Thank you for being here to hold space for the stories we often keep to ourselves.
Perinatal Stories Australia
A podcast dedicated to holding space for the untold stories of motherhood and mental illness in Australia. Through providing a listening ear to the lived experiences of struggle and healing in pregnancy and motherhood, this podcast aims to reduce stigma around mental health, to inform listeners about support services available, and to inspire those on their own healing journey. Share your story via the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com and follow the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more storytelling and validating maternal mental health content. This podcast is not a substitute for therapy and no medical advice is provided. Reach out to your medical professional should you have any concerns.
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Episodes
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
I really didn't think I'd be back here behind the microphone telling my own story again. I didn't think I'd have anything to share because I had many hopes that things would be different this time. I hoped that I would be different this time.
But here we are.
For many reasons, for so many of us, pregnancy is not always the most joyful time of our lives. Logically, we know it's temporary, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier. And I know I'm not the only one to hold conflicting emotions about pregnancy, both joy and anguish, love and dread, hope and fear.
I hope by me sharing, this reaches someone who needs it.
Join me in this episode where I'll share the story of my second pregnancy so far, how it's been similar and different to my first, my fears as I approach the third trimester and birth, and the support systems that are currently in place or planned to help me through.
Thank you for once again holding space for me.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) :)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
When Ashlee entered motherhood, she expected the transition to be easy from her many years of working with children. What she didn’t expect was the severe anxiety she experienced in her first pregnancy or the depression that overshadowed her postpartum. As a perinatal and infant mental health psychologist, she also didn’t expect to miss her own red flags.
Sleep, feeding, and health complications with her daughter also diverted any attention away from Ashlee’s wellbeing, and left her blaming motherhood and expecting her mental health to get better only when circumstances improved. Ashlee finally reached out for support and even moved cities for a fresh start, but two weeks later, she found out she was unexpectedly pregnant with her son.
This is Ashlee’s phenomenal story - about the benefit of hindsight, about grieving her first postpartum, about navigating motherhood with a diagnosis of autism, about the importance of being listened to, about seeking psychological help as a psychologist, about the challenge motherhood caused to her identity, about the difficulty in deciphering the difference between mental ill health and the ‘normal’ challenges of motherhood, about redefining what a ‘village’ means, about rejecting the shame of taking medication, about overcoming depression and having faith that things will get better, about learning to look inwards, and about embracing her own humanness.
Expect to be blown away when listening to this episode.
You can find Ashlee on Instagram @wells_psychology where she raises awareness about perinatal and women’s mental health. Please note, this episode discusses the lived experience of anxiety, depression and an unwanted, unexpected, pregnancy. Go gently.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) :)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Monday Nov 06, 2023
With a background in child development psychology and extensive experience working with thousands of babies, Siobhan was, what she thought, going to be off to a running start in motherhood.
That was until she was confronted by a traumatic birth and intense sleep deprivation at the height of the pandemic lockdowns.
Siobhan’s sense of self was challenged and her first postpartum experience was overshadowed by chronic anxiety and depression. With the development of hallucinations and suicidal ideation, Siobhan’s mental health deteriorated until she became unrecognisable to those who knew and loved her.
In this poignant and relatable episode, Siobhan talks about everything that helped her see the light and gave her confidence to expand her family: from occupational therapy, medication, a social worker, a birth debrief, and formal postpartum planning, to her ultimate outlet, running.
I thank Siobhan from the bottom of my heart for sharing her experience so openly, and I welcome everyone to listen to the incredible insights that this inspirational woman has learnt along the way.
This isn’t an episode to miss. Run, don’t walk!
Please note, this episode discusses suicidal ideation. Go gently.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) :)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Monday Oct 23, 2023
Monday Oct 23, 2023
‘Are you feeding your baby?’ These are the words that confronted ICU nurse, Elyse, at a week postpartum when she was told her newborn son was starving, despite her strict three-hour feeding regime. In her words, a diagnosis of insufficient glandular tissue (IGT) or breast hyperplasia caused her world to fall apart.
For weeks, Elyse tried everything to increase her supply but was instead left enviously watching the bond between Patrick and her husband develop while she was crying and pumping alone for over six hours a day.
Although she finally stopped pushing herself to her absolute limits, her mental health continued to deteriorate as her son fought sleep and feeds. From grief about her experience to fits of rage when she yelled at the dog or screamed into pillows, Elyse kept dreaming about running away.
That is until, finally, a nurse, social worker, and psychiatrist at a residential stay recognised that Elyse needed more support. Her journey turned around quickly because of this, and soon after, she welcomed twins!
This is one woman’s breath-taking story about letting go: letting go of the pressure to breastfeed, letting go of pumping, letting go of recording every moment in a baby app, letting go of self-blame, letting go of resisting help, and letting go of control. This is Elyse’s story.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) :)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
In this episode, I’m joined by Gemma - a recovering perfectionist, accredited social worker, perinatal counsellor, podcast host of @postpartumlikeaboss, and mum-of-two. From the moment she fell pregnant, Gemma experienced an immediate sense of identity loss and anxiety that lasted until postpartum.
