Share your birth story on the Maternal Village Conversations Podcast
We believe every birth story is worth hearing.
We’re inviting parents to share their birth experiences with us for our podcast. You can tell your story in your own words, either by sending us a voice note or, if you’d prefer, by taking part in a recorded interview. There’s no right or wrong way to tell your story. Your experience is yours, and we want to create a space where you can share it honestly and comfortably.
What can I share?
Your story might include:
Your pregnancy experience
Your fertility or IVF journey
What happened leading up to the birth
How labour started
How labour progressed
Your birth experience
Anything that felt significant or meaningful to you
What you wish you had known before, during or after your birth
You don’t need to follow a particular format or prepare anything in advance.
You are welcome to mention the name of a hospital, clinic or healthcare facility if you would like to share where your experience took place. We ask that you do not identify individual doctors, nurses, midwives or other healthcare professionals by name unless this has been specifically discussed and agreed with us beforehand.
Voice notes or an interview
If you’d like to tell your story naturally and in your own time, you can send us a voice note. You can send one longer recording or several shorter ones. If your experience is particularly personal, sensitive or difficult to talk about, you may prefer an interview. We’re very happy to arrange this and gently guide you through your story.
How your story may be used
By submitting your story, you understand that your recording and the story you share may be edited and used as part of our podcast and related promotional content.
This may include excerpts from your story being shared on our website, social media or other platforms to promote the podcast.
We may make minor edits to:
improve the flow of the conversation;
remove or reduce identifying information;
remove information that we feel is unnecessarily private or sensitive;
shorten the recording for length; or
make the episode easier to understand.
We will not intentionally change the meaning of your story.
We may choose not to publish a story, or we may contact you if we feel we need to clarify or discuss anything before publication. Where practical, before your story is published, we will give you the opportunity to review the final edit and let us know if there is anything you would like changed or removed.
Your privacy
Please only share information that you are comfortable having made public.
Your story may contain personal or health information about you. By submitting your story, you understand that information you voluntarily provide may be included in the published story, subject to our editorial review and the consent you give us.
Please avoid identifying other people unnecessarily. In particular, please do not share the full names or private information of doctors, nurses, midwives, healthcare workers, family members or other individuals unless you have the right to share that information and it is appropriate for the story.
You may mention a hospital, clinic or healthcare facility as part of your own experience. We may edit or remove identifying details where we believe doing so is appropriate.
What about my child or children?
Birth stories often include details about children, and we understand that your child may naturally be part of your story. You may share your child’s name and other information about your child if you are comfortable doing so and have the legal authority to consent to its publication.
However, we encourage you to think carefully before sharing information that could unnecessarily identify or expose your child, particularly:
detailed medical or health information;
sensitive or intimate information;
information about trauma, abuse or other highly personal experiences;
school or location information;
full dates of birth or other information that could make your child easily identifiable; or
information that your child may reasonably wish had remained private when they are older.
We may edit or remove information about children where we believe it is unnecessarily sensitive, identifying or not essential to the story.
Your consent
By submitting your voice note or taking part in an interview, you confirm that:
This is your own birth story and you are sharing it voluntarily.
You understand that your story may be published publicly as part of the podcast.
You give us permission to record, edit, reproduce and publish your story for the purposes described above.
You understand that your voice may be recognisable to people who know you.
You understand that information you voluntarily provide about your pregnancy, fertility, IVF, birth, health or healthcare experience may form part of the published story.
If you choose to name a hospital, clinic or healthcare facility, you understand that its name may be included in the published story.
If you voluntarily share information about your child or children, you understand that this information may be included in the published story, subject to our editorial review.
You have the right and authority to provide any personal information about other people that you choose to share with us.
You understand that once an episode or promotional content has been published, copies may be downloaded, shared or reposted by others and may not be possible for us to remove completely.
We will treat your story with care and respect.
Changing your mind
We understand that sharing a birth story can feel very different once you’ve had time to reflect.
If you change your mind before your story has been published, please contact us as soon as possible and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Once an episode or promotional content has been published, we may not be able to remove every copy or excerpt that has already been downloaded, shared or reposted. If you have any concerns about your story or how it has been used, please get in touch with us.
A final note
Thank you for trusting us with your story.
Birth can be beautiful, complicated, empowering, frightening, joyful, traumatic, unexpected… sometimes all at once.
We want to make space for the full range of experiences and to hear them with compassion and without judgement.
Your story matters. 🤍
We’d love to hear your birth story and potentially share it on the podcast.
Please complete the short form below so we can get to know a little about your experience and how you’d prefer to share it.