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
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 now has three grown up children, but she also has two children no longer earthside: she is a survivor of her time, to say the least.
Renee is one of ten (10!!) and grew up in a time where resilience reigned and preventable deaths were part of life. She's lived through a world war, and lost siblings to vaccine preventable disease. Perinatal loss was considered a mishap, at least to some, rarely acknowledged and never discussed or supported.
Her most profound and lasting memories as a young mother are of her still born baby, and subsequent death of another baby, at just a few days old. Sounds and the kind of maternity care she received have never left her.
Renee generously shares her story, and reflects on how much maternity has changed in the last 100 years and how birth experiences imprint on mothers. She is a living testament to the lasting and deep impact of loss, and the strength and resilience of a generation.
Join Alex as she talks to Renee about family, bereavement and the changes that she has seen across nearly a century.