The Rural Births Podcast Elisa James

Cassie is a Mum of 3. She has traversed the landscape of rural birthing through her three different births. Cassie has navigated the change from relying on the hospital system to taking back her power and choosing a healing home birth. Working with Claire from ‘Your Birth Midwifery’.

Cassie is now a birth keeper, post partum doula, and breast feeding doula also offering virtual support. She runs a regular birth circle where women can connect regardless of the distance that separates us, across this rural landscape. Women are invited to sit in virtual circle, here in they gather to hold space and be held. In each circle everyone gathered will collectively hold space for the sharing mother as she shares her own empowering birthing experience, her journey towards that and her journey afterwards. Cassie is changing the rural birthing landscape through story medicine, both in the sharing of her own story and the crafting of space to give voice to many women’s birth stories.

Today’s episode is with Tarra from Macedon Ranges in rural Victoria. Tarra has two children. She birthed in both a CBD hospital and a small regional hospital. Tarra was a nurse and also studying to be a midwife. She shares that originally, she wanted to be in a bigger metro hospital in case something did go wrong. This hospital did offer an MGP program and Tarra determinedly found a way into the program in order to experience continuity of care. She had visions of a waterbirth but her labour and birth experience moved quite differently.
Tarra shares her difficult first labour. She spoke as a strong advocate for herself but at times wasn’t heard. This first labour was hard. Tarra experienced and needed to work through birth trauma prior to her second birth. For her second birth she actively pursued different care and was very clear with her obstetrician and midwife about her needs in labour, after her first experience. This second birth still had twists and turns but also allowed Tarra to feel the support, listening and consideration that were lacking in her first birth. Tarra felt this difference. This smaller, rural maternity unit had the time for her. Their care was more personal and she found the experience very healing.

Tarra had also engaged with hypnobirthing and used the Freya app. to support her during labour and would thoroughly recommend this accessible resource for other rural women.

Today’s episode is with Ellesha from Euroa in Victoria. She is a mum of two and in today’s episode shares her two quite different births and how she moved through her second pregnancy to create the empowering birth she wanted. Ellesha shares the wisdoms she has gained along her journey, the positive impact of hypnobirthing and some wonderful resources – that can be accessed online/through apps – that others can put into place/practice too to help them on their own birthing journey.

Her first son was born via caesarean after complications. This was a shock for Ellesha, as she was suddenly moving towards an earlier than expected arrival at 38 weeks.
This birth experience made Ellesha determined to realise her perfect birth for her second. This second birth was incredibly empowering. She was the first successful VBAC with her obstetrician at the hospital. Ellesha had spent a lot of time and delved deeply into knowledge as the source of power. She was informed and had a wonderful toolkit to draw upon to support her in labour. Ellesha is now supporting others to do the same.
When Ellesha first made contact she shared this statement:
“Don’t give up, just because your first or last birth wasn’t what you wanted it doesn’t mean you can’t have your perfect birth this time…
It’s your body, your birth, you’re in control”


Resources:

UK Online Course ‘Positive Birth Company’:
https://thepositivebirthcompany.co.uk/course-bundle-offers

