Enjoy this free bite of Mia Freedman exploring what we're (scientifically) calling 'weird twin shit' with resident Mamamia twins, Jessie and Clare Stephens. Catch the full chaos of Jessie And Clare Stephens’ Weird Twin Shit Just Got Weirder by subscribing. Not a subscriber yet? Honestly, why wait?

Jessie Stephens is pregnant with twins — which feels cosmically aggressive when you remember she is a twin (to Clare Stephens — keep up, people). Especially when you consider that Jessie and Clare were raised by a woman who had two sets of identical twins herself. And yes, Anne Stevens would like the universe to calm down.

On this subscriber episode, Mia Freedman gets Jessie and Clare in the studio to unpack eerie twin intuition (just one example: Clare knew Jessie had two heartbeats going on in her womb before Jessie even told her), and the very real logistics of carrying two babies at once.

We talk:

• Why some people say “How exciting!” at the news of twins while others go instantly grey

• The science vs superstition of twins having twins

• Miscarriage, sibling timing, and the emotional whiplash of joy and fear

• Collapsed ribs, reflux, and the indignity of sleeping upright

Plus, there’s debate about birth-room access, grandparent maths, and whether 'weird twin shit' is now officially hereditary.

It’s intimate. It’s chaotic. It’s extremely twin-coded.

Remember, this is your free sample of Mamamia Out Loud's subs episode. Listen to the full Clare and Jessie debrief by subscribing.

What To Listen To Next: 

• Listen to Mamamia Out Loud's latest episode: An Affair Confession Live On Air
• Listen: The Best (And Worst) Generations Of Parents. A Leaderboard!
• Listen: The Most Bizarre Celebrity Profile We’ve Ever Read
• Listen: Do I Matter? & The Bathroom Taboo
• Listen: The Female Emaciation Era — Holly & Jessie Weigh In
• Listen: An Urgent Theory About Kim Kardashian & Lewis Hamilton
• Listen: Scurrilous Gossip - Karl Stefanovic, Melania Trump & Sydney Sweeney, Oh My
• Listen: Fertility Vampires & The Murkiness Of 'Affair Baiting'
• Listen: Jessie's Twins Update & What We Really Did Over The Holidays
• Connect your subscription to Apple Podcasts 

Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here including the very latest episode of Parenting Out Loud, the parenting podcast for people who don't listen to... parenting podcasts.

SUBSCRIBE here: Support independent women's media 

Watch Mamamia Out Loud:

Mamamia Out Loud on YouTube

What to read: 

• JESSIE STEPHENS: On being pregnant with twins. As a twin. With twin brothers.
• "We lived 30 years as fraternal twins. Then, two weeks ago, we took a test."
• CLARE STEPHENS: 'The story of how I became a (very viral) meme.'
• CLARE STEPHENS: A rude stranger, a note from a neighbour and the age of utter intolerance.

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GET IN TOUCH:

Feedback? We’re listening. Send us an email at [email protected]

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Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth. Enjoy!

When Minnie's home birth plans shifted to a hospital delivery after two days of stop-start labor, she didn't just accept her "Plan B" – she got creative. Her unexpected strategy? Dressing "like a celebrity avoiding paparazzi" complete with sunglasses, headphones, and clothes pulled over her head.

Despite synthetic oxytocin making contractions feel "like being hit by lightning," Minnie found herself overcome with relief and joy during the final moments, laughing her daughter Charlie out into the water and her husband's waiting hands.

From birth pool to home by dinner time, Minnie's story proves that positive births aren't about location but feeling empowered through every contraction.

THE END BITS:
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Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Minnie Collins

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich , Tina Matolov & Lee Stamps

Audio Producer: Leah Porges 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth. Enjoy!

One embryo. Two heartbeats. After years of fertility treatments, Laura Parr found herself staring at an ultrasound screen showing the impossible—her single frozen embryo had split into identical twins.

In today's episode, Laura shares her extraordinary journey from having her son Lucas through IVF, to the shock of discovering her second embryo—frozen for two years—had developed into identical twins - with no history of twins in the family. She takes us through the emotional rollercoaster of multiple ovarian induction cycles that finally yielded nine precious eggs and the complex reality of carrying monochorionic diamniotic twins who shared a single placenta but had separate amniotic sacs.

From severe morning sickness to a dramatic caesarean at 34 weeks, Laura's precious twins transformed their families life forever.

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here. 

THE END BITS:
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Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

If you’re looking for something else to listen to, check out our hilarious and seriously unhelpful podcast The Baby Bubble hosted by Clare and Jessie Stephens.

Mamamia has a podcast for every stage of parenthood.
Our parenting podcast is This Glorious Mess.
If you’re pregnant, listen to The Delivery Room and Hello Bump.
And if you’re trying or preg-curious, Get Me Pregnant and Before The Bump are for you.

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Tina Matolov

Audio Producer: Leah Porges 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth. Enjoy!

Waters breaking in public, a head popping out in the shower, and neighbours rushing to help—Kate Longley's second birth took a very different path than planned!

In today’s episode, Kate shares how her birth with Jesse took a surprisingly swift turn when, shortly after her waters broke at home, she found herself cradling her newborn in the shower before help could even arrive. With no time to reach the hospital, Kate's neighbours—who happened to be mothers themselves—stepped in to help as Jesse was born in their family home. 

Kate reflects on how, despite the surprising speed of Jesse’s arrival, her calm mindset and supportive community helped create a positive birth experience.

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here.

THE END BITS:
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Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Kate Longley

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Tina Matolov

Audio Producer: Leah Porges 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth. Enjoy!

