Pregnancy, Birth And Beyond

In this podcast episode, Oni Blecher speaks to Rhea Dempsey about her recent book launch of 'Beyond the Birth Plan, Getting Real About Pain and Power'. Rhea Demspsey is a childbirth educator, counsellor, doula trainer, and birth attendant, having attended more than one thousand births in hospitals and home settings over the past 30 years.Rhea runs birth preparation workshops, pre-natal classes, personal birth counselling sessions and speaks in presentations and seminars around Australia and internationallyRhea’s passion is to educate women about the impact of our birth culture on the outcome of our births. Instead of fear, she wants birthing women and birthing people to go into their labour with confidence in their body and their support people, and the knowledge that will give them the best possibility of natural physiological birth.Rhea has written two books ! Her first, the popular ‘Birth With Confidence: Savvy choices for normal birth’ and now her recently released second book ‘Beyond the Birth Plan: gett

In this episode, Oni Blecher speaks with Etienne Peirsman. Etienne is a biology and physical education teacher who has been involved with emotional training, encounter work, primal healing and meditation since 1974. He began teaching craniosacral in 1991, and founded several craniosacral institutes in Belgium and the Netherlands. He is the founder and director of PCSA (Peirsman CranioSacral Academy) in both the Netherlands and New Mexico. He is also the originator of the CranioSacral Professional Organization in Holland which began as a result of his students becoming professionals. As a result, he has a grandfather status in that organisation and is an honorary member of The Dutch CranioSacral Practitioner Association. Additionally, Etienne has taught craniosacral at the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts for nearly a decade.  As a meditator of over 40 years, Etienne Peirsman has developed a unique teaching style that adds an extraordinarily compassionate and meditative depth to the methods used by the Upled

Nicole Moore, founder of Nappy Free and Birth Into Being Australia, speaks about her passion for nappy free or elimination communication for babies.Recorded by Sally Cusack in March 2019.Presented by Kirilly Dawn at 99.9 BayFM Byron Bay on 24 June 2019.Guest: Nicole Moorehttps://www.nappyfree.com.au/Copyright 2021 PBB MediaAll rights reserved.www.pbbmedia.org

In this episode, Kirilly speaks with Rärriwuy Hick, Yolngu woman, actress, artist, storyteller and the founder of Our Kids Belong With Family - a campaign which she started on 13th February 2017, after her nephews were forcibly removed by Territory Families without following their own kinship protocols or notifying immediate family.In this episode we speak of themes of child removal, the Stolen Generation, the NT Intervention, abuse and violence by the colonial state. Please listen with care, as these topics and parts of the conversation may be distressing.We want to acknowledge and pay our respects to the people of the Stolen Generation, to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have themselves, their ancestors, and their Country, been affected by the Stolen Generation, and to those who are being impacted today by forced child removals by the state. We hope this story offers some healing to you, to know that you aren't alone and that the episode may offer some tips from Rärriwuy as you continue to

In this interview, Oni Blecher speaks with Jin Ong. Jin Ong is an Osteopath, Psychosomatic Therapist, Personal & Practitioner Coach. Jin lives and works with her partner and children in the beautiful lakeside town of Wanaka, New Zealand. In the recent years, Jin has moved from practicing solely as an osteopathic practitioner toward training individuals and practitioners on psychosomatics. Psychosomatic awareness is based from the theory that your stored emotions may result in adverse physical and psychological outcomes. With an ever broadening awareness around trauma resulting in physical outcomes or the memory of trauma being encoded in the viscera such as elaborated upon in Bessel Van Der Kolk’s book ‘The Body Keeps The Score’. Jin’s work focusses upon the link between the emotional and the physical and in this interview, we look at how that link can effect our way of looking at our body’s functionality, particularly in the pre conception, conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum stages of life. On

