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Sophie Connell Photography

June Motherhood Moment – the realities of life postpartum

Saturday 10th June 2023, Earlsfield

Expert Speakers

Miranda Sykes

Miranda Sykes Photo

Clare Bourne

Lucy Pilkington

Miranda Sykes – Private & NHS Midwife

Miranda is an experienced private and NHS midwife with a specialist interest in mental health, providing unhurried tailor-made midwifery counsel and support for women and families either at home or virtually. Miranda has worked across all areas of the maternity service, as both a community and hospital midwife covering antenatal, postnatal, and labour care. She is passionate about delivering high quality evidence-based and compassionate care and has received training in counselling and trauma intervention, hypnobirthing, and is currently working towards becoming a certified lactation consultant.

Clare Bourne – Pelvic health Physiotherapist

Clare is a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist & most importantly a mum of 2. She worked in the NHS extensively before moving into private practice and has a particular passion in supporting women during pregnancy and after birth, helping them to seek treatment for any pain or pelvic floor dysfunction they experience. Having lived pregnancy and the postnatal experience Clare knows what a precious but also vulnerable and sometimes lonely experience it can be.

Lucy Pilkington – Birth doula, hypnobirthing practitioner, reflexologist

Lucy is a Birth Doula, Reflexologist, & Hypnobirthing practitioner. Originally a nurse, Lucy’s experience having her own 2 children inspired her to train as a birth doula and was one of the first group of NHS doulas to work at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in 2012. Lucy is passionate about enabling parents to have the best birth possible and focuses on preparing, supporting, guiding and empowering couples on their journey through pregnancy and birth into parenthood. Lucy is also a baby massage instructor and runs baby massage courses – these classes provide much needed support for mums postnatally.

Topics Covered

Postpartum mental health – anxiety, overwhelm, mum guilt, postpartum mood & anxiety disorders (PPMAD), birth trauma

Infant feeding – normalising the challenges; where & when to seek support

Pelvic health – common physical symptoms experienced after childbirth; what’s normal /what’s not; when & where to seek support

Mythbusting – our experts brought some truth to several of the much lauded myths we’ve all heard in motherhood!

Event Summary

Our first motherhood moment kicked off in Earlsfield on one of the hottest days of the year so far! It was a brilliant morning buzzing with energy as we mingled over coffee and delicious breakfast treats before jumping into our expert panel session.

Clare, Miranda & Lucy shared their expertise as we explored topics ranging from those first moments of overwhelm returning home with a new baby for the first time (!) to mum guilt and the importance of ensuring our own needs as mothers are prioritised & met.

We talked about:

  • traumatic experiences and the importance of appropriate and timely support for processing birth traumas and recognising and responding to the signs of PTSD;
  • some of the challenges surrounding infant feeding, the impacts on maternal mental health & where to access support;
  • and the common physical symptoms so many of us come away from childbirth with but rarely talk openly about – haemorrhoids, urinary incontinence, prolapse, diastasis recti & weakened pelvic floors!

We wrapped up with questions and discussion from the women in the room – opening up about their own experiences, signposting resources that had been especially helpful for them, and asking further questions of our experts according to the specific age/stage of their postpartum journeys.

Cheerful women soclialising at an event
Sophie Connell Photography

Feedback
hear what people are saying about our event:

“It was brilliant being involved! Such a fabulous morning & very much looking forward to the Village & it’s Motherhood Moments developing”

“Feeling so full from the day….you’ve created something super special”

“Every area needs a ‘The Village’!”

“Ah huge thank you to The Village for a truly wonderful & informative morning! Really looking forward to the next event!”

“It was such an inspirational exchange which has left me hopeful for the future of how early motherhood will be experienced. Thank you”

Suggested resources

If you are concerned about any aspect of your mental or physical health, or experiencing challenges, or keen to learn more – we’ve put together some suggested sources of information & support

Mental Health Drop Down Button
Infant Feeding Drop Down Button
Pelvic Health Drop Down Button

Mental Health
(postnatal anxiety & depression: birth trauma & PTSD)

Points of contact:

If you are concerned about your mental health or the mental health of someone close to you, we advise you seek professional support and guidance. Below are suggested points of contact for seeking such support:

Books:

  • Mind Over Mother – Anan Mathur
  • The Birth Debrief – Illy Morrison
  • Mindfulness for Mums – Issy Judd
  • Why Postnatal Depression Matters – Mia Scotland
  • Why Your Baby’s Sleep Matters – Sarah Ockwell-Smith
  • Why Birth Trauma Matters – Clare Goggin
  • Why Breastfeeding Grief and Trauma Matter – Amy Brown

Infant Feeding

Books:

  • You’ve Got It In You – Emma Pickett
  • Why Breastfeeding Matters – Charlotte Young
  • Why Formula Feeding Matters – Shel Banks
  • The Positive Breastfeeding Book – Amy Brown
  • Let’s Talk About Feeding Your Baby – Amy Brown
  • Mixed Up – Lucy Ruddle
  • Why Tongue Tie Matters – Sarah Oakley
  • You’ve Got It In You – Emma Pickett
  • Why Infant Reflux Matters – Carol Smyth

Supporters

A big thank you to all of the businesses that contributed to making our first Motherhood Moment such a memorable occasion!

If you would like to contribute to participate in a future event please contact holly@thevillagehub.co.uk

Gallery

Photography by Sophie Connell

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