Episode 69 is shared by Brooke, a first time mum who chose to freebirth her first baby, Mana-kai.

Brooke talks us through her pregnancy, her reflections on mothering and grieving her maiden self and then her very cosy birth of Mana-kai, labouring without electricity due to power outages for much of her labour.

She also shares her post partum journey, chatting about breastfeeding and the challenges of her prolapse.

Resources:

• How to Belly Map
  • Video of Belly Mapping
• I couldn't find specific resources exploring maidenhood to motherhood but this concept is explored in these resources
  • Childbirth as a Rite of Passage
  • 10 Moons
• Baby CPR
• I haven't listened but this is an ep from B from Core Floor Restore chatting about prolapse
  • https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/03-b-core-floor-restore-its-not-normal-to-pee-poo-yourself/id1625607785?i=1000564849488

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Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
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Episode 68 is shared by Genna who lives on Wurunderji land. After Genna’s IVF journey, she chose to have a homebirth with her first baby, Freddie through the publicly funded homebirth program. She also shares how invaluable midwifery care was during her pregnancy, labour, birth and post partum experience, especially in the context of her significant prior mental health struggles including at the time undiagnosed ASD, and her ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, and then also having previously had a psychotic episode.

We also chat about how she factored in her mental health vulnerabilities into her journey and also the benefits of homebirth for those who are neurodivergent.

Resources:

• Birth With Confidence: Savvy choices for normal birth (Book)
• Embracing the intensity workshop
• The Birth Space: A Doula's Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond
• Galinjera Maternity Program
• Possum Skin Cloak

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

birthingathome.apodcast@gmail.com

This is the first episode of Homebirth Around The World. A series where I chat with homebirth midwives and they share how homebirth works in their area. From cost, culture, insurance, becoming a homebirth midwife and working as one, this series aims to try and dy-mystify homebirth and raise awareness for homebirth.

In this episode, I chat with Lucy from @lucybuddingwood who shares her journey to becoming an indepedent private midwife in England and how homebirth works generally in England. We chat a lot about insurance and the challenges in the system - quite different to home we in Australia may perceive it!

Below are some resources worth checking out!

Homebirth, NHS midwifery, regulation and unions.

NHS Homebirth: Where to give birth NHS Guide, Birthrights Guide to Choice in place of birth, Homebirth UK (old site, gives some historical background to that 1990s/2000s surge in homebirth popularity

What is an Independent Midwife? NCT Guide

Zest Midwives: Membership for Independent Midwives to access intrapartum insurance.
RCM: Midwives' Union
NMC: UK Nursing and Midwifery Regulator
NMC guide to indemnity insurance

Albany Midwifery Practice: Overview via AIMS
Closure: How the flagship Albany Midwifery Practice, at the heart of its South London community, was demonised and dismantled Paperback – 11 May 2023

ARM: Association of Radical Midwives
Midwifery Matters (quarterly member's magazine of the Association of Radical Midwives, this is the magazine I Edit.)

ARM Archive on Homebirth (ARM member's archived discussion thread on homebirth, again this was probably mostly from 2000s/2010s.

#saynotobullyinginmidwifery Report, via ARM. This is a book by ARM members on bullying in midwifery and gives a really good insight into NHS midwives' experience within the UK. It isn't specifically about homebirth, but it goes really deep into the culture!!

Lucy's website www.lucybuddingwood.com

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
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Episode 67 is shared by Amy who lives on Gubbi Gubbi country in Queensland. Amy shares her two homebirth stories, which includes one in a publicly funded hospital homebirth program and then her second with a private midwife. We chat about her experiences with both models, her episiotomy and then her fear around tearing, her desire for a water birth and so much more.

Please make sure to share this episode or any others you’ve listened to, whether it’s wth friends, or on social media, or leaving a rating or review.

All of it helps to get the word out there that homebirth is an option!

