This is the Real Birth Podcast: a safe, welcoming platform to share birth stories. I'm Lucy Hill, a doula, mother, wife and total birth nerd living in Frome, Somerset in the UK. When I was pregnant, one of my favourite things to do was to listen to birth stories. During this time I read and listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of birth experiences shared by all kinds of parents, having all kinds of births. I quickly became obsessed with the narrative of birth and the power of storytelling. I am convinced that because I was so regularly exposed to hearing about REAL birth - the glory, the mess, the trauma, the comedy, the boredom, the ecstasy - I didn't fear it, because I knew so much about what could unfold. When eventually I went into labour, my planned natural home birth turned into an undiagnosed breech and very unexpected cesarian. Of course I felt shocked. But beneath this, I felt calm and safe in the knowledge that birth can and does take twists and turns we can't predict. I had, in essence, heard it all before. I felt part of a wider collective of humans, each with stories as unique yet familiar as mine. The magic of birth stories existed not just for me as an expectant parent learning something unknown, but I also noticed the profound healing and peaceful resolution which often came from families revisiting and reflecting on their births. All of the podcasts I found dedicated to birth stories were either American or Australian, and I deeply wished there had been a bank of UK birth stories I could have mined for information, particularly when it came to NHS care which is so different to care models overseas. Since having my son in 2019 I have continued to listen to birth story podcasts, but have still yet to find a consistent, birth-story-dedicated podcast in the UK. Enter The Real Birth Podcast! Series 1 launches in early 2022, featuring a range of stories from UK parents and a variety of different birth experiences. Whether you're pregnant, on the other side of birth or just love geeking out about birth, I'm so excited for you to join me.
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This is the Real Birth Podcast: a safe, welcoming platform to share birth stories. I'm Lucy Hill, a doula, mother, wife and total birth nerd living in Frome, Somerset in the UK. When I was pregnant, one of my favourite things to do was to listen to birth stories. During this time I read and listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of birth experiences shared by all kinds of parents, having all kinds of births. I quickly became obsessed with the narrative of birth and the power of storytelling. I am convinced that because I was so regularly exposed to hearing about REAL birth - the glory, the mess, the trauma, the comedy, the boredom, the ecstasy - I didn't fear it, because I knew so much about what could unfold. When eventually I went into labour, my planned natural home birth turned into an undiagnosed breech and very unexpected cesarian. Of course I felt shocked. But beneath this, I felt calm and safe in the knowledge that birth can and does take twists and turns we can't predict. I had, in essence, heard it all before. I felt part of a wider collective of humans, each with stories as unique yet familiar as mine. The magic of birth stories existed not just for me as an expectant parent learning something unknown, but I also noticed the profound healing and peaceful resolution which often came from families revisiting and reflecting on their births. All of the podcasts I found dedicated to birth stories were either American or Australian, and I deeply wished there had been a bank of UK birth stories I could have mined for information, particularly when it came to NHS care which is so different to care models overseas. Since having my son in 2019 I have continued to listen to birth story podcasts, but have still yet to find a consistent, birth-story-dedicated podcast in the UK. Enter The Real Birth Podcast! Series 1 launches in early 2022, featuring a range of stories from UK parents and a variety of different birth experiences. Whether you're pregnant, on the other side of birth or just love geeking out about birth, I'm so excited for you to join me.
EP18 Andrea | Stillbirth, Endometriosis, Polyhydramnios, Breast Milk Donation, IVF
The Real Birth Podcast
1 hour 16 minutes
3 years ago
EP18 Andrea | Stillbirth, Endometriosis, Polyhydramnios, Breast Milk Donation, IVF
This week's guest is Andrea, whose son Bodhi was stillborn at 30 weeks. Andrea suffers from endometriosis, and after two failed rounds of IVF, Andrea and her husband Sam found themselves unexpectedly pregnant naturally.
At just over 29 weeks, Andrea noticed Bodhi had stopped moving, and immediately knew something wasn't right. It is every parent's worst nightmare to be told their baby has died - and this episode is understandably very emotional. After Bodhi's death, she and husband Sam made a conscious choice to live good, full lives in their son's honour - and Andrea went on to donate her breastmilk to help care for sick babies who needed it. She regularly raises money, donates to charitable causes and makes positive choices because of Bodhi.
One of the things that helped Andrea and Sam after Bodhi died, was the arrival of a gorgeous French bulldog, Marley. I visited Andrea at her home not to far from me, and you'll hear Marley having a good old snort away in the background - which personally I love as he is such a shining light in Andrea's life and deserves to be featured!
This episode is extremely honest, raw and open about stillbirth - and if you're not feeling in a good place to listen to this right now, then please do skip over this episode and come back when you're feeling ready. I believe it is so important to share all birth stories - and it was a complete honour and a privilege that Andrea has shared Bodhi's memory with me - and by extension, all of you.
Thanks for listening and I hope you fall in love with Andrea as hard as I did!
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The Real Birth Podcast
This is the Real Birth Podcast: a safe, welcoming platform to share birth stories. I'm Lucy Hill, a doula, mother, wife and total birth nerd living in Frome, Somerset in the UK. When I was pregnant, one of my favourite things to do was to listen to birth stories. During this time I read and listened to literally hundreds and hundreds of birth experiences shared by all kinds of parents, having all kinds of births. I quickly became obsessed with the narrative of birth and the power of storytelling. I am convinced that because I was so regularly exposed to hearing about REAL birth - the glory, the mess, the trauma, the comedy, the boredom, the ecstasy - I didn't fear it, because I knew so much about what could unfold. When eventually I went into labour, my planned natural home birth turned into an undiagnosed breech and very unexpected cesarian. Of course I felt shocked. But beneath this, I felt calm and safe in the knowledge that birth can and does take twists and turns we can't predict. I had, in essence, heard it all before. I felt part of a wider collective of humans, each with stories as unique yet familiar as mine. The magic of birth stories existed not just for me as an expectant parent learning something unknown, but I also noticed the profound healing and peaceful resolution which often came from families revisiting and reflecting on their births. All of the podcasts I found dedicated to birth stories were either American or Australian, and I deeply wished there had been a bank of UK birth stories I could have mined for information, particularly when it came to NHS care which is so different to care models overseas. Since having my son in 2019 I have continued to listen to birth story podcasts, but have still yet to find a consistent, birth-story-dedicated podcast in the UK. Enter The Real Birth Podcast! Series 1 launches in early 2022, featuring a range of stories from UK parents and a variety of different birth experiences. Whether you're pregnant, on the other side of birth or just love geeking out about birth, I'm so excited for you to join me.
