Not Another Mummy Podcast

When you’re watching TV with your kids, do you take notice of how many people on the screen are Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, LGBT, working class or disabled? Often we’re so grateful for the ten minutes of quiet, to drink a cup of tea, we’re more likely to zone out of what’s on the screen. But my guests on this episode – children’s digital media expert Olivia Dickinson and Lyndsay Gardner, mum of...

We’re still not talking about the menopause enough. It’s something I didn’t know much about until recently (after all, it happens to older women, right?) but when, at 41, I started having perimenopausal symptoms I started to read up on it. And with approximately 13 million women in the UK going through menopause and life expectancy for women increasing, we all need to be educated about our options...

Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could wave a magic wand and fix all of your work/home life balance problems? While I can’t promise that this podcast episode will do that, my guest Christine Armstrong does reveal what she believes to be the solution to our work/parenting problems. Christine is a mum of three and the author of The Mother Of All Jobs, a book which explores all of the angles of that commo...

Waking up one morning and discovering you’ve lost your sight is something that many of us just couldn’t even imagine, but to trauma doctor Amit Patel, it was his reality and spelled the end of his medical career. Back in 2013, newly married Amit lost his sight due to a rare eye condition, keratoconus. After hitting rock bottom and being unable to leave the house for three months, Amit started to r...

On this episode I welcome Stuart Heritage as my guest. Stuart is a dad of two and when his first son was just a few hours old, Stuart started writing a column about fatherhood for The Guardian. Since then he’s written for Esquire, The Times and lots of other newspapers, magazines and websites. His writing on fatherhood is just as likely to make you smile and laugh as it will make you reflect on yo...

My guest on this episode is Mark Lemon, a dad of two and children’s author who at the age of 12, found his life changed forever when his dad was murdered. Mark talks to me about the huge effect this had on him, as a teenager, and also how it has shaped the kind of person – and dad – he is today. Incredibly, Mark turned something tragic into something positive because he now does a lot of work talk...

Dr Pragya Agarwal is my guest on this episode – she’s an author, a two-times Tedx speaker, an academic, and a mum of three. Her book Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias was published in April and brilliantly, allows the reader to explore the concept of bias in a non-judgemental way. Pragya takes a scientific approach at looking at bias and when I read it, it made me analyse my own biases. In my cha...

On this episode I’m joined by Zoey and Kelly Allen who are, along with their two kids and dog, an LGBTQ+ family. 18 months ago, Zoey came out as transgender to her wife Kelly and they started a new phase of their lives. Through their blog – Our Transitional Life – they document their journey and offer support to the LGBTQ+ community, showing that coming out can, overall, be a positive experie...

My guest on this episode is Candice Brathwaite, mum of two and author of the Sunday Times Bestselling book I Am Not Your Baby Mother which has been described as a “thought-provoking, urgent and inspirational guide to life as a black mother”. In it, Candice writes about her experiences growing up in South London and shares her story of motherhood so far. She challenges the stereotypical version of...

In Carers Week, my guest is Penny Wincer. Penny is a mum of two and she is carer to her 10-year-old son Arthur who has autism and learning difficulties. Penny talks to me about spotting the signs that Arthur was struggling with certain things when he was little, getting the diagnosis of autism when he was three and balancing caring for Arthur with parenting his 8-year-old sister Agnes. She talks a...

Mindfulness is one of those things that I know I should focus more on, and I know it would probably help me get through each day with more of a smile, yet it’s not something I’ve properly explored before. But one of the guests on today’s episode – Izzy Judd – has written a book, Mindfulness For Mums, which for the first time has got me thinking about how I can use mindfulness day to day. I chat to...

This is an episode of two parts! My guest - the brilliant Shakira Akabusi - and I recorded our chat back in December 2019. The episode didn't go out back then because I'd just finished a podcast series and had a big writing project to knuckle down to, so it stayed tucked away on my laptop for over five months. In that time though, mum of two and ante-natal/post-natal fitness expert, Shakira, annou...

