It’s 21st May, 2021 and some months back I caught up with Tori Heath, mother of four with a background in psychology, who has worked in child protection and executive recruitment. We meet to recount the story of her first birth experience.

At the time, Tori was a young, fit and healthy pregnant woman, growing up in outback Australia on a 14,000 acre farm, heading to girl’s boarding school in Sydney for high schooling. She later stays on in Sydney for University, eventually meeting her husband and then becoming pregnant with her first child.

Tori is a resilient woman by all accounts. A well educated woman, she was relatively well informed and chose a continuity model of care for her maternity care along with other support. Options that at the time, and even now, are available to few women in Australia.

Even with all that, Tori’s experience of childbirth was traumatic. Tori’s family nearly lost her and her baby. Now mother of four, a clear picture emerges from her first birthing experience - unnecessary interventions from ill-informed policies and those being imposed on her and her body at the wrong time, leading to grave lasting harm that lives on today. The price of this harm being paid by mother, child, family and the wider community - but with very little awareness from the medical systems involved.

Meconium present during the last leg of labour engaged a policy that failed to protect from harm and directly caused further harm to mother and baby.

Follow the link to Dr Rachel Reed’s blog post to find out more about meconium during labour:
https://midwifethinking.com/2015/01/14/the-curse-of-meconium-stained-liquor/

This podcast was recorded on Bundjalung Country, an area encompassing Byron Bay and surrounding flatlands, hills and rivers. We pay our respect to elders past, present and those emerging and deeply acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land whose cultures and customs have nurtured and continue to nurture this land and waters for over 60,000 years and upon which we now work and live. We recognise that the sovereignty of the pre-colonial peoples of these lands was never ceded and that recognition of culture, connection to land and waters and the sovereignty of all indigenous peoples across Australia is a matter of current and vital importance.

First published on Speaker on 21st May, 2021.

Guest: Tori Heath

Produced and presented by Annalee Atia

Original Music by Romy Agam Rom
https://www.romyagamrom.com

All rights reserved.

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