Pure Natural Pregnancy

Lynsey McGillivray is a midwife, who trained as a hypnobirthing teacher shortly after graduation. She was used to seeing women birth on their backs in a haze of pain medication, until one day, her whole perspective changed.

Eilidh (Ay-Lee) Venning shares her two beautifully peaceful home birth stories. Originally from Scotland, she now lives in Cape Town, South Africa, where the birthing "norms" are very different. She was determined to have a natural home birth both times, and she did it well!

Dr Stephanie Barto is a crazy busy women. She's a mum of 2, with a third baby on the way, she's a prenatal & paediatric chiropractor and business owner.  In this episode we discuss the importance of self care throughout pregnancy and into motherhood. Stephanie & myself also veer off into the extremely important discussion of expectations. The people around you (and their views on pregnancy/birth) can make or break your outcomes, so choose them wisely!

Feng Shui Mommy – the book – was sent to me by Bailey’s PR team as a fit for the show. I’ll be honest, when I first looked into it, my thoughts were: “WTF!? Feng Shui is some Chinese home organisation thing, right?” How does Feng Shui Mommy even fit into a book title?! I took a look around Bailey’s website so I could get a feel for her before having her on the show. I’m happy for a good dose of hippy but I’m not an all-out-woo kinda girl. I just couldn’t see how the concepts of house & pregnancy could possibly be linked. Herein lies the genius. FENG SHUI PRINCIPLES Bailey Gaddis is a doula, a hypnobirthing coach and, in a past life, was also a home organiser. But Feng Shui Mommy isn’t about organising your house. It’s about organising your energy. That’s what Bailey does so well in this book, and it’s the reason I wanted to chat to her on the show. She’s all about the energy. Where feng shui in the home focuses more on your outer world, she relates these principles to your inner world. Pregnancy is such

This episode is a MUST LISTEN for anyone in the UK. The face of birth is changing - midwives are currently regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (an oxymoron in itself!), who are proving themselves to be unfit for purpose.  Rather than being responsible for assisting the wants of the women they are providing care for - which has always been the duty of a midwife - under the new regulations, midwives are instead going to have their practice ruled by what their employer (the NHS trust or the private company who they work for) wants them to do. Why does this matter? Well, if you want to give birth outside of the "norm" for that employer then you may be told you're not allowed.  For years, I've seen memes that pronounce "You're not allowed to tell me I'm not allowed" and "My body, my baby, my birth".  Under the current changes, this has the potential to all change. Listen to Katherine explain the situation much better than I can! It really is an eye opening episode.

Feeling like a failure after my caesarean This is an off-the-cuff episode that I recorded whilst sitting in a hotel room early in the morning. The weekend away was a planned bit of relaxation for myself and my beautiful friend MaryAnne (from the You're Doing Great Mom podcast). We had a few glasses of wine in the bar in the evening and got talking about my first birth with George, which was a planned home birth that turned into an emergency caesarean at 33 weeks. Although MaryAnne knew bits and bobs about my birth, she didn't know the full depth of it. She had no idea that I felt like a failure after my caesarean. I told my family that I felt like a failure, that my body let me down, and most of all that I didn't deserve to have children. My feelings were invalidated and dismissed, because I had a "healthy baby". That's not how it should be. Clearly this had been on my mind all night, because I woke up with the urge to record a heartfelt episode to go in depth into the birth trauma and associated feelings tha

Child development is something every parent is concerned about - we all want our children to be the best! As with many health-related issues, we often wait until something is wrong before seeking help. When we wait until school age tests to be certain how our child is developing, it's often past the critical period to be able to see the biggest change to their brain function. In this episode, I talk to Dr Marty Rosen who teaches internationally on the topic of how skull movement affects brain development in babies and children. Often babies have small but noticeable asymmetries in their skulls, which can alter the way the child's brain develops. This is sometimes due to a traumatic delivery, like forceps pressure, sometimes due to sleeping positions, but often the baby's positioning inside Mum's tummy has a big effect too. As a baby's brain begins to develop before he/she is born, by the time of birth, the foundations are in place for this growth and development to continue through infancy. A whopping 80-90%

In this episode of the Pure Natural Pregnancy podcast, Sarah talks to Mark Harris from Birthing for Blokes. Mark Harris Mark is registered as a midwife and nurse. He is an author, podcaster, speaker and general good guy who loves people! Mark travels around the country teaching men, and same sex partners, about the importance of their role in pregnancy and birth. “The choices I have made in my professional life have been shaped by this gregarious inclination. I have trained and worked as a Nurse, Midwife, Teacher in Further Education, hypnotherapist, NLP trainer, out reach youth worker. I still work as a Midwife offering a birth education through a programme called, Birthing For Blokes (@Birthing4Blokes), work and play often merge for me.” You can find Mark on Facebook, twitter & on his website. In this episode In this first episode, we discuss the brain, hormones and the differences between men and women. We also have an introduction to the physiology of the partner’s role, and why they are so crucial to

