Today is a solo ep, just me and we cover the whole spectrum form preconception to birth in our frequently asked questions. We chat vaginal births, tips for natural pain relief during labour, IVF and infertility, going from one child to two, the first trimester and how to even become a doula plus so much more. All things you have asked me we cover.

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

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Dad's don't often get much attention when it comes to pregnancy, birth and postpartum. It's the first generation where Dads are a part of the birthing experience and this week I chat to Nick and Britt, one of my birth couples, but in particular Nick. We look at birth and postpartum from a Dad's perspective, finding your confidence especially as a first time Dad and the informative process of having both a birth and postpartum doula. Interestingly we also share a few tips of how to introduce your pets to your child.

The second half we are joined by Britt who opens up about why she chose to have a doula as a part of her pregnancy and postpartum, insight of what it's like having a doula and what type of people might benefit from the skills a doula brings to the whole experience.

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weeks episode is with the beautiful Elise Stapleton who works in the fertility industry but we chat about her personal experience of suffering from endometriosis and freezing her eggs at the age of 30. Elise runs through her whole experience of egg freezing, retrieval and doing it by yourself. 

In 2022, because of Elise’s prior diagnosis of endometriosis she thought it was coming back, the doctors thought it was endo in the bowel however after surgery it wasn’t endo, it turned out to be cancerous tumour. 

This is Elise inspiring story of listening to your body. 

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When women become mothers our identity shifts, we tend to pigeon hole ourselves as just “mums” and can easily lose our own sense of self and our identity. In this episode we speak to the beautiful Julia Mendola about her experience of motherhood, being a single mum, finding herself again and the importance of reflection and looking back for parents. It all goes in a flash.

Every parenting situation and journey is unique and I feel privileged we have this platform where we can explore parenting and share insights that may be helpful for you. I have known Julia for about 8 years and having this open conversation I was able to connect and learn even more about her. Julia reflects on having a child that wouldn’t sleep, being exhausted, asking for help and subsequently going into a mum and baby unit and feeling like a fraud. The start was hard and Julia reflects back on this time.

Julia runs an amazing children’s boutique in Essendon and online store Chocolate Freckles.

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Birth happens between your ears before anywhere else" is one thing I always talk about with my birthing clients.

Everyone pictures their birth experience and each one looks completely different to the other. You have an expectation of what your birth will look like and this is why I don’t necessarily believe in birth plans because plans can change but let’s explore birth preparation so you can make an empowered decision. 

Education is key when it comes to your birth and postnatal experience. Knowledge is power. 

We also chat with Victoria Schena and Tully Humphrey who are both currently pregnant. This quick chat we talk about other peoples opinions, their own empowered decisions and their individual pregnancies, which are both very different, hence why we say no two pregnancies are the same and no two births are the same. 

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have leading obstetrician, gynaecologist and IVF specialist Dr. Joseph Sgroi.

This episode we speak about our unique relationship as OB and doula, breaking down the old beliefs of what and who is a doula. 

Dr. Joe is the ever optimistic OB who is building an incredible facility and team at The Epworth Freemasons leading the way for a modern approach to birth, pregnancy and what comprehensive care looks like for women beyond the medium.

We talk birth, birth trauma, fertility and so much more including what inspired Dr. Joe to find his way into this medical field.

See more about Dr. Joe here.

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have a personal birth story with Hannah Woodcock who is a mother of 2. I worked with Hannah during her second pregnancy and we speak of our unique doula relationship where I coached Hannah to overcome the trauma of her first birth to help take away the fear and anxiety of the pending second birth to make it a much more enjoyable experience. 

Hannah birthed her first child during the pandemic which was an unprecedented experience as is but Hannah went into early labour and from the start something didn’t feel right. I won’t spoil the story and will let Hannah speak of her experience and how she overcame the birth trauma of her first pregnancy.

Remember birth trauma is relative - everyone experiences it in different ways but we have to unpack it and deal with it so it doesn’t continue to hold power over us.

It was important for Hannah to rewrite her first birth story so it didn’t impact her second birth experience because remember no two births are the same. 

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we speak to Helen Roberts who is Associate Midwife Unit Manager Birth Suite - Epworth Freemasons.

Helen was there for my first birth as a doula and has an amazing story of how she became a midwife. From having a premature birth herself at 27 weeks to becoming a mature age student studying midwifery after having all her children, Helen has an inspiring story of finding yourself after children, finding purpose and unexpectedly digging deep for inner resilience after being diagnosed with Cancer during this same period. Emigrating from Wales Helen found her home at The Epworth Freemasons straight away. 

What’s so special about being a mid wife? Helen speaks with so much joy and compassion of what her experience is like in the birth suit and going through the final stages of one chapter, pregnancy, and the start of a new one, life and a newborn baby. 

Birth is not a linear experience and we talk about women can best prepare for birth. Knowledge is power. 

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat to Anne and Laura from Hatch Physiotherapy. 

Anne and Laura are the founders of @Hatchphysiotherapy. They are passionate about all things pre and postnatal. They believe in proactive, evidence-based health care to avoid preventable birth injury.

In this episode we discuss:

    ⁃    The benefits of doing pelvic floor exercises

    ⁃    Perineal massage

    ⁃    When to reach out to pelvic floor physiotherapist

    ⁃    The importance of seeing a pelvic floor physiotherapist

    ⁃    How to perform your pelvic floor exercises 

    ⁃    And much much more

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Modern Doula. This episode I talk about my background and why I am so passionate about being a doula, but what is a doula? I get this question all the time. I explain the role of a doula in your pre and post pregnancy journey and why I am so passionate about educating people and inspiring you to merge the worlds of western medicine and the holistic approach to create a unique approach for your birth and postpartum journey because no two journeys are the same and no two pregnancies are the same.

For more see our facebook community page The Modern Doula

@Vanessa.salerno_doula

@Themoderndoula_podcast

Proudly brought to you by @Chemistwarehouseaus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.