What happens when your business explodes in popularity, you find out you're pregnant, and you catch COVID—all at the same time? Annabel takes us on a deeply personal and often hilarious journey through the chaos of running Cutter & Squidge during the pandemic, navigating a surprise pregnancy, and the rollercoaster of childbirth.

From trying to take her laptop into the induction room with her, to facing the unexpected twists of labor resulting in a caesarean, she shares the power of trusting her instincts (and her doctors), the reality of postpartum recovery, and many intimate, unfiltered moments—like when your husband has to help you take off your pregnancy pants. We dive into the cultural traditions of Chinese confinement, the lifesaving magic of a night nurse, the struggles of breastfeeding (shoutout to the incredible Sharnae!) and the bittersweet shift from “I want mummy” to “I want daddy” as baby grows up.

It’s a raw, real and heartwarming look at the juggling act of motherhood and a successful business. Stay tuned for laughs, lessons and a whole lot of love.

Welcome to our first ever Partner POV from Bloom Stories. Too often, a father’s journey to parenthood is overlooked or trivialised—but dads go through an enormous transformation too, right alongside their partners. Both experiences matter, and both deserve to be heard.

By sharing real stories from a partner’s perspective, we hope to offer insight, support, and a sense of connection— to help fathers navigate parenthood with confidence. Because when both mums and dads are empowered, families can truly thrive.

One of the joys of listening to Lydia's story was hearing how critical and powerful a role her husband Simon played in supporting and shaping her journey, we know you are going to love this one.

As one of 12 herself, large families are nothing new to Clare. Maybe it’s no surprise therefore that she takes the rollercoaster of being mother to her own five children, all in her stride. Join us as Amelia and Clare discuss what she has learnt from five pregnancies, five births and looking after five babies. We also tackle the impossible question of how to balance your own personal needs as a woman who has intelligence, talents, ideas and ambitions - with the needs of your children. Spoiler alert, it’s not easy!

Kate felt a real difference between the physical versus the mental pregnancy experience. Physically, she felt amazing. On the other hand, her mental journey ebbed and flowed. Looking back she feels like she has now blocked out the tough parts, but she was very anxious at times, having had a miscarriage start of the year. Amelia and Kate talk miscarrying at work, managing fear and worry when pregnant after a first loss, a scare at 20 weeks, the days that feel like an eternity when you go "overdue", labour using a tens machine and a birthing pool, the Dutch care system with kraamzorgs, centering and champagne, the challenges of getting breastfeeding working as well as the emotional labyrinth that is the decision to stop.

In today’s episode, Ieashia talks about her long struggle with endometriosis. It had a debilitating impact on her life and, she was told, would likely impact her fertility as well.

Ieashia would pass out every month during her periods, feel very sick and experience extreme and excruciating pain. She was eventually diagnosed at 26 years old. We talk about how she managed to ease her symptoms by taking control of her diet and focusing on gut health. Her periods became more manageable, and she also became pregnant naturally when she had been told that she would need to have surgery.

Because of frustrating experiences with the “system”, Ieashia felt strongly that she didn’t want her birth to be a medical procedure and that she wanted to be able to trust in herself and her body. Pregnancy and labour became an opportunity to take ownership of her body again, something that she did right until the end as (in her words) her baby flew out!

Abi felt absolute joy at finding out that she was pregnant, but then complete and utter shock a few weeks later on finding out that she was carrying twins. It was truly a self defining moment that changed her and her partners lives forever. Preparing for one baby is nerve wracking enough… how do you prepare for two of them? How do you handle a double birth? And how do you have enough arms to do everything once they have arrived? We talk pelvic girdle pain, preeclampsia, caesareans and haemorrhaging. We get deep into how to breast feed twins and Abi paints a very real picture about what newborn life is like with double the work and double the fun.

Lauren’s pregnancy, especially the latter stages, was not straightforward: mid-pandemic, with a change of care provider halfway through and a gestational diabetes diagnosis which meant more scans, risks and concerns about the baby’s size. But despite all this, she took it all in her stride, informing herself and making the right choices for herself, one by one.

