This week we sit down with Nicole, our Sunday pregnancy yoga teacher, 3:30pm in studio, and hypnobirthing practitioner. Nicole takes us through her births of her eleven and eight year old, and the research rabbit hole that shaped how she teaches today.

What we cover:

• Growing up around home birth through her stepmum and half-sisters, and how that shifted her whole idea of what birth could look like

• Her first birth — 7 hours, at home labouring into hospital, hypnobirthing, zero interventions, not a single vaginal exam

• The "walking backwards into the room I visualised" moment, and her private midwife's quiet cue that changed everything in the final minutes

• Her second birth — an 11-pound baby, waters that didn't break until his head was already out, and the mother's group that made her realise how rare her experience was

• Why she believes it's often not birth itself that's traumatic, but the environment women are expected to birth in

• As Ina May Gaskin famously said: “If a woman doesn't look like a goddess during labor, then someone isn't treating her right.” 

• The stats on intervention rates across public, private and midwifery-led care — and why they vary so much

• Declining routine blood tests for her "big baby," and how she navigated that conversation with hospital staff

• The nervous system side of labour — why feeling safe matters as much as anything physical, and how yoga and hypnobirthing work together to support that

• Perineal massage, tearing, and working with the intensity of labour instead of against it

Want to work with Nicole? She teaches pregnancy yoga every Sunday at 3:30pm in studio, runs hypnobirthing courses, and hosts babymoon retreats through Birth Buddies. Find her at birthbuddies.com.au.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

Book your Remedial massage with a trained women's health physio here.

As a pregnant woman, learn 6 ways to avoid tearing here.

Try our Pre & Postnatal Yoga, Pilates and Barre at our studio! 3 for 30 Intro Offer here.

Unsure if a Women's Health Physio is what you need? Book a Discovery call here.

Mamas you are going to want a pen and pad for this podcast -Kelci give you 101 hot tips for birth preparation and birth tools.

Kelci is in her third trimester during this podcast (her favourite trimester), discussing her pregnancy thus far, different physical challenges, and even more so mental challenges (hello trying to be pregnant, run a business, and have a toddler). 

We discuss the exercise she has prioritised during pregnancy that world around her toddler and family life. The birth and motherhood of 2 preparation tools she is using during pregnancy and the tool kit she is preparing for birth. Kelci has some great ideas she discusses in this podcast to fill up your tool kit for birth so that you are prepared for any situation that comes your way in the unpredictable nature of birth. 

Kelci also discusses her Nesting party which I absolutely LOVE the concept of and is the most helpful thing for a second time mama. 

I can’t wait for you guys to listen, enjoy, I would love to hear from you if any of this information resonates or you find helpful for your own journey. Either send me an email here or a message on our Her women’s health Instagram.

In the podcast we mention our upcoming Breath Pregnancy retreat. A nourishing afternoon to slow down, connect with your body & baby, and prepare for birth - surrounded by like-minded mums-to-be.

Book here.

DISCUSSED IN THE PODCAST

Gracie purvis photography

Cass alex photo

Acupuncture with Sylvia

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

Book your Remedial massage with a trained women's health physio here.

As a pregnant woman, learn 6 ways to avoid tearing here.

Try our Pre & Postnatal Yoga, Pilates and Barre at our studio! 3 for 30 Intro Offer here. 

Unsure if a Women's Health Physio is what you need? Book a Discovery call here.

This birth story with Cass is a banger. The biggest theme I noticed with Cass’s journey is that she was so great at doing what she wanted, sticking to what she believed, not being influenced, pressured, not having biased opinions.

If she wanted to have a natural birth, that is what she did.

If she wanted to have a hospital birth, that is what she did.

If she wanted to have drugs or no drugs, that is what she did.

If she wanted to smear manuka honey on her vaginal tear, that's what she did.

No judgment upon herself.

Not putting the responsibility completely into someone else's hands.

Not being pressured.

So Cas’s individual birth into a few dot points looked like:

• Private midwife

• Swimming in pregnancy

• No perineal massage (later slightly regretful 😂)

• Hospital birth

• No drugs

• In the water

• No touch

• 3rd degree tear

• Surgery

• No antibiotics

• Long walks early postpartum

• Infection

• Manuka honey for 4 months

• Antibiotics 

• Full recovery

Find Cass here: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassalexphoto 

Website: https://cassalexphoto.mypixieset.com 

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

Book your Remedial massage with a trained women's health physio here.

