The MAMA Podcast

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge, Founder and CEO of MAMA Academy, is joined by Michelle Welsh MP, England's National Maternity Advisor, for a conversation on creating a national vision for safer births. Together, they explore the future of maternity care, the challenges facing services across the country, and the opportunities to improve outcomes for families through safer, mor...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge (Founder & CEO of MAMA Academy) is joined by Megan Rossiter, Founder of Birth-ed, and Safia Saad, Founder of Fund Future Midwives, to explore how education, advocacy and collaboration can help build a safer, more trusted maternity system. Together, they discuss the importance of preparing parents with evidence-based information, supporting an...

Episode 9: Heard, Not Dismissed; How Action for Accreta Was Born  In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge (Founder & CEO of MAMA Academy) is joined by Nik Adhia, Amisha Adhia, and Miss Chineze Otigbah from Action For Accreta to share the powerful story behind the organisation’s creation. Together, they discuss the realities of Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS), the challenges familie...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge (Founder & CEO of MAMA Academy) is joined by Georgie Woollams, Founder of Mum Love, to explore the emotional transformation that comes with becoming a mother. Together, they discuss the realities of matrescence, the emotional shifts many women experience during pregnancy and early motherhood, and why supporting maternal wellbeing is so import...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge (Founder & CEO of MAMA Academy) is joined by Roobin Jokhi to explore how communication can shape trust, safety, and experiences within maternity care. Drawing on their experience supporting families and healthcare professionals, they discuss the importance of compassionate conversations throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period, a...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge (Founder & CEO of MAMA Academy) is joined by Dr Rebecca Moore, Perinatal Psychiatrist and Co-Founder of Make Birth Better, to explore the vital role of perinatal mental health in protecting both families and healthcare professionals. Drawing on her extensive experience supporting parents and maternity staff, Rebecca shares insights into the e...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge (Founder & CEO of MAMA Academy) is joined by Grace Nartey, Lead Midwife for a Maternity Trauma and Loss Care Service, to explore what truly compassionate bereavement care looks like in practice and why supporting midwives is essential to delivering it. Drawing on over 30 years of experience across nursing, midwifery, safeguarding, and perinat...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge (Founder & CEO of MAMA Academy) is joined by Amanda Clifton, registered nurse, midwife and maternity governance specialist, and Parbeen Alamgir, Partner and Birth Injury Specialist Solicitor at Fletchers, to explore how learning from investigations can improve outcomes for women, babies and families. Together, they discuss the recurring theme...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi Eldridge (Founder & CEO of MAMA Academy) is joined by Leah Lewin, Co-CEO of White Ribbon Alliance UK , and Keelie Grindley , founder of the Nya birth collective and a midwife specialising in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), to explore equity in maternity care, anti-racist midwifery, and how to improve outcomes for Black and minority ethnic women...

In this episode of the MAMA Podcast’s series for healthcare professionals, Heidi Eldridge is joined by Georgia Kontosorou, Midwife and Maternity Digital Programme Delivery Manager. With more than 20 years of experience across maternity services and over a decade working in digital maternity systems, Georgia brings a unique perspective on how data shapes safety, equity and decision-making in matern...

Welcome to Episode 1 of our new 10-part MAMA Podcast series created for healthcare professionals working in maternity and neonatal care. In this first episode, our CEO Heidi Eldridge is joined by Dalvir Kandola, Consultant Midwife and Lead for Inclusivity, and Nursing Times Midwife of the Year 2025. Dalvir shares what leadership looks like in practice, how consultant midwifery creates space for de...

In this bonus episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi is joined by Joanna from NCT (National Childbirth Trust) to discuss their newly released report, From Expectation to Reality: Parents’ Experiences of New Life through Pregnancy, Birth and Early Parenthood. Drawing on the voices of 2,000 new and expectant parents across the UK, the report explores the emotional realities of pregnancy, concerns around...

Content note: this episode discusses baby loss, TFMR, stillbirth and grief. Emma shares her experience of receiving a life-limiting diagnosis, navigating care during Covid, and living with grief while parenting her living daughter. She also discusses the stigma surrounding TFMR and why compassionate bereavement care matters so deeply. Support links: • Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) • MAMA Aca...

