MamaThrive

So many mothers are told they’re just tired.But what if what you’re feeling goes deeper than that?In this episode of MamaThrive, I’m joined by Emma Morris to explore the reality of postpartum depletion — and why so many mothers are running on empty without fully understanding why.Emma’s work sits at the intersection of clinical nutrition, psychology, and nervous system support, helping mothers move beyond surface-level solutions and into true, sustainable healing.Together, we explore:• The difference between everyday tiredness and deeper depletion• How the nervous system, nutrition, and identity shifts are interconnected• Why “just rest more” isn’t enough for many mothers• The hidden ways depletion shows up physically and emotionally• How mothers can begin rebuilding energy and vitality from the inside outThis conversation is a powerful reminder that what you’re feeling is not a failure — it’s information.And when we begin to understand what our bodies are asking for, everything starts to shift.About EmmaEmma Morris is a maternal health practitioner who integrates clinical nutrition, psychology, and nervous system awareness to support mothers experiencing depletion, burnout, and loss of self.Her work focuses on helping women restore their energy, reconnect with their bodies, and reclaim a sense of vitality and purpose in motherhood — not through pressure or perfection, but through deep, sustainable support.Connect with Emma Morris:• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmamorrisnutrition/• Website: https://www.maiamothers.com.au/

So many mothers move through their days feeling disconnected from themselves.Functioning. Coping. Getting through.But beneath that… there’s often a quiet sense of tension, overwhelm, or even numbness that’s hard to put into words.In this episode of MamaThrive, I’m joined by Gea Krajcar, founder of Soma Yoga, to explore what it really means to come back into your body after motherhood.Gea’s work blends somatic awareness, nervous system regulation, and movement — helping women move beyond simply “doing yoga” and into a deeper relationship with their body, their emotions, and their internal experience.Together, we explore:• Why so many mothers feel disconnected from their bodies after having children• What’s actually happening in the nervous system when we feel overwhelmed or shut down• The difference between movement as exercise vs movement as regulation• How to begin listening to your body — even if that feels unfamiliar• Simple, accessible ways to support your nervous system in everyday momentsThis conversation is a gentle but powerful reminder that your body is not something to fix or push through — it’s something to come home to.If you’ve been feeling stretched, numb, or like you’ve lost touch with yourself in motherhood… this episode offers a different way back.As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.Connect with Gea Krajcar:• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geakrajcar/• Website: https://www.geakrajcar.com/About Gea:Gea Krajcar is a somatic practitioner and the founder of Soma Yoga, where she supports women in reconnecting with their bodies through movement, nervous system awareness, and embodied practice.Her work goes beyond traditional yoga, integrating somatics and nervous system regulation to help women move out of patterns of tension, overwhelm, and disconnection, and into a more grounded, responsive, and connected way of being.Gea’s approach is gentle, deeply intuitive, and rooted in the belief that the body holds its own wisdom — and that healing begins when we learn to listen rather than override.

Motherhood asks so much of us — emotionally, mentally, physically — and yet many mothers move through this transition feeling unsupported, overwhelmed, and quietly questioning themselves.In this episode of MamaThrive, I’m joined by psychologist, wellbeing expert, and author Suzy Reading for a thoughtful and deeply compassionate conversation about the realities of modern motherhood.Suzy’s work focuses on helping women develop sustainable wellbeing practices and cultivate self-compassion in the midst of life’s demands — something that feels particularly vital for mothers navigating the emotional and identity shifts that come with caring for others.Together, we explore:• Why motherhood can feel so emotionally intense and destabilising• The hidden pressures mothers carry every day• How self-compassion changes the way we experience overwhelm• The difference between self-care and sustainable wellbeing• Practical ways to build resilience within the realities of motherhoodThis conversation offers reassurance, insight, and practical tools for mothers who want to care for themselves with the same compassion they offer everyone else.If you’ve ever felt stretched, depleted, or unsure how to hold everything motherhood asks of you, this episode is a gentle reminder that you are not alone — and that caring for yourself is not selfish, but essential.As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there. Resources: WebsiteInstagramAbout Suzy ReadingSuzy Reading is a Chartered Psychologist and one of the UK’s leading self-care and self-advocacy experts. She has three decades of experience in the health and wellbeing industry, drawing on her qualifications in yoga and personal training, together with psychology, to empower people with sustainable healthy lifestyle habits. Suzy has a special interest in helping people heal their relationship with ‘self’. She is a monthly columnist for Top Sante Magazine; the Psychology Expert for Neom Organics; the Wellbeing Ambassador for BABTAC and is a founding member of the ‘Nourish’ app. She is the author of The Little Book of Self-Care, The Self-Care Revolution, Stand Tall Like a Mountain, Self-care for Tough Times, This Book Will (Help) Make You Happy, And Breathe, Sit to Get Fit, Rest to Reset and Self-care for Winter. How to Be Selfish is hot of the press.

