Relationships don't usually fall apart overnight. More often, they unravel slowly through miscommunication, unmet needs and emotional distance. When connection feels lost, many couples are left wondering whether their relationship can be repaired — or whether it's already too late.

In this episode of Parental Control, Ellie Thompson is joined by Sophie Orozco, a relationship coach whose work is rooted in both professional expertise and lived experience. After saving her own marriage from the brink of divorce, Sophie spent over a decade studying psychology, communication and intimacy dynamics to help couples rebuild connection from the ground up.

Together, they explore what really happens when relationships reach breaking point, why traditional advice often falls short, and how couples can begin to repair trust, closeness and desire. This conversation looks beyond quick fixes, focusing instead on the deeper work required to create lasting change — and why it's possible to turn a relationship around, even when it feels deeply stuck.

Email us at info@mybaba.com

Follow us on Instagram @mybabainsta and @mybabagram

Show notes

Website sophieorozco.com

Instagram @sophieorozcocoaching

TikTok @sophieorozcocoaching

Facebook @sophie.orozco.451411

What is My Baba?

My Baba provides the daily scoop on family, food and lifestyle - we're not just experts at all things parenting.

Visit mybaba.com

The Content on this podcast is provided by My Baba and represents our sole opinions and views. For more information on our terms and conditions please refer to the website: https://www.mybaba.com/terms-conditions/

Heavy periods affect millions of women, yet for many, they remain something to quietly endure rather than openly discuss. In this episode, Parental Control explores the real impact of heavy and painful periods on women's physical health, emotional wellbeing, work and relationships — and asks why period-related disruption is still so often dismissed or minimised.

Ellie Thompson is joined by Dr Nisa Aslam, GP and women's health expert, and Anna Maxwell, pharmacist and founder of healthcare brand Maxwellia, to unpack the findings of the Don't Go With the Flow report. Together, they discuss what actually counts as a "normal" period, when pain or heavy bleeding may signal an underlying condition, and why so many women feel uncomfortable seeking help.

From workplace stigma and iron deficiency to being dismissed by healthcare professionals, the conversation focuses on empowering women with clear information, reassurance and practical next steps — and challenges the long-held belief that period problems are simply something women should have to put up with.

Email us at info@mybaba.com

Follow us on Instagram @mybabainsta and @mybabagram

Show notes

Evana® and Ultravana®.

Follow Dr Nisa Aslam on Insta @drnisaaslam

What is My Baba?

My Baba provides the daily scoop on family, food and lifestyle - we're not just experts at all things parenting.

Visit mybaba.com

The Content on this podcast is provided by My Baba and represents our sole opinions and views. For more information on our terms and conditions please refer to the website: https://www.mybaba.com/terms-conditions/

In this episode, Parental Control takes listeners inside the IVF lab to understand how embryos are assessed and selected during fertility treatment, including PGT-A and time-lapse IVF. Ellie Thompson is joined by embryologist and founder of All About Embryology, Victoria Wigley, to answer key questions about genetic testing, embryo development and the complex decisions made behind the scenes.

Victoria explains what embryologists do during the IVF process and breaks down PGT-A testing, including what it can and cannot tell patients. She also discusses how recent reports of healthy babies born from embryos labelled aneuploid are challenging long-held assumptions. The conversation explores the difference between aneuploid and mosaic embryos, whether viable embryos may sometimes be ruled out, and how patients can interpret results when the science is uncertain.

The episode also looks at how time-lapse incubators have transformed embryo observation, allowing embryologists to track development over time and support clinical decisions. Drawing on both professional expertise and patient experience, the discussion highlights how fertility specialists balance transparency, uncertainty and hope, and examines the advances shaping the future of IVF.

Email us at info@mybaba.com

Follow us on Instagram @mybabainsta and @mybabagram

Show notes

Follow Victoria on Instagram:@allaboutembryology Book a consultation with Victoria today: https://www.allaboutembryology.co.uk/contact

What is My Baba?

My Baba provides the daily scoop on family, food and lifestyle - we're not just experts at all things parenting.

Visit mybaba.com

The Content on this podcast is provided by My Baba and represents our sole opinions and views. For more information on our terms and conditions please refer to the website: https://www.mybaba.com/terms-conditions/

Leading UK psychotherapist Julia Samuel MBE joins Ellie Thompson to talk about child loss and the lifelong impact of grief. Julia is one of the most trusted voices in the UK on bereavement, trauma and healing, and has spent decades supporting families through the unimaginable. Her work has shaped how we understand grief, not as something to "get over", but as something we learn to live alongside.

As many listeners will know, Ellie lost her son Billy, aka Billy the Brave, to DIPG, and grief has since become woven into everyday life in ways she could never have imagined. Like so many bereaved parents, she has learned that we don't move on from our children; we move forward carrying them with us.

In this conversation, Julia brings compassion, clarity and deep insight as we explore what it truly means to live with grief: how it shows up in relationships, how siblings experience loss, and how parents can find moments of meaning and hope again — while continuing to hold the profound love we have for the children no longer in our arms.

Email us at info@mybaba.com

Follow us on Instagram @mybabainsta and @mybabagram

Show notes

Child Bereavement UK - Child Bereavement UK helps children and young people (up to the age of 25), parents and families, to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies.

• Therapy Works — Julia's main podcast
• Grief Works
• A Living Loss

Grief Works – A compassionate guide to understanding grief and how it affects us.
This Too Shall Pass – On surviving life's challenges and finding strength through adversity.
Every Family Has a Story – Exploring family relationships, trauma and healing.

Grief Works App - A supportive grief app offering tools, reflections and guidance for those living with loss.

Instagram: @juliasamuelmbe
X (Twitter): @juliasamuelmbe

juliasamuel.co.uk — for therapy work, writing, speaking and resources

What is My Baba?

