To Become a Mother

Whilst the birth of Anna Glowacka’s first child was on paper uncomplicated, Anna felt as though she was pushed through a conveyor belt system of care in which she had limited agency or say. When Anna is pregnant with her second child, she is therefore determined to take centre stage of her birth experience. She plans for a home birth and makes a conscious decision to trust her body. And Anna’s body knows exactly what to do when she goes into labour an October morning. This is a wonderful birth story of trusting one’s instinct and body and is testament to that it is possible to have an empowering, amazing birth after a previous difficult experience. With us in the studio is Nyree Wright, midwife and founder of Sage Femme. 

We expect birth to be a reckoning. So we prepare for it. We attend classes, read books, consult friends and family. Then the baby is born and we realise that the post-partum period is its own reckoning. But in contrast to birth, we are not prepared for it and we ask ourselves, why did no one tell me about this? In this podcast episode our three panellists discuss the first few weeks after birth. They generously tell us about their experience of this time - how it was to come home from hospital with a little baby, how they felt emotionally and physically, how the baby impacted their other relationships and what they wish they’d known in advance. Our panel consists of Bex Ohta, Head of Marketing at Trevor Sorbie and mother to Rei, 8 months; Helen McDermott, lawyer and mother to Setanta, 9 months; and Sarah Falconer, Retail Development Co-ordinator and mother to Gabriel, 8 months.

When Leah Shimabukuro, head of products at a tech company, is expecting her second child, she is determined to rewrite her previous birth experience which was difficult and ended in an emergency C-section. She takes a proactive and studios approach to her birth preparation, arming herself with as much information as possible. In consultation with her antenatal care providers, Leah decides to attempt a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). This inspirational story is testament to that history doesn’t need to repeat itself and that it is possible to have a good birth after a previous difficult experience. With us in the studio is Nyree Wright, midwife and founder of Sage Femme, to answer any questions.

In the words of Naomi Wolf, motherhood is one of the most challenging and creative jobs anyone can do. But why then are mothers so often diminished or discriminated against in our culture? Why is the work of bearing and raising children often thought of as unimportant? And why are issues relating to motherhood and parenting so low on the political agenda? These are some of the questions that Maddie McMahon explores in her outstanding book “Why Mothering Matters” and on today’s episode of To Become a Mother, we have the honour of speaking to Maddie about the art of mothering, and why it does really matter.

In this episode, Magda Bilska-Pereda, Virtual Assistant Hub Manager, tells the birth story of her twin boys Elias and Mateo. It is a story about finally getting pregnant through IVF after a miscarriage and several years of infertility, about being so grateful and happy to be pregnant that it overshadows any pregnancy sickness and discomfort, and about going into labour one week before her planned C-section. It is an inspirational story about becoming a mother to twins, delivered with a good dose of humour, but also an honest account of the challenges of navigating the fourth trimester with two babies to care for.With us in the studio is Nyree Wright, midwife and founder of Sage Femme, to answer any questions.

There are many things that can change when we become mothers, including our desire for sex. In this episode we speak to Kate Moyle, a Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist, about sex and intimacy after we become mothers. We discuss why sex is so good for us, what we can do to prioritise sex, whether scheduling sex is a good thing and, if not having enough sex should make us worry.

Samantha King is 8 weeks pregnant when the UK enters its first lockdown. It is the start of a lonely pregnancy, where social interactions and midwifery appointments are reduced to Zoom meetings and telephone consultations. The limited antenatal care has significant implications for Samantha and her birth experience, with gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia only suspected after the birth of her 11.3 pounds baby. It is at times a difficult story and is therefore not for everyone. But it is a story that sadly, is not unique to Samantha, and needs to be told. It brings into focus the importance of good maternity care and why, if there is ever another lockdown, we must ensure that women continue to receive adequate support and care throughout pregnancy, birth and motherhood. With us in the studio is Nyree Wright, midwife and founder of Sage Femme, to answer any questions.

In this episode, Reesha Ranavaya and Layla De Freitas talk about how it is to become a mother to twins. From the joy of finding out that there are two hearts beating on the sonographer’s screen, to navigating a high-risk pregnancy and spending over 12 weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit, this is a fascinating, and incredibly moving panel talk about two women’s very different twin pregnancies and births. And whilst these two women's journeys to twin motherhood stand in stark contrast to each other in many respects - and their respective worries and perspectives are reflective of that - on a fundamental level they share the incredible experience of carrying, birthing and raising twins.