Kristina Cowan shares her story and her book, When Postpartum Packs a Punch: Fighting Back and Finding Joy. (We discuss sensitive content for birth injury and complications.) May is maternal mental health awareness month and Mom & Mind is dedicated to highlighting the lived experience of moms, partners and families. Kristina discusses her experience through a traumatic birth experience, a postpartum thyroid condition and her path to healing. She has written an amazing book that includes her ...
May 07, 2018•39 min
Maternal Mental Health Week is Here! 4/30-5/4 World Maternal Mental Health day is Wednesday 5/2 We are addressing the myths of motherhood and parenthood while digging a little deeper to see how those myths become the beliefs that we carry about ourselves. What are these myths? So glad you asked! They basically sound like perfection at it's most perfect... * You will get pregnant easily * You and your baby will be healthy * You will love being pregnant and being a mother * You will know what to d...
Apr 28, 2018•25 min
Dr. Raja discusses the importance of multidisiplinary approaches to health and wellbeing in pregnancy and postpartum. He shares his rich and global perspective on how care providers can work together across roles to make sure that perinatal mothers are receiving the care they need. Here are some of the topics we touch on: *OB's are one part of the care team for pregnant mothers *There might be different care pathways in different countries but if we are working together as a care team, we can "j...
Apr 23, 2018•43 min
Dr. Alyssa Berlin is on to talk about planning for life after the birth of your child. We often don't consider what happens after the baby comes home, or how our relationship might change. It's important to consider planning for life after you come home with baby! Dr. Berlin uses some really great analogies and examples about our needs during this time. She discusses how to strengthen the couple to be prepared for life with baby, but also normal life after a child. We discuss what postpartum pla...
Apr 16, 2018•37 min
Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett is talking about some essential info on how stress affects postpartum moms and what to do about it! This is a must listen, it's so fascinating. This episode is jam packed with great information and insight. You might want to take notes and pass this along to others. What is so fantastic about this episode is that most people don't have access to this kind of info and education. We aren't reading research articles or even able to understand them half the time. Kathy g...
Apr 08, 2018•45 min
Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC is sharing her personal story of dealing with postpartum depression after three of her five children. She then went on to use her professional skills to help and support other moms find balance with nutrition and breastfeeding. Crystal touches on many aspects of her experience that so many moms can relate to: -a past eating disorder of anorexia and worry that she wouldn't be able to get pregnant due to that history -feeling disconnected from her children because of...
Apr 02, 2018•41 min
Dr. Kat gets on her soapbox! Dishing on a few things that get her upset and maybe get you upset too?!?! We have a long way to go to do better for pregnant, birthing, loss and postpartum moms! Here are some of the things she touchs on... *Can we just be supportive to moms? Can we stop with the shaming and guilt? It's hard enough to be a mom...we need a softer approach on how we treat new parenthood in general. *I have some thoughts about the pressure to breastfeed... *My fantasy and utopia of how...
Mar 26, 2018•30 min
There are some powerful experiences that new moms go through when coming in to psychotherapy. Moms who are pregnant, experienced a loss, birth trauma or postpartum are often transforming in to a new version of themselves. Here's what we reflect on... *These moms are brave and strong. *New motherhood is a mirror. Sometimes a magnifying glass. *Motherhood makes your heart open and can make you a deeper sense of vulnerability, anxiety, be in touch from deeper feelings. That can happen for partners ...
Mar 19, 2018•21 min
Dr. Kat goes solo in this episode and talks about self care and the process of healing. Self care is a complicated topic for motherhood and parenthood. It's pretty straight forward as a concept, but it can be hard to actually do. I'm on here to break down some of those barriers to understanding what self care looks like for you. We talk about how self care is part of the healing process. It's something that you can do for yourself, today. It's not going to fix everything, but it does help over t...
Mar 12, 2018•21 min
Birth planning is very important. Postpartum planning is essential. Arianna Taboada talks about so much, including some of the reasons we need this kind of support in the US specifically or places where maternity leave is not well supported. More specifically, these plans are very supportive for mothers who have any history or risk of perinatal mental health challenge, such as postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety. We touch on: What is a postpartum plan and why do we need it? What's in a p...
