Mothers talking podcast

In this month's episode of mothers talking we're celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness month.  Jenna chats to Beccy, who found out her daughter, Charlotte, would have Down Syndrome at 33 weeks pregnant.  Beccy shares her journey around the unexpected diagnosis, her whirlwind birth two weeks later and how life felt then and what it's like now.   Please have a listen to this lovely story of how a mother will always rise to the challenge life gives her.  Thank you so much for coming on Beccy and sharing your story. Beccy mentions two Down Syndrome charities in her local area -  www.sparkles.org.uk www.sbdsg.org.uk There is also www.downsyndromeuk.co.uk for more support. As always thank you so much for listening, please share this episode and leave us a review if you can thanks! Jenna and Natalie [email protected] www.wildlyheld.com @jenna_andjude www.nataliemeddings.com  

Sevgi is a Turkish mum who welcomed her first baby, Atlas, into the world last summer. As a pharmacist and an international marketing manager in pharma, you might expect Sevgi to view birth through a purely medical lens. But Sevgi’s true superpower is her intuition.  In this conversation, we listen to how she stepped out of Turkey’s highly medicalised mindset, questioning the absolute authority of the doctor, and how she beautifully navigated the rigid, risk-driven procedures of the UK maternity system.  She made a conscious choice to tune out the medicalised fear and lean into the natural rhythm of her body. The result was a profoundly beautiful, empowering, and positive birth experience. In this episode, Sevgi joins us to talk about the shift from learned fear to biological trust, and how every mother can find the confidence to become the true anchor of her own birth story. Sevgi is here to remind us of something crucial: a positive birth story is not a matter of luck; it is a matter of self-trust. It is a stunning example of what happens when we marry our intellect with our deepest maternal instincts, showing every mother how to move away from institutional fear and become the true, confident anchor of her own story. Thank you so much for sharing your story Sevgi. And as always thanks for listening. Natalie and Jenna [email protected] www.nataliemeddings.com @jenna_andjude  

This is part two of the episode, 99 Days in NICU.  In this insightful conversation, Natalie chats more to Kate Merrick, psychotherapist and mum to sweet Eliza, about her time at home and onwards after hospital.  Kate shows how beautifully connected she became with herself as a mother, her intuition and the body attunement which helped her to know what was best for her daughter.  Kate also chats about her farm and her work as a holistic health practitioner which explores the themes of nature being our guide and how the tech age we're living in is actually helping some of us resensitise to the natural world.  Thanks so much Kate for sharing your story. Kate's IG - @rushmead_farm Kate's websites -  www.rushmeadfarm.com https://www.katemerrickpsychotherapy.co.uk/ Natalie's website www.nataliemeddings.com If you'd like to get in touch with Jenna & Natalie please email [email protected] Thanks as always for listening.

Active birth is a powerful way to prepare for birth - and super effective. Yet it's benefits are less known about these days thanks to the countless courses, techniques and online courses now available. It's very physical focus is the key to mothers feeling confident as well as to countering the worrying rise in medicalised birth and Natalie's conversation with ardent active birth advocate Silvia Bush Infestas-Lopez will give you a really felt sense of exactly why. Silvia is a Spanish mum of two and a Marketing Director based in London.  Silvia discovered Active Birth during her first pregnancy five years ago, and its common-sense approach immediately resonated with her. As she began learning more about birth physiology, what started as a personal interest quickly grew into a real passion. Silvia later trained as a certified Active Birth teacher, alongside other pregnancy, birth and postnatal-related certifications. Her own positive birth experiences were life-changing, and Silvia now loves sharing what she's learned to help other parents approach birth with more confidence and trust in their bodies.   As always thanks for listening. If you'd like to get in touch with us please email [email protected] Natalie And Jenna www.nataliemeddings.com @jenna_andjude    

We're starting the year off right with this uplifting episode of mothers talking.  Jenna talks to Kimberley, co-founder of ThriveNow Education and mum of three, whose own family tragedy has driven her to redefine education.  Kim is an experienced educator with over twenty years in the field and Kim is reimagining how school can be for young people.  Not only that, she is making this school a reality and it will open it's doors in September 2026 in Kingston-upon-Thames in South West London.  With a holistic approach, Kim is helping shape education to fit the child, not the other way around.  Beautifully warm and so inspiring, Kim tells us about her journey to build her school of dreams. Kim is also generously open sourcing all the assets so anyone can use them to build their own schools and learning communities without the usual financial barriers to entry.  So if you would like to know more or offer your help please contact  Kimberley at ThriveNow Education - https://linktr.ee/thrivenoweducation https://www.youtube.com/@ThriveNowEducation For anyone who is interested in their child coming to the school, please email us at [email protected]   Thank you so much Kim! As always, thanks for listening. Jenna and Natalie [email protected] @jenna_andjude @natalie_meddingsdoula  

