As a ultrasound sonographer herself, Naomi was used to diagnosing every kind of pregnancy complication. But nothing could prepare her for the moment when, at 23 weeks of pregnancy, after noticing a slowing in her baby's movements, Naomi placed the probe on her own baby one morning at work. Straight away, Naomi identified that her baby was, in her own words, the sickest baby she had ever scanned. In this episode, Naomi shares her story of baby Emersyn who was diagnosed with severe fetal anaemia secondary to a parvo-virus infection in pregnancy. Naomi describes how her experience of losing baby Emersyn has shaped her work as a sonographer and has transformed her understanding of what it feels like to find yourself on the other side of the probe. 

Helen is a midwife, academic, lecturer and mum. When a scan at 21 weeks in her first pregnancy showed that her baby girl was on the 3rd centile for weight with high pressure flow in some crucial blood vessels, Helen knew exactly what that meant. Letting go of her hopes for an uncomplicated pregnancy, Helen kept working and looking after other people’s healthy babies, a box of tissues in her car for the inevitable tears that came each day. At 24 weeks she was advised her baby girl may survive, but the stress of her pregnancy was far from over. Helen shares her story of the trauma she suffered from her high risk pregnancy with baby Emilia and her postpartum mental health crisis. Helen also shares the story of her second pregnancy with son Lincoln who, in heart breaking circumstances, died after an unrelated pregnancy complication. Helen shares her wisdom relating to pregnancy trauma, a concept that includes but is not limited to birth trauma. She explains why understanding the impact of stress and grief on families is essential to providing best practice trauma informed care. 

Leonie’s son Max was growing small and was in a breech presentation throughout her entire first pregnancy. When his heart rate dropped during monitoring at the 35 week mark, Leonie was whisked into an emergency caesarean birth. Leonie hoped for a vaginal birth after caesarean for her second son, but it wasn’t to be. After two caesarean births and an operation to treat a uterine septum and secondary infertility, Leonie was thrilled to be pregnant with her third son. But at the 20 week mark, her placenta was found to be low-lying, and was beginning to invade into the muscle of her uterus, at the site of her previous caesarean scars. Leonie was diagnosed with a condition called placenta accreta. This began an incredibly challenging and emotional journey that culminated in a combined caesarean birth and hysterectomy at the age of 34. 

Haylee was a young, fit, first time mum, and her pregnancy with her first son Fred was progressing beautifully. Haylee was well educated about her health and pregnancy choices, and elected to birth at home with the support of her partner and a private midwife. When her labour at home began to slow, Haylee transferred her care to the local hospital, a short drive away. Unexpectedly, baby Fred was not found to not be coping well with labour and contractions, and Fred was born via emergency caesarean section. Following birth, Fred's birth weight smaller than expected, and he was diagnosed with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), a condition where low oxygen levels can affect a baby’s brain. He was transferred  to the Royal Children’s Hospital via helicopter. Haylee shares her story of the traumatic first days and weeks of Fred’s life, and reflects on how she was treated and judged by some health care professionals in her journey. Haylee also describes the experience of her next births, and how she is now able to help other women on their pregnancy and birth journeys as a women's health osteopath. 

When radio presenter Jacinta Parsons was in her early twenties, she began to feel unwell. The symptoms were insidious at first, and easy to dismiss. When she was eventually diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a severe and chronic inflammatory bowel condition, Jacinta was so unwell that she required multiple hospital stays, invasive procedures, and ultimately, an ileostomy bag.  Incredibly it was during this period, when she felt her body was failing her, that Jacinta discovered, with joy, that she was pregnant. Jacinta shares with us her journey to motherhood through her high risk pregnancy and birth.  She describes how her experience of living with chronic illness led her to tiptoe through her pregnancies, feeling like she had won a prize that could be taken away at any moment. With trademark empathy and insight, Jacinta shares how the hidden world of chronic illness can impact on all aspects of birth and parenting, from the physical challenges of parenting with an ileostomy bag, to the parenting guilt that is compounded for those living with an invisible illness in an ableist world. 

