Whilst the birth of Anna Glowacka’s first child was on paper uncomplicated, Anna felt as though she was pushed through a conveyor belt system of care in which she had limited agency or say. When Anna is pregnant with her second child, she is therefore determined to take centre stage of her birth experience. She plans for a home birth and makes a conscious decision to trust her body. And Anna’s body knows exactly what to do when she goes into labour an October morning. This is a wonderful...

In this episode, we speak to Eliza Flynn, a pre- and post-natal personal trainer, health and wellness coach and speaker, and founder of The Warrior Method. She has worked with hundreds of women to improve their health and fitness, gain body awareness, and live active, pain-free lives. We talk about why it is good to exercise, the importance of repairing your body after having a baby and what signs to look out for when exercising that might indicate that things are not right. Disclaimer:...

We expect birth to be a reckoning. So we prepare for it. We attend classes, read books, consult friends and family. Then the baby is born and we realise that the post-partum period is its own reckoning. But in contrast to birth, we are not prepared for it and we ask ourselves, why did no one tell me about this? In this podcast episode our three panellists discuss the first few weeks after birth. They generously tell us about their experience of this time - how it was to come home from...

When Leah Shimabukuro, head of products at a tech company, is expecting her second child, she is determined to rewrite her previous birth experience which was difficult and ended in an emergency C-section. She takes a proactive and studios approach to her birth preparation, arming herself with as much information as possible. In consultation with her antenatal care providers, Leah decides to attempt a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). This inspirational story is testament to that history...

In the words of Naomi Wolf, motherhood is one of the most challenging and creative jobs anyone can do. But why then are mothers so often diminished or discriminated against in our culture? Why is the work of bearing and raising children often thought of as unimportant? And why are issues relating to motherhood and parenting so low on the political agenda? These are some of the questions that Maddie McMahon explores in her outstanding book “Why Mothering Matters” and on today’s episode of To...

In this episode, Magda Bilska-Pereda, Virtual Assistant Hub Manager, tells the birth story of her twin boys Elias and Mateo. It is a story about finally getting pregnant through IVF after a miscarriage and several years of infertility, about being so grateful and happy to be pregnant that it overshadows any pregnancy sickness and discomfort, and about going into labour one week before her planned C-section. It is an inspirational story about becoming a mother to twins, delivered with a good...

There are many things that can change when we become mothers, including our desire for sex. In this episode we speak to Kate Moyle, a Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist, about sex and intimacy after we become mothers. We discuss why sex is so good for us, what we can do to prioritise sex, whether scheduling sex is a good thing and, if not having enough sex should make us worry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Samantha King is 8 weeks pregnant when the UK enters its first lockdown. It is the start of a lonely pregnancy, where social interactions and midwifery appointments are reduced to Zoom meetings and telephone consultations. The limited antenatal care has significant implications for Samantha and her birth experience, with gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia only suspected after the birth of her 11.3 pounds baby. It is at times a difficult story and is therefore not for everyone. But it is a...

In this episode, Reesha Ranavaya and Layla De Freitas talk about how it is to become a mother to twins. From the joy of finding out that there are two hearts beating on the sonographer’s screen, to navigating a high-risk pregnancy and spending over 12 weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit, this is a fascinating, and incredibly moving panel talk about two women’s very different twin pregnancies and births. And whilst these two women's journeys to twin motherhood stand in stark contrast to...

Three weeks after suffering a miscarriage, Candice Gow-Smith becomes pregnant with Evander. It is a pregnancy dominated by a fear of miscarrying again, of wakeful nights worrying that something may go wrong. But as she approaches term, she is finally able to believe that the pregnancy will result in a healthy baby and she starts preparing for the home birth she’d always wanted. In this episode, we’ll hear Candice tell how she birthed Evander on the bed, in the comfort of her own home, so...

Having a baby is an act of creation - the creation of a new human as well as a new family constellation. It is the catalyst that will open new possibilities for more intimate connections but also new stresses to existing relationships. In this podcast episode we reflect on the transition from being a couple, to being pregnant and then having a child. We discuss the identity shifts that come with parenthood, the importance of finding time for yourself and as a couple, and how to avoid turning...

In this episode, Sonia Chandsure, marketing consultant and mother to three boys, tells the story of the birth of her first son. It is a story about finally becoming pregnant after four rounds of IVF, of a pregnancy marred by an enduring concern that her baby will be born prematurely, and of a difficult birth which ends in an emergency C-section. But it is also a story about the incredible support that she receives from her family and extended South Asian community on her road to motherhood...

Breastfeeding is a 24/7 job in the first weeks of baby’s life. It requires time, patience and sometimes even tears. But should it really hurt to breastfeed? How can you prepare yourself whilst you are pregnant,? And should you breastfeed no matter what? In this episode, we discuss breastfeeding with Lucy Ruddle, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, breastfeeding counsellor, holistic sleep coach and author of several books about breastfeeding.  Hosted on Acast. See...

Elizabeth gave birth in May 2020, amid UK’s first national lockdown. It is an incredibly fast labour, in which Elizabeth goes from being 6 cm open to birthing her son in under 45 minutes. There is no time for pain relief and the experience is very intense. But it is the haemorrhage that follows that Elizabeth struggles to process. The trauma physically and emotionally follows her into motherhood and when her baby is 16 weeks, she has developed such severe anxiety that going about her daily...

It is nothing short of a miracle that the female body can grow a little human. But pregnancy is also a time associated with a rapidly changing body, physical ailments you’ve never heard of before, and an overwhelming feeling of loss of control. In this podcast episode, our three panellists talk all things pregnancy - the good, the bad and the ugly. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Suzanne Trotter, researcher, gets pregnant with Clara on the second and final round of IVF she is overjoyed to finally be pregnant. Suzanne has a smooth and uncomplicated pregnancy, but towards the end it is clear that Clara is breech and Suzanne therefore opts for, in consultation with her obstetrician, to birth her baby via a planned C-section. In this episode, we’ll hear Suzanne share her experience of pregnancy and birth, but also the complicated and difficult breastfeeding journey...

For many women, pregnancy and birth is a joyful and positive experience. However, in the UK alone, about 30,000 women a year experience a traumatic birth. In this episode, we speak to Nikki Wilson about birth trauma. Nikki is CEO of Make Birth Better - a collective of experts who bring together lived experience and extensive professional knowledge of birth trauma and vicarious trauma. We talk about why birth trauma happens, how birth trauma shows, the impact of birth trauma on partners and...

Because breastfeeding is a natural way for babies to receive nutrition, many of us assume that it should be easy. But the reality is often very different. In this episode, we speak to four women about their respective breastfeeding journeys, including how different the experience can be from child to child, how distressing it is to see your baby hungry, how it feels to receive disapproving comments and stares, the excruciating pain of sore nipples and how it is to breastfeed a toddler. Our...

Lauren Parks, photographer, and her husband Mikael, move from San Francisco to London in February 2020, one month before the UK goes into lockdown. With nowhere to go and no one to see, they decide to use the time in isolation wisely and try for a baby. This is the story about navigating pregnancy and birth away from home, about a having fast delivery following induction, and about feeling safe in the hands of the NHS. Nyree Wright, founder and midwife of Sage Femme, is also here to answer...

Bex Ohta, marketing executive, and Tosh met through DJing in 2008. After several years of trying for a baby, Bex got pregnant through IVF in 2020. In this episode, Bex tells us about the birth of her daughter Rei. It is a moving and honest account of a long and difficult birth which Bex is still coming to terms with today. From induction to forceps delivery and a serious haemorrhage, nothing about the birth of Rei went according to plan. But this is also a story about strength, resilience and...