3: Motherhood as a process of personal growth with Sophie Burch

Nurture & Nourish

Anna speaks with perinatal therapist and coach, Sophie Burch AKA The Mamma Coach, in this very honest conversation about motherhood. From going through difficulties with her own fertility, to challenging pregnancies and birth experiences. Sophie went from being a party-loving career woman working in film (who believed she couldn’t have children) to a mother of four on a mission to bridge the gap in mental-health support for parents.
In this episode:

• How traditional birth education skips the most important preparation for becoming a mother
• Why Sophie is on a mission to bridge a gap in mental-health support for parents
• The moving story of Sophie’s twin boys and how they arrived in the world
• A practical list of things everyone can do to nourish themselves – both during pregnancy and years into being a parent
• Why being a new mum is like being a caterpillar in the chrysalis
• The messy – and incredible, beautiful – reality of the work that goes in to emerging as a gorgeous butterfly

For more conversations on a healing and nurturing approach to life and self-nourishment, subscribe to the Nurture and Nourish podcast with Anna Anderson.
Find Anna on Facebook

And Instagram

Anna’s website

More about Sophie Burch
A perinatal therapist and coach, author of Beyond Birth: A Mindful Guide to Early Parenting and mum of 4 boys including twins.

She has lived experience of PTSD, Birth Trauma, Pregnancy Trauma and PND.

Sophie’s work is about bringing simple, effective mental-health awareness and wellbeing practices into the lives of parents in the perinatal period, for their families, for life. She believes mental-health support for parents is essential for children to mirror and learn their own emotional regulation and thrive.
From this episode:

Sophie on the human need for connection:

We are designed 100% for connection on every level with our environment with other human beings and with animals of all sorts.... if you prepare in pregnancy to show yourself simple, easy, really effective ways of connecting with self, it helps to smooth the ride.

Sophie on birth and becoming a butterfly:

I often use this analogy with clients: talking about the caterpillar’s transition to the butterfly. But that process is really kind of barbaric as well… it's not just a rebirth… And along with that, of course, comes acceptance, complete acceptance from that caterpillar, acceptance that this is happening… you're going to be able to fly once you've gone through this.
Links and resources:

www.themammacoach.com

IG:

@themammacoach

@beyond_birth_guide

Book recommendation:

Beyond Birth: A Mindful Guide to Early Parenting