Autism and Motherhood

In this episode, Karen indulges in chat about food, cooking and recipe books. Here are some of the recipes she and Nick share: Dimlama: https://thefoodhog.com/dimlama-recipe/ Arroz chaufa: https://whiskitrealgud.com/peruvian-fried-rice-arroz-chaufa-6/ Ethiopian lentil stew: https://www.africanbites.com/ethiopian-lentil-stew/ Lebanese meatballs: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/meatballs-recipe-lebanese-tomato-sauce/ Pork vindalho: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jan/25/20-best-curry-recipes-vivek-singh-pork-vindalho This is Cat's cookery school: https://www.totallytangerinecookery.co.uk/ And here's where you can find the potato project: https://rebeccaearle.co.uk/research/potatoes/

In this episode, Karen chats with Genevieve, Lauren, Victoria and Rina, who are all mothers of disabled or SEN children, and makers of the Fking Normal Podcast. You can find them and all their social media presence at https://www.fkingnormalpodcast.com/

Karen chats with Art Historian Joanna Wolfarth about her new book Milk, and then to Philosopher Fiona Woollard, about whether breastfeeding is a right or a duty, and how parents make decisions. https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/joanna-wolfarth https://www.southampton.ac.uk/people/5x7vz5/professor-fiona-woollard

Exploring the life of academics who are also mothers, or mothers who are also academics, researching aspects of motherhood. El mentions https://www.srip.org/ for PhD students and early career researchers.

Karen talks with Lyanne Nicholl, author of Your Postnatal Body; and Bex and Laura the creators of The Worst Girl Gang Ever podcast. This is a dark and difficult subject, but there are so many positive things going on that can be helpful in the period after losing a baby.

A travelogue of our summer trip around Germany, with lots of recommendations and tips, and a bit where Pete is outraged at the accusation of snoring.

This episode has been simmering for a few weeks, post Roe v Wade being trashed in the US; but in some ways it's been simmering for 20 years. I feel very strongly indeed that this subject should be spoken about without shame, and I've tried to do that here. I'm in conversation with Dr Fiona Bloomer of Ulster University, and Katherine O'Brien of BPAS. Fiona was involved in this recent piece of research, amongst other things, which is a really interesting read: Pierson, C., Bloomer, F., Allamby, L., Campbell, E., Hughes, B., McLaughlin, L., & Powell, R. (2022). After a CEDAW Optional Protocol Inquiry into abortion law: a conversation with activists for change in Northern Ireland. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 0(0), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2022.2053297 And here's where you can support BPAS campaigns: https://bpas-campaigns.org/

In this episode, Karen starts by hearing from Zurina Ali and Debbie Barnett about milk banking, milk sharing, and the challenges this poses to families in the Muslim community. Then has a conversation with Louise Oliver about further questions of equity, diversity and inclusion when it comes to supporting families to feed their babies.

What did you do in the pandemic to protect the NHS, and was it worth the cost? Karen talks to teachers and researchers about the impact of lockdowns and school closures on children, over the last two years. Some of Emily and Michaela's research can be found here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264023 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264023 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0260640 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34625414/

Karen chats with researcher Dr Aimee Grant who has recently been looking into the experiences that autistic mothers have of feeding their babies, and then goes on to talk to antenatal teacher and autistic mother Ruth Jenks, who volunteers for the organisation Autistic Parents UK. Great blog about Dr Aimee Grant's research: https://autisticuk.org/autistic-mothers-experiences-of-breast-and-formula-feeding-babies-what-does-the-evidence-say/ Aimee's most recent paper on the subject: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13623613221089374 https://www.autisticparentsuk.org/