Dear NICU Mama

Welcome to season 7, beautiful mamas! We hope you all had a wonderful summer and that your fall is off to a great start. We are so excited to be back on the podcast with you all, and we can’t believe we are officially kicking off another season of the podcast with you! We can’t wait to share amazing expert interviews, round table discussions, and NICU motherhood stories with you throughout this season. Thank you to each and every one of you for being here with us and for making this sisterhood so special!

To get connected with DNM:

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For the episode transcription, head here. (Please note that it is computer generated and not perfect!)

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Walking Letter of Hope Day is only two days away! On July 19th, you have the power to make a difference and show your support for Dear NICU Mama in several meaningful ways:

1. Wear your Walking Letter of Hope apparel: On July 19th, proudly wear your Walking Letter of Hope apparel from Dear NICU Mama. By doing so, you raise awareness for the organization and highlight the invaluable support this community provides.
2. Share your story: Your personal story has the potential to bring hope to others. Take a moment to share your experience with your network, inspiring and encouraging other mamas who may be navigating the NICU journey. Your testimonial can be life-changing for those in need.
3. Give to Dear NICU Mama: Donations play a vital role in advancing the mission of Dear NICU Mama and creating a strong support network for families. Consider making a contribution as an individual or form a fundraising team with your family and friends. As a bonus, top fundraisers will compete for exclusive DNM prize packages!
4. Join the walk: Gather your loved ones for an informal 1-mile walk of hope around your favorite neighborhoods, parks, or trails. Don't forget to sport your Walking Letter of Hope Day gear, capture memorable moments through photos, and share them on social media using the hashtag #walkingletterofhopeday. By participating, you'll also have a chance to win exciting prizes on the event day!

Walking Letter of Hope Day is an opportunity to unite as a community and make a positive impact in the lives of NICU mothers and their families. Together, we can spread hope, raise awareness, and support this incredible cause.

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

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Today’s episode is very bittersweet as we say farewell to Season 6 of the Dear NICU Mama Podcast! It has been such a gift to have vulnerable and meaningful conversations with NICU moms and specialists about growing our families after the NICU, and we hope that you have felt heard and seen throughout this season. We know that this subject can be a tender one, and we want to make sure to acknowledge the courage it takes to engage and participate in conversations like these. No matter where you find yourself on your family building journey, know that this sisterhood walks with you!

It has been a remarkable season 6 and we cannot wait to connect with you all for season 7 in the fall. Words can’t fully express our gratitude to each and every one of YOU for tuning in and being here with us week after week. We love you all and hope you have a fun and wonderful summer!

To give to the mission and movement of Dear NICU Mama, and/or to schedule a recurring monthly or annual gift, head to dearnicumama.com/give!

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

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As we near the end of season 6, which has been all about growing and building our families after the NICU, we wanted to make sure to dedicate an episode to the foster and adoptive NICU mamas in our community. Which is why we are so grateful to have NICU mom and NICU nurse, Sarah joining us on the podcast today!

Throughout this episode, Sarah shares openly and honestly about her family’s journey to becoming foster parents, what it was like to become a NICU mom while being a NICU nurse, the life and death of her daughter Zariah, and how her family has continued to foster and grow their family today.

To the foster and adoptive NICU mamas in this sisterhood, we hope your motherhood journey feels honored. We are so proud of the mothers that you are and are so honored and grateful to have your stories and experiences a part of this community!

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

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In honor of Mother’s Day, this week’s podcast episode is a special episode where DNM team members read out-loud letters that they have written for this community. This Mother’s Day, our hope is that you offer yourself the grace and permission to feel the duality of both grief and joy of longing and gratitude. Whether you are celebrating in or out of the NICU, with full or empty arms, or with a close few or a large group, we hope you know how remarkable of a mother that you are.

Happy Mother’s Day, NICU Mama. This sisterhood is so incredibly proud of you.

To learn more about Prolacta mentioned in this episode, head here!