Mark is registered as a midwife and nurse. He is an author, podcaster, speaker and general good guy who loves people! Mark travels around the country teaching men, and same sex partners, about the importance of their role in pregnancy and birth. "The choices I have made in my professional life have been shaped by this gregarious inclination. I have trained and worked as a Nurse, Midwife, Teacher in Further Education, hypnotherapist, NLP trainer, out reach youth worker. I still work as a Midwife offering a birth education through a programme called, Birthing For Blokes (@Birthing4Blokes), work and play often merge for me." You can find Mark on Facebook, twitter & on his website. In the episode In the second episode, we discuss the importance of oxytocin, the hormone of love, and how your birth partner can make this hormone as plentiful as possible! He provides ways in which your partner can make deposits into the oxytocin bank, so it's definitely one to listen to together one quiet evening! We also disc

Suzy Ashworth is an author, pregnancy coach and a mindset & marketing mentor for pre and postnatal specialists. As founder of The Calm Birth School and The Baby Business School, she has a passion for showing women exactly why they can and should believe in themselves, empowering them to create mind-blowing birth experiences. When she is not working and entertaining her two children Caesar and Coco, mainly she’s sleeping/growing another human being as she incubates the latest addition to her family. You can find Suzy on Facebook, twitter, instagram & on her website. In the episode In this episode, we discuss the foundations of hypnobirthing, what it is and what it isn’t. She touches on the science and the woo woo, and also how hypnobirthing isn’t just for those wanting a home birth, but can be used in any type of birth, and in life in general! We have a chat about our own pregnancies and generally have a good laugh! Resources: Episode 004 Suzy Ashworth – The Calm Birth School Book The Calm Birth Schoo

In this episode, I speak to a wonderful chiropractor who I had the pleasure of meeting during my training with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) certification programme in London. For those of you who don't know, I'm a chiropractor (currently on maternity leave) and I'm working my way through this specialised paediatric chiropractic training. When I met Ron, he was so passionate about what he does, and so eloquent in his explanations, that I knew I had to get him on the show. Apologies for the sound interference 18 minutes in - and if you listen closely, you’ll hear my son, George, shouting Mummy at one point too! Oops. Ron Castellucci Ron has been practicing Chiropractic since graduating from Logan College of Chiropractic in 1988. Following his graduation from Logan, he practiced in Missouri and Massachusetts before settling in Horse Shoe, North Carolina. Dr. Castellucci is associate professor of clinical and chiropractic sciences at Sherman College of Chiropractic and was twice nam

Sally Beare is a nutritional therapist based in Bristol. She originally trained at the UK College of Nutrition and Health in London, following the discovery of a new level of health, which emerged when she changed the food on her plate. She is registered with the Nutritional Therapy Council and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, which set the highest standards for nutritional therapy practice in the UK. Sally has written books, and also worked with the Natural Health Clinic, taking nutrition workshops to schools in Bristol as part of a project called Engaging Minds. She is also a member of Mums Say No to GMOS, who are campaigning to rid our supermarket shelves of GMO products, as a proactive protective move, rather than wait and see what effect these GMOs have on our population’s future health. As if that isn’t enough, as well as being a mother of two, she has recently released her latest book, The Stacking Plan, which guides readers through a ten week plan to stack healthy habits on top of one

I loved this discussion with Susanne – be forewarned, it’s the equivalent of eavesdropping on us in a coffee shop. It’s not an information overload episode, it’s a chat about our experiences. We both have been diagnosed with PTSD following different circumstances, and our experiences are vastly different, yet remarkably similar. We both agree that there needs to be more awareness of how this can affect a pregnancy – not only for the woman, but for her partner, and her care givers. Midwives and obstetric consultants should also listen to this for a valuable insight into the mind of a pregnant woman dealing with PTSD. In this episode: The importance of language and some examples of what to be aware of when talking to someone with PTSD – especially trigger words What a PTSD episode can look and feel like (of course everyone’s experiences are different) so you know you’re not alone if you’re experiencing these weird and wonderful emotions Very basic ways to support someone who’s dealing with PTSD before you can

Catherine teaches adults to breathe fully, and thus to heal unresolved trauma that affects them in their day-to-day life. They may not be conscious of this link with the time of their birth. The name Rebirthing Breathwork came about because about 80% of clients remember their birth as a time of stress and change. Much of this is caused by Western birth practices (such as cutting cord before baby is breathing) but also by the fear of the adults present as the baby is learning to breathe. These foundations can all be rebuilt. She has had 3 natural drug-free births, 2 of them home births. She breastfeed long-term including tandem nursing, and was a breastfeeding counsellor for 19 years. Most of her work is 1-2-1, and she is also offering breath workshops to birth professionals “A day for healing your own birth experience”. She’s available via her website, Twitter, and Facebook In this episode, we discuss: What is rebirthing and breath work? Why your brain pays attention to certain things more than others How th

