Pregnancy Uncut
Pregnancy Uncut is dedicated to exploring the often hidden, untold and traumatic stories of pregnancies and births that have not gone to plan. Hosted by doctors working in Women's Health, Alex Umbers and Kara Thompson, Pregnancy Uncut provides a soft place for hard conversations on topics society has historically considered taboo. Each episode uncovers a unique story through the lens of a courageous guest with first hand experience in complications such as infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, obstetric emergencies, birth trauma, perinatal mental health, and baby loss at any stage. The show provides a unique insight into the human experience, as well as health care professionals providing context to the pregnancy complications. Pregnancy Uncut aims to help raise awareness, create a language and hope, as well as a support network for people who have experienced or know someone affected by pregnancy and it's related complications.
Episodes
60 episodes
S6. Bonus Episode. Caroline De Costa - A Lifetime of Leadership
Few people can genuinely claim to have changed the course of healthcare but Caroline de Costa could do just that. Not that she would, for her - pioneering change and fighting for women's rights in healthcare is just part of the all-encompassing...
S6. Ep10. Disrupting the status quo - When your birth plan provokes public debate
In our final episode for season 6, Kara talks to Dr. Imogen Hines about Induction of labour, specifically planned induction and the surprising reaction it can prompt.As an orthopedic doctor, Imogen was no stranger to research and so whe...
S6. Ep9. Informed consent. The cornerstone of maternity and obstetric care.
In this episode we are thrilled to welcome back to the podcast, Amy Dawes - co-founder and CEO of the Australasian Birth Trauma Association to talk with Kara about informed consent. This was the theme of this year's birth trauma awareness week ...
S6. Ep8. Outside of my own body. When birth triggers long-buried trauma
Hayley is a qualified trauma counsellor and mum of two. With her education and expertise she felt well equipped to manage her own trauma from sexual assault, particularly when her first birth was straightforward.Going into her second Hay...
S6. Ep7. The memory of a sound - how vividly our birth experiences stay with us
Family is everything to Renee. At 95, she is a living legend, and our oldest guest on Pregnancy Uncut. Renee' s memory is impressively sharp and despite her age, her experiences of her five births remain vivid and profound. Renee n...
S6. Ep6. 'Love from Dad': A bereaved father's journey through birth trauma, grief and advocacy
When his partner Maddy went into labour with their second child, Matt was excited to meet the new addition to their family, but a cord prolapse leading to emergency surgery, saw him instead, alone in a waiting room looking at the seemingly moti...
S6. Ep5. When a nagging feeling becomes a confirmed diagnosis - Breast Cancer in Pregnancy.
After a complex fertility journey and a birth and post-partum overshadowed by Covid, Isla was hopeful that she was through the complexity and her journey to her next baby would be more straightforward. At first, this seemed to be the case - as ...
S6. Ep4: Into the unknown: Navigating a congenital CMV diagnosis.
When Candice took her baby boy Emmett home from hospital he had twice failed the standard hearing tests. However, no one seemed too concerned, her pregnancy had been uncomplicated and everything seemed well. However an outpatient audiolog...
S6. Ep3. Birth of a Feminist – An interview with RANZCOG Vice President Dr. Nisha Khot
In this episode we side-step from our usual content to hear the considered insights of Dr. Nisha Khot.Nisha grew up, studied and practiced to become a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in India - where 'a feminist was born'. ...
S6. Ep2. When a picture hides the true story – An inspiring journey of IVF, miscarriage and hope.
Pip had always seen herself having a family and as a driven and organised obstetrician she had clear expectations about how, and when, that might happen. But rarely do fertility journeys unfold as we expect. After an initial miscarriage t...
S6. Ep1. Uterine Transplant. The medicine behind a miraculous second chance.
Following the birth of her first child, Violet, Kirsty experienced a large post partumhaemorrhage, which required a hysterectomy to save her life. This would seem to spell an end to her fertility journey and Kirsty, who had always i...
