In this episode I chat to the wonderful Emily, who reached out to me over instagram wanting to share her positive birth story! Emily, a first time mum, decided to have a home birth, and explains the prep she did in pregnancy, as well as how she handled her birth. It's such a wonderful (and funny!) story that I hope reassures any parent hoping for a home birth!

Emily Baker is a secondary school teacher and first time mum and gave birth to her son Stanley at home in July this year. After a really positive antenatal and homebirth experience with the NHS, Emily is now training to be a Hypnobirthing Instructor. Emily wanted to share her birth story in the hopes of inspiring other pregnant people in the same way that she felt so inspired by this podcast throughout pregnancy. Emily used her acting training as well as her birth education and research to have a successful physiological homebirth; using vocal techniques, breath work, focus and visualising her baby's journey throughout labour. Her HB insta handle is @bake.yourbirth

In this episode I chat to Nico, the husband of my previous guest and client Anna! He speaks about his experience of her first pregnancy and birth, the trauma of the lack of empathic and informed care and support, and the helplessness he felt as a birth partner, which led them both to book on a course with me. He explains the impact of being educated had on their second pregnancy and birth, and shares his pearls of wisdom on the key things a birth partner should do to be the best support they can be. In Nico's words:

"I'm Nico, father to two wonderful children, both of whom came into the world under very different circumstances. The first pregnancy was riddled with misinformation and coercion, and for the second we wanted to be even more prepared. There is not a wealth of information available on how the birth partner can be of help, so I wanted to share my experience of the two pregnancies, what I learned, what are some red flags, and how best to help your person carrying your baby."

In this episode I chat to Dr Alice Keely PhD about pregnancy and birth when you're classed as having a high BMI. We discuss what challenges a pregnant person may face when plus sized, the recommendations and interventions that may be offered, how your "high risk" label may influence recommendations around birth place and choices, and how to achieve the birth you deserve!

Dr Alice Keely is a PhD midwife with more than 20 years experience and a passion for helping plus size women have happy pregnancies. As the Heavyweight Midwife she has supported hundreds of women to be empowered for their unique journeys, confident in the knowledge that the being plus size size not make your pregnancy is ‘high risk’! You can find her at https://theheavyweightmidwife.com or on socials as the Heavyweight Midwife.

I chat to doula and co-founder of physiological birth week, Julie-Ann. We discuss what physiological birth is, why we need a whole week to raise awareness and celebrate it, and how to achieve a physiological birth if that's what you wish for.

Julie-Ann is a doula and birth keeper, who studied Midwifery for almost 3 years before leaving to remain a Doula full-time. She co-founded physiological birth week with birth keeper Kemi Johnson. You can find Julie-Ann at https://www.northamptonshiredoula.com/ or on social media @julie_ann_the_doula

I welcome the fabulous midwife Kelly back on to the podcast for the low down on growth charts and scans! We discuss what a growth chart is and why we measure baby's size, the different types of "small babies", why some may be cause for concern and others not at all, big babies and why they may not be so scary, and inaccuracies of fundal height measurements, scans and plotting averages on charts.

Disclaimer: The information and provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute medical or legal advice; instead, all information available on this site are for general informational purposes only. We reserve the right to supplement, change or delete any information at any time. The information and materials on the podcast is provided "as is"; no representations are made that the content is error-free. Whilst we have tried to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information we do not warrant or guarantee the accurateness. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the content of the podcast are hereby expressly disclaimed. Your use of content contained in or linked to this podcast is entirely at your own risk. The Better Birth podcast accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on the content.

I chat to Maeve and her midwife Daisy about how she achieved an empowering and positive birth. Maeve is a 32 year old first time mum who gave birth in June 2024. She is passionate about holistic health and the practice of yoga, which drew her to travel to Bali 8 years ago, where she met her husband. Maeve lives between Bali and the UK and is now exploring birth work after her amazing birth of her first child.

I chat to Vanessa D'Souza, Masterchef semi-finalist, autism and ADHD awareness campaigner, and new mother. We discuss her experience of pregnancy, and why being AuDHD and navigating antenatal care, advice and recommendations can be hugely challenging, and how she prepared for and handled discussions around induction and risk with obstetricians. She tells me about going to almost 43 weeks pregnant and the discussions had with doctors, lack of information and up to date evidence, and how her autism meant she was better clued up than most in order to advocate for herself and her baby!

You can find Vanessa on social media @The.Autistic.Chef

I chat to client Anna about why she chose to do a hypnobirthing course with me, her VBAC journey navigating the NHS maternity system, and what happened when she gave birth!

Disclaimer: The information and provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute medical or legal advice; instead, all information available on this site are for general informational purposes only. We reserve the right to supplement, change or delete any information at any time. The information and materials on the podcast is provided "as is"; no representations are made that the content is error-free. Whilst we have tried to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information we do not warrant or guarantee the accurateness. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the content of the podcast are hereby expressly disclaimed. Your use of content contained in or linked to this podcast is entirely at your own risk. The Better Birth podcast accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on the content.

I chat to doula Caz Sayles about how she started in doula work, what the role of the doula is (and isn't!) and the highs and lows of birth work. You can find Caz at https://www.cazsayles.co.uk or on Instagram and Facebook at @cazsayles_doula

Disclaimer: The information and provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute medical or legal advice; instead, all information available on this site are for general informational purposes only. We reserve the right to supplement, change or delete any information at any time. The information and materials on the podcast is provided "as is"; no representations are made that the content is error-free. Whilst we have tried to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information we do not warrant or guarantee the accurateness. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the content of the podcast are hereby expressly disclaimed. Your use of content contained in or linked to this podcast is entirely at your own risk. The Better Birth podcast accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on the content.

Disclaimer: The information and provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute medical or legal advice; instead, all information available on this site are for general informational purposes only. We reserve the right to supplement, change or delete any information at any time. The information and materials on the podcast is provided "as is"; no representations are made that the content is error-free. Whilst we have tried to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information we do not warrant or guarantee the accurateness. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the content of the podcast are hereby expressly disclaimed. Your use of content contained in or linked to this podcast is entirely at your own risk. The Better Birth podcast accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on the content.

In this episode I chat to Stephanie Ernst, founder of the TAPS Support Foundation, about monochorionic twins and the complications they may experience. Monochorionic twins, often referred to as identical twins, can experience more complications compared to dichorionic twins (fraternal), and Stephanie talks us through the chances of these twins experiencing conditions such as TTTS, TAPS and fetal growth restriction. We discuss the ways these babies may be monitored for these conditions, the pathways of care if they're diagnosed, and the potential outcomes.

Stephanie Ernst facilitates conversations between parents and professionals about the unique needs of complicated twins and multiple birth families and their challenges. Founder of TAPS Support, and experienced twin parent, her passion is breaking down medical jargon and ensuring that people have quality information about multiple births from before birth, to beyond the NICU.  You can find her charity at https://www.tapssupport.com

Disclaimer: The information and provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute medical or legal advice; instead, all information available on this site are for general informational purposes only. We reserve the right to supplement, change or delete any information at any time. The information and materials on the podcast is provided "as is"; no representations are made that the content is error-free. Whilst we have tried to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information we do not warrant or guarantee the accurateness. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the content of the podcast are hereby expressly disclaimed. Your use of content contained in or linked to this podcast is entirely at your own risk. The Better Birth podcast accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever arising out of the use or reliance on the content.