Once you know the risk, what do you actually do with that information? In this episode, we get into the practical side of managing blood pressure after birth — from how often to monitor, which devices to trust, and what the numbers mean, to the limits of wearables and where the science is heading.

We also explore why cardiovascular disease remains the number one killer of women worldwide, how systemic bias in medical research has shaped the care women receive, and what a more connected, personalised postnatal system could look like. We close with something more personal — what a better start to motherhood actually feels like, in the words of two clinicians who've been through it themselves.

Resources mentioned

• Stride BP – Validated blood pressure devices for pregnancy: https://stridebp.org
• Action on Preeclampsia – UK charity for preeclampsia and blood pressure in pregnancy: https://action-on-pre-eclampsia.org.uk
• Preeclampsia Foundation – US-based resources and information: https://www.preeclampsia.org
• MEGI Health – FemTech startup focused on women's cardiovascular health: https://megihealth.com
• FIGO Pregnancy Passport – Tool for tracking pregnancy health information
• NHS 10-Year Plan – Healthcare transformation strategy

One in ten pregnant women develops high blood pressure during pregnancy — but what happens after the baby arrives is where the system too often falls short.

In this episode, we explore why postnatal hypertension is one of the most commonly missed windows in maternal care, how it can present silently with no obvious symptoms, and why the grey zone of responsibility after discharge leaves so many women without the support they need. We also talk about what it actually feels like to navigate this as a new mother, and why knowing the signs and advocating for yourself can make a real difference.

Resources mentioned:

• Stride BP – Validated blood pressure devices for pregnancy: https://stridebp.org

• Action on Preeclampsia – UK charity for preeclampsia and blood pressure in pregnancy: https://action-on-pre-eclampsia.org.uk

• Preeclampsia Foundation – US-based resources and information: https://www.preeclampsia.org
• MEGI Health – FemTech startup focused on women's cardiovascular health: https://megihealth.com
• FIGO Pregnancy Passport – Tool for tracking pregnancy health information
• NHS 10-Year Plan – Healthcare transformation strategy

In this episode, we’re joined by Kathryn Lovewell, self-compassion coach and founder of Kind Mind Academy, to explore the inner critic and why it so often becomes louder after motherhood. We talk about where this critical voice comes from, how parenting and expectations can amplify self-judgement, and why self-compassion is not about being soft or lowering standards, but about coping more effectively when things are hard. Together, we unpack the difference between constructive and destructive self-criticism, what the science tells us about how the inner critic affects our bodies, and why learning to respond differently to ourselves matters not just for mothers, but for the children who learn by watching us.

Timestamps

00:00 – Trailer: the inner critic and the pain beneath it
00:23 – Understanding the inner critic
01:21 – Kathryn’s journey into self-compassion
05:45 – The role of the inner voice in motherhood
13:14 – Constructive vs destructive self-criticism
16:27 – Recognising when the inner critic takes over
19:03 – Expectations, perfection, and self-judgement
22:44 – The science of self-compassion
29:10 – Embracing the inner critic as protective
34:41 – Self-compassion vs seeking support

Resources mentioned:

• Kind Mind Academy

• The Voices in My Head (children’s book by Kathryn Lovewell)

#motherhood #postnatalhealth #selfcompassion #mentalhealth #parenting #innercritic #womenshealth

High blood pressure affects one in ten pregnant women, but what many don't realise is that the risks often peak after birth—right when postnatal care becomes fragmented. In this episode, we sit down with Dr Frances Conti-Ramsden to explore why blood pressure monitoring matters postnatally, how the system currently fails to support new mothers, and what women can do to advocate for themselves. We discuss the realities of postnatal hypertension, the silent nature of high blood pressure, the gaps in GP and specialist care, and how technology and AI might bridge the divide. This is a conversation about empowerment, education, and building your A-team for the fourth trimester.

