Perinatal Stories Australia

All Episodes (33)

From new to old

From new to old From old to new

1. 

   1. 32 | Jess - OCD, anxiety, psychosis, medication, psychiatric hospital, EMDR, history of mental ill health

   After a blissful experience with her first son, it never occurred to Jess that a subsequent pregnancy and postpartum could be any different - until she found out she was pregnant with twins.From real and perceived health complications, Jess’s mental health rapidly declined with every intrusive thought and compulsion that took over her life. The increased caretaking demands of parenting multiples and a toddler only compounded the feeling that she wasn’t enough for her children. Despite being care

   Apr 28,2024 01:08:01
2. 

   2. 31 | Caitlin - depression, anxiety, ECT, psychiatric hospital, talk therapy, medication

   As a midwife with zero history of mental ill health, Caitlin didn’t expect to develop severe postpartum depression and anxiety at all, let alone after the birth of her second child.She certainly didn’t expect to be wheeled through the same hospital where she worked down to the psychiatric ward for an eight-week admission.And of course she never expected that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) would be part of her story to treat her treatment-resistant depression.In this poignant episode, Caitlin ta

   Apr 14,2024 45:30
3. 

   3. 30 | Tessa - bipolar, MBU, medication, depression, psychiatry, talk therapy

   When Tessa was admitted to a mother-and-baby psychiatric unit during pregnancy, she made her unborn baby a promise that they’d never have to return. Unfortunately, the challenges of early postpartum and the pressures of perfection only compounded until she and her new born son were readmitted to her ‘little safe haven’ the MBU - not once, but twice.This is one mother’s captivating story about finally accepting the need for additional support in its many forms, about letting go of shame and guilt

   Mar 31,2024 56:43
4. 

   4. 29 | Amelia - postpartum psychosis, mania, medication, psychiatry, talk therapy, helplines

   After her dream physiological labour and birth, Amelia’s world was turned upside by a sudden postpartum haemorrhage that whisked her away from her husband and daughter.From the moment she awoke from the surgery, Amelia was consumed by mania and insomnia. Over the next eight weeks, her postpartum psychosis escalated but Amelia was able to hide most of her delusions and hallucinations from her care providers. That is until finally she made the brave call to ask for help and present to her local ho

   Mar 17,2024 36:28
5. 

   5. 28 | Jessie - depression, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, panic attacks, helplines, medication, occupational therapy

   This is a story that begins in November 2022 when I received a message from a new mum who wanted nothing more than to change the trajectory of her motherhood story.This is a story about a mum who’d just been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, who was experiencing vivid intrusive thoughts and panic attacks, and who couldn’t stop crying.This is a story about a mum who made the move back to rural NSW to be closer to her family for support, but who was now struggling to find the right profession

   Mar 03,2024 51:32
6. 

   6. 27 | Claire - birth trauma, PTSD, medication, talk therapy, birth debrief, anxiety

   Birth trauma permeated much of Claire’s story and it impacted her mental and physical health in ways she could never have imagined. This was only exacerbated by the border closures and a tumultuous feeding journey.‘Failure to thrive’ was a label that was applied to her son, but ultimately became a label she applied to herself.In this episode, Claire @mamahood.my.way talks about the anxiety and paralysis she felt when trying to conceive, a PTSD and Lupus diagnosis, a birth debrief with her hospit

   Feb 18,2024 50:55
7. 

   7. 26 | Rebecca - pregnancy, history of mental ill health, anxiety, depression, insomnia, medication, talk therapy

   I really didn't think I'd be back here behind the microphone telling my own story again. I didn't think I'd have anything to share because I had many hopes that things would be different this time. I hoped that I would be different this time.But here we are.For many reasons, for so many of us, pregnancy is not always the most joyful time of our lives. Logically, we know it's temporary, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier. And I know I'm not the only one to hold conflicting emotions about

   Feb 04,2024 38:46
8. 

   8. 25 | Ashlee - pregnancy and postpartum anxiety, depression, medication, talk therapy, helplines

   When Ashlee entered motherhood, she expected the transition to be easy from her many years of working with children. What she didn’t expect was the severe anxiety she experienced in her first pregnancy or the depression that overshadowed her postpartum. As a perinatal and infant mental health psychologist, she also didn’t expect to miss her own red flags.Sleep, feeding, and health complications with her daughter also diverted any attention away from Ashlee’s wellbeing, and left her blaming mothe

   Dec 04,2023 01:10:44
9. 

