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.
Pregnancy Uncut
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 bowel condition, Jacinta was so unwell that she required multiple hospital stays, invasive procedures, and ultimately, an ileostomy bag. Incredibly it was during this period, when she felt her body was failing her, that Jacinta discovered, with joy, that she was pregnant. Jacinta shares with us her journey to motherhood through her high risk pregnancy and birth. She describes how her experience of living with chronic illness led her to tiptoe through her pregnancies, feeling like she had won a prize that could be taken away at any moment. With trademark empathy and insight, Jacinta shares how the hidden world of chronic illness can impact on all aspects of birth and parenting, from the physical challenges of parenting with an ileostomy bag, to the parenting guilt that is compounded for those living with an invisible illness in an ableist world.