The Ultimate Birth Partner Podcast

Episode 183 - Safety

SAFETY: What Does Safety Actually Feel Like? What do we really mean when we talk about safety in birth? In this episode, I introduce the first word in the SPACE Framewo

Episode 182 - Curiosity

CURIOSITY: What Don't You Know Yet? How do we prepare for birth when we don't yet know what we don't know? In the first episode of Season 7, I'm exp

Episode 181 - Words

Words Welcome to Season 7 of The Ultimate Birth Partner Podcast. This season is a little different. Rather than focusing on one particular aspect of pregnancy, labour

Episode 180 - It’s Not Just About the Destination – It’s About the Journey as Well

In this final episode of the season, I’m bringing together many of the themes we’ve explored over recent weeks and looking at one central idea: birth is not just about th

Episode 179 - The Truth About Breathing and Relaxation for Birth

In this episode, I take a deeper look at breathing and relaxation in preparation for labour — going beyond the simple advice to “just breathe” or “try to relax.” These ar

Episode 178 - The Survival Response in Birth: Fawning and Cognitive Dissonance Explained

Why do so many women leave their birth experience wondering, “Why did I agree to that?” In this episode, we explore a rarely discussed but deeply important aspect of chi

Episode 177 - Breastfeeding - Essential information for supporting a new parent with Maddie McMahon (Replay)

I’m taking a little break over the Easter holidays, but I didn’t want you to miss this episode, because it’s the final one in our postpartum series, part of this season o

Episode 176 - Becoming a Mother: Understanding Matrescence

Motherhood is more than a role—it’s a profound transformation. In this episode, I explore matrescence, the process of becoming a mother, and what it really means for your

Episode 175 - Welcoming a New Baby – Preparing Your Family and Supporting Your Older Child

Bringing a new baby into your family is often described as a joyful and exciting time — but the reality is far more complex. In this episode, I share an honest, real-wor

Episode 174 - The Fourth Trimester and Postpartum Planning

Since last week’s episode was released, I’ve received so many messages from listeners asking for more information about the fourth trimester and postpartum planning that

Episode 173 - Specialist Midwife Lara - The Postpartum Period

In this episode, I’m joined by specialist postpartum midwife Lara for a thoughtful and honest conversation about what really happens after birth. Recorded last summer, t

Episode 172 - Relationship Circles – Planning Postpartum Support

Preparing for birth is only half the story. What happens in the weeks after your baby arrives can be just as challenging — and often more overwhelming than labour itself.

Episode 171 - Safety: Why Continuity of Carer Changes Everything

Last week I talked about hypervigilance — what happens when a woman’s nervous system doesn’t feel safe in pregnancy, birth or postpartum. This week, I explore one of the

Episode 170 - Hyper‑Vigilance in Pregnancy, Birth & Postpartum

Hyper-vigilance is common in pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period — but rarely named. In this episode, we explore what hyper-vigilance really is, why so many women

Episode 169 - Your Questions Answered: Birth, Babies & Early Parenthood Q&A

This episode is a little different!  I decided to answer a batch of listener questions that were shorter than the single-question episodes, and they fit perfectly with w

Episode 168 - Beyond the Headlines: Freebirth, Preparation, and Choice — Fenja’s Story

In this episode, I’m joined by Fenja, who shares her freebirth story with honesty, depth, and clarity. At a time when freebirth is being widely discussed — and often mis

Episode 167 - Self-Gaslighting – When You Silence Your Own Instincts

In this episode, I am exploring the hidden and often overlooked phenomenon of self-gaslighting—when women dismiss their own instincts, feelings, or inner knowing. Self-ga

Episode 166 - The Ten Commandments of Birth: Why Inner Work Matters More Than Technique

So much of birth preparation focuses on what to do — how to breathe, how to move, how to plan. But none of that works if a woman doesn’t trust herself. In this episode,

Episode 165 - The Baby I Dreamed Of — And the Feelings I Didn’t Expect

In this final episode of the year, I’m talking about something I see all the time in my work — but something women rarely feel able to admit out loud: that the desperate

Episode 164 - Beyond the BRAIN Acronym – Rethinking Communication in the Birth Room

In this episode, we dive deep into communication in the birth room — going beyond the widely taught BRAIN acronym. While BRAIN (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition,