Seetal Savla is a vocal voice about IVF, based on her own experience with it in the UK, in Germany and during the Covid pandemic. We talked about her difficult journey to motherhood and the stigma around being unable to get pregnant naturally and quickly.
If you are looking for information on IVF in Germany, please send me a message and I will share the brochure I have.
Follow Seetal on Instagram @savlafaire and for more general information on IVF you can also go through her blog: http://www.savlafaire.com/
Yvonne is a single mother and has an 8 year old daughter. She is also an executive coach and consultant, running two successful businesses in Berlin and Potsdam.
We talked about coaching, how she manages her family life, her work and fun. Being of mixed nationality and have a multicultural family
You can find out more about her work here:
https://successhappinessacademy.com/ https://fraufuture.com
I would be grateful for your support of my work. You can buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tcmother
Lela Grießbach is a superwoman. She has so many passion projects, she successfully juggles many balls in the air simultaneously, while being a mom of two, with the support of her wonderful husband.
I am proud to call her my friend and advisor.
We talked about life in Georgia, how she came to Germany and what hurdles she faced, along with how that impacts the kind of mother she is.
She also talked about her latest project, supporting menstrual health in Georgia.
You can find out more about her and donate to her project here: https://www.lela-griessbach.de/ or find her on Instagram as Lela Grießsbach.
In this first podcast episode of 2024, I spoke to Lisa, co-founder of Kietzee.
We talked about how she had the idea of Kietzee and how it has grown into such a big movement in Berlin. We also talked about childbirth, the experience of motherhood during the COVID pandemic and life in Berlin today.
My favourite quote from this episode is "it started with an Excel list!"
Find out more about Kietzee: www.kietzee.com or follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kietzee/
Jaclyn Schnau shares the fascinating story of how all her research related to children's nutrition led her to create Pumpkin Organics.
She shares a lot of valuable tips for mothers who want to cultivate good eating habits in their children. Listen to her story which is full of twists and turns, and find out where she gets her motivation and drive to run her purpose business from.
Follow here: Instagram.com/pumpkin.organics and instagram.com/jaclynschnau
Pumpkin Organics products for children include pouches, bars and more, which are available at Kaufland, Alnatura, Basic, Billa Bipa.
Especially around this time of year, during festival season, I feel particularly homesick. I spoke about this in the season opening episode
In this episode I spoke to my friend Sandhya, who is also from India.
She and I have a lot in common and faces some of the same challenges and opportunities that I do as an Indian mother in Germany. We discussed all this and more in this cosy conversation about life in Germany, her employer, her family life and how they bring together their different cultures and needs.
Find her on Instagram.com/childofmonsoon
Being a mother in a foreign country, in Germany, means that you are probably homesick a lot because you miss the festivals, culture and familiarity of it all. I'm from India and miss it all the time, especially at this time of the year.
Listen to the episode on how I deal with it and also make sure to pass on the good stuff to my daughter.
Here is my birthday episode and the final one for season 1!
In this episode of The Confused Mother podcast, I tried something new. I didn’t invite a guest, but decided to share some things about myself and my work. Being an Indian mother in Germany presents a lot of challenges and opportunities. I share some of them here. So do give it a listen!
The Confused Mother podcast will come back for season 2 in September. Stay tuned!
Anna Mendel has three children, two of them with special needs. In this episode, we talked about Down syndrome, autism, racism and so much more. She also talks about her experiences as a woman of colour and an adopted child.
She felt like she had so much to say, so she put down her experiences in the form of autobiographical essays.
You can find out more about her work and her book here: https://www.annamendel.de/
Postpartum depression is often ignored, goes undiagnosed and still has a lot of stigma around it. It goes on much longer than baby blues, which typically last about two weeks after the baby is born. In this episode, I got a father's perspective on recognising and dealing with his wife's PPD. My guest in this episode asked for it to be kept anonymous but shared a lot of personal details and his perspective and tips on postpartum depression.
He mentioned the book Crib sheet by Emily Oster.
