EBB 398 - Supporting Neurodivergence in Birth and Postpartum with Victoria White, Doula and Author of "Why Neurodivergent Birth Matters"
Evidence Based Birth®
Rebecca Dekker
4.3 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Many neurodivergent people move through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum feeling misunderstood and unsupported in healthcare settings that were not designed with their minds in mind. In this episode, doula and founder of Neurodivergent Birth Victoria White shares how her own later-in-life autism and ADHD diagnoses reshaped her understanding of her postpartum experiences and why many neurodivergent parents struggle in systems that often assume everyone processes in the same way.
Learn about how sensory processing, communication, and executive functioning challenges can shape the perinatal experience for neurodivergent families and the small changes that can help neurodivergent people feel safer, more supported, and empowered.
(04:30) The four support pillars of neurodivergent birth
(10:11) How sleep deprivation impacts neurodivergent parents
(12:02) Hormones, estrogen, ADHD, and postpartum changes
(19:05) Barriers to adult diagnosis and self-identifying as neurodivergent
(22:14) Strategies for sensory support, communication, and birth planning
(25:50) Supporting executive functioning during pregnancy and postpartum
(28:27) "Think neurodivergence first": what healthcare workers need to understand
(30:33) Supporting neurodivergent partners during birth
(31:31) Neurodivergence and cesarean birth experiences
(36:53) Victoria's book Why Neurodivergent Birth Matters
(38:27) Research groups, mental health resources, and the Neurodivergent Birth Podcast
(39:22) Reasonable accommodations and disability protections in maternity care
Resources
Learn more about Neurodivergent Birth: ndbirth.com/
Get free, downloadable fact sheets and planning resources: ndbirth.com/downloads
Listen to the Neurodivergent Birth podcast: ndbirth.com/podcast
Maternity Autism Research Group: maternityautismresearchgroup.co.uk/
PANDAS Foundation: pandasfoundation.org.uk/
For more information about Evidence Based Birth® and a crash course on evidence based care, visit www.ebbirth.com. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!" If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (scholarship options available) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the EBB Childbirth Class.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, everyone. On today's podcast, we're going to talk with Victoria White about neurodivergence in pregnancy and birth. |
| 0:11.3 | Welcome to the evidence-based birth podcast. My name is Rebecca Decker, and I'm a nurse with my PhD and the founder of evidence-based birth. |
| 0:19.6 | Join me each week as we work together to get |
| 0:22.3 | evidence-based information into the hands of families and professionals around the world. |
| 0:27.8 | As a reminder, this information is not medical advice. See eBbirth.com slash disclaimer for more |
| 0:34.6 | details. Hi, everyone, and welcome to today's episode of the evidence-based birth podcast. Today I'm so |
| 0:41.8 | excited to welcome Victoria White to talk with us about neurodivergence in pregnancy and |
| 0:46.4 | birth. Victoria is a birth in postnatal dula based in Northeast Scotland and mom to two |
| 0:52.4 | girls, one of whom is autistic and has ADHD. |
| 0:56.1 | Following her daughter's diagnoses, Victoria herself was diagnosed in her early 40s as autistic |
| 1:01.5 | and with ADHD. Victoria's passion for improving perinatal support for neurodivergent |
| 1:07.0 | people led to the creation of the neurodivergent birth podcasts in |
| 1:11.1 | 2023 and the Neurodivergent Birth Community Interest Company in 2024, a not-for-profit |
| 1:17.5 | social enterprise which provides antenatal education, tailored to meet the needs of neurodivergent |
| 1:23.5 | women, birthing people and their families, and accredited professional development training |
| 1:28.6 | for the birth professionals who are supporting them. In 2025, Victoria authored the book |
| 1:33.5 | Why Neurodivergent Birth Matters, which was published by Montagg and Martin. |
| 1:38.6 | Victoria, welcome to the evidence-based birth podcast. Thank you, Rebecca. This is one of my |
| 1:43.6 | favorite podcasts, so I'm having a bit of a pinch me moment to be joining you today. Thank you, Rebecca. This is one of my favorite podcasts. So I'm having a bit of a |
| 1:45.4 | pinch me moment to be joining you today. Thank you for the invitation. You're welcome. And, |
| 1:50.3 | you know, you have your own podcast yourself, which we'll get into later. But I was wondering if |
| 1:55.3 | you could start off by telling us your story. You know, what first open your eyes to the gaps |
... |
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