Navigating pregnancy and postpartum in a new country, Lisa felt increasingly isolated without familiar support around her. When her newborn was taken to the special care nursery without explanation, and her concerns were repeatedly dismissed, she was left feeling unseen, unheard, and not held for years.

When Amber-Lee found herself unexpectedly pregnant, she knew life would change — but not in the ways she experienced. Through two pregnancies complicated by hyperemesis, a traumatic birth, and a challenging postpartum period, she navigated trauma, mental ill health, and the pressure of being ‘the strong one’ while silently struggling.

Dayna’s story reflects what it can feel like when trauma compounds. After a complicated emergency caesarean and separation from her baby, she was left without the newborn bubble she had hoped for. What followed was ongoing anxiety, panic, rage, and hypervigilance, alongside D-MER and the lasting impact of birth trauma within a strained health system.

Birth trauma shaped much of Claire’s early motherhood, impacting her mental and physical health in ways she never expected, alongside the challenges of border closures and a difficult feeding journey. When ‘failure to thrive’ was applied to her son, it became a label she internalised herself. Claire reflects on her experience of anxiety, PTSD, and learning to reconnect with herself as she redefined what it means to thrive.

Monique’s birth may have been quick, but its complications and long-term impacts were anything but. Following a traumatic birth, severe complications, and a near-death experience, she was left navigating the physical and psychological aftermath, which she describes as a ‘storm’ she is still weathering. Monique reflects on the realities of birth trauma and the supports that have helped her feel less alone.

Despite her expertise as a midwife and academic, Helen describes her perinatal mental health experience with one word: ‘blindsided’. She developed post-traumatic stress disorder following a traumatic pregnancy marked by pre-eclampsia, IUGR, and a NICU admission, compounded by baby loss and ongoing IVF uncertainty. She reflects on the profound impact of psychological trauma in the perinatal period, both personally and professionally.

At 18 weeks pregnant, Aimee’s waters ruptured — but against all odds, her pregnancy continued and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Despite the outcome she had hoped for, she felt as though she was living the worst-case scenario she had feared. Aimee hid her suffering for weeks, until her husband found her in a heap on the floor.

Rebecca had spent most of her life imagining motherhood — but not the mental breakdown that led to a psychiatric admission just days after her son’s birth. In part two, she reflects on a postpartum experience, shaped by OCD and PTSD, that unfolded in ways she never could have imagined.