Freya App:
https://thepositivebirthcompany.co.uk/freya-hypnobirthing-app

Prior to moving to a rural bushland area, outside of Braidwood, Erin lived in Canberra. Her first baby was born in Canberra, at the hospital. She shares her journey moving through the system during this first pregnancy and how this experience and her transition to rural life contributed to her decision to pursue homebirth for her future rural births.
In her first pregnancy Erin did the Calmbirth course. She held a belief that reducing fear was an important thing for birthing women, based on pre-pregnancy engagement with Ina Mae through her TED talk ‘Reducing fear of birth in U.S. culture: Ina May Gaskin at TEDxSacramento’. Both Erin and her partner found the Calmbirth course an empowering tool to take forward into birth.
Erin did have some bleeding later in her first pregnancy and in early labour. She shares how she communicated with her care provider from home and how she moved in labour with this unexpected change. She was told, after passing a large clot, that they were going to have to move to caesarean. She shares the struggles of being asked to give ‘informed’ consent mid labour. After moving through all these augmentation discussions and moving within a situation that appeared emergent, Erin’s baby was crowning in theatre and he was born vaginally. Erin moved through a lot of potential change in a short period of time.
Between Erin’s first and second pregnancy she moved ‘bush’ to Kindervale. Whilst only being ‘an hour’ from Canberra the roads are quite remote, narrow and contain a lot of wildlife. Erin’s decision to homebirth wasn’t instantaneous. Deciding to home birth for her future pregnancies was partially about seeking continuity of care, recognising they live remotely and the benefits of having your care provider come to you. In her second pregnancy she knew the value of ‘Continuity of Care’ and made a point of seeking this form of care. However, continuity of care provider doesn’t resolve all the concerns or issues that arise for rural birthing women. Erin was still acutely aware that her first child was born in just over 2 hours, that the conditions of the ‘bush’ roads were appalling (and definitely not where you want to find yourself for a roadside birth) and the centre midwife’s answer was for Erin to ‘pack a kit’. Which isn’t all together wrong, third trimester rural women often have towels and other things in the back of their car but it isn’t an answer that makes rural birthing women feel seen, heard or supported. So, Erin strongly considered ‘Homebirthing’. Homebirthing wasn’t a new idea either, it had been growing since Erin was pregnant with her first. She connected with a midwife online and, feeling supported by the stats on the Homebirth Australia website, officially switched to home birth around 30 weeks. The face of care, in the home, really transforms a lot for rural birthing women. Suddenly we go from being isolated to having that sense of community extend. Rural women are not strangers to birth on the land. It is happening all around, the stock and wildlife. It is a natural part of life that resonates and homebirth is an offering that absolutely belongs in rural communities.

Ina Mae’s TED talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9LO1Vb54yk

Care Midwifery:
https://caremidwifery.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/caremidwifery

Rhiannon Finger is a mum of four. She lives on a cattle property in Clermont, Central Queensland.

Rhiannon’s birth expectations changed rapidly in her first pregnancy when she unexpectedly went in to labour at 24 weeks. She shares how she moved through different providers, quickly realising that this was labour and that transfer was necessary. Being in Central Queensland, she required remote transfer and was flown to an out of area, high risk unit with NICU support for an emergency caesarean. Her son was born. He stayed in hospital for 99 days, in the care of the NICU nursing team. Fortunately, Rhiannon had family in Townsville and so she was able to stay close by and be supported by her grandmother and uncle.

This experience impacted both Rhiannon and her partner. In this interview she shares how they were supported through the feelings and traumas surrounding birth, into the pregnancy and birth of her second child. She also found a trusted high risk specialist in Townsville, who she worked with (travelling 600 kms) for all her subsequent pregnancies. Rhiannon shares how she was medically (cervical suture and planned caesareans) and emotionally supported through re-entering the birth sphere.

Rhiannon shares deeply and personally. I am so grateful to her, in sharing her story she has opened up pathways to understanding an integral rural and remote ‘what if’ question. Rhiannon is resilient and strong, moving through difficult experiences and into the challenges of motherhood. She highlights the incredible support of extended family networks, as we can call on loved ones from far away and rely on family back home too.

Rebecca Barry is a mum of two. She lives on a property in South Australia, close to the Victorian boarder.
Rebecca’s journey towards her first birth changed trajectory when she received high blood pressure results and was diagnosed with preeclampsia. She had to shift her plan and go into hospital earlier than expected. She underwent additional monitoring and had an extended prenatal hospital stay. She had to change hospitals, moving from her private unit and the care of her private obstetrician to a different hospital. Her known care providers were not able to transfer with her and so early in her third trimester, Rebecca was traversing an unknown care environment and needed to remain in hospital until she birthed. This was tumultuous, as she would receive varied blood pressure results and sometimes be rushed into Delivery Ward Birth Suite/ICU where then her blood pressure would stabilise. This would happen every time she had a high blood pressure reading, as they were thinking they would have to do an emergency delivery.

Her partner was darting back and fourth to be a support to her and present for bubs imminent arrival, whilst still managing life on the land. Her eldest was born prematurely via caesarean section and required some additional support after he was born.
During her second pregnancy, Rebecca developed a strong relationship with a trusted obstetrician who worked with the high risk unit. This gave her increased confidence and she felt well supported as she planned a VBAC. Rebecca’s VBAC didn’t go to plan and after labouring and trying different augmentations, her daughter was born via caesarean. Her daughter also had a stay in the nursery care unit due to infection.
Rebecca demonstrates resilience and strength as she shares what it is like to traverse unexpected pathways and birth far from home. Each stage of motherhood can present challenges and Rebecca shares openly about how she moved through the early birth and nursery stays through support and her own strength.