Episode 12 is told by Poppy from New Zealand who had a homebirth with her daughter Frankie in 2020, and a freebirth with her son Alfred (Fred) in 2022. It was fantastic to listen to Poppy share her stories that challenges many maternity guidelines that suggest only the elusive "low risk" women could birth at home. 

Links to people/business/resources for this episode:

• Birthing at Home Etsy Store https://www.etsy.com/shop/BirthingAtHome?ref=dashboard-header
• Freebirth https://www.freebirthsociety.com/
• Fawn/Appease response https://feminineinstincts.com.au/fawning-in-birth-a-sign-of-self-protection/
• Radical Responsibility 'Birth like a Feminist' https://www.millihill.co.uk/books/
• Prolonged ROM https://midwifethinking.com/2017/01/11/pre-labour-rupture-of-membranes-impatience-and-risk/

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Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

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@birthingathome_apodcast
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Episode 11 is the homebirth story of Alaska from Mel , a Womiri woman from Newcastle, who is also planning a freebirth. 

Links to people/business/resources for this episode:

• Homebirth shirts/Born at Home https://www.etsy.com/shop/BirthingAtHome?ref=dashboard-header
• Vaginal birth & low lying placentas https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1471-0528.15622
• "A low-lying placenta occurs in 28% of pregnancies found at the 20-week anomaly scan but most will have moved higher by a subsequent scan at 32–34 weeks with an incidence of around 3% at term ( Varouxaki et al., 2018 ). The change of placental position results from the formation of the lower uterine segment, which moves the placenta upwards with the expanding uterus. If there is still evidence of a low-lying placenta then women should be forewarned by their primary community-based midwife that they may be at risk of placenta praevia, advised that this increases the risk of vaginal bleeding and informed about the urgent need for midwifery / medical attention if they have any vaginal bleeding until the diagnosis has been confirmed." Donaldson, C & Dixon, L (2023) 'Challenges in Pregnancy' in Midwifery Preparation for Practice, pp. 897-94
• Hypnobirthing https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1uDp2
• GBS https://www.sarawickham.com/topic-resources/group-b-strep-resources/
• GDM https://midwifethinking.com/2018/03/20/gestational-diabetes-beyond-the-label/
• You can learn more about Worimi people here > https://parksaustralia.gov.au/search.html?q=worimi

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In this episode of partners supporting birth at home, I chat with Paul who supported his partner Stacey to freebirth in New Caledonia! It was very interesting to hear how he described their hospital experience with their first baby and then a "night & day" experience with their 2nd. 

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10 episodes!!! 

Episode 10 is a double homebirth story from Meredith who shares the Australian (NSW) homebirth of Audie and the New Zealand homebirth of Etta. Meredith also discusses being pregnant with a pre-eclampsia risk and having a rhesus negative blood type 

Links to people/business/resources for this episode:

• Anti-D & Rhesus negative https://www.sarawickham.com/topic-resources/anti-d-resources/
• Anti-D Explained on The Midwives Cauldron https://themidwivescauldron.buzzsprout.com/1178486/8664928
• 'Babies are not pizzas' https://evidencebasedbirth.com/book/
• Homebirth NSW (lots of great resources) https://www.homebirthnsw.org.au/homebirth-101.html
• Hypnobirth Australia https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1uDp2
• Prolonged rupture of membranes https://midwifethinking.com/2017/01/11/pre-labour-rupture-of-membranes-impatience-and-risk/
• Vaginal Examinations https://midwifethinking.com/2015/05/02/vaginal-examinations-a-symptom-of-a-cervix-centric-birth-culture/
• Beautiful cord ties from Blissful Herbs https://www.blissfulherbs.com.au/category-umbilical-cord-ties-sibling-wrist-bands-25.aspx
• Breech - Dr Bissets on Great Birth Rebellion https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/podcasts/the-great-birth-rebellion/episodes/2147886882

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Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

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Episode 9 is basically a double episode! With midwife and Hypnobirth educator Jess from New Beith in QLD who shares the homebirth stories of the births of her two sons, Teddy and Renly. Talking to Jess was great - having midwives share their homebirth stories is super special, and as Jess says, it takes some 'unlearning'. 

I also really liked the phrase "position over progress" 

Links to people/business/resources for this episode:

• Jess's hypnobirthing and birth education business https://www.mothermoonhypnobirthing.com/
  • AND fantastic birth kits + hire https://www.mothermoonhypnobirthing.com/shop
• Posterior babies https://midwifethinking.com/2016/06/08/in-celebration-of-the-op-baby/
• Placenta's https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rUyaVnWu7p1MLDZRHp9sd?si=JqNsiP_dSrGQZMdxmCVjnA
• MORE birth stories on Jess's website https://www.mothermoonhypnobirthing.com/blog

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This is the very first episode in a what I hope will be many, sharing stories of supporting women to birth at home.
In this episode I chat with Trent, a Western Australian dad who supported his partner Alaura, who birthed their first son at home a few weeks ago.

If you enjoy it and/or just want to support the podcast, please rate and review it!!

