Alexandra is a mom to 3 children, and the founder of Just the Inserts , a platform dedicated to empowering individuals with accessible, transparent information about medical choices. With a solid research background and a passion for informed consent, she guides people through the complexities of pharmaceutical products and decisions. Her commitment to clear, reliable information has earned her recognition as a trusted voice in the community, helping countless individuals make more informed, con...
Aug 06, 2025•38 min•Season 7Ep. 68
I started with saying NO to having babies (with the guy I was married to). This took me down the fertility rabbit hole trying to figure out if I was going to be able to have a child one day, with the right person. Eventually, I met the right person, and worked to prep my body for a year before saying yes to getting pregnant - and we got pregnant on the first try. Pregnancy was easy & birth was not! From induction to flailing epidurals, it was 36 hours of labor before meeting our baby boy. He...
Jul 30, 2025•40 min•Season 7Ep. 67
I’ve spent 20+ years leading remote teams—first as an EVP at DreamWorks and a VP at 20th Century Fox and then as a 3x tech CEO. Along the way I learned that what actually makes remote work successful isn’t what most people focus on…and I picked up some amusing stories that illustrate these learnings. I run a community of 34K productivity-minded people in The Sukha and I've heard your name from some of them. I’d love to join you on Becoming Parents - Birth Stories and Birthwork Wisdom to share th...
Jul 23, 2025•43 min•Season 7Ep. 66
I was a stepmom before I was a mom. So my first child was my husband's third child. I have two kids and two stepkids with a pretty fair age-gap between them and bringing everybody together as a family was harder than expected. I was surprised at how isolating motherhood was ... I was never alone and also felt alone. I did not have depression. The second birth was much faster than expected and without pain relief which was not at all my plan ...but it is how it went. :-) Amy Stone is an author, c...
Jun 25, 2025•33 min•Season 7Ep. 65
Going from a potential career in pharmacy to chiropractic. Experience as a chiropractic patient with college athletic performance. Chiropractic chose me. Inspired to help kids and women during their pregnancy. 7 years in practice, miracles, running my own business and creating community. Grew up in Hawaii, but stayed in the mainland for opportunities I am a holistic family chiropractor. My practice is called The Village Chiropractic and Family Wellness FIND HER HERE: @dr.kaitlynshikada @thevilla...
Jun 11, 2025•40 min•Season 7Ep. 64
* I discovered that I was pregnant at age 29 a month after opening my own solo legal practice in a suburb of Cleveland, OH * My partner and I grew up in Louisville, KY. Our families were there, so we had no day-to-day support from them * My law school colleagues were practicing law 5 to 6 hours' drive away from where I was living. * I had to build my own tribe as a working mother. My partner was working 70 or more hours a week. So, although he was providing food and shelter, I was on my own as a...
May 28, 2025•33 min•Season 7Ep. 63
- 3 birth experiences - 1) intended home birth with midwife, ended as cesarean due to cholestasis - 2) heartbreak of a 24-week fatal diagnosis, termination, vaginal delivery to a stillborn baby (my son Wilde) - 3) rainbow baby through a VBAC after induced labor with repeat cholestasis - career shifted to being a postpartum doula at 39 - work to shift the narrative around postpartum care, rest, recovery - left my marriage after 17 years together, became a "part time single mom" - most challenging...
May 21, 2025•34 min•Season 7Ep. 62
I was adopted in the 1960s, at birth. Became a parent in the 1990s. My life journey led to self discovery and searching for birth mother. I discovered things about her and her life that answered the fundamental questions - where did I come from? What does 'home' mean? I am a co-founder of a healthcare start up FIND HIM HERE: https://www.mark-jamilkowski-author.com/ https://x.com/RoadtoMoresco...
May 07, 2025•39 min•Season 7Ep. 56
- I had my dream home birth in December 2022 - Discuss motherhood while managing a small business, the pros and challenges that come with this - 2 years + journey breastfeeding - motherhood has only further my mission, and calling for the work that I do and very much inspired the launch of my podcast - the legacy of love Sara Ecklein is dedicated to bringing healing and peace to individuals during end-of-life transitions. As the founder of Trust & Honor, a mindful fiduciary agency, she serve...
Apr 30, 2025•42 min•Season 7Ep. 60
- As a teenager I was taught - as many are - that slip up once in the bed and you are pregnant - Always figured kids would simply happen but they weren't my one big dream that would make me satisfied in life. I have always been spontaneous and loved adventure and travel and possibility. - Decided to get married. Decided to have kids. 3 years later, not pregnant. - lucked out to be living in Cambridgeshire England (we're Canadian) at that exact time, as IVF was covered by public health for 3 roun...
