As a midwife having a baby, you might think Aliza's journey was all smooth sailing. But as you'll hear in this episode the many decisions you make during pregnancy are much more difficult when it's your own baby. Being pregnant during covid, as well as an international move and change in care providers (three times) Aliza's pregnancy was a bit of a rollercoaster towards the end. This is everything you wanted to know about Aliza's pregnancy, including the maternity system in Hong Kong vs Australia, home birth vs hospital, being overdue as well as the joys and hiccups along the way.

In part 2 of Aliza's birth story we delve into the induction process (at 42 weeks+ pregnant), followed by a very long labour. The journey to meet her daughter was a long and bumpy one with some scares along the way. Aliza discusses the struggles with her induction, the many interventions she went through and the sadness that came with letting go of her dream birth.

We’ve reached Part 3 of Aliza's birth story and it's time to meet beautiful baby Zadie. This part was not without its challenges though as the decision is made for Aliza to have a  c-section. There are more struggles with medications and a shocking discovery is made after birth, that could have taken things in completely different direction. Aliza also talks about her struggles with bonding with her baby, after a very traumatic birthing experience. A reminder that everybody's birth journey is different and if you have struggled with a traumatic birth, resources are linked below.

Today we are sitting down with Rachael Casella, to chat about her daughter Mackenzie who passed away from spinal muscular atrophy at just seven months old. The determination and strength of parents to create a world changing legacy, in the midst of grief and despair, is one of the most amazing journeys you will ever here. We chat through loss, IVF, medical interruption of pregnancy, miscarriage, genetic carrier testing, SMA and a maternal assisted c-section. Content warning: This episode discusses miscarriage, termination and infant loss. Resources are linked below.

Pink Elephant: www.pinkelephants.org.au

Gidget foundation: gidgetfoundation.org.au

PANDA: panda.org.au

Visit Mackenzies Mission www.mackenziesmission.org.au and Rachael's Instagram @mylife_oflove

In this episode we sit down with midwife, mum and business owner Beth Ryan to discuss her pregnancy and (incredible) birth. Beth's birth story is the most amazing example of the power of the brain, and body when it comes to labour. We delve into the the mother vs midwife mindset and what it’s like to experience becoming a mother - as a specialist in the field.

Beth’s exceptional labour and birth story will have you laughing, and crying as she articulates the experience so perfectly. This is a beautiful, raw, positive birth story where we chat through waiting for labour vs induction, the emotion of the final days and weeks, a quick labour, an unmedicated birth and a beautiful healthy 4.2kg baby (girl)!

In this episode we sit down with clinical midwifery specialist, mum of four and business owner Lauren Brenton. Lauren had her first son at just 18 years old, and is an incredible inspiration to all young parents. She has gone on to birth four beautiful babies by caesarean section. For Laurens fourth birth, she decided to take matters into her own hands (literally) to deliver her fourth child via a maternal assisted c-section. 

Her hospital, and doctor had never before let a patient reach down, and pull up their own baby, during a caesarean section. With sheer determination and passion, Lauren pioneered the way forward, changing the way hospital and her OB now offer care to women.

In todays episode we sit down with Flick, to discuss her two beautiful girls, Eve & Olivia. We talk through the grief of losing Eve during pregnancy at 29 weeks and the trauma that comes with stillbirth. We discuss the grieving process, pregnancy after loss, IVF, a planned maternal assisted c-section for Flicks second baby, Olivia, to separate the two birthing experiences for this beautiful family and how Eve is honoured in the family. Content warning this episode discusses stillbirth.

Today's episode is one for the history books - we are sitting down with the incredible Kirsty Bryant, who is the first person in Australia to undergo a uterus transplant and in an even more phenomenal turn of events, the uterus that Kirsty received, is from her own mother. Kirsty had a life saving hysterectomy, with the birth of her first child and this incredible transplant gives her the opportunity to have more children.This story is an incredibly inspirational story of modern medicine meets determination and passion.

In todays episode we sit down with the Rebecca, an incredibly brave and beautifully spoken mother who walks us through her journey with mental health during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Rebecca was admitted to a mother baby psychiatric unit shortly after giving birth. Rebecca openly shares about this incredibly vulnerable, scary journey that her and her family went through. She has incredibly insightful knowledge about not only her own experience, but the process and services available for parents. 

