Welcome to Bloom, the podcast where mum’s share their unfiltered birth experiences. We hope that by listening to their stories, you feel empowered and inspired, wherever you are on your own journey.

Lauren’s pregnancy, especially the latter stages, was not straightforward: mid-pandemic, with a change of care provider halfway through, and a gestational diabetes diagnosis which meant more scans, risks and concerns about the baby’s size. But despite all this, she took it all in her stride, informing herself and making the right choices for herself, one by one.

What she didn’t expect was the crash landing into motherhood that is the fourth trimester. In the weeks following her birth, Lauren suffered with postnatal hypertension and it’s likely she also had undetected preeclampsia. When she was advised to be readmitted into hospital with her baby, Lauren made a difficult decision that was right for her and her family: to stay at home. She talks about the turning point around 6 weeks postpartum but gets real about this time and the strength needed to overcome it.