Erin prepares to birth vaginally but finds herself with a breech baby late in her pregnancy. After trying to turn the baby, she had to adjust her thinking to a caesarean birth. She believes that being in a good headspace can make any birth a beautiful experience. She uses her tools to manage the experience, and the recovery afterwards. This story reminds us that we never know what’s ahead, but with the right mindset we can manage anything. Enjoy!
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Today I’m sharing with you a little presentation on how birth sets you up for parenting. When a baby is born, so is a mother. There are many inner forces that are being activated - and I want to highlight the innate intelligence we have inside of ourselves and start to work towards optimising our physiological response to labour - as there are many benefits on the other side. This is a way of looking at birth that is rarely given any attention. I hope you enjoy it.
I would also like to acknowledge that not everyone listening to this podcast, who is having a baby identifies as a woman. I want to extend my care and respect to you - and acknowledge that these changes are indeed happening for you too, and how they manifest is different for everyone. I will however be using female pronouns to honour the age old traditions of birthing. Thanks for listening.
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Grace is a single mother, and enjoyed the support of her mother to give birth. She began her pregnancy being in denial about giving birth, because she was scared. Her mother convinced her to do the ‘Transform Your Birth’ course which helped her to get the information and understanding she needed, and she loved doing the practices. Late in the pregnancy, her baby’s growth was a concern, which led her to being induced, but ultimately she needed a caesarean. After the initial disappointment and overwhelm she is able to adapt and focus on what is important to her. She also shared with us what she asked for during the caesarean, which made all the difference. Another inspiring story about the mystery of birth. Enjoy!
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Claire gave birth to Jonah on her birthday - what a gift! During her pregnancy, she likes to read and be prepared, so she consumes many different avenues of knowledge, but eventually realises her mind doesn’t know what to do with it all. After the Transform Your Birth course, she is able to put it calmly into place within her deeper mind and focus more fully on her job, knowing that her partner has got her covered. She goes on to describe the most beautiful story of birth unfolding in its raw majesty. She describes a scene with her partner while she was pushing her baby out - that leaves us both feeling in awe of the power of love and intimacy in birth. She then shares the struggles she had with breastfeeding. She reminds us all - that there is always a struggle, and because there is no escape, we have to continue to step up and overcome whatever it is we are facing. This is the way it’s always been, and Claire reminds us all that we can do it!
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This is a powerful episode as it fellows Tracey through what would end up being 3 births, all with big babies. We see how her first birth helped her to get very clear about what was important to her. She changes her model of care and sets up her birth space with people who believe in her, and support her decision making. This is a story of immense resilience, overcoming the noise of other people’s opinions and bringing her full circle to the belief that her body can birth these big babies. Women’s stories never cease to inspire and amaze me, and Tracey’s story would be right up there with the best of them. Enjoy!
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Anna came into her pregnancy with a mind that needed to know and learn things. She then had to deal with the discovery of placenta praevia that meant that her original dreams of birth would end up being very different. She shares with us in great detail the turbulence of ultimately bringing herself to a point of letting go and accepting what lay ahead. She did the preparation and was able to put that part of her mind that needed to know things to good use. Asking questions from her doctors and negotiating for the things that were important to her - made all the difference to her experience of welcoming her little girl. She shares her experience of the caesarean in great detail, which became a beautiful experience now that she had changed her mindset. Ultimately this is a story of personal transformation through pregnancy, birth and parenting. Well worth a listen - enjoy!
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Today’s episode is with Jessica, having her first birth, with the support of two step children and her partner. We explore how knowing too much about birth can find its way into our labour room, and how much information is enough. Jess shares with us her journey of managing a long labour, and a long second stage? We reflect on how time can inhibit our ability to flow with birth and the influence of vaginal examinations. Jess shares some powerful reflections, and gives some great advice at the end. A very inspirational story.
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Ashleigh’s story is one worth listening to, as it helps us to really understand the power of undisturbed birth. She shares with us the preparation she did prior to the big day, and the fears she needed to address in order to surrender and work with the process of birth. She practices surrendering, cultivates a powerful mindset and is very clear about what she can and can’t control. With the support of her amazing partner, her doula and two midwives she created the perfect conditions for birth to unfold, and it ended in a surprising outcome - which you will have to listen to - to find out what happened 🙂
An episode well worth the time, full of wisdom and insight into the journey we must make to be ready to welcome our babies.
