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.
Listen on:
Episodes
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
As Jade says, she has never shied away from sharing uncomfortable stories, and her story of bringing a baby earthside is no exception. While the birth of her daughter, River, seemingly gave her the ‘happy ending’ she so desperately wanted, her journey with uncomfortable stories did not end there.
Instead of the new-born bubble she envisioned for so long, Jade had to walk on eggshells around her baby who constantly screamed. The magnitude of her grief and anxiety was only compounded by River’s colic, causing a ‘crash’ that shattered her nervous system. After three years of back-to-back experiences with an ectopic pregnancy, baby loss, and miscarriage, Jade had nothing left to give.
It was Jade’s mother-in-law who read between the lines of a text message and flew down the same day to take Jade to the doctors to ensure she finally started to receive the help she needed.
I invite you to join me in this episode as Jade shares her truth and the purpose she has found in her pain - featuring grief, anxiety, depression, colic, talk therapy, and medication, as well as the many connections she has made along the way that have held her with love during this journey.
Please note, this episode discusses baby loss and mentions TFMR. You can find Jade @heart.of.harper on Instagram where she raises awareness, educates, and holds space for the uncomfortable experiences that can come with conceiving a baby and life after loss.
I thank Jade from the bottom of my heart for shining a light on the uncomfortable stories we often keep to ourselves.
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 Apr 03, 2023
Monday Apr 03, 2023
As someone who had never experienced mental ill health, the bubbly and outgoing Nikolina was confronted by the sudden onset of perinatal depression and anxiety within her first few weeks of motherhood. From crying for no reason to not being able to sleep, her PNDA symptoms hit very hard and very fast.
Nikolina pushed through these symptoms for weeks, even using her son’s milestone photo cards as a countdown to the idealised six-week mark. But when nothing changed at six weeks as she had hoped, it was her husband who helped Nikolina realise that she wasn’t herself and that she may need some help to get her spark back.
In this episode, Nikolina takes us on her journey from the career high in her first pregnancy to the excitement of dressing up for therapy, and now to the recent publication of her children’s book - filled with lots of tears, insomnia, therapy, stepping on Lego pieces, and of course, laughter, in between!
You can follow Nikolina on Instagram @heynikolinak where she shares the ridiculousness and realities of motherhood and order her new book My Mummy Loves Fudge! from her website heynikolinak.com
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 Mar 20, 2023
Monday Mar 20, 2023
As a self-confessed ‘flaming extrovert’, Lauren struggled with the isolating and all-consuming eat-play-sleep-bathe-repeat cycle of early motherhood. By six months postpartum, the newborn ‘love bubbles’ that she felt so intensely after both of her births became overshadowed by the onset of postpartum depression.From IVF, miscarriage, severe pregnancy health complications, to two traumatic births, this depression was only the latest in a long line of anxiety and trauma that Lauren experienced on the journey to motherhood.In this powerful episode, Lauren opens up about her mental health during her pregnancy and postpartum with both of her daughters, and shares with us what helped her through this time - from the PANDA National Helpline (1300 726 306), medication, talk therapy, EMDR, and a psychiatric hospital admission, to her supportive and loving partner, Alex.
While walking the sunny halls of the psychiatric hospital, Lauren created her blog ‘Mental as a Mother’ and is now a volunteer for PANDA. You can follow Lauren on Instagram at @mental.asamother where she hilariously shares all things motherhood, mental health, fertility, and feminism - while wearing her signature bold lip, of course.
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 Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
"When Helen, a midwife and academic, describes her mental health in pregnancy and postpartum, she uses the word ‘blindsided’.
Despite her expertise, Helen was confronted by post-traumatic stress disorder following two traumatic pregnancies, a NICU admission, baby loss, grief, and the continued uncertainties of IVF. As a health clinician, she was also staggered by the prevalence and general lack of awareness of psychological trauma in the perinatal period.
In this episode, Helen takes us on her painful journey of trauma through pregnancy and postpartum, to her subsequent research and advocacy as a result of her experiences. We also discuss the importance of language in this space, post-traumatic growth, grief, stereotypes, trigger warnings, trauma-informed care, and art therapy.
I thank Helen from the bottom of my heart for sharing her story so candidly.
You can find Helen on Instagram as @reallifemidwife where she uses her platform to raise awareness, validate, and educate us all about perinatal psychological trauma (and where she occasionally creates reels of herself in Grey’s Anatomy cast photos).
Please note, this episode discusses baby loss. If you are able to listen, I welcome you to join me in ‘sitting in the shit’ with Helen."
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 Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
In this episode, I welcome Jade who shares her ongoing journey with mental ill health - a journey which is both three years old but new at the same time. After the birth of her son and the subsequent sleep deprivation, Jade’s mental health declined and she was (mis)diagnosed with postpartum depression.
Despite proactively and consistently seeking support from several psychologists and trying multiple anti-depressants across three years, Jade was still experiencing depressive episodes while all the mothers in her online community were in the enviable stages of recovery.