Mar 05, 2018•36 min
As we’ve talked about many times on this podcast, hearing personal stories can be very liberating and shame relieving for mothers. Stories are real, educational, heart breaking and heart opening all at the same time. Today we are hearing a personal story, the lived experience of Molly Caro May. She is going to tell us about parts of her story and how as a writer, she was able to use her story in her own healing and the hope to heal others…. In her book entitled, Body full of Stars: Female Rage a...
Feb 26, 2018•35 min
We are talking about Postpartum Anxiety today and more specifically, what’s common and what’s cause for concern and treatment. This is a question that moms have so often and I’m happy for Dr. Carly Snyder to come on and dispel some of the confusion. We touch on the ever present guilt and shame that runs its course through motherhood as well as some ways to cope and manage postpartum anxiety. Some of what we touch on: - What is "normal" anxiety in new motherhood - How can people know when it's be...
Feb 19, 2018•48 min
Katie Flores shares her personal story and how she became an holistic health coach for new mothers. She describes her depression, a miscarriage, the stress that she felt with her daughter who was fussy all of the time for a whole year and sleep deprived that whole time. She discusses some of her underlying biological factors that added to her experience. Katie talks about what she sees as root causes and biological contributors to postpartum depression, including trauma, loss physical illness an...
Feb 13, 2018•39 min
Shame thrives in the dark. Sharing our story and having ourselves reflected out in the world releases that shame. Sometimes we feel relief right away. Sometimes it takes time. Today I want to talk with you about what happens for you when you hear another person share their pregnancy, loss or postpartum story. I’m talking specifically to the people who are or have experienced a perinatal mood change like depression, anxiety, ptsd, bipolar or psychosis. Or a pregnancy loss. Or a situation similar ...
Feb 05, 2018•15 min
Stigma is a terrible 6 letter word and it gets in the way of connection, truth, healing and compassion for moms. Dr. Walker Ladd is on to talk about some of her amazing research into stigma, her books about understanding women's stories and her new podcast Rebel Research Radio. The sting of stigma is so very real and we have internalized it in such a way that we hold shame about ourselves, when we should have understanding. Listen in to hear what Dr. Ladd has to say about mothers and motherhood....
Jan 29, 2018•35 min
We are getting into some good stuff today about attachment and bonding in new parenthood. We are talking again with Dr. Juli Fraga about what all of this means and what it means for you and your baby. In particular, what might be going on for a mother experiencing a perinatal mood change. *We will be touching on the difference between attachment and bonding. *What can happen in new parenthood when a mother or father is struggling. *We touch on the ever present shame and guilt. *Getting support f...
Jan 21, 2018•35 min
Why Compassion? I'll tell you... I’ve been doing some deep thinking about the podcast, perinatal mental health in general and how to continue the movement forward through our neck of the woods here. I really believe and feel deeply that more information, awareness and support need to get to mothers and families. I believe that we can improve our efforts at prevention too and I’m hopeful to have that reflected in the podcast this year. How can we improve the lives of mothers, fathers, babies, cou...
Jan 13, 2018•26 min
We have the honor of hearing from Dr. Sheehan Fisher about new fathers, the transitions they may go through when a baby comes along, as well as the challenges and strengths that they may experience. There are quite a few gems in our talk today, one of which is how the role of fatherhood is changing and adapting to the times…AND thoughts about navigating that. Dr. Fisher’s take on these transitions is not to be missed. I’m sure you’ll want to share this with the fathers, men and partners of men i...
Dec 18, 2017•39 min
Andrea Schneider, LCSW is sharing with us about how our difficult, toxic or traumatic past relationships might affect our journey into motherhood, fatherhood and parenthood. This fascinating discussion digs deeper into how we may respond, behave and interact as new parents...based on our own early experiences with our own caregivers, parents or influential difficult relationships. We chat about: * What is relational trauma? How does it show up for perinatal mothers and fathers? * What are some s...
Dec 11, 2017•45 min
Dr. Diane Sanford is talking with us about coping skills for wellness! Pregnancy and postpartum mental health changes can really take you by surprise and leave you feeling disoriented. When we have skills for coping that we can rely on, it really helps us heal. Our guest, Dr. Dianed, has been supporting perinatal mothers for many years. Shares a bit about how she's seen the landscape change in supporting mothers. AN she dishes on what she'd like to see more of in support of perinatal mothers. We...
