Beyond Beeps & Hums

Replay - When someone you love suddenly finds themselves in the NICU world, it can be difficult to know how to help. In this episode of Beyond Beeps and Hums, Anandé shares what NICU parents say they wish others understood about their experience—and practical ways friends and family can offer meaningful support. In this episode we explore: ​What parents wish others understood about NICU experience...

Matrescence is a shared developmental transition, but we don't all experience it under the same circumstances. In this short episode of Beyond Beeps & Hums , I'm sharing an excerpt from a conversation recorded for my Making Sense of Motherhood course. Using the analogy of moving house, I explore how motherhood can rearrange our lives in very different ways, particularly when that trans...

NICU Awareness Month is about making NICU experiences more visible. But for those who have lived them, that visibility can also bring old memories and emotions closer to the surface. In this reflective episode, I explore the tenderness that can remain long after NICU and the reminder that healing doesn’t necessarily mean becoming unaffected by what happened. Sometimes tenderness reminds us that wh...

I spend a lot of time on this podcast talking honestly about the difficult parts of NICU. The things the medical model can miss. The trauma, the separation, the impact on parents and where neonatal care can and should do better. But NICU Awareness Month also gives us an opportunity to recognise the people within these spaces who get it profoundly right. Across my two NICU journeys, there are nurse...

Having a baby in NICU can create a particular kind of impossible pull when another child is waiting for you at home. When you’re beside the incubator, part of you is thinking about the child you’ve left behind. And when you finally get home, part of you is still in the NICU. How do you mother children who need you in two different places? As part of NICU Awareness Month, and in recognition of Sibl...

What happens when the sensory cues a mother’s brain expects from her baby are delayed, limited or replaced by NICU? Following last week’s conversation with Lottie King about matrescence and the maternal brain in NICU, this reflective episode asks a practical question: When some of those cues are missing, what can we actually do? We explore different ways parents can create bridges of connection wi...

We spend a great deal of time discussing the vulnerability of babies born prematurely or admitted to the NICU and rightly so. But far less is said about the mother whose brain, body, identity and relationships are also undergoing an enormous transition. In this episode, Anandé is joined by Lottie King, a NICU and baby-loss mother, nervous-system educator, charity founder and CEO, and master’s stud...

In this short reflective episode, we explore the invisible emotional load of medical parenting and why repeated hospital visits, uncertainty and constant decision-making ask so much of a parent’s nervous system. And while there can be enormous gratitude for the care our children receive, there can also be grief for an experience that unfolded differently than we imagined. In this episode we explor...

What if the exhaustion, overwhelm and constant feeling of falling behind aren’t signs that you’re failing? What if they’re signs of a nervous system that has simply been carrying too much for too long? In this episode we explore: Why survival mode is designed to protect us during difficult seasons The hidden load many parents continue to carry Why compassion is often more helpful than criticism Ho...

“I thought I’d be more playful.” “I thought I’d enjoy this more.” “I thought I’d be more patient.” These are some of the most common reflections I hear from parents. In this short reflective episode, I explore an often-overlooked piece of the parenting conversation: Play requires capacity. While social media often focuses on play ideas, activities and developmental support, many parents are carryi...

One parent wants to talk. One shuts down. One becomes hypervigilant. One throws themselves into work. One feels the need to control everything. One seems emotionally distant. In this episode, I’m joined by clinical psychologist, NICU parent, and founder of Miracle Moon, Dr Frankie Harrison, to explore the nervous system responses that emerge during and after a NICU admission. Together we unpack th...

Leaving NICU doesn’t mean your nervous system automatically feels safe again. In this episode of  Beyond Beeps & Hums , we shift the focus onto parents — exploring how trauma, chronic stress, sleep deprivation, sensory overload, and survival mode can continue long after discharge. We talk about: What sensory overload actually is Why parents often feel more reactive, snappy, emotional, or overw...

Discharge from NICU is often seen as the finish line, but for your baby’s nervous system, and for yours, it’s a transition, not an endpoint. In the womb, babies develop in a carefully buffered environment, dim light, filtered sound, rhythmic movement, and constant containment. In NICU, that sensory environment shifts. If you’ve felt the pressure to “catch up” after NICU, this episode offers a diff...

This is a short, reflective episode for Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week. In NICU, there is often an unspoken pressure to be okay, to look calm, to hold it together, to be strong. Behind that, many mothers are navigating postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, PTSD and one of the most vulnerable transitions of their lives, matrescence, inside a highly medical environment. In this episode,...

In this reflective episode, I share thoughts and experiences following NICU graduation, and why the expectation to simply move on can overlook the impact of what both babies and parents have been through. There can be deep gratitude for the care received and at the same time, a nervous system that is still carrying stress, fear, and trauma. These two things can exist together. I also reflect on th...

In this episode, we explore what gentle, supportive care can look like for babies after a NICU journey. Many parents leave the NICU feeling both relieved and uncertain, wondering what support their baby might need, and when to seek it. In this conversation, we unpack what paediatric chiropractic care involves, how gentle it is, and how it may support NICU babies. I’m joined by Dr Jasmine Lloyd, a...

In the womb, the environment is carefully buffered, movement is rhythmic, sound is filtered, light is dim, and babies experience constant containment and gentle pressure. But in the NICU, many of these sensory experiences shift dramatically. Bright lights, alarms, alerting, painful touch and medical procedures can introduce sensory input far earlier and more intensely than the developing nervous s...

Leaving the NICU is often described as a “graduation.” But for many families, coming home brings a complex mix of joy, relief, fear, and uncertainty. After weeks or months of living in survival mode, surrounded by monitors, alarms, and medical teams, stepping into life at home can feel both freeing and overwhelming. In this episode of Beyond Beeps and Hums, I reflect on the transition from NICU to...

In this short reflection episode, I share a personal perspective following my conversation with Tasmin Bota on kangaroo care. I reflect on two very different experiences I had in two NICUs — one where kangaroo care and parental involvement were actively supported, and another where that support was far less present. These differences are not unique to my story; many mothers have shared similar exp...

Kangaroo Care, Advocacy & Support: Navigating NICU as a Parent In this episode, I sit down with Tasmin Bota as we explore some of the most important and overwhelming parts of navigating a NICU journey as a parent. We unpack the power of kangaroo care and why skin-to-skin contact is more than just a moment, it’s a meaningful way to support both baby and parent in a highly medical environment. We al...

When someone you love suddenly finds themselves in the NICU world, it can be difficult to know how to help. In this episode of Beyond Beeps and Hums, Anandé shares what NICU parents say they wish others understood about their experience—and practical ways friends and family can offer meaningful support. In this episode we explore: ​What parents wish others understood about NICU experiences ​The em...

In this opening episode of Beyond Beeps and Hums, Anandé Ferreira introduces the heart behind the podcast and why conversations about the NICU experience matter. This space was created for parents, families, and caregivers navigating life in and beyond the NICU. If you have ever found yourself listening to the beeps and hums rhythm of monitors and wondering how to process it all, you are welcome h...

Here, we’ll laugh, cry, and grow side by side as we navigate NICU and life beyond the beeps and hums. Launching 2026 – No NICU journey should be faced alone. Follow the show so you’ll be first to listen when we begin this journey together.