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Kelly Edmondson is a nurse executive, certified grief counselor, and founder of Timely Presence, a company redefining how we support people after loss. While her personal loss was not perinatal, she carries a deeply lived understanding of grief after the unexpected death of her son, Darius, in January 2023.
As a nurse and healthcare leader, Kelly has stood at the bedside during some of the most devastating moments families experience, including pregnancy and infant loss. She has seen, in real time, both the depth of that grief and how quickly support can disappear.
Through her work, she focuses on what happens after the initial shock, creating year-long, milestone-timed support so people feel remembered on the days that are often the hardest.
Kelly brings a perspective that expands the conversation, not only about surviving loss, but about how we continue to show up for those living with it.
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Today, I'm joined by Wendy Kowalski. She is the designer and manufacturer of the Caring Cradle. She decided to make something that would be a better fit for hospitals, nurses, and families after seeing that the only cooling unit on the market was using water, and was all too often broken. With input from all the people who had used these other units, she developed a unit that was simple to use for all and allowed uninterrupted time with baby. She is excited to see the name Caring Cradle become a gold standard choice for hospitals all across the US.
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Today I am joined by Dr. Melinda Elliott. Dr. Melinda Elliott’s path to neonatology began in childhood. Even as a young girl, she knew she wanted to be a “baby doctor,” and that early calling guided her through medical school and specialized training in neonatal-perinatal medicine. She earned her medical degree from West Virginia University School of Medicine and completed her pediatrics residency — serving as chief resident — and neonatal fellowship at the University of Florida.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Elliott practiced clinical neonatology in the NICU, dedicating her career to the care of vulnerable, premature infants and supporting families during some of their most difficult moments. A pivotal experience came after caring for a very premature infant who developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening intestinal disease. Losing that patient profoundly impacted her and strengthened her resolve to find safer nutritional options for fragile babies.
Her clinical experience led her to research the benefits of an Exclusive Human Milk Diet (EHMD) for extremely low birth weight infants, as well as breastfeeding practices among mothers of very low birth weight babies. As she studied and implemented the human milk-based fortifiers from Prolacta Bioscience, fortifiers produced free of cow milk, she saw significant improvements in clinical outcomes.
Inspired by both the science and the results, she published her findings and ultimately joined Prolacta. Today, as Chief Medical Officer, she serves as the voice of the patient, working to expand access to 100% human milk-based nutrition and improve outcomes for premature and critically ill newborns worldwide. Tune in to hear more!
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oin Atara and I for September’s #AskAtara! This month is #NICUAwarenessMonth.
We discuss resources for NICU parents, but most importantly we want you to know you are not alone!
NICU Hearts Collective's Website
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Today I'm joined by Maddie Baker. Maddie is a devoted stay at home mom with her three children living in the beautiful hills of east Tennessee. She and her family love spending time in the mountains, tending to their garden, and taking long walks together. When she's not outside soaking up nature, baking something delicious, or playing with her little ones, you'll likely find her curled up with a good book and a quiet moment to recharge. Her days are full. Her heart is rooted in family, and she finds joy in the simple sacred rhythms of home.
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Join me for our season 6 premiere. In this week’s episode I discuss a few episodes that will air this season, but I also discuss a topic that has been on my mind for a few years. I have had more than one guest say something along the line of, “Well, my trauma is not as severe as yours…”. Each time is makes me sad. The truth is, no one gets a trophy based on the severity of trauma. Tune in to hear more!
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the Father of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any troubles with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
2 Corinthians 1: 3 & 4
Trauma Tribe
Catherine's Email: [email protected]
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Surviving the ICU is only the beginning of the journey.
In this special bonus episode of Birth Trauma Stories, I with my friends Micheal Patrick, Cheryl Thompson, and Dr. Brian Peach share why we are joining survivors, families, and advocates to walk in honor of those impacted by Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS).
PICS can affect survivors long after they leave the ICU, impacting the body, mind, and emotions—and yet, so many people have never heard of it. As a survivor of an amniotic fluid embolism, cardiac arrest, ECMO, stroke, and a prolonged hospitalization, I know firsthand that recovery doesn't end when you leave the hospital.
This walk is about bringing those experiences out of the shadows.
It's about raising awareness.
It's about honoring survivors.
It's about remembering those we lost.
And it's about reminding survivors that they don't have to walk the road of recovery alone.
One step at a time, we can raise awareness, create community, and change the conversation around life after critical illness.
There are walks all around the world. Come walk with us.
**This recording was recorded live on Instagram. Sound quality may vary.**
Join @nicufreedom and I for April's #AskAtara! This month is #CesareanAwarenessMonth. If a #VBAC is part of your birth plan, you don’t have to walk that road alone. We encourage you to connect with ICAN for support, education, and community.
Pray, seek wisdom, and advocate for the birth God has placed on your heart.
Ask Atara is recorded live on Instagram. Sound quality may vary.
ICAN's Website
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Join Megan Secrest, Liana Albers, Atara Parkinson, and I as we share the heart behind our upcoming virtual retreat.
In this episode, we walk through each session, the intention behind them, and the stories that led us into this work.
While each of our journeys looks different, one powerful theme kept rising to the surface…tune into hear more!
Sign up for the Retreat
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This week I'm joined by Megan Seacrest. Megan is a wife, a mom to five children, one on Earth and four in heaven. She's also a licensed clinical social worker and EMDR certified therapist. She has been with her husband for 10 years and her personal experiences with ADHD and pregnancy loss deeply inform her work.
Megan specializes in walking alongside grieving parents and women navigating anxiety, trauma, emotional sensitivity, or late discovered neurodivergence. Known for her warmth, honesty, and dry humor. She brings both skill and heart to the therapy room. In her counseling practice, Gift of Grit counseling, Megan helps clients find strength in their hardest seasons and gently supports them in creating meaning from even the deepest pain.
Megan's Website
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Cathy's Printify Shop
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