Becoming Mother Podcast

23/06/2023

🥳NEW EPISODE ONLINE 🔥

This #11 Episode is a BONUS and is about… All you want to know about the pelvic floor with physiotherapist Emma Jenkins

What is the pelvic floor? These muscles which carry so much for us, and even more during pregnancy 🤰🏻 is essential to our health.
WIthout any taboo, Emma, a physiotherapist specialized in women's health speaks about the role of the pelvic floor, what happens to our bodies during pregnancy and why we should all go see a pelvic floor physio at some point in our life.

She also shares some tips and demystifies the pelvic floor for us and why ''We don't want a tight va**na, we want functional va**nas!''

A must-listen for every woman! ❤️

🎙️Sound & Editing :

14/05/2023

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you beautiful mamas and mamas to be!

We celebrate you. We honor you. We love you. This podcast is for all the mamas and mamas to be ❤️❤️❤️

02/05/2023

“A very kind person helped us to have children.”

Have you considered donating your eggs/s***m?

What would you tell your children if you conceived thanks to a s***m donor?

Listen to our 10th episode, where Morgen & Nicola , two moms of two babies share how they choose a donor.

***mdonor

28/04/2023

❤️Episode 10 - Morgen and Nicola, two women who fell in love 13 years ago, share their motherhood journey -- which wasn't an obvious one at first.

From deciding who will be pregnant first, to going to a fertility clinic secretly, to choosing a s***m donor, to the process they went though to get pregnant, to defining roles within the family... It was a full journey but their unbreakable bond helped them go through it with humour and grace.

Having children in a same s*x marriage is not something they took for granted. By sharing their story, they want to tell other same s*x couple that it is all possible, with the right tribe, the right knowledge and the right partner.

***mdonor *xparents

08/03/2023

“A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong.”

03/03/2023

What is the first things you saw when giving birth, we’re your baby’s feet? 🦶🦶

This is called a vertex presentation. A breech presentation occurs when the baby's buttocks, feet, or both are positioned to come out first during birth. Doctors often recommend a C-section when it comes to babies in breech presentation. Often, because they prefer to avoid any risk and complication.

❤️On our 9th episode, Anna shares how she gave birth naturally to her second baby, who was in breech presentation, feet first 🦶 She demystifies breech birth, “geriatric” pregnancy and shared so much wisdom ✨

24/02/2023

❤️Episode 9 - Anna, “I almost gave birth in a car”

Anna was 40 when she got pregnant with her first baby. It took a bit of time, and it turned out to be the first lesson in surrender. Both her birth went completely different. She trusted herself to have a natural birth and tried to be as prepared as possible.

But nothing prepared her for how her second baby came to the world. With a lot of humour, Anna shares how her baby was in breech position (head up), how she tried almost everything to help him turn, and how he had another plan. She was planned for a Csection but It's in Theoni's (her doula) car that her water broke and that she handled most of her labour.

Anna's story is full of hope, wisdom and a great reminder of the importance of surrender.

10/02/2023

❤️Episode 8: Elena - Two babies and a lost smile

Pregnancy is not alway a smooth sailing. It took a heavy toll on Elena’s body. She experienced pain, Covid and Bell’s Palsy while expecting her twins. While she wished she had trusted and listened to her body more, Elena tells us how she managed to get through by reminding herself to stay in the present moment, when she suddenly had to stay at the hospital way before her due date, how after going for coffee with her husband one day, her face became paralyzed and how it changed everything.



How do you remain strong when it seems your body is giving up? How do you suddenly become the mother of twins while you are still healing yourself?

With a lot of humor, joy and strength, Elena shares how she overcame all sorts of challenges from the start but also how much she enjoys being a mother and seeing her children grow and learn every day.

Once again, Elena’s journey is a proof of how resilient and brave women are.

06/02/2023

☀️« With every newborn baby, a little sun rises. » ☀️

03/02/2023

“You are pregnant and you are powerful. You are bold and you are beautiful. Go forward in your boldness, in your beauty and in your contentedness. Trust your body to birth and know that the collective power of women worldwide will be with you.” — Unknown

Listen to Lisa’s story, and how she birthed her second baby at home with her husband’s support. It’s episode 7 of Becoming Mother.

