The Great Birth Rebellion

You can have a GREAT pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience. You just need the information and strategies to make it happen. The Great Birth Rebellion podcast, hosted by Midwife Dr Melanie Jackson offers evidence- based information to help you make informed decisions about your maternity care. The Great Birth Birth Rebellion helps you get the best out of your pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey.
Want more? Follow along at @melaniethemidwife and @thegreatbirthrebellion on SM
Subscribe to get access to the resources behind the episodes at melaniethemidwife.com and get your merch at thegreatbirthrebellion.com.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 162 - Creating a great birth after previous caesarean Aug 03, 2025

Show notes

Having a great birth after a previous caesarean relies on 4 key elements. Some of these elements are provided by your care provider and some of them you can control. Find out how you can facilitate a positive and respectful birth after a previous caesarean section from my conversation with Dr Hazel Keedle as she talks us through the main points of her new book ‘The clinicians guide to a better birth after caesarean’

Our guest today was Dr Hazel Keedle @hazelkeedle on instagram and find ‘the clinicians guide to a great birth after caesarean’ at Hazels website

You can learn more about vaginal birth or next birth after caesarean see our other podcast episodes:

Episode 157 VBAC tips and tricks
Episode 155 Optimising the function of your body in labour
Episode 154 How to curate a great birth
Episode 149 Increase your chance of vaginal birth in hospital
Episode 94 VBAC after single layer closure
Episode 93 Vaginal birth after caesarean

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

The information and resources provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute or replace medical or midwifery advice. Instead, all information provided is intended for education, with it’s application intended for discussion between yourself and your care provider and/or workplace if you are a health professional.

The Great Birth Rebellion podcast reserves the right to supplement, edit, change, delete any information at any time. Whilst we have tried to maintain accuracy and completeness of information, we do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or currency of the information. The podcast accepts no liability for any loss, damage or unfavourable outcomes howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on the content.

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 161 - That new research on private obstetric care Jul 27, 2025

Show notes

A new research paper is causing concern amongst the birthing community this week after a local newspaper said that the study shows that outcomes are better in private obstetric-led care compared to the public maternity care system. Of course, there is more to the story (remember newspapers write at a 12 year old reading level). Come be part of a grown up and nuanced conversation about this new research with Dr Melanie Jackson and Prof Hannah Dahlen. We explore the possibility of if this research is true and accurate.

Get Mel's ‘Guide to giving birth without pain medication’, here.

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 160 - Keeping yourself safe from obstetric violence Jul 20, 2025

Show notes

Women are at risk of violence in life, and sadly also during labour and birth, but what does violence against women look like during birth? Mel explains what obstetric violence is, how common it is and how to reduce the chances of being exposed to violence during your birth. As women we take steps to keep ourselves safe in life, and unfortunately we have to be just as strategic during birth.

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 159 - Antibiotics, probiotics and your healthy vagina in pregnancy Jul 13, 2025

Show notes

What an episode! This one had me hooked! Did you realise we have tiny organisms that live on and in every part of our body; collectively it’s called the ‘microbiome’. A healthy microbiome directly links with health benefits in pregnancy for you and the lifetime health of your baby (way more than you think!). This week, microbiome expert Rebecca Edwards from @activatedprobiotics explains how to protect and enhance your microbiome to help keep you (your vagina) and your baby healthy in the long and short term. This episode feels like a fundamental life hack that is relevant not only for pregnancy but for your whole life! This one is for you is you are thinking of pregnancy, pregnant or your babies are already born.

You can learn more about Activated Probiotics:

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 158 - What is a Doula and Why Should I get One? Jul 06, 2025

Show notes

Doulas play a specific role at birth, but what is it? I interviewed Doula Poppy Child from @popthatmumma about what a doula is, what they do, how much they cost and questions to ask when hiring one.

Poppy is also a Hypnobirthing practitioner. You can see more of Poppy’s work here and Poppy would love to give you 20% off at the check out when you use the code MELANIE.

We also interviewed Poppy about Hypnobirthing on Episode 156. Hypnobirthing! Can it really help?

Get Mel's ‘Guide to giving birth without pain medication’ here.

