For Modern Mothers Podcast

This podcast is with a the very wonderful and very experienced Anne Gledhill-Myhill.

Anne is a specialist in fertility, pregnancy and women’s health. She's a professional and fully qualified acupuncturist as well as being a private midwife, plus lots more besides

She specialises in working with people who are struggling with fertility issues or in pregnancy and also afterwards too. We chat about the growing body of evidence around acupuncture in pregnancy, as well as how acupuncture can help you with fertility support when trying to conceive too.

Anne has such a lot of knowledge and wisdom to share, I hope you enjoy the episode.

Find out all about Anne on her website here too:

https://www.annegledhill-myhill.com/

Unsolicited advice. 

It comes thick and fast once you’ve had a baby (and even in pregnancy too). Everyone has an opinion, AND they want to tell you about it!

This podcast episode is all about ways to deal with all that advice you never asked for - that can leave you feeling overwhelmed, or that you're  ‘not good enough’ as a mother (that's BS by the way).

This podcast was inspired by conversations we had a couple of weeks ago in my Pregnancy Yoga and Mum & Baby Yoga classes. Find out more about them here: www.formodernmothers.com

Enjoy the episode, and don't forget to subscribe too. And if you want to leave a review that would be even better.

Just to say sorry about the sound recording on this episode, I just used my phone and not my pro microphone and you can tell!!

Susan x

A guided meditation to help you to pause and connect you to nature and the season.

To pause and feel into your connect to what is all around you. That beauty, that wonder, that magnificence that is always there if we take the time to see it and to feel part of it.

Nature is always changing, evolving, letting go, surrendering, adapting and revealing to us how it is to be alive. By being more present in nature we can experience being more fully alive. The potential to bloom and open, to grow and flourish, all that you perceive in nature are all present within you. With the meditation I hope to invite you to do this, to notice and be present.

Nature can also support our intention to be present. To be absorbed in this moment as it is, engaging with all of life.

Enjoy your pause in nature.

Recorded in late Spring (May 2022).

I am so delighted to have a really brilliant guest for you in this episode. Debs Neiger is a very experienced independent midwife, an author, and also a creative maker of birth art and unique hand screenprinted clothing and merch for birth workers too. 

She offers individualised, independent and bespoke midwifery care to women, birthing people and families that is family-centred and always unique bespoke to you and your needs. We chat about lots of things, with a lot of focus on postnatal care and how it could and should be so much better than women and birthing people currently get within the system and why that is really so important. And also about:

~ what is an independent midwife?

~ how you support team is really important

~ authoring a book "AIMS Guide to Giving Birth to Your Baby"

~ Matrescence

~ Postnatal depletion, postnatal expectations vs reality

~ Postnatal care within the NHS and how this differs considerably in it's scope and support with a private midwife

Having been a midwife for over 20 years Debs says she is "now even more convinced that a person’s pregnancy, birth and postnatal experience has the potential to be highly transformative, joyful and empowering. However I am also deeply conscious of the fact that sometimes pregnancy or birthing a baby can be the catalyst for physical, emotional or spiritual difficulties, and I am committed to walk alongside you through the sometimes hard to navigate muddle that early parenthood can bring."

We had a really good chat, that possibly went into a bit of a rant about postnatal care (necessary in both of our opinions) - but we both managed not to swear which I feel is a huge win!! 

Enjoy the episode, and we'd love to hear your own thoughts and feedback too of course

Susan x

Do check out her on social media, she shares SO much great information, wisdom and inspiration. Her Instagram feed is a real breath of fresh air. Find out more about Debs and all of her brilliant work and services here:

https://www.debsneigerindependentmidwife.co.uk/

Her book The AIMS Guide to Giving Birth to Your Baby https://shop.aims.org.uk/products/aims-guide-to-giving-birth-to-your-baby

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debsagos/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.neiger/ 

This is a guided meditation to help you sleep. or get back to sleep.