   9. 24 | Siobhan - anxiety, depression, psychosis, birth trauma, medication, occupational therapy, talk therapy, social worker

   With a background in child development psychology and extensive experience working with thousands of babies, Siobhan was, what she thought, going to be off to a running start in motherhood.That was until she was confronted by a traumatic birth and intense sleep deprivation at the height of the pandemic lockdowns.Siobhan’s sense of self was challenged and her first postpartum experience was overshadowed by chronic anxiety and depression. With the development of hallucinations and suicidal ideatio

   Nov 05,2023 01:03:04
10. 

    10. 23 | Elyse - depression, rage, medication, psychiatry

    ‘Are you feeding your baby?’ These are the words that confronted ICU nurse, Elyse, at a week postpartum when she was told her newborn son was starving, despite her strict three-hour feeding regime. In her words, a diagnosis of insufficient glandular tissue (IGT) or breast hyperplasia caused her world to fall apart.For weeks, Elyse tried everything to increase her supply but was instead left enviously watching the bond between Patrick and her husband develop while she was crying and pumping alone

    Oct 22,2023 45:42
11. 

    11. 22 | Gemma - anxiety, depression, helplines, talk therapy, somatic counselling

    In this episode, I’m joined by Gemma - a recovering perfectionist, accredited social worker, perinatal counsellor, podcast host of @postpartumlikeaboss, and mum-of-two. From the moment she fell pregnant, Gemma experienced an immediate sense of identity loss and anxiety that lasted until postpartum.While the anxiety and unknowns disappeared after birth, the relentlessness and challenges of early motherhood left Gemma at her lowest. Despite experiencing mental ill health in the past, Gemma found t

    Oct 08,2023 49:55
12. 

    12. 21 | Sarah - postpartum depression, psychiatric hospital, medication, MBU

    When Sarah was discharged from the mother-and-baby psychiatric hospital, she felt both refreshed and proud. Her recovery from postpartum anxiety and OCD became a badge of honour.But that wasn’t the end of Sarah’s story with maternal mental ill health. Severe depression, a medication change, a presentation to the emergency department, and a second and third MBU admission filled pages of a book she thought she had already closed.Join me for part two of Sarah’s story as she is once again forced to

    Sep 24,2023 01:06:59
13. 

    13. 20 | Sarah - postpartum anxiety, OCD, medication, psychiatry, MBU

    We’re all familiar with the adage ‘healing isn’t linear’ but we don’t often talk about the way a non-linear recovery ambushes the way we see, and feel about, ourselves.This attack on her perceived sense of self is something Sarah was continuously forced to confront with every lapse that she encountered on her recovery from postpartum anxiety, OCD, and depression.Postpartum progressively broke down any deep-rooted misconceptions Sarah held about mental health and slowly challenged the unspoken be

    Sep 10,2023 01:13:02
14. 

    14. 19 | Mon - birth trauma, postpartum PTSD, talk therapy, group therapy

    Monique’s birth may have been quick, but its complications and long-term impacts were anything but. From a 3rd degree tear, prolapse, severe postpartum haemorrhage, a full levator avulsion on the right and a partial levator avulsion on the left, a near death experience, and a stay in the ICU, she paints a picture of the pain from her birth trauma and postpartum PTSD as a ‘storm’ - one that she is still weathering.But thanks to talk therapy with her long-time psychologist, self-compassion, group

    Aug 20,2023 58:52
15. 

    15. 18 | Gen - postpartum psychosis, psychiatric hospital, MBU, medication

    As a psychologist, Gen was familiar with psychiatric wards, but with no history of mental ill health or any risk factors she certainly never expected to be on the ‘other side’ - admitted as a patient to an acute ward shortly after the birth of her son, Arlo.Following a relatively smooth pregnancy and delivery, Gen’s early postpartum was fraught with mastitis and the eventual development of sepsis. However, the life-threatening infection was surpassed by the rapid decline in Gen’s mental health,

    Jul 30,2023 54:54
16. 

    16. 17 | Jess - anxiety, depression, helplines, medication

    With a history of anxiety and depression, Jess and her care team went into pregnancy with a plan to protect her mental health during postpartum. Unfortunately, serious and sudden medical diagnoses for her son, Jasper, immediately after birth meant Jess’s mental health was neglected amongst relentless surgeries, a two-month NICU admission, and full-time caretaking for a sick baby.The NICU experience cast a long shadow over Jess’s motherhood journey, leaving behind a trail of self-blame, overwhelm

    Jul 09,2023 01:01:36
17. 

    17. 16 | Emma - PTSD, anxiety, depression, MBU, medication, helplines, fertility challenges

    Between a PCOS diagnosis, fertility struggles, and several rounds of IVF, it was not easy for Emma to bring her three boys into the world. Unfortunately, trying to conceive was only part of the mental and emotional battles she faced.Serious health complications in pregnancy, antenatal anxiety, guilt about not loving pregnancy, and a traumatic birth with her first son, only compounded the mental health struggles that Emma was already facing from years of infertility. By the time her second son wa

    Jun 25,2023 01:22:46
18. 