Mama Thrive is back — and this return marks a deeper evolution in how we understand and support motherhood.In this opening episode of the new season, host Kendra Blake reflects on why she stepped away, what motherhood has continued to teach her beneath the surface, and how her work has evolved into the Reclaimed Motherhood Method™ — a compassion-led framework that honours motherhood as a rite of passage, rather than a role to simply cope with or perform.Drawing on lived experience and years of supporting mothers in practice, this episode explores matrescence, identity shifts in motherhood, nervous system overwhelm, and the quiet gaps many mothers — and motherhood support professionals — feel within traditional models of care.This episode is an invitation to slow down and re-enter the conversation around motherhood with more depth, nuance, and humanity. It speaks to mothers who sense there is more beneath the surface of modern motherhood, and to the therapists, doulas, clinicians, and practitioners who support them and are seeking more embodied, ethical, and sustainable ways of working.Mama Thrive now sits at the intersection of motherhood and motherhood support — offering honest reflections, thoughtful conversations, and a reframing of motherhood not as something to “get through,” but something to reclaim, integrate, and live with meaning

Due to the sensitive nature of some of the information covered in this conversation, please note the following:Dr Caroline Boyd and Kendra start the call with a discussion concerning Intrusive Thoughts. It's important to make a distinction between the kinds of intrusive thoughts Caroline talks about and the kinds of thoughts arising in postpartum psychosis. Signs of postpartum psychosis can include mania, delusions and hallucinations - Action on Postpartum Psychosis offer more information & resources. If you're having an overwhelming sense or intention to hurt yourself or your baby, and making plans to do so, please seek help immediately, by calling 999 or visiting your local A&E.In this episode of MamaThrive, I have the privilege of being joined by Caroline Boyd, a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with over 10 years’ experience working to support parents perinatally. Together we explore how our experience of motherhood is driven by the patriarchal society we live in, and the internalised beliefs we hold around what makes a “good girl” and “good mother”. We discuss the effects this has on our expression of our emotions - especially anger - and how we can best care for ourselves within our very human experience of being mamas. If you have found yourself struggling with feelings such as anger, shame or guilt in motherhood then I’d love to invite you to listen to this episode. Dr Boyd has a gentle, validating and affirming manner to her approach to emotions in motherhood - and it’s a must listen! I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts and share the link with anyone whom you think might benefit from giving this episode a listen!As always, we continue this conversation over onInstagram. Come join us there. Resources: WebsiteInstagramAbout Caroline BoydCaroline Boyd is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with over 10 years’ experience working in the NHS and mental health settings. She specialises in supporting parents perinatally - from pregnancy to childbirth and all aspects of the transition to parenthood. She is the author of Mindful, New Mom: A Mind-Body Approach to the Highs and Lows of Motherhood’ and offers a range of courses and resources to support parents at all stages of their parenting journeys.Caroline offers a self-paced anger course for mothers (USE THE CODE “PODCAST” TO CLAIM YOUR £100 DISCOUNT):https://dr-caroline-boyd.mykajabi.com/maternal-rage-sign-upDownload Caroline’s FREE GUIDE on how to deal with partner rage:https://dr-caroline-boyd.mykajabi.com/3rs-free-downloadCaroline’s book, Mindful New Mum: A Mind-Body Approach to the Highs andLows of Motherhood, is available to buy onlineAmazon, Waterstones or BookshopIf this episode raises any concerns for you please talk to a trusted healthprofessional such as your GP.You can also reach out to the services below:UK: PANDAS - 0808 1961 776Samaritans – 116 123US: Postpartum Support International - 1-800-944-4773 (4PPD)For emergency help - call 999 or visit your local A&E department 

In this episode of MamaThrive, I have the privilege of being joined by Lael Stone as we dive into what it means to bring connection and compassion into our mothering journeys. In this episode we explore the fundamental shift that women go through when they become mothers, and how we often bring our own childhood stories into our roles as parents. We discuss the ways in which we can become more conscious about how we mother our children, and tools and strategies to deepen our connection to ourselves and our little ones.  This episode is for you if you see motherhood as an opportunity for deep healing and desire to build awareness around your own stories so that you can actively choose how you would like to mother your children, whilst still remaining connected with yourself.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts and share the link with anyone whom you think might benefit from giving this episode a listen! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram About Lael Stone Lael Stone is an Australian Speaker, Educator and Author whose passion is supporting parents to understand their children, helping adults process their own childhood trauma and creating education systems that value emotional awareness. She is a wife and mother of three big kids – who are teenagers and young adults and she is currently putting all her research into practice with them!  All her work is based on the fundamental principles of connection and compassion. The purpose of her work is to help all humans understand themselves better and be inspired to live the life they desire. 

