S3 EP: 6 Tate - Midwife, First Time Mum, Homebirth, HG, Bleed, Short Cervix.

In this episode, we speak with Tate—midwife, mother, and passionate advocate for physiological birth. Tate takes us through her path to becoming a midwife and her time working within the system as an MGP midwife, where she came face-to-face with the harsh reality: the system is not set up for true woman-centred care. Hospital policies, rigid protocols, and the fact that maternity care operates like a business often leave women and midwives disempowered.

When Tate became pregnant with her first baby, she experienced hyperemesis gravidarum from just five weeks and required several ED visits for fluids. She shares how this intense time challenged her physically and emotionally, and how she leaned on supports like acupuncture and regular sessions with her psychologist to get through.

Tate also opens up about experiencing bleeding in her first trimester, and how a diagnosis of a “short cervix” brought pressure from the hospital to start progesterone—something she declined, trusting in her baby and body instead.

As a midwife herself, Tate reflects on how difficult it was to switch off her clinical brain and instead midwife herself through the process. 

Links:

• Intuitive Birth Collective - Midwife
• Jerusha Sutton - Birth Photographer