Thanks to the persistence of a very supportive friend, Jade finally connected with a perinatal psychiatrist. Within 15 minutes of that first appointment, Jade received the correct diagnosis which came with a whole new treatment plan, a referral to the perfect psychologist (finally!), and of course a whole lot of grief.
When I first created my Instagram account, Jade shared my story on her page and I’m honoured to return the favour by holding space for her journey now. You can connect with Jade on Instagram @postpartum.jade or via her blog. 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 Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Like everything else in her life, Jess had many plans for motherhood. As planned, she fell pregnant after completing her psychologist registration. But from the moment Jess saw the positive result on the pregnancy test, she was surprised that her once positive outlook was overshadowed by an all-consuming sense of dread and anxiety. Despite sharing this openly with her care providers, her severe anxiety remained undiagnosed.
To her relief, that relentless anxiety ended the moment her daughter, Charlotte, was born - 3 months early! Jess found that she coped better with the unexpected preeclampsia diagnosis, the emergency c-section at 28 weeks gestation, and the subsequent 51-day NICU stay in a hospital over an hour away from home, than she did with pregnancy.
Unfortunately, it was finally bringing her little girl home - a moment she’d waited so long for - that saw the return of her anxiety. But this time, it was crippling.
With the support of an incredible care team, featuring her GP, the hospital-appointed psychologist, and her family and friends, Jess’s anxiety started to ease and she could finally enjoy those moments of motherhood she dreamed about - like sitting on the couch with her daughter in their pyjamas - just as planned.
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 Jan 02, 2023
Monday Jan 02, 2023
As a public health researcher and implementation scientist who thought highly of her “ability to get shit done” Lisa assumed motherhood would be easy - especially compared to her prior achievements with study, work, and life.
To her surprise though, Lisa struggled with the transition to motherhood. From a gestational diabetes diagnosis, birthing a small baby, a NICU admission, and breastfeeding pain, to having a colic baby who had to be constantly held and who would not stop crying, Lisa was consumed by a feeling of failure.
At five months postpartum, she was diagnosed with depression and was forced to confront the reality that she had past experiences to unpack and behaviours to unlearn - the biggest being her reluctance to ask for help.
Through therapy, postpartum planning (with Kathryn from episode 04), a strong support-system, and a ‘good enough mothering’ attitude, Lisa approached her second pregnancy in a completely different way.
She is now finally enjoying motherhood, without mental ill health or the unrelenting pressure to be a perfect mother.
Find Lisa on Instagram @drlisa.researcher where she disseminates research-backed information to dispel perfect parenting myths and to promote parental wellbeing.
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 Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
At 18 weeks pregnant, Aimee suffered the unimaginable - her waters ruptured and for the next 20 weeks she lived every day on bed rest in uncertainty about whether her baby would actually survive. To the surprise of every doctor, Aimee’s waters resealed and at 38 weeks, Evie, a healthy baby girl, was born.
But her relief and joy vanished when suddenly she felt like she was living the worst case scenario she feared, rather than the happy ending she got. She thought she should just be grateful, not sobbing every day, so Aimee hid her suffering for weeks, until one day her shocked husband found her in a heap on the floor.
In this episode, Aimee takes us on her painful journey with postpartum depression and PTSD after a traumatic pregnancy, and teaches us one of the most important lessons of all - how our healing really begins the moment we open up.
You can find Aimee via Instagram @managing_mummahood
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 Dec 12, 2022
Monday Dec 12, 2022
When Ella reflects on motherhood, she talks about two things: firstly, the dream of motherhood that she’d had her whole life, and secondly, the nightmare that she was confronted with when she actually became a mother.Between not feeling the immediate bond to her daughter, the inability to communicate her feelings with anyone in her family, her husband working long hours, and the realisation that the reality of motherhood did not meet her expectations, Ella was overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness and worrying thoughts about her children being better off without her.Unfortunately, being told “motherhood doesn’t suit you” is when Ella was forced to confront the reality of postpartum rage and depression. It was this fleeting (and very hurtful!) comment that actually motivated Ella to finally ask for the help she desperately needed and to eventually start her business Mind Over Mumma (@mindmumma on Instagram) as a perinatal Occupational Therapist.
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 Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
A successful economist and accomplished career woman, Kathryn from MotherUp has always been the quintessential high achiever who needed certainty and control over every aspect of her life. Although, of course, when she had her little girl Liv, Kathryn learnt the hard way that perfectionism and motherhood do not mix.
She assumed the anxiety she felt during pregnancy would be alleviated when her daughter was safely in her arms, but after five relentless weeks of depression and compulsive behaviour, Kathryn had what she calls a “combustion”.
Kathryn shares a unique perspective about perinatal mental ill health coupled with fertility challenges, pregnancy loss, breastfeeding trauma, and mothering with OCD during a COVID pandemic. Despite fears about a recurrent postpartum “combustion”, Kathryn has leaned into hope (and her own postpartum planning framework!) and is currently expecting a little boy.
This isn’t an episode to miss.
You can find out more about Kathryn’s mother-centric planning and support service, MotherUp, at www.motherup.com.au or via Instagram @_motherup
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
