Of Mountains and Minds podcast

In this special bonus episode you can meet Jennie Agg. A talented writer, journalist and blogger, Jennie works primarily in women’s health, expertly informed by her own personal experiences. She has been through a torrent of loss in the past five years. Since enduring a miscarriage four years ago, just days before her 12-week scan, she has suffered three more devastating pregnancy losses. She had repeated reassurances that nothing was wrong and struggled to understand the why of it all. Jennie is a powerhouse of knowledge on recurrent miscarriage, and shares her honest perspectives, growth and struggles through her stunning blog, The Uterus Monologues. She also shines a light on the experiences of other women with their own miscarriage stories by curating guest monologues. As we recorded, in the depths of Covid-19 lockdown, Jennie was eight months pregnant with her fifth pregnancy and excitingly I can report that she gave birth to a beautiful little baby boy, Edward, in July. Both mama and son are thriving and healthy. Congratulations Jennie! We talk about everything from the lack of open conversation about trying to conceive and the isolation that can result, to the unintended consequences and fallout of people’s reactions to miscarriage. Thanks to Jennie to opening up about the detail of recurrent pregnancy loss, which is just the tip of the iceberg in her writing and awareness-raising, shifting us towards a more supportive, stigma-free culture.

Meet Jo Love this week, for the final episode in series seven. Jo is determined to shine more light on the all too common yet devastating challenge of post-natal depression, and advocates for more support for mothers going through it, as well as other still-stigmatised mental health conditions. Jo is an award-winning mental health campaigner, writer and speaker, standing up for the whole spectrum of mental illness that so many women struggle with through the major phases of life, especially motherhood. A former laywer, Jo worked in London for many years, living life at a whirlwind pace and slowly becoming affected by the aggression and stress in modern lifestyles. Jo has suffered with depression and OCD since she was young, and when she became a mother five years ago her mental health began to crumble dangerously, to the point she felt suicidal and began making plans to end her life. Jo tells us about how her OCD manifested, through dermitilomania, obsessive checking and compulsive, intrusive thoughts. A highly distressing and debilitating cocktail of conditions. With searing honesty, she shares what the darkest days of her post-natal depression were like, and what it took to start the road of recovery – which is far from linear and is a lifetime mission. We also explore the power of dismantling core beliefs stemming from childhood; the sanitisation of mental health and experiences that are still stigmatised and misunderstood; the loss of self that can manifest through motherhood; and recovering from the trappings of perfectionism.