S7 EP196: Lauren Balsillie: Five Births, Six Babies - Three Hospital Births / Homebirth / MCDA Identical Twin Waterbirth

These affirmations were created to support you in building a grounded, confident mindset as you prepare to meet your baby.Pop your headphones in, take a deep breath, and take these next five minutes for yourself.Purchase the full Sacred Birth Affirmation Track here.Once purchased, you’ll receive the track straight to your inbox so you can come back to it throughout your pregnancy whenever you need it.Be sure to check your junk folder if you don’t see your download email come through.

In today’s episode, Aurora shares the extraordinary birth of her daughter, who arrived beyond 43 weeks after an almost three-day labour that brought her to the very edge of her physical and spiritual strength. With meconium surrounding her, those first moments became a raw and instinctive exchange between mother and baby, as Aurora called her daughter into the world.Her son’s birth unfolded entirely differently: a healing five-hour waterbirth where he was born en caul. With this birth, Aurora softened into the intensity and allowed her body to lead. Woven through both stories is a powerful exploration of conscious conception, intuition, fear, surrender and birth as a profound rite of passage.Show Notes:Instagram:@auroramotherhoodReferenced Research:Further reading supporting the discussion in this episode around meconium-stained waters and intervention. Read here.If this episode resonated with you, share it with another mother or woman preparing for birth, and find us on Instagram @positivebirthaustralia.Disclaimer: This episode shares personal experiences, choices and beliefs. It is not intended to provide individual medical advice. Every woman’s circumstances are different, and any decisions surrounding pregnancy, birth and postpartum care should be made through informed choice and with access to support that feels respectful and appropriate for you.Mentioned in this episode:Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth Australia

On today’s episode, I sit down with Rochelle, as she takes us through the stories of her three homebirths and the journey of growth, self-trust and transformation that unfolded alongside them.Rochelle entered motherhood at 25 with very little knowledge about birth. After finding a private midwifery clinic and discovering homebirth late in her pregnancy, she followed what felt right and went on to have a beautiful first birth at home. At the time, she didn’t fully realise how significant that experience would become, but it marked the beginning of a much deeper journey into birth, motherhood and learning to trust herself.By her second and third pregnancies, Rochelle approached birth with far greater intention and awareness. Through hypnobirthing, visualisation, scripting and consciously creating an environment where she felt safe enough to soften and surrender, she prepared not only for the physical experience of birth, but for the emotional and spiritual journey too.Across her three stories, Rochelle shares how each birth asked something different of her and gave her something different in return .Resources + MentionsInstagram: @rochellebramich_Midwifery Clinic:@mymidwives @mymidwives_melbournewww.mymidwives.auHypnobirthing:@restorewellnessservicesBooks:Birth With Confidence - Rhea DempseyConnectFollow Positive Birth Australia on Instagram: @positivebirthaustraliaLoved this episode? Please take a moment to leave a rating or review, and share it with a pregnant mama who would love to hear a positive and empowering birth story.Mentioned in this episode:Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth Australia

Today’s episode is a really important conversation with filmmaker Jacinta Lagos and globally respected midwife Kristine Lauria, the women behind the new documentary Allowed to Birth: The Journey of a Global Midwife.Jacinta’s journey into birth began behind the camera. She began documenting births and later trained as a doula. But the more births she witnessed, the more she began noticing the stark contrast between what she was seeing in some hospital environments - including trauma, coercion and obstetric violence - and the physiological births she was witnessing at home. Eventually, she reached a point where simply witnessing it wasn’t enough. She wanted to create something that could challenge the way we think about birth.That eventually connected her with Kristine, whose experience in the birth space spans more than three decades - from an apprenticeship supporting families within Amish communities, where breech and twin birth were treated as variations of normal, to humanitarian work around the world and her work today teaching and supporting practitioners in breech and multiple birth.Together, they created Allowed to Birth - a documentary that follows Kristine’s extraordinary life and work as a global midwife, using her experiences and perspective as a lens to explore the medicalisation of birth, women’s autonomy, and what becomes possible when birth is understood and supported as a physiological process.Resources + Mentions:Instagram: Allowed to Birth: @allowedtobirthKristine: @globalmidwife64Jacinta: @jacintalagosbirthservicesAllowed to Birth: The Journey of a Global Midwife official website HERE.Common Ground Films: @commongroundfilmsauAustralia Screening Dates and Tickets information HERE.Listen to Amber's triplet homebirth story HERE. Jacinta’s End Obstetric Violence Now project HERE.Kristine Lauria’s Website HERE.Podcasts + EducationBreech Without BordersDoctors Without BordersBirth Time DocumentaryBorn at Home DocumentaryThe Business of Being BornConnectFollow Positive Birth Australia on Instagram: @positivebirthaustraliaLoved this episode? Please take a moment to leave a rating or review, and share it with a pregnant mama who would love to hear a positive and empowering birth story.Mentioned in this episode:Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth Australia

