Birth Stories Mzansi

Cherize Vermaak (a.k.a Mammas Mag Moan) joins me to talk through her personal account of pregnancy and being mom to three under three!
Cherize's journey to motherhood has been far from problem free: from her journey through IVF, to debilitating Hyperemesis in all three of her pregnancies. In this episode she spills the beans about the balance of motherhood - as tough and wonderful as it is. 
This open, honest account of motherhood is optimistic without being unrealistic, including Cherize's account of the step by step process of spinal anaesthetic and elective caesarian section.
Get in touch with Cherize on Instagram @mammasmagmoan
Explore Birth Stories Mzansi at: https://birthstoriesmzansi.com
Or on instagram @birthstoriesmzansi
Share your story or send this to someone who needs encouragement to share theirs.
See you in the next story!

Nina Spears talks us through her two vaginal home births and how her experience in attending over 300 births as a doula shaped her own birth preparation and decisions around birth. She also explains exactly what a doula does, and why you should consider having a doula regardless of the type of birth you are planning. Nina reflects on how her own birth experiences have positively impacted her work, and her passion for creating positive birthing experiences.
Nina's compassionate, quirky nature comes through in this honest, open conversation about motherhood and the decisions we make surrounding birth.
Find Nina at: https://baby-chick.com
or connect with her on instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thebabychick?psln=MWkxNzU1NDE2MDRtNg==
Find Birth Stories Mzansi at:
https://birthstoriesmzansi.com
or connect on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birthstoriesmzansi?xtok=ZWk3d2M1c2MwZWVh
Get in touch to share your story. Follow for new episodes. Share with someone on their journey to or through motherhood.

Bianca completes her beautiful story in Part 2. 
Her reflection includes the healing process of having a home water birth and comparing this experience to her previous vaginal delivery in hospital. We talk about how good birth can be, and how healing it can be for previous birth trauma. Bianca also talks us through dealing with pregnancy loss whilst parenting, and her final pregnancy - dealing with the nonchalantly made diagnosis of 'incompatible with life' and the journey it created for her and her partner. She closes the episode with how they reached the decision that their family was complete, despite pregnancy loss.
Bianca shares knowledge with the wisdom of having lived it. That alone is something rare and beautiful. 
Calm Birth Course: https://whop.com/birth-stories-mzansi/products/calm-birth-course/
Find Bianca: https://biancajohnson.me/
Podcast Platform: https://birthstoriesmzansi.base44.app
Share this to support motherhood in South Africa

"Parenting after loss comes with anxiety I didn't ask for and joy I didn't know I'd get to have." -Bianca Johnson
In today's episode I sit down with Bianca Johnson; pregnancy loss coach, author of "All these lines", and mother to two living children. Over two episodes she takes us through her journey to motherhood (which spans 8 pregnancies, one elective termination, four miscarriages, one termination for medical reasons, and two vaginal births). We discuss joy, grief and anxiety. Bianca's open, genuine and positive tone in reflection is truly a rare and precious resource for parents dealing with loss and hope.We end this episode in the early post-partum after her first vaginal birth. In her next episode we use the story of her home birth to discuss the true healing that autonomy in labour can achieve after loss and birth trauma.
Bianca is also the founder of the Baby Bryce foundation, and an online community for loss moms in South Africa☎️ Get in touch with Bianca at: https://biancajohnson.me/bianca-johnson-pregnancy-loss-coach-south-africa/ Or on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.am.biancajohnson?stkn=MXdwdWV3MnRzcGk2Mg== 🔊 Birthing course and Birth Stories Mzansi platform: https://birthstoriesmzansi.base44.app
Like and follow for part 2 of Bianca's story

This is part 2 of Amy’s story. In this honest, thrilling account of unexpected turns on her road to becoming a mother again, Amy lays out what it took. After a cardiac arrest during fertility treatment she decided to take a break from her IVF journey before finding out she was pregnant. She went from an unexpected, miraculous and uncomplicated pregnancy, to an unexpectedly complicated birth and an NICU stay. Amy takes us through the tension of struggling to breastfeed, and how she finally let go without judging herself. Amy is passionate, engaging, and opens her heart to moms in this season.
 