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 157 - VBAC Tips and tricks Jun 29, 2025

Show notes

Having a vaginal birth after caesarean can be a tricky thing to navigate BUT there are some strategies that will increase your chances of having a vaginal birth if that’s what you are planning for. This week I spoke with Marissa from @twiceblessed about what she did to have the VBAC she hoped for and I also add my top tips and educational pops as we went. This one is for you if you are planning a vaginal birth after caesarean or love a woman who is.

In this episode Mel invites you to the Great Birth Masterclass here where you can get Mel's Tricks and tips for a great birth.

Get Mel's ‘Guide to giving birth without pain medication’ here.

Other Episodes that relate to this conversation:

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 156 - Hypnobirthing! Can it really help? Jun 22, 2025

Show notes

Hypnobirthing is a powerful technique that you can use to work with pain in labour. It’s easy to learn and adds to your tool kit if you are gathering strategies to help you feel calmer in labour and improve your chances of avoiding unwanted interventions and pain medications.

Get Mel's ‘Guide to giving birth without pain medication’ here.

Registration for the great birth masterclass that Mel spoke about is at www.melaniethemidwife.com/great sign up now

The guest for todays episode was Poppy Child from @popthatmumma

You can find out more about Poppy and her hypnobirthing tracks at her website www.hypnobirthing-positive-birth.com get a 20% discount by using the coupon code MELANIE.

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 155 - Optimising the function of your body during labour Jun 15, 2025

Show notes

A great birth doesn’t happen by accident, there are things that you can do to influence the events of your birth. In this episode Mel shares some strategies that you can apply to increase your chances of having a GREAT birth.

Get Mel's ‘Guide to giving birth without pain medication’ here.

For more strategies you can join Mel’s free masterclass www.melaniethemidwife.com/great

This masterclass is live on June 27th 2025 and those registered for the live event will also receive the recording afterwards. If you are listening to this episode as a back catalogue and want to see the masterclass beyond 27th of June 2025, it will be available at www.melaniethemidwife.com for you too.

Episodes that complement this episode include:

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 154 - How to curate a great birth Jun 08, 2025

Show notes

You can be the mistress of your birth experience. Let’s talk about what part YOU play in what happens to you during your birth. This week I speak to Alice Bleathman and we derive lessons from her birth story about what steps you can take to increase the chances of experiencing a birth without regrets. There are things you can do to increase your chances of a great birth and we explore these today through Alices story.

Get Mel's ‘Guide to giving birth without pain medication’ here.

To access the FREE MASTERCLASS www.melaniethemidwife.com/great

Meet Alice @alicebleathman_

Complementary episodes for you to explore:

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion and @melaniethemidwife
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financially by leaving a tip to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

Episode 153 - How to avoid tearing during childbirth Jun 01, 2025

Show notes

There are controllable factors that you can start using today that will reduce the chances of your vulva or vagina tearing during childbirth. This episode lists the strategies that you, your care team and partner can help with to try and increase the chance of your vulva remaining intact.

Get Mel's ‘Guide to giving birth without pain medication’ here. (https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/birth-without-pain-medication)

Episodes that complement this episode:

72 - Episiotomy Part 1 (https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/podcasts/the-great-birth-rebellion/episodes/2148567888) & 73 - Episiotomy Part 2 (https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/podcasts/the-great-birth-rebellion/episodes/2148573214)
127 - Do I need stitches if I tear at birth (https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/podcasts/the-great-birth-rebellion/episodes/2148910519)
143 - Declining Medical recommendations (https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/podcasts/the-great-birth-rebellion/episodes/2149000686)
19 - The Perineal Bundle (https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/podcasts/the-great-birth-rebellion/episodes/2147833609)

Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast

Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com
Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www.thegreatbirthrebellion.com
Follow us on social media @thegreatbirthrebellion (https://www.instagram.com/thegreatbirthrebellion/) and @melaniethemidwife (https://www.instagram.com/melaniethemidwife/)
If this podcast has improved your knowledge or pregnancy, birth or postpartum journey please consider thanking us financiallyby leaving a tip (https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/offers/daGzmvGr) to support the ongoing work of this podcast.

Disclaimer

This podcast is not a replacement for midwifery or medical clinical care.

All transcripts are generated by ai and may contain errors

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