One Mum's Story

Read our collection of amazing real-life stories from Mum Zone members who have been kind enough to share their experiences. See details on how to submit your story below.

Sarah's Story
Sarah knew that choosing to have an abortion was a huge decision which would affect her in many ways, but she felt that it was the right choice for her. She anticipated being able to move on with her life afterwards, and wasn't expecting such a heavy emotional burden to deal with instead... read more

Rhiannon and Chase's Story
Immediately after Chase's birth Rhiannon had to undergo surgery due to a major haemorrhage. In the weeks following she persisted with breastfeeding her new baby without success. In desperation, she eventually gave Chase a bottle which made a world of difference, however Rhiannon was upset to learn only months later that an anaesthetic can cause breastmilk to dry up... read more

Rachel, Jake and Campbell's Story
Whilst in labour with her second son, Rachel discovered a lump on her neck which she later learned was cancer. She had to have her thyroid removed surgically and have Radioactive Iodine Treatment which involved isolation so she couldn't have any close contact with her family for three weeks. She now views life very differently to before... read more

Gemma, Keisha and Jesse's Story
Gemma is a single mum of two - Keisha and Jesse. Her friend Patricia gives us an insight into the life of Gemma and her kids - the day to day difficulties, challenges and sacrifices experienced as a single parent family, but also the love, closeness, nurturing and strong bond shared between them... read more

Paula and Cameron's Story
Paula gave birth to Cameron when she was just 27 weeks pregnant. Nothing could have prepared her and her family for the rollercoaster ride her little boy had to endure in his first 100 days of life, including a range of health problems and even surgery whilst weighing just 1570 grams... read more

Sarina and Alexandra's Story
Sarina writes about Alexandra's birth via caesar and the days and experiences which followed. The joy of welcoming a new baby into the world, learning to breastfeed, settling Alexandra through the night, the emotional roller coaster, caesar pain management and recovery, the reactions of family and friends and the excitement and anticipation of starting a new chapter of her life as a mum... read more

Toni and Amee's Story
Toni had a relatively easy pregnancy, though knew her pre-existing hypertension could cause her problems. At 27 weeks she noticed her feet were swollen but thought nothing of it, until she started to feel sick a few days later so went to the doctors. Before she knew it she was rushed to hospital in Melbourne with the late stages of Pre Eclampsia. With her blood pressure climbing quickly Toni and baby Amee found themselves in a life threatening situation... read more

Anne & Tobi's Story
Anne had an easy pregnancy, however suffered from pre-eclampsia at 36 weeks so had to be induced to give birth to her baby girl Tobi. All was fine until a week after arriving home when everything started to go wrong - Anne's Multiple Sclerosis relapsed which meant she had to return to hospital for surgery, along with several other unfortunate events... read more

Rachael & Deegan's Story
Rachael has been kind enough to share the stories of both her boys - Hunter (below) and Deegan. This is Deegan's story:
Rachael wasn't convinced she was in labour when she started experiencing what she thought were Braxton Hicks contractions at 32 weeks. Sure enough she was, but it would be a couple of days before she got to meet Deegan due to several hours of labour, an emergency caesar and various birth complications... read more

Rachael & Hunter's Story
Rachael has been kind enough to share the stories of both her boys - Hunter and Deegan. This is Hunter's story:
Rachael had Pre-Eclampsia and had to have an emergency caesar at 35 weeks. Hunter had Intrauterine Growth Restriction so only weighed a tiny 1705 grams. He was ok, but this meant a long stay in hospital. During this time Hunter fed well, but was unable to breastfeed - it was later discovered that he had tongue tie which can make breastfeeding very difficult... read more

Megan's Story
After an easy pregnancy but a complicated delivery, things seemed to fall into place until Megan realised she was struggling to breastfeed her baby. By the time he was three months old, Megan knew something was wrong. She felt stressed, fragile, exhausted and knew she was snappy at everyone. She felt like she had to be perfect and know everything - a Supermum. Eventually Megan was diagnosed with Post Natal Depression... read more

Julie, Riley and Max's Story
After reading about Holly & Lilly's story recently, Julie felt inspired to share the story of her "Butterfly Boys" - Riley and Max. Of Julie's six children, two of her boys were born with hearing impairments. With her fourth child Riley it was realised at age two that there was a problem, then her fifth child Max failed his newborn screening test... read more

Jacki's Story
Jacki's life changed forever at her 28 week antenatal appointment. When checking the baby's heartbeat, her midwife also picked up Jacki's heartbeat, but they were only one heartbeat different - 86 and 87. Having done all the right things during her pregnancy, Jacki was shocked to be told they wanted to perform a caesar that day as her baby had a clogged artery in her heart. However, tragically, things were about to get much worse... read more

Julia & Ronan's Story
Ronan entered the world a lot sooner than expected at 27 weeks gestation due to Pre-term Premature Rupture Of Membranes. Like any baby, his birth was a joyous occasion, but it also bought with it many complications and a long and very uncertain roller coaster ride ahead. His mum Julia and his family never lost hope and did everything they could to stay positive and strong... read more

Holly & Lily's Story
When baby Lily failed her hearing test at three days of age, mum Holly wasn't overly concerned. However, follow up tests revealed that Lily had moderate hearing loss - some of her inner ear tiny sensors did not develop. Lily was fitted with hearing aids at three months and has not looked back... read more

Kate & Sienna's Story
Shortly after Kate gave birth to Sienna with everything appearing normal, her baby was whisked away to the Neonatal Unit. Kate knew something was very wrong when hours went by before she was allowed to see Sienna again. Finally she learned that Sienna was born with a very rare limb defect. Kate has now made it her life's work to raise awareness and start a support network for other families in the same situation... read more