In this episode of MamaThrive, I have the privilege of being joined by Lavinia Brown, a trauma-informed psychodynamic coach and expert in inner child healing. Together we discuss what the inner child is, and how these younger parts of us show up during the course of our day-to-day life as parents, as partners and in many of the interactions and experiences that we have. We talk about how to connect with our inner child and explore what is coming up for us; what the practice of moving towards these feelings involves and how it is supportive for conscious parenting. It is a conversation rich in supporting our continued growth and self-awareness through motherhood! I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts and share the link with anyone whom you think might benefit from giving this episode a listen! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram About Lavinia Brown Lavinia is a trauma-informed psychodynamic coach who supports mamas to become the conscious parents they want to be through healing their inner child. Through acknowledging and integrating unprocessed pain from the past, overcoming unconscious patterns and learning how to accept, love themselves and assert healthy boundaries, mamas stop feeling ashamed, anxious, guilty and angry, and can show up as the authentic parent, partner and woman that they want to be, instead of who their primary caregivers thought they should be. Lavinia lives with her partner and 3 children in the UK.

In this episode of MamaThrive, I have the privilege of being joined by Margo Lowy, the author of "The Maternal Experience: Encounters with Ambivalence and Love”. She is interested in disrupting taboos and reframing and opening the conversation about mothering and ambivalence and our conversation in this episode does just that! Margo shares her wisdom around how maternal ambivalence - the experience of conflicting emotions - is not only a normal part of our human experience but something that can be transformational when a woman is able to give herself permission to embrace the full complexity of her feelings in motherhood. Together we dive into what makes it challenging for mother’s to acknowledge feelings such a hatred, anger or resentment towards their children, and what practices and strategies may be useful to help change this - and why it is so important. If you find yourself experiencing fear, resistance and/or shame in some of what you experience in motherhood, then this episode may be just for you. We peel back the layers of expectations placed on mothers and welcome a new paradigm that sees mother’s as “good enough” - welcoming every part of their experience as mamas.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts and share the link with anyone whom you think might benefit from giving this episode a listen! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram About Margo Lowy Margo Lowy is a psychotherapist with an interest in mothering and women’s reproductive health. She completed her doctorate and research masters at the UNSW in Sydney investigating the fields of maternal ambivalence and infertility with her first book titled "The Maternal Experience: Encounters with Ambivalence and Love” - based on her PhD (published by Routledge in 2021). She has a second book, a more conversational book on maternal ambivalence, that will be published by Post Hill Press early 2025. She is interested in disrupting taboos and reframing and opening the conversation about mothering

In this episode of MamaThrive, I’m excited to be joined in conversation with Erin Spahr, a licensed therapist, mother of two & feminist. Erin uses a feminist lens in her work with mothers and strives to help mothers free themselves from oppressive societal expectations and find more self-confidence and self-compassion.  In this conversation, Erin shares how the impossible standards placed on mothers, combined with the lack of support on a societal level and incredible pressure to perform within patriarchy, can contribute to excessive stress, overwhelm and mental health challenges within mothers. We dive into understanding motherhood from a feminist perspective and explore the transformative power of being able to embrace our authenticity as mama’s, as one of the ways to liberate ourselves from the societal pressures we face.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts and share the link with anyone whom you think might benefit from giving this episode a listen! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram About Erin Spahr  Erin Spahr is a licensed therapist, mother, feminist, podcast host, and maternal mental health advocate based out of Raleigh, NC. Erin uses a feminist lens in her work with mothers and strives to help mothers free themselves from oppressive societal expectations and find more self-confidence and self-compassion. She hosts the Feminist Mom Podcast where she discusses the intersection of feminism and motherhood with inspiring guests. Erin recently launched the Inclusive Provider Directory, a directory that serves as a vital link connecting mothers, birthing individuals, and families in the United States and Canada with perinatal providers who prioritize inclusivity and identity-affirming care. Erin sees clients in her private practice (available to folks in North Carolina and Maryland). She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband and two kids.

In this episode of MamaThrive, I’m excited to be joined in conversation with Neha Ruch, the founder of Mother Untitled and the author of the forthcoming book, the Power Pause. She is on a mission to update and elevate the perception of stay-at-home motherhood in America and has been inspiring women across the globe with her work and impact In this conversation, Neha shares her experience of how motherhood invited her to downshift her career, and reexamine her identity that was part of her success in the corporate world. We speak about how the unpaid labor of stay-at-home mothers is still labor, and what societal shifts need to happen to support working mothers and how motherhood influences professional lives.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts and share the link with anyone whom you think might benefit from giving this episode a listen! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram Book  About Neha Ruch  As the founder of Mother Untitled and the author of the forthcoming book, THE POWER PAUSE (Putnam, 2025), Neha Ruch is on a mission to update and elevate the perception of stay-at-home motherhood in America. A rising thought leader, influencer, and sought-after speaker in the world of women, work, parenting, and identity, Neha's mindset shifts are shared. widely by tens of thousands of women, including Mandy Moore, Kourtney Kardashian, Gabby Bernstein and Joanna Goddard. Neha received her B.A. from Skidmore College and her M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. Prior to downshifting her career for motherhood, she led brand strategy at a number of highly successful luxury startups, including Zola and Carats & Cake. Neha immigrated to the United States from Mumbai, India, as a child, and grew  up in Massachusetts. She currently resides in Manhattan with her husband, their two children, and their dog Coconut. 

