A weekly podcast hosted by Sophie Walker, which showcases women’s first-hand accounts of their pregnancy and childbirth experiences in Australia.

“With over 4.7 million downloads, at ABS we want to educate and inform, but we also just want to share your stories, with no judgement and lots of heart. This is a podcast for first-time pregnant people, parents wanting to have better subsequent births, and birth enthusiasts who love to hear and tell birth stories. Entertaining, heartfelt, emotional and informative.”

Some episodes feature stories of prenatal diagnosis:

• Episode 92 – Sarah Jade – after a long and traumatic 33 weeks of pregnancy, Sarah let go of her second child Aksel, who had severe brain malformations. NB the first 40 minutes of this episode talk about Sarah’s traumatic birth experience with her first child 
• Episode 198 – Annabel Bower – Annabel Bower received a prenatal diagnosis of severe hydrocephalus at the 20 week scan of her fourth child and ultimately decided to end her wanted pregnancy.
• Episode 206 – Nadia – Nadia’s first son, a boy named Pio, was diagnosed with a rare chromosomal abnormality (triploidy) and was born via cesarean at 20 weeks. She discusses her disbelief at the diagnosis and the subsequent grief of her loss followed by the healing arrival of her subsequent children.
• Episode 213 – Bianca Klingner-Walsh – At the age of 22, Bianca fell pregnant unexpectedly and navigated the complex reality of a Downs Syndrome diagnosis. Despite multiple health professionals advising her to terminate, she chose to keep her baby, journeyed through a tumultuous pregnancy and delivered him at 34 weeks via cesarean. Baby Oliver was born with a heart condition and spent 12 weeks in NICU before being transferred to Melbourne Children’s Hospital for life-saving surgery