This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth.

When Marni's IVF embryo spontaneously split at 13 weeks, she was excited to be bringing not one but two babies into the world. But over half way through her pregnancy her doctors discovered one of the rarest twin complications - TAPS.

In today's emotional episode, Marni shares how TAPS turned her pregnancy into a fight for survival, with one twin slowly losing blood while the other's blood became dangerously thick. Marni takes us through the incredible medical interventions that followed—two groundbreaking in-utero procedures at 29 and 32 weeks. When an E. coli infection threatened their survival, Billie and Poppy arrived via emergency caesarean at 33 weeks, beginning a 27-day NICU journey that would test every ounce of Marni's strength.

THE END BITS:
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Follow Diary Of A Birth on Instagram

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Marni Cochrane

Obstetrician & Gynaecologist: Dr Bronwyn Devine

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/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here

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/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This summer we've curated your Delivery Room playlist with even more birth stories from our friends at Diary Of A Birth. Enjoy!

When Carly's doctor told her it was time to consider surrogacy after 25 failed IVF transfers, her sister Sophie had already made an offer that would transform their family forever. After eight years of trying and watching all her siblings grow their families while she couldn't, Carly was about to embark on the most emotionally complex journey of her life.

In today's episode, Carly vulnerably shares the profound experience of watching her sister carry her biological child—from the struggle to connect with the baby growing in Sophie's body to the overwhelming moment when Goldie was born and she could finally hold her daughter. The story takes an even more remarkable turn when Carly discovers she can actually carry a pregnancy herself, leading to the birth of her son Freddie just three weeks before our interview.

Carly reflects on finding peace in potentially living child-free, the toxic positivity surrounding infertility, and how sometimes letting go can be more powerful than holding on.

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

Listen to more Diary Of A Birth here

CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Carly Prebble

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/mplus/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.