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When his partner Maddy went into labour with their second child, Matt was excited to meet the new addition to their family, but a cord prolapse leading to emergency surgery, saw him instead, alone in a waiting room looking at the seemingly motionless hands of a clock. When Baby Wren was born, she required intensive breathing support, and soon afterwards Matt and Maddy had to make the impossible decision to palliate or transfer her to Melbourne to see if specialist help could save her.
Wren spent 8 days in the Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne and underwent cooling. Despite receiving the devastating news that she would not be able to live without a ventilator, Matt describes them as some of the most treasured days of his life, and the special memories they created that captured her last moments.
In his grief and trauma, Matt has been mobilised to bring about change. He is an incredible advocate for bereaved parents, creating spaces where they, especially the Dads, have the support and resources they need to support themselves and their families.Join Matt as he talks to Alex about the heartbreaking and precious short life of baby Wren, and how they navigated pregnancy and birth after birth trauma and loss.
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After a complex fertility journey and a birth and post-partum overshadowed by Covid, Isla was hopeful that she was through the complexity and her journey to her next baby would be more straightforward. At first, this seemed to be the case - as Isla naturally fell pregnant with second baby Freddie. Everything seemed to be going well when Isla discovered a lump on her breast.
Thinking it was likely nothing, possibly mastitis or something connected to the changes of her body in pregnancy, Isla couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right. She persued it further and, after being sent for scans, was told that her hunch had been right - she had aggressive Stage four breast cancer.
Only 33 weeks pregnant at the time, Isla suddenly had to make all kinds of hugely difficult decisions, not just about what was right for her, but also what was the best thing for her baby and she had to do so fast.
Isla speaks of the enormous support she found in community groups, two of which can be found here:
Cancer Chicks.
https://www.instagram.com/cancerchicksau?igsh=dHMzNHFvNTdjeDd2Pregnancy With Cancer Support Group. (Note, this is a private group and you must ask to join)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/168089259921374/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT -
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When Candice took her baby boy Emmett home from hospital he had twice failed the standard hearing tests. However, no one seemed too concerned, her pregnancy had been uncomplicated and everything seemed well. However an outpatient audiology consult that should have taken a couple of hours, lasted nearly a full day and maternal instinct started tingling. At the end of that day she was told that Emmett had permanent hearing loss on one side and they were referred for further testing and consultation.
Congenital CMV was listed as one possible cause and there followed a whirlwind of appointments and tests to arrange to determine exactly what might have caused the hearing loss. Candice and Isaac had never heard of CMV and they took to google, quickly heading down a whirlwind of their own. The symptoms of CMV vary wildly, are often difficult to diagnose and may only present later in life.
Testing confirmed that Emmett had CMV and the next few months were absorbed by days of testing and appointments. Emmett is now a happy boy, developing and learning well - navigating around his hearing loss and Candice is confident that with their support, he will be able to take on the world. With the benefit of hindsight, Candice reflects that there is little she could have done differently, with the precautions to prevent CMV being virtually impossible when living with a toddler and the prevalence of infection being so high.
This episode includes a bonus mini-discussion of the complexities of CMV following Kara's interview with Candice. -
In this episode we side-step from our usual content to hear the considered insights of Dr. Nisha Khot.
Nisha grew up, studied and practiced to become a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in India - where 'a feminist was born'. After further training and working in the UK she landed on Australian shores, practising and training the next generation of O&G specialists, many (including our co-host Kara) are all the better for it. Working as a consultant, Nisha realised that the injustices she was seeing were not going to be fixed by a magical ‘someone’ and so took it upon herself to do something about it. As a fierce advocate of equity in healthcare and medicine, she is now the Vice-President of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), and is committed to ensuring the future of the profession has women at its very core .
Join Dr Kara and Dr Nisha as they explore topics close to their hearts and to their practice: the value of diversity, and importance of informed decision-making, and advocacy for gender equity in healthcare.
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Pip had always seen herself having a family and as a driven and organised obstetrician she had clear expectations about how, and when, that might happen. But rarely do fertility journeys unfold as we expect. After an initial miscarriage that instantly her interactions and understanding of the women in her care, she found herself on an IVF journey that would bring heartbreak, complications, twists and turns that she could never have predicted.
Now a mum of four, the family picture belies the journey that Pip and her husband went on to get there. She talks to us about how that journey has shaped every aspect of her, not just as a person but as a doctor as well. Pip’s open and moving conversation with Kara shows how what we see of a person is often only the tip of the iceburg of who they are and the experiences they have had. We carry all our pregnancy experiences in our hearts, those visible to all and those hidden to the outside world.
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Following the birth of her first child, Violet, Kirsty experienced a large post partum
haemorrhage, which required a hysterectomy to save her life. This would seem to spell an end to her fertility journey and Kirsty, who had always imagined more children, began conversations around surrogacy. However, she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that she desperately wanted to carry another child herself.
Still deep in postpartum, Kirsty began a journey of discovery about uterine transplant - a surgery not yet performed in Australia but gaining momentum elsewhere in the world. Stumbling across a website for a clinical trial in Australia, Kirsty fired off a chance email that would change her trajectory completely and see her become the first woman in Australia to undergo the surgery and successfully receive her mother's uterus. She subsequently became pregnant and her son Henry grew and flourished in the same womb in which she herself had developed years before.
