everymum everymum

This week I speak to Irish model and mother of one Kelly Horrigan. Although Kelly delivered her beautiful little boy almost 14 months ago now, she is still feeling the long-term effects of her delivery. After her son's birth, Kelly found she had something called pudendal neuralgia, which sees her in constant nerve pain from her episiotomy scar all the way down her leg. She still struggles with it and attends physio, and could even have to have procedures in the future to stop the pain, including going to a pain management clinic for injections. Through it all, Kelly remains so positive, but she says that the after-effects of her delivery still stay in her mind even now. For any mother still feeling like they're not physically (or mentally) back to themselves, this episode will resonate.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is influencer and first time mam, Siobhan O'Hagan. In her previous life as a fitness influencer, Siobhan's goals and values were always crystal clear: She enjoyed the freedom that came with her life moving from Bali to Thailand to London and back to Ireland. She was vocal about her choice not to have children, and for a long time that completely aligned with her value system. Until, one day, it didn't anymore. She had what she calls an 'existential crisis' and after becoming pregnant last year, she decided to embrace the curveball that life threw her. She's now happily co-parenting a gorgeous baby girl with her daughter's dad, and although they're not in a relationship, they're embracing parenthood together. What I've always admired about Siobhan was her fearlessness in doing things completely her own way, and her journey into motherhood has been no different.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our first episode back for Season 12, I'm joined by fashion influencer and stylist Lorna Weightman and possibly our youngest ever guest, 9 week old Arthur was also on the Zoom being an absolute angel. Lorna and I discovered that we both approached parenthood with a "will I or won't I?" mentality – we weren't 100% convinced it was for us, until of course, we were. So if you're on the fence about whether to try or not, this episode might help you. We also chat about Lorna's whole birth story, which – spoiler alert, spans FOUR days – and how the first two weeks of Arthur's life proved incredibly challenging as Lorna tried to get to grips with breastfeeding. We also chat about losing your identity as a mother and the word that resonates most with her now that she's a parent, which is: Acceptance.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're already on our last episode of Season 11, and I can't wait to bring you more episodes as we head into season 12 really soon. But we wanted to round out this season on a high and I think we may have achieved it... What a total and utter joy it was to interview this week's guest. A dream podcast interviewee, I spoke to Giovanna Fletcher, author, mother of three boys and host of the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast. She's also married to Tom from McFly so if you're a millennial mammy like I am, that's probably significant. But back to Giovanna. As the presenter of a parenting podcast, this was like speaking to royalty!! We spoke about lessons we've learned through talking to so many people about parenting, and how the main takeaway is that whatever you're going through, you're likely not alone. We talking about the importance of getting out in nature to fill your cup, and how the idea of "having it all" is a myth – she spoke about that with Geri Halliwell, no less. A SPICE GIRL. The episode is, like Giovanna, just full of kindness and empathy and words of advice, so I hope you enjoy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Dr Doireann O'Leary joins me to talk about her experience of motherhood so far. Her son is nine months old, and while she doesn't share his name or face online, she is very open about how she's finding the transition into parenthood. We chat about taking time for yourself and letting go of the guilt around that.
She says quite rightly that you can't pour from an empty cup – that if as mothers we're well rested, feeling supported and given time to be ourselves, we're better parents to our children. We discuss how being a GP helped her in the early days of parenting, but didn't completely relieve her of worry, and how the mental load of motherhood has been her biggest challenge. It's a beautiful episode, I really hope you enjoy listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's episode I'm joined by Talya Benjamin. She's a new mother, living in New York, and when she was discharged from hospital after having her first baby, she checked in to a postpartum retreat called Boram. Research shows that dedicated postnatal care improves the health and well-being of mothers and their babies – and that's exactly what they provide. Talya checked in with her husband and their new born, and for three days and nights were given nourishing foods, access to lactation consultants and medical advice and recovery support. It really highlights the absence of 'the village' that we all wish we had, and while that particular centre is likely cost prohibitive for many, similar recovery centres are sorely needed for new parents and their babies. I was fascinated by everything Talya talked about – not to mention very jealous of what sounded like a truly lovely postpartum experience – so I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.