As a pregnant woman, learn 6 ways to avoid tearing here.

Try our Pre & Postnatal Yoga, Pilates and Barre at our studio! 3 for 30 Intro Offer here. 

Unsure if a Women's Health Physio is what you need? Book a Discovery call here.

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for general information, education and storytelling purposes only. The experiences shared by our guests are personal to them and may not reflect every pregnancy, birth or postnatal journey.

The information discussed in this episode is not intended to replace individual medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please speak with your GP, midwife, obstetrician, women’s health physiotherapist or relevant healthcare provider about your own circumstances before making decisions about your care.

If anything in this episode raises concerns for you, please reach out to your healthcare team for support.

I was in stitches throughout Kelci’s birth story of Parker!

My goodness so many funny moments, inspiring moments, educational moments.

For those that don’t know, Kelci is the Co-owner of Her Women’s Health, she had a 2 year old at the time of recording this podcast, had birthed quickly at home, in the pool, with her husband, private midwife, and doula.

In this podcast we discussed:

• Kelci’s pregnancy was was pretty uneventful except for this incredibly rare condition called PRAWS (To know what that is you will have to listen, it’s not what you would think)

• How she came to the decision of doing a home birth

• Her short and subtle early labour - techniques she used to keep distracted, calm, and patient

• Labour and various coping strategies she used to remain controlled for more or less the entire birth

• Techniques she used to create minimal perineal trauma

• Delivering the placenta

Kelci loves all things birth, loved birth stories long before she even had a man to make a baby with, and just absolutely loved sharing her very own birth story with you all <3 

I can’t wait for you guys to listen, enjoy, I would love to hear from you if any of this information resonates or you find helpful for your own journey. Either send her an email here or on our Her women’s health instagram.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

Book your Remedial massage with a trained women's health physio here.

As a pregnant woman, learn 6 ways to avoid tearing here.

Try our Pre & Postnatal Yoga, Pilates and Barre at our studio! 3 for 30 Intro Offer here. 

Unsure if a Women's Health Physio is what you need? Book a Discovery call here.

Oof mamasitas you are in for a treat, 

For those who don’t know, my name is Caitlin and I am the founder of Her. Women's Health & mother of Luca who is now 20 months old.

I have finally been able to share my birth story with Luca 20 months later. I just had so much fun reliving this experience and sharing all the hilarious, raw and real truths with you. 

We follow the timeline from 

• Miscarriage 

• First, second and third tri

• The different modalities i used through these times

• Different symptoms I had during my pregnancy and how I treated them

• The exercises I did through my pregnancy

• The fact that I DIDN’T see a women’s health physio and who I saw instead

• My 3 day labour journey with all the ups and downs (there was a 100m, 2hr beach walk in there suggested by my dear partner)

• To finally come to my desire physiology home birth

I can’t wait for you guys to listen, enjoy, I would love to hear from you if any of this information resonates or you find helpful for your own journey.

Either sene me an email here or on our Her women’s health Instagram.

In the podcast we mention our upcoming Breath Pregnancy retreat. A nourishing afternoon to slow down, connect with your body & baby, and prepare for birth - surrounded by like-minded mums-to-be.

• Sunday 17th May 1-5pm

• Her. Women’s Health Studio, 2/22 Beach Rd Maroochydore

• Cost: $70 ($60 for members) (members, you have a discount code coming to your inbox!)

• Only 20 spots available! …. And they will sell out quickly amongst our members. So get in quick!

Book here.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS

Book your Remedial massage with a trained women's health physio here.

As a pregnant woman, learn 6 ways to avoid tearing here.

Try our Pre & Postnatal Yoga, Pilates and Barre at our studio! 3 for 30 Intro Offer here. 

Unsure if a Women's Health Physio is what you need? Book a Discovery call here.

Welcome back to Things They Don’t Tell Her Podcast! 

In this episode, I continue sharing my personal pregnancy journey. 

I’m joined once again by the wonderful Amy Paulinich, midwife and founder of Natural Birth Co. Together, we dive into managing physical discomforts, preparing for birth, and building a strong support network during pregnancy.

Throughout our conversation, I share practical tips that have helped me manage common pregnancy pains, such as round ligament and pelvic girdle pain. We also discuss how I’ve been preparing mentally and physically for birth and the postpartum period, and the value of surrounding yourself with a supportive community.

Topics Discussed:

Connect with Us:

Listen to Part 1 Here.