In this festive episode of mothers talking, Natalie and Jenna chat to lovely Freya Haines about everything hair and identity in motherhood. Freya is a mum of two and a hairdresser and in her new video series called 'Unbecoming' Freya is exploring a new mother's identity and how it transforms when they have a baby and how empowering it can be to get a new hairstyle.  Freya chats about how she nurtures new mothers in the postnatal period through their hair and gives them a chance to explore the changes they are going through.  This episode really sheds a light on how important our hair can be to us and how something simple can have a profound effect on our wellbeing.  Thanks so much Freya. If you would like to contact Freya, her details are below -  @kaiahairbyfreya [email protected] Salon - www.sta-studios.com   As always, thanks for listening, Natalie and Jenna [email protected] www.nataliemeddings.com www.theminimalistdoula.com    

As you probably know by now, Natalie can get quite excited about education. So she was especially pleased to have a chance to explore and explain the mysteries of Steiner schooling with Jenna Kim, mother of Cora, Ada and Iris, who are just starting out on that journey.  If thoughts like 'weird', 'cult', or 'alternative nonsense' are coming to mind, stop right there and have a listen. You may be surprised.    If this episode sparks your interest in Steiner schools, here are some resources;   Recommended reading -  You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy  All Year Round by Ann Druitt and Christine Fynes-Clinton The Five Golden Keys by Helle Heckmann   Jenna's article - https://nhmoms.com/school-years/8-elements-of-waldorf-education-i-love/ www.hawthornpress.com for wonderful books  www.myriadonline.co.uk for natural toys and play   and if you are south London based, parent & child groups are held every morning at St Michael Steiner School - www.stmichaelsteier.hounselow.sch.uk or email [email protected]   Thanks as always for listening Natalie and Jenna   [email protected] www.nataliemeddings.com www.theminimalistdoula.com  

In this much needed episode of mothers talking, Natalie (author of Why Home Birth Matters) chats to Alex Smith.  Alex Smith has been a childbirth educator since the 1970s and an observer of the changing attitudes to childbirth during that time. She has had the privilege of attending many home births and believes that this is probably the only setting where truly physiological birth is able to unfold. She regards the rapid escalation of induced labour and caesarean birth as an ecological issue with consequences for mankind that are as grave as the melting ice floes. As a mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Alex wants to see the winds of change shift in a way that will allow future generations of women to have restored faith in the natural process of birth - secure in their trust that medical resources are at hand, if needed, but as a safety net and not a conveyor belt. This deep dive into the history of birth and how it has shaped maternity care today, is as fascinating as it is reassuring especially about how safe birth actually is when you can trust it.  If you're wondering how to trust yourself when faced with the challenges of the maternity system, well you can use Alex's simple but very effective traffic light system... Thank you so much to Alex for this wonderful episode. AIMS (Association for Improvements in Maternity Services) https://www.aims.org.uk/ Natalie's website where you can buy her books, Why Home Birth Matters and How to Have a Baby www.nataliemeddings.com   As always, thanks for listening. If you would like to contact us please email [email protected]    

In this open-hearted conversation of Mothers talking, Jenna chats to Caro Giles, author of Twelve Moons and her latest book, Unschooled, about her journey with her daughters and the school system.  Caro as a single mum and full time carer to two of her four daughters who are autistic, shares how she has had to navigate a broken system while it failed her family and she had to be the one to pick up the pieces.  However with her wonderful book, she is hoping to advocate for a kinder and more supportive conversation around schooling for children who don't fit in from a family who didn't.  Thank you Caro for sharing your story with us. Caro's instagram   @carogileswrites Caro's substack      https://carogiles.substack.com/ Caro's latest book 'Unschooled'  https://www.littletoller.co.uk/shop/books/little-toller/new-books/unschooled-by-caro-giles/ Caro's audiobook for 'Twelve Moons' is also available to accompany the book Thanks as always for listening Jenna & Natalie [email protected] Jenna - www.theminimalistdoula.com Natalie - www.nataliemeddings.com      

In part one of this beautiful conversation between Natalie and Kate Merrick, a psychotherapist and mum, Kate shares her incredible journey with her daughter Eliza and their 99 days in hospital after Eliza was born early at 29 weeks.  This remarkable story is a true testament to the deep knowing of a woman's body, a teeny but mighty baby girl and a mother's unwavering love and trust.  Kate sees the gifts of her experience and also shares how her emergency caesarean birth was utterly sacred.  Part two will follow soon, not to be missed, thanks so much for your openness and honesty Kate. Kate's IG - @rushmead_farm Kate's websites -  www.rushmeadfarm.com https://www.katemerrickpsychotherapy.co.uk/ Natalie's website www.nataliemeddings.com If you'd like to get in touch with Jenna & Natalie please email [email protected] Thanks as always for listening.