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Fear, Love, Gender and Feminism: How mothers are primed to fight the wrong enemy, and why it hurts us all

Looking to read something light-hearted and fluffy? This article isn't it! This piece has taken me over two years to write, and is not something I publish lightly. Nevertheless, it is important, and I would ask you to read on with the knowledge that I write from a place of deep love and care. 

This article is written from my perspective, that of a white, straight, cisgender biological mother who is passionate about both birth rights and children’s rights, and is written primarily for other peop…

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Flu season, carers' leave and the career stumbling block we don't speak about

This article was first published elsewhere in June 2023.


 

No matter how big or small, every business owner sometimes gets the urge to throw it all into the bin and get a “normal” job. While this happens only occasionally for me, I recently had the unsettling revelation that this option isn’t available to me right now. Not because of some virtuous reason of “serving families” or “doing my life’s work” but, depressingly, because my kids and I are sick too often for me to hold down a…

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Queering Messy Motherhood


This month’s topic on the Anna Asks podcast is “Queering Motherhood” and my guest is Melbourne-based doula Rafferty Hallows (they/them).

We recorded this episode with an unsettled four month old (me) and from a car due to nearby construction noise (Raff).

Both of us feel it’s important to share the messiness of motherhood, so the editing is a bit rougher on this one. There are places where I just couldn’t find a segue thank…

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From bliss to psychosis and the long road back to mental health - An interview with Emmeline Tyler

Copy of Copy of Organic Pink Stories Podcast Cover (1)

We now know it's important to be on the lookout for signs of postnatal depression, anxiety and even psychosis in the early days, but what happens if a mother experiences a mental health crisis further down the track?

In this episode of the Anna Asks podcast, Emmeline Tyler (she/her) shares openly about her birth and blissful postpartum, and how these assisted in helping her be well. She explains how personal and societal factors influenced the unravelling of her mental health during the toddler…

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The Default or The Doula? Why We Need To Talk About Birth Partners Now More Than Ever.

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Imagine waddling up to the desk at the maternity ward, labour in full swing. The masked midwife offers you a choice of Room One or Two. They are identical rooms, staffed by the same care team, and you are allowed one support person regardless of which room you choose.

Choose Room Two, she tells you, and your labour will be on average 41 minutes shorter than in Room One. You’ll be 31% less likely to need drugs to speed up your labour and 28% less likely to deliver via caesarean. You’ll also be…

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Again? Birthing Parents Ignored Again While Hillsong Parties Down The Road

I went on my first school camp at Glenrock Scout Camp, aged around 9 or 10 years old. That place has been in the news lately, but it wasn’t a big deal then.
What I remember as a view from a bunk bed, a movie night and a cold lagoon has been used in the last few days for Hillsong’s “Wildlife” event and summer camp. Footage from the event (released by Hillsong Youth in their own social media, not leaked), shows hundreds of people singing and dancing to performers inside a massive tent, …

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Mothers And Birth Parents Are Not Doormats. It's Time We Stopped Trampling Them.

not your passenger
“I’ll schedule your induction for Wednesday”

“I’ll check your cervix now”

“This will make the placenta come faster”

“They’re latching fine, you’ll get used to it”

“It’s policy to place them back in the crib”

“Just let them cry, they’ll soothe themselves”

“Tongue ties aren’t real”

“Start topping up with formula after each feed”

“It’s normal to feel low/anxious/exhausted”

“You should be grateful you had any leave at all”

“Mayb…

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I 100 per cent get how tired you are right now

sleep deprivation
“Oh, the sleep deprivation. I 100 per cent get how tired you are right now.”
So says the bearded tradie I’ve never met before, who is currently in my kitchen attempting to fix our under-sink plumbing.
It’s just after 8am and I am on the couch nearby in my pyjamas, bleary-eyed, feeding my squirming toddler.
We’ve been up together since 4am, except for the not-sure-if-it-was-worth-it nap I wrangled between 7.15am when hubby got up to get ready for work and 8am when…

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Is It Time For A Royal Commission Into Birth?

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Today Western Sydney University Professor of Midwifery Hannah Dahlen posed two questions of her social media audience in response to 2021 update of the “Australia’s Mothers and Babies” report, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare last week.

The first question, “what the hell are we doing?”, comes on the back of the following 2019 statistics from the publication last week.

As of 2019, Australia’s caesarean birth rate is now 36% (and 37% for first time mothers and birth par…

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I’m not anti-men, I’m anti patriarchy.

feminist
I’m not anti-men, I’m anti patriarchy.
I’m not anti-white, I’m anti-racism.
I’m not anti-life, I’m anti rich, white men exercising control over women and womb-having bodies then restricting their access to welfare, secure employment and affordable childcare; committing them and their offspring to a lifetime of poverty; creating fodder for the foster care and prison systems they profit from; all regardless of the person’s consent (or ability to consent), age, welfare, contraceptio…

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