Welcome to the new season of The Neurodivergent Birth Podcast! This season is called 'The Gift our Children Gave us' and we are exploring beyond the immediate perinatal time, and looking at what happens when your child's neurodivergence, or the experience of becoming a parent, becomes the mirror that helps you see and understand yourself as a neurodivergent person.

Today I talk to Laura Richmond. Laura is the author of All My Worldly Joy: A Memoir of Motherhood and Mental Health (Unbound/Wilton Square Books, 2025). It's a memoir tracing how a traumatic childbirth, after which she was admitted to a psychiatric mother-and-baby unit with her six-week-old son, led her to revisit decades of mental-health assessments and eventually discover she'd been autistic all along. 

The book covers self-harm, psychiatric hospitalisation, postnatal PTSD, misdiagnosis (including an earlier bipolar diagnosis and "emerging personality disorder" label), and her path toward self-understanding and advocacy. 

Laura is an MMHA Lived Experience Champion, a MumsAid Ambassador, and most recently was appointed as Director of Research and Advocacy with Neurodivergent Birth CIC.

You can grab a copy of Laura's book here:

https://www.eyebooksgroup.com/products/all-my-worldly-joy

https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-My-Worldly-Joy-Motherhood/dp/1800183585

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Today I talk to Clare Woods, a Specialist Nurse, AuDHD Coach and trained Circle of Security Parenting (COSP)™ facilitator with extensive experience in trauma-informed, neuro-affirming and relational approaches, about the benefits of both coaching and the COSP™ Programme for neurodivergent parents.

COSP™ can help parents understand unique attachment expressions and behaviours in children, reframing behaviours as opportunities for connection. 

COSP™’s structured, reflective approach supports neurodivergent parents themselves by providing clear frameworks for understanding and responding to their children’s needs, fostering deeper connection and joy despite communication differences.

You can find out more about Clare's work at https://www.theaudhdcoachingcompany.org.uk/ and you can book on to the COSP™ programme for ND Birth followers at https://www.ndbirth.com/event-details/circle-of-security-parenting-programme

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Today we are delighted to share with you this hugely important bonus guest episode exploring Dr Phoebe Tom's research into autistic experiences of pregnancy loss.

You can find out more about Phoebe's research here: https://uhra.herts.ac.uk/id/eprint/26132/ and can contact Phoebe at [email protected].

Phoebe is a member of the Maternity Autism Research Group (MARG), check out their website and resources here https://www.maternityautismresearchgroup.co.uk/

For support with pregnancy and baby loss, we recommend reaching out to these third sector organisations:

• MISS Miscarriage Support in Scotland — www.miss-support.org.uk
• SANDS — www.sands.org.uk
• Tommy’s — www.tommys.org
• Miscarriage Association  — www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk
• ARC (support for Termination For Medical Reasons) — www.arc-uk.org
• The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust — www.ectopic.org.uk

If you would like to learn more about neurodivergent experiences of pregnancy loss and how to support them, you can access our pre-recorded webinar on this topic for £30, with £5 from each purchase going to MISS Miscarriage Support in Scotland. https://ndbirth.thinkific.com/courses/pregnancy-loss-neurodivergent.

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Welcome to week 8 of '8 Weeks to Prepare for your ND Birth'! Today Victoria and Elizabeth of @elizabirth_doula and ND Birth Training Practitioner, talk about feeding your baby and finding what works for you and your family. We cover:

• Feeding choices: breast/chest feeding, formula, combination
• Sensory challenges of feeding (touch, smell, sounds, physical sensation)
• Executive function demands: tracking feeds, schedules, preparation
• Processing conflicting advice and information overload
• Your right to feed however works for you
• Reasonable adjustments for feeding support

Elizabeth lists some useful support resources including:

The National Breastfeeding Helpline: https://www.nationalbreastfeedinghelpline.org.uk/

La Leche League: https://laleche.org.uk/

Drugs in breastmilk factsheets: https://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/drugs-factsheets/

You can also access our Supporting Neurodivergent Lactation workshop here: https://www.themindfulbreastfeedingschool.com/courses/supporting-neurodivergent-lactation

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Welcome to week 7 of '8 Weeks to Prepare for your ND Birth'!

