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The Fear Free Childbirth podcast is for parents-to-be who want a positive and fear-free birth experience. Thousands of women credit the podcast with helping them have a positive birth. The show is a mix of real life positive birth stories, birthing experts sharing their wisdom and Alexia sharing how to get into a positive birthing mindset, including techniques for releasing fears. Alexia is a therapeutic coach who works with pregnant women and is the author of the book Fearless Birthing. You ...
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I'm thrilled to share with you another incredible tokophobia healing journey. As the host of the Fear Free Childbirth podcast, I have had the profound privilege of connecting with many incredible women, each on her unique path to overcoming the fears and anxieties that accompany pregnancy and childbirth. Today, I want to share with you one of the m…
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In today's episode, I am joined by Heather to dive into her incredible journey from a fear-filled first birth to two positive and empowering experiences. Heather shares her deep emotional work in overcoming the negative feelings from her traumatic first birth and the steps she took to prepare herself mentally and emotionally for her second pregnanc…
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In this episode, I sit down with the inspirational Celeste to delve deep into her transformative journey of overcoming fears and phobias related to childbirth and pregnancy. Throughout the episode, Celeste candidly shares her profound and life-altering experiences, providing invaluable insights for anyone navigating similar challenges. This episode…
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In today's episode, I have a thought-provoking conversation with Elizabeth Tidwell, a menstrual cycle coach, as she shares her journey of healing and embracing the power of her menstrual cycle. I wanted to talk about periods because even though they're not front and centre of the pregnancy and birth experience - they are! We obsess over when they s…
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In this episode, we dive into a powerful and inspiring conversation with my guest, Steph Bennet, as she shares her experience of choosing to solo parent. Steph's story is a testament to the strength and resilience of women who navigate both career success and motherhood on their own terms. Join us as we explore the challenges, triumphs, and joys of…
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Birth is a profound and transformative experience, but unfortunately, conflicts and disagreements within the birth space can sometimes overshadow the joy and empowerment that should be at the forefront. In this episode of the Fear Free Childbirth podcast, Jenny Koslow, a perinatal educator with four decades of experience, sheds light on the issues …
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Today's episode is a deeply insightful conversation between Alexia and a previous guest, Ramona who recently shared her story of overcoming tokophobia. They share personal experiences and explore the connection between puberty trauma, body dysmorphia, and the fear of pregnancy and childbirth, known as tokophobia. In this thought-provoking episode, …
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In this episode, I have an incredible story of transformation to share with you. My guest, Jessica, was once plagued with fear when it came to pregnancy and childbirth. However, she conquered her fears and had a positive birth experience that inspired her to make a bold career change. Jessica talks about her journey from fear to becoming a midwife.…
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In this episode, my special guest is Emma Moon, a cosmic fertility guide and a spirit baby medium. Emma's unique background includes a Bachelor of Science in nursing and expertise as an integrative health practitioner. She blends both science and spirituality in her work, supporting women through their fertility journey, pregnancy, and conscious bi…
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Welcome back to Fear Free Childbirth! In today's episode, I want to delve into the fascinating concept of the Map of Consciousness. Have you ever invested time and energy into courses, therapy or retreats to bring about a change in how you feel, only to wonder if they're really making a difference? We all have, right? Today, I want share a powerful…
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In today's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Lauren Cook, who will be diving into a topic that affects many parents in the modern era – anxiety in Gen Z. Dr. Cook, a therapist and author, brings her expertise and insights from her book "Generation Anxiety," which provides a guide for millennials and Gen Z to navigate an uncertain world. We'll be exploring…
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In today's episode, I am joined by the incredible Susie Hamilton as she shares her spine-tingling story of transformation from someone who wrestled with tokophobia, the fear of pregnancy and birth, to becoming a surrogate. When Susie discovered this podcast when she was preparing for pregnancy, she went on to use my fear clearance method to clear h…
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In today's episode, I am diving into a topic that affects so many people - the fear of vomit, also known as emetophobia. While it may not be the number one fear for everyone, it ranks high on the list of most common phobias. I'll explore the seriousness of this fear and its impact on those contemplating pregnancy or dealing with a fear of pregnancy…
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In this episode I explore hidden pregnancy and birth traumas. Discover how ancestral trauma can fuel fears and anxieties about pregnancy and birth, even if you've never been pregnant. I also share my personal healing journey, transforming my perspective on childbirth. Join me in addressing these hidden traumas for a fearless pregnancy and birth.…
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In today's episode, we dive deep into the fascinating world of perimenopause and how it intersects with the postnatal period. With so many women waiting until later in life to have children, this is an important topic for women to get their heads around. To help us do that, I am joined by my guest, Linda Stephens, who brings her expertise and insig…
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Welcome to another episode of Fear Free Childbirth podcast, where we delve into the incredible realm of childbirth and explore unconventional yet empowering practices. In this episode, I am joined by special guest Sophie Messager, a doula who has integrated drumming into her work with expecting mothers. Together, we explore the profound effects of …