When school teacher Laura began experiencing unusual symptoms during her third trimester, it was initially thought they might be related to pregnancy. But at 34 weeks, Laura’s symptoms dramatically worsened. At a visit to the hospital, Laura suddenly stopped breathing, and required intubation. Unexpectedly, brain scans revealed a large tumour, putting huge pressure on her brain as it grew during pregnancy. After watching Laura being wheeled away, her husband Torben was later informed that Laura would need urgent neurosurgery and that her condition was critical. At the same time he was told that an emergency caesarean had been required to stabilise Laura, and that he had a son. For the next five days Torben sat alternatively by Laura’s side in ICU, and his son’s side in NICU, not knowing if he would be raising his child alone. Against the odds, Laura awoke from her coma to meet her baby Jagger. First time mum Laura then faced months of recovery and rehabilitation, learning how to speak and to walk again, at the same time as learning to be a new parent. Thank you Laura and Torben for sharing your incredible story of parenting with an acquired brain injury, filled with strength, acceptance and resilience.

When Kat was 15 years old, her previously pain-free life changed forever. Crippled with severe pelvic and abdominal pain, Kat was suddenly unable to walk down the corridor, let alone attend school. But when her GP dismissed her debilitating symptoms as a ‘normal part of life’, a cycle of uninterested medical care, inadequate treatment and chronic pain began. It would take another 17 long years before Kat heard the word endometriosis from a doctor, and she was finally able to get a diagnosis for her severe gynaecological condition. In this episode of Pregnancy Uncut Kat shares her experience of infertility related to endometriosis, her twin pregnancy, and how the long years of dismissal by hospitals and health care workers informed her experience of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. 

Katrina Gorry is a woman accustomed to breaking boundaries. A professional football player and Olympian, she is one of Australia’s most loved sports stars. So when Katrina felt that she wanted to become a mother, she wasn’t prepared to let career timing, professional pressure, or the fact that she was single, stand in her way. Katrina is one of a growing number of women who are choosing to take their fertility into their own hands, to become parents on their own terms. Katrina talks us through her decision to commence IVF as a solo mum, the birth of baby Harper, and the challenges of raising her daughter whilst succeeding in the traditionally male-dominated arena of professional sport. 
Katrina also shares her history of an eating disorder and her previously difficult relationship with her body, brought on by the obsessive physical focus that is required of professional athletes. Katrina describes how the physical changes of pregnancy allowed her to see her body in a whole new light, and to be incredibly proud of what it can achieve. Katrina is a role model to young athletes, and in addition to that, she is now also a role model to aspiring solo mums everywhere.  

After the birth of her second child, Anna knew that her family was complete. But just as strongly, she knew that she wanted to be pregnant again. Since she was a teenager, Anna had been drawn to the idea of surrogacy, and the chance to give the ultimate gift to another family. With the support of her family, Anna embarked on a long, complicated, emotional, and ultimately life-changing experience. After meeting couple Matt and Brendan who desperately wished to have a child of their own, Anna underwent IVF, and carried her ‘surro-bub’ , a baby genetically unrelated to her, for nine months. Finally, she birthed Baker at home and then passed him into the arms of his intended parents. 

However the journey did not end here. For Anna, expressing breastmilk and navigating complex physical postpartum changes meant that whilst her brain knew intellectually that Baker was loved, safe, and where he needed to be, her body and her hormones were grieving a child that was no longer physically with her. Anna describes the sense of loss and rollercoaster of emotions that cultivated in a diagnosis of postpartum depression. Now on the road to recovery, Anna is able to reflect with love and pride on her incredibly selfless gift that resulted in a child and a family that could not have existed without her. 

Isabelle, a journalist and writer, has a son, a daughter, and seven angel babies. For women wishing to conceive, miscarriage is sadly a common experience. Around 40% of women with children experience a miscarriage at some point along their pregnancy journey. But for Isabelle, the pain of loss occurred not once, but seven times, with five of these miscarriages occuring back-to-back. In this episode, Isabelle shares her story of recurrent hope followed by heartache. She explains how the lack of attention and research into early pregnancy loss, combined with the current systemic failure of the medical system to recognise the impact of early pregnancy loss, let her down again and again. Recurrent miscarriage is fortunately rare, affecting less than 1% of the population, but it is a devastating condition that, with our current knowledge, often remains medically unexplained. In addition, there is often some social discomfort when people choose to share their stories with friends and family. As Isabelle notes, miscarriage combines everything we are uncomfortable about; Bleeding, vaginas, grief and loss. Isabelle is on a mission to change that.