Today Victoria and Laurène Bizarro, founder of @mighty_mama_perinatal and ND Birth Training Practitioner, talk about postnatal experiences through the lens of neurodivergence, including the challenges, the positive and how to access support.

You can find out more about Laurène's antenatal and postnatal support services via instagram https://www.instagram.com/mighty_mama_perinatal/

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Happy publication day to our ambassador, Kimberly Nixon! She joins us on the Podcast to talk about her new book ‘She Seems Fine to Me’ and why it was so important to write it. This memoir is an open, honest and unfiltered account of her experience of trying to conceive, having a baby, and then the brutal reality of experiencing postnatal OCD.

Of all the perinatal mental health conditions, postnatal OCD is particularly cruel because it lives in the shadows. It's difficult for people to share their struggles because they're often dealing with very frightening thought patterns and imagery, and there's a genuine fear that they'll be perceived as a risk to their baby if anybody could see what is going on in their mind, and that's why a book like this, which will validate the experiences of others, is so important. It will also help educate health professionals on what supports can help.

We're grateful to Kim for sharing her story. You can purchase her book via the links here: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/She-Seems-Fine-to-Me/Kimberley-Nixon/9781398557536

Kim also references useful resources including:

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/taming.olivia/

Perinatal Mental Health Partnership https://www.instagram.com/perinatalmhpartnership/

PANDAS Foundation https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Welcome back to '8 Weeks to Prepare for your ND Birth'!

Today Victoria talks about preparing for the big event itself; labour and birth. She discusses birth physiology including the role of hormones, the birth environment, and the Four Support Pillars of Neurodivergent Birth - sensory processing, communication, executive functioning and mental health. She also shares tips on  how to communicate your support needs, and advocating for reasonable adjustments.

If you're enjoying this series, why not check out our full antenatal course: The ND Birth Prep Course. Available for registration now at NDBirth.com.

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Today we're delighted to share this bonus episode with you which is all about synaesthesia, pregnancy and preparing for birth as a synaesthete; a person who experiences blended senses where one stimulation (e.g. sound) involuntarily triggers another (e.g, colour). 

Our guest is Maike Preißing, psychologist and host of the 'Let's Talk Synaesthesia' podcast. 

You can find out more about Maike's work at https://www.maikepreissing.com/ and by following on Instagram @maikepreissing.

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Welcome to week 5 of '8 Weeks to Prepare for your ND Birth'!

Today Victoria and Aileen White, founder of @mybirthsupportcic and ND Birth Training Practitioner, talk about navigating communication in maternity care as a neurodivergent person.

We cover:

• Common communication challenges (medical jargon, implied questions, rushed conversations)
• Asking for clear, direct language
• Processing time: it's okay to say "I need time to think"
• Written vs verbal communication preferences
• Building a communication preferences plan
• Using visual aids and written summaries

Aileen talks about the HEART acronym which can be helpful when asking for more processing time.

H: Hear - "I hear what you're saying"

E: Empathise - "and I know why you are recommending this"

A: Affirm - "but I would like more time to consider ...." or "I would like to try this alternative."

R: Reassure - "I’ll definitely let you know if anything changes/I'll get back to you"

T: Thanks - "Thank you so much for supporting me and my baby.”

You can find out more about Aileen and My Birth Support CIC at https://mybirth.org.uk/

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.

Today we're delighted to share this bonus episode with you which is all about neurodivergence, attachment and parenting. Our guest is Julianne Boutaleb, consultant perinatal psychologist and clinical director and founder of Parenthood In Mind, a provider of specialist perinatal psychology and psychotherapy services.

You can find out more about Julianne's and the team's wonderful work and support services at https://www.parenthoodinmind.co.uk/ and by following on instagram @parenthoodinmind

Thank you for listening!

Join the conversation on Instagram @neurodivergentbirth and at ndbirth.com.