What she didn’t expect was the crash landing into motherhood that is the fourth trimester. In the weeks following her birth, Lauren suffered with postnatal hypertension and it’s likely she also had undetected preeclampsia. When she was advised to be readmitted into hospital with her baby, Lauren made a difficult decision that was right for her and her family: to stay at home. She talks about the turning point around 6 weeks postpartum but gets real about this time and the strength needed to overcome it.

Becoming a mum was all Kirti ever wanted, but she knew that getting pregnant would be difficult. As soon as she got married and was financially stable, she and her partner started trying for a baby. Three years of doing pregnancy tests and ovulation tests, seeing a gynaecologist and undergoing all the scans, referrals and tests imaginable, it was all getting to be too much. In the end, Kirti decided to see a specialist abroad, who diagnosed and successfully treated endometriosis within a matter of days. A few weeks after the procedure, she was pregnant with her first baby and finally able to fulfil her dream.

Colette had her first baby at 16, her second at 23 and her third at 38. Colette’s three pregnancies and births were all very different but had one thing in common - her babies were positioned back-to-back, which led to long labours.

Her first experience was positive thanks to a supportive network of family and friends, but was still characterised by naivety and judgement navigating a teenage pregnancy. For her second, she was better informed but her epidural was only effective on one side which led to a less effective pain relief. Now a qualified hypnobirthing teacher, for her third pregnancy, Colette was informed to advocate for herself and her desire for an unmedicated birth. She also experienced something called the foetal ejection reflex: when a baby is born with no pushing at all. Colette is living proof that the different stages of labour do not always correspond to the timings we expect, in her words “the cervix is not a crystal ball”.

Laura and I discuss home vs hospital births, weirdly wonderful pregnancy cravings, how mentally straining pregnancy is, how empowering birth can be, how hard it feels to go back to work but also how hard NOT working would also be. Listen to her story to find out how she rode the contraction wave to a home birth and how that compared to her second, equally positive hospital birth.

Amelia’s first pregnancy was a bubble of blissful ignorance. She didn’t try to absorb all the information out there and trusted that her body would know what to do when the time came. In contrast, being more aware of what happens during birth as well as what could go wrong meant she struggled to relax in the same way, second time round. She felt increasingly anxious as the due date got closer.

A close link between mind and body defined both experiences. It was as though her brain needed to fully relax in order to let her body bring new life into the world. Her contractions only started when childcare was sorted for Joshua and her waters broke once she had made it safely to hospital and seconds after she told her baby “it’s time to come now”.

Motherhood has provided Amelia with the deep sense of purpose she knew she needed, but didn’t expect to find here. Becoming a mum, it turns out, is the wonderfully unexpected solution to a restlessness she’d been grappling with for a long time.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to have a truly joyful and positive, pregnancy, birth and post partum period, Lydia’s story is for you. I lost track of the number of times we use the word joy in this conversation - a testament to Lydia's resilience and can-do attitude, but also to her husband Simon who was an incredible champion throughout it all.

We think you’re going to love it.

A researcher by nature and profession, Kristen completely surrendered to the natural power of the birth experience only after rigorous, wide-spanning research. This deep education filled Kristen and her birth team with confidence and the conviction that they could make informed decisions that were right for Kristen, whatever the situation that arose.

A winning strategy as it turns out, because nature had a big surprise in store for this growing family. Kristen gave birth to her second baby Claire at midnight, on the side of a road, under the moon and stars and entirely at one with her baby and with nature. A magical arrival by any standards… but most magical of all is the grounding and deep purpose that Kristen has found in motherhood, that she never even knew she needed.

Is there such a thing as the perfect age to become a mother? Morgane had joked that 26 seemed to be just that – not too old and not too young. Despite knowing she wanted a family, she thought it would come when she had financial security, a stable job and her own place. So when she unexpectedly fell pregnant at 25, the line on the pregnancy test suddenly brought home the reality of motherhood in a very real and very scary way. Morgane felt a duty not to bring a child into the world if she couldn’t provide it with the “right” life. After carefully analysing their finances and exploring all the options to make it work, Morgane and her partner decided to embrace the journey to parenthood. Although Morgane’s natural birth ended in an episiotomy, she felt in harmony with her baby throughout. Her story is one of hope and resilience, navigating pregnancy and birth away from their family and with no parenting role models besides their own parents.

