The Confused Mother

Seetal Savla is a vocal voice about IVF, based on her own experience with it in the UK, in Germany and during the Covid pandemic. We talked about her difficult journey to motherhood and the stigma around being unable to get pregnant naturally and quickly. If you are looking for information on IVF in Germany, please send me a message and I will share the brochure I have. Follow Seetal on Instagram @savlafaire and for more general information on IVF you can also go through her blog: http://www.savlafaire.com/

Yvonne is a single mother and has an 8 year old daughter. She is also an executive coach and consultant, running two successful businesses in Berlin and Potsdam. We talked about coaching, how she manages her family life, her work and fun. Being of mixed nationality and have a multicultural family You can find out more about her work here: https://successhappinessacademy.com/ https://fraufuture.com I would be grateful for your support of my work. You can buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tcmother

Lela Grießbach is a superwoman. She has so many passion projects, she successfully juggles many balls in the air simultaneously, while being a mom of two, with the support of her wonderful husband. I am proud to call her my friend and advisor. We talked about life in Georgia, how she came to Germany and what hurdles she faced, along with how that impacts the kind of mother she is. She also talked about her latest project, supporting menstrual health in Georgia. You can find out more about her and donate to her project here: https://www.lela-griessbach.de/ or find her on Instagram as Lela Grießsbach.

In this first podcast episode of 2024, I spoke to Lisa, co-founder of Kietzee. We talked about how she had the idea of Kietzee and how it has grown into such a big movement in Berlin. We also talked about childbirth, the experience of motherhood during the COVID pandemic and life in Berlin today. My favourite quote from this episode is "it started with an Excel list!" Find out more about Kietzee: www.kietzee.com or follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kietzee/

Jaclyn Schnau shares the fascinating story of how all her research related to children's nutrition led her to create Pumpkin Organics. She shares a lot of valuable tips for mothers who want to cultivate good eating habits in their children. Listen to her story which is full of twists and turns, and find out where she gets her motivation and drive to run her purpose business from. Follow here: Instagram.com/pumpkin.organics and instagram.com/jaclynschnau Pumpkin Organics products for children include pouches, bars and more, which are available at Kaufland, Alnatura, Basic, Billa Bipa.

Especially around this time of year, during festival season, I feel particularly homesick. I spoke about this in the season opening episode In this episode I spoke to my friend Sandhya, who is also from India. She and I have a lot in common and faces some of the same challenges and opportunities that I do as an Indian mother in Germany. We discussed all this and more in this cosy conversation about life in Germany, her employer, her family life and how they bring together their different cultures and needs. Find her on Instagram.com/childofmonsoon

Being a mother in a foreign country, in Germany, means that you are probably homesick a lot because you miss the festivals, culture and familiarity of it all. I'm from India and miss it all the time, especially at this time of the year. Listen to the episode on how I deal with it and also make sure to pass on the good stuff to my daughter.

Here is my birthday episode and the final one for season 1! In this episode of The Confused Mother podcast, I tried something new. I didn’t invite a guest, but decided to share some things about myself and my work. Being an Indian mother in Germany presents a lot of challenges and opportunities. I share some of them here. So do give it a listen!  The Confused Mother podcast will come back for season 2 in September. Stay tuned! 

Anna Mendel has three children, two of them with special needs. In this episode, we talked about Down syndrome, autism, racism and so much more. She also talks about her experiences as a woman of colour and an adopted child. She felt like she had so much to say, so she put down her experiences in the form of autobiographical essays. You can find out more about her work and her book here: https://www.annamendel.de/

Postpartum depression is often ignored, goes undiagnosed and still has a lot of stigma around it. It goes on much longer than baby blues, which typically last about two weeks after the baby is born. In this episode, I got a father's perspective on recognising and dealing with his wife's PPD. My guest in this episode asked for it to be kept anonymous but shared a lot of personal details and his perspective and tips on postpartum depression. He mentioned the book Crib sheet by Emily Oster. If you or your partner or someone you know might be suffering from postpartum depression, please seek professional medical help immediately and do not ignore the signs. You are not alone. If you are looking to connect with other mothers, join The Confused Mother Facebook group or join our meetups to connect with other mothers for support. The next meeting in person is on July 8. Write to me to get more details.