Apr 02, 2025•42 min•Season 7Ep. 59
Depression, Anxiety, Parenting, NLP & Hypnotherapy Practice with Craig Meriwether - S7 E58 Starting when I was a teenager I struggled for many years with depression and anxiety. It was with the birth of my son that I found the resolve to heal. My mother struggled with depression as did I and whether it was nurture or nature I want to make sure I would be able to help my son if he fell into the dark hole of depression. I found healing by learning to take back control of my subconscious mind a...
Mar 26, 2025•50 min•Season 7Ep. 58
Father to 24 yr Irish daughter Father to 10 yr Polish son Ensuring your child is heart centered I’m a Podcaster / Podcast coach / partner is VA World providing Virtual Assistants / Partner with brain gym fitness FIND ROY HERE: https://roycoughlan.com/ https://va.world/ https://braingym.fitness/ https://bio.link/podcaster...
Mar 12, 2025•37 min•Season 7Ep. 53
-Mother of two. Both born in a hospital using anesthesia and post care medications. -I was never taught about how important pre- and post-natal care is during my parenting journey (aside from "walk as much as you can" and "take prenatal pills every day") and thought that physical activity was the most important aspect. -I've since learned that nutrition should be a fundamental aspect to everyone's journey whether they're a parent or not and to also be made aware that hospitals and doctors might ...
Mar 05, 2025•38 min•Season 7Ep. 56
- I am not a parent, but I am a DONA International certified Birth Doula working in North Carolina - I did not learn about what a doula was until the age of 26 years old in graduate school. Once I learned about the field, it instantly clicked for me. I've always been fascinated with birth but never wanted to be a nurse or doctor. - I had some fears around becoming a labor support doula and not having gone through childbirth but my training reassured me that I was able to do the job - I learned o...
Feb 05, 2025•41 min•Season 7Ep. 55
Mother to Isaac: 11 year old boy Gentle Parenting Advocate: Practicing a compassionate, respectful approach to parenting while promoting mental health and calm family dynamics. Experienced Counselor & Educator: Leveraging my background in education, counseling, and family systems to foster a thriving home environment. Committed to helping families find balance, reduce overwhelm, and nurture joy in their relationships. World Traveler with Isaac: and our family. Our family loves to travel and ...
Jan 29, 2025•33 min•Season 7Ep. 54
It took me 8 years to get pregnant. I went through loss, IVF, many (MANY!) diet changes, holistic modalities -- and nothing was working. I decided to become a Life Coach so that I could stop suffering through the uncertainty of it all. In my certification, I learned mind-body tools that helped me to eventually get pregnant naturally -- and now I teach women all around the world to do the same. I also wrote a new best selling book called: Fertile Ground, that I'd love to promote on your podcast. ...
Jan 22, 2025•36 min•Season 7Ep. 53
I was previously an educator and early child interventionist speech therapist but was brought to my knees when I became a parent I tried to fit into the box of what parenting should be like but realized that I needed to follow my own heart and gut feelings as well as my child's cues about sleep schedule, nursing times, and other parenting pieces right from the start of becoming a parent I learned to throw out the parenting books which really made me so nervous about labor and delivery- but it wa...
Jan 15, 2025•30 min•Season 7Ep. 52
*I fell pregnant easily, the first month trying with my daughter, and a surprise with my son! *That was the only easy part of my journey, both pregnancies were challenging! *My daughter's birth was quite traumatic, 5 days of induction resulting in an emergency c-section. *My son's birth was very healing, a planned c-section. *I was unable to breastfeed either child, and had a lot of feelings of guilt and failure that took MANY years to overcome. *My son is on the spectrum, the official diagnosis...
Jan 08, 2025•40 min•Season 7Ep. 51
*Infertility/miscarriage led to divorce *Infertility continued after remarriage; adoption decision made *Unexpectedly became pregnant *Infertility issues continued when we wanted to grow our family *Decision to adopt again, this time internationally after failing with several other agencies *Adopted our daughter from Mexico at age six *Trauma behaviors were obvious but we were a bit clueless *Trauma education and research enable us to see what was happening *With professional help, and our own p...
Dec 18, 2024•34 min•Season 7Ep. 50
I was in a domestic violence marriage with my oldest and because of her, got us out and reinvented myself so that I could be a mom that she could be proud of. With my youngest I was diagnosed with cancer and given only a 5% chance to live while I was 7 months pregnant. I couldn't be the mom I wanted to be, I couldn't even really hold her let alone take care of her for the first year but we both made it! and I'm more aligned and connected to divine love and intelligence because of her. Rebeccah S...
Dec 11, 2024•35 min•Season 7Ep. 49
Had my son when I was 36 years old in 2012. Very long labor that ended up being a c-section. My son was very healthy and normally developing until he was 13 months old. He had a fall from our bed, just 18" off the ground, and suffered a large brain bleed. He had an emergency craniotomy and a few days later he had a stroke. He'll be 12 years old on 10/19/2024. He still has no functional use of his right arm or hand, but has accomplished so much. Being a speech therapist was key in early intervent...