If you or your partner or someone you know might be suffering from postpartum depression, please seek professional medical help immediately and do not ignore the signs. You are not alone.
If you are looking to connect with other mothers, join The Confused Mother Facebook group or join our meetups to connect with other mothers for support. The next meeting in person is on July 8. Write to me to get more details.
B Wie Berlin is a set of beautifully illustrated learning cards, customised for kids learn their ABCs about places in Berlin. Listen to this funny, exciting and heartwarming episode with the creator, Alissa. She and I talked about her entrepreneurship journey during the Covid lockdown and how it’s evolved since then, her international upbringing, life as a mother of (now) three wonderful children in Berlin and so much more.
See her other work and buy your cards here: https://www.bwieberlin.com/
Get your idea to business guide here: https://elopage.com/s/theconfusedmother/from-idea-to-dream-create-your-business-today
Women often struggle with grieving their old lives when they become mothers. But we don't allow ourselves to go through the grieving process. Our abilities suffer because we forget to take care of ourselves in our busy parenting lives.
Annie Xystouris is a health coach for mothers. She shared some invaluable tips on how to take care of ourselves as mothers because we matter too.
The resources she mentions: The postpartum depletion cure book
Respectful parenting, Janet Lansbury: https://www.janetlansbury.com/2012/09/respectful-parenting-is-not-permissive-parenting/ Mindful parenting in a messy world: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindful-parenting-in-a-messy-world-with-michelle-gale/id1194762924
Learn about her work here: www.anniex-healthcoaching.com/
Buy my tutorials here: www.theconfusedmother.com
Ofri Paz’s son was recently diagnosed with autism. It is estimated that almost 1% of the world’s population has been diagnosed with autism. Despite this large number, there is very little awareness, even within the medical community, about what autism is, how it can be diagnosed and how to work with autistic people.
Ofri and I talked about what that means, how it impacted their family and the support available to parents of autistic children in Germany. As she rightly points out, autism is a spectrum, so there are a lot of different ways in which it presents itself. And having an autistic child is not a bad thing. It is not taboo. Or at least it should not be.
She mentions a few resources during our chat which I wanted to offer you here as well:
Podcast.
Women go through so many changes when they become mothers. Then they have to go back to work as if they didn’t have the added responsibilities. Parents need more support in their daily lives from family members, friends and also a lot of understanding and flexibility from their employers. In this episode, we dive into the challenges that mothers face when returning to work without adequate support. I spoke to Karola about this and so much more. Karola Theile and Saskia Dierkes are the founders of YouParents.
The BeAlice App is the first App release from YouParents. The App provides snackable Personal Development courses for mothers at low cost. All courses are automated, interactive and focused on the reality of a Mother’s Day to day life.
I keep the podcast free of advertising so please consider supporting my work by buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tcmother
Caro and I spoke about a holistic approach to self-care and our journeys as women and transition into motherhood. She talks about how her personal journey has impacted the work she does and shares a lot of things she has learned in the process, like the importance of checking in with yourself and disconnecting from negativity.
Listen to this inspiring conversation with founder, doula, business mentor and mother, Caro von Michaelis. You can find her on Instagram as @carovonmichaelis and @calmbase.
You can find details of her upcoming festival here: https://www.artofbeingwoman.de/event-details/art-being-woman-days-online-festival-conscious-beauty
If you want to get information on our upcoming mother's circles, don't forget to follow me on Instagram @theconfusedmother.
In order to stay free of advertising, I would be grateful for your support: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tcmother
Jana Prosinger is a feminist mother of two boys. She heads the Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy, an international office by the Heinrich Boell Foundation, in Sarajevo. We talked about the importance of feminism while raising children and in a family. Parents always try to create a better world for their children and the best way to do that is to start at home.
Here are the English and German resources she recommends for learning about feminism and for teaching your children about feminism:
I also mention Good night stories for rebel girls by Favilli, Elena and Cavallo, Francesca
You can read more about the debate about The Little Mermaid here: https://www.thegryphon.co.uk/2023/01/13/halle-bailey-as-ariel-outdated-debate-over-casting-of-the-the-little-mermaid/