Sophie Eldridge, better known as The Happy Midwife, joins Heidi Eldridge for a frank conversation about what maternity services need to change, and how change actually happens. Sophie is a practising midwife, mum, and perinatal governance professional with a passion for quality improvement. Together, they explore why transparency and communication sit at the heart of safer care, how “flattening th...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, Heidi is joined by Theo Clarke to talk about her personal experience of birth injury and the long road to recovery that followed. Theo shares what it was like navigating physical recovery, postnatal care, and mental health challenges after a traumatic birth  and reflects on how unprepared many parents feel for complications after labour. The conversation explor...

Dr Alice Keely is a plus size specialist phd midwife with 25 years experience and a passion for helping women of all sizes have calm in control pregnancies. When her PHD research exposed how challenging the plus size pregnancy journey can be, Alice launched the Heavyweight Midwife to help women get knowledge, reassurance & be in control for pregnancy & birth. If you’d like to learn more ab...

In this episode, Heidi is joined by midwife, author and maternity advocate Leah Hazard to explore what life on the real frontline of maternity care is like, and what midwives wish the system truly understood. Drawing on almost 12 years as an NHS midwife in a busy urban maternity unit, Leah offers a powerful, honest insight into staffing pressures, moral injury, and the emotional toll of not being...

In this episode, Heidi sits down with leading fertility acupuncturist Hannah Pearn to explore how acupuncture can support hormone balance, reproductive health, stress levels, and IVF outcomes. Hannah shares over a decade of specialist experience, breaking down what actually happens in a treatment, how acupuncture fits within a fertility journey, and why a holistic, whole-body approach often uncove...

When Chris’s wife developed postpartum psychosis after the birth of their first child, life changed overnight. In today’s episode, Chris shares his family’s journey and how their experience inspired him to campaign for greater awareness of this rare but treatable maternal mental illness. He also speaks about the impact on partners, the vital role of mother and baby units, and why recognising the e...

In this episode of The MAMA Podcast, host Heidi Eldridge chats with Manisha Sheth, co-founder of Support Me, a volunteer-led, birth-inspired group focused on helping minority ethnic people in the UK navigate the maternity system and beyond. If you’d like to learn more about Support ME, you can do that here: https://supportmecic.com/ If you’d like to see more of what we do, you can find us at: Our...

This week on The MAMA Podcast, Heidi speaks with Clare, a pelvic health physiotherapist and mum of two, about what pelvic health really is, and why it matters in pregnancy, birth and beyond. We get practical about bowel health (the unsung hero), simple pelvic floor exercises you can actually do, and how to stay active safely without giving up the movement you love. If you’ve ever wondered whether...

This week on The MAMA Podcast, Heidi speaks with Bex and Laura, co-founders of The Worst Girl Gang Ever foundation about pregnancy loss and what it’s like carrying grief when everyone around you expects you to just “be okay.”If you’ve ever felt isolated by loss, or wondered whether your reactions are valid, this episode is for you. We get honest, and we explore what grief looks like, how we cope,...

This week on the MAMA Podcast, Heidi chats with Dr. Kirsty Harris from Northamptonshire Perinatal Mental Health Services to discuss the work she and her team are doing to support families. For parents who are pregnant after loss, anxiety and trauma can resurface in powerful ways. Recognising this, Dr. Harris and her team have created dedicated pathways of support, bringing together specialist midw...

What does it really mean to advocate for yourself in pregnancy and birth? And why is it so important? In this episode of the MAMA Podcast, Heidi sits down with Midwife Marley, independent midwife, educator, author, and mother of five, to talk about advocacy, antenatal education, and the power of being informed. Marley shares her journey from the NHS to independent practice, how social media amplif...

This week, we're joined by Action on Pre-eclampsia to explore everything you need to know about this important condition that can affect pregnancy and postpartum health. Join us as we discuss how to spot the symptoms early, when to seek help, and why advocating for your health (even if you think you're 'making a fuss') can make all the difference for you and your baby. If you'd like to learn more...