Fiona’s journey through five miscarriages and three successful births is a magnificent story of growth, of overcoming fears and demonstrates the power of your own voice even when medical emergencies arise. There are times when experts know best and there are times when mum’s conviction is strong and as Fiona grew into motherhood and grew in confidence, she felt more empowered to speak up and follow her own instincts in ways that were right for her and her babies.

Fiona struggled to bond with her first baby because of a fear that it could all be taken away from her at any moment, especially when she was diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis in the final few weeks before her first child’s birth. By her third baby, Fiona had turned away from the reams of maternity literature, parenting and weaning books that had shaped her first two pregnancies and instead tuned into her own body and mother’s instinct, allowing her to discover new levels of enjoyment and connection with her children.

Flora found pregnancy to be an anxious but awe-inspiring time. From the beginning, her desire for a natural, physiological birth was the driving force. She did a lot of research into home birth and building trust in herself and her baby to do what birthing bodies are made to do. But natural doesn’t necessarily mean complication-free.

Flora thought they had lost their baby at 11 weeks when she experienced a painful bleed that turned out to be from a haematoma. The consultant categorised her pregnancy as “high risk”, a diagnosis and label which brought with it a new world of things for Flora to research and worry about. She was eventually signed back into midwife-led care and given the green light for her preferred home birth. Nine days after her estimated delivery date, Perran was born at home on the bathroom floor, and Flora was in bed with tea and toast minutes later! Flora tells us everything about how she prepared for this magical experience by informing herself to confidently stand by her convictions until the very end.

For Jess, the journey through pregnancy and birth was defined by anxiety and a constant fear that she wouldn't make it to the end with a healthy baby. The fear that something would go wrong at any moment prevented her and her partner from enjoying any aspects of pregnancy and whilst Jess is so thankful for her amazing support network of family, friends and midwives, accepting help from them - even from her partner, presented its own challenges.

Jess shares with us her experience of how important it is to prioritise our mental health and seek support throughout this journey of huge transformation and upheaval, and she reminds us that whilst anxiety and fears can lead us to expect the worst, the chances are, everything is going to be ok. We talk about mental health, anxiety and a dramatic experience with a ventouse.

Tori’s approach to pregnancy and childbirth was to decide never to be stressed. She was so laid back that she was even packing her hospital bag in between contractions. She figured things out as they happened, and the app she downloaded to time contractions just after her waters broke revealed things were moving pretty quickly. So quickly in fact that she didn’t have time for all the pain relief she had banked on having when she got to hospital.

So what’s the secret to staying calm when things don’t go as you expected? Her approach was not to overthink it, accept that things are out of your control and surround yourself with people who make you feel good. Control what you can. Sounds simple right? Sit back and enjoy the good vibes.

In this episode, Celeste talks us through the arrival her beautiful boy through a planned induction and emergency c-section. On reflection, she feels it sounds somewhat scary “on paper” but at the time, the experience managed to remain positive thanks to the trusted and empowering medical and support team that she had surrounded herself with.

Celeste reveals her journey with sickness, the details of and reasons for her emergency caesarean section, as well as what recovery looked like for her. Feeding was complicated and Celeste reflects on the fact that the most supposedly “natural” of things can be surprisingly unintuitive. Celeste's story is a reminder that a medical-first preparation and planned induction can provide huge reassurance and peace of mind going into the daunting experience that is birth for the first time.

In this episode, Meg talks about the importance of being informed and self advocating, and the transformative power of her trusted support network. Meg’s pregnancy was a steep learning curve that nothing was in her control. Thanks to the combination of the unwavering support of her friends and family and sheer determination, she overcame all the obstacles she faced during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, one by one. Meg shares her story of extraordinary perseverance and how her strength carried her and her family through.

The production quality on this first episode is not our finest but the content is gold so we don't want you to miss out.

In this episode, Katie talks us through her two completely different birth experiences in Paris. The first featured a self-dose "walking" epidural whilst the second ends up being an entirely different and unmedicated birth experience.

Katie eventually discovered hypnobirthing and prepared for a natural first birth, but ended up throwing the birth plan out of the window on the day itself. It would still come in handy however, when her second baby decided it was time to come into the world, and that he wasn't going to wait for anyone!

Welcome to Bloom, the podcast where mum’s share their unfiltered birth experiences. We hope that by listening to their stories, you feel empowered and inspired, wherever you are on your own journey.

