A little about me
Oh gosh where to begin? With a decade-long career established in journalism and communications I thought my future was set. Then, in 2018, my first son was born.
It took me more than 12 months after he arrived to realise I had experienced birth trauma. For months on end I would put on my happy face, tell everyone ‘I’m fine’ and continued on caring for this new little bundle.
I strongly believe that my birth experience impacted my postpartum, and even with great support from family and friends I still felt the immense challenges and difficulty involved in raising a little one and coming to terms with my new identity as a mother. I was desperate for someone to ask me how I was, to care for me and nurture me the way they were doing for my baby. It was in these deep depths of loneliness and isolation that my path began calling. To be the support person I didn’t have in my own postpartum for other people.
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It worried me that if I was feeling lost, sad and lonely with good support, how must others be feeling who have no ongoing support?
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So I made it my mission to pursue my new found passion. I studied, connected with like-minded mamas, starting sharing my own experiences on social media and even created a podcast to hear postpartum stories from other women. The response has been overwhelming. So many women are having the same tough experiences but the support just isn’t there. I want this to change.
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I live in the beautiful suburb of Mount Duneed in Geelong with my husband, our two sons, a lizard and two stick insects (yep, we love creepy crawlies in this house!) I also have one angel baby. I love spending time with my family and watching my children discover the world.
I love trashy reality TV, true crime documentaries, a million different podcasts and books (although I never have time to read anymore!) I enjoy the odd glass of wine and the very regular cup of coffee. I believe that seeing feathers on the footpath is a sign that my angels are watching over me. Same with butterflies, ladybugs and dragonflies.
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I began my career as a journalist interviewing musicians on an old landline phone with a tape deck connected to record on. I was 19, getting paid in free CDs and concert tickets. Being so young and inexperienced I really had no business interviewing the Foo Fighters (twice) but I did it anyways!
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Music has always stayed dear to my heart (my birth playlist was EPIC), I will never subscribe to just one genre. Give me pop, indie, folk, and gangster rap, I love it all. Although lately The Wiggles seem to be on heavy rotation on my Spotify.
To this day I love listening to interesting stories, and furthermore I love bringing them to life (with permission of course!) This is why I started my own podcast called Postpartum Stories With Steph. It includes a range of stories from women who have experienced postpartum firsthand, some for the first time and others multiple times over. We talk about what was expected and what wasn't, breastfeeding and the challenges involved, mental health, loneliness, poop and so much more! You can listen to it here (or search for it anywhere else you listen to your podcasts).