Dec 04, 2017•48 min
Annika O'Melia breaks through stigma to share her story about alcohol use in early motherhood and increase awareness about the impact of substance use for perinatal mothers. Annika is speaking out about her experience and has created a podcast, Mother Recovering, that focuses on supporting these mamas. *She talks about the thought process that happens with substance use and how we sometimes can't see how bad things are getting. *Substance use is a way to cope, but ends up making things worse. *H...
Nov 20, 2017•52 min
Caribbean Mothers and Perinatal Mental Health with Dr. Kendra Flores-Carter One of the important pieces of understanding perinatal mental health, is putting it in the context of culture, immigration and other socio-cultural factors. When we use the culture to inform healing, a depth of relief and understanding happens. Today we will learn a bit more… Today we have on Dr. Kendra Flores-Carter to discuss perinatal mental health from the lens of Caribbean mothers. As we have stated on previous epis...
Nov 13, 2017•41 min
Just in time to honor Veterans Day, we talk with Dr. Melinda Thiam about what life might be like for some military mamas. In this fascinating and necessary discussion, Dr. Thiam talks with about the unique aspects of perinatal mental health in the military family. Dr. Thiam highlights: *The stressors for both for the perinatal mother who is in active duty and for the perinatal mother who is the spouse of an active duty person. *She addressed the need for more healthcare providers to receive trai...
Nov 06, 2017•36 min
Expectful offers guided meditations for all of the transitions through motherhood from fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and motherhood. They heard feedback that many mothers who experienced pregnancy loss, didn't have guided meditation support they needed. So, they teamed up with Dr. Jessica Zucker, who is well known for her strong advocacy through the #ihadamiscarriage campaign. Together, they made a beautiful resource to help mothers to cope through guided meditations and supportive informatio...
Oct 30, 2017•34 min
When you can really start to understand how stress and trauma affects you on a physiological level and emotional level, you can hold more compassion and understanding for yourself. Nkem Ndefo is on with us today, teaching, informing, shedding light on how to think realistically, holistically about stress. This is totally necessary to understand for pregnancy and postpartum...but also for pretty much everything. Nkem is teaching us about how our bodies and minds respond to stress and ways to buil...
Oct 21, 2017•46 min
Do you identify as a perfectionist? Do you feel like things need to be a certain way and if they aren't, you feel unsettled? How did that affect you when you were trying to conceive, during pregnancy, birthing or postpartum? This is one of those things that really impacts the early stages of motherhood and parenthood (and all stages really). In this episode, I talk about the dynamics that I see with the mamas that I help...and one that I struggled with in my postpartum...and still work on managi...
Oct 17, 2017•33 min
"It is ridiculous that when you are the person in the middle of a crisis, that you are the person who is faced to do the heavy lifting" - Joy Twesigye Lack of social support is a part of what is impacting perinatal and postpartum wellness. Could we start to count on our social supports more if we are giving them some fundamental info? Joy Twesigye has a great perspective on how we can all support perinatal mothers more fully. She is talking about a fundamental need for change in the way WE, not ...
Oct 09, 2017•32 min
Pregnancy & Postpartum: Soapbox Edition II Yeah, no. I have some thoughts about how mothers are treated.... I'm hoping back on the soapbox! And this time, I'm shouting out some of the things that the Mom & Mind listeners are upset about too! Thanks for sharing! Let's see..most of the things I discuss are about how other peoples OPINIONS and JUDGMENTS affect mama's and partners. Can we just stop spouting out whatever comes to our mind when we see a pregnant person, or someone with a new b...
Oct 02, 2017•31 min
Bipolar disorder in pregnancy and postpartum is not often discussed. Dyane Harwood is advocating for that to change. In this episode, Dyane shares her personal journey through postpartum bipolar, what she wishes people would understand and how we can all be more supportive to mothers experiencing this difficult and often misunderstood condition. In this rich discussion, we touch on: -Some signs, symptoms and what it may look like to others -Insight into what it might feel like for a mother to be...
Sep 25, 2017•42 min
We talk about feeling bad about our bad feelings in postpartum & pregnancy. How many of us have had feelings in pregnancy or postpartum that we didn't understand, but then also felt guilt or failure for having them at all? Melissa Divaris Thompson, LMFT shares with us some of her personal experience and a great discussion on the roller coaster of feelings that we may have related to anger, rage, failure and guilt. This is SUCH a common mix of feelings. Most of us don't know about this, becau...
Sep 18, 2017•44 min
