Guide presenter Gemma Cutting launches new SEND Mum Club podcast

Guide Liverpool presenter Gemma Cutting is launching a new podcast aimed at parents of children with additional needs and disabilities.

The mum of three will host The SEND Mum Club weekly, talking to different guests about the joys and challenges they face raising children with additional needs.

Out today and then every Monday, Gemma says The SEND Mum Club will be ‘honest, raw, and a place to feel seen and heard’ and importantly, she adds: “It’s about knowing you’re not alone on a journey that no one expects to be on.”

Gemma, 43, from Aigburth, whose two-year-old son Leo has Down syndrome, says: “When we got Leo’s diagnosis, I got real comfort from speaking to people who were further along the journey than I was, and I know already that I have passed that on to others who are further behind than me.

“I listen to parenting podcasts all the time and whenever anyone mentions any kind of additional needs my ears immediately prick up, and I thought wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a podcast that is speaking directly to us as SEND parents. Even though each child and diagnosis is different in their own way, we’re all on a similar journey and this is a place where we can all learn from each other.”

Already a mum to Alfie, 16, and Milly, 11, from a previous relationship, Gemma was 40 when she and husband Ben decided to have a family together and, although they had spoken about the increased chance of Down syndrome because of her age, routine blood tests came back low risk.

It was a midwife who flagged up certain characteristics soon after Leo was born, and he was diagnosed at just five days old.

Gemma - The SEND Mum Club — Gemma – The SEND Mum Club

Gemma admits: “I was devastated.

“When you have a diagnosis like this it takes time to process and come to terms with it, but in those early days I couldn’t imagine having anything worse being thrown at us. I felt like it was the worst day of my life, and that nothing was going to be okay in the world again.

“It’s important to be honest and validate those feelings – although, of course, that’s not how I feel now.

“Yes there are challenges, hard days that trip you up and make you feel sad. You go through a grieving process for the child that you thought you’d have.

“But we are lucky that Leo is healthy – many babies born with Down syndrome have to have heart surgery – and now I see it as a beautiful thing.

“Leo has so many beautiful qualities and he is definitely my most chilled baby! People are drawn to Leo, he has a beautiful energy, and he makes people happy.”

Gemma adds: “Having Leo has made us better people, more open and accepting, and understanding.”

The podcast has launched today to coincide with World Down Syndrome Day which raises awareness of Down syndrome and celebrates the lives of those with it.

In the first episode, Gemma talks about her own journey, from diagnosis to acceptance. From next week she will speak to a huge range of guests about their stories, and in each episode she will ask them what their best piece of advice would be – and the thing they wish they’d known when they received their child’s diagnosis.

“I am really excited but nervous too,” says Gemma, who’s also a presenter on In Demand Radio. “I’m putting myself out there in quite a vulnerable way I haven’t before, but I feel like it’s really important to have those conversations.”