Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond PBB Media Incorporated

In this episode, Oni Blecher interviews Tallulah and Xanthe. Both are Bachelor of Midwifery students in the final year of their studies.  

Tallulah grew up on Bundjalung Country and was immersed in a community that favoured an integrative approach to healthcare and wellness, Tallulah felt an innate pull to participate. Along her journey, she felt a deep calling to support women and families, naturally falling into midwifery. 

Xanthe first felt the calling of midwifery at 14 years old. She spent the next decade thinking about the seed that was planted from such a young age, eventually realising that this calling could no longer be ignored. She truly loves midwifery with her whole heart, and feels incredibly privileged to be walking into a profession that is so rich in culture and practice since the beginning of humanity.

Tallulah’s philosophy is to be led by women and families. As Culturally Safe care is inherently defined by the perspectives of those receiving care, Tallulah aspires for the women she serves to feel the power handed back to them as the primary decision makers. Tallulah hopes to fulfil a graduate position in Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) and go on to facilitate home births as a private practice midwife, whilst offering a sliding scale of cost to make safe birth more accessible. 

Xanthe hopes to work alongside some of our most vulnerable people groups in the community as a midwife, also within a continuity of care model. She is driven by the desire to provide holistic care, where women, birthing people, and families feel deeply respected and heard. She strongly believes in the potential of the childbirth continuum being a time that can have deep and lasting positive change for families and communities when care is provided well.
 
Both Tallulah and Xanthe had the privilege of undertaking an overseas placement in remote Papua New Guinea in November 2023 of which they talk about during this interview. It was here that their love for midwifery was solidified. They were reminded of the role of midwifery as primary healthcare, servicing families and communities. Being remote and without basic resources or staffing, the two learnt the value of teamwork, being resourceful and acting on instinct. 

Tallulah and Xanthe cherish the relationships they build with women and their families and see the art and profession of midwifery as an immense privilege, they can’t imagine doing anything else!

If you have any questions for these two, feel free to send us an email at hello@pbbmedia.org

In this episode, Oni Blecher interviews Naomi Jannson. With over 20 years of experience as a health professional, Naomi weaves a wealth of expertise from diverse healthcare settings to provide clinical care and education.  Naomi inherited a strong relationship with Traditional Medicine from birth, growing up within a Traditional Medicine household and now practising as a second generation Chinese Medicine Doctor.  She obtained her degree as a Registered Nurse and practised in Australia and the UK in Emergency Medicine, further completing her Masters in Chinese Medicine and attended extensive postgraduate training in Australia, Japan, China, the UK, Europe, and the USA. 

With a deep respect for the Ancestors, History and Cultures of Traditional Medicines she practises her craft and maintains long term apprenticeship with Master practitioners in Australia, Japan and USA whilst studying the traditional manuscripts and learning opportunities with lineage teachers.  Traditional Medicine is Naomi’s life calling and she has truly dedicated herself to the Medicine and those who seek to receive or learn from her. 

A dedicated Advocate for Traditional Medicine especially in Women's Health and Birth/Reproductive Health services. She holds the vision of Culturally oriented and Mother centred experiences for Women during childbearing and rites of passage. Naomi often speaks at conferences and for podcasts to inform on the importance of Cultural Practices and Medicines in Women's Health.
Naomi has also planned an upcoming postpartum conference on the 20 and 21st of April. ‘The Whole Picture’ postpartum conference is a dynamic 2 day event with inspiring speakers, offering CPD points and showcasing interdisciplinary innovations for optimal outcomes. 

Find Naomi and her offerings here:

https://www.gentletraditions.xyz

@gentle_traditions

In this epsiode, Oni Blecher speaks with Amanda Banks, co creator and producer of the new film Born at Home. Empowered by the homebirth of her second child in 2020, Amanda, together with long term dear friend Eleanor, set out to create a film exploring Homebirth in QLD.

Amanda is mother of two children, both born at home. She has always had a passion for health which led her to works as an Acupuncturist in Brisbane, supporting families through fertility, pregnancy and beyond for over 8 years. Amanda was the former Convenor for Homebirth QLD for 2.5 years until mid 2023 and worked as a maternity consumer representative on the QLD Normal Birth Strategy.

