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 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
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
For Tegan, mental ill health was nothing new. So naturally, a happy and mentally healthy pregnancy and postpartum with her first daughter, Addie, took everyone by surprise - including Tegan!
It was only after baby number two, Amelia, that Tegan was reacquainted with anxiety and OCD. Unfortunately, it was far from a happy reunion.
After weeks of being dismissed by medical professionals and the hospital, Tegan finally received the care she needed when she was admitted to an MBU (Mother and Baby Psychiatric Unit), all thanks to the help of an unlikely stranger.
In this episode we discuss preparing for pregnancy and postpartum with a prior history of mental ill health, postpartum OCD, anxiety, and depression, an MBU admission, medication, and parenting during COVID-lockdown.
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 21, 2022
Monday Nov 21, 2022
I spent most of my life imagining motherhood. I couldn't imagine anything else - not a career, not travel, not study - just motherhood.What I didn't imagine, however, was a breakdown that sent me to a psychiatric hospital only days after my son's birth.I’d never felt so scared or alone in my life. I’d never felt so ashamed.But to my surprise, I was far more scared to be discharged than I was to be admitted - something I did not think possible when I sobbed through the hospital doors with my one week old baby in my arms.Join me as I share part two of my story where I talk about how my postpartum unfolded - in all the many ways I could never have imagined.
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
Sunday Nov 13, 2022
Sunday Nov 13, 2022
With a long history of anxiety, I had every intention of not letting anxiety get in the way of birth and parenting. In fact, I spent most of my pregnancy doing everything I thought was ‘right’ to plan and protect my mental health in postpartum. Unfortunately, I was so focused on postpartum that I couldn’t see the anxiety escalating throughout my pregnancy.
Welcome to Perinatal Stories Australia. In this first episode, I share part one of my own story and talk about what happens when, unfortunately like me, maternal mental ill health actually begins in pregnancy.
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
Sunday Nov 13, 2022
Sunday Nov 13, 2022
Welcome to Perinatal Stories Australia, a podcast holding space for the untold stories of maternal mental illness in Australia. By sharing the lived experiences of struggle and healing, I hope this podcast reduces stigma, informs listeners about supports available, and inspires those on their own journey. No medical advice provided.
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