In todays episode, it’s a solo episode with Aliza and Dr. Joe answering your questions. We chat through all of the below questions in detail, with statistics and as always, plenty of personal anecdotes: - What are the risks/benefits of a VBAC? - Aliza, would you have a VBAC or repeat C-section?- Why don't all OBs offer maternal-assisted C-sections?- Would you work with / hire a doula? Is a doula worth having? - Do you think having a baby brings you closer in a relationship? - Genetic carrier testing - what are our options? How do we start this?

Today’s episode is with the magnificent Dr. Kristyn Sommer chatting about all things child development. Dr. Kristyn has a PHD in this area and, quite literally, researches children as her day job. We cover topics such as:Are milestones really important? What do you do if your child isn’t hitting them on time? Sleep training - does it work? Is it harmful? What does the research say? Do we ned to ‘prepare children to be resilient?’ Or is this harmful?Is screen time safe for babies / children? Are the ‘recommendations’ accurate? How are social ‘robots’ going to impact children?How can we ‘repair’ a rupture in a relationship with a child? How can we say sorry impact fully when we mess up?”

In today’s episode we are sitting down with Stefanie Valakas, a dietician and nutritionist who specialises in reproductive health, fertility and pregnancy. Stef owns the incredible virtual nutritionist practice, The Dietologist, where her and her team guide, empower and educate families through their journey to parenthood. Stef also talks us through her own recent journey where she chose to freeze her eggs at just 27 years old. Topics we cover are:Can we impact our egg and sperm quality through what we eat? How can diet effect fertility and what does the evidence say around best dietary practices?How do you support couples with IVF and fertility through diet and supplementation? Why did you as a 27 year old, choose to freeze your eggs? What did this process look like? How does PCOS and endometriosis impact fertility, and what can we do holistically to support these conditions

Today’s episode is one of the most incredibly inspiring listens, with a woman who has amazed not just us - but Australia. We are honoured to be sitting down with Jana Pittman. Jana is a mum of 6 children, including a set of beautiful twins born last year, a junior doctor, a published author and an athlete, winning gold for Australia in the Olympics. In today we discuss a multitude of topics including:Having 6 children and the juggle of being a doctor and a motherHow Jana broke stereotypes and changed the way we view sport, women and motherhoodJana chats us through her pregnancies and birth - including 2 children who were conceived through sperm donation. Jana shares wetting herself on public TV in a reality tv show and how it opened the topic for conversation around pelvic floor and women’s healthWe touch on Jana’s PHD on uterine transplants, and her passion and drive - being apart of the first uterine transplant in Australia (listen to episode on Kirsty Bryant for more on this)+ so much more.

In todays episode, you will hear from hosts midwife Aliza Carr and obstetrician, fertility specialist and gynaecologist Dr Joseph Sgroi on how and why they entered the professions they did. We chat through what inspired us to get into the medical profession, births that have left an impact on us forever and some funny stories and anecdotes along the way. A great listen for any student midwifery or medical students! 

In todays episode, we sit down with birth and postpartum doula, Vanessa Salerno. Vanessa and Dr. Joseph Sgroi work hand in hand for many births, supporting and empowering families together. In the episode we chat through many topics relating to becoming a doula, the why and the how, as well as the unique combination of a doula and obstetrician working closely together to better outcomes for mothers and families.

In this weeks episode we sit down with mum of three, speech pathologist and Hypnobirthing practitioner, Tina Pullen. Through Tina's three pregnancies she went through a different model of care for each pregnancy - the public sector, a private obstetrician and recently, a private midwife for a homebirth. In this episode we discuss how being a hypnobirthing practitioner fed into Tina's labour and birth with her beautiful homebirth. We go through what a homebirth entails, the practicalities of it, how each stage of the labour felt for Tina and the different approach that a homebirth midwife vs an obstetrician might have.

Today we are sitting down with Kirstin Tindal. After Kirstin gave birth to her daughter Aurora who was born sleeping at 22 weeks, in her grief, she found a passion in this space and pursued her studies and PHD in the field of reproductive science, now completing a PHD with a focus on stillbirth. Kirstin bravely shares her own journey of loss and describes what it was like being a young mum at just 20, facing this harrowing outcome. 

In todays episode we are joined by the beautiful Elly, who has so courageously offered to share her fertility journey with us. Elly is heading into her 4th year of IVF, with her 3rd fertility specialist. Elly has had 8 embryo transfers, 1 miscarriage at 7 weeks and a chemical pregnancy and yet Elly dedicates much of her own time to offering support to other couples facing fertility hardships. Today we chat through Elly’s history and her hopes for the future.