E41 Ashley Ziegerink | Two Births, Calmbirth, Hospital Birth, Episiotomy, Irritable Uterus, Homebirth, Tandem Feeding

In this episode Ashley shares the birth stories of her two children Zoe and Piper.

During her first pregnancy Ashley put a lot of thought into what she would like her birth to look like and after attending a Calmbirth course, planned an unmedicated and low intervention hospital birth. Zoe’s labour was long and Ashley laboured for days without sleep before finally delivering Zoe in hospital with the aid of an episiotomy.

It took a while for her to integrate the emotional impact of her birth and challenging postpartum, and it wasn’t until she fell pregnant again that she realised she wanted to do things differently for her next birth. She engaged private midwives for her planned homebirth and spent a lot of time preparing for labour. Ashley was diagnosed with an irritable uterus during her pregnancy with Piper so she talks about the challenges of enduring that regular discomfort throughout her pregnancy. She goes on to describe in detail her beautiful homebirth and slow supported postpartum.

  Books Ashley recommends;

Well Adjusted Babies - Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth and Spiritual Midwifery - Ina May Gaskin

Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering - Dr Sarah Buckley

Birth with Confidence - Rhea Dempsey

The First Forty Days - Heng Ou

Group B Strep Explained - Sara Wickham

Vitamin K and the Newborn - Sara Wickham

Your Birth, Your Baby - Hollie de Cruz

Hypnobirthing Australia audio tracks and ebook

Calmbirth Antenatal course

Flourish Integrative Health https://flourishintegrativehealthco.com.au/