Positive Birth Australia

In today's episode, we unpack Lauren’s two births. Lauren's acceptance into the local MGP program ensured she received continuity of care throughout her pregnancy. Pairing this with a hypnobirthing course, Lauren armed herself with knowledge to strive for a physiological, intervention-free water birth. As labour started, Lauren was faced persistent vomiting, and upon reaching the hospital and hitting transition, she grappled with a crisis of confidence. As it turned out, her baby girl was en caul, still within her sac, and although an empowering water birth with zero interventions, this birth ended with Lauren sustaining a third-degree tear, needing 27 stitches.

When the time came to welcome another child into her family, Lauren had relocated and was without the MGP care model. Leaning into her hypnobirthing training, she advocated for another intervention-free physiological birth in her local hospital. As labour started, the familiar sensation of vomiting returned, but as we know, every birth writes its own script. With her labour progressing faster than anticipated, another tumultuous transition unfolded. However, the natural release of her waters turned the tide, giving her a brief moment to pause, allowing her to harness her inner strength, slow down, and intuitively guide her body to birth her baby, preventing any tears.

Today, as Lauren details her births, she shares the powerful moment when nurses struggled for hours to regulate her daughters breathing, but once wrapped in the comfort and warmth of her mother's embrace, she effortlessly found her breath's rhythm.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @laurenbarsley

Hypnobirthing: @inbirthandbeyond

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

On today’s episode, we dive into the incredible journey of Paige, a first-time mother and dedicated doula. Paige comes from a lineage that celebrates birth as a natural and transformative experience in a woman's life. Growing up surrounded by pregnancy circles and bearing witness to the birth of her siblings, she developed an unwavering trust and faith in the power of physiological birth.

As she began her own rite of passage into motherhood, Paige was fearless, knowing that homebirth was the only path she would take to welcome her child into the world. However, during her pregnancy, sharing her birth choices unexpectedly brought forth fears projected onto her by others - a surprising twist for someone who had been raised with a strong foundation of normalised, empowering birth experiences. This exposure introduced her to a world of fear-based narratives surrounding childbirth.

Join us as Paige shares her birth story, one that was not only positive and powerful but also offers a unique perspective on childbirth, highlighting the disparities she observed between the births she witnessed in her mother's birthing space and her own personal experience.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @your_birth_keeper

Podcasts: Midwife Couldron, The Natural Birth Podcast

Books: Birth With Confidence, Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering, Sarah Wickham - Vit K and the Newborn Group B Strep

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

In today's episode, we hear Kayla's transformational journey through her three distinct birth experiences. Kayla's lifelong desire for motherhood led her down a path toward a holistic lifestyle even before she became pregnant. Her introduction to the concept of homebirth through online videos solidified her decision that this was the path she wanted to take in bringing her babies into the world.

Her first birth unfolded swiftly, leaving her with mixed emotions. While it was a positive and empowering experience, she couldn't help but grieve the rapid conclusion of a journey she had invested so much time and energy into. It was during this period that she delved into the world of placenta encapsulation, eventually embarking on a career supporting women as a placenta alchemist.

Kayla recounts her extraordinary third birth, which unfolded before the 37-week gestation mark, highlighting the immense trust her midwife had in her and her baby, which fuelled her own confidence in birthing her 2kg son safely at home. When it was time to welcome her third child into the world, Kayla carried the profound knowledge that everything required for this birth resided within her. Despite the challenges she encountered, this birth instilled within her the profound wisdom of surrender and trust—a powerful lesson that beautifully marked the end of her childbirth journey.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @milky.rituals

Doula: @iamemilyedgar

Freebirth Online Circle: @maggiestorm_ @michellepalasia

Books: The First Forty Days, The Postnatal Depletion Cure

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

On today’s episode, I warmly welcome back Luna, who joins us to recount her two most recent birth experiences. Since our last conversation, Luna has traversed the heart-wrenching path of pregnancy loss, an experience that plunged her into the depths of grief while intricately weaving together the notions of birth and mortality, prompting profound contemplation.

In the aftermath of this loss, Luna and her family embraced the time they needed for reflection and healing. After a restoritive  journey to Uluru, they found themselves contemplating whether their family was now complete. This contemplation was met with a surprise when Luna discovered her pregnancy shortly thereafter. Guided by a strong belief in divine timing, they found roots on a particular piece of land that seemed to call them and their unborn child.

Today, Luna shares her transformative journey, interwoven with loss and renewal, and reconnecting her with the sheer beauty of existence itself.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @lunaflowerday

Book: Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage

Previous podcast episode link here.

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

On today's episode we dive into the birth story of Tamarin – a practitioner renowned as a Holistic and Intuitive Therapist and Healer. Tamarin's story begins with a 13-month conception journey, where the weight of time began to cast doubts upon the arrival of their long-aweaited child.

