E24 Sophie Nugent | Two Births, Preeclampsia, Homebirth Caesarean, Attempted VBAC, Sleep Deprivation

In this episode Sophie shares the births of her first two sons Bernie and Oscar.

Sophie fell pregnant unexpectedly when she was 21 and had a stressful pregnancy juggling study and tricky living situation. She planned a homebirth with her private midwife and doula. Sophie ended up developing preeclampsia at 42 weeks and 3 days and after a long slow induction in hospital Bernie was born via Caesarean section.

From his very first moments earth side Bernie was an extremely unsettled baby. He screamed for hours and hours of the day and only slept for periods of up to 20 minutes at once - even all through the night! Being a first time mum, Sophie thought this was normal and struggled through years of extreme sleep deprivation.

When Sophie was 10 months postpartum she fell pregnant again, with her second son Oscar. She planned a home vbac with her midwife and doula. After 3 days of labouring at home, Sophie transferred to hospital, exhausted, for another caesarean.

In this episode Sophie shares vulnerably about the hardest times during postpartum, and her ongoing disappointment and grief at having not experienced a vaginal birth.

In the next episode Sophie shares the story of her triumphant vagina birth after caesarean, at home!