KEY TOPICS: 3 births, natural delivery, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, breech, elective caesarean, Klipper-Feil syndrome (KFS), large age gap

We meet Nicole Byrne this week: a mother of three boys who really learned to speak up! It's an episode of growth as Nicole overcame challenges and stigma - she describes negative local attitudes to being young, pregnant and unmarried in the 1990's.

For all three pregnancies, Nicole experienced nausea, sensitivity to smell and minimal weight gain. Much of her first labour was without pain relief, and her son was born with no complications. Despite him being a 'good' baby, Nicole's fatigue led to a diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, requiring lifelong treatment.

When pregnant with her second son, Nicole was advised to have a caesarean due to his breech position. In the months after his birth, she felt certain there was something wrong... yet felt dismissed by doctors with no medical answers. Nicole insisted on a referral to a UK hospital - where he was diagnosed with a very rare condition affecting the neck, shoulder and spine (Klipper-Feil Syndrome with Sprengel's deformity). Despite family support it was a difficult time for Nicole - she became involved with the Disability Society and took a career break to care for her young boys.

There's humour in our chat as Nicole describes a surprise pregnancy with her new partner, almost a decade later! After a scare in the third trimester, her third son was born very quickly. We have a lovely chat about the boys' relationships, and what it's like to parent adults. This was such an interesting episode about trusting your intuition, learning to advocate, and growing in confidence as a mother. I'm so grateful to Nicole for sharing her Gibraltar Birth Stories! (Recorded November 2025).

http://www.gibraltardisabilitysociety.com

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