Resources:

• Stride BP – Validated blood pressure devices for pregnancy: https://stridebp.org
• Action on Preeclampsia – UK charity for preeclampsia and blood pressure in pregnancy: https://action-on-pre-eclampsia.org.uk
• Preeclampsia Foundation – US-based resources and information: https://www.preeclampsia.org
• MEGI Health – FemTech startup focused on women's cardiovascular health: https://megihealth.com
• FIGO Pregnancy Passport – Tool for tracking pregnancy health information
• NHS 10-Year Plan – Healthcare transformation strategy

In this episode, we talk with Claudia Radu, founder of Circe, the first digital platform connecting women to online group therapy. With an estimated 1 million women on NHS waitlists and wait times stretching up to 18 months, accessible mental health support has never been more urgent – especially for new mothers navigating isolation, hormonal shifts, and the weight of unmet expectations. We explore why group therapy is not only more affordable but often more effective than one-to-one support, how being there for others helps us heal ourselves, and why rebuilding community might be the missing piece in postnatal mental health care. Claudia also shares her personal journey through anxiety and OCD, what it means to build as a non-clinical founder, and why loneliness is as harmful to our health as smoking.

Resources mentioned

• Circe: https://hello-circe.com
• Circe on Instagram: @hello.circe
• Harvard Study on Adult Development (social connection and health): https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org

Postnatal mental health is often framed as something to be managed privately, one-to-one, and behind closed doors. In this conversation, we explore what gets missed when support is built around individuals rather than connection, why group therapy can work differently to traditional models, and how identity, diagnosis, and isolation shape the postnatal experience. We also look at what happens when mental health support is rooted in shared experience, careful matching, and community, rather than long waits and coping alone.

Timestamps:

00:37 - Why mental health support after birth often isn’t accessible02:01 - What Circe is building and why group therapy matters05:32 - Why group therapy works differently to one-to-one care06:46 - How community-based group therapy actually works16:35 - Lived experience, diagnosis, and finding people who understand24:33 - Building mental health services beyond the clinical model30:38 - Community, loneliness, and what history gets right37:52 - When to seek help and the role of partners41:39 - Final reflections on being there for each other

Resources mentioned:

• Circe: ⁠https://www.hello-circe.com/⁠

• NHS Talking Therapies (England): ⁠https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/talking-therapies/⁠

• Harvard Study of Adult Development: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KkKuTCFvzI⁠

  
  

  #postnatalhealth #maternalmentalhealth #motherhood #womenshealth #mentalhealth #postnatalcare #communitycare

Pregnancy after loss doesn’t end when the baby arrives.For many women, that’s when the emotional weight finally surfaces.

In this episode writer and advocate Seetal Savla shares her full journey through miscarriage, IVF, donor conception, pregnancy after loss, and early motherhood - including the parts that are rarely spoken about.

We explore:

• Pregnancy after loss - anxiety, fear, and living with constant uncertainty
• IVF and fertility treatment - why it often feels overwhelming and isolating
• Community and support - what actually helps, and what unintentionally hurts
• Parenting after loss - gratitude pressure, postnatal struggles, and matrescence
• Fertility and miscarriage at work - culture, disclosure, and psychological safety

Resources mentioned

• Big Fat Negative: https://www.bigfatnegative.com
• Happy Mum Happy Baby: https://happymumhappybaby.com
• Fertility Matters at Work: https://fertilitymattersatwork.com/
• Seetal Savla (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/seetalsavla/
• Seetal (LinkTree): https://linktr.ee/seetalsavla

Timestamps:

00:00 – Trailer: “I was expected to be strongest when I felt weakest”
01:05 – Intro: Seetal Savla and why this conversation matters
01:57 – Seetal’s story begins: first pregnancy and early loss
03:28 – IVF, NHS funding, private treatment and repeated failures
04:52 – Donor conception decisions and COVID uncertainty
05:46 – Miscarriage after donor IVF and navigating care abroad
06:43 – Pregnancy after loss: fear, secrecy and anxiety
07:50 – Parenting after loss and reproductive trauma resurfacing
09:03 – Navigating fertility treatment without guidance or support
11:49 – Finding community: Instagram and TTC spaces
13:52 – Family, culture and the limits of well-meaning support
16:19 – Gratitude pressure after birth and postnatal reality
18:24 – Sleeplessness, breastfeeding struggles and identity shift
19:33 – What actually helped during the darkest moments
20:28 – Why birth isn’t the finish line - it’s the start
22:09 – Matrescence, grief and mourning your old self
23:54 – Postnatal support, doulas and cultural care models
25:51 – How to support someone well (and what not to say)
34:26 – Fertility, miscarriage and the workplace
39:57 – Why workplace culture matters more than policies
41:35 – Are employers improving support for fertility and loss?
45:47 – Turning pain into purpose through sharing
49:04 – “Rainbow baby” and the complexity of hope narratives
51:25 – What a better start to motherhood really means
54:34 – Practical postnatal support and realistic preparation
54:58 – Where to find Seetal and her work
58:05 – Closing reflections

Parenting isn’t just about raising children - it’s also about coming face to face with yourself.

