How to Grow a Parent: The pregnancy, birth & postnatal podcast

For today’s episode I am talking to Katherine Whitby who is a Paediatric Nurse, Health Visitor & Maternal Wellbeing Practitioner. Katherine is also the founder of her company Baby Steps where she offers classes and information on Baby & Child First Aid, Weaning, Baby Massage & Relaxation, at her studio in Hampshire or in parents own homes or online. Katherine has contributed her incredibly helpful weaning expertise to our online Parent Hub which parents can access through booking one our antenatal hypnobirthing courses or as a monthly subscription. The topics we cover are: Find out more about Katherine and the incredible services she offers, here: https://www.baby-steps.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/babystepsx/https://www.facebook.com/babystepsx This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I am talking to Sonah Paton who is a co-founder of Black Mothers Matter. We’ll be talking about the importance of understanding black maternal health disparities and nuances, particularly as a birth professional. All of The Mindful Birth Group® teaching team attend a workshop with Black Mothers Matter to ensure they are equipped to better support black and brown expectant parents and today’s episode will be slightly more angled towards birth professionals who may be wondering what work they need to do to become a true ally to black and brown families. The topics we cover include: Find out more about Black Mothers Matter: https://www.blackmothersmatter.org Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackmothersmatteruk/ MBRACE report information https://www.birthcompanions.org.uk/resources/mbrrace-uk-saving-lives-improving-mothers-care-2022 This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today’s episode is predominantly aimed at birth professionals however we of course welcome anyone to listen. The episode comes with a ‘listen with self-care’ label because we will be discussing baby and infant loss. Paula Abramson is from Bereavement Training International, a Baby and infant loss training consultancy. Paula also works with some amazing baby loss charities including the wonderful Teddy’s wish. Paula also trains our teacher team on how to better support those who experience or have experienced baby loss. A recent report published report by charities Tommys & Sands called ‘Saving Babies Lives’ found that In 2021, 13 babies a day were still born or died during the first 28 days of life (this is classified as a neonatal death). Sadly, there has also been a 10% increase in the number of stillbirths in recent years too. So it is incredibly important that birth professionals are equipped to support these families appropriately. The topics we cover on this episode include: Bereavement Training International website: https://bereavementtraining.com Teddy's Wish: Website Instagram Our Sam - A directory of support for bereaved parents, loved ones and professionals: https://sos.oursam.org.uk/ Sands & Tommy's report: Saving Babies Lives 2023 This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

After a short break whilst we were at various Baby Shows, enjoying the Easter holidays and many bank holidays, I’m delighted to be back today and talking to Dr Frankie Harrison about experiencing Neo-natal intensive care with your baby. Frankie is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Miracle Moon, an organisation that provides support for the NICU community past, present and future. Frankie also provides invaluable content to our online Parent Hub so subscribers can access educational and supportive information about NICU should they ever need it. The topics we cover on this episode include: Ways to supportThe Invisible String Follow Dr Frankie and Miracle Moon: InstagramFacebook Miracle Moon website: https://www.miraclemoon.co.uk This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

This week Emiliana talks to Maria Kyle, an Intervention Development Manager at Dogs Trust. Many families either already have dogs (or fur babies!) when they’re welcoming a new (human!) baby into their home, or they decide to get them for company when their little one is older. We cover what you need to know to keep everyone safe and happy. The topics we cover on this episode include: You can find more information on the topics we discussed today here: Preparing your dog for your new babyIntroducing your new baby to your dogDogs and children living safely togetherFollow Dogs Trust: FacebookTwitterInstagramInstagram Dogs Trust SchoolFree behaviour support line: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/how-we-help/behaviour-support-line Dogs Trust website: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/ Email the team: dogsandchildren@dogstrust.org.uk This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

This week Emiliana talks to Kicki Hansard, author and founder of the Birth Bliss Academy and The Doula Directory. Everyone who takes a Mindful Birth Group® course or subscribes to the Parent Hub gets access to a one hour postnatal doula session on Zoom once their baby is born. We view the recovery period as very much a part of the birth and support shouldn't stop as baby is born. The topics we cover on this episode include: World Doula Week starts next week on 22nd March and so there will be lots of content on social media about doulas so do look out for that to learn more. You can find more information on the topics we discussed today here: hereherehere here This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

This week Emiliana talks to Jacob Stokoe, a trans dad of two and founder of Transparent Change CIC. The organisation aims to create trans-inclusive environments through easy-to-access training. Jacob facilitates workshops for The Mindful Birth Group antenatal class teachers and contributes content to the Mindful Birth Parent Hub specifically for trans expectant parents. If you are a trans person, please be aware that we discuss topics that may be distressing, particularly if you are currently expecting a baby. The topics we cover on this episode include: You can find more information here: hereherehere here This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

For this episode Emiliana talks to Mel Pinet, baby wearing consultant with her London-based business, Wrap a Hug. Mel provides incredibly helpful 'how to' videos on The Mindful Birth Group® online Parent Hub, which is for everyone taking a Mindful Birth course. The topics we cover on this episode include: You can find herehere This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

