Sophie Walker is the founder and host of the podcast, Australian Birth Stories. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and three young boys.

After experiencing a long first labor herself with many elements she’d tried to avoid – induction, epidural, episiotomy, forceps and postpartum haemorrhage. Sophie immersed herself in all sorts of TV shows, books and audio to better equip herself for round two. It worked! She experienced a wonderful second birth and has since gone on to have a positive third birth as well. She attributes this to a good understanding of labour and hearing a collection of other women’s experiences.

Sophie feels it’s really important to share all sorts of stories, regardless of how positive or sadly, how heartbreaking they may be. The result is a library of birth stories women can call on throughout their pregnancy. It’s especially handy when women are told of new symptoms, hurdles or when discovering postpartum challenges. The website includes searchable podcast categories and a directory to help women in all areas of Australia gain the best birth and postpartum care possible.

She hopes that after a few listens to her podcast women are better prepared, left feeling more confident and better equipped for complications or anything that deviates from their expectations of birth.