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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]