The Neurodivergent Birth Podcast

As we work away preparing for Season 4, we just couldn't wait to bring this bonus episode to you from Season 3, to celebrate the release of Emily's book 'Breastfeeding, Autism and ADHD: Understanding extra support needs and positives for the Autistic or ADHD breastfeeding mother, parent and child'. Emily Lunny is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), au...

Join me for a summary of the season as I reflect on the importance of celebrating diversity in perinatal experiences, and the positives associated with neurodivergent pregnancy, birth and postnatal journeys. See you in 2025 for Season 4! If you would like to participate or nominate a potential guest, you can get in touch at info@ndbirth.com. Thank you for listening! Join the conversation on Instag...

Today I talk with Dr Emma Svanberg, clinical psychologist, author, founder of The Psychology Co-operative and co-founder of Make Birth Better CIC. We talk about her own experiences as an autistic woman with ADHD, understanding birth trauma in the context of neurodivergence, and the evolving awareness and understanding of neurodivergence within perinatal mental health services. Emma references the...

Today I talk to Kimberley Ashwin. Kimberley is an Autism Consultant Nurse and CEO of Autism Oxford. In this episode she shares her experience of the perinatal time from her perspective as a dyslexic person, and shares her tips for introducing a new baby into a neurodivergent family. You can find out more about the work that Autism Oxford do at https://autismoxford.com/ Thank you for listening! Joi...

Today I talk to Rebecca Schiller. Rebecca is an author, a women’s rights campaigner, co-founder, former trustee and  CEO of the human rights charity Birthrights and an occasional journalist. She also supports writers as a coach and mentor. Today we talk about her own neurodivergent experience and the topic of birth rights in a neurodivergent context. There is also an exciting announcement towards...

Jessica McCabe is the creator, writer, and star of the award-winning, YouTube channel How to ADHD https://www.youtube.com/c/howtoadhd .   Since its founding in 2015, How to ADHD has grown to over one and a half million subscribers.  Jessica is author of The New York Times Bestseller: How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It). In her book, Jessica reveals the...

Today I talk to Leah Lewin, aka the perinatal specialist. Leah is a birth worker and consultant with extensive expertise in trauma-informed care, birth trauma, perinatal mental health, and obstetric violence. In this episode we discuss intersectionality and perinatal experiences, with neurodivergence being just one facet of a person's identity, and how intergenerational trauma impacts these e...

Anna Le Grange is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Registered Paediatric Nurse, Mindfulness teacher and Author. She has worked with new families for over 20 years in a variety of clinical roles brings her passion for psychology, neuroscience and mindfulness into her lactation work.  Today we discuss her experiences living in a neurodivergent family, and how mindful breastfeed...

In today's episode I speak with Sally Bunkham, Communications and Development manager for UK charity PANDAS, who exist to support people suffering from perinatal mental illness including anxiety and depression. We talk about Sally’s experiences as a mother of neurodivergent children, and the increased risk of postnatal mood disorders within the ND community. WARNING: Please note this episode...

Today I speak with Grace Walker who is an EFT Practitioner, reiki energy healer and coach. Grace talks about motherhood in her neurodivergent family, and the power of EFT tapping for regulating her own, and her children's nervous systems. You can find out more about Grace's work and tapping at https://www.withgracewellness.com/ Thank you for listening! Join the conversation on Instagram...

Today I chat to Erin Fung of Better Birth UK ( https://www.better-birth.co.uk/ ).   Erin is a neurodivergent mum of 3, an antenatal educator, hypnobirthing teacher and guest lecturer on the midwifery course at Greenwich University. Today we talk about her own experience of the postnatal time, her perspective on neurodivergent experiences of induction and how to prepare for an induction process. Th...

Today I chat with Megan Griffith who is an AuDHDer, neurodiversity coach and founder of The Neurocuriosity Club https://www.theneurocuriosityclub.com/  Instagram @theneurodiversityclub. We discuss her own perinatal experiences, including her twin pregnancy and birth, the challenges of executive dysfunction, and what neurodiversity life coaching is. The paper that Megan refers to in the episode can...

In today's episode I chat to Mike Sandiford. Mike is the Health Inequalities Coordinator at Dad Matters, which is a Home-Start project aimed at supporting dads in the perinatal period with attachment and bonding, mental health, supporting partners and accessing services. Mike shares with us his experience as an autistic father, and talks about the work he does supporting neurodivergent dads....

