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:
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: 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.

Serenity Mackay had always wanted to give birth in water. She loved the beach and swimming, and that's where she felt most comfortable. But unfortunately when she fell pregnant, water birth wasn’t an option at her local hospital.

Nevertheless, as a proud first nations woman with ties to the Biripi nation, Serenity was determined to feel connected to the earth on which she gave birth. So she sought the help of the Waminda Birthing On Country program to make her delivery as culturally significant as possible.

CREDITS

Host: Jessie Stephens

Guests: Serenity Mackay & Melanie Briggs

Producer: Gia Moylan

Executive Producer: Elissa Ratliff

GET IN TOUCH:

Tell us what you think of the show! Send an email to podcast@mamamia.com.au or call the podphone on 02 8999 9386.

Want this and other podcasts delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our podcast newsletter.

The Delivery Room is a podcast by Mamamia. Listen to more Mamamia podcasts here.

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.

What happens when you give birth to two sets of twins in 2 years? A bloody good story, that’s what.

Today on The Delivery Room, Jessie Stephens is sitting down with her mother Anne to find out what happened when Anne found herself pregnant, with twins, two times in a row.

The first time, Anne had a vaginal birth. But the second? She needed a C-Section, this is her story...

CREDITS

Host: Jessie Stephens

Guests: Anne Stephens

Producer: Gia Moylan

Executive Producer: Elissa Ratliff

GET IN TOUCH:

Tell us what you think of the show! Send an email to podcast@mamamia.com.au or call the podphone on 02 8999 9386.

Want this and other podcasts delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our podcast newsletter.

The Delivery Room is a podcast by Mamamia. Listen to more Mamamia podcasts here.

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 Louisa Dow found out she was pregnant, she had a feeling she was having twins. She had no proof… but it was just a feeling she couldn’t shake. And of course, she was right. But what Louisa and her partner Mick didn’t know was that their twins shared the same placenta. This made Louisa’s pregnancy extremely high risk. And extremely rare. Then, 32 weeks into the pregnancy, Louisa had a ‘veiled birth’... or a ‘mermaid birth’. Which in some cultures, they believe are magic...

CREDITS

Host: Jessie Stephens

Guests: Lousia Dow

Producer: Gia Moylan

Executive Producer: Elissa Ratliff

GET IN TOUCH:

Tell us what you think of the show! Send an email to podcast@mamamia.com.au or call the podphone on 02 8999 9386.

Want this and other podcasts delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our podcast newsletter.

The Delivery Room is a podcast by Mamamia. Listen to more Mamamia podcasts here.

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.

Prue Thomas was 19 and setting up for a function at work when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. As the day went on, the pain increased, so Prue and her mum headed to the hospital. It was here, that Prue found out that her pain was actually labour. Prue was about to give birth, and up until that point, she didn't realise she was pregnant.

This is her story...

CREDITS

Host: Jessie Stephens

Guests: Prue Thomas

Producer: Gia Moylan

Executive Producer: Elissa Ratliff

GET IN TOUCH:

Tell us what you think of the show! Send an email to podcast@mamamia.com.au or call the podphone on 02 8999 9386.

Want this and other podcasts delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our podcast newsletter.

The Delivery Room is a podcast by Mamamia. Listen to more Mamamia podcasts here.

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.

It was early 2010, and Fran and her husband of 3 years, Tom, decided to take the next step in their relationship. They bought a dog. But a month later? They were pregnant. And the level of responsibility they had wanted went up. A lot. And while Fran was excited to have a baby on the way, she was also a little scared of the idea of actually giving birth.

On this episode of The Delivery Room, we learn all about a planned C-Section…

CREDITS

Host: Jessie Stephens

Guests: Fran Romano

Producer: Gia Moylan

Executive Producer: Elissa Ratliff

GET IN TOUCH:

Tell us what you think of the show! Send an email to podcast@mamamia.com.au or call the podphone on 02 8999 9386.

Want this and other podcasts delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our podcast newsletter.

The Delivery Room is a podcast by Mamamia. Listen to more Mamamia podcasts here.

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.