30/01/2023

“There is nothing as sincere as a mother’s kiss.” —Saleem Sharma

27/01/2023

❤️ Episode 7: Lisa - Story of a doctor who birthed at home

How do you experience birth when you are a medical doctor practicing at a maternity ward in a hospital? In her job, most births she witnessed were not physiological.

Lisa is the mother of two. She had a physiological birth both times and even decided to give birth at home for her second baby, ignoring what her colleagues might think. In spite of her fears caused by what she has been exposed to, she trusted herself.

Lisa tells us how it wasn't easy for her to get pregnant the first time, how she released those fears and how giving birth at home was something she always had in the back of her mind.

Lisa is passionate about bridging the gap between the clinical and emotional aspects of birth. In addition to being a medical doctor, she trained as a doula in order to bring even more to the women she supports. She loves counselling mothers about their birth choices and making them feel confident in themselves.

Credit : sound and editing wizard

**nalbirth

19/01/2023

« A baby nursing at a mother’s breast is an undeniable affirmation of our rootedness in nature » 🤱🏻

15/01/2023

« You are the closest I will ever come to magic. »— Suzanne Finnamore

13/01/2023

✨Our 6th episode is now online!✨

❤️ Episode 6: Victoria - Story of a midwife: Not just a « difficult » birth

How do you prepare for birth when you are a trained midwife?

How do you experience your own pregnancies and becoming a mother after you've learned everything in textbooks?

Victoria is a passionate midwife who has a lovely birthing home in Johannesburg . She tells us about her two very different personal experiences and how it shaped her as a midwife and the way she cares for her patients. She thinks that "women are meant to birth" and always knew she wanted to have a natural birth.

But things didn't go as planned. In spite of complications and unforeseen circumstances, Victoria listened to her intuition and knew that, although it was not going the way she hoped for, something didn't feel right and she knew she needed to have a Cesarean section. She shares how trusting ourselves is key when it comes to birthing, but also parenting.

**nalbirth

09/12/2022

Our 5th episode is out! It’s the last episode for 2022! Please leave us a comment/review on your podcast platform 🙏🏽

❤️Episode 5 : Mia - Keep calm and carry on - How does the amount of preparation change the way a birth unfolds?
Mia, who gave birth to three children is the living example of the importance of preparation. Each of her babies came at a different time of her life. She prepared her first birth by the book, with all tools in hand and all the time in the world to prepare as much as she possibly could. On the other hand, her second baby came at a time when life was much busier, she not only had less time to prepare, but she was also experiencing emotional and physical exhaustion, combined with morning sickness. She had a difficult time keeping calm and let panic submerge her -- and that second birth didn’t happen the way she hoped for. For her third baby, she knew she was going to aim for a VBAC (va**nal birth after caesarian), and prepared as much as she could. But it was in an anxiety fueled context -- the COVID pandemic -- that she experienced her last pregnancy and on top of that, she struggled with depression.

Surrounded by her family and friends, in spite of the challenges she had to overcome, she brought each of her children to the world in an environment filled with love and kindness. It is that love that carries her and gives her the strength to keep calm. Mia shares her three birth stories with a lot of compassion for herself, self-awareness and gratitude. Her calmness is contagious and we all wished we were as cool and composed as her!

Editing & sound wizard:

**nalbirth

28/11/2022

♥️ In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities. ♥️

25/11/2022

🎧Our 4th episode is out!

❤️ Episode 4 : Olivia - One baby after the other : bouncing back after a difficult birth

How do you overcome your fear of pregnancy and of giving birth? How do you handle one pregnancy after another? Olivia gave birth to her two babies 16 months apart. She thoroughly prepared for each birth, but her first one didn't go the way that she had hoped for. How do you bounce back from a difficult birth? In spite of the trauma, her partner and her decided to have another baby soon after. She mindfully prepared herself even more for that birth. Olivia speaks about how postpartum and breastfeeding came more difficult than she could have imagined and how the second time, she consciously told herself not to feel so much pressure and go with the flow. She shares the wisdom she gathered from reading a lot of books and her own experience, the importance of taking charge of your birth and to be as prepared and informed as you possibly can by listening to lots of birth stories. We couldn't agree more!

