S7 EP190: Kaitlyn Shofay: Hospital Birth Trauma / Rare Face Presentation Birth at Home / Faith-led Freebirth

This week on the show I’m joined by Kaitlyn, a mother of three from Toowoomba whose journey into motherhood began in the most unexpected way… falling pregnant to a man she’d only known for six weeks after a failed morning after pill. What followed was a whirlwind into love, partnership, and parenthood… but also a deeply medicalised first birth that shaped everything that came after.Kaitlyn shares three completely different birth experiences… from a private hospital birth with a cascade of interventions, to a deeply empowering homebirth, and finally, a freebirth guided by her intuition, her faith in God, and a deep trust in her body.Her second birth brings an incredibly rare and powerful moment… birthing her baby face presentation in the water. And with her third, Kaitlyn steps even further into surrender, navigating a surprise pregnancy and a profound inner knowing she was guided by God... and that this was her baby girl.Kaitlyn’s story is a powerful reflection of how birth can become a turning point… an unraveling of what we’ve been taught, and a return to trust, intuition, and something greater guiding the way.In This Episode We Cover• Falling pregnant after six weeks + navigating a relationship and motherhood at the same time• A highly medicalised first birth + the cascade of interventions• Epidural, episiotomy + vacuum-assisted delivery• Postpartum trauma + an undiagnosed hematoma + difficult recovery• Miscarriage + the emotional impact of a D&C• Letting go of control + unexpectedly falling pregnant again• Choosing a home birth + finding aligned midwifery care• A rare face presentation water birth + trusting the body through the unexpected• The shift from fear to trust + healing through birth• A surprise third pregnancy + a moment she believes God revealed she was carrying a little girlShare 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: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 Designs

Emma first joined me on the podcast five years ago to share the story of her first daughte’s beautiful and unexpected bathroom floor birth.In this episode she returns to share everything that has happened since then… from moving to the Sunshine Coast and trying for another baby, to the devastating loss of her son Leo, the physical complications that followed, and the healing journey that ultimately led to the birth of her rainbow baby.Emma shares openly about grief, pregnancy after loss, navigating anxiety around scans and testing, and her experience birthing at home through the publicly funded home birth program. With a labour that unfolded very differently to her first birth, Emma reflects on the profound journey of leaning into intuition and surrendering to the path birth ultimately takes.In This Episode We Cover• Pregnancy after loss• Monitoring a shortened cervix• Publicly funded homebirth program• Weeks of prodromal labour• A 41 week home birthResources + MentionsEmma’s previous episode sharing Sophia’s birth story HERE.Sunshine Coast University Hospital publicly funded homebirth programMidwifery Group Practice (MGP)Dr Anne-Marie Corral – Fertility NaturopathDenise Ludwick – Women’s Health PractitioneriMedical pathology testingPositive Birth Australia Sacred Birth Affirmation TrackShare 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: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 Designs

This week on the show I’m joined by Laura as she shares her journey into motherhood. Laura discovering she was pregnant while travelling around Australia on a honeymoon road trip, navigating early scans across multiple states during COVID, before returning home to prepare for birth. During her first pregnancy Laura sought a physiological birth and continuity of care, but after a fibroid was discovered overlapping the placenta she was risked out of the midwife-led birth cottage she had planned and transferred into hospital care. After navigating conflicting medical opinions and fragmented care, Laura ultimately found support with a private obstetrician and went on to birth her daughter in a powerful spontaneous labour in the hospital shower. Laura shares how the intensity of her postpartum experience, including significant mental health challenges, shaped the way she approached her next pregnancy and birth. When she fell pregnant again, Laura felt strongly that she wanted something more supported, more personal, and more aligned with the kind of care she had longed for the first time around. In this episode Laura shares how she discovered private midwifery care halfway through her pregnancy, hired a “home away from home” birth space, and went on to experience a beautiful water birth surrounded by trusted support… catching her baby boy at home in the water. This conversation explores continuity of care, trusting your instincts, navigating rural birth options, postpartum mental health, and the powerful difference the right support can make in both birth and motherhood.In this episode we discuss:• Discovering pregnancy while travelling around Australia • Navigating scans across multiple states during COVID • Fibroids and being risked out of a midwife-led birth cottage • Navigating conflicting medical advice • Spontaneous labour and hospital shower birth • The realities of postpartum mental health • Pregnancy after miscarriage • Discovering private midwifery care • Hiring a “home away from home” birth space • A beautiful water birth experience • The power of continuity of careResources + Mentions:Instagram:@Laura_gaschk @marbehvale @marbehvale_homestead Birth Photographer:@amyphilpphotographyMidwife:@nurtureyourbirthPelvic Floor Physio:@somatic_womankindPANDA – Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia https://www.panda.org.auBeyond Blue https://www.beyondblue.org.auCentre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) https://www.cope.org.auHomebirth Australia https://homebirthaustralia.orgAustralian College of Midwives – Find a Midwife https://www.midwives.org.auShare the episode...If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need to hear it. And if you enjoy the show, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps more women discover these stories.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 Designs