I know so many pregnant women and mothers struggle with sleep, so this is a guided relaxation (called a yoga nidra - which actually translates as 'yogic sleep') that can help. Even if you don't get to sleep (or wake again) then know that you've had some calming and restful time by simply listening to this and giving your busy mind a chance to calm a little and your body to rest.

I hope it helps, and of course let me know how you find it

Susan x

I am delighted to have a guest of the podcast who, like me, is a twin mother! 

Flora Croft is a poet, a psychotherapist and a mother of twins. She's just released her debut book of poetry 'I am a Spider Mother' through the brilliant Mum Poem Press (a publishing house who exclusively publish work by mothers and about motherhood - how very brilliant!)

This groundbreaking book of poetry is a unique creative exploration of twin motherhood, but also of identity as a mother, transformation, vulnerability, pregnancy, infertility and IVF and also the relationship between grandmother, mother and children too. Basically the poems and themes are so relevant to all mothers.

We chat about creativity in motherhood and about writing as a vessel for this, how Flora got into poetry and how it is much more accessible than it may be perceived from the outside - especially for mothers. How the act of getting words down on paper in some way can be so cathartic as well as creative. 

We discuss identity change and transition as a mother, and how it is not always easy, fun or enjoyable - and it's OK to feel that way. That it’s ok to not enjoy mothering - it can be hard, it can be boring, it can be tedious, but that doesn't mean you don't love your child. You can love your baby or children without loving all the domestic work mothering entails.  But also please know that if you get to the point where you’re constantly low and feel unable to bond with your baby, or you have distressing thoughts about hurting yourself or your baby, then contact your GP for professional support as soon as possible to get the support you need.

Flora also shares some of her favourite poets that inspire her, and that may inspire you too. And I was delighted she agreed to read two very beautiful poems from her book too - which are really stunning. I am sure you'll find them so moving, I really did.

Find out more about Flora at:

https://floracruftpoet.wordpress.com

Instagram @poet.therapist.baker

And you can find out more about the brilliant Mum Poem Press, where you can give writing poetry a go with their 'The Mum Poet Club' - a writing group for parents who write poetry. And of course where you can head to pre-order Flora's book I Am A Spider Mother too:

https://themumpoempress.com/collections/shop

Instagram: @themumpoempress

You can find out more about my Blank Page - Journalling For Welling online course here too: https://www.yogaformodernlife.com/online-courses

The idea of striving to be a 'perfect' mother is something that so many women struggle with. We can feel this need to that we need to do everything well, do everything perfectly (whatever that actually is??) and that will benefit out babies and children. I was looking at this in online course The Truth About Early Motherhood, and also it came up with a coaching client earlier this week too.

So this podcast is going to dispel that myth, that BS - that we need to be 'perfect' mothers, when actually being a 'good enough' mother is better for both us and our babies! Take a listen to find out about the concept of the 'good enough' mother. I also share some ideas and techniques that can help support you if you find letting go of perfectionism hard and want to try to be more at ease with your imperfections (note: they are golden). And there's a lovely guided meditation to end this podcast too.

Enjoy!

Susan x

Questions to journal on from the podcast:

1) What would change in your experience of mothering if you did not have to be perfect?

2) Where/when are you being hard on yourself?

3) Where/when could you be easier and gentler on yourself?

4) What is stopping you from doing this?

Show notes:

Selfish Mother - amazing TShirts by Molly Gunn

Coaching with me here  

The Truth About Early Motherhood online course

More about Kintsugi (Japanese pottery mended with gold)

Leonard Cohen - Anthem

Phillippa Perry, The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)

I had a really brilliant chat with Bethan of HotTea Mama, and we covered SO much! From natural ways to support your body as a woman through the power of plants - from fertility, through pregnancy, to menopause.

