Birth Notes

Birth Notes is where I write about pregnancy, birth and midwifery care, plainly and direct. Practical guides, honest reviews of the research, and answers to the questions I get asked most in clinic. VBAC, homebirth, induction, postpartum recovery, and the choices that come with each one.

Every so often something more reflective finds its way in here too, when birth asks for a different kind of writing. For more of that, I write Hysterix.

Featured
Questions worth asking at your antenatal appointments.
Questions worth asking at your antenatal appointments.

So this is a list you can take with you. Save it, screenshot it, write the ones that matter onto your yellow card. Do whatever you need to do to walk in with your questions already decided, because working out what you want to ask while someone is taking your blood pressure is harder than it sounds.

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What the current guidelines actually say about treating severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy
What the current guidelines actually say about treating severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy

How much vomiting and nausea in pregnancy is normal?

You don't need a referral to a specialist clinic to get proper care, and you shouldn't be told to wait for one before anyone takes your symptoms seriously.

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Vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) in Sydney: Honest review of the evidence
Vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) in Sydney: Honest review of the evidence

A clear, evidence-based guide to planning a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) in Sydney: your real chances, the risks in proportion, and how to choose your care.

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I’m Jen. I am a mother, a Midwife of women and sacred in-betweens, and very occasional writer.

This space exists for the stories that rise up when I slow down.

Sometimes it’s poetry.

Sometimes it’s grief.

Always, it’s about womanhood.

A woman with short hair, wearing a patterned headscarf and a light-colored button-up shirt, sitting indoors with her arm raised above her head and smiling at the camera. The background features a brick wall, a colorful painting, and a potted plant.