In today’s episode, Jasmine shares her extraordinary journey from an intense hospital birth with her first child to a pain-free home birth with her second.After a long, medicalised first labour that left her fearful and unsure she ever wanted to give birth again, Jasmine entered her next pregnancy still carrying deep uncertainty about birth.During that pregnancy, her outlook shifted dramatically as she began preparing in a completely different way - grounding her journey in her faith in God through prayer and speaking scripture over her pregnancy. She recounts how this guided her through fear and doubt, ultimately leading to a birth experience she could only describe as miraculous.Show Notes & Mentions:Instagram: @jasminedinisBusiness: Folke EstateBook: Supernatural Childbirth – Jackie MizeMentioned 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 Designs

Vanessa joins me from Coffs Harbour to share the story of birthing both of her daughters at home… her first during lockdown in a tiny studio apartment after a 26-hour posterior labour at 41+4 weeks, and her second in the quiet stillness of dawn - a sunrise water birth that unfolded almost exactly as she had envisioned.After reflecting deeply on her first birth experience, Vanessa immersed herself in emotional womb healing, mantra, and the teachings of freebirth philosophy. Her second labour became an exploration of mindset, responsibility, and self-trust… labouring alone through much of the night and anchoring into a simple phrase that transformed her experience.In this episode we discuss:Posterior labour and going 41+4Labouring at home without scans or medical testingThe role of mindset in physiological birthEmotional womb work and releasing stored tensionLabouring solo and conscious birth preparationHaving an older child witness birthPlacenta encapsulation and postpartum recoveryTaking responsibility for your birth choicesThe power of “knowing”This is a conversation about transformation… about shifting from endurance to intention, and from hoping for a positive birth to consciously choosing one.Resources & Mentions:Personal Instagram:@coramba_cottageBooks:📖 Portal by Yolande Norris-ClarkInstagram: @bauhauswifeBirth Sling:@the.birth.slingPregnancy Yoga (Coffs Harbour):@wildernessyoga.coffsWomb & Pelvic Healing Work with Chaitanya:@wombtemple.healing Sydney Midwife (First Birth):@janineatibirthIf this episode resonated with you, please leave a review on your podcast platform to help us reach more women around the world.To stay connected between episodes, follow along on Instagram @positivebirthaustralia.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 Designs

Today I’m joined by Kacee, a mother of two whose story is a powerful testament to the healing that unfolds when we take our health into our own hands.After many years of being dismissed by doctors and receiving a severe endometriosis diagnosis, Kacee was told her only path to motherhood would be through IVF. But instead of accepting that as her story, she and her husband committed to rebuilding their health from the ground up - through the support of traditional Chinese medicine, nourishing food, bodywork, mindset practices, and conscious living. Along the way they experienced loss, but also the deep transformation that comes with reclaiming responsibility for your body and your journey.Her first pregnancy became a turning point, supported by a student midwife and an obstetrician who honoured her choices. When it came time to welcome her daughter, she carried that trust even further - choosing to birth at home, within a safe and familiar circle.Kacee’s story is a beautiful reflection of what becomes possible when we refuse to give up, when we find support that aligns with our values, and what happens when we lean into the truth that our bodies are not broken.Show Notes:Instagram: @kaycee_driverFertility Support: Heather BruceMeditations: Circle + Bloom MeditationsDiet: Weston A. Price Foundation (Nutrition + Ancestral Diet)Subscribe to the Positive Birth Australia newsletter HERE to be the first to know when our Trusting the Journey eBook is released.Follow us on Instagram @positivebirthaustraliaMentioned 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 Designs

