
Show Notes
Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions around infertility and becoming parents through surrogacy.
"You're not going to be able to have kids." That's what Charlie Watson was told at 16, and it's the starting point for one of the most powerful conversations we've had on this show.
Charlie's a dietitian, a marathon runner, and mum to Bertie and Woody — both born via the same surrogate in the US, after Charlie was diagnosed with MRKH, a condition that meant her uterus never fully developed. We talk about keeping that diagnosis in a box for over a decade, the surrogacy process itself (which is nothing like most of us imagine), and what it actually felt like to become a mum in a way she never expected to.
We also get properly honest about the stuff nobody admits: finding it harder to bond with her second than her first, the guilt that followed, and why "I'm not juggling it well" might be the most relatable thing any of us can say out loud.
I hope you loved this chat as much as me. Please consider sharing this to your mum group chat, and don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening 💛
Links:
Charlie Watson on IG - https://www.instagram.com/therunnerbeans?igsh=MWl6Y3J2c21yazhvZg%3D%3D
Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr
💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees www.bumpsandburpees.com
Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW
More from Dear Mum
Content Note: This episode includes an honest conversation about OCD, intrusive thoughts and anxiety in pregnancy. Take care when listening 💛 Dear Mum… it’s the last episode of Series 2 - and it’s with the gorgeous soul that is Steph Elswood. After whispering to me at a friend’s wedding that she was pregnant, and I’ve wanted her on this podcast ever since. We go back to the early days of Instagram, and she’s now mum to 18-month-old Elsie and the founder of Studio Glide Pilates. We talk about severe sickness in her pregnancy, the 25 packets of salt and vinegar crisps in her hen do suitcase, and living with OCD through pregnancy, including the intrusive thoughts she didn’t know were a thing - but how NHS therapy helped. It’s funny, honest and very reassuring, and - I know I always say it butttt… her Post-it for the mums might be my favourite yet. I can’t quite believe that’s a wrap on Series 2. Thank you for listening, for sharing these episodes, and for sending them to the mum who needed to hear them. Keep doing just that - and hopefully we’ll be back for Series 3 very soon 🎙️ Links Follow Steph: IG - www.instagram.com/stephelswood TT - www.tiktok.com/@steph_elswood YT - https://www.youtube.com/@StephElswood
A gentle heads up: this episode includes an honest conversation about a traumatic birth and time in intensive care with a newborn, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now. Dr Emily Jackman spends her days reassuring worried patients that their child's rash is probably fine…at 3am with her own kids? She's just as lost as the rest of us.
“The first thing she said to me was, can you pick me up now?" That's Giorgina Falcone on meeting her daughter Summer-Rae after her C-section.
"You're too young to be going through perimenopause." That's what Kelly Taylor was told the first time she asked for help — so the second time, she didn't ask.
Content Warning: this episode includes conversation around a serious postpartum health scare (sepsis). Please listen with care.