S7 EP191: Bianca Telford: Living with Epilepsy / “High Risk” Label / Hospital Birth / Freebirth at Home

S7 EP194: Kristy Haszard: Three Positive Hospital Births / MGP / Spontaneous Labour at 36 Weeks / Low Platelets + Induction / Surprise Pregnancy at 20 Weeks /

In this episode, I’m joined by Kristy, who shares three positive hospital birth stories, each one unfolding in a completely different way. Her first birth began unexpectedly when her waters broke at 36 weeks and 3 days. Kristy was supported to trust that if her baby was coming, there was no need to interfere. It became a deeply empowering entrance into motherhood. With her second baby, Kristy navigated low platelets, hospital policy, and the emotional weight of agreeing to an induction But with the support of her midwife who knew her deeply, honoured her fears, and protected her birth space, her induction became an example of how different birth can feel when intervention is used with patience and skill. Kristy’s third pregnancy was the ultimate surprise, discovering she was already 20 weeks pregnant. This episode is a beautiful reminder of the power of continuity of care, the importance of feeling safe and known, and how every birth can bring its own lesson in trust. Resources + Mentions Instragram: @kristyhaszard Podcasts: Australian Birth Stories The Great Birth Rebellion Instagram Accounts: @badassmotherbirther @evarosebirth @coreandfloorrestore Education + Bodywork Spinning Babies Hypnobirthing Australia Fiona Hallinan - The Pelvic Space Katharine Graves - KG Hypnobirthing If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram @positivebirthaustralia [https://www.instagram.com/positivebirthaustralia/] so more women can discover these important stories and feel supported in their own journey. Mentioned in this episode: Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera Designs [https://positivebirthaustralia.captivate.fm/esferadesigns] Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour. Positive Birth Australia [https://positivebirthaustralia.captivate.fm/pba] Free Birth Debrief with Shari from Belly2Birth + 10% Off All Programs Use code: POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all programs including Journey to Birth + a free birth debrief.

S7 EP193: Shari from Belly2Birth: Birth Trauma - How It’s Held and How to Move Through It

This week on the show I’m joined by Shari from Belly2Birth, a birth educator of over 13 years and now trauma-informed coach whose work has evolved into supporting women through the deeper emotional layers of birth and beyond. In this conversation, we move into something that isn’t spoken about enough… the reality that more than 1 in 3 women walk away from birth carrying trauma. Today we explore how these experiences can stay with us long after birth… shaping the way we feel, respond, and move through motherhood. This is a powerful conversation that brings birth trauma into the light… highlighting the depth of impact these experiences can have on a woman’s body, mind, and sense of self… and how important it is to have the space, support, and tools to process and release them as part of this rite of passage. IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER: 1. The reality of birth trauma… and why it’s more common than we think 2. How trauma can form through how a woman feels in her birth 3. Shari’s personal experience and what shaped her work 4. Why women can feel unheard or disconnected within the system 5. The fawning response… and why many don’t speak up in the moment 6. How trauma can show up later… often when something triggers it 7. Why these experiences are held in the body 8. The difference between reflecting on birth and actually processing it 9. How past patterns and the subconscious can influence birth 10. What it looks like to process, release, and move forward Show Notes: Instagram: @belly2birth Website: www.belly2birth.com Listen to Shari's birth stories HERE. [https://open.spotify.com/episode/14D2xVPgDx4XXjOtqCjE4k?si=546a7dd89f7d4386] Free Birth Debrief: Shari offers free 1:1 birth debrief sessions - you can reach out to her via Instagram to book and check availability. Use code POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all Shari's programs. Mentioned in this episode: Free Birth Debrief with Shari from Belly2Birth + 10% Off All Programs Use code: POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all programs including Journey to Birth + a free birth debrief. Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera Designs [https://positivebirthaustralia.captivate.fm/esferadesigns]

S7 EP192: Jaylene: Home Birth / Breech Baby / Under 4-Hour Labour / Deep Grief + Healing

This week on the show I’m joined by Jaylene, a Canadian-born mother now living in New Zealand, whose journey into motherhood carries deep threads of grief, healing, intuition and trust. Long before conception, Jaylene was navigating the devastating loss of her younger brother… a grief that reshaped her sense of timing, readiness.. It wasn’t until years later, after consciously creating space to reconnect with herself, that she stepped into pregnancy with intention and openness. Throughout her pregnancy, Jaylene followed what felt aligned for her… immersing herself in positive birth stories, and trusting her body, which ultimately led her to choose to birth at home. However, when she discovered her baby was breech, she was met with resistance and had to deeply advocate for her choices, educating herself and standing firmly in what she knew to be right for her and her baby. What unfolds is an extraordinary birth story… a fast, instinctive, under four-hour labour at home, where her son was born breech, in his own time and in his own way… on a date that carries profound meaning for her family. Jaylene’s story is a powerful reflection of surrender, sovereignty, and trusting both the seen and unseen elements of birth. In This Episode We Cover 1. Navigating deep grief before stepping into motherhood 2. Creating intentional space before conception 3. Pregnancy as a time of healing, reflection, and transition 4. Choosing a planned home birth in New Zealand 5. Discovering baby was breech and exploring options 6. Advocating for a breech vaginal birth outside standard recommendations 7. Preparing mentally, emotionally, and physically for birth 8. A fast and instinctive 3 hour 45 minute labour 9. Physiological breech birth at home with midwife support 10. Baby born on her late brother’s birthday Resources + Mentions Books Hypnobirthing – Siobhan Miller Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage – Rachel Reed Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – Ina May Gaskin Education Breech Without Borders Spinning Babies Share The Episode If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram @positivebirthaustralia [https://www.instagram.com/positivebirthaustralia/] so more women can discover these stories and feel supported in their own journey. Mentioned in this episode: Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera Designs [https://positivebirthaustralia.captivate.fm/esferadesigns] Free Birth Debrief with Shari from Belly2Birth + 10% Off All Programs Use code: POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all programs including Journey to Birth + a free birth debrief.