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

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In Episode 8, Desiree from Officer in the Melbourne surburbs shares with us her  incredible birth stories - from a traumatic emergency c-section at 32+5 weeks which saved her now 4 year old Ivy's life, to a beautful and healing homebirth with now 10 month old Olive. Two extremely different experiences.


Homebirth story begins approx 10:30

Links to people/business/resources for this episode:

• Homebirth After Caesarian (HBAC) https://www.sarawickham.com/research-updates/hbac/
• Benefits of Continuity of Care https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub5/full
• Hypnobirthing https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1uDp2
• VBAC - I've not read it but Hazel Keedle is a well known expert on VBAC's https://coreandfloor.com.au/products/birth-after-caesarean-your-journey-to-a-better-birth-by-hazel-keedle
• Beyond the Vaginal Examination - ways to check progress without a VE https://www.sarawickham.com/topic-resources/labour-progress-resources/
• Crisis of Confidence/transition https://www.birthingwisdom.com.au/understanding-pain-dynamics-in-normal-birth/

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

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Episode 7 takes us juuuust across the Coral Sea, to New Caledonia where Stacey, her husband Paul and their first born 4 year old Aydan (born in hospital in Kalgoorlie), welcomed baby Atlas. Stacey tells us a bit about the maternity system in New Caledonia and why she was left not much choice but to take the step and freebirth Atlas. I loved this story, but am also saddened by how the medicalisation of maternity care is also, alike Australia, associated with British and  French colonialism in New Caledonia.

Freebirth story begins approx 9:10

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did! 

Links to people/business/resources 

• Birth Time https://www.birthtime.world/
• Great Birth Rebellion Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/3gQRikeOcaHkJjWTtcT1B1?si=867bf263322f46c1
• Free Birth Society https://www.freebirthsociety.com/
• Rhea Dempsey books https://www.birthingwisdom.com.au/book/
• Core and Floor Restore Webinar https://coreandfloor.com.au/collections/webinars/products/birth-webinar
• Dr Sarah Buckley https://sarahbuckley.com/gentle-birth-gentle-mothering/introduction/
• Fear - Tension - Pain Triangle https://betterbirthblog.org/fear-tension-pain-teaching-tool/
• Rhea Dempsey Birth Prep course https://www.birthingwisdom.com.au/birthing-services/birth-preparation/
• Birth Mapping https://coreandfloor.com.au/products/the-birth-map-and-game
• What is haemochromatosis? https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/haemochromatosis/
• Waterbirth and the dive reflex 
  • https://evidencebasedbirth.com/waterbirth/
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12022304/ (I couldn't link the whole article, if you want it I can access and share it with you) 
• Blissful Herbs tinctures https://www.blissfulherbs.com.au/
• What is 'matrescence'? https://birthtrauma.org.au/what-is-matrescence/
• Group B Strep
  •  https://www.sarawickham.com/gbse/
  • Great Birth Rebellion GBS episode https://open.spotify.com/episode/4fRdhbcx12Iax2BEoVrl0G?si=f068a5b2881b44d1

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

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In episode 6 I chat with midwife and first time mum, Ame, who lives in rural north QLD. After identifying her best chance of having a physiological birth as a first time mum was at home, she found a private midwife almost 2 hours away that could support her birth baby Adaline. It was great to talk Ame, especially since we studied together over 6 years ago & both learnt from some of the most influential people in maternity education. 

Links to people/business/resources 

• Pre-labour/prolonged rupture of membranes https://midwifethinking.com/2017/01/11/pre-labour-rupture-of-membranes-impatience-and-risk/
• Vaginal Examinations https://midwifethinking.com/2015/05/02/vaginal-examinations-a-symptom-of-a-cervix-centric-birth-culture/
• Cochrane Review (the best review of evidence you can get)  on benefits of Continuity of Care https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub5/full
• Gestational Diabetes & the Glucose Tolerance Test https://midwifethinking.com/2018/03/20/gestational-diabetes-beyond-the-label/
• Nutrition in labour https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-eating-drinking-labor/
• Dr Sara Wickham https://www.sarawickham.com/ + benefits of water birth https://www.sarawickham.com/research-updates/more-benefits-of-water-for-birth/

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

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In Episode 5 of 'Birthing at Home: A Podcast', Lauren - mum to 2 boys, and a vet, joins us from NSW.
Lauren had an uncompleted hospital birth with Mateo and a complicated post natal experience, however despite all of this, she chose to have a homebirth  with Luca - surrounded by a lot of love and support.
Through Lauren's story, it is also examplified why (when even given a very affordable other option) a homebirth can still be preferable to women and their families.

Links to people/business/resources 

• Find a Hypnobirthing class https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1uDp2
• Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth https://woomwomen.com.au/products/ina-mays-guide-to-childbirth-book
• Camping Hot Water system https://www.bunnings.com.au/devanti-outdoor-gas-hot-water-heater-w-pump-grey_p0388939
• An obviously essential link .... the 'baby mumma dance' from tiktok. https://shorturl.at/DELOV 💃
• The Triple Threat > birth comb + heat pack + spikey ball 

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

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