S3 EP: 8 Rebecca - Two Births, Homebirth, FreeBirth, HG, Western Australia, Managed 3rd stage, Wild Pregnancy, Iron infusion, Doula, Prodromal labour.

In this episode, we speak with Rebecca, a mother of two from Perth, Western Australia. Rebecca shares her powerful and deeply personal birth stories — from her first homebirth to her second birth, a freebirth.

Rebecca begins by taking us through her pregnancies, both of which were marked by hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) lasting up to 20 weeks. She opens up about the physical and emotional challenges of navigating pregnancy while managing HG.

For her first birth, Rebecca chose a homebirth with the support of a private midwife, opting not to go through the Community Midwifery Program (CMP). She went into labor at 40 weeks and 6 days, and during labour, performed a forward-leaning inversion to help reposition her baby, who wasn’t quite in an ideal position. She chose a managed third stage for this birth.

With her second pregnancy, Rebecca decided on a wild pregnancy — choosing not to engage in routine medical care or monitoring — and ultimately had a freebirth. She experienced several days of prodromal labour leading up to the birth and gave birth to her second baby at 41 weeks and 6 days — on Christmas Day.