The Hello Baby Podcast

This episode touches on the world of Fetal Medicine (not feral medicine or fatal medicine, as my computer would love to have me type!). I talk to Chloe about complications diagnosed during her first trimester scan, when she was pregnant with her son Ted. We delve into what it means when your baby is classified as high risk for chromosomal and structural abnormalities, the tests available to you and what she did to get through it. 

Some things you might find interesting or helpful: 

• Fetal medicine is a mad and complex world. It turns out a lot of things can "go wrong" when a baby is being made (although thankfully most things are rare). If you find yourself having a tricky pregnancy or want to understand more, myself and Chloe would really recommend the charity Antenatal Results and Choices, or ARC. They are extremely knowledgeable and can hook you up with appropriate support in what can be a baffling time. 
• ARC have useful information about all the tests available on their site and you can read about first trimester screening programmes here. 
• This is Kypros Nicolaides who Chloe saw at the Fetal Medicine Centre.
• Check out this interesting Guardian article by Zoe Williams "Unspeakable grief: breaking the silence around termination for medical reasons." 

Find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.

In this episode I talk to Sam Valentine about the birth of her daughter. Sam's experience of hypnobirthing was key (in fact, it lead her to train as a hypnobirthing instructor!); rather than using it to zone out, the techniques were crucial in helping her stay focussed and "in the room" when things didn't go to plan. Sam's story demonstrates the importance of finding your voice, listening to it and using it. You don't have to be an expert to get the respect you deserve in the birthing room; this episode will leave you with some strong knowledge on questions to ask, and how to make decisions about your care (even if you have no intention of doing hypnobirthing!).

Sam is also co-founder of Dotte (https://www.wearedotte.com/) a full circle remedy to the fastest area of fashion: kids' clothing. Sell your kids' outgrown items, browse for awesome new ones, package off unwearable bits for recycling and give yourself a pat on the back for your positive impact on the environment. Sign up to Dotte with the code HELLOBABY and you'll receive £5 cashback to spend online, plus lovely Sam and Louise will donate £5 to PANDAS Foundation. Thanks guys! 

Some things you might find useful: 

• Hypnobirthing: there are so many practitioners / books / courses out there and not all of them are good. Local to East London I recommend The Hypnobirthing Midwife (who also has as an awesome new-ish book out). Further afield I would ask pals for local recommendations, chat to the teacher yourself, and get an understanding of their attitude towards interventions like C-sections and epidurals. If they claim none of their clients have C-sections... well... I call bullshit..! Holly de Cruz's book is also recommended. 
• As ever you can read up on guidelines on NICE, RCOG and RCM websites; but do remember that guidelines aren't always based on top quality evidence. For a reality check take a look at AIMS, Sara Wickham, Birthrights. 
• BRAINS is a great mnemonic to help you make decisions about your care. If you are faced with something you're not sure about (e.g. an intervention) you could ask... What are the Benefits? What are the Risks? What does your Intuition tell you? What happens if we do Nothing? And last of all... ask your questions with a Smile to keep the oxytocin flowing, (and the caregivers on side!). 

Find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.

In this episode I talk to Beth about the birth of her daughter Isla. We talk birth: long early labours, FINALLY getting the golden ticket into the hospital, epidurals, episiotomies and instrumentals. We talk birth trauma: the mind-bending double whammy of a postpartum haemorrhage + a baby admitted to special care.

But the main thing we talk about is mental health. Beth is very candid about the difficulties she experienced postnatally, mainly birth trauma and maternal / perinatal OCD. She sought help very quickly and said yes to everything offered. Listen to this episode, because this isn’t something that happens to someone else; this happens to you, to Beth, to any one of us. But we can put our broken pieces back together, with the right support. 

Trigger warning: due to the subject matter, this episode may bring up difficult emotions for some listeners.  

