In this episode, we're joined by Rowie Cooke (she/her). Rowie lives with her partner Jake and two children Sonny and Rua. She is a birth and postpartum doula whose passion for birth and postpartum were ignited by her own experiences of birth. You can find her on instagram ⁠@rowiecooke_doula.⁠⁠

Rowie birthed Sonny in a public hospital, and despite trying to get into a midwifery group program, she birthed through a fragmented model of care. Rowie and Jake did a calm birth course in preparation and laboured together at home, with the use of a TENS machine to relieve some of the back pain Rowie experienced due to Sonny’s posterior position. Rowie arrived at hospital 7cm dilated, however soon after arrival a code green was called due to fetal distress and Sonny was born via emergency c-section.

When preparing for her VBAC Rowie planned on birthing in a public hospital but knew she wanted continuity of care. She missed out on the MGP again, so invested in private midwives and a birth doula to ensure she was surrounded by a supportive birth team who knew her story and were skilled in supporting normal physiological birth. When Covid hit and the number of support people allowed in birth suites was limited to one, she changed her place of birth to a home birth.

Rowie birthed Rua at home in an incredibly intense and healing birth, a triumph after months of birth preparation with her doula and midwives. A shift in perspective from trying to escape the pain, to fully embodying the experience of labour and to work with her baby were key changes for her in achieving her HBAC. She attributes the work she did with her doula and somatic therapist to prepare herself mentally for the intensity of labour and birth.

To see some photos of Rowie and her family, follow us on instagram ⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

You can find Rowie on instagram: ⁠@rowiecooke_doula.⁠

Or her website ⁠here.⁠

Rowie also shared her journey into Motherhood in episode 34 of Definitely Baby, which you can listen to here.

The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠.

This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.