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This week we have the perspective of a father supporting his wife through two birth experiences. Matt reflects on his journey of stepping up and becoming more proactive in both the birth space and in parenting. He shares that prior to doing our course, he didn’t realise how much of a role he could play in helping Bronte and how she was feeling it was all on her shoulders. This experience shook him into action, which on reflection helped him to grow much quicker into fatherhood. This is a wonderful story of teamwork at its greatest - and when going through some pretty big challenges with the health of their second baby, they were able to get through it together, securely bonded and now able to manage the needs of two beautiful little boys. Matt has much wisdom - and this is an episode that should be shared with all partners of birthing women, so they can start to become familiar with the road ahead.
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Today I’m going to share with you some important information every woman must know when it comes to choosing to use the pharmacological options in managing labour. They are tools in your tool kit to help manage labour - but you might want to put them in the bottom of the bag as they come at a cost, to the mother and the baby. When women don't have the drugs they often experience a natural high which sets her up beautifully for the next stage. Sometimes however, it can be appropriate - to protect the emotional state of the mother and also the baby. Most of the time we don’t need it. I will help you to know when it might be appropriate. This is important information to know when it comes to making decisions. I also give some great advice for those supporting birthing women - how to get her over the hump, if she is asking for the drugs. Enjoy!
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Sally and Graeme resist the advice to have an induction based only on the identification of her baby’s size. Her caregivers were concerned about the risk of the baby’s shoulders getting stuck. Her labour starts spontaneously at 41 +2 weeks, and whilst it was a long labour, she manages with the incredible support of Graeme. He helps her to find comfort and coaches her along the way. We discuss how important it is for women to be free to move during labour - because they look for comfort, which supports the descent of the baby, and can reduce risk of baby getting stuck. Graeme shares how his preparation and doing the practices really helped him to know what to do on the day, and stay really present to Sally’s needs. Their son arrived at 4.44kg. An inspiring story for anyone who is worried about having a big baby.
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I loved recording this episode, as we started to venture into the realm of birth that is often not discussed. What is going on for women at a deeper level when they go through the process of giving birth. Jenn’s first birth started with an induction - and although it was intense, she loved it. During her second pregnancy, she was healthy and well, and was able to experience labour and birth very differently, under the steam of her own oxytocin. She discovered this well of hormones had much to offer - and she helps us to explore why physiological birth must be honoured and strived for, as the benefits to the mother and baby are immense and help them to travel that path beyond. Whilst this is a slightly longer episode, it is well worth a listen. Enjoy the wisdom from this conversation.
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Josey felt confident with her first birth, and through events outside of her control, it ended up to be a difficult birth. She felt she had people telling her what to do, and no one really paid attention to her voice. For her second, she prepares with the ‘Transform Your Birth,’ course and manages to get into the continuity program, so she has her own midwife. This made all the difference, to both her experience of birth, and her partner feeling like he could support her. She then shares how this influenced her parenting with both children. Much wisdom to be shared, enjoy!
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Serena completed the ‘Transform Your Birth,’ course and shares how it changed her thinking about birth, and helped her partner to feel like they have an important role to play. Serena’s pregnancy took her all the way to 42 weeks, at which point she agreed to be induced. All went smoothly from there and she went through the tools that helped her to get through the whole labour. She also shares her experience of transitioning into motherhood, and how her labour helped her. A beautiful story to remind us all to trust our body.
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Danika prepares for the birth of her son using calmbirth. She is very grateful for this, as her pregnancy took a detour, and at 36 weeks she needs to have an emergency cesarean under a general anesthetic, without her partner present. This was a lot to adjust to. To find out how she did this, listen in.
Bonnie and Steve share their tragic story of multiple losses. Overcoming the fear during Evie’s pregnancy was always going to be their biggest mountain. They worked with me by doing the ‘Transform Your Birth,’ course and stayed connected to our community during their pregnancy. What unfolded from there is worth listening to. An inspirational story from an exceptional couple.
