Welcome back to the second series of Motherhood Exposed, where your host, mother, midwife, doula and personal trainer Zoe Cresswell explores the ups, downs and often complicated parts of motherhood.

In this episode, Zoe returns to speak to Sophie Martin, known on Instagram and in the blogging world as the infertile midwife, to revisit her story of infertility, loss and the journey to her now 7-week old baby boy, Percy.

To hear the previous episode with Sophie, go to episode 12.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Sophie did a frozen transfer of IVF and incredibly it worked first time. It was the beginning of December and although the UK was in the midst of the pandemic it was just “the loveliest transfer ever”! Sophie had been to the clinic so many times in the previous months, she knew the team really well and even got to choose to put Christmas songs on whilst it happened!
The transfer worked and although Sophie was happy there was a mix of emotions after her previous late loss of twins, Cecil and Wilfred. She had some bleeding on Christmas Day which was frightening but at her first scan everything was luckily fine.
Sophie told close family but didn’t tell anyone else she was pregnant until she was 25 weeks. She didn’t want to have to deal with people congratulating her when that wasn’t really how she felt; she felt scared.
Even though Sophie suffered with a lot of anxiety she wasn’t helped by any perinatal teams after being referred three times. She didn’t have any professional support at all being pregnant after loss, which must have been incredibly difficult.
At 22 weeks, Sophie suffered a threatened pre-term labour and after dealing with this she couldn’t go back to her normal job role. She had a month off but was then able to work from home due to Covid before delivering her baby boy Percy via a planned C-section.
Although an experienced midwife, Sophie recognises now that there was so much she didn’t know about motherhood, especially around breastfeeding. She feels like she truly understands how relentless and difficult it is for so many mothers.
After having Percy, Sophie has been quite shocked by a lot of the emotions that she has had to contented with, including both loss and relief but also immense sadness.
Having a baby after fertility problems or loss is incredibly complicated. If someone had told Sophie a year ago she would now be sat with a 7 week old baby, she would not have believed them. Her advice to those in that position is that you have to have hope and if you do manage to have the baby in your arms, don’t imagine it will be the ‘fix all’ to everything because it unfortunately doesn’t work like that.



 

BEST MOMENTS

“The transfer couldn’t have gone any better…it just felt really special, I couldn’t have asked for a better transfer”

“He was very good at helping me rationalise it”

“People know breastfeeding is hard…the hard bit is actually feeding, just the relentlessness of it”

“You can’t necessarily process it all whilst you’re in it, it’s only once you’re out of it you have to start processing it”

 

VALUABLE RESOURCES
www.petalscharity.org

www.tommys.org

www.arc-uk.org

www.sands.org.uk

 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Sophie Martin

Midwife and mother

IG @the.infertile.midwife

www.theinfertilemidwife.com
www.petalscharity.org
www.tommys.org
www.arc-uk.org
www.sands.org.uk

 

ABOUT THE HOST

Zoe Cresswell

Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness.

Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital.

Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage.

With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop & Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth.

Zoe’s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations.

Zoe’s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.

 

