In this episode, Anthonia pops open a bottle of prosecco to talk about self-care and side hustles with Erica Nichole Harris, freelance writer and creator of 2014 Black Weblog Award winning personal blog EverythingENJ.com, and Kweli Wright, parenting editor for Madame Noire and creator of a forthcoming interior design project.

For more conversations about work and life from Black women's perspectives, visit www.matermea.com. Follow mater mea on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @matermea. If you have a topic idea you’d like us to discuss, email us at podcast@matermea.com.

The mater mea podcast is executive produced by Anthonia Akitunde, O. Valerie Nicolas, and Kimson Albert. Our associate producer is Isaro Carter and the podcast is edited by Ty Worell.

episode 007: Don't Knock The Side Hustle

In this episode, Anthonia talks to brand strategist Neffy Anderson and creative director Piper Hickman about their thoughts on finding the right person to start a family with, and what it means to have a child later in life.

You can find show notes at http://bit.ly/2daOC0g. And don't forget to tell your friends and leave a 5-star review!

episode 008: Career First, Babies Later?

At their 20-week anatomy scan, doctors told Lia McPherson and her boyfriend Jeremy Bautista that they had detected a few abnormalities in their baby girl, Phoenix: She had a cleft lip and a heart defect. 

But what did it mean? Would Phoenix be healthy once those issues were addressed via surgery, or did it mean she had a bigger health issue? ⁠

Doctors wouldn’t give Lia a clear answer. That appointment marked the beginning of Lia pushing for more information. It took several months after Phoenix was born for Lia to determine what her daughter actually had: CHARGE Syndrome, a disorder that can encompass a number of “malformations” in the eyes, heart, nose, genitals, ears, and overall growth.

Here, in the first of a three-part story, Lia tells us about her difficult pregnancy and Phoenix's birth story.⁠

(Full article: "Doctors Wouldn't Diagnose My Daughter, So I Had To" http://bit.ly/34RgpO6)⁠

Doctors Wouldn't Diagnose My Daughter, So I Did

Trigger warning: This essay includes descriptions of hospitalization and attempted suicides.

Can you imagine waking up to see your 9-year-old standing over you with a knife? Or having to move into a hotel room because they’ve tried to jump out of their second-story bedroom window?

Those aren’t bad dreams or scary hypotheticals for Natasha Robinson. The 33-year-old mom has experienced this and more while raising her son Isaiah.

Isaiah is a bright, loving boy who suffers from a number of mental health issues.

In an essay originally written for Michigan’s MLive.com when Isaiah was 8, Natasha shares what it’s like to be a single parent of a child with severe mental illnesses navigating a broken health care system.

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Story Update: http://bit.ly/333UX6b
Natasha and Isaiah's GoFundMe Page: www.gofundme.com/f/shineonisaiah 
Amazon Wish List: amzn.to/2CYCJIR
Email Natasha at n.robinson8@gmail.com

For more stories of Black motherhood in all its shades, visit matermea.com or follow us on Instagram (instagram.com/matermea) and Facebook (facebook.com/matermea).

"My Son Was 6 Years Old When He First Tried To Kill Me"

mater mea tells the stories and discusses that topics that matter most to Black women at the intersection of career and family. Host Anthonia Akitunde talks to guests about everything from work-life balance to single motherhood to self-care and more. 

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