KEY TOPICS: 2 births, retroverted uterus, caesarean, miscarriages, premature, grandmother
Local cooking enthusiast and author Jessica Montado serves up a flavour of what motherhood was like in the 1980’s and 1990’s this week – and what it’s like to be a grandparent now. In fact, there are touching references to her own mother and grandmother’s influences throughout our chat.
Jessica married in 1987 and was pregnant with her first son at the age of 24 the following year. There was an unusual twist to her pregnancy tests, and a ‘near miss’ situation in the first trimester, before an induced labour and caesarean due to her tilted uterus.
We discuss the concept of not feeling fully ‘ready,’ for motherhood, plus differences in maternity care and the short period of leave that was usual in those days. Jessica also highlights the challenges of accessing support and information – relying on advice from other women in the community, as opposed to the internet now. She references two miscarriages before becoming pregnant with her next son - another 'bun in the oven' - in 1994.
Jessica’s second birth was a harder experience as her son arrived eight weeks prematurely. He remained in Gibraltar and although both mother and baby recovered well after the C-section, she describes the lasting impact of that emotional time. We discuss adapting to life as a family of four, navigating the teenage years and what it’s like to become a grandmother – “the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Jessica’s own grandmother was a big influence in her life, as captured in her recipe book full of home-cooked family meals and memories that she herself passes down now to her children and grandchildren. She reflects on great positive advice she would give to her younger self too. Thank you so much Jessica, for ‘serving up’ this great episode! (Recorded May 2026).
Jessica’s book is out now: “CosyKitchenCorner: A Legacy of Recipes from Lely's Kitchen.”
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