I feel deeply moved by this episode and the gift it offers mother’s through Eve’s incredible work, highlighting the importance of reclaiming space for ourselves in motherhood. If you have ever found yourself at an edge in motherhood - frustrated, burnout, bored or overwhelmed - then this episode is for you! Joined by Eve Rodsky, we explore what Unicorn Space is (and how it is different from a hobby), what the barriers are that mother’s encounter when trying to reclaim space for themselves in their lives, and practical steps and titbits of wisdom to support our journey’s from overwhelmed and burnout, to thriving and content.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts and share the link with anyone whom you think might benefit from giving this episode a listen! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  Facebook About Eve Rodsky:   Eve Rodsky transformed a “blueberries breakdown” into a catalyst for social change when she applied her Harvard-trained background in organizational management to ask the simple yet profound question: What would happen if we treated our homes as our most important organizations? Her New York Times bestselling book and Reese’s Book Club Pick, Fair Play, a gamified life-management system that helps partners rebalance their domestic workload and reimagine their relationship, has elevated the cultural conversation about the value of unpaid labor and care. In her highly anticipated follow-up, Find Your Unicorn Space: Reclaim Your Creative Life in a Too-Busy World, Rodsky explores the cross-section between the science of creativity, productivity, and resilience. Described as the ‘antidote to physical, mental, and emotional burnout,’ Rodsky aims to inspire a new narrative around the equality of time and the individual right to personal time choice that influences sustainable and lasting change on a policy level. Rodsky was born and raised by a single mom in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband Seth and their three children.

This episode is a must listen for any mother who has questioned her experience of motherhood, felt overwhelmed with “mum guilt” and wondered if it is possible to navigate the pressures of modern motherhood whilst simultaneously living a life that feels purposeful and aligned with their unique values, dreams and hopes.  I feel exceptionally moved by this episode as it puts the individual experience of being a mother, and all the challenges that come with that, into the wider societal context. Essentially acknowledging what it means to be a mother in our modern world. This is both liberating and empowering and testament to the work of Dr Sophie Brock in the field of Motherhood Sociology.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts and share the link with anyone whom you think might benefit from giving this episode a listen! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  Podcast About Sophie Brock:   Dr Sophie Brock is a Motherhood Studies Sociologist and a Mother who offers education on the sociology of motherhood and how our broader society shapes our experience as mothers. Covering topics and concepts such as the perfect mother myth, the care/career conundrum, the anger-guilty trap and more, Sophie’s work contributes to changing the cultural construction of motherhood, to create a world where mother’s feel empowered, supported and valued.  Sophie’s offerings include self-study courses for Mothers, mentoring for mother-support professionals, her podcast The Good Enough Mother, and The Motherhood Studies Practitioner Certification online training. 

Motherhood can bring many challenges and often asks us to do deep healing work. In today’s episode I have the privilege of being joined by Catherine Counihan, a trauma-informed integrative Psychotherapist and mother of twin girls, who shares her experience on the intersection of healing, perfectionism and the Good Enough Mother.  We will explore why motherhood can often be our greatest opportunity for healing and how we can learn how to hold space for our children’s big emotions whilst also dealing with our own. We discover what “Good Enough" mothering is, what it looks like and how we can use it to support attuned relationships.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  Podcast About Catherine Counihan:   Catherine Counihan is an integrative, trauma-informed Psychotherapist working in private practice in London. She is the mother of twin girls and specializes in complex trauma, perfectionism, nervous system healing, shifting dysfunctional patterns in our families and reparenting. Her passion is to shift shame and help each client gain an embodied sense of being good enough. Cath hosts a weekly podcast “Grow Yourself Up” focused on how we can learn to tend to ourselves in adulthood when we have not had our needs met as children, and the challenges of doing this as we parent. She has more than a decade of clinical experience and enjoys writing and teaching on subjects related to attachment.

