The Full Stop

We invited a few guys from the Clan of Brothers to discuss this topic, we were lucky enough to get guys from three different continents and cultures. Of course it was a rhetorical question we all need community, but what I found enriching were the reasons why. We are not immune to loneliness as you will hear. We all need a safe space to share those inner most emotions and feelings with others know...

Empowerment can be a big act or something personal. In this episode we share our podcast episode with Judy Graham and Sarah Roberts who run their own practices supporting people who are childless not by choice. They’ve also dived into politics and tackled the issue of equality and this episode is an astonishing example of shared alliances and experiences.

In this episode, we share the details on our plans. The background to the change is future proofing our work and making it more streamlined so that we can continue to inform, entertain and give a voice to our community. We feel very fortunate to spend time with each other and our community including you, and people who support each other and take time out to care, making some incredible connection...

In this episode we are joined by past guests from the podcast to share messages of hope and coping techniques to help you through the festive season. Our guests share their experiences, and as always, there maybe some mentions of infertility treatment and miscarriage in this podcast. We were joined by Helen Segal, Bindi Shah, Professor Krista Cooper, Clare Elleray (Mee) and Tessa Broad. You’ll als...

In this episode we discuss the healing properties of The Full Stop, what we’ve learned from our guests and share the episodes that made an impact on us. We also share the plans we’re making to secure the future of the podcast from 2022.

In this episode we were joined by Katy Schnitzler who is a trainer, researcher and lecturer, studying for a PhD. She’s doing amazing work as the founder of MIST (Miscarriage & Infertility Support Training) providing workshops and information for businesses who want to support employees who are struggling with miscarriage, infertility and childlessness, and give them advice on creating a balanced w...

Join us - Michael, Berenice and Sarah - as we talk about sex and how being childless affects mental health, perception and worth. We discuss the triggers, the challenges and misunderstandings that come with not being a parent and how this life-changing journey has impacted intimacy. We also celebrate being World Childless Week Ambassadors and Sarah’s award as the World Childless Week People’s cham...

In this episode, we were joined by the founder of World Childless Week, Stephanie Joy Phillips to get the inside information on the plans for the 5th year of this week-long event. World Childless Week brings together Ambassadors selected from the thought leaders, campaigners, and awareness raisers who volunteer alongside Steph, to give hope, support, and strength to our childless not by choice com...

"No feeling is good or bad, right or wrong. I don't get to judge, but I can sit with you and help you know you are not alone and that there is support out there." Chrissy Pantlin Our guest this month is Chrissy Pantlin. She’s based in Australia. After illness, Chrissy qualified in counseling and set up her practice in the pandemic. Chrissy has taken all her knowledge from working in health and saf...

Please be aware that we discuss failed pregnancy and suicide in this episode. If you would like further support you can find resources here on our toolkit . Episode 28: The joy in the everyday is a celebration of self-care and looking after ourselves. We hope you’ll be inspired by our guests, Bindi Shah and Clare Elleray Bindi Shah is a meditation teacher, a life coach and a healer. She’s started...

Join us - Sarah, Michael and Berenice - as our guests turn the tables on us. We were not able to have an in-person party because of COVID and travel restrictions across the world, so we set up an open house with Jody Day , Robin Hadley , Sarah Roberts , Victoria Firth , Yvonne John and Lesley Pyne , with a special message from our podcast inspiration, Civilla Morgan .

When Jody asked us if she could celebrate 10 years of Gateway Women with The Full Stop podcast, we were delighted. All three of us are proud to call Jody a friend and an inspiration. Gateway Women means a lot to Sarah and Berenice who have been members for many years and the model and thinking of the community has inspired Michael who has seen great change. To find out more about Gateway Women and...

This episode actually began as an ‘admin’ chat! We hit record and we realised there might be a few nuggets of wisdom. Join us as we riff about screen sharing, Covid in our countries (we do get a bit emotive here, and this was recorded in early February so the statistics have changed), handling Zoom meetings and boundaries.