We also talk about:

~ making big life and career changes - about setting up a brand new business with small children and on maternity leave

~ leaving a steady job to jump into something brand new

~ employing mothers - because they are a brilliant talent and also so darn efficient

~ flexible working for mothers and parents

~ the work / family juggle

~ setting up a female founded & female focussed business

Show links:

Find all the brilliant teas and learn more about them at https://www.hotteamama.com/

Follow them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hotteamama 

Link to the NHS website about herbal and green tea in pregnancy - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/foods-to-avoid-pregnant.aspx/close

Life coaching for transitions in your life, or when you just feel stuck or stagnated, with me - https://www.yogaformodernlife.com/coaching

And don't forget to subscribe to the For Modern Mothers Podcast for the latest conversations on all things modern motherhood. And it would be AMAZING if you could leave a review with your podcast provider - and we all know that algorithms bring people to podcasts and reviews are a big part of that.  

Enjoy the episode, and as ever get in touch with any questions or feedback too. As well as ideas for future episodes that you want me to explore are always welcome too.

Susan x

I'm back after a bit of a gap - more on that in the Podcast. This episode is all about Baby's brain development, and as a total neuroscience geek this is utterly fascinating to me. But don't worry, there's nothing too sciencey in terms of jargon! Just some super interesting stuff about how your babys brain develops so much AFTER they are born (unlike many other mammals). I talk about how the 'nature / nurture' debate is outdated, and how the physical and importantly the social environment you create for you baby is really important for setting their brain for the rest of their life. Over all this is about love, and how simple intuitive things we do with babys (like cuddling, holding, talking and engaging with them is all part of evolutions master plan - you can't do any of it too much).

Here's the books I mention too at the end of the episode as promised:

"Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby's Brain" by Sue Gerhardt

"A General Theory of Love" by Thomas Lewis et al

"How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain" by Lisa Feldman Barrett 

I hope you enjoy the episode, and of course please let me know any questions of feedback. And if you would like to leave a review that would be amazing, as it helps other folk get to hear it too (reviews boost all about that algorithm schizz)

Susan x

My guest in this episode is the extremely knowledgeable Kate Codrington. Kate is a very experienced womens health therapist, and an expert in all things menstrual cycle, periods, perimenopause and menopause.  

In this episode we chat all about mothers and menstrual cycle, parenting and periods. Because you have available to you a simple yet amazingly valuable tool to make your life as a mother easier, less stressful, calmer and more connected - all through connection to your menstrual cycle. Yes really! It can have a big impact in terms of your energy levels, your emotions, your sleeps - so much is affected by our cycle. It’s something I am personally fascinated by. I think from listening to this episode you may well have quite a few ‘aha’ moments. It's super easy to do, costs nothing, and Kate talks you through it simply in our chat.

We recorded this a little while ago, it was such fun to do. I’ve just listened back to it and I have to say it's a real corker of an episode. I mean we even get a Radiohead reference in there!I hope you enjoy it. 

Thing we talk about:

~ the big picture, and the fact we are not linear. That we as humans are cyclical, just as plants and animals and nature are too. And how a way to tap into the cyclical nature of the world is by connecting with our own inner cycles and our menstrual cycle. 

~ how can your menstrual cycle be a practical tool for mothering. If you listen to your body, you ‘ll be better rested, less stressed, less pain, more energetic, more creative, and calmer in your relationships too. Pretty bold statement! 

~ how tracking your energy and mood through your cycle, using a paper chart (link below) or a free app can help you to see a pattern, and then you can anticipate and learn what you need to support yourself. Which means you can be more present to, and mother more effectively, the children you care for. 

~ how a connection to your period enables you to mother more easily, more wholly and is a way to model self-care for your own children. 

~ the ‘seasonal’ model of the menstrual cycle - Summer, Spring. Autumn, Winter 

~ the importance of rest at certain times of your cycle 

~ we talk about loads of practices that I really and do love myself - journaling, restorative yoga, rest, yoga nidra, eating chocolate!. 

Show links:

Find Kate here:

https://www.instagram.com/kate_codrington/

Enjoy the episode, and as ever get in touch with any questions or feedback too. As well as ideas for future episodes that you want me to explore are always welcome too.

Susan x