    18. 15 | Taegan - bipolar, medication, psychiatric hospital, TMS, anxiety, depression, rage

    When mum-of-two and mental health peer worker, Taegan, was first diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder, she didn’t believe motherhood and her mental illness would mix. So in the lead up to starting a family, Taegan spent years preparing, learning, getting second opinions, asking questions, and researching - everything she thought to best navigate motherhood with her diagnosis.After a manageable pregnancy and postpartum with her first daughter, Taegan expected herself to navigate any challenges th

    Jun 04,2023 53:22
19. 

    19. 14 | Sarah - anxiety, birth trauma, EMDR, IFS, medication, talk therapy

    Like many mothers, Sarah from The Pesky Placenta Society struggled to decipher whether her pregnancy symptoms were ‘normal’ or something more sinister. But with a pre-existing chronic illness, Sarah also had to confront her complicated relationship with health anxiety. Unfortunately, the concerns she raised were proven to be more than ‘just anxiety’ when at 35 weeks pregnant, Sarah nearly died from pre-eclampsia - or what she refers to as “her pesky placenta”.This is a story about the challenges

    May 21,2023 59:43
20. 

    20. 13 | Jade - anxiety, insomnia, depression, baby loss, grief, colic, talk therapy, medication

    As Jade says, she has never shied away from sharing uncomfortable stories, and her story of bringing a baby earthside is no exception. While the birth of her daughter, River, seemingly gave her the ‘happy ending’ she so desperately wanted, her journey with uncomfortable stories did not end there.Instead of the new-born bubble she envisioned for so long, Jade had to walk on eggshells around her baby who constantly screamed. The magnitude of her grief and anxiety was only compounded by River’s col

    Apr 16,2023 01:20:50
21. 

    21. 12 | Nikolina - postpartum anxiety, depression, helplines, talk therapy, birth anxiety

    As someone who had never experienced mental ill health, the bubbly and outgoing Nikolina was confronted by the sudden onset of perinatal depression and anxiety within her first few weeks of motherhood. From crying for no reason to not being able to sleep, her PNDA symptoms hit very hard and very fast.Nikolina pushed through these symptoms for weeks, even using her son’s milestone photo cards as a countdown to the idealised six-week mark. But when nothing changed at six weeks as she had hoped, it

    Apr 02,2023 59:09
22. 

    22. 11 | Lauren - depression, birth trauma, medication, EMDR, psychiatric hospital

    As a self-confessed ‘flaming extrovert’, Lauren struggled with the isolating and all-consuming eat-play-sleep-bathe-repeat cycle of early motherhood. By six months postpartum, the newborn ‘love bubbles’ that she felt so intensely after both of her births became overshadowed by the onset of postpartum depression.From IVF, miscarriage, severe pregnancy health complications, to two traumatic births, this depression was only the latest in a long line of anxiety and trauma that Lauren experienced on

    Mar 19,2023 01:06:14
23. 

    23. 10 | Helen - PTSD, grief, traumatic pregnancies, baby loss, psychiatry, medication, art therapy

    "When Helen, a midwife and academic, describes her mental health in pregnancy and postpartum, she uses the word ‘blindsided’.Despite her expertise, Helen was confronted by post-traumatic stress disorder following two traumatic pregnancies, a NICU admission, baby loss, grief, and the continued uncertainties of IVF. As a health clinician, she was also staggered by the prevalence and general lack of awareness of psychological trauma in the perinatal period.In this episode, Helen takes us on her pai

    Feb 12,2023 01:21:52
24. 

    24. 09 | Jade - bipolar, anxiety, medication, psychiatry, talk therapy, helplines, women’s circles

    In this episode, I welcome Jade who shares her ongoing journey with mental ill health - a journey which is both three years old but new at the same time. After the birth of her son and the subsequent sleep deprivation, Jade’s mental health declined and she was (mis)diagnosed with postpartum depression.Despite proactively and consistently seeking support from several psychologists and trying multiple anti-depressants across three years, Jade was still experiencing depressive episodes while all th

    Jan 29,2023 50:49
25. 

    25. 08 | Jess - pregnancy anxiety, postpartum depression, talk therapy, medication

    Like everything else in her life, Jess had many plans for motherhood. As planned, she fell pregnant after completing her psychologist registration. But from the moment Jess saw the positive result on the pregnancy test, she was surprised that her once positive outlook was overshadowed by an all-consuming sense of dread and anxiety. Despite sharing this openly with her care providers, her severe anxiety remained undiagnosed.To her relief, that relentless anxiety ended the moment her daughter, Cha

    Jan 15,2023 01:07:57
26. 

