Nurturing Birth Doula Podcast

Sophie is joined by new Mum Helen Trenchard and her surrogate, Rena Miras-Pye, who gave birth to baby Robin just 20 weeks ago. Together, in this special episode, they discuss surrogacy, how Helen and Dan had to let go of the notion of "shitty option B" after 9 years of a challenging fertility journey, and the process the team went through to get to know one another and make that all-important decision to move forwards and try to conceive. They share openly the entire journey from meeting through to the birth of Robin and a continuing, deep and very special friendship. For more information about surrogacy in the UK visit www.surrogacyuk.org or follow on Insta @surrogacyukorg

Sophie chats with Dr Sarah Madigan, Clinical Psychologist and Transformational Coach, about the grief of child loss and her subsequent pregnancy, birth and parenting experience. Together they explore the fear people have about grief, how to support families who experience loss and what is possible beyond grief. Sarah shares how much she wishes she had had a doula with her during and after her births. To find out more about Sarah visit https://www.instagram.com/drsarahmadigan/ or https://www.drsarahmadigan.com

Sophie chats with her own daughter, 18 year old Emily, about being the child of a doula and what growing up around the birth world has been like. Emily discusses her attitude to pregnancy, birth and parenting, how she would prepare for birth and the stories she hears from her peers. They discuss the media perception of birth, how much fear there is, the parallels with mental health and how poor sex education is in the UK. Emily is a young playwright and actress taking her first play to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2023 - to follow her progress visit Instagram on @here_you_come_again_official

Sophie chats with Booney Smith, a doula of almost twenty years and Nurturing Birth mentor, who became a grandmother for the first time during the pandemic. She shares her thoughts on supporting grandparents when working as a doula. Together they explore some of the challenges facing new parents around extended family. To find out more about Booney visit the Nurturing Birth Mentors page www.nurturingbirth.co.uk/mentors

Sophie chats with Midwife and Lactation Consultant Dee Bell, who runs the Infant Feeding Academy. They discuss supporting families before, during and after birth when it comes to infant feeding. They talk about biological norms and optimising the breastfeeding process if that is what new parents choose to do. They discuss problem solving and how to best support new parents. Dee dispels some of the myths surrounding infant feeding support. To find out more about Dee and the Infant Feeding Academy follow her on Instagram at @infantfeedingacademy

Sophie chats with Nurturing Birth Facilitator, Mentor and Doula Sarah Sayer about her journey as a doula, especially in an area that had no doulas when she started. They chat about Nurturing Birth doula courses and the stories that so frequently come up around what people think they should have done/experienced or know before they step into doula shoes. To follow Sarah on Instagram go to @sarahsayerbirthgeek or follow us on Nurturing Birth to see more of her in action on the courses - @nurturing_birth

Sophie chats with Calm Birth School owner Liz Stanford, who has recently co-written the revised version of The Calm Birth Method with Suzy Ashworth. They discuss what Hypnobirthing is and explore a number of the myths around the technique. To follow Liz go to @thecalmbirthschool on Instagram, or www.thecalmbirthschool.com

Sophie talks to former doula, now midwife Kate Greenstock, author of a new book, Flourish. Kate shares her journey to midwifery from doulaing and discusses the challenges midwives face in the current maternity system. Using her coaching skills Kate talks about how she has identified "Mega Mountains" that midwives can overcome with practical and emotional support. To find out more about Flourish visit www.flourishformidwives.com or email kate@flourishformidwives.com

Sophie chats with Nurturing Birth Lead Course Facilitator, Sam Sheppard, and Nurturing Birth Mentor, Victoria White, about Neurodivergent Birth, what prompted them to set up their new business and what those working in the perinatal world need to consider when supporting people who are neurodivergent, considering many different aspects of neurodiversity e.g ASD, ADHD or anxiety. They explore what it means to be doula course providers and mentors to those who are neurodivergent, what we integrate into our courses and how we aim to be as supportive as possible to all those wanting to take a doula training. To find out more about Neurodivergent Birth follow @neurodivergentbirth and do sign up to one of their workshops

