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Episode 262

262: 11 years since becoming a mum, Steph Wanless has finally faced the trauma she tried to forget

About this episode

Steph Wanless is the founder of FOUND Regional, a magazine in the New England area of NSW, and digital platform REGGIE, that focuses on showcasing the best of regional NSW. While she's committed to sharing stories from across her region, she has one of her own that deserves to be told. Steph's birth experience and her motherhood journey didn't exactly go to plan. Both her children were born premature - they were rushed away in incubators before she got to hold them. The first time she saw her son was in a photograph, covered in tubes. She said she lost count of the number of times she watched him stop breathing - and still wakes in the night remembering the machine's alarms beeping, doctors running and the smell of bleach. Fast forward 11 years and Steph and her husband have moved to her hometown of Armidale. They've been busy running businesses and their kids are approaching their teen years. But as Ted has gotten older, Steph realised that she's been pushing down a lot of trauma from all those years ago. 11 years on, Steph has only just been diagnosed with anxiety and PTSD from her early NICU and premmie birth experiences. Steph is super generous with her time and her experience is incredibly eye opening. This is her story. This conversation touches on PTSD, anxiety and birth trauma. For support:

PANDA: 1300 726 306 birthtrauma.org.au Domestic and family violence can happen to anyone and staying connected is especially important if you're in a volatile environment. If you are experiencing or have left a domestic or family violence situation, Telstra can help. To learn more about Telstra's support for victims of domestic and family violence head to: We are so excited to introduce Heritage 365 by our incredible partner, CABLE. To explore the new Heritage 365 collection CLICK HERE

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