Epidural Episodes

Send us Fan Mail Her pregnancy is “textbook” until a routine late-pregnancy check reveals high blood pressure and protein in urine, and suddenly every day feels like a decision point. We’re joined by Kaitlin, an American-Swiss mother living in Zurich, who walks us through severe preeclampsia monitoring, a surprise ICP diagnosis after relentless itching, and how quickly things can escalate when your body starts sending warning signs at 35 to 36 weeks. Kaitlin shares what labour looked like for h...

Send us Fan Mail What an episode. When Lisa is told again and again that her recurring miscarriages are “just bad luck,” she knows that's not it. She follows her intuition, pushes for deeper testing, and finally gets an answer. Lisa has a balanced chromosomal translocation, a rare genetic rearrangement that makes naturally conceived pregnancies far more likely to end. That diagnosis forces impossible choices. Lisa and her Swiss husband look at IVF realities, adoption barriers, and the heartbrea...

Send us Fan Mail After five years of trying, Emily and her husband's fertility journey ends not with another treatment cycle, but with an act of surrender and faith. And then, a positive test surprises them two weeks later! Emily, a UK–Italian psychologist living in Uster, ZH, invites us into her honest, layered journey through PCOS, infertility, a late breech pregnancy, and an induction at Spital Uster that swung from serene to urgent in minutes. We talk about the moment her waters broke, why...

Send us Fan Mail A clear plan helps, but the real story begins when birth asks you to adapt. Anna joins us from Zurich to share how she chose motherhood on her own terms, navigated a heart-shaped uterus without panic, and prepared through hypnobirthing, swimming, yoga, and an English antenatal class at Triemli Stadtspital in Zurich city. What follows is a vivid, vulnerable account of labour: nausea between contractions, a walking epidural that brought crucial rest, and the moment where language...

Send us Fan Mail Plans rarely survive contact with labour, and that’s exactly where this story shines. We sit down with Ladina, a Swiss parent who grew up in the US and Brazil, to trace two very different births at Triemli Stadtspital in Zurich—one long and medically complex, the next fast and grounded in simple tools and trust. We start with the first pregnancy and a nerve-wracking NIPT delay over the holidays that coloured the months that followed. Labour opened with back pain and slow dilati...

Send us Fan Mail If you’re craving a nuanced, practical take on birth, breastfeeding, and entrepreneurship/work- light on dogma, big on real-life problem-solving then this is the story for you. A long labour, a late epidural, and then the hardest part hits after birth: every latch feels like fire. When Kristina finally asks to stop, one midwife shames her - and another walks in with calm, options, and a plan that changes everything. That simple shift from pressure to partnership unlocks two yea...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when careful preparation meets the unpredictable reality of childbirth? Marie, an American yoga and fitness instructor living in Switzerland, takes us on her journey from visualization to adaptation as she welcomes her daughter at Spital Lachen in Canton Schwyz. Marie's story begins with perfect timing. A five-week yoga teacher training in Bali while her Swiss husband was deployed, creating ideal conditions for her body to be "ready to receive" when they reunited. ...

Send us Fan Mail Belén shares her empowering birth journey from Argentina to Switzerland, demonstrating how informed choices and self-advocacy created a positive experience even when her birth plan changed. Her story highlights the importance of preparation, language accessibility, and strong postpartum support across continents. Originally from Argentina, fell in love with a Swiss man while traveling Prepared her body for pregnancy by tracking cycles, training her body and focusing on nutriti...

Send us Fan Mail The ultimate plan-maker meets the ultimate plan-changer: motherhood. Rosanna's journey reveals what happens when our carefully crafted expectations collide with the unpredictable reality of bringing life into the world. Rosanna shares her powerful journey through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, revealing how she learned to flow when her carefully made plans took unexpected turns. Her birth took place at the Zollikerberg Birth Centre and Spital Zollikerberg. Originally from It...

Send us Fan Mail Dipal shares her powerful birth experiences in India and Switzerland, highlighting cultural differences between healthcare systems while navigating a bilateral clubfoot diagnosis during her second pregnancy. Through both births, she demonstrates how preparation, knowledge, and supportive care providers created empowering experiences despite differing approaches to maternal autonomy and birth practices. First birth in Bangalore, India where episiotomies are routine, fathers are ...