Mother Tongue

Every parent has had that quiet 3am worry: is this normal, or should I be paying closer attention?
Dr. Sara Khwaja is a Pediatrician at HealthBay who specialises in early growth and developmental assessment, including the early recognition of autism.
In this episode, we talk about what healthy development actually looks like month by month, the early signs of autism that parents can watch for without spiralling into worry, and what to do if something does feel off.
This is a conversation for every parent who wants to feel more confident, not more anxious, about their child's development.

Find Health Bay Clinics on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthbaypolyclinic

Website: https://healthbayclinic.com

Find us on instagram: @wearemothertongue
Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mothertonguethepodcast

SHOWNOTES:

HealthBay is a JCI-accredited, multidisciplinary healthcare group that has been caring for individuals and families in Dubai since 2008. With more than 90 specialists across over 30 medical specialties, HealthBay offers coordinated, patient-centred care for every stage of life - from routine check-ups and preventative screening to specialist diagnostics, treatment and ongoing health management.

Its services include family medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, midwifery, breast care, dermatology, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, ENT, orthopaedics, physiotherapy, mental health, nutrition, dentistry, radiology, general surgery and more. HealthBay also provides dedicated health-check packages for women, men, children and newborns, alongside executive wellness and corporate health programmes.

HealthBay currently has five specialist locations across Dubai:

- HealthBay Specialty Care, Verve Villas, Al Wasl Road: The group’s main multispecialty clinic, offering extensive specialist care alongside a dedicated Women’s Breast Care Centre, diagnostic imaging and an ISO-certified in-house laboratory.
- HealthBay Community Care Clinic, Motor City: A convenient community clinic supporting families across Motor City and South Dubai, with services including family medicine, paediatrics, women’s health, dermatology, endocrinology, physiotherapy and other specialist care.
- HealthBay Gastroenterology & Digestive Health, Al Wasl Road: A dedicated digestive-health centre offering diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, gastroenterology, hepatology, internal medicine, ENT and related services under one roof.
- HealthBay Vitalia, Umm Al Sheif: A specialist centre focused on women’s health, wellness and longevity, offering care designed to support women through different life stages.
- HealthBay Aesthetics, Umm Al Sheif: A medically led aesthetics and skincare clinic bringing together dermatologists, plastic surgeons and qualified aesthetic practitioners to offer an integrated approach to skin health, beauty and wellbeing.

What helps set HealthBay apart is its multidisciplinary model. Patients can access primary care, specialists, diagnostics, laboratory services and follow-up treatment within one connected healthcare group, allowing doctors across different disciplines to collaborate when needed. The team is multilingual, the clinics work with a wide network of major insurance providers, and the emphasis is on combining clinical expertise and advanced technology with accessible, compassionate care.

To learn more, find a doctor or book an appointment, visit HealthBay or call 800 4272.

This podcast is intended for general information only and should not replace personalised medical advice, diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional.

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If you’ve ever stood in front of your bathroom cabinet wondering whether you actually need the retinol, the LED mask, the expensive vitamin C AND the latest treatment everyone on Instagram is talking about… this episode is for you. 
This week, we’re joined by skin specialist Rosie Osborne to cut through some of the VERY noisy world of skincare and aesthetics.
We’re talking about what actually works, what might not be worth your money, and whether we’re all guilty of doing a little too much to our faces.
From retinol, SPF and medical-grade skincare to Botox, lasers, collagen, skin boosters and all those at-home beauty gadgets we keep being influenced to buy, Rosie gives us her take on where to spend, where to save and the treatments she genuinely rates.
We also get into ageing (because apparently we start losing collagen much earlier than any of us wanted to hear 
), pigmentation and looking after your skin in the Dubai sun, preventative Botox, and why sometimes the best thing you can do for unhappy skin is… leave it alone.
Basically, if you’ve ever Googled “do I actually need this?” immediately before adding another skincare product to your basket, you’re going to want to listen to this one.

Consider this your very honest guide to what your skin actually needs.

Find Rosie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsrosieosborne/
Find us on instagram: @wearemothertongue
Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mothertonguethepodcast
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Today we're talking about something that, if we're honest, most of us know surprisingly little about... perimenopause.
Because if you're anything like me, you've probably blamed feeling exhausted, anxious, overwhelmed or just a bit "off" on everything else. Work. Motherhood. Stress. Lack of sleep. Life.
But what if it isn't just that?
The more I learn about perimenopause, the more I realise how many women are living through it without even knowing they are. We spend years preparing for puberty, pregnancy and childbirth, yet one of the biggest hormonal transitions we'll ever experience is rarely talked about.
Joining me today is entrepreneur and Re.her Dubai founder Kat Lebrasse, who is on a mission to change that.
Kat shares her own experience of navigating perimenopause, the symptoms she initially dismissed, and the changes that finally helped her start feeling like herself again. We also dive into HRT, hormones, sleep, brain fog, fitness, longevity, peptides and why community is such an important part of this stage of life.
And I think that's what makes today's partnership with M&S feel so relevant. As we talk about hormones, body changes and learning to work with our bodies rather than against them, it feels fitting to partner with the new Body by M&S collection. Designed for real women through every stage of life, it's all about helping us feel comfortable, supported and confident in the body we have today.
Whether you're in your 30s, 40s or simply want to better understand what's ahead, this is one of those conversations I genuinely think every woman should hear.