Having wrestled with the complexities of fertility hormones, Tamarin eventually found solace in a natural alternative, a turning point that led her to  conceive a daughter. Her pregnancy became a chapter filled with a deep sense of gratitude, as she honoured the sacred connection between herself and the life growing within.

Instinctively, Tamarin knew that her ideal birthing environment was at home, where she could harness familiarity and security. Safeguarding her energy and shielding herself from projected fears, she kept this choice private, and surrounded herself with like-minded individuals who could provide the support and guidance she needed. Diving deep into her inner work, she confronted her fears and shadows, nurturing an unwavering belief in her body’s innate ability to birth her baby. 

Today, Tamarin takes us on her transformative journey through the fires of labour that ended in the profound moment of meeting her daughter, and shares the deep reverence that her husband held for her, as he witnessed her navigate the thresholds of creation.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @empowherhealing

Midwife: @gentlebirthmethodaustralia

Doulas: @thehealingshed @birthtoearth

Books: Sacred Birthing, 10 Moons

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

On today’s episode we dive into the contrasting birth experiences of Australia's first professional Instagramer, Lauren. After eight adventurous years traveling the globe as a dedicated travel influencer, Lauren's path led her to a profound new chapter: motherhood. Coming off a whirlwind of experiences, Lauren knew it was time to anchor herself and nurture a family of her own.

The radiance of Lauren's pregnancy journey painted a portrait of vitality and inner glow. While her husband's Zimbabwean heritage introduced her to the essence of natural birthing, she chose to further educate herself through a Hypnobirthing class.

Armed with knowledge and a steadfast vision for her birth outcome, Lauren's evolution from maiden to mother began to unfold. Faced with overwhelming fatigue after a 36-hour labour, she opted for much-needed respite through an epidural. A decision that brought a mix of relief at the time, but ultimately left her disempowered by how she was treated, with an undercurrent of heavy emotions like guilt and shame. 

With the elation of her next pregnancy also came the echoes of her prior birth experience. Toward the end of her pregnancy, her body began to show signs of burnout. Guided by an impactful energy work session, Lauren experienced a profound internal shift, renewing her connection with her inner self and baby, as she embraced the final stages of her pregnancy. Lauren's second labor experience mirrored the first in some ways. Yet this time, with a heart open and willingness to surrender, she embarked on a healing journey that led her to birth where her son knew she needed to be - at home.

With unguarded authenticity, Lauren takes us on an emotional journey through vulnerability, growth, and redemption. 

Show Notes: 

Instagram: @laurenepbath

Digital Baby Journal: @makiathebabyjournal

Birth Photographer: @rewildherbirth

Lauren's Blog Link Here

Makai The Baby Journal Link Here

Join Lauren's Mailing List Here

FREE TRIAL Makai The Baby Journal Here

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

Today I have the pleasure of chatting with Monique – a mother of two, postpartum doula and co-founder of women's health and wellness clinic, Maia Mothers Collective.

From an early age, Mon's longing to embrace motherhood was undeniable. However, faced with a 9-year absence of her menstrual cycle, she recognised the imperative of restoring her body's equilibrium. Through determination and resilience, she embarked on a journey that led her to the essential support she required, effectively regaining harmony and even experiencing the delightful surprise of conception shortly after her cycle's return. Her belief in the birthing process defined her journey, nurtured by the strong women in her linage. This innate trust guided her to have a physiological birth in hospital.

During her postpartum period, a conversation with her close friend and future business partner unveiled an unmet need for holistic care and support within a single, centralised clinic – giving birth to the vision of Maia Mothers Collective."

As Mon began to feel the urge for another child, signs of a daughter's presence began to manifest. Embracing this, she soon found herself expecting once again. Despite a previous positive birth experience, Mon felt a compelling urge to seek an alternative environment away from the hospital. This gained further strength when she crossed paths with a private homebirth midwife, who provided her with the essential evidence that solidified her choice for an environment aligned with her safety and her envisioned birth experience.

Today, Mon’s story unfolds through her meticulous preconception, birthing, and postpartum preparations, revealing a journey of profound presence and mindful intent. 

Show Notes:

Instagram: @monique_postpartumdoula

Clinic: @maiamother.collective

Podcast: @rebirthedthepodcast

Midwife: @you_midwife

Photographer: @anita.alice.photography

Hypnobirthing: @meaghan_amor_

Maia Mothers Collective website here.

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

On today's episode, we explore the fascinating journey of Alana and her nine birth experiences. Alana grew up in a community where natural, undisturbed births were celebrated as the norm, fostering a positive outlook on childbirth. Witnessing her close friend giving birth further deepened her understanding of the process and prepared her for her own journey into motherhood.