S5. Ep5. Inconceivable. Solo motherhood and donor conception
Alexandra had always imagined being a mum, but the onset of baby hunger in her late 30s, while a long term relationship with a man who didn’t share her dream, led to a change in direction. After moving back in with her parents, a series ...
S5. Ep4. Yelling into a void. Why are we still not talking about severe perineal trauma?
Nine years on from a traumatic birth that led to a fourth degree tear, Verity still finds herself wondering if there is more she could have done; asked a different person, articulated herself differently, said the magic words that would have go...
S5. Ep3. Far from home. A farming mum's journey with fetal heart block and long distance care.
Married to a busy farmer and working as a midwife at their nearest hospital, Marnie’s dream was always to have her family born and bred close to home. She was just 19 weeks pregnant with her second baby, when her rural GP obstetric...
S5. Ep2. Reborn from Tragedy. How stillbirth both breaks and shapes a mother.
Heidi is mother to three children but her firstborn, Harry, was stillborn at 38 weeks after a seemingly straightforward pregnancy. The delivery of that news, that no expectant parent should ever hear, was done in a way that lacked the car...
S5. Ep1. 'Childless: A story of freedom and longing'. In conversation with Sian Prior
An accomplished writer, musician, journalist, broadcaster and climate activist, Sian Prior has led a fulfilling life. However, she has always felt a chasm where her child should have been and it is only recently that she has given herself...
S4. Ep 11. Spina Bifida: One family’s heartbreaks, and new hope with intrauterine surgery.
Claudine had been having a normal second pregnancy but when her 20 week scan showed abnormalities and she received the heartbreaking news that her baby, Sophie had severe Spina Bifida, her and her husband had two weeks to make the hardest decis...
S4. Ep 10. Birth on the spectrum. One women's experience of Autism, ADHD, and pregnancy.
Following years of masking and unanswered questions, Annie was finally diagnosed Autistic and ADHD when she was in her late 20s, a delayed trajectory that is not uncommon in women on the spectrum. Annie has also faced several challenge...
S4. Ep 9. Transitioning to fatherhood. One man’s journey of pregnancy and birth.
Kim and July met at an all-girls school. But when deciding to embark on a relationship, Kim had one important consideration; he identified as male, and wished to take the necessary steps for him to affirm his gender identity as a transgender...
S4. Ep 8. Health At Every Size. How weight bias in fertility treatment can harm.
Portia has, in her own words, always lived in a larger body. Even when she adopted excessive and almost disordered eating and exercise habits, her body mass index (BMI) remained in the ‘‘overweight’ category. As a doctor working in general p...
S4 Ep 7. Finding yourself on the other side of the probe. A sonographer’s unexpected journey.
As a ultrasound sonographer herself, Naomi was used to diagnosing every kind of pregnancy complication. But nothing could prepare her for the moment when, at 23 weeks of pregnancy, after noticing a slowing in her baby's movements, Naomi plac...
S4 Ep 6. Midwifery, motherhood and pregnancy related trauma.
Helen is a midwife, academic, lecturer and mum. When a scan at 21 weeks in her first pregnancy showed that her baby girl was on the 3rd centile for weight with high pressure flow in some crucial blood vessels, Helen knew exactly what that me...
S4 Ep5. Stuck: A story of invasive placenta accreta and caesarean-hysterectomy
Leonie’s son Max was growing small and was in a breech presentation throughout her entire first pregnancy. When his heart rate dropped during monitoring at the 35 week mark, Leonie was whisked into an emergency caesarean birth. Leonie hoped ...
S4. Ep4. From Home to Hospital. A story of birth hypoxia.
Haylee was a young, fit, first time mum, and her pregnancy with her first son Fred was progressing beautifully. Haylee was well educated about her health and pregnancy choices, and elected to birth at home with the support of her partner and...
S4. Ep3. Perfect in our Imperfections. Pregnancy and Parenting with a Chronic Illness.
When radio presenter Jacinta Parsons was in her early twenties, she began to feel unwell. The symptoms were insidious at first, and easy to dismiss. When she was eventually diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a severe and chronic inflammatory bo...