• Laura Dockrill's book What Have I Done? is challenging, yet essential reading. As is her podcast Zombiemum. She is opening up the conversation around mental health, and some. 
• You can have a general read of the spectrum of maternal mental health problems on the Mind website, which is also a great place to look for help and support. Likewise PND Awareness and Support (PANDAS).
• Read more about perinatal OCD here. Beth recommends reading Dropping Baby and Other Scary Thoughts if you are going through this yourself.
• If you (or your partner) are experiencing birth trauma give The Birth Trauma Association a visit and request a birth debrief at your hospital. 
• If you need help, or you think someone else does, speak to someone. To a partner, relative, friend, GP, midwife, Health Visitor. In Waltham Forest you can self refer for talking therapies; see what services your council offers by visiting their website.
• If you're considering harming yourself or your baby go to A&E or call 999. You may think I am being dramatic, but I am not, and the staff there won't think so either. 

Find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.

This week's episode is all about changing the narrative on what constitutes a "positive" birth. I talk to Liv - mum to 1 year old Frankie - about her birth, which she would happily repeat; it features induction for high blood pressure, epidural, forceps  (AKA all the stuff people usually leave OFF their birth plans) and some mid-labour pandemic-motivated online shopping. We also talk about all the things that contribute to a positive experience from continuity of care, understanding your options and saying yes to that epidural. Listen to this episode, because the events of Liv's birth are pretty common, especially among first-time mums!

Things you might find interesting: 

• We talk about the impact of continuity of care. One aim of the Department of Health's Better Births strategy was for more women to see the same midwife - or small number of midwives - during their pregnancy and birth; this has been (temporarily) parked as a result of the pandemic. 
• Liv was induced due to her high blood pressure, also know as pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). Just in case you don't know what white coat hypertension is, it's mentioned here. 
• I reference an article for The Juggle / Grazia - "Here's why pregnant women should stop listening to those traumatic birth stories" by Hayley Thompson. It's a really irritating article..! But thought-provoking. 

Find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.

This episode is all about sleep! I love sleep. It’s the best. I talk to Leanne Fraser - an E17 based sleep consultant and baby massage instructor - about how to make changes to your child's sleep and why you shouldn't feel guilty about it. Leanne shares loads of tips for newborn sleep which will set you up nicely for the months ahead. A perfect listen if you’re about to have a baby or have just got one home!

Find out more about Leanne’s sleep consultancy on Instagram and on the web. It doesn’t matter where you live; consultations can take place over Zoom or phone. She doesn’t just work with babies either; if your toddler / pre-schooler is struggling with sleep then give her a shout. You can also find info about her popular baby Kinship Baby Massage courses on the web and on Insta.

Things you might find interesting: 

• The Eliane Glaser article I referenced in the intro: “Parent trap: why the cult of the perfect mother has to end.” READ IT IMMEDIATELY. She also has a book out soon: Motherhood: A Manifesto which simply must be amazing. It’s a bloody shame that most mums will struggle to find the time to read it because we’re all so effing busy..!
• For guidance about all things sleep safety and reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) check out Lullaby Trust. 
• There are lots of different sleep training methods out there. “Gentle” or “holistic” sleep experts look at managing your expectations, and making gentle adjustments to baby’s sleep environment or your routine; Sarah Ockwell-Smith and Kerry Secker of Care It Out are popular gentle sleep experts. Other methods might involve a little more tears, but can get faster or more dramatic results. Leanne is trained in the Baby Sleep the Night method, which is a “gradual retreat” method. I recommend Precious Little Sleep for loads of great sleep tips; Alexis Dubief is a straight-talking but realistic sleep expert who takes you through a variety of different approaches, and has lots of little nuggets of info on things like “sleep regressions,” suggested schedules etc. all helpfully broken down by age.
• Goodnight Moon is a classic bedtime book; it’s repetitive, rhythmic and calming. I’ve read it approximately 10,000 times over the last 6 years. I say “read it” - I’ve no idea where the book is these days because I know it off by heart. It’s just one of the sleep cues we talk about on the show.  

Find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.

This episode is all about requesting an elective c-section, even if it’s not officially recommended by your medical team. I talk to Louise, who - for a variety of reasons - decided a planned caesarean would be the best choice for her. We talk about how you come to that decision, arming yourself with information (an obstetrician dad is useful, but not essential), who to talk to (yep, I’m going to bang on about consultant midwives again) and how you might still get a bit of a negative reaction from people who should mind their own business (but things are changing!).

