The First Six Months

Helen Duff is a brilliant comedian (@duffmarvel) and VoiceOver artist (enjoy her dulcet tones) who brings to The First Six Months a vast array of topics as she shares her experiences, whilst heavily pregnant with her next one. We talk about prolapses, mastitis, other cultures honouring new mothers rather than hiding them away and many, many other things. 

Minia is a massage therapist who lives in Bristol with her partner and her six year old daughter. We talk about the joy of being surrounded by women, dislocating her arm within the first two weeks, having a fabulous birth despite bits of placenta being left inside and the realisation that despite being committed to breastfeeding, she just wanted her breasts to be hers again. 

#birth #sixmonths #placenta #IVF #miraclebaby #Bristol #mums #instagrammums #life #mothering 

Margaret Cabourn Smith is a podcaster and actress and mother to two children. She talks about how she found the first six months really, really hard and how she kept Bridget Christie and Lucy Montgomery's names written down to remind her that people had had children and managed to have a career in comedy. We talk about the contradiction of how any minute spent with your child is not a wasted minute but also that there’s a lot of time to fill when you have a baby.

#mcs #crushed #Margaret #Sixmonths #baby #mama #lifelessons #fog #delights 

Jay Lafferty discusses all things IVF, fear of a C-Section, going back to work almost immediately and how one of the less talked about aftereffects of birth can be blood clots in your vajayjay. Always a pleasure to speak to one of my favourite Edinburgh comedy pals. 

#bloodclots #firstsixmonths #baby #mum #backtowork #csection #IVF 

Alyssa Kyria is a fantastic comic who performs as The Funny Mummy around the UK. Married to Will with one daughter Lola, Alyssa talks about the ups an downs of her first six months, including her panic at the sudden realisation that children are forever. She also opens up about her depression and the support she received from a Mental Health Midwife. 
@thefunnymummyuk 

Melissa Jacques is one of the UKs West End Royalty and also mum to two girls. She talks about juggling Mamma Mia and a new baby, the kindness of custard creams and how if they are the only person awake, you need to call Mary Poppins. 

@melissajacques

Ali is the local Sing and Sign leader in Edinburgh, where Pippa lives. Ali is married with three children and talks all things mastitis, PND and deciding to have more children when the first-first six months is so tricky. We also agree that Sleep When The Baby Sleeps is the most annoying advice. 

Whilst at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Pippa went to see Good Luck, Cathrine Frost - a brilliant show about pregnancy, miscarriage and motherhood which somehow manages to talk about all these things with a lightness and a seriousness, whilst spanking Socrates on the bottom. Pippa leapt at the chance to interview Cathrine about her First Six Months and to discuss some of the themes of the show. 
If you have a chance to see her performances at Edinburgh Fringe 2024, you can book tickets here https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/good-luck-cathrine-frost

#pregnancy #theatre #miscarriage #socrates #bonding #love #sixmonths #birth #motherhood #csection 

Content Warning: Difficult birth

Pippa talks to Sophie about a tricky birth, body autonomy and uncovering health issues later in life that may have impacted those first six months.

TW: Miscarriage

In this episode, Pippa talks to Gemma about having a baby in a different country, sleep deprivation and the fear that comes when you have experienced multiple losses; how it can feel impossible to believe this pregnancy is going to make it. 
They also discuss, at length, piles and what to do about them.