Find Kat on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katlebrasse/
Find re.her.dubai on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/re.her.dubai/
Find us on instagram: @wearemothertongue
Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mothertonguethepodcast

SHOW NOTES:
This episode of Mother Tongue is proudly brought to you by the new Body by M&S collection.
Our bodies are constantly evolving. Through pregnancy, motherhood, hormones, changing routines, new seasons of life and everything in between, what feels comfortable and supportive today might not be what worked a few years ago.
That's the thinking behind the newly relaunched Body by M&S collection. Designed for real women living real lives, it combines thoughtful innovation with everyday comfort, creating pieces that move with you through every stage of life.
Because confidence isn't about changing your body. It's about feeling comfortable in it. When what you're wearing fits well, supports you properly and helps you feel your best, it's one less thing to think about.
Discover the Body by M&S collection online at https://www.marksandspencer.ae/en/fashion or visit your nearest M&S store.
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Today we're talking about something I think so many of us know we should be getting better at... AI.
Because if you're anything like me, you've probably opened ChatGPT, asked it to write an email or caption, thought, "this is useful"... and then carried on doing almost everything else yourself.
But what I'm quickly realising is that AI can do so much more than that.
When you're juggling work, family, appointments, emails, meal planning and the million little things constantly taking up space in your head, AI can actually become an extra pair of hands. From managing your inbox and organising your calendar to taking meeting notes, planning meals and even helping run parts of your business, it's about finding ways to make everyday life feel that little bit easier.
And I think that's why today's partnership feels so fitting. Today's episode is proudly sponsored by M&S and celebrates the new Body by M&S collection. Because when we're already juggling so much, feeling comfortable and supported in what we wear should be one less thing to think about. The collection has been designed for real women living real lives, helping us feel comfortable, confident and supported through all the different stages our bodies go through.
Joining me today is AI expert Shweta Scott, who has worked in tech and AI since 2019 and now helps mums, founders and businesses understand how to make AI genuinely useful in their everyday lives.
Shweta shares how she uses AI as a "second brain", the difference between ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, the tasks we should probably stop doing manually, and how to get AI to actually understand you rather than constantly giving you generic answers.
We also explore the other side of AI: how we keep our creativity and human connection in an increasingly AI-powered world, what happens when we rely on it too much, and what all of this could mean for the way our children learn in the future.
So if "learn how to actually use AI" has been sitting on your to-do list for months, this is a really good place to start.

Find Shweta on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shwetascott/
Find us on instagram: @wearemothertongue
Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mothertonguethepodcast

SHOW NOTES:
This episode of Mother Tongue is proudly brought to you by the new Body by M&S collection.
Our bodies change so much throughout our lives - through pregnancy, motherhood, hormones, work, exercise and everything in between - but how often do we stop and think about whether what we're wearing underneath our clothes is actually working for the body we have today?
The newly relaunched Body by M&S collection has been designed for real women living real lives, combining comfort, innovation and confidence with pieces created to support you through every stage of life.
Because feeling good isn't about perfection or changing your body. It's about finding pieces that make you feel comfortable, supported and confident in your own skin, so you can spend less time adjusting what you're wearing and more time focusing on what actually matters.
Visit the M&S website [ https://www.marksandspencer.ae/en/fashion] or your nearest store to discover the new Body by M&S collection.
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I am so excited for today's conversation because I have a feeling it's one that so many of you are going to relate to.
I don't know about you, but I sometimes find myself wondering... when did life become so busy?
Between work, the school run, remembering PE kits, replying to emails, making dinner, trying to exercise, seeing friends, spending time with our partners, keeping on top of the house and somehow finding five minutes for ourselves... it can feel like we're constantly switching hats.
And whilst I absolutely love this season of life, I also think it's really important that we acknowledge just how much women carry.
Today's episode is all about the realities of modern motherhood. The invisible mental load, balancing ambition with family life, raising children, relationships, confidence, identity and, perhaps most importantly, remembering that we're women as well as mums.
Today's episode is proudly sponsored by M&S and celebrates the launch of their new Body by M&S collection. I actually think it's a really lovely partnership because it's centred around something we don't talk about enough – the idea that confidence often starts with feeling comfortable. When you feel supported, comfortable and good in yourself, it has a ripple effect on everything else. It changes how you show up at work, how you parent and how you feel every single day. And I think that's such an important conversation to be having.
Joining me today is the lovely Helly.
Helly is the creator behind My Little Loves and has built an incredible online community by sharing family life exactly as it is – honest, funny, relatable and reassuring. She's a mum to three girls, including two teenagers and a younger daughter, which means she brings such a unique perspective on motherhood and all the different seasons that come with it.
I'm really looking forward to chatting about what modern motherhood actually looks like, how we raise confident girls, how we balance ambition with family life, and why it's so important that we don't lose ourselves along the way.

Find Helly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mylittlelovesblog/
Find us on instagram: @wearemothertongue
Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mothertonguethepodcast

THE MOTHER TONGUE PODBOOK
The Mother Tongue podbook is a collection of interviews with experts on everything you need to know about parenthood from pre-conception all the way through to when your kids starts school. Over the course of 43+ chapters, the podbook delves into the topics that all mums and mums to be wants the answers to.
Buy yours now: https://mother-tongue.zbooni.com/products/mother-tongue-podbook

SHOW NOTES:
This episode of Mother Tongue is proudly brought to you by the new Body by M&S collection.
Motherhood changes our bodies in countless ways, and with every new season of life, comfort, confidence and the right fit become even more important.
The new Body by M&S collection is designed to support women through every stage, with the Body Invisibles Collection offering seamless, second-skin essentials for everyday comfort, the FlexiFit Collection moving with your body for all-day support, the Body Define Collection providing smooth, sculpted confidence under your clothes, and the Cool Comfort Collection featuring breathable fabrics to help regulate your body temperature throughout the day.
M&S also offers a complimentary Bra Fit Service in stores, helping you find the perfect fit for the body you have today, because our bodies are always evolving.
Visit https://www.marksandspencer.ae/en/fashion to discover the new Body by M&S collection and book your complimentary Bra Fit Service.
Support the show