🎙Credit: Sound & Editing wizard

**nalbirth

14/11/2022

♥️ “In the process of birth, you’re also reborn yourself.”

🎧 In our 3rd episode, Kathleen shares about the shame she felt about her abortions, how it came up when she gave birth and how she prepared for each of her two births. A candid, sincere account of her journey into motherhood.
Although we discussed about very serious topics, we also laughed and learned a lot.

We hope you’ll enjoy this episode! It is available on all the podcast platforms (Apple podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast etc).

You can follow and her podcast 🙏🏽❤️

**nalbirth

11/11/2022

🎧Our third episode is out!

❤️ Episode 3 : Kathleen - A mama with attitude and wisdom

How do you experience birth and postpartum when you have mental health challenges? How do you address the trauma of abortion while preparing for a first birth? Kathleen shares her journey with honesty, courage and passion. She tells us how she overcame three terminations, how she prepared for her two births, her mental health issues and the ongoing challenges raising children places on her relationship with her partner. Her journey inspired her to start her own podcast "Mamas with attitude", an honest and frank conversation about motherhood 👉🏽

🎙Credit: Sound & Editing wizard

**nalbirth

10/11/2022

❤️”It’s important to be fully committed and work as a team.”

Words from one of the best “doula dad” that Theoni has encountered in her long experience as a doula.
Having the right support, having a partner who is fully present and involved, can make a huge difference for the mother and on how the birth turns out. The love hormones are magical ✨ and there is no drug that can replace those!

🎧 In our second episode, Markus explains how he experienced birth being fully present with Déborah, for every breath and every surge.

**nalbirth

02/11/2022

❤️”I knew I wanted to be fully present on that day.”❤️

It was years of practicing yoga, meditation that helped Deborah feel connected to her body, her mind… to herself really. When it came to decide how she wanted to birth, she knew she wanted to be fully present, and therefore she decided not to have any medication. The mind plays a much bigger role than we think in the process of giving birth.

🎧 Listen to the full story about how Deborah & Markus consciously chose each other and chose whatever was in their control when it came to welcome their baby. The full story is the 2nd episode of out podcast, abs you’ll find the link in our bio.

**nalbirth

28/10/2022

The second episode of the Becoming Mother podcast is out!!!

❤️ Episode 2. Deborah & Markus - A conscious journey

How do you stay serene when you are about to give birth in the midst of a global pandemic, being far away from your loved ones and everything you are familiar with? Deborah navigated pregnancy by focusing on listening to her body's needs while her pregnancy insomnias were purposefully filled with pregnancy and birth related podcasts, reading and chatting to friends who had babies... which helped inform her decision when it came to choose what birth she wanted. While Markus' upbringing and readings very naturally led his preference for the most natural way. Together, they undertook a conscious journey before welcoming their baby in the way they had chosen.

24/10/2022

We're so excited to release our very first episode!

It’s online and you can listen to it from your favorite podcast platform (https://linktr.ee/becomingmother)

🎧Episode 1. Theoni, Becoming Mother & Surrender.

After having witnessed hundreds of birth as a doula, Theoni experienced her own birth journey and it truly became a lesson of surrender. As prepared as she could be, some things were out of her control and she learned quickly that becoming mother meant she had to accept to release control and let some things unfold.

20/10/2022

Welcome to the Becoming Mother Podcast page! We’re so thrilled to build a community of mothers around this podcast and to learn from each other, laugh, cry and grow together.

Becoming mother can feel overwhelming and it’s so important to be able to share this journey with other mothers, feel heard, seen and understood ❤️

With Love,
Theoni & Déborah

18/10/2022