Poppy’s story feels incredibly important to tell and I am really grateful that she has entrusted us with it. In the UK today, it is estimated that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss during pregnancy or birth (source) yet, loss is usually only talked about behind closed doors. Poppy has been strong enough to share her story which includes giving birth to Daphne, her second baby, who was still born at 35 weeks. In speaking about the hardest days of her life, I know that Poppy will help other mothers who have lost babies feel less alone and she also shares valuable resources that can help any mothers out there who are dealing with grief. When you lose a baby, they are still your baby, they are a part of you forever and they never leave you. We hope that by giving Daphne’s story a home, it in some very tiny way lets her live on. TRIGGER WARNING We talk about a lot, including loss and still birth:

• A beautiful, straight forward first pregnancy
• Wanting the picture perfect dreamy natural birth
• Underestimating the pain involved in labour
• The influence of the prep course you choose to go on
• Fundamentally disagreeing with the idea that “You’ve failed” if you’ve not had the fairy lights, birth pool, no pain medication birth
• The fear of going into the unknown and not knowing how far the pain will go
• Settling into the rhythm of contractions and working out the best positions and coping methods over the hours of labour
• A practical partner getting you through the many wobbles of “I can’t do this”
• Oxytocin drip to advance labour
• Sleeping in between contractions
• Sickness with pethadin injection
• Asking for an epidural, too late
• The perfect first hour holding your new baby
• New and unexpected depths of love
• A wonderful surprise at being pregnant again
• Secret “lockdown” pregnancy
• Noticing at 34weeks that baby isn't kicking
• “I’m sorry”
• Realising your baby no longer has a heartbeat
• Being sent home to wait for a phone call, knowing your baby is dead inside you
• A weirdly “normal” labour in a bereavement suite
• Into surgery to remove the placenta
• Cuddle cots and memory boxes
• Wonderfully compassionate bereavement midwives
• Follow up support and care at hospital
• The grief pool
• Feeling like a new mother, without a baby
• I need a baby
• Getting pregnant again quickly
• The daily and constant anxiety having lost one baby
• Maternity leave after a still birth
• The innocence of life being infallible, taken away
• A beautiful, quick third birth
• A day in family life today
• A hilarious encounter with a tower of scotch eggs
• The people and organisations who have helped manage grief and their loss
• Advice for mothers who have lost babies, from someone who is living it too

Emily has had a whirlwind ten years. From relocating her whole life from Hertfordshire to the Midlands in order to live with her partner, to having three babies under five, to being made redundant whilst pregnant with her second child, to becoming self-employed and learning to juggle childcare as well as the very different needs of her three beautiful children. Emily has it all going on and she’s somehow managing to keep it all together without day to day support from family, who live on the other side of the country. We talk about her three c-sections and what her secret is to staying afloat.In this episode we talk about:

• Moving to the other side of the country and having no family nearby
• Being made redundant and becoming self-employed
• The fear before bedtime, not knowing what type of night you’re going to get
• Taking it slower and more gently third time round
• Trying to relax while there’s chaos around you
• Hoping and trying to get pregnant then feeling sad when it becomes a reality
• Finding it tough when friends aren’t in the same stage as you
• The experience of prior pregnancies giving you more confidence in your judgements and knowing when to worry vs not
• Buying other parent friends through NCT
• Waters breaking
• Being induced but nothing happening
• An emergency c-section
• Not eating for 26 hours
• Asking for morphine!
• Being discharged a few hours after a c-section
• A lockdown pregnancy and birth
• The unexpected joy of having no visitors in hospital
• A hole in uterus after the first c-section
• Painful post labour contractions with third baby
• Infected c-section scar
• Trying to rest and recover whilst having a toddler jumping all over you
• What to be careful of after a c-section
• Being tempted to rush recovery and it always being a mistake
• Life post third c-section
• Third child born at 38 weeks
• Feeling so much more confident third time round
• Struggling to introduce a bottle at four months following breastfeeding
• Learning to feel comfortable breastfeeding in front of family or in public
• The constraints of breastfeeding and wanting more than an hour to yourself
• Introducing one bottle in the evening and breastfeeding the rest of the day
• When your career stalls and your partners carries on
• Being made redundant while pregnant with second child
• Super grannies rallying round to help with childcare
• Catering to three children with very different needs