Emma & Sienna's Story
After an easy pregnancy Emma hoped for a straightforward labour. However baby Sienna had the cord wrapped around her neck which caused her heartrate to drop and dramatically affected her breathing during the last 45 minutes of a very fast and intense labour. Sienna was born white and unresponsive with an APGAR score of only 3... read more

Vicki-Lea, Tasharni & Ryan's Story
Mother of five Vicki-Lea had three normal pregnancies, but the last two weren't so easy. When baby Tasharni was born the placenta was black, which suggests that she had mercury poisoning. Whilst pregnant with baby Ryan, Vicki-Lea discovered she had gestational diabetes amongst other complications. She has shared her experiences to help other mums become informed... read more

Celine & Anais' Story
In our last newsletter we met Celine and baby Jaia. Celine gave birth to a new baby girl just two weeks ago and has been kind enough to share her story with us again. Anais was also born by home water birth, but this time, both Celine's pregnancy and the birth were quite a different experience... read more

Celine & Jaia's Story
Celine had always wanted to have a homebirth and found her perfect midwife early in her pregnancy. The experience of a home water birth helped her find a well of strength she never knew she had. Her birth experience was calming and positive, and it has taught her so much about life and believing in herself... read more

Dylan & Belinda's Story
Dylan had a high jaundice level at birth, but this was not considered to be a problem. It was only when at 10 weeks it was noticed that his skin and eye colour had changed - this was a cause for concern. Belinda took him for a heal prick test and received a phone call the next day telling her to take him to hospital immediately. Dylan was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a rare condition which causes serious liver damage and would require major surgery... read more

Angie & Monique's Story
Everything was progressing well with Angie's pregnancy until at 28 weeks her waters broke. After five weeks in hospital she went into labour and it was discovered that an infection had caused her premature labour. Her baby's heartrate began to slow until it became undetectable so Angie was immediately put under a general anaesthetic and given an emergency caesarean section... read more

Chloe & Oscar Smith's Story
From the age of 10 Chloe knew she was going to have a hard time conceiving, having been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. She was lucky to fall pregnant with the help of fertility drugs, but was not expecting to have an emergency caesar due to the life-threatening condition pre-eclampsia... read more

Elizabeth & Tiana's Story
Having had eight IVF attempts Elizabeth had mixed feelings when her pregnancy test came up positive. Only seven months before she had given birth to twins prematurely and tragically lost them. She was glad to be pregnant but knew it would be a very long road to meeting her baby - and would there be a healthy and happy ending?... read more

Rebecca & Tyler's Story
Rebecca's pregnancy was going fine until at 33 weeks she was told her baby wasn't as big as it should be. She was immediately referred to a specialist, who admitted her for two weeks bedrest, and would then deliver her baby via caesar. Arriving at hospital, she did not expect to be then transferred to Sydney, over 200km away from home... read more

Michelle, Peter & James' Story
Knowing since age 13 that she would probably never fall pregnant, Michelle found other ways to live her life to the full. But one day she realised that she was ready to be a mother. She and her husband tried IVF for some time until they finally conceived triplets, only to lose them at 19 weeks. After more IVF and more heartache they were finally blessed with a pregnancy that they knew deep down would work out... read more

Rhonda & Rachel's Story
At 24 weeks pregnant Rhonda was taken to hospital with heavy bleeding. She was found to be 4cm dilated, and the next day was offered a priest when she became fully dilated and it was discovered that the baby was footling breech. Determined to hold on, Rhonda somehow knew that baby Rachel would miraculously survive against the odds... read more

Leigh-anne's Story
Leigh-anne was delighted to be pregnant with twins, and was comfortable with the prospect of a caesar for their delivery. Everything went fine with the birth, but it was afterwards when she lost the feeling in her hands that she realised things had gone horribly wrong. She didn't know if she was ever going to meet her babies or see her two and a half year old again... read more

Fiona & Airlie's Story
At 27 weeks pregnant, Fiona was admitted to hospital suffering from pre eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome which put both her and and her baby girl in grave danger. Baby Airlie was born via caesar weighing just 861 grams but with a strong will to live. After weeks of living in the Neonatal ICU taking each day's ups and downs moment by moment, finally baby Airlie grew strong enough to go home... read more

Nikki's Story
My Boss Fired Me Because I was Pregnant!
Nikki was surprised but thrilled to learn that she was pregnant. As an apprentice hairdresser she assumed she had the same rights as everyone else in the workforce, until her boss started pushing her to take early maternity leave. Pushing turned to harassment and mistreatment, leading her to be diagnosed with anxiety and stress whilst dealing with the anti-discrimination board... read more

Rebecca Cross' Story
Rebecca was told she would probably never conceive a child after finding out she had endometriosis and polycystic ovaries at the age of 20. After years of erratic menstrual patterns nothing seemed amiss when she missed her period for several months - until she discovered she was 16 weeks pregnant, her baby even having survived a hysteroscopy at 2 weeks... read more

Kim Bowen's Story
Kim spent years wondering what was wrong with her with constant trips to the doctors for various illnesses that no-one ever seemed to be able to explain. Her life was turned upside down when finally she was diagnosed with endometriosis, one of the leading causes of infertility... read more

Meredith Marshall's Story
Her first husband died 4 years ago and she was left a widow at 33 with 3 boys to bring up on her own. This meant she had to become the breadwinner as well as be a super mum. How would you cope? Read about this mum's remarkable journey to rediscover happiness, love and business success... read more

Submit Your Story

If you are a Mum who has a story to tell or you know of one, email your story to admin@mumzone.com.au. If you have a photo feel free to include it in your email.