S6 EP179: Isabel Pillings: Hospital Birth + Freebirth + Surprise Breech / After-pains, Trust + Healing

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: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

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: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

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: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

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: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

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: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 today’s episode, I’m joined by Julie as she walks us through her two hospital births.Her first pregnancy unfolded during one of the most uncertain times. Between navigating mandates that didn’t align, early pregnancy bleeding, and fear planted during her 12-week scan, Julie found herself on shaky ground. After declining multiple inductions, she went into spontaneous labour just shy of 42 weeks - only to discover her baby was posterior, bringing on relentless, intense contractions without rest. Though sheer exhaustion eventually led to an epidural, Julie avoided further intervention and used movement and intuition to her advantage - reminding us that even when medical help is called in, there’s still space to honour your body and your birth.By the time her second baby was on the way, Julie was on a mission to do things differently. She immersed herself in powerful birth stories, refined her preparation, and reconnected with her body on a deeper level. During the pushing phase, Julie experienced an intuitive sense that something wasn’t quite right - her baby felt stuck, and progress wasn’t unfolding as expected. What followed required deep trust, inner strength, and powerful advocacy. Her daughter was born with a tight triple cord wrap and, although stable, needed a moment to land. When hospital staff prepared for separation, Julie’s midwife mother stepped in - picked up the baby herself, placed her directly on Julie’s chest, and held that boundary with the team. Skin-to-skin was protected, NICU admission was avoided, and Olivia began feeding shortly after.This is a story of maternal instinct, the power of support, and what becomes possible when a woman is both trusted and surrounded by people who know her strength.Show Notes:Instagram: @julieleahunterBooks:Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth Courses:Calm Birth CoursePodcasts:The Great Birth RebellionOther Mentions:Dr. Lily Nichols - Prenatal/Postpartum Dietitian 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 follows the unfolding of Isabel’s journey - a woman who has walked through the fire of transformation with each birth she’s experienced.Her first child was born within the structured walls of a hospital, a beginning shaped by uncertainty and the quiet realisation that something vital was missing. Her second arrived in the stillness of the forest - a freebirth that called her to trust her body in a way she never had before. And her third, a surprise breech born into water, became the deepest surrender of all - a birth that cracked her open and rewrote everything she thought she knew.This is a story of becoming. Of leaning into birth as teacher, mirror, and medicine… and coming home to herself in the process.Show Notes:Instagram: @isabel.pillingBirth Affirmations & Meditations:PBA Sacred Birth Affirmations TrackPBA Journey With Intentions Track(Used by Isabel throughout her pregnancy, labour, and postpartum.)Podcasts:The Life Stylist Podcast with Luke Storey - episode featuring Janice BarcelloFree Birth Society PodcastBooks:Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun S. Weed(Find it on Booktopia / Amazon / your local bookstore)Postpartum Support:Blissful Herbs Tinctures(Placenta Release, After-Pain Ease, Stop Bleeding)Breastfeeding Support Tools:Silverette Nursing Cups (Silver Nipple Cups)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

Emergency caesarean after a 36-hour labour with a 5kg baby… to a 2-hour homebirth in the shower.In this episode, Lucy shares the two wildly different births that shaped her — from heartbreak and healing after her first birth, to the fast, instinctive homebirth of her second baby.A powerful story of trusting your body, doing the inner work, and rewriting your birth experience on your own terms.Show Notes:Homebirth doula: @greer__rosePregnancy pilates: @noosapilatesclassPregnancy aqua aerobics: @noosapregnancyaquaPregnancy yoga & women’s circles: @mamasoul_ritualsAcupuncture & breathwork: @thegrovenoosaMassage & postpartum care: @blossomsandhoneybeesChiropractic care: @noosafamilychiroOnline support:Birth debrief & prep: @coreandfloorrestoreNutrition: @thenaturalnutritionistMentoring & mindset: @emmamaidment_ 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 today’s episode, I’m joined by Ellêna, who shares her two births at home - each unique, each powerful in its own way. From once believing that birthing outside the hospital was unthinkable, to birthing both her babies at home, Ellêna's journey is full of moments that highlight how much birth can teach us - not just about our bodies, but about what it means to back ourselves completely.She reflects on the strength it took to advocate for herself during her first labour - an experience that taught her to trust her voice and stand firmly in what she knew she needed. That inner knowing became her anchor as she navigated a tailbone injury during her second pregnancy, and a labour that defied expectations. With surges that remained spaced apart, she was left questioning what was really unfolding, until her baby arrived in the most peaceful way. Through it all, Ellêna story is a beautiful reminder that birth isn’t about control - it’s about trust.Show Notes:Instagram: @ellenaaaResources: She Births 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

This micro episode dives into one of the most underrated tools for pregnancy wellness - morning sunlight. Learn how just a few minutes of natural light each morning can regulate your hormones, improve sleep (for you and baby), and elevate your mindset for birth. I also share a calming breathwork practice to pair with your morning ritual, taken straight from her upcoming eBook Trusting the Journey 🌞✨A small shift with a powerful ripple effect.Sign up to our email list to be the first to know when our latest offerings drop HERE. 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