My Baba provides the daily scoop on family, food and lifestyle - we're not just experts at all things parenting.

Visit mybaba.com

The Content on this podcast is provided by My Baba and represents our sole opinions and views. For more information on our terms and conditions, please refer to the website: https://www.mybaba.com/terms-conditions/

Ellie welcomes world-renowned fitness trainer Ryan Shanahan, best known globally as The Kettlebell King. With over 35 years of experience coaching everyone from elite athletes to absolute beginners, Ryan is famous for making fitness fun, fast and completely achievable.

Ellie has trained with Ryan online since 2010, so she knows firsthand how his unique approach transforms not only bodies, but mindsets. In this episode, Ryan shares the philosophy behind his hugely popular training method, his early rise to global fame, and the insights from his two new books: Issues in Your Tissues and Muscles of the Mind: The Ripitude Method.

Together, Ellie and Ryan explore sustainable fitness, movement for longevity, motivation that actually lasts, and why your mindset may be the most important muscle you ever train.

Email us at info@mybaba.com

Follow us on Instagram @mybabainsta and @mybabagram

Show notes

• Youtube & Book Link: https://linktr.ee/ryanraw88
• Follow Ryan on Instagram @ryanraw88
• Signs, Laura Lynn Jackson
• Regan Hillyer

What is My Baba?

My Baba provides the daily scoop on family, food and lifestyle - we're not just experts at all things parenting.

Visit mybaba.com

The Content on this podcast is provided by My Baba and represents our sole opinions and views. For more information on our terms and conditions please refer to the website: https://www.mybaba.com/terms-conditions/

Welcome to Part 2 with Valerie Millington.

In this episode, we dive deeper into safety within the aesthetics industry, what a truly effective at-home skincare routine should look like, and the real science behind hair and hair removal — including the big question: should you pluck, shave or laser?

Ellie has known Val for years and, like so many of her loyal clients, trusts her implicitly. Val is known for her honesty, integrity and her unwavering commitment to natural, healthy skin. Her approach is rooted in education, skin health and treatments that support — not disguise — the skin.

Email us at info@mybaba.com

Follow us on Instagram @mybabainsta and @mybabagram

Show notes

Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence, COSRX

Instagram: @vee_aesthetics_cobham/

What is My Baba?

My Baba provides the daily scoop on family, food and lifestyle - we're not just experts at all things parenting.

Visit mybaba.com

The Content on this podcast is provided by My Baba and represents our sole opinions and views. For more information on our terms and conditions please refer to the website: https://www.mybaba.com/terms-conditions/

Ellie Thompson sits down with a dear friend and go-to skin expert, Valerie Millington this week to discuss everything from fillers, botox, fat dissolvers, laser hair removal and more.

Ellie has known Val for years, and like so many of her loyal clients, she trusts her completely. Val is known for her honesty, her integrity, and her deep commitment to natural, healthy skin. Val focuses on education, skin health, and treatments that truly support the skin rather than mask it.

In this episode, Val and Ellie dive into all things skin: what actually works, what's a waste of money, the biggest mistakes people make, how to care for skin at every age, and why healthy skin never needs overdoing.

Welcome to part one of a warm, honest, myth-busting episode with a woman who has devoted her career to understanding skin, and isn't afraid to tell the truth about what really works.

Email us at info@mybaba.com

Follow us on Instagram @mybabainsta and @mybabagram

Show notes

Valerie Millington's website: https://www.veeaesthetics.com/

Valerie Millington's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vee_aesthetics_cobham/

What is My Baba?

My Baba provides the daily scoop on family, food and lifestyle - we're not just experts at all things parenting.

Visit mybaba.com

The Content on this podcast is provided by My Baba and represents our sole opinions and views. For more information on our terms and conditions please refer to the website: https://www.mybaba.com/terms-conditions/

Today's episode is one that sits incredibly close to Ellie's heart, as she discusses coping with Christmas after child loss. As many listeners will know, Ellie lost her beautiful boy Billy to DIPG, and this is her second Christmas without him. The festive season can bring a complex mix of emotions for bereaved parents, the memories, the empty space, and the pressure to appear "festive" when the heart is somewhere else entirely.

In this episode, Ellie is joined by Bereavement Support Service Lead Rachel Tegg from Child Bereavement UK for an open, gentle and honest conversation about what it means to face Christmas after losing a child. Whether someone is in their first year, their fifth year or anywhere in between, this discussion offers comfort, understanding and the reminder that no parent walks this path alone.

This episode includes discussion around the death of a child, grief and the emotional challenges of Christmas. Listeners are encouraged to take care of themselves while listening and to step away at any time if needed.

Email us at info@mybaba.com

Follow us on Instagram @mybabainsta and @mybabagram

Show notes

Helpline Number: 0800 02 888 40. Normal Opening Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm

Christmas Opening Hours:

• Friday 24th December, 9.00 am – 1.30 pm
• Saturday 25th December - Tuesday 28th December, Closed
• Wednesday 29th December - Friday 31st December, 10.00 am - 4.00 pm
• Monday 3rd January, Closed
• Tuesday 4th January onwards, Normal hours 9.00 am – 5.00 pm

Email: helpline@childbereavementuk.org.uk

Website: www.childbereavementuk.org (Live Chat support and other resources can be found here)

Managing Christmas Resource: https://www.childbereavementuk.org/managing-special-occasions

What is My Baba?

My Baba provides the daily scoop on family, food and lifestyle - we're not just experts at all things parenting.

Visit mybaba.com

The Content on this podcast is provided by My Baba and represents our sole opinions and views. For more information on our terms and conditions please refer to the website: https://www.mybaba.com/terms-conditions/