Tune in to learn, connect, and feel empowered on your pregnancy journey!

In this episode of Things They Don’t Tell Her Podcast I am sharing insights from my own Pregnancy Journey. In this convo, we dive into the ways I have been supporting my own mental and physical health throughout pregnancy, practitioners that I have been seeing, the model of care I have chosen and loads of recommendations for books, podcasts, local studios and so much more. 

Things I did to help with my pregnancy nausea

Here are a few great blogs for more tips for pregnancy nausea

Things I have been doing for my physical health

In my first trimester, between the lack of energy and the nausea I focused on small bouts of movement that made me feel good. I went for short walks, swam at the beach and surfed. I did short at home yoga flows and occasionally found the energy to attend a yoga or pilates class which I booked through ⁠Class Pass⁠ and therefore didn’t have the commitment of a membership.

Since moving into my second trimester, I have been enjoying Pregnancy Yoga and Pilates Classes, Pilates Reformer as well as swimming laps at the pool. I have found that the muscles around my pelvis, particularly my glutes and hip flexors feel a lot tighter so I have started using a foam roller and trigger ball regularly. 

Forms of exercise I have been enjoying include:

Things I have been doing for my mental health 

Model of Care

This is ⁠a great blog⁠ on the pregnancy birth models of care available on the Sunshine Coast written by Emmy, another incredible acupuncturist from Bloom Chinese Medicine.

The private midwifery practice that I am going through is called ⁠Coastlife Midwifery⁠. 

I have been having my pregnancy scans at ⁠The Radiology Clinic⁠ which is the only radiology clinic on the Sunshine Coast that bulk bills Obstetric scans.

Nutrition and Supplements 

This is a great blog by Renee Jennings, a Prenatal Dietician on tips for choosing a Prenatal Supplement. She has published a book called Nurture The Seed which I highly recommend reading during Pregnancy. Another great book is called Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols.

Prenatal supplements that I have been recommended by my naturopath include 

Eagle Tresos Natal and Naturobest (they have a specific 1st trimester one with ginger to help with nausea).

In this week's episode I am joined by the beautiful Sarah from The Milky Days. Sarah is an experienced midwife and lactation consultant with over 14 years experience. She is a Sunshine Coast local, a mama of two little kids and one of her passions is supporting mothers to have a positive and fulfilling breastfeeding experience. Sarah offers in person consultations for breastfeeding support and has an app with short educational courses for Pregnant & Postpartum mamas. 

Here's what we covered in this episode:

1. Breastfeeding Basics and Must-Have Products: Sarah shares her wisdom on the essentials of breastfeeding and separates the helpful products from the ones you can do without. Sarah mentions Silverettes and Qiara Probiotics
2. Antenatal Expressing: Many mothers have questions about antenatal expressing, and Sarah delves into the topic to demystify the process. She shares tips and insights that can be beneficial for pregnant mums wondering where to start.
3. Common Issues and How to Address Them: No breastfeeding journey is without its challenges. Sarah discusses the common issues that mothers may face and offers practical solutions and guidance to help overcome them.
4. Mastitis: Mastitis can be a painful and frustrating experience for breastfeeding mothers. Sarah provides information on what mastitis is, how to recognise its symptoms, and offers advice on how to manage and alleviate this condition.

Sarah's wealth of knowledge, coupled with her warm and compassionate approach, makes this episode a must-listen for any mother or mother-to-be.

This week Caitlin is joined on the show by Cath, a Private Midwife from Coastlife Midwifery and Hypnobirthing Australia Educator.

Learn about what hypnobirthing is and how it helps couples to prepare for birth. Discover the different options for pregnancy care on the Sunshine Coast and what support a private midwife can provide.

If you are newly pregnant you can also check out this blog post on Pregnancy and birth models of care Sunshine Coast.

Check out Cath’s hypnobirthing private courses here.

And find out more about Pre and Postnatal Private Midwifery care here.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Calling all mums-to-be! Get ready for an insightful conversation in today's episode of Things They Don’t Tell Her Podcast. 🎙️

Join Caitlin as she delves into the nitty-gritty of preparing your pelvis, pelvic floor, and perineum for childbirth. Let's break down the complexities together and empower ourselves for this incredible journey.

Watch the video of this episode here.

Tune in now for wisdom you won't want to miss.

If you’re interested to learning more about how you can prepare for birth, head over to our website at https://herwomenshealth.com/ Or book an appointment here https://herwomenshealth.com/book-now