*Trigger warning* Louise had a couple of miscarriages before her daughter Bonnie was born, and these are discussed briefly on the podcast. Do contact The Miscarriage Association if you need any support around this.
 
Things you might find interesting: 

• You can read up on c-sections on NICE and RCOG.
• Choice in childbirth does not always have to revolve around all the “natural things” obviously i.e. vaginal birth, home births, avoiding intervention etc. Choice is whatever's important to you. I really recommend Milli Hill’s Give Birth Like a Feminist to inspire you to make the right choice for YOU, whatever that might be. I wrongly quote The Positive Birth Book on the show (another fabulous book); I should be quoting GBLAF!
• If you want to arm yourself with knowledge, some useful resources are: NICE, RCOG, Royal College of Midwives, Association for Improvement in Maternity Services, Dr Sara Wickham. But do remember, research and guidance is never perfect or 100% reliable. And it doesn’t always take into account YOUR circumstances, so you should always feel you can deviate from the “accepted” path if that’s what works for you.
• Do chat through any concerns you might have about your labour with your midwife or consultant obstetrician. If you feel you need more answers or a specialised plan then it's worth seeking out your hospital's Consultant Midwife. If you don’t know who they are then contact me with the name of your hospital and I’ll find out! 
• Ulcerative colitis is thought to be an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of the large intestine and rectum; it’s associated with frequent diarrhoea and abdominal pain. You can read more about it here and its impact on pregnancy / birth here.

Find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.

This episode is all about having a second baby. Not a comprehensive guide - after all, I am only 11 months into this gig - but some helpful thoughts on prepping your firstborn for the new arrival, prepping yourself for labour (it’ll probably be easier than last time, but don’t quote me on that), and some things you might notice in the aftermath. If you have the time to notice. Which you won’t.
 
 Things you might find interesting: 

• I recommend The Second Baby Book by Sarah Ockwell-Smith. It’s got everything you need to consider when you’re having your second (or subsequent) child. It's possible even more useful than this episode!
• Get a sling, shove your newborn in it, it’ll be like you’re still pregnant and your kid will be none-the-wiser.
• I talk about spending quality time with your child, but you might want to think about “love bombing” them. I haven’t done it, but Oliver James claims it can help all sorts of behavioural problems. 
• A(nother) reminder to chat through any concerns you might have about your labour with your midwife or consultant obstetrician, especially if you have a complicated labour last time. If you feel you need more answers or a specialised plan then it's worth seeking out your hospital's Consultant Midwife for Normal Birth. If you don’t know who they are then contact me with the name of your hospital and I’ll find out! 

Find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.

In this episode I talk to Hannah. She and Sam had their baby Max in November 2020. Max was one of the 8% of babies who are born before 37 weeks each year in the UK; in fact he was one of the very small number of these (5%) who is classified as "extremely preterm" (born before 28weeks). Max came home with his parents in February this year, a few weeks after his due date, and he is in excellent health! I spoke to Hannah about the shock of going into labour before you've even done your antenatal classes, what you can expect from premature birth, that first glimpse of baby (in his plastic bag!), navigating the neonatal unit, exclusively breastfeeding when you've not even been able to hold baby for the first few weeks, and how the sleepless nights are a small price to pay for finally getting your baby home. 

Things you might find useful to read this time:

• First off, Hannah is more than happy to chat to anyone going through something similar. If you'd like to get in touch with her please send me a message ([email protected]) and I'll introduce you. 
• For your info... a preterm baby is any baby born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. The majority of these (85%) are born between 32 and 37 weeks. A baby's chance of survival increases with each week of pregnancy, although by 34 weeks this is equivalent to a baby born at full term (from 37 weeks). Likewise the risk of prolonged stay in hospital and long term health complications or disabilities reduces over time, although of course this depends greatly on individual circumstances. 
• There is very little you can do to prevent pre-term birth and it is very unpredictable. My advice would be to attend your routine appointments and scans and raise any concerns that you might have. You should definitely contact / attend your labour ward if you have any signs of labour before 37 weeks: bleeding, your waters break, abdominal pain / contractions, mucous show.  If you've had a pre-term labour in the past you can expect to be observed more closely in future pregnancies. 
• For extensive information on premature birth take a look at the Tommy's website or Bliss. Both can offer support and advice on a range of topics, so do get in touch with them if you have any questions about your sick or premature baby. 

