South Africa’s popular online parenting support platform, Parent + Baby Brunch, is celebrating six years since inception. Founded by Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp, the content portal is best known for its parenting podcasts, regularly ranking as the number one locally-produced parenting podcasts in South Africa.
“The concept was born shortly after I had my first daughter”, says Elana. “Like the adage write what you know, I created the Parent + Baby Brunch community after experiencing first-hand what mothers and fathers of newborn children were experiencing. I was on a whatsapp group with my just-turned-parent girlfriends at 2am, everyone complaining about anything from sore nipples to back-aches. I knew there weren’t sufficient support groups out there, and so I started one!”
Initially conceptualised as a series of parenting events, the popularity soon took off as new parents attended the one-day workshops that would feature guest-speakers. Off the back of the success of the events came the idea of the Parent + Baby Brunch podcasts.
“There were many parents who didn’t have the means to attend and I was looking for a great way to share the content of the events across the country. My background has been radio for more than 20 years, so producing the podcasts was a natural fit” says Elana.
Several years later with over 100 podcasts under her belt, the popularity of the Parent + Baby Brunch podcasts continues to grow from strength to strength with thousands of streams per month across South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Israel and many more nations.
Popular topics include:
- The role of a doula in your pregnancy
- Divorce, mediation and everything you need to know
- Hormones, weight-gain and more
- Affairs & entanglement
- Breastfeeding 101
And many more
“Our content has grown to incorporate videos, blogs, podcasts, events, social media and so much more. What started out as a community for new moms has grown into a network for parents of babies, toddlers and teens. Dads and dads, moms and moms, black and white, all are part of the Parent + Baby Brunch community”
Follow www.babybrunch.co.za and @babybrunchsa
Parent + Baby Brunch is supported by Fedhealth, Epimax and Jacaranda fm.
More about Elana:
Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp is a popular media personality and businessperson. This mompreneur has 4 children and is based between Johannesburg and Cape Town. She presents a daily radio show on Jacaranda fm in Gauteng, is an actress and contributor on TV, and regularly hosts corporate events.
Photo-credit: Nick Boulton