Resources:

• Free Antenatal Classes from Core Floor Restore
• Dr Andrew Bisits
  • One-on-one midwife care linked to lower risk of premature birth
  • Australia's breech baby whisperer (ABC)
  • Intrapartum CTG monitoring in breech presentation
• Birth Time: The Documentary
• Catherine Bell - Birth Map
• Lael Stone
• Birth is Magic Kids Book for Homebirth

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

birthingathome.apodcast@gmail.com

Episode 66 shared by Tegan in Queensland.

This episode unfortunately, is a roller coaster & I’m so grateful to Tegan for sharing her story. It’s difficult to summarise Tegan’s story into a quick intro, but how’s this - after being accepted and excluded from the local publicly funded program MULTIPLE times in her pregnancy with her second baby, Tegan made the decision to birth at home, unassisted. We talk about so much in this episode too, like GBS diagnoses, antibiotics, gut health, breastfeeding, Cervical ectropion and more. \

Resources:

• Short cervix info
• Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Dr Sarah Buckley
• Cervical Ectropion
• First 1000 Days of Life: Consequences of Antibiotics on Gut Microbiota
  • There is SO much info out there on this topic - this is just one article
• Born at Home: The Documentary
• Pacific Mother (See the Trailer)
• Thrush in Pregnancy
• GBS (Group B) Testing
  • About Group B Strep (GBS)

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

birthingathome.apodcast@gmail.com

This is episode 65 and it’s shared by Meg in NSW who shares her experience being a first time mum who chose to have a homebirth.

She shares her journey to finding homebirth, her pregnancy journey, the birth of her baby girl Dylan & then her post partum experience including post partum hameomorrahe and breastfeeding difficulties influenced by a severe tongue tie.

A fantastic episode for anyone planning a homebirth for the first time!

Resources:

• Birth Time: The Documentary
• The impact on midwives and their practice after caring for women who have a traumatic childbirth: A systematic review
• Trauma and fear in Australian midwives
• The Dinner Ladies (post partum food)
• Birth Circle (Abby & Sheryl Siddery)
• The Birth Sling
• Tongue Tie

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

birthingathome.apodcast@gmail.com

Episode 64 is shared by Amber who is a mum to two homebirth babies.

Today she shares the fantastic story of the birth of Delilah at 42 + 5 weeks at home, and then the birth of Bette, who was a planned homebirth with midwives, but ended up being an accidental freebirth at home as the midwives didn’t make it in time!

We also chat about family centred birth and changing the narrative around homebirth and birth.

Resources

• Evidence on post dates baby written by Dr Rachel Reed
• OP baby written by Dr Rachel Reed
• A survey of Australian women’s digital media usage in pregnancy and labour and birth (2023, journal article)
• ECV (external cephalic version) for breech baby
• Just Another Day in a Woman’s Life?Women’s Long-Term Perceptions of Their FirstBirth Experience. Part I (older article from 1991 but still relevent I think) - click on the PDF download for the full text
• The meaning of a very positive birth experience: focus groups discussions with women (2015)

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

birthingathome.apodcast@gmail.com

Episode 63 is shared by the amazing Alice.

Alice is the creator of Halo Mumma, which is a free website resource to support those on their pregnancy after loss journey.

Alice herself today shares the loss of her twins Ayla and Millie, and the trauma which this created, not just from the pregnancy, but the induction of labour, post partum, and including a delayed PPH.

During the pregnancy of her rainbow baby, Vinny, she ended up switching to homebirth in order to foster a more positive experience.

We talk about multiple different quite difficult topics in this ep that may be triggering for some - so please take care of yourself when listening.

Ultimately, Alice’s story demonstrates that you can homebirth after loss and that no one should be forced to birth in a place where they have experienced so much trauma.

Resources:

• Halo Mumma
• Twins - Great Birth Rebellion Episode with Dr Stu
• The Fifth Vital Sign (book)
• Calm Birth (Education)
• PANDA Pregnancy After Loss
• Chemical Pregnancy

Support the show

Connect with me, Elsie, the host :)

www.birthingathome.com.au

@birthingathome_apodcast
@homebirth.doula_birthingathome

birthingathome.apodcast@gmail.com