This week I’m joined by Laura, a mother of two whose journey into motherhood began with loss, resilience, and ultimately, transformation.After an early miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy that required surgery, falling pregnant with her daughter felt deeply healing. Yet her first birth inside the system carried its own challenges - a gestational diabetes label, weeks of policy pressure, and the weight of self-advocacy that left her bracing for battle rather than softening into trust. Though she went on to birth she had planned at 42 weeks, a postpartum haemorrhage cast a long shadow over what might have been a fully empowering experience.For her second birth, she chose to be at home and entered labour with a profound sense of trust. In the early hours of New Year’s Eve, she brought her baby into the world swiftly and instinctively, receiving him with her own hands - a deeply healing contrast to her first experience.Laura’s story reflects the freedom that comes when we step beyond “good girl” conditioning and into the full magic and capability that birth holds.Show Notes: Instagram: @wisdoms.from.the.wombMidwife: @candace.beautifully.natural Birth Photography/Film: @mamacarabirth Newborn Photographer: @maddydartphotographyMentioned 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 Designs

This week I’m joined by Mia, a mother of three whose birth journey spans from a traumatic caesarean in the UK to two transformative homebirths in Australia.Her first birth began as a casually planned homebirth, but a spike in blood pressure at 38 weeks led to a hospital admission. With little understanding of the interventions offered, Mia found herself on the induction conveyor belt - an experience that left her deeply shaken, and unable to call it the day she “gave birth.”Determined to rewrite her story, Mia entered her second pregnancy committed to a VBAC at home (HBAC). She poured herself into preparation - mobilising her scar, tending to her mindset, building a strong support team, and learning to trust herself as the decision-maker in her birth space. What followed was a slow, two-day labour with a posterior baby that reshaped her beliefs about birth, her body, and her own strength.Her third birth - and longest pregnancy - came on quickly and intensified fast. Together, Mia’s three contrasting births form a powerful testament to healing, self-advocacy, and the transformation that comes from doing the inner work.Show Notes: Instagram: @miabriskiMidwives: @midwifejohunter @central.coast.homebirthBooks: The Business of Being BornExplore Mia's Birth Coaching Offerings HERE.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 Designs

This week on the show I’m joined by Chloe, a first-time mama whose birth story is a powerful testament to preparation, trust, and the mind-body connection.Long before conception, Chloe immersed herself in years of deep research and learning - equipping herself with the knowledge and confidence to choose an unassisted birth at her grandmother’s home in Mexico, guided by a vision she’d received during a plant medicine ceremony.Throughout her pregnancy, she committed to mindset work and mental rehearsal, allowing her to enter birth already familiar with what her body would experience.However, when she reached 42 weeks, the waiting began to wear on her - caught between the calm she had cultivated and the pressure to act. Yet even in the messiness of that final stretch, she found her way back into alignment.Chloe’s story is a powerful reflection of what becomes possible when birth is reclaimed as a conscious rite of passage - prepared for with intention and grounded in trust.Show Notes:Instagram: @infinite.creatorsChloe's Podcast: Infinte CreatorsBooks: Portal by Yolanda Norris-ClarkChloe’s Sovereign Pregnancy & Birth eBook HERE.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 Designs

This week on the show, I welcome back Phoebe as she takes us inside the powerful story of her third birth. After a hospital birth that left her emotionally shaken, and a second birth that brought deep, village-supported healing, Phoebe’s journey with her third pregnancy asked something different of her: a full-bodied surrendeDespite preparing consciously on every level, Phoebe found herself caught in the swirl of expectation and a subconscious need to control how and when her baby would arrive. But birth, as it always does, had other plansWhat unfolded was a slow, sacred unravelling - a lesson in letting go. From prodromal labour that dragged on for days, to mounting external pressure, and a final quiet moment of surrender in the bath, this story beautifully captures the truth that often, the only way through is to release the reins and trust the unfolding.Her son’s surprise breech freebirth at home became a moment of deep remembrance - that birth cannot be managed, only met.Show Notes: Instagram: @djphoebesnowflowListen to Phoebe's previous birth stories HERE.S3 EP92: Phoebe Snow Leo - Hospital Birth / Interventions / Homebirth✨ If this episode moved you, share it with a friend, subscribe, or leave a review - it means the world.Disclaimer: The views shared in this podcast are personal stories and not medical advice. Always consult your care provider for guidance specific to your 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 Designs