While the anxiety and unknowns disappeared after birth, the relentlessness and challenges of early motherhood left Gemma at her lowest. Despite experiencing mental ill health in the past, Gemma found the transition to motherhood to be harder and riddled with more guilt because of the expectations to feel joy and fulfilment.
Finding and accessing support was also hard for Gemma, but thanks to the help of the PANDA hotline, her somatic therapist, and the sense of identity she reclaimed by returning to work and exercising, Gemma slowly found her groove in motherhood. Even more than this, she decided to retrain as a perinatal counsellor to be able to provide the same support for others knowing how life changing it had been for her.
Join me in this episode as Gemma and I discuss mum guilt, the barriers to support, the shame that comes from not loving every moment of motherhood, and the importance of finding the right fit when it comes to therapy. This isn’t an episode to miss.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) :)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
When Sarah was discharged from the mother-and-baby psychiatric hospital, she felt both refreshed and proud. Her recovery from postpartum anxiety and OCD became a badge of honour.
But that wasn’t the end of Sarah’s story with maternal mental ill health. Severe depression, a medication change, a presentation to the emergency department, and a second and third MBU admission filled pages of a book she thought she had already closed.
Join me for part two of Sarah’s story as she is once again forced to confront the way she sees mental health, recovery, and herself, and where she grapples with both the relief and shame around being a ‘frequent flyer’ of the psychiatric hospital.
Please note, this episode discusses suicidality and suicidal ideation. Go gently.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) :)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
We’re all familiar with the adage ‘healing isn’t linear’ but we don’t often talk about the way a non-linear recovery ambushes the way we see, and feel about, ourselves.This attack on her perceived sense of self is something Sarah was continuously forced to confront with every lapse that she encountered on her recovery from postpartum anxiety, OCD, and depression.Postpartum progressively broke down any deep-rooted misconceptions Sarah held about mental health and slowly challenged the unspoken belief that our worth is inherently tied to the ups and downs of our recovery.From starting medication to being admitted to the mother-and-baby psychiatric hospital for the first time, this is part one of Sarah’s incredibly touching and insightful story.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) ;)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monique’s birth may have been quick, but its complications and long-term impacts were anything but. From a 3rd degree tear, prolapse, severe postpartum haemorrhage, a full levator avulsion on the right and a partial levator avulsion on the left, a near death experience, and a stay in the ICU, she paints a picture of the pain from her birth trauma and postpartum PTSD as a ‘storm’ - one that she is still weathering.
But thanks to talk therapy with her long-time psychologist, self-compassion, group therapy through the Australasian Birth Trauma Association (ABTA), and the support of her husband, it’s no longer a storm that she is weathering alone.
Join me in this episode to hold space for Monique’s incredibly moving story that shines a gut-wrenching light on birth trauma and why it matters. Please note, this episode vividly describes the experience and impact of physical and psychological trauma - go gently.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) ;)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Monday Jul 31, 2023
As a psychologist, Gen was familiar with psychiatric wards, but with no history of mental ill health or any risk factors she certainly never expected to be on the ‘other side’ - admitted as a patient to an acute ward shortly after the birth of her son, Arlo.
Following a relatively smooth pregnancy and delivery, Gen’s early postpartum was fraught with mastitis and the eventual development of sepsis. However, the life-threatening infection was surpassed by the rapid decline in Gen’s mental health, with warping clocks and the belief that she was famous, among many other delusions and hallucinations that unexpectedly took hold.
From pacing the halls of a public psych ward for hours to contributing to the design of one of the new public MBUs in Sydney, this is Gen’s story of overcoming her own internal stigma, advocating for better models of care in mental health wards, and the love of her partner, Lizz, who picked up on the red flags when no one else could.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) ;)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
Monday Jul 10, 2023
Monday Jul 10, 2023
With a history of anxiety and depression, Jess and her care team went into pregnancy with a plan to protect her mental health during postpartum. Unfortunately, serious and sudden medical diagnoses for her son, Jasper, immediately after birth meant Jess’s mental health was neglected amongst relentless surgeries, a two-month NICU admission, and full-time caretaking for a sick baby.
The NICU experience cast a long shadow over Jess’s motherhood journey, leaving behind a trail of self-blame, overwhelm, uncertainty, and doubt. Through the support of caring helpline staff, changing medication, making mum friends, a GP that took her seriously, and reclaiming her passions, this is the incredible story of one mother’s journey to come into her own light and to help other mothers know that they do not have to struggle alone.
Follow Jess on Instagram @jesscareywrites and visit her website https://jesscareywrites.com/ to find her collection of books about mental health for both children and adults.
FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.
PLEASE leave a review or rating on your favourite apps or consider buying me a coffee (well, preferably a tea!) ;)
VISIT the website perinatalstoriesaustralia.com to share your story or to see more content from the podcast guests.
MADE WITH LOVE by Rebecca (host, founder, storyteller) x
