In today’s episode, I talk to Jen about her pregnancy, birth and traditional Chinese confinement during postpartum. Jen is a second-generation Chinese-Australian and while she was at first hesitant to embrace the confinement period after birth, when she left the hospital feeling frail, “like a creature born trembling, without fur or feathers” she accepted all the teas, soups and rest her mother and mother-in-law offered her. Jen considers her birth a really positive experience and she reflects on her golden month of healing with immense gratitude. Jen’s mother is an OB/GYN and acupuncturist who encouraged her to track her cycle by taking her temperature. She conceived within two months and opted for shared care with her GP as she didn’t have any health concerns.

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Bee came to her first pregnancy like most women do; with the understanding that birth is incredibly hard and painful - something to be endured. Understandably, she was terrified and not interested in hearing anyone’s birth story. Thankfully, she was accepted into MGP early on and had a beautiful, supportive midwife on her side. She also started listening to the podcast and soon realised she had the opportunity to learn a whole new vocabulary and get educated about birth, an experience that can be positive and empowering. She went into spontaneous labour and spent most of her labour at home before transferring to the birth centre. She pushed for a few hours before making the decision to move to the birthing suite for assistance. Bee’s story is a beautiful example of the power of education to make informed decisions every step of the way.

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If you’re considering The Birth Class, now is the time to buy. It just got bigger and better thanks to new content that enhances your birth education and preparation experience, including:

• A cheat sheet for your birth partner. This simple outline takes your support person through early and active labour – what to expect, how to support and what to say when challenges arise
• Images of birth positions – the ideal addition for visual learners 3 meditations to release tension, foster trust and navigate a change of plans.
• An illustrated guide to antenatal expressing – everything you need to know about collecting and storing colostrum.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode Ruby shares her journey with infant sleep. We all come to postpartum with a predisposed understanding of baby sleep which usually involves the mindset that it’s the parent’s ‘job’ to ‘teach’ the baby to sleep. But as you will hear in this episode, babies have a primal drive to sleep and their sleep needs are ultimately influenced by their temperament. Ruby sought advice from two sleep training experts (which she admits felt counterintuitive), before she found a sleep consultant who specialises in normal infant biology. From here, Ruby grew to understand her baby’s low sleep needs and subsequently surrendered to a sleep journey that looks very different to her initial presumptions of sleep and settling.

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If you’re considering The Birth Class, now is the time to buy. It just got bigger and better thanks to new content that enhances your birth education and preparation experience, including:

• A cheat sheet for your birth partner. This simple outline takes your support person through early and active labour – what to expect, how to support and what to say when challenges arise
• Images of birth positions – the ideal addition for visual learners 3 meditations to release tension, foster trust and navigate a change of plans.
• An illustrated guide to antenatal expressing – everything you need to know about collecting and storing colostrum.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.