It’s a brand new series and things are kicking off with psychotherapist Anna Mathur – the eagle eyed among you might recognise her because Anna was a guest on the recent mini series about family life in lockdown. She’s back to talk about her new book Mind Over Mother, Every Mum’s Guide to Worry and Anxiety in the First Year . Mum of three Anna was inspired to write her brilliant book following her...

In this final episode in the mini series dedicated to family life in lockdown, I’m joined by one of the most influential doctors in the UK. Dr Rangan Chatterjee is a dad of two and a GP who wants to change the way we look at illness, and health. He is known for finding the root cause of people's health problems and empowering people to take control of their health with simple changes to their rout...

Hands up if you’re missing social interaction right now! (That will probably be all of us, I’m guessing). If you’re anything like me, you’ll be looking forward to being able to hang out with friends and family again – and even craving little things like being able to make small talk with the server at your local coffee shop! On this episode, my guest is Sunita Harley, who has a lot to say about so...

It's currently six weeks since schools closed in the UK and parents everywhere have been doing a stellar job at keeping their children busy, happy and learning stuff. But it's HARD, right?! Especially - I think - for parents of kids aged 2-5. Older kids can often keep themselves busy (not always though!) but younger ones usually need a bit more one on one attention and time. Which lots of us don't...

If you're currently pregnant or have recently given birth, being in lockdown and dealing with the restrictions put in place by the NHS is very possibly making an already challenging time even harder.  In this episode, I talk to doula Mars Lord about how the Coronavirus pandemic is affecting pregnancy, birth and the post natal period. Mars has years of experience supporting women through pregn...

In this episode, I welcome Emma Cantrell onto the podcast - a return guest ( you can listen to our conversation about talking to kids about privilege here ) Emma is founder and CEO of the charity First Days and a mum of two. She recently set up - in response to the Coronavirus pandemic - an emergency food hub, working with her local authority, supermarkets and a team of volunteers to feed over 100...

In this second episode of this podcast mini series focusing on how we're navigating the Coronavirus health crisis and lockdown, I chat to Adele Jarrett-Kerr. Adele is a writer, podcaster, breastfeeding counsellor and a home educator to her three children. At a time when so many of us have been suddenly thrown into home educating our kids, due to the schools closing, Adele is well placed to offer s...

The podcast is back but blimey, how are you doing? It's a funny old time, isn't it? We're all navigating this new lockdown life so this mini series will see all of this *gestures around wildly* being discussed in the hope that it brings a bit of support, comfort and insight into the experiences of others. We're all going through the same thing at the moment, yet it's affecting everyone in differen...

What could be more Christmassy than ending this series of the podcast chatting to the person who will be keeping the nation company while we open our presents on Christmas Day? Rev Kate Bottley – who will be on Radio 2 from 8am-10am on December 25th – was a total joy to have on as a guest. The mum of two and Church of England priest entered the public eye when she was a regular on Channel 4’s Gogg...

It’s probably fair to say that most women, when they’re pregnant, are a bit apprehensive about the birth. I know I was! Especially when it’s your first pregnancy, it’s totally normal to feel worried or even a bit scared about what childbirth will be like. But my guest on this episode – blogger and comedian Jess Jones aka The Fat Funny One – developed such a fear of giving birth, during her first p...

What’s it like to become a grandparent? My guests on this episode are Jo Middleton – who recently became a grandmother - and Tanya Barrow – who will shortly become a grandmother. Both women have spent the last 25 or so years being a mum, and the last ten years blogging about motherhood. Tanya runs the award-winning blog Mummy Barrow and Jo runs the award-winning blog Slummy Single Mummy. I ch...

Do you have total equality in the home? Do you manage to divide domestic and childcare tasks fairly between you and your partner? If your answers are yes, you get a massive gold star and you don’t need to listen to this episode of the podcast! If, however, you feel like things are a bit imbalanced and one of you does a lot more than your fair share, this episode is for you. My guest this week is E...

My guest on this episode, Kate Dyson, is the founder of the biggest online community for women – The Motherload. Started with just a few friends, when Kate received an unhelpful response on an online forum for mums, it has grown to be the place that 84,000 women head to for non-judgemental chat about motherhood. As a mum of three, Kate has a lot to say about communities for mums and tells me about...