Raising Healthy Mothers

In today's episode on Raising Healthy Mothers I talk about tandem feeding during pregnancy and when you have a newborn. I discuss: Considerations around tandem feeding Nutrition for you when tandem feeding Why tandem feeding was important to me How my tandem feeding is going for me My tandem feeding timeline What I would do differently I end with my one big takeaway about tandem feeding - and cari...

In today's episode on Raising Healthy Mothers I talk about how my eldest coped with becoming an older brother and how we helped him along. It has been a year of huge physical and emotional change for all of us! I talk about: What we changed during pregnancy What we did after baby was born His reaction towards the baby How his behaviour changed Whether what we did worked How things are now, 1 year...

Today on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm giving you my 9 top survival tips for the first few months of two. This is a pretty raw, vulnerable episode as I open up about how damn hard it is to parent two! In the episode I talk about: How prepared I felt beforehand What I wish I could tell myself if I could go back in time by a year! My 9 survival tips for life with two Bonus - the two gifts every new mu...

Welcome to the second episode of season 6, where I get really personal about my experience growing and learning as a mother of 2. Today I'm talking about how I preparing my eldest for a home birth. In this short episode I talk about: Why I wanted a home birth again Why I wanted my son to be there for the birth How I prepared him for the birth How it actually went! And whether I would have done it...

Hello from the other side of baby no.2! It's now almost a year since I had my second baby and I'm excited to be back with a new series on Raising Healthy Mothers.  This series I'm going really personal as I talk about how I've coped adjusting to my first year as a mother of 2. I was warned that going from 1 to 2 was hard - and wow! they weren't wrong were they? Today I'm starting out with how I pr...

This week on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm taking a deep dive into Gestational Diabetes with Lily Nichols, a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based prenatal nutrition. Lily is an authority on diet and nutrition for pregnancy, and is the author of two bestselling books, Real Food for Pregnancy and Real Food for Gestatio...

This week on Raising Health Mothers I'm talking to Arianna Radji Lee of Pachamama, a digital platform connecting mums and providing a modern, mother-focused, democratised approach to postnatal care.   In the episode we talk about what Pachamama aims to do, how Arianna pivoted to take it entirely online during the pandemic and how the business has changed and developed.   We also discussed about fe...

This week on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm speaking to Stephanie Gruenke, a registered dietitian specialising in pre- and postnatal health. In the episode we talk about Matrescence - the transition to motherhood that we all go through - and discuss what this means for effective postpartum recovery in a world where mums are often left to their own recovery after giving birth.   We cover: How we chang...

In today's episode I'm discussing postnatal weight loss. This is a difficult topic because there's such an enormous pressure from society to 'snap back' or fit into your pre-pregnancy jeans soon after giving birth. But that's so unrealistic! And also - so unnecessary, at least for a few months after giving birth. Because your body has done a wonderful thing by growing, birthing and feeding your ba...

In today's episode I'm talking about postpartum hairloss - why it happens and what to do about it. First of all, please know it is completely normal and a part and parcel of the hormone rollercoaster that happens after giving birth. Isn't motherhood wonderful!   But if it continues longer than a year postpartum then that could be a sign that something's not quite right. So in the episode I cover:...

It's Season 5 on Raising Healthy Mothers! Today I'm talking about why breastfeeding can be painful - and why this should be seen as a sign to get help, not something to endure until it gets better.   No, your nipples don't need to toughen up. You don't need to wait for a few weeks and get used to it. You don't need to grit your teeth through the pain.   In the episode I discuss: Why breastfeeding...

This is the last episode for this season and today I am taking the issues around exhaustion and fatigue a step further than what you can do on a day-to-day level. Because when I work with clients with symptoms of stress, exhaustion and fatigue that goes beyond what would be expected at their stage of motherhood, one of the first things I do is recommend some basic blood tests.   So today I'm cover...