The highest highs, the lowest lows. The elation seeing a positive test, followed by the terrible grief of miscarriage. Trying to become pregnant again, yet unable to accept the fact when it happens. A physically healthy twin pregnancy, filled with anxiety. Needing help, but not wanting it when it arrives. Instagram vs the reality of life with newborns. The torture of two cries and having to decide who first. Wanting to do it all yourself and the guilt when it is impossible. Feeling entirely in love with your babies, yet wondering “why did we rush this”? Meg’s journey to motherhood is full of the contradictions and inner conflicts that are relatable to so many mothers. Together, we dive into them all and discover how Megs is navigating them all with her two beautiful boys.

In this episode we talk about:

• A stressful eight months trying to conceive
• First ever panic attack
• Losing a first baby: the deep and enduring grief
• The role of social media in shaping unrealistic expectations inducing unnecessary stress
• A very quick second conception
• Struggling to accept the second pregnancy after prior loss
• Chose to live in ignorance as long as possible as a coping mechanism
• Finding out there were two heart beats
• High intensity cognitive behavioural therapy due to high levels of anxiety and disbelief
• Two weeks miscarriage leave from work
• Heart burn and acid reflux
• Becoming proud of your stretch marks
• Weight gain post birth
• Struggling with the idea of a caesarian
• Why the anaesthetist is your best friend during a c-section
• When baby is taken to intensive care
• Holding both babies for the first time, at three days old
• Tube feeding and jaundice
• The car journey home on a sunny Easter Sunday
• Taking it day by day, nappy by nappy, feed by feed
• Envy of those with one baby
• A brutal reality check
• Breastfeeding and pumping for twins
• Need help so badly but finding it so hard to see someone else looking after your baby
• The torture of hearing two cries and having to choose

As a mother to three grown up children and now granny to three grandchildren, Nia has well over thirty years of mothering wisdom, insights and experience to share with us. Ever wondered what it was like trying to prepare for birth before the internet? Or simply how to survive 30 years of parenting in one piece? This one is for you. We talk about:

• First trimester agoraphobia
• Three great epidural experiences
• Laughing so hard your waters break
• Back to back posterior baby position
• Pethadin as pain relief
• The critical role a birth partner can play during a crisis moment
• Birth with forceps and an episiotomy
• Scary first toilet experience
• Discharging yourself from hospital
• Breastfeeding struggles and guilt when it doesn't work
• Getting pregnant three months post birth
• Slipping two discs at 8 months pregnant and with a toddler
• A positive, “textbook” induction
• How to cope with a newborn and a toddler
• A surprise third baby
• The importance of being sewn up properly after birth
• The juggling act and personal impact of choosing family over career

To anyone out there who thinks you might want to have kids one day but worry how you might do it whilst successfully running and growing your own business — this episode is for you. No one is saying that it is easy, but Izzi’s story demonstrates that it is possible to have a really positive pregnancy and birth experience whilst juggling the demands of running a business.

We talk about:

• fertility worries and polycystic ovaries
• traveling the world for work until late in pregnancy
• staying active as a way to feel strong physically and mentally
• getting back from a traditional medical ward to the birthing pool
• the power of the midwife in shaping your birth experience
• the difference in culture between a labour ward and birthing centre
• an almost silent and peaceful birthing pool experience
• a stressful post birth bleed, placenta delivery and stitching up
• the first night alone with baby
• how to share responsibilities when breast feeding
• the process of bonding with baby

In today’s episode, Jennie and I discuss a surprisingly simple conception after some initial infertility fears and three rounds of egg freezing. Jennie talks about her reasons for choosing a home birth and how to cope when the plan doesn’t unfold as you imagined it would. Her partner wasn’t able to join her in the ambulance for the emergency transfer to hospital. But upon arriving at the hospital, Jennie’s daughter was born within 20 minutes, and she found the hospital team of midwives provided her incredible support.Breastfeeding wasn’t straightforward to begin with, but Jennie powered through the initial struggles to reach the point where she fed her daughter for 2.5 years. Jennie’s daughter was also born at the same time as a second baby - Jennie’s business and we unpack some of the challenges and coping mechanisms that have been useful while navigating the journey to motherhood and self employment at the same time.