What does birth sovereignty, and decolonising the maternity care system, look and feel like? How does the current patriarchal birth culture impact First Nations women and marginalised communities? How can we re-imagine a birth culture that centres and supports women and birthing people? And how can we all embody the change we wish to see?This episode is a recording of a live panel on 'Birth Sovereignty' by PBB and hosted at the Returning on Bundjalung Country in November 2020. PBB presenter, Barkindji woman Kirilly Dawn, speaks with four incredible birth keepers, mothers and change makers: Bronwyn Bancroft, Angela Coe, Mei Lai Swan and Aimee Aroha, who explore birth sovereignty, the context of modern birth culture through a decolonial lense, and share their stories , experiences and their visions for change. Panel members include: Bronwyn Bancroft, Bundjalung elder, artist, mother and sovereign birth advocate; Angela Coe, Wiradjuri midwife and founder of @birthingourway Mei Lai Swan, co-founder of Birth for H

“If your c-section is high that means that you’re not supporting people in labour, that’s just a fact.” - Dr Neel ShahA cesarean section, or c-section is the most performed major surgery on the planet, it is also the most controversial. In the many years since they have been introduced, mortality and morbidity rates - the rates which this intervention has been introduced to lower, have increased and women are more likely to die in childbirth in this generation, than their mothers. Today on the show we bring you the insights and experience of Dr Neel Shah, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School. Listed among the “40 smartest people in health care” Dr Shah has written more than 50 peer-reviewed academic papers and contributed to four books, including as senior author of Understanding Value-Based Healthcare (McGraw-Hill). We talk equity and safety in maternity healthcare and reducing the C-section rate. Some alarming stats alongside lots of hope are in

In this episode, Oni Blecher speaks with Hugh Milne. Hugh Milne is a third-generation Scottish osteopath and now craniosacral teacher and educator through his self-founded education body, ‘Milne Institute’. He spends most of professional time teaching visionary craniosacral work internationally. He was born in 1948 and received his professional training at the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy in London after which going on to receive a rich and colourful variation of experiences and education in the healing arts. Hugh has written three books; Volume 1 and 2 of The Heart of Listening, and ‘Baghwan, The God That Failed’, about his decade of living and serving in close proximity to Bagwhan, where he continued to learn more about the body and the human capacity for extra sensory abilities and healing. In 1988, Hugh moved to Big Sur in California and now lives in Ashland, Oregon with his partner, and teaches his 7 levels of craniosacral work internationally. This was a special interview for Oni Bleche

Around the country and indeed around the world hustling and cajoling, therein the complex webs of healthcare and community lie dedicated individuals and organisations working tirelessly to improve services. There always have been and I suspect, there always will be. When it comes to maternity care it’s no different. Primarily comprised of women and also some men, the improvement maternity services require For this episode of the Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond show, Annalee caught up with the remarkable Helena Mooney, a Sydney resident and long-time maternity consumer advocate. They discuss what health advocacy looks like and the many challenges volunteers face in advocating for better and more meaningful maternity services.From learning new terminology and jargon across several professional areas (such as research, government, health services, specific to maternity care, policy making, medico-legal, insurance etc etc) to finding your voice and calling out the many agendas that too often trump what the patient

In this episode, Oni Blecher speaks to Muse Lokajickova. Muse practices revolutionary care for the generative systems also known as evolutionary gynaecology. Muse has 15 years of hands-on practice weaving tools from western herbalism, indigenous medicine, and classical Chinese medicine. Her practice is built on her unique methods of uterine repositioning, internal pelvic floor manual therapy and holistic gynaecological care that follows the guiding force of the heart and nervous system. Through her work, Muse has helped a lot of women both get pregnant and have healthy pregnancies and births! Not only working in the pregnancy, birth, and beyond realms; muse assists and encourages people have a better connection and relationship with their pelvic anatomy including important physiological and anatomical understanding. Folks can work with Muse via distance consultations and her Sovereign Vagina Masterclass Series, a cannon of tangible tools for pelvic health, understanding gynecology as "gaiacology," and making