On today’s episode I’m joined by Lauren, a doula and mother of six, who takes us through the births of all of her children - from three positive hospital births and a beautiful homebirth, to the birth of her identical twin boys.After having four children close together, Lauren and her partner waited several years before deciding to have another baby. To their surprise, it was identical twins. Despite having already supported nine vaginal twin births as a doula, Lauren speaks honestly about the anxiety and physical intensity of carrying two babies, along with the additional monitoring that came with an MCDA twin pregnancy.Although her plans for another homebirth had to shift, Lauren was able to keep the continuity of care she valued, with her private midwife helping create a supportive hospital birth team around her. At 37 weeks and six days, Lauren chose an induction and went on to birth both of her boys in the water, just six minutes apart - with Twin B being born en caul.This is such an inspiring journey, and one very close to my heart as a twin mother. In this episode we discuss:Lauren’s journey through five births, from hospital birth to homebirth and twinsDiscovering she was carrying identical MCDA twinsThe anxiety and physical intensity of twin pregnancyWhy continuity of care became so important to LaurenCreating a homebirth-like experience within a hospital settingChoosing induction at 37 weeks and 6 daysMaking informed decisions around monitoring, intervention and delayed cord clampingBirthing both twins in the water, just six minutes apartTwin B being born en caul and choosing a physiological third stageLauren’s biggest advice for twin mothers: choose your care team wiselyResources + MentionsInstagram: @lauren.may.doulaLauren's Doula Support HERE.Podcasts + Education Birth Time Documentary The Holistic Guide to Twin Pregnancy Birthing Instincts Podcast Dr Stu FischbeinCare Providers + SupportPrivate Midwives Jo Hunter @midwifejohunter Janine O’Brien @janineatibirth ObstetricianDr Marissa Martin DoulaSamantha Gunn @samanthagunndoula Connect Follow Positive Birth Australia on Instagram: @positivebirthaustraliaLoved this episode? Please take a moment to leave a rating or review, and share it with a pregnant mama who would love to hear a positive and empowering birth story.Mentioned in this episode:Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth Australia

On today’s episode, Rachel shares the deeply personal four-year journey that led her to her beautiful daughter.After experiencing her first miscarriage, Rachel received a message through a close friend that her baby would return, but that she needed to find herself first. That experience became the beginning of everything that followed.Rachel takes us through the years of healing and transformation that came next. From leaving Sydney and starting again on the Gold Coast, to finding a new community and exploring a more holistic way of living, she became deeply committed to nurturing her body and mind.Four years after their journey began, she naturally conceived her daughter in her forties.When labour began at home, Rachel drew on everything she had learnt - using the tools, knowledge and trust she had built throughout pregnancy to fully surrender to the experience. Arriving at the hospital just ten minutes before her daughter was placed into her arms.Resources + MentionsInstagram:@rachelchevellBirth Support:@itsannamurrayHospital:Tweed Valley HospitalShare the episodeIf this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram @positivebirthaustralia so more women can discover these important stories and feel supported in their own journey.Mentioned in this episode:Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth Australia

In this episode, I’m joined by Kristy, who shares three positive hospital birth stories, each one unfolding in a completely different way.Her first birth began unexpectedly when her waters broke at 36 weeks and 3 days. Kristy was supported to trust that if her baby was coming, there was no need to interfere. It became a deeply empowering entrance into motherhood.With her second baby, Kristy navigated low platelets, hospital policy, and the emotional weight of agreeing to an induction But with the support of her midwife who knew her deeply, honoured her fears, and protected her birth space, her induction became an example of how different birth can feel when intervention is used with patience and skill. Kristy’s third pregnancy was the ultimate surprise, discovering she was already 20 weeks pregnant. This episode is a beautiful reminder of the power of continuity of care, the importance of feeling safe and known, and how every birth can bring its own lesson in trust.Resources + MentionsInstragram: @kristyhaszardPodcasts: Australian Birth StoriesThe Great Birth RebellionInstagram Accounts:@badassmotherbirther@evarosebirth@coreandfloorrestoreEducation + BodyworkSpinning BabiesHypnobirthing AustraliaFiona Hallinan - The Pelvic SpaceKatharine Graves - KG HypnobirthingIf this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram @positivebirthaustralia so more women can discover these important stories and feel supported in their own journey. Mentioned in this episode:Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) BallCreate a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera DesignsSacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth Australia