Chantal has been practising as a holistic therapist since 2007 offering massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, and various types of massage. Her interest in pain management guided her to do my BSc in Acupuncture which she completed in 2012. After having twins in her final year at uni, an interest in fertility, pregnancy and labour developed.  Now as a mum of 4, she wanted her children to enjoy the benefits of acupuncture so completed her paediatric oriental medicine practitioner training in March 2014. She can be reached through Facebook or her website Before coming across Chantal on Facebook via a mutual friend, I had very little knowledge of acupuncture. I’ve followed Chantal’s page – Dragonfly Acupuncture Leeds – for a while now and I really enjoy what she has to share. It made perfect sense for the person that introduced me to the principles of acupuncture to introduce them to you too. (Although I do sheepishly have to admit I still haven’t yet experienced a session!) In this episode: What’s covered on an a

When a baby is born, two amazing things happen. There’s the arrival of a new human into the world which is a momentous, beautiful, incredible event. But most people don’t know that also happening at the same time is the critical transfer of bacteria from mother to baby  – this is the “seeding” of the human microbiome. Even more amazing is that there are special sugars in breastmilk that are designed to “feed” the bacteria in the baby’s gut newly arrived from mum. This “seed and feed” process is a hot topic of scientific research right now especially as the latest science is indicating that whether a baby is born vaginally or by C-section, and whether the baby is breastfed or formula fed, these could have ramifications for the child’s lifelong health. Toni and I discussed the importance of the micro biome for developing our future health. It was really interesting to talk to Toni and find out all about her experiences and what led to the discovery of this important part of health. Some of the things we discuss

Gordana studied acupuncture at the University of Westminster in London and graduated with the BSc Hons Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). She also holds a Masters Degree (MA) in Music Performance from City University and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London and Diploma in Existential Psychotherapy from the New School of Counseling and Psychotherapy (NSCP) in London Waterloo.   As a traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncturist, Gordana has a special interest and extensive postgraduate training in use of acupuncture in reproductive medicine, gynaecology, male and female fertility and pre and post natal care. In her clinical practice, Gordana always combines the best aspects of eastern and western medical practices to achieve positive treatment outcomes as she believes that this is the most effective method for resolution of modern health issues.   Gordana also held a position of Assistant Clinical Supervisor at the Student Polyclinic at University of Westminster until 2012 combining her 25 years

Currently juggling breastfeeding, nappy changing & swashbuckling pirate adventures, I also find time for the odd rant on the blog, and a little bit of pregnancy reading too. I’m a chiropractor on maternity leave, spending my CPD studying babies and how to best care for them from a chiropractic perspective. I’m mum to two boys, born at either end of the scale. I am on Facebook and Twitter, and you can also follow my day to day life on Instagram if you so desire! (I did have snapchat for a bit, but soon decided it was too much like hard work!) Todays show I decided to do things a little differently today, and to just talk. I really believe that birth preferences and creating a dream team is what made the difference for me in terms of my mental health second time round. Whilst my birth was beautiful, I had to contend with a hospital stay from day 2-7, which could easily have tipped me back into my PTSD. Thankfully, it didn’t, and I’m convinced that the major factor was my prior planning a.k.a the birth prefe

Today’s episode is all about releasing fears during pregnancy, so that you can enjoy a fear free childbirth. It surprised me to learn that there are so many thousands of women for whom pregnancy and birth is something that creates massive fear. To the extent that marriages break down and women are having abortions, because they are so petrified of birth. Alexia specialises in helping women to overcome these fears, so that they can enjoy their pregnancies! It was a pleasure chatting to her, and I have already signed up for her Head Trash podcast too. In this episode: Tokophobia – the fear of childbirth – and it’s possibly surprising prevalence The most common fears that women have surrounding pregnancy and birth itself Alexia’s own fears during pregnancy How she overcame them and changed careers to help other women learn the tools to create their own fear free pregnancy and birth Using these tools in day-to-day life Further Research: Alexia’s Fear Free Childbirth website and podcast has a wealth of informat

Amanda has been in Midwifery practice for over 27 years. Although most of her practice has been in Leeds, she also worked as a Midwife in New Zealand, experiencing a very different model of Midwifery care. Over ten years ago Amanda began to challenging the practice of immediate cord clamping after realising that this common routine practice had absolutely no evidence base and deprived babies of valuable stem cell enriched full blood. Amanda has campaigned for a change in practice from immediate cord clamping to delayed cord clamping and has seen all national and international guidelines change their guidance to recommend this. Amanda is a co-inventor of the award winning Basics/Lifestart trolley which enables vulnerable babies to be ventilated whilst the umbilical cord is kept intact to ensure they receive their full blood benefit. Amanda has written many articles and talked at numerous events about optimal cord clamping and changing practice and fully harnessed the power of social media by participating in a