From Politics to corporate life to being a mum former councillor  Beverley Momenabadi tells it like it is. - video Dailymotion

Express & Star

#Wolverhampton's Beverley Momenabadi has gone from the world of #politics and corporate life to now being a new mum. She gives us her perspective on the changes.

Transcript

00:00Beverly mom and a baddie how are you really well thank you life's changed it

00:05has a bit hasn't it I mean I'm used to seeing you kind of you know taking

00:08control of events and when you were in you you cancel a role and and so on and

00:13big businesswoman aerospace company then Jaguar Land Rover but now it's it's kind

00:19of slowed down and sped up in a funny kind of way you've got a new a new

00:23Bambino so yeah so this is Abel hello Abel eight weeks old nearly nine weeks

00:29old and my life's changed massively so I've gone from sort of policy and

00:34politics at Wolverhampton Council to poon armies and pacifiers with this

00:40little bundle of joy yeah and then everything straightforward in terms of

00:44the birth or yeah I had an emergency c-section that presented its own

00:49challenges I can't thank the NHS enough we're really lucky I think in this

00:55country and have you know the system that we've got in place I think the

01:00biggest change for me though has been being on maternity leave yeah working

01:06politics and the corporate world life for me has always been 120 miles an hour

01:12you know juggling business a corporate job being a politician in the city I

01:17really felt prepared for all aspects of motherhood but nothing quite prepares

01:23you for the paradox that you're living in and I'll just explain a little bit so

01:28I've never been so busy in my life I've been since he's been born but in some

01:35ways I've also never been so bored you know I guess the sense of your identity

01:42and who you are changes when you become a mother so those pieces of who you are

01:46are still there but they all get rearranged a bit like furniture because

01:51this bundle of joy comes top and but I guess the things that people want to

01:55talk to me about as well so people in the city used to want to talk to me

01:59about policy and budgets and the Middle East conflict and my views on that

02:04because I've visited there so many times and now people just want to talk to me

02:09about breast milk and poon armies and poo consistency so I feel like I'm not

02:15having to use my brain as much I've been purposely avoiding the mum groups

02:20in the city and because I can't bear another conversation about poo

02:25consistency I think I'm gonna brave them soon but yeah parts of who I am got lost

02:32for this new role oh bless you for this new role that I've got and but I

02:39wouldn't change it for the world so are you kind of are you do you wish there

02:44was a mom's group where it was just it it was just a bit more like a regular

02:48chat a regular social kind of thing then just be a bit of normality because you

02:53know yeah it's like a hundred percent of your time isn't it mom mom mom you're

02:57craving that just that bit of a bit of a normality sort of thing yeah and I guess

03:01just normal conversations about things that people used to talk to me about so

03:06and you know friends from work visited the other day and that felt like a hit

03:11of normality they definitely talked mom stuff but you know I was able to talk

03:16you know things about corporate life and what's going on in local politics

03:22Wolverhampton Council's budgets coming up and most people probably find that

03:26really boring but I guess that was really an innate part of who I am I

03:30guess the other thing is as well when I was a politician there was and always

03:35has been since a part of me that was the fixer for people so in the community you

03:42know I found myself and always been there to sort of fix people's problems

03:47where I could but I feel like the role sort of reversed a bit and I've become

03:52really reliant on my own community and little village to sort of have that

03:57encouragement as a mom as well and I can't be more grateful for the support

04:02I've had from friends neighbors family for that encouragement you know texting

04:07in the middle of the night knowing that you're having those sleepless nights and

04:11those moments sort of mean everything yeah so you you know you're not planning

04:17on being a stay-at-home mom you you know you enjoy your work it's not just a

04:21living you enjoy it as well yeah yeah so I'm on maternity leave at the moment

04:26I'm very very grateful to my own employer who have a fantastic maternity

04:31policy which allows you that time you need one to recover and heal and but

04:37also to be a mom and build that bond with your baby so I'm really grateful

04:41and for that maternity policy and really encourage other employers to check

04:47that out and make sure that moms and dads are supported with parental leave

04:52policies that work and but my plan is to go back to work in the future and you

04:57know you can't sort of afford to be a stay-at-home mom nowadays even with two

05:02salaries coming into the house everything's gone up hasn't it including

05:06bills our heating is non-stop on since the little man's been born as well so

05:11yeah I'll figure that out when September comes but for now it's all about Poonami's

05:16pacifiers and playtime yeah well as it so is it giving you a like a newfound

05:21appreciation for kind of the work in Beverley then that you know that that

05:26you've in kind of what you've achieved as it kind of made you realize actually

05:29I'm pretty formidable that's a part of my life I kind of you know I won't be

05:33giving up and I really do enjoy yeah absolutely so I think that when you're

05:38not a mom and you don't appreciate the challenges that other moms who also work

05:44in the corporate world and or in politics and face and I felt like

05:50especially in politics the system isn't set up for mom so for example and a lot

05:57of the meetings are you know late on the evening that sort of thing I mean he has

06:02a strict schedule now you know bath times at 7 o'clock and that sort of

06:08wouldn't work so I wonder if the system especially in politics isn't set up to

06:12support working moms to be able to stand you know in elected positions and that's

06:18something that needs to be looked at was that a consideration when you stepped

06:22away from politics knowing that you you know you at some point you in the near

06:25future what you were gonna start I wanted to start a family yeah so that

06:29was the whole reason that I came away from politics I knew that I couldn't

06:33juggle the budget meetings that sometimes went on till 11 o'clock at

06:37night with having you know a young family as well and politicians in the

06:42city asked me all the time you know did you make the right decision you know

06:46leaving politics will you be making a comeback the truth is is the love that

06:52you feel when you have a baby or at least that I have is so incomprehensible

06:57that I've made the best decision of my life would I ever make a return to

07:01politics when he's a little bit older never say never

07:05never say never so what's the biggest thing you've learned about about

07:09yourself then and about kind of a you know a new mother hi is do a feed isn't

07:18he what's the biggest thing you've learned about yourself in all this then

07:23and I think self-care is really important I know that when I am looking

07:31after myself mentally physically I'm the best mom that I can be to able yeah I

07:37know that when I've had three hours sleep I'm you know living off coffee and

07:42caffeine to sort of survive the next night for you but actually when I you

07:47know been to the gym I'm you know eight weeks postpartum from a C-section but

07:52I've been back in the gym for three weeks and I'm in a good space mentally

07:56and getting out as well with him is really important you know going to the

08:01park maybe he doesn't you know know what's going on but he loves seeing

08:05smelling new things yeah so yeah looking after yourself allows you to be

08:10I guess the best mom you can be a last question Beverly are you confident that

08:20you'll be able to juggle kind of returning to that corporate world that

08:23working woman life and being a mom listen it's not going to be easy but

08:28I've always lived life at 120 miles an hour so I think this is just the next

08:33step in the challenge for me and you know I love being a mom but I love

08:38being you know a go-getter as well I love having a business I love politics

08:44I love volunteering and those parts of me still are there and who I am he just

08:51comes top of the list now well for what I've known of you over the years and

08:55learn about you Beverly if anyone can do it you can so congratulations on a

09:00little little bump I'm being a thank you

From Politics to corporate life to being a mum former councillor Beverley Momenabadi tells it like it is.

Category

Transcript

Recommended