Shelby shares her story of two births. When having her first baby, as a yoga teacher - people kept affirming that she would likely have a straightforward birth. Her first birth was long. When her baby arrived, she felt dissociated from her new baby. For her second birth, she did some more preparation with the ‘Transform Your Birth,’ course and got herself a doula. She became very clear that the most important part of the birth was meeting and connecting with her baby. This clear focus helped her to adjust to a cesarean. Shelby's experiences remind us that we are not in control - but we can get clear on what is important to us, which can help us to adjust to what unfolds on the day.
Emma had enormous fear around giving birth, and knew the answer to this for her, was to get informed and prepared.She read many books and completed the Transform Your Birth course. This gave her and her partner a clear path forward. She shares how she was able to identify what information to take on, and what not to listen to. She goes on to have a vaginal birth and shares the tools that helped her most.
Kahlia decided she didn’t want to overload herself with too much information and only did the ‘Transform Your Birth,’ course to prepare herself and her partner. She then goes into labour with a baby who is rotated and posterior which sees her in labour for 4 days. She manages this with the support of her partner and midwife. Finally when things heat up, she ends up pushing him out quite quickly - and he is 4.6kg. A great story to discount the idea that baby’s grow too big for their mothers. Kahlia reminds us all to not overthink things.
Jenna shares her story of two births. After an induction with her first, we explore how she felt confident with her second baby to wait until labour started spontaneously. She shares with us how she was able to follow her gut instincts in making decisions about the birth and also breastfeeding. We also engage in a great conversation of how birth influences the early experiences we have as new parents. Such great wisdom all through this episode - definitely worth a listen.
Cara was pregnant with her first child and went into denial about going into labour. Unexpected things happened, which put her into an intense state of stress and she discusses how this influenced her bonding with her daughter. With these lessons under her belt, for baby number two, she prepared doing the Transform Your Birth,’ Course and experienced a painless labour and an instant bond with her son. A beautiful story of how one labour can change the next, and we can transform ourselves through the act of giving birth to our children.
Natalie shares with us her two births, and how she stepped more fully into advocating for what she wanted. She experiences two beautiful births and reflects deeply on her own path of awakening. We also reflect on the connection between birth and motherhood. Her stories are entertaining and insightful, sharing the unpredictability of birth and parenting. Enjoy!
Mel had a spontaneous labour and finds herself progressing quite quickly to the point she is pushing at home. After an ambulance ride to the hospital, she gets there in time to have her baby in the water. She needs some help with the placenta - and is able to manage that unexpected moment with grace and confidence. A lovely inspiring story to remind us all that the body knows what to do, even when we sometimes need help. Enjoy!
Ali goes through the different models of care available to women when they are having a baby. She highlights that many of the models are very fragmented and don’t really cater to the experience of the family. She highlights how relationships matter, and tends to set the birthing parent up to feel more positive about the process. She also pulls apart what it is you get when you experience the different models of care. The model of care you access plays a significant role in the outcome of how your baby enters the world. This is a topic that is not talked about enough. Well worth a listen even if you have already chosen your model of care - you might be able to bring in other forms of support.
Phoebe decides to have a homebirth late in her first pregnancy. She experiences a long labour, a transfer to hospital and then unable to have her midwives with her because of Covid. She has her second baby at home, and then needs to transfer after the birth to get some medical support. Phoebe reflects on both experiences and what made all the difference when adapting to the changes. She shares with us how motherhood has changed her - and her need to control. Such wisdom and insight into how birth and motherhood change us forever.
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In this episode, Miriam reflects on her preparation and how she was able to change her mind about birth. She experiences the care of a known midwife in the birth centre and a student midwife. Her labour starts spontaneously and goes for a few days. With the support of her midwife coming to check her at home, she knows this is ok and continues to labour beautifully at home. She arrives at the hospital and has her baby in the water. She marvels at how strong she is, and reflects on the power of her knowledge to understand what was going on and how to manage each of the stages. This is another story to inspire us to learn to trust the body, the body is indeed wired to give birth. Enjoy!
