Australian Birth Stories

This episode is part of The Fourth Trimester Village, a four-part series in partnership with Bugaboo exploring what it actually takes to navigate those first twelve weeks after birth. Not just physically, but emotionally, socially and practically. Because we spend so much time preparing for birth, but not nearly enough time talking about what comes after.In this episode, Sophie speaks with Dr Nicole Gale, a specialist GP, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and founder of Juno Specialists in Richmond, Melbourne. Nicole brings a rare combination of clinical expertise and deep compassion to the conversation, unpacking what the fourth trimester really looks like for mothers, babies, and families. From the biology of newborn sleep and the myths around self-settling, to the emotional complexity of breastfeeding decisions and the very real loneliness of early motherhood, this episode is rich with validation, evidence-based insight, and practical wisdom. Nicole also speaks beautifully about supporting neurodivergent mothers in the postnatal period and closes with a reminder that will stay with you long after you've finished listening.You can learn more about Bugaboo and their Kangaroo Pram over at Bugaboo

Our sale is ending soon! Save 20% off all courses and products with the code: Ready20The Birth Bundle - unsually $349 now $279The Birth Class - usually $249 now $199All prodcuts books and courses are 20% off untill midnight on the 11th July 2026

Today I'm joined by Heidi, women's health physiotherapist and the woman behind Women's Health with Heidi. With over a million followers, she's become a trusted voice in pelvic floor health and postpartum recovery.We cover a lot of ground in this episode, and honestly, I think every pregnant and postpartum woman needs to hear it. In this episode, we talk about:Why recovery actually takes twelve to twenty-four months and not six weeksWhat the six-week check does and doesn't tell you about your bodyThe truth about diastasis recti and why doing the wrong exercises too soon can set you backWhat's actually happening when everything feels heavy and like it might fall outWhy getting out for a pram walk is genuinely one of the best things you can do for both your pelvic floor and your mental health in those early weeks.This episode is brought to you by Bugaboo.Getting out of the house in the fourth trimester can feel enormous — and having the right pram makes a real difference to whether you actually do it. The Bugaboo Kangaroo is designed exactly for that. All-terrain wheels, one-hand fold and steering, and an XL basket for everything you need to bring. It's a single pram now and a double later, with over 20 configurations to grow with your family. Bugaboo's first tandem pram in 25 years, built because Australian parents asked for it. A certified B Corp working toward net zero by 2035.Head to bugaboo.com to see the Kangaroo for yourself.

Jordan birthed her daughter Hali in the water at the birth centre of the Royal Hospital for Women, supported by her MGP midwife, after just three hours and forty minutes of active labour. She talks about managing symphysis pubis dysfunction throughout pregnancy, using a TENS machine at home, labouring on all fours in her lounge room, and how preparation through the podcast, books and birth course helped her go into labour feeling genuinely open and ready for whatever unfolded."I still can't believe I did an unmedicated water birth. But it was the most euphoric thing ever."If you've just listened to Jordan's story and thought, I want to feel that way too, I would love to support you inside The Birth Class.Inside, you'll learn from Australia's leading midwives, obstetricians, physiotherapists, lactation consultants and doulas across ten evidence-based audio lessons you can listen to wherever and whenever it suits you. You'll also receive nine guided birth meditations, breathing exercises, an eighty-page workbook, a birth preferences template and a hospital bag checklist.More than 8000 families have completed The Birth Class, and right now everything in the Australian Birth Stories shop is 20% off. Use the code ready20 at checkout.

If you've ever felt blindsided by motherhood — the grief, the rage, the identity shift, the loneliness — this episode is for you. I sat down with Melbourne-based perinatal and reproductive psychiatrist Dr Edna Lekgabe to talk about one of the most profound and under-discussed transitions a woman can go through: matrescence. Edna has a gift for making the complex feel manageable, and this conversation is full of those lightbulb moments — the kind that make you exhale and think, oh, so that's what's happening to me.About Dr Edna Lekgabe:Dr Edna Lekgabe is a perinatal and reproductive psychiatrist based in Melbourne, specialising in mental health for women across pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. She is also a mother of two and one of the most warm, wise voices in this space.This episode is brought to you by Bugaboo.Getting out of the house in the fourth trimester can feel enormous — and having the right pram makes a real difference to whether you actually do it. The Bugaboo Kangaroo is designed exactly for that. All-terrain wheels, one-hand fold and steering, and an XL basket for everything you need to bring. It's a single pram now and a double later, with over 20 configurations to grow with your family. Bugaboo's first tandem pram in 25 years, built because Australian parents asked for it. A certified B Corp working toward net zero by 2035.Head to bugaboo.com to see the Kangaroo for yourself.

Renako, a Japanese-Australian creative, marketer and mum of two living on the Great Ocean Road, shares two very different caesarean birth stories. Her first, Kieran, arrived via emergency caesarean at the Royal Women's after being induced at 38 weeks for low amniotic fluid. Her second, Nori, was a planned caesarean at the Frances Perry, calm, joyful, and with a birth team that doubled as a photography crew. Renako speaks honestly about fight-or-flight mode, postnatal depression she didn't name at the time, and the slow, intentional work of coming back to herself.

Beth shares two beautiful birth stories — Bernie's unmedicated hospital birth at the Mercy, and Quinn's home birth through the Joan Kerner programme, where her partner Paddy caught their daughter in their own lounge room. Beth talks honestly about the power of continuity of care, hiring a doula for both births, and why birthing at home felt like the most natural thing in the world.Download our 9 Birth Meditation collection today- available as a standalone product for $49 or included inside The Birth Class.

In today’s episode I chat with Dr Daniela Aiello, a registered osteopath specialising in pregnancy and postpartum care at Bulleen Osteopathy in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. Daniela brings over two decades of experience treating pregnant and postpartum women, combined with her personal journey as a mother of two (aged 14 and 11) and founder of Continuall, a compression wear brand designed specifically for women during pregnancy and postpartum recovery.

In this week’s episode, I chat to Clare about her two planned caesarean births. Despite severe endometriosis, Clare fell pregnant easily and sailed through the first half of her pregnancy. However, at her 20 week scan she discovered that her baby had ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJ) and shortly afterwards, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Her planned caesarean was straightforward but her recovery was not; extensive adhesions in her uterus caused a long and painful postpartum. She chose a private obstetrician for her second birth and jumped at the chance to have a maternal-assisted caesarean but nothing could prepare her for the shock of her baby’s hearing loss diagnosis at six weeks.