Birth Tales – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In today’s episode we’re hearing from Rochelle about the birth of her son, Jude. Despite having had a previous early pregnancy loss, she felt confident and intuitively very positive right from the beginning of her pregnancy. Thanks to minimal symptoms she was able to stay busy with work, but as a result feels she might not have prepared for the birth as much as she would have liked.

When her labour began a few days after her due date, Rochelle noticed meconium in her waters so was advised to attend the hospital. Whilst her labour had been progressing nicely at home, things slowed down after a long wait in triage so she had her remaining waters released to help things along. After some concerns around her blood pressure and the baby showing signs of distress, Rochelle accepted an epidural and Jude was born not long after.

Rochelle shares how positively she feels about the experience despite things deviating so far from what she hoped for, plus a little about Jude’s feeding complications in the early days. And as she was 38 weeks pregnant at the time we recorded, she tells us a bit about her plans for the upcoming birth of her second child.

Rochelle’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/roshiimcinscottii/ 

My website: www.serenalouth.com

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode we’re hearing from Katie about the first of her two births. She conceived just before the pandemic hit so her pregnancy and birth were both heavily affected by the restrictions; from the antenatal classes she could attend to how much her partner could be with her during labour. Due to her Ehlers-Danlos syndrome Katie experienced a lot of leg and hip pain, as well as some joint dislocations  during her pregnancy so was put on crutches.

As she neared the end of her pregnancy, after several days of mild period cramps and multiple trips to and from the hospital for monitoring, Rory was born swiftly at 37 weeks. Katie shares how useful she found the information she had learned through hypnobirthing, how living with chronic pain positively impacted the way she viewed the intensity of childbirth and how having an attentive, supportive birth partner was the most amazing thing for boosting her own self-belief throughout the process.

Katie’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/___luscious_lavender___/

My website: www.serenalouth.com

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode we’re hearing from Lottie about the birth of her little boy. She was lucky enough to feel physically well during her pregnancy, but emotionally found it quite overwhelming. Her and her husband took an antenatal course in preparation for the birth which they found really useful for learning about all their options, so when she was offered an induction at 41 weeks Lottie felt confident and well informed in accepting. Her induction was on the whole a very positive experience and her son with born with ventouse assistance.

Lottie goes on to share a little about her breastfeeding journey as she suffered with dysmorphic milk ejection reflex which really affected her experience as she felt there were limited resources and sources of support available to her.

Lottie’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/slow_fashion_lottie/

Mama to Mama Charity: https://www.mama-to-mama.co.uk/

My website: www.serenalouth.com

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode I’m speaking to Lottie about her daughter Scarlet’s birth. Her and her husband were living in Mexico City when they conceived and her pregnancy came with plenty of anxiety - from a subchorionic haematoma in the first trimester to her daughter’s diagnosis of hydronephrosis at the anomaly scan - and she shares how difficult it was dealing with all these extra worries without the support of friends and family nearby. At 34 weeks a scan showed her daughter’s foramen ovale valve was closing prematurely and it was advised she be born early via c-section.

In the months that followed Scarlet faced numerous ongoing health challenges; severe jaundice which required treatment in the NICU, kidney surgery at 10 weeks old, several occurrences of urosepsis and many long stays in the hospital. Lottie shares honestly how this all took a massive toll on her own mental health and her ability to connect with her baby.

This is a very special episode as Lottie so generously shares her experience of dealing with her daughter’s health conditions and her own struggles with postnatal depression and anxiety, but I want to let you know we do cover some very sensitive topics so it might be an episode to save for a later date if you’re not feeling in the right headspace to hear it.

Lottie’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/lottielboulton/

My website: www.serenalouth.com

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode we’re hearing from Rachel about her third birth. Her 2 eldest children were born via emergency c-section and a forceps assisted delivery - experiences which Rachel found traumatic - and she knew she wanted to feel more present and involved in any subsequent births. Before conceiving her third baby, Rachel was diagnosed with congenital hepatic fibrosis;  a rare condition affecting the liver which can have problematic implications for birth, so she knew before becoming pregnant that her baby would need to be born via c-section and she shares all the aspects that make her planned surgery such a positive experience. She worked alongside a nutritionist, her medical team and an amazing doula to manage both her physical symptoms and her anxieties, and through learning to surrender to the circumstances outside of her control, she went on to have a beautiful caesarean birth.

