37: Brave Together Podcast - Jessica Patay, Susanna Peace Lovell and Dr. Zoe Shaw - Episode 3737: Brave Together Podcast - Jessica Patay, Susanna Peace Lovell and Dr. Zoe Shaw - Episode 37
UK Health Radio Podcast
A conversation between Brave Together hosts and the Fourth Trimester Podcast team rethinks postpartum as a lifelong shift, highlighting the need for better planning, support and community care for mothers and caregiving parents. The episode touches on doulas, cultural traditions and systemic gaps while offering practical ideas for building stronger support in the fourth trimester and beyond.
48:04•14 Oct 2026
Postpartum Is Forever: Rethinking the Fourth Trimester and Support for Mums
Episode Overview
- Postpartum is framed as a lifelong shift, with “matricence” describing the ongoing transformation into motherhood rather than a short, fixed phase.
- Planning for the fourth trimester – including relationships, finances, childcare and household roles – can reduce later conflict and stress.
- Birth and postpartum doulas offer emotional, practical and social support for the whole family, yet many parents still lack education about these roles.
- Strong social support and parent circles help counter isolation, which is linked to higher rates of postpartum depression and other mood difficulties.
- Access to postpartum care is uneven, so parents are urged to ask questions, research local options, and make use of virtual and community-based resources where possible.
“"Postpartum is forever. Your fourth trimester, your shift into matricence, becoming a mum – that’s forever."”
How do people manage co-occurring mental and physical health issues while recovering? This conversation on UK Health Radio’s Brave Together Podcast zooms in on a different, often forgotten part of that journey: the lifelong impact of the postpartum period and the “fourth trimester”. Hosted by caregiving mums and advocates Susanna Peace-Lavelle and Jessica Patay, the episode brings in guests Sarah Trott and doula/midwife veteran Esther Gallagher from the Fourth Trimester Podcast.
Their chat centres on what really happens after birth, especially for parents raising children with disabilities or complex needs. Sarah shares how her own experience with Esther’s support sparked their podcast: “Postpartum is forever… your shift into matricence, becoming a mum, that’s forever.” Together they unpack why planning for life *after* baby is just as important as planning the birth itself.
You’ll hear about creating a “fourth trimester plan”, thinking through relationships, finances, sleep, childcare, and even who’s actually helpful to have in your home. Esther brings nearly five decades of hands-on experience and doesn’t sugar-coat the gaps in current systems, from limited postpartum education to patchy access to doulas and perinatal support.
Yet there’s plenty of practical hope: they talk about insurance options, telehealth, culturally rooted postpartum care traditions, and how simple things like parent circles can reduce isolation and lower the risk of postpartum depression. For mums who feel they should “cope alone”, this episode gently challenges that belief. As Sarah puts it, caring for the mother is caring for the whole family; you don’t have to choose between your wellbeing and your child’s.
Anyone curious about better support for mothers, especially those in long-term caregiving roles, will find honest conversation, a few laughs, and lots of food for thought. It might leave you asking: what would your own fourth trimester plan look like if you truly believed you deserved real support?
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