EP18 Andrea | Stillbirth, Endometriosis, Polyhydramnios, Breast Milk Donation, IVF

The Real Birth Podcast

This week's guest is Andrea, whose son Bodhi was stillborn at 30 weeks. Andrea suffers from endometriosis, and after two failed rounds of IVF, Andrea and her husband Sam found themselves unexpectedly pregnant naturally.

At just over 29 weeks, Andrea noticed Bodhi had stopped moving, and immediately knew something wasn't right. It is every parent's worst nightmare to be told their baby has died - and this episode is understandably very emotional. After Bodhi's death, she and husband Sam made a conscious choice to live good, full lives in their son's honour - and Andrea went on to donate her breastmilk to help care for sick babies who needed it. She regularly raises money, donates to charitable causes and makes positive choices because of Bodhi.

One of the things that helped Andrea and Sam after Bodhi died, was the arrival of a gorgeous French bulldog, Marley. I visited Andrea at her home not to far from me, and you'll hear Marley having a good old snort away in the background - which personally I love as he is such a shining light in Andrea's life and deserves to be featured!

This episode is extremely honest, raw and open about stillbirth - and if you're not feeling in a good place to listen to this right now, then please do skip over this episode and come back when you're feeling ready. I believe it is so important to share all birth stories - and it was a complete honour and a privilege that Andrea has shared Bodhi's memory with me - and by extension, all of you.

Thanks for listening and I hope you fall in love with Andrea as hard as I did!

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