Mindful Mutha Esk & Ivy

In this episode, we meet Iona from The Reflux Room. Iona is a mum of two who experienced reflux with her youngest. We discuss some of the underlying causes of reflux, the classic symptoms, how to get support, and how you can look after yourself during what can be a challenging time.

If you would like to know more about Iona and her fabulous reflux knowledge you can find her @therefulxroom on instagram and Facebook or you can find out more about the services she offers families living with reflux on her website www.therefluxroom.com.

We'd love to hear about your experiences about living with reflux, head on over to our social media pages and drop us a message.

We are joined by the wonderful Julia Iddir, mum of 3, birth educator & doula. Julia is passionate about birth rights & empowerment, so it is a treat to discuss how we can find an inner resolve to empower our birth. Julia discusses why feeling empowered and creating bonds with our birthing team can help us feel safe, old gone by birthing traditions which still hold relevance today, and practical tips such as using the acronym BRAIN when discussing aspects of our birth journey with our clinical team.

If you would like to discover more about Julia, her birth education classes or, her services as a doula, you can visit her website, or follow her on instagram and facebook.

So sorry it's been so long. To express my gratitude for your support in launching the podcast this year, and in a bid to share some compassion & kindness for ourselves and others, I'm sharing a Compassion & Kindness meditation, taken from the Christmas Calm series we have been sharing on our Esk & Ivy social media this December, goodness knows we need it more than ever just now.

Please enjoy, and go easy on yourself this festive period, it has been a challenging few months. Apologies for the stumbles and audio quality on the meditation track - it was recorded live, posting it raw with a sprinkling of compassion to myself as I know I am publishing something that isn't perfect...just like us all really, perfectly imperfect.

In episode 4 we meet Hannah Webster, community midwife, mum of two boys and one half of Grow + Gather, providing antenatal education and active birth workshops to expectant parents in Edinburgh and the Lothians. 

Hannah had two wonderful home birth experiences that she shares with us, as well as why creating a calm and nourishing environment, either at home, in hospital, or in the midwife run birthing centre can assist with the hormones of labour and birth. We discuss some of the logistics and practicalities of birthing at home, and what support is available to you in the first hours and days following a home birth. 

We also discuss, other things to consider when thinking of your birth environment, such how to approach making birth preference decisions, partner support and how we can shift our mindset when thinking of the induction process. 

To find out more about Hannah + Hailey and Grow + Gather's workshops, visit their website www.growandgather.co.uk and find them on Instagram and Facebook.

In this episode we meet Gary Young, founder and CEO of The Mindful Enterprise. Gary and Nikki discuss the positive ripple effect mindfulness can have within the family unit. They highlight the importance of mindfulness in early years, schools and the workplace and the benefits of introducing mindfulness to our family life, as well as outlining some ideas on how we can introduce mindfulness to young children and ourselves.

You can find out more about Gary and the work he does at via his webpages, facebook or Instagram accounts.

In this episode, meet Gemma Nealon, mum of two, midwife, hypnobirthing expert and trauma specialist. Gem discuss the benefits of hypnobirthing and how it can help create calm in any birth situation. Gem & Nikki talk about the physiology of birth and why hypnobirthing can influence this in a positive way. They reflect on the commitment that is required to the process, but when done well, hypnobirthing can have a positive outcome for birth, the early years of motherhood and long into the future. You can find out more about Gem, and the services she offers at: positivebirthscotland.com www.birthtraumascotland.com And you can follow her on Instagram at @positivebirthscotland