Ever heard of “Mommy Brain” or noted comments, or even had your own reservations, about how your brain changes through pregnancy and motherhood? Dr Jodi Pawluski helps us explore some of the research that challenges the cultural messages around how motherhood in some way leaves a woman’s cognitive capacities defective - and instead sheds light on the gifts of the maternal brain.  If you have ever wondered about how your brain is changed through motherhood, the complex factors that influence our experience of motherhood and ways that we can start challenging the dominant discourse around mother’s and their capacity to function, contribute and perform in our modern society - then this episode is for you! I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  Podcast About Jodi Pawluski:   Dr. Jodi Pawluski is a Neuroscientist, Therapist and Author.  Her work focuses on the Science of Mommy Brain, the Neuroscience of Parenting and Perinatal Mental Health. For over fifteen years Jodi has studied the neuroscience of motherhood and the effects of perinatal mental illness and antidepressant medications on the mother and developing offspring. Her work has been published in high-ranking peer-reviewed journals and she regularly speaks nationally and internationally about her research findings as well as the fascinating effects of parenting on the brain. She is active in counselling, mentoring and advocating for improvements to perinatal mental health care and research on the parental brain. In 2020 Dr. Pawluski started a podcast called Mommy Brain Revisited which focuses on bringing current research on the parental brain to the general public. She also recently published a book titled Mommy Brain: Discover the amazing power of the maternal brain (Demeter Press and in French at Larousse). 

In this episode, I speak with Sarah Ashton, Perinatal Occupational Therapist and mama to two children. Sarah focuses on supporting mothers both pre, and postnatally, with the preparation, transition, adaptation and transformation occurring during matrescence.  We dive into Sarah’s passion exploring perinatal mental health and nervous system regulation whilst addressing the topic of overwhelm in motherhood. If you are interested in better understanding what drives your overwhelm, how you can better identify and work with what triggers you and learning some new practical strategies to support your wellbeing then today's episode is for you! I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  About Sarah Ashton:   Sarah Ashton is a Mental Health Occupational Therapist from Australia, working with and supporting mothers to make sense and meaning of modern-day motherhood. She is a mother of two spirited, deeply feeling kiddos herself and calls herself a Matrescence Reveller. Sarah has a special interest in diving into the psycho-sensory experience of overwhelm. 

Many of us struggle to find time for self-care, interests and healthy adult relationships. It often feels impossible because our priorities as mothers - like caring for our kids and households, are never-done. Today I am joined by Leslie Forde, the creator of the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs, where we discuss her research that has supported thousands of mother’s to reclaim more time from the never-done list for their wellbeing and growth.  Leslie is a mama and passionate about exploring the complicated intersection between job, personal life, and motherhood.  Together we discussed the ever tricky balance of work-mom life, what the systems are that we are up-against as mother’s that restrict our ability to flourish and reach our potential (or sense of self-actualisation) and we dive into Leslie’s revolutionary advice for influencing the pecking order of how things get done. This episode is for you if you feel like your health, well-being, and sanity as a mom always comes after your family’s needs– and you desire something different.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  About Leslie Forde:   Leslie Forde is the CEO and Founder of Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs®. The business provides evidence-based tools for Moms to reclaim time from the never-done list for wellbeing and helps Employers retain caregivers. Over 3,500 parents have participated since March of 2020 in the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs research study. The longest running of its kind about the pandemic’s ongoing impact to work/life, care, and wellness needs, for parents. Leslie has used research to inform growth and innovation strategy for over 20 years. Most recently, she held leadership positions at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Care.com and CSpace, an Omnicom market research agency. And for the past decade, she’s focused on media and technology for the childcare, eldercare, mental health, and education sectors. She’s a frequent speaker and consultant to organizations on how to retain and support parents, caregivers, and people of color, including HubSpot, Merck, Scholastic and the Barr Foundation. Her writing about wellbeing, equity and the future of work has appeared in The Washington Post, Slate, Parents Magazine, TLNT, Directorship and her website, Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs among other publications. She’s been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, National Geographic, Fast Company, US News & World Report, SHRM, and many other outlets.

In this episode, I speak with Kristin Laffrey, a mother and a coach who educates and consults women in business leading the way in the maternal services industry to create greater impact in fertility, pregnancy, birth, postpartum and motherhood. Together we discussed the delicate juggle that is required in ensuring that, as a mama, your dreams and ambitions can come alongside your vision for motherhood. We dive into ways that you can support yourself as you pursue your goals and dreams whilst still being the best mama you desire to be, and challenging feelings of being an imposter and charging for the value of your services.  This episode is for you if you feel a yearning to pursue time for yourself, a goal or ambition outside of your role as “mother”.  I’d love to hear your experience of this episode, please feel free to drop a comment below with any of your thoughts.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website About Kristin Laffrey:   Kristin Laffrey holds a Bachelor of Business, is a Chartered Accountant and after spending 10+ years overseeing strategy, finance, analytics and accounting for some of Australia’s largest ASX-listed organisations, now educates and consults women in business leading the way in the maternal services industry to create greater impact in fertility, pregnancy, birth, postpartum and motherhood. Kristin is the host of the Visionary Mother Podcast and supports women in the capacity of 1:1 business consulting and also through her signature business academy, the Mothermind.