This week on the show I’m joined by Shari from Belly2Birth, a birth educator of over 13 years and now trauma-informed coach whose work has evolved into supporting women through the deeper emotional layers of birth and beyond.In this conversation, we move into something that isn’t spoken about enough… the reality that more than 1 in 3 women walk away from birth carrying trauma. Today we explore how these experiences can stay with us long after birth… shaping the way we feel, respond, and move through motherhood.This is a powerful conversation that brings birth trauma into the light… highlighting the depth of impact these experiences can have on a woman’s body, mind, and sense of self… and how important it is to have the space, support, and tools to process and release them as part of this rite of passage.In this episode, we cover:The reality of birth trauma… and why it’s more common than we thinkHow trauma can form through how a woman feels in her birthShari’s personal experience and what shaped her workWhy women can feel unheard or disconnected within the systemThe fawning response… and why many don’t speak up in the momentHow trauma can show up later… often when something triggers itWhy these experiences are held in the bodyThe difference between reflecting on birth and actually processing itHow past patterns and the subconscious can influence birthWhat it looks like to process, release, and move forwardShow Notes:Instagram: @belly2birthWebsite: www.belly2birth.comListen to Shari's birth stories HERE.Free Birth Debrief:Shari offers free 1:1 birth debrief sessions - you can reach out to her via Instagram to book and check availability.Use code POSITIVEBIRTH10 for 10% off all Shari's programs.Mentioned in this episode:Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth AustraliaEsfera Designs Wellness (Birth) BallCreate a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera Designs

This week on the show I’m joined by Jaylene, a Canadian-born mother now living in New Zealand, whose journey into motherhood carries deep threads of grief, healing, intuition and trust.Long before conception, Jaylene was navigating the devastating loss of her younger brother… a grief that reshaped her sense of timing, readiness.. It wasn’t until years later, after consciously creating space to reconnect with herself, that she stepped into pregnancy with intention and openness.Throughout her pregnancy, Jaylene followed what felt aligned for her… immersing herself in positive birth stories, and trusting her body, which ultimately led her to choose to birth at home. However, when she discovered her baby was breech, she was met with resistance and had to deeply advocate for her choices, educating herself and standing firmly in what she knew to be right for her and her baby.What unfolds is an extraordinary birth story… a fast, instinctive, under four-hour labour at home, where her son was born breech, in his own time and in his own way… on a date that carries profound meaning for her family.Jaylene’s story is a powerful reflection of surrender, sovereignty, and trusting both the seen and unseen elements of birth.In This Episode We CoverNavigating deep grief before stepping into motherhoodCreating intentional space before conceptionPregnancy as a time of healing, reflection, and transitionChoosing a planned home birth in New ZealandDiscovering baby was breech and exploring optionsAdvocating for a breech vaginal birth outside standard recommendationsPreparing mentally, emotionally, and physically for birthA fast and instinctive 3 hour 45 minute labourPhysiological breech birth at home with midwife supportBaby born on her late brother’s birthdayResources + MentionsBooksHypnobirthing – Siobhan MillerReclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage – Rachel ReedIna May’s Guide to Childbirth – Ina May GaskinEducation Breech Without BordersSpinning BabiesShare The EpisodeIf this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram @positivebirthaustralia so more women can discover these stories and feel supported in their own journey.Mentioned in this episode:Esfera Designs Wellness (Birth) BallCreate a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera DesignsSacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth Australia

This week on the show I’m joined by Bianca, a Brisbane mum of two whose journey into motherhood is a powerful reflection of intuition, advocacy, and deep self-trust.After experiencing a missed miscarriage, Bianca consciously prepared her body and mind before conceiving her first daughter, Bliss. Throughout her pregnancy, she immersed herself in birth education and began to question the mainstream narrative around birth, feeling strongly drawn toward a physiological home birth.However, after being classified as “high risk” due to her epilepsy, Bianca found her options limited and ultimately entered the hospital system, where her plans began to unravel.Bianca’s second pregnancy became a turning point… because this time she chose to follow the inner knowing she had felt all along. What unfolds is a deeply personal and transformative birth at home, where she sinks into the inner work, meets her fears head-on, and anchors into a level of trust she had always carried within.In This Episode We CoverMissed miscarriage and conscious conceptionPreconception detox and preparing the body for pregnancyNavigating pregnancy with epilepsy and being labelled “high risk”Discovering physiological birth and the desire for home birthFeeling limited by the system and shifting birth plansHospital birth experience and cascade of interventionsThe emotional impact of feeling overridden during birthReflecting on giving away power vs reclaiming itChoosing a sovereign/home birth for her second pregnancyInner work, fear release, and fully trusting her body during birthResources + MentionsInstagram@theblissfulwatersBooksGentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Dr Sarah BuckleyReclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Dr Rachel ReedBirth Course:Free Birth SocietyBirth Affirmations:Yolande Norris-ClarkShare The EpisodeIf this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram so more women can discover these stories and feel supported in their own journey.Mentioned in this episode:Sacred Birth Affirmations Track This gentle affirmation track was created to help you feel safe, confident, and connected in pregnancy and birth. Perfect for daily mindset work or to play during labour.Positive Birth AustraliaEsfera Designs Wellness (Birth) BallCreate a calm, supportive space during pregnancy and postpartum with Esfera Designs. Use code: PBA20 for $20 off your order. Esfera Designs