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Tracey will go through why it is important women feel safe, loved and supported during labour. She highlights the importance of partners and birth support people to understand the process and not bring their own fears into the labour room. She gives the listeners a checklist of what to do and what not to do and clarifies the important role of being a labouring woman's advocate. An episode specifically for those who love a birthing woman and want to be there for her in her most powerful and vulnerable time.
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Nicole was advised through a wise friend to seek the primary care of an independent midwife, and doula. They supported Nicole and her partner to have a beautiful straight forward birth of her dreams. With the support of hypnobirthing, she was able to use the practices to navigate a very intense labour, and be very clear on how to communicate her choices with the hospital system. A great story to highlight the power of having great support and preparation. This is a very inspiring story.
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Tory found herself pregnant as a single mum. She discusses the pressure she felt to ‘get it right,’ and the conditioning women face around the way we talk about birth.
She is able to access the continuity of a known midwife program and chooses her sisters to support her. All these women believe in her ability to give birth. This resulted in a straight forward vaginal birth. She has some great advice for single mums - get the right people in your corner. A great story to not only inspire single mums, but all women preparing for birth.
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Emily is a midwife and she has seen all types of birth. Making the decision of where to birth her baby was a big choice and ultimately she chose to birth at home. Emily had to come to terms with her fears. By reading ‘Ina May Gaskin’s Guide to Childbirth,’ and doing the ‘Transform Your Birth’ course she manages to harness her mind and steps fully into her confidence and trust in the birth process. The result - well listen in and find out. An inspiring story to support your trust in the process of birth.
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Kate’s partner was concerned about her ability to handle the pain of labour. After doing the Transform Your Birth course, he soon realised the positive influence he could have on her ability to get through the birth. They committed to the practices and Kate talks about how she thinks they changed her labour. Kate experiences a straightforward birth but ultimately faces her greatest fear, tearing. She finishes her story with some great wisdom around nesting and building your energy levels before the birth. Enjoy!
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Eddie shares with us the story of her two births. Her first experience left her feeling like something got lost in the process. For baby number two, she dives deeper into the physiology of birth, and learns to appreciate mother nature’s blueprint. She is determined to bring as much of herself as she can to the second birth. Once again she is facing induction after pushing it to 42 weeks. She needs to surrender to something she really didn’t want to experience again. She is in hospital ready to have her second induction and something quite magical happens. Her stories will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.
Enjoy!
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In this episode I’ll be deconstructing the power of breathing. I’ll explain why it is the top tool in the tool kit. We look at the myths around the teaching of breathing and the perils of overbreathing. I will then go on to explain what optimal breathing looks like, and how to retrain your brain. We finish this episode with a beautiful breathing exercise that will highlight to you how good breathing calmly can feel. This is a not to be missed episode. Get comfortable and learn to breathe better!
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Hannah and Chris describe their experience of managing a birth that resulted in a cesarean. Their story really highlights the power of teamwork, and advocacy by a partner who is well prepared and knows what they are doing. This made all the difference for Hannah when she had to adjust to a new plan. A wonderful interview to listen to both the birthing mum, and the father’s experience. Enjoy!
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In this episode, we will be exploring the origins of the pain through understanding the physiology of birth.
I will be giving you some ideas about managing those sensations and accessing your inbuilt resources. You will also learn about the power of the mind, and how to harness the mind in a way that supports the birth process.
Demystifying the pain is the first step in making labour more manageable. Enjoy!
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Velouria was a nurse and had experience in working in the intensive care unit for babies, and realised she needed to work on her mindset for birth as she had seen many struggles families can experience.
She prepares and starts to work on overcoming those fears and building her trust in herself.
She highlights her thinking around not having unnecessary vaginal examinations and we discuss how it can interfere with labour and a woman's ability to just be in the moment. She shares a lot about the tools she used to get through and the powerful role her partner played. She experiences a tear and needs to be taken away to get some repair work. She discusses the role of the practices in preparing you not just for the birth but afterwards too. She reminds us we can get through so many things, more than we can imagine - and this realisation sets us up for parenting. A straightforward labour with lots to teach us - enjoy!