Rachel’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/lifewith.rp/ 

Rachel’s doula: https://www.instagram.com/marbedbirthing/

My website: www.serenalouth.com

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode I’m speaking to Annie who conceived her little boy via IVF. After a clinical start to her pregnancy she had to work hard to rebuild trust in her body and found her yoga practice to be invaluable in helping her to reconnect to herself and her intuition.

Towards the end of her pregnancy concerns were raised around her baby’s size and after multiple scans to check growth and placental function she agreed to an induction at nearly 42 weeks pregnant. Following a lengthy induction process with days spent waiting on the ward Annie experienced uterine hyperstimulation and it was advised her baby should be born via c-section.

Annie shares how she now feels a sense of positivity and acceptance looking back at the birth, despite it being so far from the  experience she had hoped for and we discuss how memorable a kind doctor or midwife can be when things take a turn for the unexpected.

I just wanted to say that throughout the episode we mention her sister Ellie a few times, who’s birth story is very much intertwined with Annie’s own, so if you’d like to give that a listen to weave the two stories together it is episode 23 of the podcast.

Annie’s website: https://annieclarke.com/ 
Annie’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/annieclarke_/

Annie’s postpartum experience: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/annie-clempner-clarke-mother-ivf-emergency-c-section/id1724824946?i=1000644309714

My website: www.serenalouth.com
My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode we’re hearing from Nina about the birth of her daughter Isla. Nina conceived a little sooner than planned and admits she knew very little about birth when she first got pregnant. She took an antenatal course and decided to go with the flow rather than overloading herself with birth prep. Around 41 weeks Nina chose to have a sweep and her labour began shortly afterwards. During a long wait in triage she was monitored via CTG due to some fluctuations in the baby’s heart rate and after a few more hours on the labour ward her baby was born via C-section. She shares about how she found the surgery, plus a little about her breastfeeding journey as she was really surprised by the huge hormonal crash that she experienced when she stopped after 6 months.

Nina’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/the.grounded.mama/ 

My website: www.serenalouth.com

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode I’m chatting to Leone about her positive homebirth experience. She loved being pregnant and really immersed herself in preparing for her baby’s birth. Her labour began a few days before her estimated due date and she was surprised to feel all her contractions solely in her lower back. She laboured at home with the support of her husband and doula, using the TENS machine and the birth pool to help her manage the sensations and baby Hugo was born back to back in the water.

Leone shares her experience of advocating for herself during her pregnancy, how she found all the birth prep she did to be invaluable and the struggles she faced in the early days of breastfeeding.

Leone’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/leone_hunter_

My website: www.serenalouth.com

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode Nicole shares her experience of consciously conceiving and birthing her son Oakley. She loved being pregnant and spent her time preparing for the transition from maiden to mother by hiring a doula, listening to positive birth stories and nourishing herself with good food, movement, yoga and massage. Having planned for a homebirth, Nicole and her husband spend the majority of her labour at home but eventually transferred to hospital to birth her baby with ventouse assistance.

She shares how she found pregnancy, birth and the early months of motherhood to be the ultimate lesson in trust and surrender and how she found peace with her birthing experience despite things not turning out exactly as she had envisaged.

Nicole’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/the.grounded.mama/ 

My website: www.serenalouth.com

My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/

In today’s episode I’m chatting to Laura about the birth of her daughter Winnie. Laura loved being pregnant; she enjoyed staying active and immersing herself in birth preparation.
When her labour began and her contractions got going Laura found all the tools and techniques she had learned through hypnobirthing to be invaluable, but after a while progess slowed due to the baby’s positioning and her care providers wanted to intervene.  Laura ended up trying some coached pushing which she found particularly tough. She went on to have her waters broken, after which something shifted and she was able to birth her baby by herself.
Laura tells us all about the overwhelming feeling of relief once she had Winnie in her arms and shares a little about the struggles she faced in the early days of breastfeeding.

Laura’s website: https://www.lauranolan.co.uk/ 
Laura’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/lauracnolan/

My website: www.serenalouth.com
My IG: https://www.instagram.com/serenalouth/