This week, Kendra is joined by Heather Plett, author, facilitator, speaker and founder of The Centre for Holding Space. In this touching episode, Heather speaks about what it means to become an expert in “holding space”.  In this episode, Heather speaks about what it means to be able to hold space for ourselves as mama’s, as we parent. Together Kendra and Heather explore what it means to raise our kids, whilst doing our own healing work, and the importance of having tools and practices to support us in being able to hold space for ourselves and those around us.  This episode is for you if you feel something within you needs a little more holding as you navigate this journey of motherhood. By the end of listening you will have a clearer understanding of what holding space actually is, and why it is a practice that supports transformation and the evolution of human consciousness.  If you like what you have heard, please share this episode far and wide - it is through your support that this podcast is able to broaden its reach and its impact! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  About Heather Plett:   Heather Plett is the author of The Art of Holding Space: A Practice of Love, Liberation, and Leadership, and the soon-to-be-released book, Where Tenderness Lives: On Healing, Liberation, and Holding Space for Oneself. She is the co-founder of the Centre for Holding Space and has taught many workshops all over the world on the topic of holding space. She has since created the Holding Space Foundation Program as well as the certified practitioner program. She describes herself as spending a lot of her time thinking, teaching, and writing about what it means to hold space.

This week, Kendra is joined by Georgie Stephen who is a naturopath for mums and babies. This episode recgonises that care and support for mamas needs to be done differently, and takes into consideration so much more than simply what a mama can do around her nutrition to look after her wellbeing.  Together Kendra and Georgie venture into a deep discussion about the sociocultural impact on motherhood, the demands on our systems and simple, effective strategies that one can implement that can change how a woman feels about, and experiences life as a mama.  This episode is for you if you feel as though you have tried everything but cannot shake feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, and have a desire to enjoy the wild ride that is motherhood for many years to come.  If you like what you have heard, please share this episode far and wide - it is through your support that this podcast is able to broaden its reach and its impact! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  About Georgie Stephen:   Georgie Stephen is a proud mama to a spirited little girl and lives with her family in Melbourne. She is a degree-qualified naturopath, certified motherhood studies practitioner, and SOS feeding therapist. Her work is dedicated to supporting mothers put themselves at the centre of their motherhood experience, instead of existing on the periphery while sacrificing their needs for everyone else around them. From the early days of new motherhood, through postpartum and beyond into family life, Georgie provides naturopathic care to new and not-so-new mothers alike.

In today’s episode, Kendra is joined by Dr Whitney Casares, a maternal child health expert, a paediatrician and a mom of two. Dr Whitney is passionate about supporting mama’s to stop doing it all, and start doing what matters, and this episode is packed full with her wisdom and insight.  In our conversation together we look at practical ways mama’s can break the cycle of burnout in parenting (and therefore break up with the idea of Super-Mum), and shift their focus to their own health and wellbeing, so they can create a sense of balance that fosters greater joy in every area of their lives.  I love Dr Whitney’s honest and realistic approach to establishing balance within motherhood and hope that today’s episode will inspire you to shift gears so that you can better support your own wellbeing as a mama.  If you like what you have heard, please share this episode far and wide - all mama’s deserve to feel good in this role as a mother and the more we can spread the word, the bigger this change movement will become!  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  About Dr Whitney:  Dr. Whitney is a private practice pediatrician, a two-time American Academy of Pediatrics Author & Spokesperson, and a mom to two young girls in Portland, Oregon. She is passionate about supporting career-driven caregivers in all facets of their lives, guiding them toward increased focus, happiness, and effectiveness despite the systemic challenges and inherent biases that threaten to undermine them. A spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and medical consultant for large-scale organizations, including Good Housekeeping magazine, Gerber, and L’Oreal (CeraVe). Her work has been featured in Forbes, Thrive Global, and TODAY Parenting. She is an author, with her latest book, “Doing it All”, set for release in January 2024. 

Kendra is joined by Jessie Harrold in this week's episode exploring the sacred space that a woman is invited into, when she becomes a mother.  Together they venture into a deep discussion about what it is to honor and respect the transition into motherhood and how, when a woman experiences a well-supported matrescence, she has the opportunity to thrive and step into her most actualised sense of self.  This episode is for you if you are trying to orient yourself within this “new version” of you and your values. Jessie has a beautiful way of helping mother’s make sense of this pivotal life transition and I deeply believe that this episode will change the way you hold yourself as you journey through this life changing journey.  If you like what you have heard, please share this episode far and wide - it is through your support that this podcast is able to broaden its reach and its impact! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  About Jessie Harrold:  Jessie Harrold is a coach and doula who has been supporting women through radical life transformations and other rites of passage for over fifteen years. Jessie works one-on-one with women and mothers, facilitates mentorship programs, women’s circles and rituals, and hosts retreats and wilderness quests.  Jessie is also the author of Project Body Love: my quest to love my body and the surprising truth I found instead, as well as the forthcoming title, Mothershift: Reclaiming Motherhood as a Rite of Passage.  Jessie’s work has been featured in Spirituality & Health, Green Parent, Expectful and Explore Magazine.  She is also the host of The Becoming Podcast.  Jessie lives on the east coast of Canada where she mothers her two children, writes, and stewards the land.