Today on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm talking to the wonderful Nicky Lowe, founder of Wisdom for Working Mums, supporting women to combine their work and family life in a more successful and sustainable way, helping mums to truly thrive. In this episode we talk about Nicky's story about burnout from motherhood which led to adrenal fatigue and the valuable lessons she learnt from it. We discuss... S...

This week's episode on Raising Healthy Mothers is a bit of a personal one, because I'm talking about the stress I've been experiencing in the last 7 months and the journey I've been on to cope with it and build my resilience which has clearly taken a knock in the past two years since becoming a mother.   In the episode I talk about... Why I've been particularly stressed out this year What stress i...

This week on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm talking to Francesca Mastrojanni, a fellow nutritional therapist who also works for Functional DX, a leading functional medicine blood testing and analysis lab. We dive into blood testing and why we use it in practice as nutritional therapists and how it can help us to understand our clients's symptoms and help focus on a plan.   In the episode we discuss:...

This week on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm talking about supplements and whether you should consider supplements beyond pregnancy and into motherhood. In the episode I discuss: The place of of nutritional supplements within a larger picture of health and wellbeing Why we might need supplements, and specific circumstances when they might be helpful Choosing good quality brands The basic foundation th...

This week on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm talking about all things tea with the fab Bethan Thomas of HotTea Mama. After moving to China, Bethan fell in love with all things tea and started a lifelong obsession with it, culminating in founding a tea company making functional teas specifically for mums and womanhood. In this episode we talk about: The poor quality of our bog-standard builders teabag,...

This week on Raising Healthy Mothers, I'm speaking to Bec Milligan, a fellow nutritional therapist with a special interest in supporting women with stress resilience and self-care. Bec has additional training in restorative yoga, emotional freedom technique and breathwork to offer a holistic approach to building resilience for women juggling it all through life's transitions. In this episode we di...

Today on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm introducing the concept of the Wheel of Motherhood as a means to prioritise yourself as a mother. This is a tool I often use for my clients and for myself too, to work out the areas of life that need to be prioritised to bring some balance in life.   Often mums find themselves at the bottom of the list of priorities, a shift that often happens as soon as baby i...

On this week's episode I'm talking to Sophie Messager, a doula and perinatal educator and healer, best known recently for her fantastic book 'Why Postnatal Recovery Matters'.   In this episode we cover Sophie's 4 pillars of postnatal recovery and talk at great length about each one and why they're so important. We covered: Postnatal recovery traditions around the world Why mums often blame themsel...

Today on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm busting 8 common breastfeeding myths. These are the sort of things I hear so often and it breaks my heart how many mums are stopped in their track just because of old wives tales and outdated advise circulating from friends and family, and even sometimes from healthcare professionals!   So in this episode I've picked out the 8 most common ones and busted them....

Today on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm joined by Amy Fergus-Fuller to talk about her emergency C-section and journey to recovery, which ignited a passion to develop a C-section recovery programme, filling a gap she felt was being ignored by many working in the birth and postnatal world. This a passionate discussion where she shared how women are being failed in being supported to fully recover after...

New season new episode! Today on Raising Healthy Mothers I'm talking about exactly why we feel so exhausted as mums. It's a bit of a cliche that mums are tired and while for the most part we are simply expected to do way too much in a way that we never would for most of our history, there are lifestyle and diet factors that further affect our overall feeling of exhaustion and fatigue, factors that...

Have you written a birth plan? What about a breastfeeding plan? So often new parents spend a lot of time planning the nursery, researching prams and buying a bigger car but very few consider the nuts and bolts of the postnatal period and how they can make breastfeeding work.   Today is the final episode in this season of Raising Healthy Mothers and I'm going to explain why you should write a breas...

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Cheryl Ndione, a coach supporting mums to gain clarity and build confidence. I was first drawn to Cheryl on Instagram by her bold statement 'Say No to Mum Guilt!' and I knew I had to get her on the show to talk about it, because I know so many mums struggle with guilt around the decisions they make throughout motherhood.   In the episode we discuss What mum guilt...