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Olivia Ruby was 21 years old when she gave birth to her first child at Brisbane's Mater Hospital.
It was not the birthing experience the young mother had envisaged: she'd been in prodromal labour, a false type of labour that involves real and strong contractions, for a month before the baby began to arrive at 41 weeks. The actual labour was exhausting, lasting days.
By the time doctors told her she needed a caesarean to give birth to her son, Ruby felt there were no other options.
"It's very easy beforehand to go [into the birthing experience] and say, 'I'm going to be able to advocate for myself and tell them no' ... but when you're actually in labour, it's quite difficult to communicate," she says.