S7 EP191: Bianca Telford: Living with Epilepsy / “High Risk” Label / Hospital Birth / Freebirth at Home

This week on the show I’m joined by Bianca, a Brisbane mum of two whose journey into motherhood is a powerful reflection of intuition, advocacy, and deep self-trust. After experiencing a missed miscarriage, Bianca consciously prepared her body and mind before conceiving her first daughter, Bliss. Throughout her pregnancy, she immersed herself in birth education and began to question the mainstream narrative around birth, feeling strongly drawn toward a physiological home birth. However, after being classified as “high risk” due to her epilepsy, Bianca found her options limited and ultimately entered the hospital system, where her plans began to unravel. Bianca’s second pregnancy became a turning point… because this time she chose to follow the inner knowing she had felt all along. What unfolds is a deeply personal and transformative birth at home, where she sinks into the inner work, meets her fears head-on, and anchors into a level of trust she had always carried within. In This Episode We Cover 1. Missed miscarriage and conscious conception 2. Preconception detox and preparing the body for pregnancy 3. Navigating pregnancy with epilepsy and being labelled “high risk” 4. Discovering physiological birth and the desire for home birth 5. Feeling limited by the system and shifting birth plans 6. Hospital birth experience and cascade of interventions 7. The emotional impact of feeling overridden during birth 8. Reflecting on giving away power vs reclaiming it 9. Choosing a sovereign/home birth for her second pregnancy 10. Inner work, fear release, and fully trusting her body during birth Resources + Mentions Instagram @theblissfulwaters [https://www.instagram.com/theblissfulwaters/] Books Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Dr Sarah Buckley Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Dr Rachel Reed Birth Course: Free Birth Society Birth Affirmations: Yolande Norris-Clark Share The Episode If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram so more women can discover these stories and feel supported in their own journey. Mentioned in this episode: Free Birth Debrief with Shari from Belly2Birth + 10% Off All Programs Use code: POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all programs including Journey to Birth + a free birth debrief. Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera Designs [https://positivebirthaustralia.captivate.fm/esferadesigns]

S7 EP190: Kaitlyn Shofay: Hospital Birth Trauma / Rare Face Presentation Birth at Home / Faith-led Freebirth

This week on the show I’m joined by Kaitlyn, a mother of three from Toowoomba whose journey into motherhood began in the most unexpected way… falling pregnant to a man she’d only known for six weeks after a failed morning after pill. What followed was a whirlwind into love, partnership, and parenthood… but also a deeply medicalised first birth that shaped everything that came after. Kaitlyn shares three completely different birth experiences… from a private hospital birth with a cascade of interventions, to a deeply empowering homebirth, and finally, a freebirth guided by her intuition, her faith in God, and a deep trust in her body. Her second birth brings an incredibly rare and powerful moment… birthing her baby face presentation in the water. And with her third, Kaitlyn steps even further into surrender, navigating a surprise pregnancy and a profound inner knowing she was guided by God... and that this was her baby girl. Kaitlyn’s story is a powerful reflection of how birth can become a turning point… an unraveling of what we’ve been taught, and a return to trust, intuition, and something greater guiding the way. In This Episode We Cover • Falling pregnant after six weeks + navigating a relationship and motherhood at the same time • A highly medicalised first birth + the cascade of interventions • Epidural, episiotomy + vacuum-assisted delivery • Postpartum trauma + an undiagnosed hematoma + difficult recovery • Miscarriage + the emotional impact of a D&C • Letting go of control + unexpectedly falling pregnant again • Choosing a home birth + finding aligned midwifery care • A rare face presentation water birth + trusting the body through the unexpected • The shift from fear to trust + healing through birth • A surprise third pregnancy + a moment she believes God revealed she was carrying a little girl Share The Episode If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram so more women can discover these stories and feel supported in their own journey. Mentioned in this episode: Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) Ball Create a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera Designs [https://positivebirthaustralia.captivate.fm/esferadesigns] Free Birth Debrief with Shari from Belly2Birth + 10% Off All Programs Use code: POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all programs including Journey to Birth + a free birth debrief.