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In this episode, we speak to Eliza Flynn, a pre- and post-natal personal trainer, health and wellness coach and speaker, and founder of The Warrior Method. She has worked with hundreds of women to improve their health and fitness, gain body awareness, and live active, pain-free lives. We talk about why it is good to exercise, the importance of repairing your body after having a baby and what signs to look out for when exercising that might indicate that things are not right.

Disclaimer: Please note that the content in this episode is not intended to be comprehensive or suitable for everyone and should not be taken as medical advice or relied upon in any way. Please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions. 

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We expect birth to be a reckoning. So we prepare for it. We attend classes, read books, consult friends and family. Then the baby is born and we realise that the post-partum period is its own reckoning. But in contrast to birth, we are not prepared for it and we ask ourselves, why did no one tell me about this?

In this podcast episode our three panellists discuss the first few weeks after birth. They generously tell us about their experience of this time - how it was to come home from hospital with a little baby, how they felt emotionally and physically, how the baby impacted their other relationships and what they wish they’d known in advance. 

Our panel consists of Bex Ohta, Head of Marketing at Trevor Sorbie and mother to Rei, 8 months; Helen McDermott, lawyer and mother to Setanta, 9 months; and Sarah Falconer, Retail Development Co-ordinator and mother to Gabriel, 8 months.

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When Leah Shimabukuro, head of products at a tech company, is expecting her second child, she is determined to rewrite her previous birth experience which was difficult and ended in an emergency C-section. She takes a proactive and studios approach to her birth preparation, arming herself with as much information as possible. In consultation with her antenatal care providers, Leah decides to attempt a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). This inspirational story is testament to that history doesn’t need to repeat itself and that it is possible to have a good birth after a previous difficult experience. With us in the studio is Nyree Wright, midwife and founder of Sage Femme, to answer any questions.

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In the words of Naomi Wolf, motherhood is one of the most challenging and creative jobs anyone can do. But why then are mothers so often diminished or discriminated against in our culture? Why is the work of bearing and raising children often thought of as unimportant? And why are issues relating to motherhood and parenting so low on the political agenda? These are some of the questions that Maddie McMahon explores in her outstanding book “Why Mothering Matters” and on today’s episode of To Become a Mother, we have the honour of speaking to Maddie about the art of mothering, and why it does really matter.

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In this episode, Magda Bilska-Pereda, Virtual Assistant Hub Manager, tells the birth story of her twin boys Elias and Mateo. It is a story about finally getting pregnant through IVF after a miscarriage and several years of infertility, about being so grateful and happy to be pregnant that it overshadows any pregnancy sickness and discomfort, and about going into labour one week before her planned C-section. It is an inspirational story about becoming a mother to twins, delivered with a good dose of humour, but also an honest account of the challenges of navigating the fourth trimester with two babies to care for.

With us in the studio is Nyree Wright, midwife and founder of Sage Femme, to answer any questions.

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There are many things that can change when we become mothers, including our desire for sex. In this episode we speak to Kate Moyle, a Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist, about sex and intimacy after we become mothers. We discuss why sex is so good for us, what we can do to prioritise sex, whether scheduling sex is a good thing and, if not having enough sex should make us worry.

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Samantha King is 8 weeks pregnant when the UK enters its first lockdown. It is the start of a lonely pregnancy, where social interactions and midwifery appointments are reduced to Zoom meetings and telephone consultations. The limited antenatal care has significant implications for Samantha and her birth experience, with gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia only suspected after the birth of her 11.3 pounds baby. It is at times a difficult story and is therefore not for everyone. But it is a story that sadly, is not unique to Samantha, and needs to be told. It brings into focus the importance of good maternity care and why, if there is ever another lockdown, we must ensure that women continue to receive adequate support and care throughout pregnancy, birth and motherhood. With us in the studio is Nyree Wright, midwife and founder of Sage Femme, to answer any questions.

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In this episode, Reesha Ranavaya and Layla De Freitas talk about how it is to become a mother to twins. From the joy of finding out that there are two hearts beating on the sonographer’s screen, to navigating a high-risk pregnancy and spending over 12 weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit, this is a fascinating, and incredibly moving panel talk about two women’s very different twin pregnancies and births. And whilst these two women's journeys to twin motherhood stand in stark contrast to each other in many respects - and their respective worries and perspectives are reflective of that - on a fundamental level they share the incredible experience of carrying, birthing and raising twins.

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Three weeks after suffering a miscarriage, Candice Gow-Smith becomes pregnant with Evander. It is a pregnancy dominated by a fear of miscarrying again, of wakeful nights worrying that something may go wrong. But as she approaches term, she is finally able to believe that the pregnancy will result in a healthy baby and she starts preparing for the home birth she’d always wanted. In this episode, we’ll hear Candice tell how she birthed Evander on the bed, in the comfort of her own home, so quickly that her doula and midwife didn’t have time to arrive. There is no panic or fear, just calm and euphoria as her son makes his entrance.

Nyree Wright, midwife and founder of Sage-Femme, is with us in the studio to answer any questions. 

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