About

Welcome to Perinatal Stories Australia - a podcast and safe space sharing the personal stories of Aussie mums and their journey with maternal mental ill health.

By providing a listening ear to the lived experiences of struggle and healing in the perinatal stage, I hope this podcast helps to reduce stigma around maternal mental health, informs listeners about support services available, and inspires those on their own healing journey.

listen here.

Hi, I’m Rebecca!

FOUNDER. HOST. STORYTELLER.

Welcome! I’m Rebecca - founder, host, storyteller (and then some)! I’m not a therapist, a social worker, or a mental health expert by any stretch of the imagination. But I’m a good listener and I care so much about this journey of maternal mental health and motherhood that is so incredibly conflicting - full of both sickness and strength, stigma and support, with a lot of suffering, loneliness, and love in between.

This podcast began because I only started to heal when I told my story - over, and over, and over again.

can I tell you a story?

I created Perinatal Stories Australia to share stories. Throughout my hardest days, writing down my story helped me cope until one day the story didn't hurt me as much anymore.

Now, more than ever, I believe in the absolute power of words and stories. Whether you're listening or telling your own, stories help us all. Stories heal. Stories teach. Stories let us know we're not alone.

Thank you for trusting me with your stories. It’s truly an honour I don’t take lightly.

Rebecca x

how it all began.

Over a year ago, I gave birth to my son and simultaneously suffered an acute mental health crisis - severe postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, maternal distress, postpartum OCD, PTSD, insomnia - the works!

I’ve suffered with mild to moderate anxiety and depression my whole life, so I thought I knew what to expect from pregnancy and postpartum but this experience shook me to my core and really pulled the rug out from under my feet.

It was nothing like anything I’d ever experienced, and I’d never felt so scared or alone in my life. I’d never felt so ashamed.

My saving grace was an admission to a mother & baby ward in a psychiatric hospital where I could get better while securing an attachment with my newborn son.

I was wrapped in so much compassion, support, and love that I was far more scared to be discharged than I was to be admitted - something I did not think possible when I sobbed, feeling like a failure, through the automatic doors with my one week old baby in my arms.

Every morning at the hospital, we would do a group check-in, to see how we were all coping. This storytelling, or story sharing, is a tradition my friends and I continued long after our hospital discharge, and it’s why I’ve started this podcast.

I want to provide you with the listening ear we all desperately need. I want to make sure you never hear the invalidating phrases that were spoken to me. I want your family and friends to understand that what you’re thinking and feeling is not your fault. More importantly, even if you don’t feel strong enough to share, I hope you can hear these stories and know you’re not alone.

Thank you for holding space for me, now let me do the same for you.

Want to hear more of my story? Listen to episodes 01 and 02 of the podcast!
CLICK HERE

So wait, why podcasting?

Because when I was feeling at my lowest, a beautiful nurse from the hospital (one of many!) reminded me of how much I loved podcasts. We would discuss our favourite episodes whenever she was on shift. What better way to honour this time of my life than through the medium that returned my spark?!

listen now.

Perinatal Stories Australia is for you if:

you have recently become a parent, are pregnant, are trying to conceive, or have experienced loss
you are a survivor of PNDA
you identify with stories echoing your experiences
you are curious about support services available in Australia for maternal mental health
you are passionate about maternal mental health
you want to hear the raw and messy stories of motherhood and mental ill health
you are a mental health or birthing professional supporting those from conception to postpartum, such as a mental health nurse, psychologist, midwife, social worker, obstetrician, or doula
you are a family member or friend who wants to understand the experience of your loved one
you want to hold space for the experiences and stories we often keep to ourselves

The aim of the podcast is to deliver relatable and validating content. At no time, is any information communicated via the podcast, the website, or social media intended to be relied on as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not qualified or trained medical practitioners or health experts, and you must ensure that at all times you seek medical advice from your own medical practitioners and health care providers. Please review the disclaimer prior to listening to Perinatal Stories Australia.
The Perinatal Stories Australia podcast encompasses a range of topics associated with conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. It is therefore likely that a listener will encounter content which may be uncomfortable or distressing. These topics include, but are not limited to: depression, anxiety, OCD, intrusive thoughts, birth trauma, PTSD, bipolar, psychosis, suicidal ideations, rage, pregnancy complications, loss, infertility, and more. Every effort will be made to disclose overarching topics in the episode title and show notes.