The power of words - breastfeeding loss and poetry with Kate Thirlwall

For episode 9 of the podcast,  Motherkind Café coordinators Katherine Crawford and Emily Malden are joined by Kate Thirlwall, a local mum and poet, who has written 4 poetry collections reflecting on her experience of the highs and lows of motherhood. 

Kate talks honestly about how past trauma and an experience in hospital shortly after the birth of her son derailed her breastfeeding experience, and left her feeling like she had failed. 

She also talks about feeling isolated and invisible as a new mum and how her experience of motherhood lead her to start writing poetry. 

You can find out more about Kate's writing and buy her books through her website https://www.mumstheword.press or follow her on instagram @katethirlwall

The Motherkind Café is a perinatal peer support group in Oxford, where women can come at any stage from pregnancy until their children are at school, for support with their mental health. The group is entirely run by volunteers who are all mothers, many of whom have lived experience of a perinatal mental illness, and who all know what it's like to struggle as a mother. 
If you'd like to come along to one of our sessions, or find out more about us, please follow the links below or email us hello@themotherkindcafe.org

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Our website - https://themotherkindcafe.org