Pregnancy Uncut

Following years of masking and unanswered questions,  Annie was finally diagnosed Autistic and ADHD when she was in her late 20s, a delayed trajectory that is not uncommon in women on the spectrum. Annie has also faced several challenges including a history of sexual assault, PTSD,  Ehlers Danlos syndrome, and complex mental health (including an eating disorder) . In this episode of Pregnancy Uncut, Annie shares her experience of navigating pregnancy and birth as a neurodivergent woman. She shares how important it is for maternity care providers to understand and embrace the unique care considerations for Autistic individuals, from information sharing, planning and communication, to sensitivity to touch, light, and noise in the birthing space. Thank you Annie for sharing your important story with  us at Pregnancy Uncut. 

Kim and July met at an all-girls school. But when deciding to embark on a relationship, Kim had one important consideration; he identified as male, and wished to take the necessary steps for him to affirm his gender identity as a transgender man.  Several years later, Kim’s wife July faced a heart-breaking IVF journey and was unable to conceive. Faced with the possibility of never having the family they longed for, Kim made the difficult decision to pause his hormone therapy, and carry the pregnancy himself. Kim shares the challenges of accessing fertility and pregnancy care as a man, and the systemic barriers that exist to feeling welcome and accepted in this highly gendered space. 

Portia has, in her own words, always lived in a larger body. Even when she adopted excessive and almost disordered eating and exercise habits, her body mass index (BMI) remained in the ‘‘overweight’ category. As a doctor working in general practice, Portia understood the significant shortfalls of the BMI as a measurement, and the poor correlation of weight as an independent marker of overall health. Portia is one of a growing group of medical professions in Australia practising HAES-aligned care (Health at Every Size). However when Portia discovered that she has endometriosis and would require medical assistance to conceive, she encountered a world of fertility medicine that she believes viewed her as merely as a number on a set of scales, rather than as a whole person. Portia shares her story of being denied access to fertility treatment based purely on her BMI, and the frustration, guilt, and shame that these interactions caused. Portia describes how weight bias in medicine causes harm both on a personal and systemic level, and shares how her personal story provides hope for improvement and change.    

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.