From epidural to delivery in minutes—Nikolina's second baby Leo stunned even veteran doctors with his lightning-fast arrival.

Despite a physically "cruisy" pregnancy with her children just 16 months apart, Nikolina Koevska Kharoufeh battled intense anxiety about giving birth a second time. After casually attending brunch during early contractions, her labor rapidly intensified. Just as doctors prepared for her curved spine complication during the epidural, Leo's heart rate dropped, and with a single push, he arrived—prompting one doctor to declare it the quickest birth in her 20-year career. 

Nikolina's story reminds us that birth anxiety is perfectly normal the second time around, even when you've done it before.

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here. 

THE END BITS:
Support independent women's media
Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

If you’re looking for something else to listen to, check out our hilarious and seriously unhelpful podcast The Baby Bubble hosted by Clare and Jessie Stephens.

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Nikolina Koevska Kharoufeh

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Tina Matolov

Audio Producer: Leah Porges 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth.

This episode of Diary of a Birth contains graphic descriptions including blood loss and traumatic injury. Please proceed with caution. Additional resources can be found in the show notes. 

A pop. A gush. And suddenly, a huge amount of blood running down her legs. What started as a peaceful first day of maternity leave became a fight for two lives when Sabrina Banayad experienced a rare and life-threatening placental abruption.

Sabrina shares the story of her second birth, that ended in a code green emergency cesarean. With extraordinary presence of mind, she called emergency services while home alone, calmly organising childcare and preparing for paramedics even as she continued to haemorrhage.

This powerful story is about maternal instinct, quick thinking, and the medical miracle that allowed both mother and daughter to thrive after one of the most dangerous birth complications possible. 

Resources:

PANDA Birth Trauma And Recovery

Birth Trauma Australia 

Gidget Foundation

THE END BITS:
Support independent women's media
Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here. 

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Sabrina Banayad

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Tina Matolov

Audio Producer: Leah Porges 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth. Enjoy!

When 26-year-old Silje and her husband Jordan decided to expand their family beyond their 18-month-old son Mads, they never imagined what would happen next. In today's episode, Silje shares the breathtaking moment at her dating scan when the sonographer counted not one, not two, but three heartbeats—completely spontaneous fraternal triplets with no family history of multiples.

From navigating a high-risk pregnancy while caring for a toddler and maintaining her legal career, to the extraordinary cesarean birth where she'd already named each baby based on their distinct movements in utero. Silje takes us through her journey of delivering Ada, Teddy and Eric at 34 weeks, and how this unexpected blessing transformed her into an advocate for multiple birth families across Australia. 

Diary Of A Birth features mums telling their miraculous stories of bringing life into the world. If you’d like to share your birth story, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected] or send us a voice note here.

THE END BITS:
Support independent women's media
Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Silje Andersen-Cooke

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Tina Matolov

Audio Producer: Leah Porges 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth. Enjoy!

When Mamamia's Head of Content, Eliza, found herself unexpectedly pregnant with her third child during what was meant to be a one-year Swedish adventure, life took a beautiful detour. But her planned C-section was not so routine when the spinal anaesthesia failed midway through, causing Eliza to feel the surgical procedure.

After a desperate plea for help and being rushed to be put under general anaesthetic, Eliza describes waking up to the joy of meeting her son August. She shares the cultural differences of Swedish healthcare—celebration sandwiches with tiny flags, their devotion to constant skin-to-skin contact (to the point of no hospital bassinets!), and the staff's bewilderment at her Australian swaddling techniques. Her story beautifully weaves together the unexpected moments of motherhood with cross-cultural discovery.

Diary Of A Birth features mums telling their miraculous stories of bringing life into the world. If you’d like to share your birth story, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected] or send us a voice note here.

THE END BITS:
Support independent women's media
Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here. 

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Eliza Sorman Nilsson

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Tina Matolov

Audio Producer: Leah Porges 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth.

Imagine discovering you're pregnant just two days after receiving a rare blood cancer diagnosis at 30. For journalist Elle Halliwell, this unimaginable scenario became reality when her routine health check revealed chronic myeloid leukemia—an incurable but treatable condition that would change everything.

Despite doctors advising she terminate the pregnancy to begin life-saving treatment, Elle made the extraordinary decision to continue, feeling it was "meant to be." She takes us through the peace she found amid chaos, and her induced birth at 36 weeks that brought her perfect son Tor into the world. From the emotional rollercoaster of breastfeeding while preparing for cancer treatment, to rebuilding her life as a mother with an ongoing medical condition, Elle's story is a powerful testament to maternal determination that defied medical odds. 

THE END BITS:
Support independent women's media
Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here. 

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Elle Halliwell 

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Tina Matolov

Audio Producer: Leah Porges 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth. Enjoy!

In this weeks episode, Seize the Yay's Sarah Davidson takes us through her emotional journey to motherhood—one made even more unique by her experience as a cross-cultural adoptee. From experiencing a heartbreaking missed miscarriage that left her waiting three painful weeks for a D&C procedure, to the surprising natural conception that followed unsuccessful fertility treatments; Sarah navigated her pregnancy with cautious hope until her waters dramatically broke in the hospital car park at exactly 38 weeks. 

As her breech baby Teddy arrived, Sarah's mother—who had never experienced pregnancy herself—was there to witness this profound moment, creating a beautiful full-circle experience and solidifying Sarah's belief that Teddy was meant for their family all along.

THE END BITS:
Support independent women's media
Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here.

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Sarah Davidson

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Ella Maitland

Audio Producer: Tina Matolov

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.