To kick off our second series, Emiliana is talking to Lorraine Pryce from Birth Rights, a UK charity that champions respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth by protecting human rights. They provide advice and information on your legal rights, train doctors and midwives, and campaign to change maternity policy and systems. We do not discuss birth trauma in detail but do take care when listening to this episode as we do discuss challenges faced in the maternity system which may be upsetting. We do recommend becoming informed and getting support for this reason, though. The topics we cover include: You can find hereherehere hereherehere This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Kathryn Stagg. Kathryn is a an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (also known as an IBCLC), and OCN Level 6 Holistic Sleep Coach. She supports families with feeding, normal baby behaviour and sleep. If I were to share what Kathryn does within those areas on a day to day basis, I would take up the whole podcast time! From voluntary work to consultations in person and on Zoom, to writing her first book, she is well and truly dedicated to supporting parents with finding their way. Kathryn has also recorded the brilliant infant feeding educational videos which can be accessed by every parent who takes a Mindful Birth course, so I consider her to be a part of the Mindful Birth family! We chat about Kathryn's experience of: You can find Kathryn on Instagram here On Facebook here Or on her website here This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Whitney Lodge. Whitney is a naturopathic nutritional therapist and yoga teacher. I met Whitney when she booked onto a Mindful Birth course with me at Birch. Although conceived naturally, her twin pregnancy was classed as a ‘high risk’ pregnancy, which triggered a deep dive into nutrition and the mind body connection, and how she could optimise her health to ensure a safe and healthy full term pregnancy and birth. As a passionate believer in holistic healing, Whitney’s ambition is to educate and empower others to experience a sense of vitality through optimum nutrition & lifestyle. We chat about Whitney's experience of: You can find Whitney on Instagram here Or on her website here This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Michael and Wes, who as well as being wonderful parents to their children are also founders of the very successful parenting-related organisations, Two Dads UK, My Surrogacy Journey and The Modern Family Show. As their TwoDadsUK Instagram profile describes them they are ‘Boss Dads Campaigning for Change’ We chat about their experiences of: You can find Michael and Wes as TwoDadsUK on Instagram here My Surrogacy Journey here The Modern Family Show here Or their website here. This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Sammy Cox from Exhale Birthing & Beyond. Sammy is a Mindful Birth teacher based in Exeter in Devon. We chat about Sammy's experience of: You can find Sammy on Instagram here Or on her website here ---- This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide birth, baby and postnatal preparation courses for expectant parents in-person and online. The unique courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by educating you on your options, what to expect and how to navigate unexpected turns. While sharing practical mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. Parents say that the group and private courses were everything they needed to prepare for this new chapter in their lives. You can see all of the course options and book a group, private or online self learning course here. This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Emma Riley from Ready Prep Birth. Emma is a Mindful Birth teacher based in the Leighton Buzzard area of Bedfordshire. We chat about Emma's experience of: Here are the links we promised to share: herehereYou can find Emma on Instagram here Or on her website here This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Lucy Sharpe from Days & Dream Sleep consultancy. Lucy has worked as a nanny for 20 years and an experienced sleep coach for 6 years. We cover Lucy's intuitive approach to sleep coaching and how being a mum has and hasn't impacted the way she supports families. A really helpful listen to anyone in the early weeks, months and years! You can follow Lucy on Instagram here. This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Ashley is a Mummy, a Presenter, DJ, Dating & Empowerment Coach and a much loved Instagram Influencer. She also has her own podcast called Mum’s the word, The parenting Podcast, which I highly recommend listening to! Ashley and Tommy took a Mindful Birth course with me at around 35 weeks of pregnancy in the crazy year that was 2020 and it’s been wonderful seeing them grow and navigate life as a family. We cover: Follow Ashley on Instgram here. This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Clare is a pelvic health physiotherapist with a passion to support women and men throughout their lives. Clare and I chat about her journey to becoming a mother, how her work impacts her parenting and vice versa and what she would say to her pre-children self, now she knows what she know! Specific topics we cover are: You can follow Clare on Instagram @clarebournphysio Or visit her website for more on pelvic health here This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Zoe Cresswell, who you may know from her brilliant podcast, Motherhood Exposed. We talk about Zoe's experiences of: Links we mention on the podcast: herehereherehereThis show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Kicki Hansard. Kicki is an award winning doula, author, and founder of the Birth Bliss Academy and The Doula Directory and is CEO of The Doula Association. Kicki has trained over 1000 doulas, me being one of them! and I am so happy to welcome her here on the podcast today to hear more about her own parenting journey which is heavily influenced by her Swedish roots, and how she supports doulas and parents in their own unique growth stories. We cover Kicki's experience of introducing siblings to each other, respectful parenting, the postnatal period and lots more. This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives

Today I’m talking to Liv Thorne: Solo mum, author and also known as @Livsalone on Instagram. Liv is warm, funny and entirely open about all of the steps she has taken to become a mum to her gorgeous son Herb, how her life has changed and how she's adapted to these changes. This episode will be insightful for anyone thinking about or currently embarking on a solo parenthood journey, but (and this goes for her book too!) so many of the experiences and thoughts Liv shares also apply to all kinds of family set ups because let's face it, kids don't read the parenting manuals- it doesn't matter who the parent is! Liv's Alone: Amateur Adventures in Solo Motherhood is the title of her incredibly insightful, funny and emotional memoir in which she shares her full journey so far on becoming a solo mum. This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond. You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here: Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup Parents: Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals: Train to teach with TMBGtraining for midwives