Birth Choices Alice Godfree and Elysia Hansen
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- Kids & Family
The Birth Choices podcast uncovers the choices available to you in pregnancy and birth. By showcasing personal stories of birth choices — interviewing women and birthing people about how they chose and experienced their model of care, and speaking with experts in each of these domains, we aim to leave you feeling informed, able to make autonomous decisions, and ultimately confident in your innate ability to birth.
https://www.instagram.com/birthchoices_
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10: Fiona Hallinan + Agia Nenke on internal pelvic release work and the role of the pelvis and tension in pregnancy, labour and birth
In this episode we speak Fiona Hallinan and Agia Nenke, midwives and internal pelvic release practitioners, about the role of the pelvis in understanding labour and birth, the role of soft tissue and the impact of tension, perineal massage (or more relevantly, perineal kneading, and what not to do!), spinning babies and how to best support women and babies bodies to work together and minimise trauma both emotionally and physically when doing the birth dance.Fiona and Agia speak beautifully ab...
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09: Alice + Dave’s birth stories — the road from private obstetric care to homebirth, and navigating pregnancy loss
In this episode we hear from co-host Alice and her husband Dave about their road from birthing in a private hospital under private obstetric care, through the grief of two miscarriages, to then birth at home via a publicly funded homebirth program. Alice looks back on her first vaginal birth, which she emerged from feeling victorious, now through the lens of greater understanding of birth and the role that her model of care and place of birth played in influencing the dynamic in the birth spa...
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08: Obstetrician Dr Natalie Elphingstone on woman-centred obstetric care, “doing” less, homebirth, and your choices in caesarean section
In this episode we speak with obstetrician Dr Natalie Elphingstone about her obstetric training and how that contributes to a certain dominant philosophy of birth, her road to “doing” less and learning from and collaborating with midwives and doulas, the question of obstetric care for “low risk” or uncomplicated pregnancies, homebirth, curating postpartum support, and your choices in caesarean section. As you can see, this is a juicy one, and a must listen for all entering the maternity setti...
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07: Doula and human rights in childbirth activist Karli Smith - on doulas, navigating your rights and hospital policies, and preparing for birth
In this episode we speak with Karli Smith, a doula with a background in international human rights law and humanitarian aid, who now spends her time supporting women and birthing people on an individual and broader systems level in advocating for rights in maternity care. We speak about the role of doulas in pregnancy, birth and postpartum, the power and magic of birth and having someone hold you in your vision for birth, the importance of informed consent and autonomous decision-making in bi...
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06: Elysia + Andrew’s birth stories — from UK birth centres, to hospital, to publicly funded homebirth
In this episode we hear from our very own Elysia, as she and her husband Andrew give us a snapshot of their first three birth experiences — the first two in integrated birth centres in the UK, the third in a Melbourne public hospital, before delving into what led them to choose homebirth for their most recent birth of baby number 4, at home via a publicly funded homebirth program. We discuss the cultural and social influences on your choices around how and where to birth, as well as the ...
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05: Choosing VBAC — part 2 of our interview with Dr Hazel Keedle
In this episode we welcome back Dr Hazel Keedle to discuss all things vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). We speak about her research that collated in her book, Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth, what informed consent looks like in this space, the benefits of relationship-based care, the four contextual factors impacting on women’s experiences of VBAC, and how the ripple effect of a positive VBAC can echo through communities and pass down through generations. Links:- Bir...