Fiona Katauskas is a cartoonist, illustrator, and author of “The Amazing True Stories of How Babies Are Made’, a children’s book about conception, and childbirth that is relevant to our current social word. Fiona once studied politics at the Australian National University, and travelled extensively, working in overseas aid and human rights. After that, she became a full time cartoonist, with work appearing in a wide range of publications, like Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, The Bulletin, The Chaser, Eureka Street and New Matilda; not to mention other events and anthologies. Fiona has illustrated many books for just about every publisher, designed cards for the Ink Group and t-shirts for Mambo.Fiona loves how cartoonists are able to take all their experiences, beliefs, bile and passion, wrap them up in a metaphor and get inky fingers in the process and while having fun. In this episode, Oni Blecher speaks with Fiona about her book ‘The Amazing True Story of H

In this episode of Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond, Annalee Atia speaks with Dr Rachel Reed about the history and her story of midwifery and its evolution to the modern day midwife, UK & Australian differences in practice and care both in Midwifery and maternity care and the call for midwives to reclaim their expertise and rights of protection. “Instead of locating all of the risks in the women and all our job is to identify how wrong her body is and to fix it, how about looking at what we’re doing and how that may or may not influence how her body functions and her experience of birth.”Dr Rachel Reed is a midwife, academic, author, and international speaker who focuses on childbirth physiology, midwifery practice, and women’s rights (and rites). She has provided midwifery care for many women and has attended births in a wide range of settings and circumstances. Rachel is the author of the award-winning blog MidwifeThinking and the co-host of The Midwives' Cauldron podcast. She has published widely in journ

Nidala Barker is Djugan woman from the Kimberley in Western Australia. She is a musician, storyteller, environmental activist, social justice warrior, and all around an insightful and deep feeling and thinking woman. In this episode, Nidala speaks to Indigenous ways of learning, of time and space and ways of connection, and the importance representation. We speak about the importance of truth telling in Australia’s history and education, and the responsibility we all have on these lands to connect to country and each other. Nidala guides us through the ways she imagines moving towards reconciliation, healing and collaborative communities can happen.

In this episode, Oni Blecher plays a recording of Gaby Tudor interviewing Mayan Midwives from Guatemala. We are so happy to respectfully share their Indigenous wisdom with you in this special edition podcast with PBB foreign correspondent Gaby. Here is a note from Gaby about her experience with Doña Dominga and Mariu Gobbato:"My journey to Lake Atitlan began in Australia with my desire to learn more about practices that heal your womb. I had heard about womb massage in post-partum while working as doula and was interested in this work. This led me to an internet search of Mayan abdominal massage in Guatemala, which led me to Mariu’s course in Lake Atitlan.Arriving to the high lake surrounded by volcanoes, I wasn’t sure what I completely expected from the Mayan abdominal course. My rational mind led me to believe that I would learn a marketable skill that I could use to deepen my practice with women. It wasn’t until the candles were lit in the Mayan cross; which give thanks to each type of corn, as well as the

During this episode, Oni Blecher speaks to Sarah Blandiargo about her nineteen-year career in childcare and nannying. Sarah runs Move Make classes, where she combines her heart-based kids yoga classes with meditation and creative craft and play. Since COVID, Sarah has also started her Move Make classes over Zoom, Australia wide. Sarah is inspired by and has researched child psychologists and pioneers in aspects of how we see minding, communicating, and interacting with children; including Magda Gerba and Janet Lansbury. In this episode, we cover so many interesting topics including Sarah’s own wealth of experience as a nanny, how we value and respect childcare socially, how that can shift individually and collectively, and new ways of looking forward to shifts in holistic childcare. Enjoy this conversation.

