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 start
• Why it's important to know about the different types to make an informed decision
• Safety when weaning
• Enjoying weaning
• Common 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 do
• The training course that they offer for birth professionals
• Why it is important to have a wider understanding of the issues and disparities being faced by black and brown families
• The 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 families
• What support is available for bereaved parents through the NHS and charities
• How 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)