CONTACT DETAILS

Instagram : @zoecresswell_me

Facebook: Zoe Cresswell

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell

Welcome back to the second series of Motherhood Exposed, where your host, mother, midwife, doula and personal trainer Zoe Cresswell explores the ups, downs and often complicated parts of motherhood.
In this episode, Zoe returns to speak to Sophie Martin, known on Instagram and in the blogging world as the infertile midwife, to revisit her story of infertility, loss and the journey to her now 7-week old baby boy, Percy.
To hear the previous episode with Sophie, go to episode 12.
&nbsp;
KEY TAKEAWAYS
<ul>
<li>Sophie did a frozen transfer of IVF and incredibly it worked first time. It was the beginning of December and although the UK was in the midst of the pandemic it was just &ldquo;the loveliest transfer ever&rdquo;! Sophie had been to the clinic so many times in the previous months, she knew the team really well and even got to choose to put Christmas songs on whilst it happened!</li>
<li>The transfer worked and although Sophie was happy there was a mix of emotions after her previous late loss of twins, Cecil and Wilfred. She had some bleeding on Christmas Day which was frightening but at her first scan everything was luckily fine.</li>
<li>Sophie told close family but didn&rsquo;t tell anyone else she was pregnant until she was 25 weeks. She didn&rsquo;t want to have to deal with people congratulating her when that wasn&rsquo;t really how she felt; she felt scared.</li>
<li>Even though Sophie suffered with a lot of anxiety she wasn&rsquo;t helped by any perinatal teams after being referred three times. She didn&rsquo;t have any professional support at all being pregnant after loss, which must have been incredibly difficult.</li>
<li>At 22 weeks, Sophie suffered a threatened pre-term labour and after dealing with this she couldn&rsquo;t go back to her normal job role. She had a month off but was then able to work from home due to Covid before delivering her baby boy Percy via a planned C-section.</li>
<li>Although an experienced midwife, Sophie recognises now that there was so much she didn&rsquo;t know about motherhood, especially around breastfeeding. She feels like she truly understands how relentless and difficult it is for so many mothers.</li>
<li>After having Percy, Sophie has been quite shocked by a lot of the emotions that she has had to contented with, including both loss and relief but also immense sadness.</li>
<li>Having a baby after fertility problems or loss is incredibly complicated. If someone had told Sophie a year ago she would now be sat with a 7 week old baby, she would not have believed them. Her advice to those in that position is that you have to have hope and if you do manage to have the baby in your arms, don&rsquo;t imagine it will be the &lsquo;fix all&rsquo; to everything because it unfortunately doesn&rsquo;t work like that. </li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
BEST MOMENTS
&ldquo;The transfer couldn&rsquo;t have gone any better&hellip;it just felt really special, I couldn&rsquo;t have asked for a better transfer&rdquo;
&ldquo;He was very good at helping me rationalise it&rdquo;
&ldquo;People know breastfeeding is hard&hellip;the hard bit is actually feeding, just the relentlessness of it&rdquo;
&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t necessarily process it all whilst you&rsquo;re in it, it&rsquo;s only once you&rsquo;re out of it you have to start processing it&rdquo;
&nbsp;
VALUABLE RESOURCES <a href="http://www.petalscharity.org/">www.petalscharity.org</a>
<a href="http://www.tommys.org/">www.tommys.org</a>
<a href="http://www.arc-uk.org/">www.arc-uk.org</a>
<a href="http://www.sands.org.uk/">www.sands.org.uk</a>
&nbsp;
ABOUT THE GUEST Sophie Martin
Midwife and mother
IG @the.infertile.midwife
<a href="http://www.theinfertilemidwife.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.theinfertilemidwife.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1606413560060000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG16F3lxHRXo8RRjC_IphtWldvI6A">www.theinfertilemidwife.com</a> <a href="http://www.petalscharity.org/">www.petalscharity.org</a> <a href="http://www.tommys.org/">www.tommys.org</a> <a href="http://www.arc-uk.org/">www.arc-uk.org</a> <a href="http://www.sands.org.uk/">www.sands.org.uk</a>
&nbsp;
ABOUT THE HOST
Zoe Cresswell
Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness.
Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital.
Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage.
With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop &amp; Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth.
Zoe&rsquo;s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations.
Zoe&rsquo;s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.
&nbsp;
CONTACT DETAILS
Instagram : @zoecresswell_me
Facebook: Zoe Cresswell
LinkedIn:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell">www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell</a>

Welcome to Motherhood Exposed. Join me, Zoe Cresswell, mum of two and a UK trained midwife and doula, as I meet with an array of amazing women navigating life and motherhood.

 

Since becoming a mum for the second time, after my own complex journey, i have become more and more aware that motherhood is so unique. There is no one story the same and women need support now, more than ever. i hope by allowing mothers to openly speak we can help to break the silence around many topics. We need to shout out that there is no normal and that is something we need to embrace. Motherhood isn't always picture perfect, so lets bust some myths, realign expectations and share the journey together.

 

Podcast Description:

Join Zoe, mum of two, a UK trained midwife, doula and pregnancy personal trainer as she meets with an array of empowering women navigating motherhood.

Whether you’re trying to conceive, pregnant or have your own children or grandchildren, Motherhood Exposed busts myths, re-aligns expectations and shares stories of real women we can all relate to.

Grab a coffee as Zoe and her guests have honest, frank and often funny conversations, showing that birth and motherhood isn’t always picture perfect. From the downright heart-breaking and messy times, to the beautiful joyous moments which make your heart melt, being a mum is a journey, so lets learn, laugh and cry as we go on it together.

 

About Zoe

Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness.

Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital.

Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage.

With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop & Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth.

Zoe’s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations.

Zoe’s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.

Welcome to Motherhood Exposed. Join me, Zoe Cresswell, mum of two and a UK trained midwife and doula, as I meet with an array of amazing women navigating life and motherhood.
&nbsp;
Since becoming a mum for the second time, after my own complex journey, i have become more and more aware that motherhood is so unique. There is no one story the same and women need support now, more than ever. i hope by allowing mothers to openly speak we can help to break the silence around many topics. We need to shout out that there is no normal and that is something we need to embrace. Motherhood isn't always picture perfect, so lets bust some myths, realign expectations and share the journey together.
&nbsp;
Podcast Description:
Join Zoe, mum of two, a UK trained midwife, doula and pregnancy personal trainer as she meets with an array of empowering women navigating motherhood.
Whether you&rsquo;re trying to conceive, pregnant or have your own children or grandchildren, Motherhood Exposed busts myths, re-aligns expectations and shares stories of real women we can all relate to.
Grab a coffee as Zoe and her guests have honest, frank and often funny conversations, showing that birth and motherhood isn&rsquo;t always picture perfect. From the downright heart-breaking and messy times, to the beautiful joyous moments which make your heart melt, being a mum is a journey, so lets learn, laugh and cry as we go on it together.
&nbsp;
About Zoe
Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness.
Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital.
Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage.
With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop &amp; Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth.
Zoe&rsquo;s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations.
Zoe&rsquo;s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.

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