In this first episode of the second season Sophie chats with Erin Fung of Better Birth UK, an Antenatal and Hypnobirthing educator based in SE England, with a popular Instagram account @betterbirthuk and podcast, The Better Birth Podcast. They talk about Erin's reason for stepping into this all-important work, her first experience of birth and the long-term emotional, physical and mental side effects. They discuss how important educating yourself for birth is - that knowledge is power, and knowing what and how to ask makes such a difference. They discuss communication with children and young people about birth and sex, and how the media can be so detrimental. For more information contact Sophie on @nurturing_birth on Instagram or Erin on @betterbirthuk. If you have any feedback or suggestions for the Nurturing Birth podcast then do reach out to us at info@nurturingbirth.co.uk

In this episode Sophie chats with Amy Simpson aka The Baby Activator. Amy shares how the birth of her daughter activated her to start working with families around fertility and conception with a particular interest in how the mind and body work together. Together they talk about the stories that people carry from childhood about pregnancy, the fear or shame many people carry, especially if they have had to made difficult decisions earlier in their lives. Amy talks about the relationship we have with our bodies and how fertility treatment is not just about a medical process. She talks about partners and how challenges around conception can impact relationships. Sophie shares how many parallels there are between the work Amy does with families "trying" to conceive and supporting families who have brought their new babies into the world. Find out more about Amy by following her on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amy_simpson_mind_body_baby/ or on her website, https://www.amysimpson.co.uk Follow Nurturing Birth on the website, Instagram or Facebook page Click here for upcoming doula courses

Sophie chats to Nurturing Birth Facilitator, Mentor and Doula, Charlotte Bailey about her work as a doula and how she landed in the role having worked in the third sector and as a student midwife. Charlotte talks about her passion for supporting the postnatal period, sharing her own experience of depression after the birth of her first baby, and how she had a completely different experience with her second. She shares the research and work she did to prepare for such a radically different experience and how she supports doula clients to have a positive fourth trimester. Together they talk about how cultural expectations come into play, how ill-prepared many new parents are in the UK, and how the media doesn't help. Charlotte shares three books which inspired her: The Fourth Trimester by Kimberley Ann Johnson, The First Forty Days by Heng Ou and The Postnatal Depletion Cure by Dr Oscar Serralach. They discuss how many people out there describe themselves as "experts" when it comes to babies, but that a new parent's inner wisdom is key. And, as doulas we can help new parents by signposting the evidence based information that supports what their intuition is telling them. They touch on the term Matrescence, which Charlotte has written a great piece on in the Nurturing Birth blogs. To find out more about Charlotte visit the Nurturing Birth Directory. Charlotte's website is https://birthwarriors.co.uk To find out more about Nurturing Birth visit our website, Instagram or Facebook page. Contact us on info@nurturingbirth.co.uk

Sophie chats with Nurturing Birth doula, Melanie Dunne, about the past two years, becoming a doula, setting up a doula business and having a new baby all at the same time! Melanie talks about experiences of supporting clients where the baby was born before arrival of midwives or health professionals (BBA). They discuss the boundaries of a doula's role when it comes to births where midwives are not present. Melanie shares what it has been like supporting other families as the mother of a new baby, her fifth, herself. To find out more about Melanie visit the Nurturing Birth Directory. Melanie's website is https://www.yorkshireoaksdoula.co.uk To find out more about Nurturing Birth visit our website, Instagram or Facebook page. Contact us on info@nurturingbirth.co.uk

Sophie chats with fellow Nurturing Birth Doula Course Facilitator Sam Sheppard about her journey into doulaing, how she went from knowing nothing about doulas to completing a doula course in less than two weeks! Sam shares about how she juggled home life, young children with birth and postnatal doula jobs, and why she is known as the Unapologetic Doula. Together they discuss the myth that doulas have to look a particular way and the expectations people have about doulas, especially that they are hippies. Finally, Sam and Sophie touch on some core themes around doulaing - around non-judgment, boundaries and clear expectations. Plus, the idea that doulas need to be superhuman, something they will return to in another episode. Click here to follow Sam on Instagram, or find out more on the Nurturing Birth team page To find out more about Nurturing Birth visit our website, Instagram or Facebook page. Contact us on info@nurturingbirth.co.uk