Obstetricians and Normal Childbirth.Normalising a deviation from normal, in any field, directs the baseline off track, misleads us as to what normal is and sets us on a course that becomes very difficult to correct the further down the track we go. When we normalise trauma, we no longer see it. When we normalise bad behaviour, it becomes less apparent and when we normalise a deviation from normal physiology it confuses everyone involved. So what happens when we normalise deviating from normal physiology? When practices such as routine episiotomy (or when the vulva leading to the vaginal passageway is cut open because of a belief that that the tissues cannot or will not expand by themselves), routine induction of labour (thats when a person giving birth, overwhelmingly women, are told that their bodies will be better off being forced to go into labour rather than initiating the process of physiological labour itself), when in Australia one third of babies are born through major abdominal surgery and in some h

In this episode, Oni speaks to Laura Latina. Laura is a midwife originally from Italy. She graduated as a Midwife in 2008. Her curiosity and inspiration for the world took her to travel around the world to meet many women and know different cultures. Laura spent a few years in Africa working as a midwife in birth centres or villages and then went on to graduate with a Master Degree in London in Reproductive Health in 2014 while she was working as a caseloading midwife for 4 years. In 2015 she went to Afghanistan to work as midwifery manager for a hospital providing care for 20.000 women a year. In 2016, she moved to Sydney where she started work as women's health advisor for the NGO - Medecins sans frontieres/doctors without borders. Laura aims to give technical support to maternity hospitals and to improve midwifery care. She is passionate about supporting women in their journeys as women, to assist them in learning more and learning what is important to them. "Everyone is unique and I am fascinated by what

In this episode, Oni Blecher speaks to Madi Luschwitz about her triplet pregnancy, birth, and postnatal period. Madi, an artist, and her partner Nic, a movement and life coach based in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, got quite the surprise when finding out that their first pregnancy was triplets ! Young and healthy, Madi and Nic expected to conceive their first baby. They conceived more than they expected and now have three 1-year-old boys; Woody, River, and Tiger. Madi explores her journey as a mother in this beautiful and raw interview and we are lucky enough to hear her birth story. Madi talks about choosing her maternity health provider/s and the multi-layered experience of navigating a first pregnancy carrying triplets. Enjoy this conversation.

Birth Trauma Awareness Week 2020 runs from 7-13th September. Throughout the week, tune in to insightful, thought-provoking and deeply honouring stories and discussions with people who have experienced birth trauma, clinicians and researchers in this area and maternity advocates working to change the system. In this episode, Oni Blecher speaks with founder of Birthing Dads founder Steven Kennedy. After a traumatic birth experience and subsequent postpartum depression, Steven explored and investigated his own experience and the wider culture's attitudes toward fathers and birth partners within the pregnancy, birth and postpartum realms. Through his journey proessing his own trauma, Steven now seeks to support men, birth partners and birth support in educating and preparing themselves for pregnancy, birth and beyond ! In this interview, Steven shares personally from his experience and speaks about the more vulnerable and tender times during his early parenting journey. Steven also shares his visions for the fut

Maternal Mental Health Matters talks Birth Trauma with mother of two Kristyn Begnall. DEAR LISTENER, PROCEED WITH CAUTION (TRAUMA TRIGGER WARNING): in this episode we speak with Australian mother of two Kristyn about her traumatic birthing experience. The content may be upsetting for some - please proceed with caution. Birth Trauma Awareness Week 2020 runs from 7-13th September. Throughout the week, tune in to insightful, thought-provoking and deeply honouring stories and discussions with people who have experienced birth trauma, clinicians and researchers in this area and maternity advocates working to change the system.If you or anyone you know needs or wants support you can connect with these resources:www.birthtalk.orgwww.panda.org.auhttps://headtohealth.gov.auLifeline (crisis support) 13 11 14Original score 'Opening' by Romy Agam Rom from her album of the same title.Produced, edited and presented by Annalee AtiaPregnancy, Birth and Beyond comes to you from Bundjalung Country at Cavanbah or Byron Bay and