To Baby or Not To Baby?

Naomi chats with her husband, Dan, to discuss their experience of being new parents.

They discuss: the different experiences men and women have of parenting, how tough the first months are, thinking about a second child, the impact it’s had on their relationship, taking on too much work too soon, working from home due to the pandemic.

Naomi talks to Rhian, who is 36 and single and has frozen her eggs to preserve her fertility.

They discuss: how she’s always known that she wants to be a mum, making the initial call to the fertility clinic, the worry that harvesting eggs will affect her ability to get pregnant naturally, having to inject herself on a daily basis, the procedure to have the eggs harvested, the surprisingly reasonable cost of the process, telling dates about what’s she’s done, the peace of mind that comes with having done it.

Naomi speaks to Cat, who experienced extreme postnatal depression and was sectioned after the birth of her second child.

They discuss: the thoughts that started to invade her mind, admitting that something wasn’t right, having suicidal thoughts, being admitted to hospital and eventually sectioned, hitting rock bottom, the road to recovery, returning home, managing her condition going forward.

TRIGGER WARNING: this conversation includes in-depth discussion of suicidal thoughts and a suicide attempt. Please think carefully if this is something you’re comfortable listening to.

Naomi chats with Rob Howard, who is the host of the Locked Down, Knocked Up Podcast, which was launched because his wife, Gemma, got pregnant in lockdown!

They discuss: procrastinating about having kids then having the choice made for you, being supportive while your wife is pregnant, being unprepared for an early arrival, having to leave mother and baby in hospital due to the Covid restrictions, bringing the family home.

Naomi chats with Gemma, who suffered a molar pregnancy and was given little chance of getting pregnant through natural means.

They discuss: what a molar pregnancy is, the lottery of your IVF opportunities, being prescribed Clomid, the struggle to find out she’s even had a molar pregnancy, the grieving process, her very positive experience with hypnobirthing, deciding to do it again.

Naomi chats with Freddy, who is a single dad by choice and transgender man who carried and gave birth to his son. 

They discuss: discovering that transitioning wasn’t the end of his fertility, how the NHS is behind the trans community, having to come off testosterone, going through IUI, feeling isolated as a trans man going through pregnancy.

Naomi meets LeNora, who made the conscious decision in her early 20s to not have children.

They discuss: the revelation that having children is a choice, telling her family the news, how it’s affected her dating life, discovering the childfree community.

Naomi chats with Jo, whose son was born 9 weeks premature.

They discuss: the shock of going into labour when you’re not expecting it, the challenges of giving birth to a very small baby, not being allowed to touch your newborn, having to go home and leave your baby in the hospital, suffering from post traumatic stress after he was allowed to come home.

Naomi speaks to Rachel, whose journey to motherhood included ovarian cancer, IVF and a lockdown birth.

They discuss: Rachel’s teenage battle with ovarian cancer, going through IVF at a young age, the doubts over whether she’ll be able to get pregnant, the experience of pregnancy, birth and looking after a newborn through lockdown.

Naomi chats with Sheridan Voysey about his ultimately fruitless attempts to become a parent.

They discuss: finding out that your journey won’t be as smooth as you thought, the guilt that comes with being the one who is responsible for the problems, the strain this can put on a marriage, exploring adoption, the difficult decision to end their ten year journey, the stigma of male infertility.