Nonny | pre-conception testing, spontaneous labour, private hospital birth

Perth-born model Nonny Naitanui moved to Melbourne seven years ago to pursue her full-time modelling career, and it’s here that she and her husband Mark welcomed their first baby after 16 years together. 

Like many women in demanding careers, Nonny found herself constantly postponing motherhood. “My career is what sort of made me wait that bit longer. I’m 33 now. And I think because in modelling you’re constantly on different flights or going to different cities and it’s so spontaneous. You could get called tonight being like, hey, you’re on a job tomorrow.”

The turning point came when she and Mark decided to get their fertility checked. “I was like, let’s go get our fertility checked. Because, you know, I’m in my thirties, you start thinking, damn, like the years are actually just rolling by.” The results delivered an unexpected blow when Nonny was told she had low AMH levels.

“She gets to the end and she’s reading it and like, she goes, ‘Oh, yours is quite low. Your level.’ I was like, what? And then I just started crying.” The lack of detailed explanation from her GP left Nonny feeling devastated and confused about what this meant for her fertility prospects.

However, after Mark’s research revealed that low AMH doesn’t necessarily indicate infertility, Nonny decided to come off the pill and see what happened naturally. “Within three months, got pregnant, but definitely that test result is what sparked us thinking, okay, let’s, let’s get onto this.”

Nonny’s first trimester brought the familiar challenges of nausea and exhaustion. “I was very nauseous. Didn’t vomit, but just that feeling of like, I feel so off was definitely there. But I think the thing that hit me the most was the exhaustion and I just felt really depleted.”

For her birth preparation, Nonny chose Frances Perry House and Dr Leah, prioritising having women in her corner throughout the experience. She and Mark attended the hospital’s birthing and breastfeeding classes, which helped them both feel more prepared and empowered.

“I think after doing the birthing classes and meeting the midwives at Francis Perry House and all that stuff I felt a lot more empowered and knew that they’re actually there for you and like just to have the options and you know what we what you want to do.”

At exactly 38 weeks, Nonny’s labour began in a way she never expected. “I remember waking up in the morning… being like I’m in pain on my side like it felt like appendix or like it felt like my liver was getting squeezed or something.”

What’s particularly valuable about Nonny’s story is how it highlights that labour doesn’t always present as we expect. “I did not know I was in labour… it just feels like an excruciating pain in my side.” Even after calling the hospital, the staff initially thought she might have an infection rather than being in labour.

“They monitor me you know how they put the monitor around your tummy and they see the baby’s heartbeat and then there’s like a little machine and it’s got all the things and they’re monitoring me and they’re like yeah you’re in early labour and I was like what?”

Nonny’s birth plan initially focused on minimal pain relief, but like many first-time mothers, she discovered the reality was different from her expectations. “I want to have a natural vaginal birth, limited pain medication. I don’t know why I thought that that’s what I wanted… you think it’s a natural thing and I’m just gonna get through it.”

After labouring for several hours and finding herself fighting rather than working with the contractions, Nonny embraced the pain relief options available. “12 hours from 12 to 12. I’ve been laboring and they sort of said, you’re still maybe five. Like it’s not really progressing as fast as we hope.”

Her experience with the epidural was transformative: “I remember him doing it and it being done and me being like, you are my favorite human on this planet Earth.” She was pleasantly surprised to find that modern epidurals allowed her to maintain mobility and still feel the pressure of contractions whilst removing the intense pain.

After pushing for about an hour and a half, baby Marcus arrived at 6:30 AM, weighing 3.1 kilograms. “The doctor was like, ‘Nonny, like look, like this is a very special moment.’ And I was like, okay, okay, I’ll look. And I looked and I was like, then that’s when I really started pushing like a crazy person.”

The moment of birth was everything Nonny had hoped for: “I pulled him out. And I remember just like, you know how you hear people saying like, something overcomes and they just start crying, so emotional. And that’s what happened to me. I was like, my baby, like my baby, he’s on my chest, I’m crying.”

Having her sister present throughout the birth proved invaluable. Her sister had arrived just the day before labour began, and Nonny jokes: “She laughs and says you know because when she arrived she like spoke to my stomach and she was like come on baby Marcus like we’re ready for you.”

During labour, her sister took on the practical support role whilst Mark focused on being with Nonny. “It was actually good having her here because she was just that person that could run around and do all the things while Mark was with me. But yeah, she got all our stuff and she also like filmed the labor, took photos.”

Nonny’s initial breastfeeding experience was positive: “It actually felt really special… He found my boob. He kind of crawled to it and found it and was just latched on and yeah, getting all that beautiful colostrum.”

However, like many new mothers, she experienced the intense engorgement when her milk came in. “My boobs, I don’t know if everyone experiences this, got so painful and big like rocks.” A call to the Breastfeeding Association Australia provided crucial guidance about managing the swelling with ice rather than heat.

Nonny’s honest account of the hormonal drop after birth provides valuable insight for new mothers: “I remember getting into the bath and I just remember crying and just like rubbing my stomach. I was like, what’s happening to me? Like, why am I so emotional?”

The importance of having an educated support network became clear: “I remember my husband telling my sister before I gave birth, that can happen… we just got to support her at that time. So she knew sort of what to expect and he knew, which I found really helpful.”

At just two weeks postpartum when this interview was recorded, Nonny’s story serves as a beautiful reminder that birth experiences, even when they don’t go exactly to plan, can still be profoundly positive and empowering when supported by knowledgeable care providers and loving family members.