Today I talk to Lucy Webber IBCLC. Lucy is a former midwife and lactation consultant, and mum to 3 neurodivergent children. We talk all about the positives and the challenges of infant feeding from a neurodivergent perspective, and how feeding can be a fantastic tool for nervous system regulation for both parent and child. You can find out more about the wonderful work Lucy does at https://www.lmj...

Today I chat with Vanessa D'Souza. Vanessa was a BBC Masterchef UK semi-finalist and is known as The Austitic Chef on social media. She is currently pregnant with her first child, and in this episode she shares her autistic experience of preparing for birth including navigating appointments, changing hospitals, finding a doula and much more. It’s a great conversation and I’m so grateful to he...

Welcome back to the Podcast! The theme of Season 3 is 'celebrating diversity in perinatal experiences' and we kick off by sharing a conversation with Verity Westgate.  Verity has worked with Autism Oxford UK since 2022 delivering autism training to community perinatal mental health teams. She was inspired to develop this training after her own experiences being diagnosed as autistic whil...

Today's episode is with Lucy Ruddle IBCLC. Lucy is a lactation consultant, breastfeeding counsellor and holistic sleep coach. Lucy has ADHD and is a mum to two ND children. We talk about her own experiences, discuss neurodivergent infant feeding challenges and positives, and reflect on the amazing tool that lactation is for co-regulating the nervous systems of both parents and children, parti...

Hello and welcome to Episode 16 of Season 2! Today I talk with Kate Moryoussef. Kate is the host of the amazing ADHD Women’s Wellbeing podcast and associated workshops, and is as an accredited EFT and NLP practitioner and wellbeing coach. Today we talk about her own experiences, and the importance of self-compassion when looking after our own wellbeing as we navigate the perinatal time and parenth...

Today I talk with Mark Williams. Mark is a keynote speaker, author and international mental health campaigner, who in 2004 himself experienced depression after the birth of his son. He founded International Fathers Mental Health Day and the #howareyoudad campaign, and was awarded Inspirational Father of the year and local hero at the Pride of Britain Awards in 2012. He was also awarded the Point O...

Welcome to this week's episode! Today I interview Maisie Hill. Maisie is an expert in menstrual health and is the celebrated author of Period Power, and Perimenopause Power. She shares with us her experience of the perinatal time as late-diagnosed autistic person, her insights on the fascinating interplay between hormones and neurodivergent experiences, and how menstrual cycle tracking can be...

In today's episode I talk to Dr Sam Porter. Sam is a neurodivergent NHS consultant perinatal psychiatrist and a psychiatry lead with Autistic Doctors International. Sam talks about his work supporting neurodivergent people perinatally, why he feels diagnosing autism and ADHD needs to be part of mainstream psychiatry, and how diagnosis can make the difference in whether or not some families ar...

Jessica McCabe is the creator, writer, and star of the award-winning, YouTube channel How to ADHD https://www.youtube.com/c/howtoadhd .   Since its founding in 2015, How to ADHD has grown to over one and a half million subscribers.  Jessica releases her first book on the 2nd January 2024 titled: How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It).  In How to ADHD , Jes...

Welcome to Episode 11 of Season 2! Today I talk with Jacob Kelly who you can find on instagram @adhdfatheruk. Jacob is a mental health and neurodiversity advocate and shares his experiences of being an ADHD parent and of his postnatal depression to educate and support neurodivergent people.  In this episode we talk about postnatal depression in dads and partners, his work supporting people on a mo...

Dr Lucy Thompson is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Rural Health within the Institute of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Aberdeen.  She has PhD in Psychology and a Master of Public Health which provided the ideal foundation for her research in early child development and parental wellbeing. Lucy is also the mum of a son with ADHD and has been exploring her own neurodivergen...

Welcome to this episode with Nicola Crawley. Nicola is a master NLP practitioner, hypnotherapist and reflexologist. She talks about ND fertility experiences, the benefits of hypnobirthing visualisations as a ND person (even if you find visual imagery challenging), the gifts of reflexology and much more. You can find out more about Nicola and her work at www.sunflowerfab.com. Thank you for listenin...