We are delighted to share with you, our next episode with Kate Kaufmann in another cross-continent broadcast - we get very excited about making connections across the world! We’ve called this episode Navigation because Kate, for us, is a fantastic voice for our community, not just through her book Do you Have Kids, Life When the Answer is No, but in the many articles she has published, as a World...

We wanted to use this episode to discuss how we’ve had to adapt in this current climate of online communication. Who better than Helen Louise Jones who has been raising our spirits with singing through her Childless Voices project and Chanting Circles. The choir began before lockdown in the UK in March 2020 and she had to quickly adapt the delivery to keep providing support and it’s been growing a...

In this episode, we were joined by Sarah Roberts from The Empty Cradle , Stephanie Phillips from World Childless Week , Andy Harrod from Invisible Childlessness with Jody Day from Gateway Women to share our reflections on the year passed and our hopes for 2021. "It’s almost like we’re starting to claim our space in the culture" Sarah Roberts, The Empty Cradle

In this episode, we were joined by our good friend Andy Harrod who is the voice behind Invisible Childlessness. He’s one of many new, powerful contributors to our community as he explores coming to terms with involuntary childlessness through writing and academic study. He’s also part of the Clan of Brothers. From the start, this episode poses questions about events that lead us to this space call...

In this episode, we were joined by artist Helen Segal who is the founder of Empowered Childlessness . Helen shares her inspiring life journey, discussing openly her grief and impact of IVF, and change in her life. It’s an incredible episode and we loved chatting to her, and there’s so much to take away from this. On 15th October 2020, it’s the Wave of Light for Baby Loss Awareness Week . Helen wil...

In this episode we were joined by Victoria Firth and Meriel Whale as we continue to explore the unheard voices in our community. We wanted to learn about what it means to be LGBTQI+ and involuntarily childless. Please join Michael and Berenice on this powerful and moving episode with our two amazing guests. Trigger: This episode discusses alternative parenting including adoption and IVF. Victoria...

In this episode, we were joined by Kirsty Woodard, a leading figure in raising awareness in ageing without children and founder of Ageing Well Without Children, Ming Ho, a screenwriter who writes, speaks, and campaigns on dementia and carer issues at Dementia Just Ain’t Sexy and Denise Jackson, a experienced carer and only child. Please go to our website for show notes and more information  

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." James Baldwin Trigger: motherhood and birth are briefly mentioned in this episode. Our community has heart. The warm welcome and kind words that we’ve heard in response to the many incredible stories of pain, recovery and hope from our guests never fails to move us. We know that there is a lot of compassio...

In this episode we’re joined by Rosalind Bubb, a therapist and EFT International 'Accredited Certified Master EFT Trainer’. Rosalind has been volunteering her skills to NHS workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this episode she shares her story with us, and guides us through an EFT Tapping Session and we hope you’ll join in.   You can find out more about EFT and Rosalind’s work at her website  ...

In this special episode recorded during lockdown in Spain, UK and Ireland, we reflect on the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus and our community, with a focus on what it’s like to be single and childless in the pandemic. We are joined by Rod Silvers, Jody Day with Julie and Joss from Gateway Women. Trigger: we discuss our journey to childlessness and adult themes.

In this episode Michael, Sarah and Berenice were joined by Dr Robin Hadley, PhD researcher Andy Harrod, Ken Fenton and Kevin Roberts, husband of Sarah Roberts who runs The Empty Cradle. One of the most rewarding parts of running a regular podcast is that we have many opportunities to meet new and old friends, We were delighted to welcome Andy back onto the show - he joined us on our first men and...

We have been checking in daily with each other to make sure we’re okay. We decided that we’d catch up on Zoom and ended up doing an impromptu recording. So here’s Episode 13, recorded on the eve of the UK lockdown. We reflect on the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus and our community, and Michael tells some stories! We also ask how we can help you through our podcast. Can we use our resources to...