As ever, find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.

In this episode I talk to the awesome Lesley - founder of E17 Baby - about her experiences having baby Fox during the 2020 pandemic. We chat about: her birth, tricky postnatal experiences, feeding issues (tongue tie), creating a support network, starting nursery... and how she found comfort in getting out of the house, finding and documenting Walthamstow's best baby friendly activities. Take a look at her new E17 Baby directory and her instagram account @e17baby for a lot of baby-activity-inspo. 

Some references for this episode: 

• Postnatal recovery: recovering from a c-section (or any kind of delivery) can be a bit of a shock to the system and take longer than oft quoted "six weeks." So once again I'm going to give a shout out for Mummy MOTs around the country, and specifically Niamh Burn at Fix in East London.  They can take a look at scars, pelvic floor, abdominal muscles and other pregnancy/birth-related issues... and get you on the road to full strength and recovery. Here's a nice summary of abdominal scar massage that you can do post c-section. 
• Breastfeeding support: Lesley and Fox struggled with tongue tie... and they are very much not alone in this. Some useful free help can be found via La Leche League, The Breastfeeding Network, NCT helpline. If you're in Waltham Forest (like we are!)  then you can get support via The Henry Team. If you're at home with baby in the early days and don't know where to get help - call the hospital where you gave birth, as Lesley did. Postnatal and labour wards are staffed 24 hours a day and will (usually!) be happy to help or point you in the right direction. You can always pay for a private lactation consultant; it's worth checking out who is recommended local to you (e.g. somewhere like Walthamstow Parents is a great resource in WF).
• What Mothers Do: Especially When it Looks Like Nothing by Naomi Stadlen is a beautiful, reassuring exploration of motherhood. It basically made me weep and punch the air when I first read it. Someone who understood me..! 
• Providing feedback and improving postnatal services: if you want to shout about something good or suboptimal about your maternity care, you can contact your hospital's Maternity Voices Partnership and/or PALS. It really does make a difference!
• Support networks: soon you'll be able to socialise freely again! Hooray! Look for mates on local Facebook Parent groups, talk to other parents in parks and cafes, start a local WhatsApp group (or ask to join existing ones!)... don't be afraid to put yourselves out there! 

Find me online, Instagram, Facebook or [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert for the music. 

In this episode I interview MY ACTUAL MUM about her two birth stories: a hospital induction in the 1970s, and a home birth in the early 1980s. We cover a lot! Including - but not limited to - thinking you're going to die in childbirth, induction, hospital vs. home, birth position, being separated from baby, transition (aka "Give me the drugs!"), fear and positivity in childbirth, and the best time to get your stair carpet laid (on the actual day you give birth, apparently).

Things you might find interesting: 

•  Inducing Labour: making informed decisions by Dr Sarah Wickham; a great book to read if you want to understand the evidence around induction of labour, covering a variety of reasons for induction (i.e. small baby, big baby, post-dates pregnancy etc.). 
• AIMS has a load of useful information if you're having to make other decisions about your care. 
• As I've said before, The Positive Birth Book by Milli Hill and The Positive Birth Movement are great resources for planning and understanding your birth options. 
• In the podcast I mention Grantly Dick-Read's Childbirth Without Fear which unpicks the impact of fear on childbirth and parenting. 
• And just a reminder to chat through any concerns you might have with your midwife or consultant obstetrician. If you feel you need more answers or a specialised plan then it's worth seeking out your hospital's Consultant Midwife for Normal Birth. 

Find me on the web, on Instagram, on Facebook or contact me at [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert aka electrobeard for the music.