Have you ever found yourself wondering how you can create space for yourself within your life as a mama? Or experienced feelings of overwhelm whilst juggling the mental and emotional load that comes with being a primary caregiver to your child/children. Then this episode is for you! Kendra is joined by Kirsti Gwynn in a warming conversation that strips self-care back to basics and provides practical and gentle suggestions on ways that you can begin to meet yourself within motherhood. The steps are not what you may anticipate them being!  This episode is such a wholesome listen. If you have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed recording it, please pass it on and tag me. I’d love to see the ripples of impact these episodes have on mama’s worlds and lives.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram About Kirsti Gwynn:  Kirsti Gwynn is a wellbeing psychologist helping mums of under 5s to feel less guilty and overwhelmed, and confident they’re doing enough. Her approach blends positive psychology and mindfulness techniques to offer mums genuinely achievable ways of supporting themselves to feel more present and balanced in motherhood.

Cozy in with a cup of something warm as you dive into this episode with Kendra and Mariel Witmond. Together they gently explore how motherhood offers an opportunity for us to unravel from our attachments to specific narratives, roles and relationships, so that we can become our most authentic and actualised selves.  Together they touch on the power of the feminine and how - in leaning into spaces of nurture and compassion, especially towards our inner child parts - we can embody a life, and create a legacy, that is healing for ourselves and generations to come.   If you like what you have heard, please share this episode far and wide - it is through your support that this podcast is able to broaden its reach and its impact! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website App Instagram  Facebook About Mariel Witmond:  Mariel Witmond is a transformational guide with a diverse heritage. Her journey from stress-induced health battles to holistic healing is a testament to the power of self-discovery. Mariel's path to physical well-being was ignited by yoga, somatic movement, meditation, breathwork, and nutrition, leading her to become a yoga and meditation teacher, breathwork facilitator and certified Health Coach. This mosaic of experiences inspired a mission to cultivate sanctuaries of healing for others, spaces where the heart could mend and the spirit could soar.

In this episode, Kendra speaks with Andrea Bombino about the complexities that arise when our aspirations and dreams as mothers intersect with our professional ambitions. Together they dive deep into answering questions such as: how do we navigate the sometimes conflicting desires of our work vision, and our mama vision? How can we find harmony and fulfilment in both areas of our lives?  This episode is for the mama who is holding parallel visions of work and motherhood - and who wishes to , acknowledge the joy and fulfilment that both motherhood and professional pursuits bring.  So, whether you are a working mama seeking inspiration and guidance, or a mama contemplating the delicate balance between career and family, this episode promises to leave you feeling empowered, heard and understood.  If you like what you have heard, please share this episode far and wide - it is through your support that this podcast is able to broaden its reach and its impact! As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  Facebook About Andrea Bombino:  Andrea Bombino is a Life Coach focused on helping women navigate their professional careers by understanding and normalizing the identity changes they experience in motherhood.  Becoming a mother in 2020 was the catalyst for Andrea diving into her own self-discovery journey and subsequent career expansion which led to the creation of her coaching and consulting business.. After 13 years of mentoring, training and coaching others to reach their full potential at companies like LinkedIn, Andrea set her sights on reimagining the future of work for women and mothers, one honest conversation at a time, through a combination of life, mindset, motherhood and career/business coaching. 

This week Kendra sits down for a heartfelt discussion with Jojo Hogan, the founder of the Slow Postpartum Movement. There are many principles of the slow living movement that intersect beautifully with the postpartum care practices that Jojo advocates for, and provides, her clients.  This is such an important listen for mother’s-to-be as Jojo dives into the pillars that support a positive postpartum experience and how this is best supported and prepared for, during pregnancy.  If you are looking for a wholesome listening experience that allows you space to think more practically about how your matrescence and motherhood journey may unfold from pregnancy through birth, then this is the episode for you.  Please share if you feel other mama’s - or mother’s to be - would benefit from hearing our conversation - a small gift that could change the trajectory of another woman's motherhood journey.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  About Jojo Hogan:  Jojo Hogan is a maternal postpartum care specialist, doula coach and the founder of the Slow Postpartum Movement: an international movement that educates and inspires as to the importance of the weeks following birth. She believes that the postpartum period is a time when new mothers, parents and families need and deserve to be nurtured, supported and celebrated so that they are able to offer the same to their new babies. 

