here with you. A big part of my preparation to freebirth was listening to birth story medicine and all the ways birth can unfold and how natural birth flows when left completely undisturbed. There is no right way to birth, but only that the ‘motherbaby’ is the expert. I am so proud to be a part of this collective remembering, a fine tuning of our intuition and deep connection to creation, and birthing in our fucking power!”

"I'm Jordan. I'm a 29 yr old mother of 3 with my partner Jackson. When I was pregnant with my 3rd baby I had thought about a homebirth but didn't follow it up because of the cost. Then COVID hit. I knew I did not want to risk birthing in hospital with restrictions (and all of the unknowns) and at 34 weeks, decided to freebirth my baby. Once I made that decision, I totally relaxed and went head first into working through any and all fears that came up and felt through them, then made plans to ease the fears. I have never felt so empowered and proud of myself for following my intuition and trusting my ability to birth. It was the most calming birth that unfolded so seamlessly and my partner felt so calm and comfortable at home then he did with my other two hospital births."

"I'm Brooke. And I'm a Mum. My daughters, Daisy & Willa are the greatest gift in my unfurling. Journeying from one typically tumultuous hospital birth to a life changing free birth has portalled me through to locations within myself I didn't even know existed. I'm finding my way back to myself, in birth, mothering and love - unapologetically."

A quick little intro to the Birth Realm ~ Australian Freebirth Stories, where your hosts, Michelle Palasia and Maggie Storm, sit down with the experts of birth, the Mamas, to share their freebirth stories.