Ireland's Birth Stories

This week, I share my chat with Geri, who takes us through each of her two birth stories. Both of Geri's daughters spent time in NICU, with her first daughter spending almost 12 weeks there, followed by her younger sister, who spent 17 days.Geri shares so much about those early days, from the constant scans and difficult conversations to what it felt like meeting her first baby before she felt ready. She articulates her experiences so beautifully, giving us an insight into the many different aspects of NICU life and the emotions that come with it.During her second pregnancy, Geri and her medical team anticipated that baby might arrive early. Together, they made it to 34+1 weeks. Although her second daughter also needed time in NICU, this experience felt very different for Geri. This time, she was ready to meet her baby.Another powerful story.Thank you so much GeriBooking Link - Podcast, My Birth Keepsake, Birth Trauma ResolutionGet in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this weeks NICU episode I share my chat with Martina who talks me through her two birth stories. Her daughter was born at 34+6 days spending time in the NICU. Martina revisits feeling that primitive pull, wanting to see her baby and visiting her baby in the NICU for the first time. She mentions how this impacted her and the "emotional unraveling" that followed. She also shares the anxiety she felt as she brought her daughter home for the first time. Martina needed support with PTSD and postnatal anxiety that was linked to her daughters premature birth. A couple of years later Martina welcomed her second baby, her son via emergency c-section. Her son also spent some time in the NICU but experienced it very differently this time in comparison to her first experience. What's amazing is Martina's first postnatal experience has led her to completely change career paths. She is now a Psychotherapist supporting women not only on a 1-1 basis it also within her community. Thank you Martina Contact Martina Instagram / Website Get in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I share my chat with Annmarie who talks me through her pregnancy and the birth of her son Alex. Annmarie suffered chronic sickness from 7 weeks pregnant feeling increasingly worse as the weeks passed by. It got to a point in her pregnancy that she had to go to the hospital to get things checked over. She had various scans which indicated her baby needed to be brought into the world immediately. Annmarie shares the hours and days that followed, Alex's birth and visiting the NICU for the first time to see her son. She shares how much she feared the future and wanted everything to return to just as it was. Alex underwent life saving surgery which brought about some incredibly tough conversations, conversations no parent should have to by a part of. A hugely important part of Annmarie's story is her mental health throughout all of this. From the moment Annmarie knew there was potentially something wrong in her pregnancy she felt that shift. She describes in-depth how she felt at the prospect of the future and just how hard it was to imagine the enormity of how life would look with a micro-premie new born. She also discusses the sheer lack of support for her mental health from the hospital. Annmarie and her family are in a great place now with Alex now a happy, healthy, strong 7 year old boy. Thank you so much Annmarie!Booking LinkIrelands Birth Stories - Instagram Get in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I share part two of my conversation with Clare who talks me through her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter, Mary. Clare and her husband were told their daughter had Down Syndrome at 16 weeks following scans and a NIPT test. Clare shares her thoughts and the emotions that came with hearing that diagnosis. Later, her baby was also diagnosed with Hydrops which is extremely rare. This meant Clare underwent a number of procedures with the hope of helping her baby survive. So many tough conversations were to follow with conflicting advice but Clare and Thomas did find a team they felt aligned with their own wants and needs. Labour started spontaneously at 35 weeks, they made their way to the hospital and baby Mary was born. After 5 days in NICU, Mary passed away in her mothers arm due to Sepsis.I'm so grateful to Clare for sharing her experiences with us.Thank you ClareBooking Link Instagram Get in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I share another episodes as part of the NICU series. My guest Sanya talks ys through her pregnancy and specifically her anxiety that she carried right up to the end. She was scheduled for induction at 39 weeks but one day prior to the induction her waters broke at home. She visited the hospital then returned home to wait for labour to start but nothing happened. Sanya went ahead with the induction but it was decided to bring her son into the world via c-section. Stay then shares her experience with NICU and in particular how scary it can be bringing your abby home for the frosty time without the safety blanket of the team from NICU.Thank you so much SanyaGet in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I share my chat with Clare who talks me through each of her four birth stories across two episodes. Over the last 7 years Clare has been through a lot. She gave birth to four babies, suffered one pregnancy loss and held her daughter Mary