In this episode Sophie Brigstocke talks to doula and mentor, Simone Dyer about her journey into doulaing, her work with Dr Gowri Motha and her love of facilitating circles and communions for women and mothers. They talk about self-care, boundaries and the growing and learning that we do as doulas. Simone talks about how doulaing is not about rescuing and fixing, but empowering. She talks about how we are so keen for validation that "we often rob people of their lessons". Simone concludes by talking about how essential mentoring has been and is in her practice To find out more about Simone visit the mentor page or on the Nurturing Birth Directory Simone's website is https://themostsacredjourney.com To find out more about Nurturing Birth visit our website, Instagram or Facebook page. Contact us on info@nurturingbirth.co.uk

Sophie chats to Jade Gordon, a hypnotherapist in Scotland who runs Positive Induction. Jade shares her journey to doulaing via working in the oil and gas industry. They discuss the difference between being pro-induction and supporting people to have a positive induction experience. Jade talks about how doulas can support families to have positive induction experiences, including thinking about partners. They talk about the importance of informed decision making and the recognition that people still have choice during induction. Jade also highlights how important it is for doulas to process their own stories and personal experiences before working with families in induction situations as our "baggage" can come to the surface. To find out more about Jade go to https://positiveinduction.com For more about Nurturing Birth visit our website, Instagram or Facebook

Sophie is joined by Marius Griffin, an American doula based in Ireland (Belfast and Cork). Marius talks about her desire to become a doula from the 1990s and her experience birthing in California, where midwives were illegal at the time. Fast forward to 2020 and Marius took the last in-person course with Nurturing Birth prior to the pandemic. She talks about how she has been doulaing her community since that time. Finally, Marius talks about dispelling the myth that doulas need to have all the information, rather that they are experts in support. She talks about the difference between preparing for anything and preparing for everything. You can find out more about Marius on: Her listing on the Nurturing Birth Directory You can reach Marius on mothersong@protonmail.com For more about Nurturing Birth visit our website, Instagram or Facebook

Sophie Brigstocke talks to Bradford-based doula, Lorraine Pryce about starting a doula business in the pandemic and how she leapt in with both feet. Lorraine talks about the expectations people have for the postnatal period and why it is so important to be present for families. She explains what she means by holding space. They explore the myth that doulas don't support caesarean birth, and why there is almost more preparation work needed if someone is planning to have a caesarean. They share stories of caesarean births they have supported and some of the small, but significant, differences that can be made to make the experience family-centred. You can find out more about Lorraine at: https://www.mama2mama.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/mama2mamadoula https://www.facebook.com/mama2mamadoula/ Here's her listing on the Nurturing Birth Directory and if you want to know more about Lorraine as a doula mentor click here For more about Nurturing Birth visit our website, Instagram or Facebook

Sophie Brigstocke and Danielle Fox, a doula based near Cardiff, Wales, explore the myth that doulas are there to replace the partners at a birth. Danielle shares her journey into doulaing, having been a librarian for many years. She talks about her passion for supporting families in the postnatal period, especially having had such valuable support herself from her Jamaican family. Danielle shares stories of how doula support has made such a difference to the partners at births, giving them the confidence and space to be the best they can be. You can find out more about Danielle at: https://www.beautifullyblooming.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/beautifullybloomingpregnancy/ https://www.facebook.com/beautifullybloomingdoula/ Here's her listing on the Nurturing Birth Directory and if you want to know more about Danielle as a doula mentor click here For more about Nurturing Birth visit our website, Instagram or Facebook

Sophie Brigstocke talks about the reasons for creating this podcast and rumbles why so many people still don't know about doulas. Sophie shares about her discovery of doulas and how she stepped into doulaing. She talks about the imposter syndrome that almost held her back and the stories she told herself about what it meant to be a doula. She shares her vision that doulas be available for every person that wants or needs support in their pregnancy, birth and postnatal experiences. She sets out her desire to debunk the myths about doulas. If you want to know more about Nurturing Birth visit our website www.nurturingbirth.co.uk Follow us on Instagram or Facebook If you want to contact us email info@nurturingbirth.co.uk