Bloom Stories

A researcher by nature and profession, Kristen completely surrendered to the natural power of the birth experience only after rigorous, wide-spanning research. This deep education filled Kristen and her birth team with confidence and the conviction that they could make informed decisions that were right for Kristen, whatever the situation that arose.

A winning strategy as it turns out, because nature had a big surprise in store for this growing family. Kristen gave birth to her second baby Claire at midnight, on the side of a road, under the moon and stars and entirely at one with her baby and with nature. A magical arrival by any standards… but most magical of all is the grounding and deep purpose that Kristen has found in motherhood, that she never even knew she needed.

Is there such a thing as the perfect age to become a mother? Morgane had joked that 26 seemed to be just that – not too old and not too young. Despite knowing she wanted a family, she thought it would come when she had financial security, a stable job and her own place. So when she unexpectedly fell pregnant at 25, the line on the pregnancy test suddenly brought home the reality of motherhood in a very real and very scary way. Morgane felt a duty not to bring a child into the world if she couldn’t provide it with the “right” life. After carefully analysing their finances and exploring all the options to make it work, Morgane and her partner decided to embrace the journey to parenthood. Although Morgane’s natural birth ended in an episiotomy, she felt in harmony with her baby throughout. Her story is one of hope and resilience, navigating pregnancy and birth away from their family and with no parenting role models besides their own parents.

Fiona’s journey through five miscarriages and three successful births is a magnificent story of growth, of overcoming fears and demonstrates the power of your own voice even when medical emergencies arise. There are times when experts know best and there are times when mum’s conviction is strong and as Fiona grew into motherhood and grew in confidence, she felt more empowered to speak up and follow her own instincts in ways that were right for her and her babies.

Fiona struggled to bond with her first baby because of a fear that it could all be taken away from her at any moment, especially when she was diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis in the final few weeks before her first child’s birth. By her third baby, Fiona had turned away from the reams of maternity literature, parenting and weaning books that had shaped her first two pregnancies and instead tuned into her own body and mother’s instinct, allowing her to discover new levels of enjoyment and connection with her children.

Flora found pregnancy to be an anxious but awe-inspiring time. From the beginning, her desire for a natural, physiological birth was the driving force. She did a lot of research into home birth and building trust in herself and her baby to do what birthing bodies are made to do. But natural doesn’t necessarily mean complication-free.

Flora thought they had lost their baby at 11 weeks when she experienced a painful bleed that turned out to be from a haematoma. The consultant categorised her pregnancy as “high risk”, a diagnosis and label which brought with it a new world of things for Flora to research and worry about. She was eventually signed back into midwife-led care and given the green light for her preferred home birth. Nine days after her estimated delivery date, Perran was born at home on the bathroom floor, and Flora was in bed with tea and toast minutes later! Flora tells us everything about how she prepared for this magical experience by informing herself to confidently stand by her convictions until the very end.

Welcome to Bloom, the podcast where mum’s share their unfiltered birth experiences. We hope that by listening to their stories, you feel empowered and inspired, wherever you are on your own journey.

For Jess, the journey through pregnancy and birth was defined by anxiety and a constant fear that she wouldn't make it to the end with a healthy baby. The fear that something would go wrong at any moment prevented her and her partner from enjoying any aspects of pregnancy and whilst Jess is so thankful for her amazing support network of family, friends and midwives, accepting help from them - even from her partner, presented its own challenges.

Jess shares with us her experience of how important it is to prioritise our mental health and seek support throughout this journey of huge transformation and upheaval, and she reminds us that whilst anxiety and fears can lead us to expect the worst, the chances are, everything is going to be ok. We talk about mental health, anxiety and a dramatic experience with a ventouse.

Tori’s approach to pregnancy and childbirth was to decide never to be stressed. She was so laid back that she was even packing her hospital bag in between contractions. She figured things out as they happened, and the app she downloaded to time contractions just after her waters broke revealed things were moving pretty quickly. So quickly in fact that she didn’t have time for all the pain relief she had banked on having when she got to hospital.

So what’s the secret to staying calm when things don’t go as you expected? Her approach was not to overthink it, accept that things are out of your control and surround yourself with people who make you feel good. Control what you can. Sounds simple right? Sit back and enjoy the good vibes.

In this episode, Celeste talks us through the arrival her beautiful boy through a planned induction and emergency c-section. On reflection, she feels it sounds somewhat scary “on paper” but at the time, the experience managed to remain positive thanks to the trusted and empowering medical and support team that she had surrounded herself with.

Celeste reveals her journey with sickness, the details of and reasons for her emergency caesarean section, as well as what recovery looked like for her. Feeding was complicated and Celeste reflects on the fact that the most supposedly “natural” of things can be surprisingly unintuitive. Celeste's story is a reminder that a medical-first preparation and planned induction can provide huge reassurance and peace of mind going into the daunting experience that is birth for the first time.

In this episode, Meg talks about the importance of being informed and self advocating, and the transformative power of her trusted support network. Meg’s pregnancy was a steep learning curve that nothing was in her control. Thanks to the combination of the unwavering support of her friends and family and sheer determination, she overcame all the obstacles she faced during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, one by one. Meg shares her story of extraordinary perseverance and how her strength carried her and her family through.

The production quality on this first episode is not our finest but the content is gold so we don't want you to miss out.

In this episode, Katie talks us through her two completely different birth experiences in Paris. The first featured a self-dose "walking" epidural whilst the second ends up being an entirely different and unmedicated birth experience.

Katie eventually discovered hypnobirthing and prepared for a natural first birth, but ended up throwing the birth plan out of the window on the day itself. It would still come in handy however, when her second baby decided it was time to come into the world, and that he wasn't going to wait for anyone!