Supporting women has always been a passion of hers and after absorbing current research on the mainstream maternity system working with Homebirth QLD, she was driven to advocate for evidence based maternity care, women’s rights and access to safe birthing options and education. Amanda believes in the physiological process of birth, that birth is a rite of passage and a positive, supported birth experience can create a mother who feels confident in herself and in her parenting journey, amongst many other beneficial maternal and infant outcomes.

We hope you enjoy this conversation and learning more about the film ! To check out more details and the upcoming film screenings, look at the links below !

https://www.bornathomefilm.com.au

https://au.demand.film/born-at-home/

In this interview, Oni Blecher interviews Dr Michelle Gerbi. With a background as a chiropractor, perinatal health coach, functional medicine provider, certified perinatal health coach, postpartum corrective exercise specialist, and international board-certified lactation consultant, Michelle has had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the challenges, questions, and triumphs that come with being a mom. With over 17 years of experience focusing on postpartum women, Dr. Michelle Gerbi has helped thousands of moms overcome the most common and challenging issues that come with motherhood.

In this episode, they discuss many topics but provide a special focus on breastfeeding, tongue tie, and the culture of under prepared postpartum. Michelle shares her extensive professional experince as well as her own personal birthing and breastfeeding journey.

Enjoy this conversation and find Michelle through the links below.
Instagram: @postpartummotheringmentorWebsite: www.drgerbi.com

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In this interview, Oni Blecher interviews Dr. Howard Chilton has been a neonatologist (a baby’s physician) for over 45 years. He was born in York, England and studied at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. After wonderful years in London in the swinging sixties he graduated then interned at Addington Hospital on the beach in Durban, South Africa. Following this, he was accepted for a Senior House Physician appointment in Neonatal Medicine at Harari Hospital in then, Salisbury Rhodesia, now, Harare, Zimbabwe).
After more training, Howard eventually obtained paediatric appointments at the Hammersmith Hospital and the Westminster Children’s Hospital, then, after obtaining his MRCP (UK) degree, the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford where he also did a short fellowship. He then became a SHO at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London in the Department of Respiratory Medicine. He did a mandatory Neonatal Fellowship in the US at Denver Children’s Hospital which included two years in a centre of excellence in high tech neonatology including doing neonatal ground and air retrievals, really taught him how to look after the sickest, smallest babies.

Before starting this fellowship though, he had a long stopover in Sydney doing locum Respiratory and Paediatric jobs, to check out job prospects. During one job at Prince Henry Hospital he met a beautiful nursing sister called Tamara.

At the end of the fellowship, Howard was appointed as the Director of Newborn Services at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney, where he held this position for over twenty years, resigning in 1999 to concentrate on clinical work and parent education.

Apart from looking after babies and their parents, Howard now spends a lot of his time talking: to parent groups, or to conferences in Australia and overseas, and to media outlets about ‘responsive parenting’ and the myriad issues which arise for parents when they take their new baby home. He believes knowledge of the biology of the baby can help parents understand and meet their baby’s needs and enables them to relax and enjoy the wonderful experience of parenting.

He married Tamara soon after arriving back in Sydney from the USA and she remains the light of his life. They have two daughters, Georgina and Isabella and five grandchildren ! all under 5 years of age.

Find out more about Dr. Chilton, including his well renowned books at

babydoc.com.au

In this episode, Oni Blecher speaks with Tahnee Taylor. Tahnee is a yoga teacher with a deep and resonant love of Yin Yoga and how it meets the alchemical magic of Taoism. She is also a practitioner of Chi Nei Tsang, which is a Taoist abdominal massage and she is a passionate advocate for the inherent shamanic wisdom of the body - hers, yours, ours. She is the mama of two home-birthed babies and co-parent of SuperFeast, the Taoist tonic herb company founded by her husband, Mason. Tahnee co-hosts the SuperFeast podcast and educates around yoga, Taoism, health and motherhood.

In this interview, Tahnee shares how her deep experience and resonance with yin and Taoist principles and the intersection between them has influenced her motherhing and her interaction with her many roles as a woman and human. Enjoy this interview.

Find Tahnee here:

@tahneeyoga

tahneetaylor.com