This episode with Bridget Wood, is an open and raw conversation around how we can untangle our own beliefs, and definitions of what it means to be a good mother. Bridget holds incredible passion when it comes to speaking about the Mother Wound and how our experiences of being mothered directly influences our capacity to mother.  If you are looking for a conversation that validates your experience in motherhood, whilst equally providing powerful practices to inspire you as you step forward into your authentic expression as a mama and woman, then this is the episode for you! Packed full of insight, joy and heart - I loved every minute of this conversation with Bridget.  Please share if you feel other mama’s would benefit from hearing our conversation - a small gift that could change the trajectory of another woman's motherhood journey.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  Facebook About Bridget Wood:  Bridget Wood is a writer, a speaker, event manager and coach with a vision to raise our collective consciousness through her work and podcast that she co-hosts, Nourishing the Mother. With studies in media, communications and human behaviour, and ten years spent in the corporate world, Bridget has an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a desire to understand the bigger picture of how we, and the world, are the way we are, and to empower people to connect to themselves and realise their potential. A mother of three, Bridged reflects that many women feel they lose themselves in early motherhood, but ultimately it’s been where she has found herself. Her hope is that her work will revolutionise the way mother’s approach their lives and beliefs, so that they can create the family life of their dreams.

Have you heard of mental labor before? It’s all of the thinking, organising, planning, management, and emotional work that underpins all of the aspects of family life, household life, everything related to our children.  I strongly believe that all mama’s will benefit from diving into this episode as I am joined by Dr Elyse McNeil who has made it her life work to create education and information to support couples in significantly improving the way they manage mental labor and improve their relationships. We took a practical approach to today's episode and discussed specifics about what mental labor is, why it tends to fall on the shoulders of women and how we can have productive and respectful conversations with our partners, without inviting defensiveness and conflict, around sharing the load.  Please comment on the episode to let us know what you found most helpful and pass this conversation on to any mama whom you feel could benefit from these insightful and practical tips on managing mental load in motherhood.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  Resources:  Website Instagram  About Dr Elyse McNeil:   Dr Elyse McNeil has been a clinical psychologist for nearly a decade and has completed a PhD on the topic of mental labour. Through her work at Share to Thrive she is creating education and information for mothers and couples to significantly improve the way they manage mental labour and support women through the journey of motherhood. She lives on the beautiful Gold Coast with her husband and little boy.

In today’s episode, I’m in conversation with Jacqueline Kelly of Our Brave Hearts. A motherhood coach and a mum of 2 who shares her experience in helping mothers rediscover, redefine and reclaim themselves within motherhood. We dig deep into how and why we collectively struggle with a sense of self as mothers, and the impact this has on prioritizing ourselves and seeking support within motherhood.  I LOVED this conversation and hope you find within it, glimmers for you to use in your own personal journey of self-discovery in motherhood.  Please share if you feel other mama’s would benefit from hearing our conversation - spread the word and be part of the change that is so needed for mama’s everywhere.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  My Online Group Coaching Course, Transform is currently open for enrolment. If you are interested in joining me & a group of likeminded mothers as we explore and reclaim a version of motherhood that aligns with our most authentic, fulfilled and joyful selves - then head over to my website to sign up! Resources:  Website Instagram  Facebook About Jacqueline Kelly:  Jacqueline Kelly is a fully certified Life Coach, Mama Rising and Demartini Method Facilitator. She has been supporting mums who feel lost in the transition from being the woman they used to be to the mother they are now, since 2018. She is passionate about breaking through the silence of motherhood and supporting women to thrive - without the guilt and “should’s” that often accompany the perceptions of a good mother. 

I’m delighted to share with you my conversation with Beth Berry who strongly believes that when a mother is able to stand within her power - when she is not in depletion - she can use her voice to amplify where change needs to happen.  This episode is a call to mama’s to start taking their needs seriously, so as to prevent the inevitable burnout that ensues when we give and give without giving, even just a small amount of care and attention, to ourselves.  I hope that you enjoy this episode as much as I did! Hit share if you feel other mama’s would benefit from hearing our conversation - spread the word and be part of the change that is so needed for mama’s everywhere.  As always, we continue this conversation over on Instagram. Come join us there.  My Online Group Coaching Course, ⁠Transform⁠ is currently open for enrolment. If you are interested in joining me & a group of likeminded mothers as we explore and reclaim a version of motherhood that aligns with our most authentic, fulfilled and joyful selves - then head over to my website to sign up! Resources:  Website Instagram  Facebook About Beth Berry:  Beth Berry is a coach, teacher, small group and retreat facilitator, mother of four daughters and author of Motherwhelmed. A revolutionary at heart, she helps mothers get more of what they want and need to feel fulfilled and empowered despite the odds. She believes that self-aware, self-compassionate, well-supported mothers who know themselves to be worthy of pleasure and joy-filled lives are powerful beyond measure and essential to the healing of the world.