The PANDAS Foundation Podcast

From identity loss to perfectionism, overwhelm, overstimulation and neurodivergence, parenthood can often throw us challenges we don’t expect. Psychologist and maternal wellbeing advocate Dr Tuesday Watts Overall joins Sally Bunkham to talk about the emotional realities that so many parents experience but rarely talk about. Alongside all the good stuff – love, gratitude and joy – parents can also...

In this deeply moving episode, Annie is joined by Pete Wallroth, father and CEO of Mummy's Star , a leading charity supporting families affected by cancer during pregnancy or in the early years of parenthood. Annie Belasco, CEO of PANDAS, brings personal insight to this conversation, having previously been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. Pete shares the story of his wife Maya’s breast cancer...

What if the “problem” was never you or your baby but a world that hasn’t learned how to support neurodivergent families? This time on the PANDAS Foundation Podcast , Sally Bunkham speaks with Victoria White — birth and postnatal doula, founder of Neurodivergent Birth CIC , and mother to two neurodivergent children — about her powerful journey through new parenthood, mental health struggles, and di...

The journey into parenthood looks different for all of us, but getting the right help can transform our experiences. This week, Annie Belasco speaks with Rachel — a mum of two whose journey through perinatal mental illness, baby loss and PTSD ultimately became a powerful story of recovery. From the moment her mental health spiralled after a traumatic birth, to the heartbreak of losing a much-wante...

In this episode of the PANDAS Foundation Podcast, Charlotte Howden, CEO of Pregnancy Sickness Support , shares her personal journey through hyperemesis gravidarum (HG): a severe and often misunderstood condition causing extreme sickness during pregnancy. Charlotte tells us about her own harrowing experience with HG, the struggle to be taken seriously by healthcare professionals, and how her journe...

Today Emma Hilling is a dedicated PANDAS volunteer and mum of two enjoying the chaos of birthday parties and toddler milestones. But when her second child was born she experienced severe postnatal anxiety. She speaks to Sally Bunkham about her experiences of perinatal anxiety, insomnia and recovery through the support of a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). Emma talks about the terrifying physical sympto...

Dr Caroline Boyd , a specialist in maternal anxiety and anger returns to the PANDAS Foundation Podcast to raise one of the most common and least openly-discussed aspects of the perinatal experience: unwanted intrusive thoughts. Unwanted intrusive thoughts fly in the face of societal norms and can leave us feeling horrified, distressed and ashamed. So how are they a useful part of our mind’s natura...

Lauren didn’t think she was mentally ill. But she had planned to end her life, feeling like a failure and burden upon her family. She was suffering from severe postnatal depression after the birth of her daughter and a challenging pregnancy, but fortunately her family and the health services intervened in time. The date she had chosen came and went, and day by day she learned how to manage parenth...

Faye is one of PANDAS incredible volunteers, and her connection to the charity is personal.   After months of research, big decisions, uncertainty and longing, Faye and Jane finally became parents to their son through IVF. This was the beginning of their adventure into parenthood, but the strain of hormone treatments, endless scans and a global pandemic had meant the conception and pregnancy...

Professor Dr Krystal Wilkinson is an advocate for change in the workplace after her own experiences of perinatal mental health opened her eyes to the value of supporting employees and employers for a positive transition.   Krystal shares her experiences of depression and how a supportive work environment helped her build back her confidence and recover. This inspired her work focussing on wom...

A semi-professional footballer, café owner and the actor you’ll know from Corrie and House of the Dragon – @theJamie Kenna is no stranger to huge achievements, but finding his feet as a dad was his biggest challenge yet.   Jamie opens up to Sally about the struggle of being a ‘blokey bloke’, unaware of how to reach out and find help as he faced up to his mental health struggle as a paren...

How did one woman use her perinatal mental illness to pivot her mum community and help thousands of people and address disparities in care for diverse communities?   Christina Brown discovered she was expecting her second child on maternity leave. With a distressing experience and two little ones to care for, she struggled with her mental health. After feeling let down by services, she turned...

Sally Bunkham oversees PANDAS communications and is the voice behind all of our social media posts. She also suffered with maternal rage after the birth of her second child.   In this episode, Dr Caroline Boyd, @_drboyd PANDAS Ambassador, mum of two and clinical psychologist, chats with Sally about this common and yet often stigmatised aspect of parenthood: anger.   They discuss the sham...

Meet Sally Bunkham and Annie Belasco. Sally and Annie work for PANDAS and have both had lived experience of perinatal mental health struggle and recovery.   In this episode Sally interviews Annie, Head of Charity about her very personal journey as a cancer survivor, through prenatal anxiety and depression, to a future that saw her rebirthing the UK’s leading perinatal mental health chari...

PANDAS Foundation - Pre and Postnatal Depression Advice and Support - helps people with their mental health at an early intervention stage - that's any time from conception through to birth and beyond. In this podcast series, coming on 15th July 2024, Sally Bunkham and Annie Belasco offer hope for parents struggling with mental health. Like many of the staff and volunteers at the charity they've e...