In this episode of The Motherhood Clinic Podcast, parenting coach Shilpa joins us for an honest, thoughtful conversation about emotional triggers, boundaries, and what it really means to parent with intention.

We explore how children’s big emotions can surface unresolved feelings in parents, why modern parenting feels uniquely challenging, and how awareness - not perfection - is often the missing piece.

This isn’t about blame or “doing it right”. It’s about understanding what’s happening beneath the surface, for both you and your child.

We explore:

• Why children’s emotions feel so triggering to parents

• How emotional awareness changes the way we parent

• The idea of “growing together” rather than fixing behaviour

• Boundaries, discipline, and responsibility - without shame

• How parents can stay centred in emotionally charged moments

Parenting on purpose doesn’t mean getting it right every time.
It means noticing what’s happening, learning from it, and adjusting as you go.

Postnatal recovery looks very different around the world.In many cultures, food isn’t just nourishment, it’s part of healing.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Lucy Lam, we explore Chinese confinement foods and the principles behind them; from “hot vs cold” to why recovery is often split into two distinct phases after birth. Lucy shares how these traditions show up across Asia, and what it looks like to adapt them to modern life in the UK.

We explore:

• How confinement foods are designed to support recovery, digestion, and replenishment
• The “hot, cold, and neutral” food framework — and how to interpret it practically
• What postnatal care looks like in places like Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore
• Why rigid rules don’t always help — and how Lucy adapted confinement to protect her mental health
• Realistic ways to take the principles of confinement and make them work at home

This episode isn’t about following tradition perfectly.It’s about asking what new mothers need after birth - and what we might learn from cultures that take recovery more seriously.🎧 Listen to The Motherhood Clinic Podcast — real, honest conversations about postnatal care, recovery, and support.

Chapters:

00:00 Episode trailer

01:10 Confinement across different cultures

06:45 Hot vs cold foods — what it actually means

14:30 The two phases of confinement eating

22:10 Signature dishes and common misconceptions

31:40 Adapting confinement for real life (and mental health)

44:10 Making postnatal recovery more intentional

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://www.lucylovestoeat.com

Chinese postnatal confinement is a 4–6 week tradition centred on rest, community support, and warming foods. It’s a practice that has existed for hundreds of years across East and Southeast Asia - but one that many people in the UK may never have heard of.

In this episode, we speak to a good friend and confinement cook Lucy Lam, who grew up seeing confinement as an old-fashioned idea… until she tried it after the birth of her second child. Lucy shares what the practice looked like for her, why she decided to give it a go, and how her own recovery felt the second time around.

This conversation isn’t medical advice or a recommendation - it’s an exploration of a cultural tradition that places the mother at the centre of care. We discuss:

• what confinement is (and what it isn’t)
• why so many mothers in the UK describe feeling unsupported after birth
• Lucy’s personal recovery experiences across her first and second births
• how parents adapt confinement today in a modern UK setting
• why women from many backgrounds are curious about traditions that prioritise rest and community care

Every postnatal journey is unique. Our aim is to open up honest conversations about what different cultures do to support mothers - and what we can learn from them.

#ChineseConfinement #PostnatalCare #PostpartumCare #AfterBirth #MotherhoodJourney

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Confinement: Definition and Cultural Significance

01:25 The Role of Family in Confinement Practices

02:42 Modern Challenges: Confinement in the UK

05:07 Practical Solutions: Hiring Doulas and Meal Services

07:13 Benefits of Confinement: Traditional Chinese Medicine Perspective

15:03 The Importance of Confinement for Long-Term Health

17:28 Personal Journey: From Skeptic to Believer

27:26 Transforming Experience into a Business

34:31 Connecting with the Community and Future Plans

🔗 Resources & Links in This Episode:

• Lucy’s recipes and blog: www.lucylovestoeat.com