How to Grow a Parent: The pregnancy, birth & postnatal podcast The Mindful Birth Group®

For today’s episode I am talking to Katherine Whitby who is a Paediatric Nurse, Health Visitor & Maternal Wellbeing Practitioner.
Katherine is also the founder of her company Baby Steps where she offers classes and information on  Baby & Child First Aid, Weaning, Baby Massage & Relaxation, at her studio in Hampshire or in parents own homes or online.
Katherine has contributed her incredibly helpful weaning expertise to our online Parent Hub which parents can access through booking one our antenatal hypnobirthing courses or as a monthly subscription. 
The topics we cover are:
Types of weaning and when you startWhy it's important to know about the different types to make an informed decisionSafety when weaningEnjoying weaningCommon FAQ's Katherine's biggest tip for someone approaching the weaning stage
Find out more about Katherine and the incredible services she offers, here:


https://www.baby-steps.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/babystepsx/https://www.facebook.com/babystepsx



This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond.

You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here:

Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup

Parents:
Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals:
Train to teach with TMBG (FEDANT accredited course) FREE training for midwives (CPD accredited)

Today I am talking to Sonah Paton who is a co-founder of Black Mothers Matter. We’ll be talking about the importance of understanding black maternal health disparities and nuances, particularly as a birth professional.
All of The Mindful Birth Group® teaching team attend a workshop with Black Mothers Matter to ensure they are equipped to better support black and brown expectant parents and today’s episode will be slightly more angled towards birth professionals who may be wondering what work they need to do to become a true ally to black and brown families.
The topics we cover include:
Who are Black Mothers Matter and what they doThe training course that they offer for birth professionalsWhy it is important to have a wider understanding of the issues and disparities being faced by black and brown familiesThe importance of community and celebrating joy 
Find out more about Black Mothers Matter:
https://www.blackmothersmatter.org

Follow them on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/blackmothersmatteruk/

MBRACE report information
https://www.birthcompanions.org.uk/resources/mbrrace-uk-saving-lives-improving-mothers-care-2022


This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond.

You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here:

Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup

Parents:
Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals:
Train to teach with TMBG (FEDANT accredited course) FREE training for midwives (CPD accredited)

Today’s episode is predominantly aimed at birth professionals however we of course welcome anyone to listen. The episode comes with a ‘listen with self-care’ label because we will be discussing baby and infant loss.

Paula Abramson is from Bereavement Training International, a Baby and infant loss training consultancy. Paula also works with some amazing baby loss charities including the wonderful Teddy’s wish.

Paula also trains our teacher team on how to better support those who experience or have experienced baby loss.

A recent report published report by charities Tommys & Sands called ‘Saving Babies Lives’  found that In 2021, 13 babies a day were still born or died during the first 28 days of life (this is classified as a neonatal death). Sadly, there has also been a 10% increase in the number of stillbirths in recent years too.

So it is incredibly important that birth professionals are equipped to support these families appropriately.
The topics we cover on this episode include:
Why it is important that birth and healthcare professionals understand how to support bereaved familiesWhat support is available for bereaved parents through the NHS and charitiesHow friends and family can support bereaved parents
Bereavement Training International website:
https://bereavementtraining.com

Teddy's Wish:
Website
Instagram

Our Sam - A directory of support for bereaved parents, loved ones and professionals:
https://sos.oursam.org.uk/

Sands & Tommy's report:
Saving Babies Lives 2023
This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond.

You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here:

Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup

Parents:
Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals:
Train to teach with TMBG (FEDANT accredited course) FREE training for midwives (CPD accredited)

After a short break whilst we were at various Baby Shows, enjoying the Easter holidays and many bank holidays, I’m delighted to be back today and talking to Dr Frankie Harrison about experiencing Neo-natal intensive care with your baby.

Frankie is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Miracle Moon, an organisation that provides support for the NICU community past, present and future.

Frankie also provides invaluable content to our online Parent Hub so subscribers can access educational and supportive information about NICU should they ever need it.

The topics we cover on this episode include:
Frankie's own experience of NICUHow an expectant parent can prepare for the unexpectedThe realities of the impact needing NICU support can have on your mental health and what support is availableWays in which friends and family can support you - here is the link to the list mentioned: Ways to supportHow to approach this period with siblings - here is the link to the book mentioned: The Invisible String

Follow Dr Frankie and Miracle Moon:
InstagramFacebook
Miracle Moon website:
https://www.miraclemoon.co.uk







This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond.

You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here:

Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup

Parents:
Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals:
Train to teach with TMBG (FEDANT accredited course) FREE training for midwives (CPD accredited)

This week Emiliana talks to Maria Kyle, an Intervention Development Manager at Dogs Trust.

Many families either already have dogs (or fur babies!) when they’re welcoming a new (human!) baby into their home, or they decide to get them for company when their little one is older. We cover what you need to know to keep everyone safe and happy.

The topics we cover on this episode include:
Preparing for introducing your newborn to your dog during your pregnancyKeeping your dog and toddlers and older children safe and happy around each otherPlaydates with other children who may not be used to dogsThe importance of seeking reputable advice and guidanceYou can find more information on the topics we discussed today here:
Preparing your dog for your new babyIntroducing your new baby to your dogDogs and children living safely togetherFollow Dogs Trust:
FacebookTwitterInstagramInstagram Dogs Trust SchoolFree behaviour support line:
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/how-we-help/behaviour-support-line

Dogs Trust website:
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/

Email the team:
dogsandchildren@dogstrust.org.uk


This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond.

You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here:

Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup

Parents:
Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals:
Train to teach with TMBG (FEDANT accredited course) FREE training for midwives (CPD accredited)

This week Emiliana talks to Kicki Hansard, author and founder of the Birth Bliss Academy and The Doula Directory.

Everyone who takes a Mindful Birth Group® course or subscribes to the Parent Hub gets access to a one hour postnatal doula session on Zoom once their baby is born. We view the recovery period as very much a part of the birth and support shouldn't stop as baby is born.

The topics we cover on this episode include:
What is a postnatal doula, and what can they help a new parent with?How can you find a postnatal doula?What if you can’t afford a postnatal doula?World Doula Week starts next week on 22nd March and so there will be lots of content on social media about doulas so do look out for that to learn more.
You can find more information on the topics we discussed today here:
Learn more about postnatal doula's hereAffording doula support hereFind a doula on The Doula Directory hereKicki's personal website here 

This show is sponsored by The Mindful Birth Group® who provide award-winning antenatal, hypnobirthing and postnatal courses for expectant parents in-person and on Zoom. The unbiased and informative courses are designed to bring calm and confidence to your experience by making sure that you know your options, what to expect from a birth experience and how to navigate unexpected turns. All whilst sharing practical hypnobirthing/mindfulness tools and techniques to use for pregnancy, birth and beyond.

You can see all of The Mindful Birth Group® courses and resources here:

Follow us on Instagram @themindfulbirthgroup

Parents:
Courses and the Parent Hub Professionals:
Train to teach with TMBG (FEDANT accredited course) FREE training for midwives (CPD accredited)