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Jos experiences a marathon first birth, which she finds difficult to recover from. For baby number two, she chooses to prepare differently and opens herself to new possibilities. She learnt to surrender, trust more and resource herself with tools to manage. Her partner learns the power of his role, and they were set up as a team. She also decided to honour her need to nest. Her second birth was surprisingly different. She credits it to doing the practices and being clear on what was important to her and communicating this to her caregivers. Some great birth wisdom to share with you.
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Transform Parenting website
Jemima chooses to have a homebirth and it is her second birth. Her first child was born 22 years previously. She had to overcome her own fear of the pain from her first experience when she was very young. She felt that she had failed, and judged herself very harshly. This birth gave her the opportunity to understand and reframe her previous experience, by seeing birth as a rite of passage, not a place where we need to perform and live up to some perceived expectations.
She had a posterior labour, and a long early labour. She tethered herself to the breath, as her primary tool, and her partner was her rock. She talks about using the meditations to prevent her mind going into dark places, and ultimately lets go of the worry of her baby’s position. She and her husband create a beautiful environment to labour in and she experienced wonderful support from her midwife, partner, mother and sister - a truly family affair.
Towards the end Jemima also shares her decision making process when it came to having a homebirth.
Some great insights into the mystery of birth are revealed in this story - enjoy!
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Elley had heard a lot of stories about birth from her mother who was a midwife, and then a sister who had a difficult birth and so she came into pregnancy quite fearful. She did lots of reading and the ‘Transform Your Birth’ course which shifted her perspective.
She went into spontaneous labour and spent most of it at home. She discusses the timelessness of birth. Her second stage needed a little help but with good care and support she was able to push her baby out, and experienced a big high afterwards. We discuss letting go of the monkey mind, and the altered state of birth. She identifies the fear tension pain syndrome as a great understanding to her being more confident in birth. Her advice to pregnant women is prepare - prepare - prepare! Thank you Elley and little Edward.
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Leah shares how she shifted her perception of the pain and overcoming her fear of birth after doing the ‘Transform Your Birth’ course. Her partner felt much more comfortable in knowing his role also. At 36 weeks Leah discovers her baby is in the breech position. She had to come to terms with the change of plan and she shares how she was able to shift her mindset, to open herself to the understanding that birth may not proceed in the way she wanted. She then had an ECV, which is a procedure to try to turn the baby – which is successful.
Leah goes into spontaneous labour. She shares her journey through the different stages and it ends up being long. She experienced wonderful skilled care from her midwife and other health professionals. She needs help with her placenta and is amazed at how calm and ok she was dealing with this unexpected situation. She then shares how this experience prepared her for parenting.
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Emily will share with us today, two birth stories. The first resulted in a caesarean, the second was a vaginal birth after caesarean. She uses her experiences from the first birth to get very clear on what is important to her having baby number two.
Emily shares her decision making around the models of care and then her subsequent relationships with both care providers.
She also gives us an insight into her internal evolution through her second pregnancy, because of going through the first birth. Emily cuts down the noise, makes informed decisions that feel right for her – but more importantly starts to really tune into to the inner intelligence of the body and her mother spirit. She describes feeling calm and content in the knowledge that she will know what is right for this baby and this birth. She also feels completely confident, having processed her fears, and is ready to let go of what she cannot control. This conversation touches spaces that we have inside of us that are rarely spoken about in the context of birth. If you want to understand the evolution and wisdom of birth to transition women into motherhood – then this conversation is for you.
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Kate was quite fearful of birth in her early pregnancy and then goes on to study birth deeply which helps shift her mindset.
In her later pregnancy she is diagnosed with preeclampsia and needs to face an induction. During the process she is feeling rushed by her medical professionals and locks herself in the bathroom for a couple of hours. By reclaiming her space and doing it when she was ready, allowed her to endure a very long labour without any need for pain relief. She puts on noise cancelling headphones to zone out from the activity in her room. She listens to her own breath which helps her get into the zone. She also asks for the syntocinon to be turned down, so it mimics a normal labour. She talks about not feeling the time, even though it was a long labour, and asked her caregivers to not refer to time.
She loved the pushing phase and felt zero pain and avoids an episiotomy. She discusses healing from tearing. She also had a big bleed after the birth – but through all of those things she was just so pleased and proud of herself. She feels it set her up beautifully for parenting. Kate’s story reminds us that we are enough to birth our babies, even when we need help.
