In part one of Penina’s High Risk Birth Story, she shares the difficulty she faced getting pregnant due to PCOS and the struggle of watching friends and family members getting pregnant while she faced infertility. After finding success with IVF, a 12-week scan showed significant defects including gastroschisis and omphalocele.

In part two of Kayla’s story, she shares more about the postpartum experience. After giving birth to her son, Kayla experienced postpartum anxiety. She describes her symptoms, working with a therapist to overcome them, and how anxiety affected her second pregnancy.

Kayla, whose sister was featured on a previous episode, shares her High Risk Birth Story. During Kayla’s first pregnancy, she was living in Florida away from family with her husband, a naval officer. She describes her experience finding a support system of new friends, developing preeclampsia and delivering her baby at 36 weeks, and undergoing treatment for HELLP Syndrome.

In part 2 of this episode, Brianna Barclay shares how her pregnancy experience helped relieve some of her fear of seeing doctors and the impact that mental health struggles have had on her life. She also explains why she and her doctor chose to proactively treat postpartum depression, her birth experience, and what being a new mother has been like.

Brianna Barclay tells part one of her pregnancy story. Brianna suffers from clinical OCD and an intense fear of medical procedures. During her pregnancy, she also dealt with hyperemesis, which ultimately caused her to lose 35-40 pounds before she delivered her baby.

In this episode, Malkie Marrus shares that at 42 weeks into her pregnancy she passed out at home and had to be rushed to the hospital by an ambulance, where they discover that her baby has no heartbeat. She then describes the recovery process, both physically and emotionally, and how building a mikvah in her community was part of her healing journey.

High Risk Birth Stories listener Vani shares the story of her own pregnancy. At 12 weeks, Vani learned that her amnion and chorion membranes had not fused. Later tests then showed high risk for structural anomalies and heart defects, and anatomy scans confirmed these concerning signs. Vani explains how she ultimately made the decision to terminate, and the process of healing both physically and emotionally from this experience.

In part two of this episode, Nechama describes delivering her baby without her husband at the hospital due to being COVID positive. After being induced, Nechama struggles with intense contractions and a difficult relationship with her nurse. A uterine rupture then forces an emergency C-section. Nechama explains the steps she later took to heal, physically and emotionally, after this traumatic birth experience.

Nechama, a High Risk Birth Stories listener, wrote in to share her story after “searching for healing” and finding the podcast. Nechama is a mother of nine. She first briefly recounts her first seven pregnancies, including the delivery of her twins. She also shares the first half of the story of her eighth pregnancy, during which she tested positive for COVID.

Sarah Roer Bendheim, who previously joined the Healthful Woman podcast to discuss eating disorders, now joins High Risk Birth Stories to tell the story of delivering her twins. After four “uneventful” pregnancies, Sarah had two miscarriages and decided to pursue fertility treatments, including IUI and IVF. Later, she went into labor with her twins at 31 weeks.