British Birth Stories

Please note that Ashley will not be resuming the podcast just yet. 

Host Ashley Brenninkmeijer candidly shares her 2020 journey through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum during the pandemic with her second baby in London. What began as a low risk pregnancy aiming for a homebirth water VBAC, ended in the highest risk life or death preterm birth due to severe covid. Ashley opted for private care under Dr. Karen Joash at Queen Charlotte's Hospital alongside private midwives. Emotional and difficult to talk about in parts, Ashley navigated becoming a second time mom in the midst of three national lockdowns with long covid, relactating and postnatal depression. 

On this week’s episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with Rebecca Robinson from Norfolk. After trying for 2.5 years to fall pregnant, she was about to embark on her first IVF round when she found out she was pregnant with her first. She opted for Midwife-Led care at her local NHS trust and initially choose a homebirth. After some growth concerns, she changed for MLU care at her local hospital. She began labour at 41 weeks after 2 sweeps and ended up having a very fast labour at home, resulting in a BBA. Her little boy spent 10 days in the NICU after respirating meconium and when they were discharged, Rebecca speaks candidly about how hard the first 6 months of postpartum were. She breastfed for 2 years and fell pregnant naturally with her second during the pandemic. She found Hypnobirthing Rebirth to be helpful in processing the trauma from her first birth. She opted for an NHS homebirth this time around and she gave birth at home with the help of a midwife just before the second lockdown in October 2020.

On this week’s episode, I have the pleasure of chatting with Jessica Spry who tells us her story of birthing her baby boy in the height of COVID-19. After having a miscarriage, she fell pregnant with her son. She opted for a NHS homebirth but plans changed when she was told quite late on about a Group B positive test she had had in her first trimester. She then changed care and birth plans for Midwife-led care at the NHS Homerton Hospital Birth Centre. Tune in to hear her full story. 

And please note I am gearing up for maternity leave so any submissions I get after Dec. 15, 2020 until April/May 2021 will be picked up in the spring of 2021. I can't wait to keep sharing your stories. 

On today’s episode, I get to chat with Amar Sanghera who shares her two NHS births in Birmingham. She shares the birth stories of her two sons, Ace and Romy. She opted for midwife-led care at the Serenity Birth Centre for Ace 18 months ago, and navigated her care with a 'surprise' anterior placenta and a posterior position for birth. With Romy, she had a BBA (birth before arrival) at home 3 months ago in the thick of COVID-19.

On this week’s episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Jessica Tabaka. She shares her journey through her two births, the most recent occurring in April of 2020 (aka, the height of Covid-19 lockdown.) She walks us through unexplained fertility and falling pregnant with her first son. She chose to go via NHS midwife-led care in SE London for her care in her first birth. She talks candidly about her experience with postnatal anxiety and breastfeeding journey. For her second birth, she opted for a home birth. However, COVID-19 was ramping up and during her pregnancy, homebirths were being cancelled as there weren’t guaranteed ambulances in the event of transport. She gave birth in April 2020 to her second at the height of lockdown at a different SE hospital and shares how helpful Mammary Constriction Massage proved in her second time breastfeeding.

In her first time sharing her birth story, Ashley recounts how she was well-educated and well-prepared for her birth. She accounted for many possibilities but she didn’t expect the systemic issues of global maternal healthcare systems to have to be planned for in her birth plan. It was a 4 day long labour that ended in a botched c-section and 30 days of sepsis. She candidly shares her postnatal struggles with PND (postnatal depression) and PTSD. 

She also discusses difficulty falling pregnant with her second baby and gender disappointment.