    26. 07 | Lisa - postpartum depression, talk therapy

    As a public health researcher and implementation scientist who thought highly of her “ability to get shit done” Lisa assumed motherhood would be easy - especially compared to her prior achievements with study, work, and life.To her surprise though, Lisa struggled with the transition to motherhood. From a gestational diabetes diagnosis, birthing a small baby, a NICU admission, and breastfeeding pain, to having a colic baby who had to be constantly held and who would not stop crying, Lisa was cons

    Jan 01,2023 01:09:32
27. 

    27. 06 | Aimee - postpartum depression, PTSD, medication, traumatic pregnancy

    At 18 weeks pregnant, Aimee suffered the unimaginable - her waters ruptured and for the next 20 weeks she lived every day on bed rest in uncertainty about whether her baby would actually survive. To the surprise of every doctor, Aimee’s waters resealed and at 38 weeks, Evie, a healthy baby girl, was born.But her relief and joy vanished when suddenly she felt like she was living the worst case scenario she feared, rather than the happy ending she got. She thought she should just be grateful, not

    Dec 18,2022 47:04
28. 

    28. 05 | Ella - depression, rage, medication

    When Ella reflects on motherhood, she talks about two things: firstly, the dream of motherhood that she’d had her whole life, and secondly, the nightmare that she was confronted with when she actually became a mother.Between not feeling the immediate bond to her daughter, the inability to communicate her feelings with anyone in her family, her husband working long hours, and the realisation that the reality of motherhood did not meet her expectations, Ella was overwhelmed by feelings of hopeless

    Dec 11,2022 58:21
29. 

    29. 04 | Kathryn - anxiety, OCD, medication, psychiatry, depression, postpartum planning

    A successful economist and accomplished career woman, Kathryn from MotherUp has always been the quintessential high achiever who needed certainty and control over every aspect of her life. Although, of course, when she had her little girl Liv, Kathryn learnt the hard way that perfectionism and motherhood do not mix.She assumed the anxiety she felt during pregnancy would be alleviated when her daughter was safely in her arms, but after five relentless weeks of depression and compulsive behaviour,

    Dec 04,2022 01:05:59
30. 

    30. 03 | Tegan - anxiety, OCD, history of mental ill health, medication, MBU, psychiatry

    For Tegan, mental ill health was nothing new. So naturally, a happy and mentally healthy pregnancy and postpartum with her first daughter, Addie, took everyone by surprise - including Tegan!It was only after baby number two, Amelia, that Tegan was reacquainted with anxiety and OCD. Unfortunately, it was far from a happy reunion.After weeks of being dismissed by medical professionals and the hospital, Tegan finally received the care she needed when she was admitted to an MBU (Mother and Baby Psyc

    Nov 27,2022 01:01:07
31. 

    31. 02 | Rebecca - postpartum, anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, insomnia, medication, MBU

    I spent most of my life imagining motherhood. I couldn't imagine anything else - not a career, not travel, not study - just motherhood.What I didn't imagine, however, was a breakdown that sent me to a psychiatric hospital only days after my son's birth.I’d never felt so scared or alone in my life. I’d never felt so ashamed.But to my surprise, I was far more scared to be discharged than I was to be admitted - something I did not think possible when I sobbed through the hospital doors with my one

    Nov 21,2022 56:15
32. 

    32. 01 | Rebecca - pregnancy, anxiety, history of mental ill health, insomnia, tokophobia

    With a long history of anxiety, I had every intention of not letting anxiety get in the way of birth and parenting. In fact, I spent most of my pregnancy doing everything I thought was ‘right’ to plan and protect my mental health in postpartum. Unfortunately, I was so focused on postpartum that I couldn’t see the anxiety escalating throughout my pregnancy.Welcome to Perinatal Stories Australia. In this first episode, I share part one of my own story and talk about what happens when, unfortunatel

    Nov 13,2022 40:48
33. 

    33. Introduction + Trailer

    Welcome to Perinatal Stories Australia, a podcast holding space for the untold stories of maternal mental illness in Australia. By sharing the lived experiences of struggle and healing, I hope this podcast reduces stigma, informs listeners about supports available, and inspires those on their own journey. No medical advice provided. FOLLOW the podcast on Instagram and Facebook @perinatalstoriesaustralia for more maternal mental health stories, education, advocacy, and community.PLEASE leave a r

    Nov 12,2022 00:47