If you missed part 1 you can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ijqZK3bMRSopwWS7JIrgC?si=myUAqY45SFa2SugX-P8crg
 
Birth Stories Mzansi platform and Birth counselling: https://birthstoriesmzansi.base44.app 
Follow along for more: 
https://www.instagram.com/birthstoriesmzansi?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsi=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Amy shares her journey to motherhood through her first pregnancy and caesarian section after induction at 38 weeks. This story is deep, honest and contains a wealth of wisdom. Amy shares her journey through IVF after having a miscarriage She outlines step by step her process as well as the emotions throughout. She also tells us about losing one of her twins in her pregnancy and the grief - joy conundrum that ensues. She details the process of finding out her baby had a lung growth during her pregnancy, and preparing for the birth. She then had an induction which lead to caesarian section, however in her operation she nearly died. She takes us through each heartfelt and intense moment, and we can use this incredible story to laugh, grow and celebrate the wonder of life and motherhood.
Part 2 coming soon!
Follow along on instagram @BirthStoriesMzansi
Birth Course and Birth Counselling: https://birthstoriesmzansi.base44.app
 

You weren't just having a baby. You were becoming someone new.
 
What if the hardest part of motherhood isn't the sleepless nights... but the fact that no one tells you that **you are changing too**?
 
We prepare women for pregnancy. We prepare them for birth. We even talk about postpartum.
But almost no one talks about matrescence.
Matrescence is the profound physical, emotional, psychological, social and identity transformation of becoming a mother. It's as significant as adolescence—yet most women have never even heard the word.
Maybe that's why motherhood can feel so confusing.
One moment you're overflowing with love. The next you're grieving your old life. You feel stronger than ever, yet strangely unfamiliar to yourself.
You're not doing motherhood wrong.
You're experiencing one of the biggest human transitions there is.
When mothers understand matrescence, they stop asking, "What's wrong with me?" And start asking, "Who am I becoming?"
That shift changes everything.
In this episode, we unpack what matrescence really is, why every mother deserves to know about it, and how understanding this hidden transition can replace guilt with self-compassion.
Because motherhood isn't just about raising a child.
It's also about the birth of a new version of you.
Follow along on Instagram @BirthStoriesMzansi
Find outlr platform here: https://birthstoriesmzansi.base44.app
 

Anea shares her journey to motherhood, and the process of finding out that her second child has West Sydrome (a rare form of infantile epilepsy). She talks through the balance of working through pregnancy, as well as working full time with a child who has unconventional needs. She details the highs and lows and what has kept her mind, and her marriage strong through it all. This story is honest, inspirational, and well worth the listen.
Birthing course: https://birthstoriesmzansi.base44.app/audiostore
Follow on Instagram: @birthstoriesmzansi
Check out our other podcast: https://90310-wellness-cast.base44.app
See you next week 

Anne's story shares the depth of a lived experience through pregnancy loss that you may never before have heard so openly shared.
Anne takes us through her turbulent journey to motherhood: after planning a pregnancy through PCOS, she takes us through the decision to terminate the pregnancy due to extreme fetal anomaly. Being in faith based circles, she highlights the tensions and conflicts in this process as well as her subsequent miscarriage. She then describes her turning point to healing before two spontaneous pregnancies and caesarian sections. Her summary, and the healing experience of C-sections after two deliveries of miscarried babies in hospital, is truly worth the listen.
Let her story bring you to your own turning point of healing, and find common ground when it feels like no one knows what to say.
Get in touch:Community support groups: https://birthstoriesmzansi.base44.app
Birth Cards — evidence-based birth prep: https://birth-cards.base44.app
Want to share your own birth story with us? You can submit it directly through the app above.

Ilse takes us through discovering that they would need an assisted fertility route, the route itself, and deciding to stop trying. She then takes us through her spontaneous and unexpected pregnancies, and her two caesarian sections. Her open discussion on the emotional journey of IVF and the joy of being pregnant, is truly a precious resource worth listening to. 
Links from this episode:
Birth Cards — evidence-based birth prep: https://birth-cards.base44.app
Community support groups (Twins, Breastfeeding, NICU, and more): https://birthstoriesmzansi.base44.app
Got a birth story of your own? Submit it directly through the app above.
Thank you, Ilse, for trusting us with this one.