The Neurodivergent Birth Podcast

Welcome back to Season 6 of The Neurodivergent Birth Podcast: 'The Gift our Children Gave us', where we share lived experiences of what can happen 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 Audrey Victor, a doula, yoga teacher, reflexologist, reiki healer and much more, who shares with us her story of discovering her own neurodivergence following the diagnosis of her eldest son as a teenager, and latterly her youngest son's diagnosis. 

She shares what the gift of hindsight has offered to the whole family and how learning about their neurodivergence and their different needs helps them to support one another and build resilience in a world that often tells us we need to conform to 'typical' expectations. We talk about burnout, tuning in to what your nervous system needs, and how prioritising rest has changed her and her family's experience of daily life.

You can find out more about Audrey and her amazing work on Instagram @audrey_yoga_doula_feet

Thank you for listening!

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

⭐️ It’s new episode day in Season 6 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 we talk to neurodivergent parents and educators, Jenni and Martha from AuDHDacious Humans https://www.audhdacious.com/, which is an incredible organisation that provides support to parents/carers/educators and AuDHD/PDA kids to heal and thrive away from systems that break them.

They share that the gift their children gave them was unravelling everything they thought they knew about parenting and education, prompting them to rebuild their lives around their children's and families' needs. Having thought they would 'nail parenting' as ex teachers who worked in mainstream and alternative provisions they were surprised to find their children had other ideas! Now Jenni and Martha support other children and families who are not walking the traditionally school-shaped path through their home education group Make & Create Club. 

#neurodivergent
#neurodivergentbirth
#neurodivergentparenting

Thank you for listening!

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

Welcome back to Season 6 of The Neurodivergent Birth Podcast: 'The Gift our Children Gave us', where we share lived experiences of what can happen 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 Emma Porcelli, a hypnobirthing teacher, hypnotherapist and energy healer.

Emma talks about her experiences as a mum of 4 neurodivergent children, and how her parenting journey and understanding of herself as a neurodivergent person have evolved in parallel. She shares with us how she models self-advocacy and asking for what you need for her children.

You can find out more about Emma's work by checking out her Instagram page @mama.escape and you can order here stunning visual Pregnancy and Birth Affirmation cards here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4496606025/mama-escape-pregnancy-and-birth

Thank you for listening!

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

Welcome back to Season 6 of The Neurodivergent Birth Podcast: 'The Gift our Children Gave us', where we share lived experiences of what can happen 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 Dr Emma Svanberg, clinical psychologist, author, founder of The Psychology Co-operative and co-founder of Make Birth Better CIC.

We talk about her own personal experience of late diagnosis as an autistic woman with ADHD, and how supporting her neurodivergent children and herself to thrive, has led to the discovery of a different way of parenting, and has influenced her professional understanding of neurodiversity too.

Emma references a paper on the experiences of Autistic parenting: Thom-Jones S, Brownlow C, Abel S. Challenges, Strengths, and Joys of Autistic Parents: An Abductive Qualitative Content Analysis of Parent Interviews. Autism in Adulthood. 2025;0(0).

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/25739581251385735

Thank you for listening!

Thank you for listening!

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

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.