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In this week's episode, Alexia chats to Ramona, who shares her powerful story of triumphing over tokophobia and body dysmorphia to embrace and enjoy pregnancy. Throughout our conversation, Ramona imparts wisdom on communicating with healthcare providers, finding the right support, and illuminating challenging experiences. She candidly shares her tr…
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In this episode of Fear Free Childbirth, I delve into the topic of anxiety and how it affects pregnancy. As someone who has personally experienced anxiety during my own pregnancy journey, I understand the importance of addressing and overcoming these fears and anxieties. Fear and control are significant themes in anxiety and tokophobia, which can i…
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In this episode I'm am joined by the incredible Mars Lord, doula and activist dedicated to improving the birthing experiences of black and brown-bodied women. In this episode, Mars will shine a light on a pressing issue: ethnicity scans. We'll delve into the controversy surrounding these scans, their potential risks and benefits, and the systemic r…
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In this episode of the Fear Free Childbirth podcast, Alexia interviews Heather, who shares her inspiring journey from being tokophobic to becoming a mother of two. Heather never expected to have children but was motivated to confront her fear for the sake of her relationship. Initially seeking information, Heather discovered a supportive community …
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In this episode of Fear Free Childbirth, Alexia discusses the topic of fear and birth. ‌ Alexa highlights that fear of birth and pregnancy is a common experience for up to 85% of women, but it is not something to be ashamed of. She explains that fear comes in two forms - mild/moderate fear due to misinformation and lack of education, and deep-roote…
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The one idea that inspired and motivated me when I started working in the birth and pregnancy space was this: the birth moment is a sacred one that has ripple effect that impacts so many people. The moment of birth creates a ripple that affects many Birth doesn't just affect the mother and the baby being born, it affects the father and/or the mothe…
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Pain is interesting. At least I find it interesting. I guess that comes from my work in helping women prepare for pregnancy and birth, because pain comes up a lot! In fact it comes up too much in my opinion. More than it should do. And this is because a fear of pain is probably one of the most common pregnancy and birth fears I come across. Well, i…
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The Fear Free Childbirth and Motherhood podcast is where I help you to lose the fear, anxiety and stress that inevitably accompanies the journey to motherhood. When you listen to this podcast you can expect to listen to me and my guests as we dive into real stories, expert topics and psychology insights to inspire you and change your mindset on thi…
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Anxiety in pregnancy is currently estimated to affect around 15% of women. Through my work in supporting women in preparing for birth and pregnancy, anxiety is something that I see a lot and, dare I say, I think the numbers are probably higher. When women are feeling fearful around aspects of their pregnancy or birth it can trigger feelings of anxi…
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Prenatal psychology is an area of psychology that looks at the psychological changes that women go through from conception to postpartum. If you're going to better understand your fears and anxieties during pregnancy then I think understanding prenatal psychology is pretty crucial. The journey to motherhood is one of massive change for a woman and …
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How to tell if you know a woman with tokophobia Tokophobia is the extreme fear of pregnancy and birth. It’s not very well known and yet it can affect a lot of women. This extreme or pathological fear of birth is estimated to affect between 4 and 43% of women. 14% is an accepted estimate. So you see, a lot more common than you might think. Sadly, ma…
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Today's podcast is all about the maternal brain and the neuroscience of pregnancy, birth, postpartum and parenting. A few months back I shared an article about the maternal brain on my Facebook page and it went a bit nuts. It's since been shared over 40 times which is unprecedented for my Facebook page. It also received tons of comments, many of wh…
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Worrying about pregnancy body changes is something most pregnant women worry about. Whether it's the expected changes in the shape of your body as pregnancy progresses, to the least expected changes that might happen as a result of birth complications - and everything in between! Pregnancy body changes are a huge source of worry for women which is …
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In today's podcast episode I'm honoured to be joined by Sophie Brigstocke. Sophie won Doula of the Year in 2017, so this is a real treat - my second Doula of the Year guest! As well as being a doula, Sophie also runs Nurturing Birth where she trains doulas alongside her co-founder Florence Etienne-Jackson. Together they have trained over 3000 doula…
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The Fear Free Childbirth podcast is back! After a year off, I'm back... lots of great episodes coming too! In this episode, I talk about my new book, Fearless Birthing. I get lots of emails asking what reading people should do, well, my answer to that is simple: my Fearless Birthing book! When I was pregnant, I didn’t read any books. I was tokophob…
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Breastfeeding is not something you might expect to do your research on while pregnant, but there is certainly a lot of value in preparing yourself as much as you can while you have the time and space to do so. When your little one arrives you'll thank yourself for being prepped as much as you can. I've been asked loads to do a podcast on breastfeed…
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Birth preparation is a huge part of preparing for a positive birth. Lots of women don't appreciate why doing birth preparation is so important with many leaving it last minute. The truth is if you want to stack the odds in your favour when it comes to having a positive birth experience, birth preparation is essential. The thing is, birth preparatio…