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Sarah had a straightforward pregnancy and then was facing induction. She exercises her capacity to negotiate the stages of induction by giving herself time to see if each stage is enough to kick off her labour. This works really well for her as she only ends up needing the gel on her cervix. Her waters break spontaneously, and she manages to avoid the syntocinon. Her labour ends up progressing quite quickly. She talks about the tens machine and the gas, and how they were useful for her. She had the urge to push, but the midwives suggested it was too early not feeling she could have progressed so quickly. She did progress quickly, and we discuss rate of progress. She finds being on her back was a good position for her. She marvels at how she was able to overcome an episiotomy that gets infected. Sarah’s story reminds us that we can get through things that previously we might have resisted. She finishes with – you’ve got this mamma. We are far more resilient than we realise. Enjoy her story, it has much to teach us.
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Hope had an intense fear of birth and a history of anxiety. She discusses her preparation, and what are the things that changed the way she felt about giving birth. She committed fully to the practices, and really shifted her inner beliefs and responses to the idea of giving birth, so much so she experienced painless labour. Hope also identifies how her birth supported her transition into motherhood.
I love this story, as it can open our minds to the possibilities of how we can experience the sensations of labour.
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Sheena shares her story of two babies under two different models of care.
Her first birth began with an induction due to size. She reflects later that she didn’t ask a lot of questions and just followed medical advice. Second time round she chooses continuity of midwifery care, and then does the ‘Transform Your Birth’ course. This choice engaged her partner more which put them on the same page. It also helped them to adapt to a dramatic change when the baby was breech.
Sheena is very pragmatic and has taken two very different births in her stride and gives us a powerful message of trusting in yourself as a birthing woman. She believes we are born for this, and we can get over whatever speed bumps come our way. Enjoy!
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Erika shares her two birth stories. She had to overcome the negative culture and advice she was being given.
Erika used calmbirth to lock in a new mindset.
She discusses her process of change. Affirmations were a huge tool she used.
With baby number 2, she gives birth in Bangkok, and this time hires a doula.
Fortunately, through the confidence she experienced with her first birth,
She was able to powerfully advocate for herself and her baby.
I think you will enjoy Erika’s and her passion for birth.
Tiahna finds herself with a breech baby and low fluid and needing to have a caesarean.
She adjusts to a new plan, which isn’t easy, and she eventually overcomes her feelings of failure.
She also speaks of the emotional rollercoaster that comes with birth, which is an important part of our growth as a new mother..
She has a gentle caesarean and makes some special requests which helps her to take back some control.
She shares how her partner adjusted and supported her.
Microbial seeding and what she learnt about herself as well as some great advice for pregnant women.
This story is gold!
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Alex shares with us the stories of both her boys
She shares how her preparation gave her confidence.
She experienced tearing with her first, and needed to work on her fear, and bring in strategies to avoid tearing again for baby number two.
She discusses the role of subconscious preparation and going into a trance state, and how that was a challenge for her second birth through extra monitoring.
Her story also highlights the importance of an intimate birthing environment and not focusing on time.
Lots of great learning. Enjoy!
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Katie shares with us her story of two births.
During her first birth, she felt things were done to her and she really had no choice.
For her second birth she made some very different decisions.
She chose a different model of care, and she sourced education beyond the hospital classes that catered to both her and her partner.
This changed her second birth dramatically.
Katie did acupuncture and tapping later in her pregnancy, was induced and gave birth to a 4.1kg baby, whilst being small herself.
Katie also shares her experience of newborn care – using newborn osteopathy which helped both her boys with two very different conditions.
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The Transform Your birth podcast will educate, entertain and support your ability to navigate pregnancy and prepare to give birth. We can't control birth, but Tracey helps us to see how we can influence it and how it helps us to become parents.
Transform Parenting Founder Tracey Anderson Askew explores birth through stories and the lens of what birth can teach us. She prepares families for birth and parenting and views birth as the catalyst for the transformation necessary to go from woman to mother, and man to father. These podcasts will share that wisdom and change the current birth narrative from what happens in birth to how birth changes us.
