The Hidden World of Women

E75 - Mother Becoming with Wendy - The Hidden World of Women

In today’s episode of the Hidden World of Women, Emma is joined by Wendy. Wendy was a midwife in England and Australia before she left the field. Today they sit down to discuss the world of birth supports. Like any good episode of The Hidden World of Women, they go on many tangents while discussing the ways birth support shapes people’s experiences. Wendy gave us lots of brilliant openings for topics to discuss, and we are sure that everything in this episode need’s its own individual podcast. The episode discusses: * The benefits of midwifery at an individual and social scale * Having power and agency throughout your pregnancy and labour * Continuity of care and how it benefits patients and care providers * Entering the birthing space with knowledge and self-advocacy skills If you want to hear more from Wendy, her book Mother Becoming can be found at: https://www.motherbecoming.com.au/shop [https://www.motherbecoming.com.au/shop] And the free resources she discusses in the episode can be found at: https://www.motherbecoming.com.au/free-resources [https://www.motherbecoming.com.au/free-resources] The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested. And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au  Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices [https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices] We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ] WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws [https://www.givenow.com.au/whws] Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/ [https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/]

E74 - Double Mastectomy and DIEP Reconstruction - The Hidden World of Women

In today’s episode of the Hidden World of Women, Emma is joined by Sherrie. Sherrie is sharing her experience with preventative breast cancer care. Sherrie’s family has a history of aggressive breast cancers caused by the BRCA gene. After Sherrie’s mum’s own cancer and positive test for this gene, Sherrie knew she wanted to minimise her own risk. A decade ago, Sherrie got a referral to Fiona Stanley’s High Risk breast ward. Until her 40th birthday she had yearly mammograms and MRI’s on her breasts. Emma had many questions about what these are like, as they are under discussed and often only available when you’re over 50. Who would have known that breast MRI’s have a space to put your boobs in? After her 40th birthday, Sherrie was given further options on ways to manage her breast cancer risks. One of her options was a double mastectomy with reconstruction. Her mum had had a reconstruction with implants and Sherrie had seen the long-term impacts that implants had and knew they weren’t for her. Instead, Sherrie chose to have a DIEP Flap reconstruction. This procedure removed her breast tissue and used fatty stomach tissue to reconstruct the breast. Due to this procedure not being motivated by a preexisting breast cancer diagnosis Sherrie was able to spend four years thinking about her options and what would allow her the greatest quality of life. Her eventual surgery ended up being quite spur of the moment due to a cancelation, Sherrie went from not knowing if she would be able to get it done at all to being booked in next Wednesday. While there were concerns around how that would impact her life in the short term, she took the booking and went into surgery. The surgery has a 12–18-month recovery time, at time of recording Sherrie is 7 months out and is able to begin thinking about final steps and cosmetic choices. Breast cancer often starts at the nipple, so the surgeons took her nipples and replaced them with skin from her stomach. She is now on a weighting list to get realistic nipple reconstruction surgery and then eventually she will get them tattooed. With the procedures complete Sherrie now has no breast cancer risk because she has no breast tissue! The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested. And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au  Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices [https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices] We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ] WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws [https://www.givenow.com.au/whws] Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/ [https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/]

E73 - Surviving the Loss of a Newborn - The Hidden World of Women

In today’s episode of the hidden world of women, Emma is joined by Hollie to share the story of her first child Logan. Hollie’s first pregnancy gave her no warning that her child would be born with a fatal genetic condition which affected his mitochondria. Hollie shares her birth experience, her son’s short life and the experience of grieving him afterwards. She also was kind enough to share how it felt going through her second pregnancy with her second child and the fear of losing her baby again. Hollie has said she is consistently surprised by the effect her story has on other people when they hear it. This episode comes with the trigger warning that it is a candid and in-depth discussion of child loss. Hollie hopes that by sharing her story other parents who are having the same experience won’t feel so alone and isolated in their grief. No one thinks that in 2020 (and 2025) that there would be mothers and fathers leaving the hospital without their babies. It felt like an oxymoron, how could she be a mother without a child? Hollie had her second baby more recently and discussed the fear that came with knowing that her first pregnancy had shown no signs of anything going wrong. No number of tests could take away the fear that her baby wouldn’t survive despite it being unlikely her second child would have the same genetic issues. Hollie chose to return to the hospital she had Logan at to give herself a sense of familiarity, she received good care there and decided it was one decision she could make to have control over the situation. We thank Hollie for her vulnerability and willingness to share this story with us. The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested. And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au  Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices [https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices] We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ] WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws [https://www.givenow.com.au/whws] Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/ [https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/]

