10 episodes
Birthing a Nation GoLoud
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- Society & Culture
Birthing a Nation: Pregnancy & The Pandemic is a 10 part series that explores the human stories behind the extraordinary impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on maternity care in Ireland. Each and every woman who has given birth in this period has been affected – from those who have suffered alone when losing a baby to those who had a so-called “normal” delivery but without the advocacy and support of their partner.
Birthing A Nation: Pregnancy & The Pandemic will shine a spotlight on the challenges faced by expectant parents in Ireland today while also following Sue Murphy’s journey, as she brings us inside the system and opens up about her experience as her due date approaches.
Each episode Sue and her co-hosts Suzanne Kane and Alison Curtis will hear from a different guest who has been impacted in some way by the maternity care restrictions.
These contributors are real people from across Ireland and include women who have experienced a miscarriage, faced a challenging IVF process or a C-section. We'll also hear from the partners and healthcare workers who have fought the uphill battle of supporting women in the most vulnerable of circumstances at the most challenging time.
Birthing A Nation launches 25th September on GoLoud.
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Pregnancy & The Pandemic: Caroline's Story
Caroline Cumming joins us this week to tell us about her experience of a home birth, and what influenced her to reach the decision to follow that path. Caroline started the UplIft petition around maternity care in Ireland, in September of 2020, which would go on to have a major impact on the public debate.
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Pregnancy & The Pandemic: Clodagh's Story
Clodagh talks to us about her experience of having baby Frank, as a planned solo parent. It is an inspiring, happy story as Clodagh talks about making the decision to become a parent, her journey and the support she received, in person and online, and how life as a parent without a partner can be.
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Pregnancy & The Pandemic: Annemarie's story
In our seventh episode we hear from Annemarie, who got in touch with us over email having been inspired by the bravery of other contributors. Hers is a deeply personal and heartbreaking story in which she shares the loss of her baby Spencer and the impact this, coupled with ongoing restrictions, had on her along with her husband Brian and their son Louis. We would urge listener discretion for this episode as the content will be triggering for some.
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Pregnancy & The Pandemic: Sandy's Story
This week we hear from Sandy Connolly, of the Doula Association of Ireland, who tells us about her work supporting expecting and new mothers, and also how the pandemic has impacted on that work and the women she works with.
We also have a wonderful update from our own Sue Murphy! -
Pregnancy & The Pandemic: Natalie's Story
Our guest today is actor and activist Natalie Britton. Natalie shares her experience within the maternal healthcare system in 2020, why she became involved in the better maternity care movement and her hopes for a better future for Irish women.UPDATE: In light of developments this week, this episode includes a brief intro from Linda Kelly detailing the new visitor guidelines for all hospitals.
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Pregnancy & The Pandemic: Amy's Story
Our 4th guest in the series is actually the first we recorded and the very woman who first inspired us to make the podcast. Amy De Bhrún is an actor, writer and now an accidental activist. In this episode we speak to her both before and after the birth of her second child.