Dec 04, 2024•33 min•Season 7Ep. 41
LOCAL EDITION EPISODE! - struggled with unexplained infertility for 16 years ( actively trying) - foster to adopt through Washoe county - adoption placement 6/2021 ( long tedious battle ) - 11/4/22 final adoption day and forever ours - with this adoption journey it took me out of the medical field ( supervisor of medical assistants ) and then home for almost 2 years, starting back part time with WCSD to have a flexible schedule, then moving to full time and now wanting to work for my own ( mobil...
Nov 29, 2024•36 min•Season 7Ep. 42
-Separated/Divorced when daughter was 8 months old -Single motherhood navigation -Married and divorced a second time with an engagement in between -Therapy 3-4 times in life -Teenage years through college years navigating as a co-parent -Adult Child coparenting -Went from Worse to Great! Took a lot of time and checking of MYSELF in order to put my child first I’m an Educational Consultant - topics from new teacher support, advocacy, and co-parenting FIND HER HERE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jer...
Nov 27, 2024•36 min•Season 7Ep. 46
First baby on her own at 21 Worked at her Dads Family Owned Business SAMS SPARKLE SHOP Met the love of her life and got pregnant - first baby was now 11 Medicaid to paying out of pocket for a home birth with ALL the preparation Emergency transport to the hospital Emergency C-section after issues with blood pressure and baby’s heart rate Postpartum depression, feeling lost and being outspoken about it Finding support for herself, becoming a “Postpartum Resource Warrior” Starting a Postpartum Trau...
Nov 23, 2024•46 min•Season 7Ep. 45
I was drinking too much We tried to start a family My wife had a miscarriage I wasn't much help I stopped drinking Almost nine months to the day after I stopped our daughter was born I'm a speaker and an author. If you want to read my last book, Get Over Indulgence, you can grab it here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/gd99b9hhj6 . You can also read my latest book, Real Men Quit, here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/b7zqo9why8 FIND HIM HERE: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iam_soberwarrior/ LinkedIn: ...
Nov 20, 2024•29 min•Season 7Ep. 44
How to Talk to Your Daughter About Sexual Assault in College: Strategies for initiating open, honest, and supportive conversations to prepare and protect her How to Support Survivors in Your Life: Creating a safe and empowering environment for healing and recovery. Sexual Violence Prevention/Sex Education Strategies for Parents: Consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships. Nicole Bedera, Ph.D., sociologist, author, and trauma-informed expert is on a mission to support parents in protecting th...
Nov 13, 2024•43 min•Season 7Ep. 43
first pregnancy at 38 no amniotic fluid at 29 weeks sent straight to hospital 3 weeks on bed rest and had a C section at 32 weeks. He was 3 lbs 1 oz and stayed in NICU for 4 weeks. He fell behind in all milestones and didn't like to eat. 18 months I knew something was wrong and started looking for help. I found an OT that got me Regional Center help. This is our state's program. at 3 he still wasn't saying any words. so I started searching for speech therapist that could help. We ended up in Con...
Nov 06, 2024•34 min•Season 7Ep. 42
- Unplanned pregnancy - Planned to return to work part-time but decided to raise my son instead - I felt like I was missing something and needed something to keep me mentally challenged so I started my podcast called New Mom Talk out of a need and lack of resources - Expanded to a mom group called Carlsbad Mom Crew - I had to learn to accept and ask for help from in-laws and so glad I did - I've learned to let go of so much and accept the mess I started my parenting podcast called New Mom Talk a...
Oct 30, 2024•27 min•Season 7Ep. 41
Becoming a mama was a catalyst that set much needed trauma recovery work in action. From living in my fight/ flight response to learning how to calm my nervous system in the midst of helping my littles cope. I'm a holistic trauma recovery coach specialized in helping trauma-surviving mamas navigate the triggers of their childhood trauma so they can create the peaceful and loving mamahood they deeply desire. FIND HER HERE: mamahoodaftertrauma.ca/home https://www.instagram.com/emily.mamahoodaftert...
Oct 23, 2024•32 min•Season 7Ep. 40
I was blindsided with the overwhelm and lack of enjoyment when I became a mother. I had heard about postpartum depression, but didn’t hear anyone really be candid about how hard it is or unenjoyable outside of a mental health or postpartum depression context, which understandably would be scary and vulnerable to share. I knew that the validation I so desperately sought out was missing in postpartum conversations and I had to give voice to what I went through and help another person on a similar ...
Oct 16, 2024•37 min•Season 7Ep. 39
