Pregnancy Uncut – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In our final episode for season 6, Kara talks to Dr. Imogen Hines about Induction of labour, specifically planned induction and the surprising reaction it can prompt.

As an orthopedic doctor, Imogen was no stranger to research and so when she found out she was pregnant she didn't hesitate to put that to the test researching the birth that was going to be best for her and her baby. Based on her findings and on her personal situation she decided to book for a planned induction at 39 weeks.

As a public figure, Imogen was expecting to hear multiple opinions on her decision but she did not anticipate the level of negative comments, even vitriol, that would come her way

As well as speaking openly of her own experience, Imogen and Kara discuss induction at length including the ongoing impact of the Arrive trial and being pregnant when everyone seems to have an opinion on your choices. She also shares fascinating insight on the ongoing gender inequity in surgical training and how women continue to be pushed out by unnecessary structural barriers.

In this episode we are thrilled to welcome back to the podcast, Amy Dawes - co-founder and CEO of the Australasian Birth Trauma Association to talk with Kara about informed consent. This was the theme of this year's birth trauma awareness week and Kara and Amy do a deep dive on just why it is so important.

When Amy was last on the podcast she spoke openly about her personal journey of birth trauma and living with levator avulsion. Now, some years on we welcome her candor as she talks about her own life and the directions it is now taking her.

This is a fantastic and important conversation that covers many aspects of why informed consent in healthcare is the cornerstone of supporting and caring for women through pregnancy, labour and birth.

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. 

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.