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I'm a huge fan of conscious conception and pregnancy and I believe that taking a conscious and deliberate approach to your journey from pregnancy to motherhood is the gold standard to aim for. But I also know that not everyone has got that memo and simply don't get it. To help you understand this in more depth, today I'm chatting to Jane Jennings a…
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Caesareans are often feared by women going into birth, but there's a new trend coming through that could hope to reduce that somewhat. The gentle C-section otherwise known as the natural caesarean is a much softer approach than the usual surgical ritual. To help explain what a gentle C-section is I'm being joined by OB Andy Simm from Nottingham Cit…
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The psychology of pregnancy doesn't often get discussed and I don't know why, so today I'm remedying that. Pregnancy and the journey of motherhood are such a huge time of change that it's no wonder that there are psychological implications. The thing is, we don't often stop and think about what those might be. In today's episode I'm going to be lif…
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Placenta encapsulation might not be something you know too much about. So, I thought it was about time I covered this on the podcast because many women report that placenta encapsulation can help them emotionally in the postpartum period. Consuming your placenta (placentophagy) is undergoing a bit of revival at the moment. So, who better to have on…
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Today I'm sharing a fabulous positive birth story on the podcast. It's fabulous because it's positive and empowering birth, obviously. But also because it's a tokophobia birth story. I'm joined today by Cee Fee Dunn who admits to being completely terrified of pregnancy and birth. Cee Fee and her husband had decided that they wanted to have children…
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Using essential oils in pregnancy can be a bit of a minefield. There is so much confusion as to what you can and can't use that it can be stressful. So I knew I had to do an episode on it! To help me tackle this subject, I'm being joined by Amber Duncan, who is a clinical aromatherapist. But not only that, but she is also a mama of three, so she's …
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Today on the podcast I'm tackling yet another important - but not talked enough about - topic; the recurrent miscarriage. Baby loss is taboo enough as it is, but recurrent miscarriage is even more so, and neither should be. To help me, I'm joined by Naava Carman, who specialises in working with women who experience a recurrent miscarriage through h…
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This week it's maternal Mental Health Matters Awareness Week here in the UK and to honour it, I'm delighted to be talking to Susanne Grant about being pregnant with PTSD, birth trauma or baby loss. Not long ago Susanne found herself pregnant with PTSD as a result of her own abuse experiences. Her journey in overcoming her PTSD is something that she…
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On today's podcast I'm joined by journalist and radio presenter (and now best-selling author!) Beverley Turner. Bev is also the lady behind the The Happy Birth Club ante-natal classes that are run out of a pub in Chiswick, London. I first heard Bev speak at the IMUK (Independent Midwives UK) conference last year where she spoke about the happy birt…
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It's time for a rallying cry "Save the midwife!". I've talked about this already on the podcast, but this week, I'm giving it focus. Save the midwife is a campaign that needs support and not just here in the UK, and not just by midwives. This is a family issue that affects birthing women directly. When we hear talk of the oldest profession in the w…
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Our pregnancy journey has the potential to be one of the most transformative and expansive periods in our lives, and I don't just mean in terms of our body! The opportunity for personal growth is huge, and yet this important rite of passage is not always widely accepted or appreciated for what it is. When I think back to my own experiences of misca…
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In today's episode I want to talk about taking responsibility and share with you something that happened to me last week that was a huge wake-up call. It's not exactly birth related but it is ... Last week I had a minor op. I thought it would be this no big deal. They were OK with me walking home afterwards so I thought I'd be able to carry on with…
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Your pelvic floor is one of those things that you take for granted before giving birth. It's just there. Then you give birth and it's not! After my first pregnancy, I went to a weekly buggy workout where we were talked through the kegel exercises and I remember being so utterly bored by them that I quickly lost interest in doing them. Give me crunc…
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Today we're talking about childbirth self efficacy. I'm taking a deeper look into the psychology of birth with birth expert and best-selling author, Sophie Fletcher. In this episode we're going to be talking about what childbirth self efficacy is, why it's important in the context of childbirth and what we can do to influence it. Believe it or not,…
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Today I'm thrilled to be joined on the podcast by Shalome Stone from Rockstar Birth Magazine. [spp-player] When Shalome and I first chatted, it took us a while to figure out what we'd focus on for our pocast chat because we could've had spoken on a whole range of stuff around birth. But once I'd spoken to her for a bit, I knew what it was. Shalome …
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If you're expecting multiples then today is your turn! I can't tell you how many times I receive emails from mamas expecting multiples asking.. no BEGGING.. me for podcast episodes for them and believe me when I say this: I have been TRYING!!! Today I'm speaking to Mars Lord. Mars is a doula who specialises in supporting parents who are expecting m…
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Cord clamping is something that you might not even think to consider when it comes to your birth plan, but let me tell that it most definitely is. In today's podcast I want to help you to undersrtand why delayed cord clamping should be an important non-negotiable aspect of the birth of your baby, whether you have a vaginal or c-section birth. Today…
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