Alana's initiation into motherhood was a deeply sacred and intimate experience as she gave birth at home, with only her husband by her side. Her following births echoed a similar pattern, with swift arrivals earthside. However, the birth of her fifth child, brought forth new challenges as Alana experienced intense pain due to her baby's posterior position, leaving her with some apprehension for her next labor.

During her seventh pregnancy, complications arose when she experience an antepartum haemorrhage, leading to an emergency transfer from her rural hospital for a managed delivery. This was the first time Alana gave birth without her husband's presence. Although her next birth in a hospital went smoothly without any interventions, she felt a disconnect and missed the sense of sacredness she experienced when birthing at home.

Alana began her ninth pregnancy with hospital care but eventually decided to follow her instincts and return to her birthing roots. Today we hear the profound reflections and lessons Alana learned from her unique birth experiences, and how her husband's gentle reassurance that she had everything she needed within her, served as a guiding light when overwhelmed at the thought of birthing without him.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @house.of.plenty

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

Welcome to today's episode, where we join Taylor on her profound journey from maiden to mother. When Taylor first conceived her daughter, she found herself with limited knowledge about childbirth and the various care options available to her. Seeking continuity of care, she embraced her local MGP program, leaning on the familiar presence of dedicated midwives that brought her a sense of security.

As Taylor's labour began, she was confronted with intense back pain due to her baby's posterior position. The realisation that her labour was unfolding differently from her expectations sparked a sense of fear, casting a shadow of doubt over her birthing process. Eventually, interventions became part of her birth story, leaving Taylor with a feeling of disconnection from her daughter that resembled her disconnection throughout pregnancy.

With the arrival of her next pregnancy, Taylor was deeply immersed in her pursuit for knowledge. She delved into the intricacies of physiological birth and what best supports the hormonal flow of labour. A turning point emerged during a routine scan when Taylor struggled to advocate for herself. The realisation that her voice might remain unheard during childbirth, given her difficulty in using it at that specific moment, served as a pivotal wake-up call. This realisation along with the disconnection she felt with her care providers during her pregnancy, prompted her to consider the path of free birth and embracing the sovereignty of her birth journey.

Today we hear Taylor's transformative path, guided by the wisdom she discovered and the resources that fostered her unwavering faith in her body and its innate capacity for birth.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @_thewombcollective @_tearsfortwo

Resources: Dr Rachel Reed - Midwife Thinking

Books: Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage, 10 Moons

Podcasts: Midwives Couldran

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs

On today's episode, we welcome Tahnee, a mother of two and one half of the renowned wellness brand, SuperFeast. Tahnee’s journey into motherhood intricately wove together her yoga background and her profound connection to both body and spirit. This connection led her to intuitively recognise her pregnancy, fostering an unwavering sense of trust and deepening her relationship with her body and baby during that time. Living a slow and nourishing lifestyle further enhanced her blissful pregnancy experience.

Tahnee’s positive perception of birth, which was shaped by her mother, led her to birth at home with the support of midwives. As the hormonal flow of labour unfolded, she embarked on an almost psychedelic journey, transcending reality to bring her baby girl into the world. This transformative experience awakened Tahnee’s deep appreciation for the extraordinary power of birth, while also highlighting the occasional doubts projected by the midwives, which would later influence her future birth choices.

In the years that followed, as Tahnee embraced motherhood while navigating a growing company with her husband, she desired to reconnect with her body and mind before welcoming their second child. This realisation led her to actively practice her belief in herself and the birthing process, choosing a wild pregnancy and a sovereign birth at home. Throughout her pregnancy, she and her husband navigated through any fears that arose, strengthening their bond and fostering open and honest communication.

As Tahnee’s second birth unfolded, she noted the difference in how it progressed. She found herself in a constant state of motion, exploring different positions and movements to facilitate her baby's descent. Tahnee reflects on the deep trust she had in her baby when he took a moment to land, and candidly shares the raw and authentic nature of birth, acknowledging its messiness and chaotic beauty.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @tahneeyoga

Business: @superfeast

Website: SuperFeast Australia

Podcast: @superfeastpodcast

Resources: @sarahjbuckley @janehardwickecollings @wild.pregnancy_free.birth

Mentioned in this episode:

Positive Birth Australia Birth Affirmations Tracks Available Now!

Did you know that studies have shown affirmations can significantly boost self-esteem and reduce stress? Here at Positive Birth Australia, we’ve crafted a 20-minute affirmation to guide you to deeply remember the power you hold within. And to my fellow Belly Birth mothers, we’ve created a track specifically for you, to honour that all birth is sacred.

Positive Birth Australia

Mentioned in this episode:

Sacred Birth Affirmations Track

This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.

Positive Birth Australia

Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball

Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order.

Esfera Designs