Kirsty speaks of the science which saved her childbearing dreams and has already been replicated for others in Australia as momentum continues to grow for women's fertility choices. -
Alexandra had always imagined being a mum, but the onset of baby hunger in her late 30s, while a long term relationship with a man who didn’t share her dream, led to a change in direction. After moving back in with her parents, a series of bad dates, time began to outrun her reproductive age, so Alexandra made the pragmatic decision to go it alone using donor sperm.
What followed was a journey of discovery; leading her family through their unease and grief of an expected path, encountering strangers and health professionals quick to share opinions and assumptions. Alexandra surrounded herself with a community of people who understood and supported her, and in her memoir shares her experience of pregnancy, birth and parenting baby Quinn.
Alexandra's book, Inconceivable, is a beautiful, raw, honest, and at times hilarious journey into solo motherhood, one becoming ever more prevalent amongst Australian women. -
Nine years on from a traumatic birth that led to a fourth degree tear, Verity still finds herself wondering if there is more she could have done; asked a different person, articulated herself differently, said the magic words that would have got her the help she so desperately needed.
The reality however, is that she pushed and pushed and pushed. Went down every avenue, was articulate in her concerns, her needs and her emotional vulnerability. Had it not been for her mother and a GP who finally listened, Verity believes her story could have had a disastrous ending.
In her conversation with us, Verity is open and honest about her birth, her fourth degree tear, subsequent surgery and the toll that took, and continues to take, on her physical and emotional health. She believes that this transparency is crucial, not just for her healing but for others in her position, and there are many. With so much secrecy and misunderstanding still surrounding severe tears, many woman still feel ashamed to talk openly about the reality of living a changed life as a result.
Verity speaks eloquently about this, her personal experience, her fear at falling pregnant a second time and her belief that the impact of her trauma will continue through the generations. Yet at the time, not one person even mentioned the phrase 'birth trauma'. -
Married to a busy farmer and working as a midwife at their nearest hospital, Marnie’s dream was always to have her family born and bred close to home.
She was just 19 weeks pregnant with her second baby, when her rural GP obstetrician found that baby's heartbeat was around half what it should have been, and diagnosed fetal heart block - a rare condition that would shape the pregnancy, birth, and first months of baby Amelia's life.
What followed was the opposite of what Marnie had envisaged, with hours and hours of driving to multiple appointments, days of intense monitoring and months of uncertainty, all far from home. Impacting the whole family - Marnie is so proud of her partner Pete as he worked all hours of the day, every day, keeping the farm running; and her son Jack who quickly had to get used to spending a lot of time away from his home and his parents, something he had never done before.
Marnie shares with us her incredible story of a rural family under pressure, out of their environment, in a pandemic; and of the pacemaker that finally turned Amelia's life around. -
Heidi is mother to three children but her firstborn, Harry, was stillborn at 38 weeks after a seemingly straightforward pregnancy. The delivery of that news, that no expectant parent should ever hear, was done in a way that lacked the care and compassion it warranted and that memory continues to loom large. Returning home, Heidi and her family were lucky to be surrounded by love and support but there were still moments where she felt isolated and alone.
That unique and difficult insight is one that guides her as she supports other families and educates health workers in her role as a Bereavement Support Worker for the Red Nose Foundation, a position that she was offered after sharing Harry's story in a campaign around Stillbirth Australia.
In this episode, Heidi shares her story of Harry - how he remains a large presence in her and her family's lives and how her work with Red Nose is such an important part of the slowly improving approach to supporting families through stillbirth and pregnancy loss. -
An accomplished writer, musician, journalist, broadcaster and climate activist, Sian Prior has led a fulfilling life. However, she has always felt a chasm where her child should have been and it is only recently that she has given herself the space and compassion to acknowledge the grief that has been with her throughout much of her adult life as a result
The grief connected to Sian's journey of infertility and recurrent miscarriage carries its own weight, but has been further exacerbated by having to navigate her way in a society that places judgment and labels on those in her position without consideration for circumstance.
Feeling that there is not enough open conversation and empathy around the complexities of being a woman without children, Sian has bravely bared her soul in her new book 'Childless' in the hope at going some way to breaking the silence. We are so glad to have the opportunity to have this important conversation on Pregnancy Uncut. -
Claudine had been having a normal second pregnancy but when her 20 week scan showed abnormalities and she received the heartbreaking news that her baby, Sophie had severe Spina Bifida, her and her husband had two weeks to make the hardest decision of any parent.
Soon after, Claudine fell pregnant for a third time and took every recommended precaution but again, this time at 18 weeks, she received the same devastating news of Spina Bifida with baby Willow already showing signs of multiple complications. Claudine and her family once again had to say goodbye.
Feeling strongly that their family was still not complete and that their daughter Eliza should have a sibling, Claudine and Dave gathered the courage to try again but their 16 week scan revealed that despite all odds this baby too had Spina Bifida. This time, however, them receiving this news coincided with the first intra-uterine surgery being performed in Australia and suddenly they were faced with possibility.
Claudine shares her incredible story of the heartbreak, hope and groundbreaking science that has created and shaped her family. -
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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