‘Traditional’ pregnancies and IVF: Jana Pittman on her unconventional family with six kids
The Olympian and doctor shares her motherhood story in a new podcast from Bounty Parents and Aptamil Toddler.
Every woman’s journey to motherhood is unique, whether through natural or assisted methods. Sharing these experiences helps women connect, find support, and break down stigmas surrounding conception and fertility.
Olympian, author, doctor and mother of six, Jana Pittman has a fascinating motherhood story.
Discussing her ‘traditional’ pregnancies and her IVF sperm donor experience, Jana shares how she came to be a mum to each of her six children, in the Bounty Parents and Aptamil Toddler parenting podcast, Every Parent Has a Story to Tell.
Jana Pittman’s story: “I wanted to be a mother of half a dozen children or more”
If you were wondering what it might be like to be a mum of six children ranging in ages from almost-2 to 16 years old, Jana Pittman sums it up when she tells podcast host Carla Bignasca, “It’s nuts at my house. Absolute, absolute nuts.”
Speaking about the varying ways her six children came into the world, Jana’s motherhood story begins with the arrival of her firstborn son, Cornelis, 16 years ago.
Cornelis arrives, and Jana becomes a first-time mum
“We have a wonderful relationship. He was an only child for a long time. I had him traditionally, through my first marriage,” Jana shares.
“[Cornelis and I] did The Amazing Race together recently and we fought, and we loved, and we cried and we did really well. He’s a bit of a leader in our household and he’s taken on a parental role with all my kids.”
IVF and the arrival of Emily, now 7 and Jemima, now 6
“I knew from very young that I wanted to be a mother of half a dozen children or more. Ten kids was my original goal when I was a kid,” says Jana of her decision to grow her family after the breakdown of her first marriage.
“I started investigating my fertility and I found out … I was going into what we thought was premature menopause. I spoke to my mum about it and we decided to go via the sperm donor route – that’s another whole podcast on its own, the complexities around that decision making – but it was definitely the best thing for me,” Jana tells podcast host Carla.
While her first round of IVF was unsuccessful, Jana went on to welcome two beautiful girls.
“It was amazing. At some point, someone decided to be a sperm donor and I got Emily and Jemima out of it. They’re the greatest things that have ever happened to me.”
Marriage and welcoming Charlie and twins Willow and Quinlan
After meeting and tying the knot with her second husband, Paul Gatward, Jana says the pair made a joint decision to expand their brood.
“When I met and married Paul, he’d never had kids before. For him, it was a real legacy to have at least one child. Then after we had Charlie, he was like, ‘I’d really like another one’. And then we got twins. We got lucky and got a double trouble in one go.”
With the arrival of twins and four older kids to wrangle, including a one-year-old, Jana admits it was challenging in the early days.
“I completely underestimated how hard it was. When I gave birth to the twins, my other child was only one. It was three tiny ones that made it so hard.”
At the end of the podcast, host Carla Bignasca asks Jana how she thinks her kids would describe her and she replies with heartfelt honesty.
“I think they’d say I’m overly loving, like I’m always all over them and kissing them, but I’m also a little bit absent, which I think we need to honour because they miss me when I’m not here. They’d say I’m very hard working… and I talk fast. My girls always say, ‘Mum, you talk so fast’.”
Listen to Every Parent Has a Story to Tell’s full episode, Jana Pittman’s gloriously unconventional family.
This episode of Every Parent Has a Story to Tell is brought to you by Bounty Parents and Aptamil Toddler. Every Parent Has a Story to Tell is a new podcast series that aims to get intel and experience for parents of all walks of life. We cover all the important issues highs, lows and everything in between with some well-known and everyday Aussie mums and dads hosted by media personalities and real-life mums, Julie Snook and Carla Bignasca, who share, learn and discover from our unique but shared journeys. So what’s your story? Every parent has one.
Every Parent Has a Story to Tell podcast episodes:
- Jana Pittman’s gloriously unconventional family
- Cracking the co-parenting code, with real-life mums Elise and Alicia
- Building toddler immunity, with accredited practising paediatric dietitian Marianne Tomlin
- Making modern parenting work, with Kevin and Bob (Gogglebox)
- Tempting fussy eaters, with accredited practising paediatric dietitian Marianne Tomlin
This is not intended to replace medical advice. Always consult your healthcare professional.
Brought to you by Aptamil Toddler