as she passed away at just 5 days old. I decided to split Clare's story across two episodes as we spoke for some time and I really didn't want to remove any part of her story.In this episode, PT1, we hear Clare's three vaginal birth stories. She worked hard labouring at home with each of her experiences and travelled into hospital sometimes just in time to birth her baby in hospital and not in the car. She also shares early pregnancy loss and postpartum experiences which as we all know are hugely important aspects of our stories.In PT2 which I will share next week, Clare shares her fifth pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Mary who was diagnosed with Down syndrome and additionally a rare condition called Hydro's (hydrops fetalis)during her pregnancy following multiple scans and investigations. Next week I will share much more of Marys birth.Thank you so much ClareGet in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I share my chat with Una who talks me through her two birth stories. Una gave birth to her first baby at 38 weeks after discussing an induction with her consultant. She also opted for a walking epidural which to her gave great relief. She welcomed her daughter and looks back on her birth with positive memories. She then revisits discovering she was pregnant with twins and the shock that brought with it. At 24 weeks gestation Una decide to finish up work, going with a gut feeling. She felt off at 27 weeks feeling feverish, so went to hospital to get things checked out. Investigations started but a short time later Una was told she would be delivering her babies immediately. She birthed her first twin, her son, vaginally followed by his sister who was brought into the world by c-section. Una is so honest in recalling her experience of premature birth and feeling that disconnect between her babies being in the NICU and no longer in her tummy. She shares just how isolating it can be despite the fact she was going through this with her husband by her side. The constant ups and downs in terms of her twins health and the general physical and mental discomfort of the whole experience. Una does consistently mention how incredibly trusting she was in the team that surrounded her in each of her births and also in the HCP that looked after her twins. An episode that continues to opens our eyes up to the reality of life in NICU.Thanks so much UnaGet in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I share my chat with Angel who I'm sure you all know. Angel previously shared her first experience in EP163 followed by a lovely chat around building community which I will link below. This time we chat through her second pregnancy and hope of a homebirth. As her first son was a big baby, Angel was met with concerns around the size of her second baby and whether she would in fact be suitable for another homebirth. It wasn't until her third trimester that she knew her homebirth could happen, she was signed off by her consultant and her midwife could official take her under her wing. When labour started, it started quickly which Angel found hard to manage. Her body was ready to go, working hard to bring her baby into the world but Angel wasn't quite there yet. She reflects on how that felt and where she is now.Thanks Angel xEP163 Angel Community in Me - Angel Get in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I share my chat with Niamh who talks me through the birth of her three girls. Niamh shares the moment she discovered she was having triplets and what a shock it was. At 29+6 days Niamh felt something was off so was admitted to hospital, she was convinced she would get to 35 WKS but the decision was made very quickly to bring her babies into the world immediately. Each of her girls were brought to NICU under the most amazing team who were ready and waiting for their arrival. Niamh spent some time in HDU following their birth. She also shares the days and weeks that followed with one of her girls in SCBU, one in Crumlin and one at home. She then talks us through having her three girls at home and realising after the birth of her fourth baby, her son, the magnitude of what she went through with the triplets.Thanks Niamh Booking Platform Get in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I share the first episode of the NICU Series. My guest Karen shares the birth of her first baby, Tadgh. She went into spontaneous labour at 35 weeks with her waters breaking at home. She gave birth to her little man vaginally and unmedicated and got to feel that sense of "pure love" as she held him for the first time. Karens motherly instincts told her something wasn't right with Tadgh and his feeding so she asked for help. She was listened to and quickly her baby was taken to the HDU (High Dependency Unit). Hours later she witnessed an emergency as she approached HDU, that emergency was her son. Tadghs heart rate was worryingly fast for such a little baby so he was transferred to the NICU to be closely monitored. Karen shares how life looked with her son in NICU from the discussion withs HCP, pumping to help support her baby, looking after herself post birth and those early days at home.Thank you so much Karen xWant to chat through the services I offer? Click HereGet in touchE: [email protected]: Irelands Stories Birth Podcast IGProduced & edited by Corah Gernon at She Talks ProductionsShow Your SupportBuy Me A CoffeePatreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.