E72 - Treating eating disorders as a Dietitian - The Hidden World of Women

In today’s episode of the Hidden World of Women, Emma is joined by Nina. Nina is a dietitian who specialises in working with people in eating disorder recovery. She recovered from her own eating disorder alone and uses the experience to help other people, so they don’t have to do it alone. This episode will cover: * What a dietitian is and how they can help in eating disorder recovery * Nina’s experience with her eating disorder and what encouraged her to recover * What the recovery process can look like * How you can support someone you love in recovery Despite the heavy topic in today’s episode, Emma and Nina keep the episode light and approachable. Through talking about Nina’s experiences, we hope people feel seen and less alone. One aspect of Nina’s recovery was rescuing her dog. Her dog gave her love and a reason to keep getting better even when it was hard. You deserve to recover and build a positive relationship with your body and food. The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested. And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au  Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices [https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices] We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ] WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws [https://www.givenow.com.au/whws] Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/ [https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/]

E71 - Supporting Parents of a Child with a Disability - The Hidden World of Women

In today’s episode Emma chats with, Teresa from Kiind. Teresa is the Peer Navigation Lead at Kiind. Her job is to provide a space for families of people with disabilities the space to take first steps in accessing support and knowing they’re not alone. Her lived experience in navigating the world of diagnosis as a family member of a disabled person allows her to better connect to the people she’s working with. No one has been in your shoes, but having support from professionals who have walked a similar path to you is so important to feeling heard and validated. This episode covers: * Post diagnosis grief * Advice on ways you can access support as a family * Feeling frustrated by the way society, treats disabled people and their families * Reminding carers to care for themselves As always Emma and Teresa go off on some tangents and winding thought trails. If you’re the parent or family member of a newly diagnosed person know that you’re not alone and this episode is here to support you however you might be feeling right now. It’s ok to not be ok. Some resources listed in the episode Kiind: https://www.kiind.com.au/ [https://www.kiind.com.au/] Down Syndrome WA: https://www.downsyndrome.org.au/wa/ [https://www.downsyndrome.org.au/wa/] Heart kids: https://www.heartkids.org.au/ [https://www.heartkids.org.au/] Siblings Australia: https://siblingsaustralia.org.au/ [https://siblingsaustralia.org.au/] Relationships Australia: https://www.relationships.org.au/ [https://www.relationships.org.au/] Carers WA: https://www.carerswa.asn.au/ [https://www.carerswa.asn.au/] Carers WA Young Carers program: https://www.carerswa.asn.au/our-services/young-carers/ [https://www.carerswa.asn.au/our-services/young-carers/]   The Hidden World of Women is a podcast brought to you by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services. Help us get the word out about the podcast by hitting subscribe and sharing it with people you know who may be interested. And don’t forget if you want to keep up to date with what we are offering at Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services www.whws.org.au  Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices [https://www.facebook.com/womenshealthandwellbeingservices] We also continue to add content to our Youtube page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCju-8oH3lDHZYi18wvgSJTQ] WHWS (and this podcast) rely on donations to support our community. If you would like to make a donation you can head to our Give Now page. https://www.givenow.com.au/whws [https://www.givenow.com.au/whws] Or check out The Hidden World of You our online learning platform https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/ [https://hiddenworldofyou.com.au/]