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Diary Of A Birth

Diary Of A Birth

By: Mamamia Podcasts
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About this listen

Giving birth is a transformative experience. It’s raw. It’s real. It’s miraculous. And no two stories are the same.

Diary Of A Birth brings you inside the delivery room to hear an extraordinary birth story every week.

Hosted by Ksenija Lukich, with expert advice from Dr. Golly, you’ll hear the real life birth stories that are everything you don’t expect when you’re expecting.

2025 Mamamia
Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Say Hello To 'Hello, Bump'
    Sep 6 2025

    Welcome to Hello, Bump, a podcast about what you’re not expecting when you’re expecting. Each episode, we take you through exactly what's happening to you and your baby in each week of pregnancy.

    In this episode, hosts Jana Pittman and Grace Rouvray help you navigate finding out you’re pregnant, which often happens after a missed period around the four-week mark.

    They’ll walk you through the physical changes, emotional ups and downs and give you practical tips on what you can do at this point in the pregnancy. Want more Hello Bump? Listen to the full season of episodes of Hello, Bump here.

    THE END BITS:

    Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

    Email us: podcast@mamamia.com.au

    Share your story or feedback. Send us a voice message, and one of our podcast producers will get back to you ASAP.

    Are you a mum of a child aged 5 years or under? Are you expecting a little one? We want to hear from you! Complete our survey now for a chance to win a $1,000 gift voucher in our quarterly draw!

    CREDITS:

    Hosts: Jana Pittman and Grace Rouvray

    Executive Producer: Courtney Ammenhauser

    Audio Production: Thom Lion

    Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

    Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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    13 mins
  • From Hysterectomy to Maternity Ward: The Pregnancy Nobody Planned
    Aug 26 2025

    When Courtney thought her family was complete with two beautiful children, she was finally ready to focus on herself. After her doctor found pre-cancerous cervical cells following her first birth, she'd been advised to have a completion hysterectomy once her family was finished—and at 38, with a four-year-old and almost two-year-old, that time had finally come. Her hysterectomy was booked for March of that year.

    But in February, just weeks before her scheduled surgery, Courtney discovered she was pregnant with her third child. The culprit? Her two-year-old daughter Margo, who had been secretly chewing on condoms thinking they were chocolates, making tiny holes that rendered them useless.

    In today's candid episode, Courtney vulnerably shares her initial shock upon discovering the pregnancy, her fear about making the "wrong" decision, and how seeing her baby healthy at 17 weeks felt like a sign. She reflects on navigating a high-risk pregnancy with a shortened cervix, enduring three weeks of prodromal labour, and the dramatic 12-minute birth that caught everyone off guard—including herself.

    Diary Of A Birth will be taking a break for now, the show features mums sharing their heartfelt stories of bringing life into the world. Please continue to share your birth stories at podcast@mamamia.com.au or send a voice note here.

    THE END BITS:
    Support independent women's media
    Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

    Mamamia studios are styled with furniture from Fenton and Fenton visit www.fentonandfenton.com.au

    Mamamia has a podcast for every stage of parenthood.

    Check out our hilarious and seriously unhelpful podcast The Baby Bubble hosted by Clare and Jessie Stephens.

    If you’re pregnant, listen to The Delivery Room and Hello Bump.
    And if you’re trying or preg-curious, Get Me Pregnant and Before The Bump are for you.

    CREDITS:

    Host: Ksenija Lukich

    Birth Story: Courtney Ayre

    Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Ella Maitland

    Audio Producer: Tina Matolov

    Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

    Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • The Silence After Loss: The Isolation Of Stillbirth
    Aug 19 2025

    Content Warning: This episode discusses stillbirth, infant loss, and termination for medical reasons. Please proceed with care.

    After falling pregnant on their first time trying into their marriage, Darci and her husband were overjoyed to be expecting their first child—the first grandchild for both sets of parents. But what began as an uncomplicated pregnancy quickly transformed into a medical emergency when Darci's blood pressure reached dangerously high levels, requiring multiple hospital admissions and constant monitoring.

    In today's profoundly moving episode, Darci courageously shares the devastating moment at 21 weeks when doctors discovered her baby was measuring the size of an 11-week foetus. Faced with an impossible choice, she and her husband made the heartbreaking decision to terminate for medical reasons and elected to be induced and proceed with the birth.

    She shares Dylan's story not just as a tribute to her son, but as a lifeline for other bereaved parents who may feel alone in their grief—because these babies were loved, their lives had meaning, and their stories deserve to be told.

    If you have been affected by any of the content in this episode, here are some resources, including Bears of Hope—an organisation that greatly helped Darci.

    Bears of Hope

    Stillbirth Foundation Australia Resources

    Beyond Blue.

    Diary Of A Birth features mums sharing their heartfelt stories of bringing life into the world. Share your birth story at podcast@mamamia.com.au or send a voice note here.

    THE END BITS:
    Support independent women's media
    Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

    CREDITS:

    Host: Ksenija Lukich

    Birth Story: Darci Crocker

    Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Ella Maitland

    Audio Producer: Tina Matolov

    Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

    Support the show: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.