Newcastle North PCN

Calm Your Baby is a short podcast series created by Carrie Eckersley, a dietitian with the Newcastle North Primary Care Network, and aimed at parents of young babies experiencing common feeding and digestive symptoms, including reflux, colic, crying, feeding difficulties, and suspected CMPA.

The series is designed to:

• Reduce anxiety and confusion around normal infant development
• Support practical, evidence-based feeding approaches
• Reduce unnecessary medicalisation and medication use where appropriate
• Help parents understand when symptoms are normal - and when further review is needed

Each episode is less than five minutes long and uses calm, accessible language to explain:

• What reflux and colic actually are
• Why babies cry and become unsettled
• What CMPA looks like (and what it often doesn’t)
• How feeding patterns and overfeeding can affect symptoms
• Practical strategies such as paced feeding and feeding optimisation
• Red flags and when to seek medical support

Understanding Your Gut is a patient education podcast series created by Carrie Eckersley, the dietitian from the Newcastle North Primary Care Network, and is primarily for people experiencing common digestive symptoms such as:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is less than 8 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics include:

• IBS explained simply 
• Bloating and gas 
• Constipation and diarrhoea 
• Food, FODMAPs and digestion 
• Eating patterns and meal timing 
• The gut–brain connection 
• Gluten, coeliac disease and food intolerances 
• Diverticular disease vs IBS 
• And red flag symptoms requiring further assessment 

Understanding Your Gut

Understanding Your Gut is a patient-education podcast series for people experiencing common digestive symptoms, including:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is approximately 10 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics Covered in this episode: -

👉 What diverticular disease actually is

👉 Over-restricting your diet

👉 Fear around eating

👉 Misunderstanding fibre

👉 When to seek medical advice.

Understanding Your Gut

Understanding Your Gut is a patient-education podcast series for people experiencing common digestive symptoms, including:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is approximately 10 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics Covered in this episode: -

👉weight loss 

👉 blood in stool 

👉 anaemia 

👉 persistent change 

👉 nocturnal symptoms 

👉 fluctuating symptoms 

👉 food-related bloating 

👉 stress links 

Understanding Your Gut

Understanding Your Gut is a patient-education podcast series for people experiencing common digestive symptoms, including:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is approximately 10 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics Covered in this episode: -

👉• “I must be allergic” → usually not 

👉 Gluten: 

o coeliac vs sensitivity 

👉 Fats don’t “cause IBS” but can affect movement 

👉 UPFs → context, not panic 

Understanding Your Gut

Understanding Your Gut is a patient-education podcast series for people experiencing common digestive symptoms, including:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is approximately 10 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics Covered in this episode: -

👉 Brain ↔ gut communication 

👉 Stress = sensitivity + movement changes 

👉 Symptoms are real, not “in your head” 

Understanding Your Gut

Understanding Your Gut is a patient-education podcast series for people experiencing common digestive symptoms, including:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is approximately 10 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics Covered in this episode: -

👉• Regular meals 

👉 Not arriving at evening starving 😉 

👉 Portion size + spacing 

👉 Fluids 

👉 Fibre (gentle, not extreme) 

Understanding Your Gut

Understanding Your Gut is a patient-education podcast series for people experiencing common digestive symptoms, including:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is approximately 10 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics Covered in this episode: -

👉Not “bad foods” 

👉 It’s about: 

o absorption 

o overflow 

o fermentation 

Understanding Your Gut

Understanding Your Gut is a patient-education podcast series for people experiencing common digestive symptoms, including:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is approximately 10 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics Covered in this episode: -

👉 What controls bowel habits 

👉 Constipation: 

o slow movement 

o medications 

o low intake / irregular eating 

👉 Diarrhoea: 

o fast transit 

o osmotic effect (unabsorbed carbs) 

Understanding Your Gut

Understanding Your Gut is a patient-education podcast series for people experiencing common digestive symptoms, including:

• bloating 
• abdominal discomfort 
• constipation 
• diarrhoea 
• food-related gut symptoms 
• IBS and functional bowel symptoms 

The series is designed to explain gut symptoms in a simple, reassuring and evidence-based way.

Each episode is approximately 10 minutes long and focuses on helping patients understand:

• How the gut works 
• why symptoms happen 
• How food, stress, routine and gut sensitivity interact 
• When symptoms are common and manageable 
• and when medical review is important 

Topics Covered in this episode: -

👉 Gas production = normal 

👉 Why some people feel it more 

👉 Role of: 

• fermentation 
• sensitivity 

👉 Why “cutting everything out” isn’t the answer