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

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Happy World Maternal Mental Health Day to this wonderful sisterhood and NICU mama community! This week we have the honor of welcoming back Dr. Frankie Harrison of Miracle Moon to talk all about the basics of maternal mental health.

In this episode we cover:

• What is maternal mental health?
• How does the practice of a maternal mental health therapist differ from a traditional practicing therapist? Why is this important to consider when finding a provider postpartum?
• How long is the “postpartum window”?
• What is “normal” postpartum, and what are some signs that a mom may need additional support?
• For NICU moms, sometimes the postpartum period feels that it extends far beyond a typical postpartum window. What encouragement would you offer NICU moms who have significant distance from their birth experiences, but still don’t feel quite like themselves?

No matter where you are in your postpartum healing journey, know that your experience is valid and you are worthy and deserving of support. This sisterhood heals with you!

Dr Frankie Harrison is a clinical psychologist who specializes in supporting parents through their NICU journeys and beyond. Frankie is also a NICU mama herself, she had her first baby at 31+1 due to pre-eclampsia, so knows first-hand the impact NICU can have on your wellbeing. She runs an online community called miraclemoonuk where she shares psychological knowledge for people to normalize and validate people’s experiences. She also runs a private practice where she helps people individually and runs courses to make psychological support accessible.

To get connected with Frankie

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Miracle Moon Podcast

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

To learn more about Prolacta mentioned in this episode, head here!

This podcast episode is not an attempt to practice medicine or provide medical advice. All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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As we continue season 6 which is all about growing our families after the NICU, we want to make sure to also honor the NICU mamas in our sisterhood who are no longer able to carry children due to an emergent or elected hysterectomy. And we are so grateful for twin NICU mama Leah for sharing about her personal experience. After an emergency c-section, Leah’s twins were born at 32 weeks 2 days gestation, and were then transported to a level 3 NICU 30 miles away. Nearly 18 hours after birth they discovered that there was fluid in her abdomen, and an exploratory surgery then became a full hysterectomy. Throughout this episode, Leah shares openly about her unexpected hysterectomy, how she has healed and received support throughout her healing journey, and how she honors and celebrates her body as a woman today.

To the mamas in our community who have had hysterectomies, we hope this podcast episode is a gentle reminder that your worth as a woman is not determined by the existence of a womb. This sisterhood honors you as the remarkable woman and mother that you are! You are not alone.

Project NICU offers connection, support and community to all involved in the NICU Journey. From NICU Care Packages, Peer Support, Graduate Programming, events and more we are here for every step of the journey. Led by NICU Parents, our programs are designed with first hand experience with support by NICU medical professionals on our advisory board to truly create an environment where families and NICU Teams can feel supported.

To get connected with Project NICU: Website

To learn more about Prolacta: Website

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

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As we continue our season of growing our families after the NICU, we want to make sure to also honor the NICU mamas in our sisterhood who have grown their families via pregnancy after loss. Throughout this episode, Martha and Aisha share about the mountains and valleys of their healing journeys, what support felt most meaningful to them in pregnancy, and encouragement they have for other loss mamas who are pregnant now or hope to be pregnant again.

To the loss mamas in our community, we hope this podcast episode is a gentle reminder that you are not alone in your healing journey. This sisterhood is here to not only support you, but also to honor and celebrate the miraculous lives of your Angel babies and your miraculous children here on Earth.

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

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This week’s podcast episode is a roundtable episode with two of our editorial team members, Keely and Savannah! And this week we are talking all about navigating and announcing pregnancy announcements on social media after the NICU.

Depending on where you are in your healing journey, social media can sometimes be a joyful and wonderful place to engage, and other times it can invoke feelings of jealousy or longing for the experiences of motherhood that you may have always envisioned. Throughout this episode, they each share not only how they use and process social media in new ways after their NICU journeys and in different seasons of their healing, but also how they use social media in a compassionate way today. We hope that this episode gives you permission to honor your heart and what it is capable of holding in this season of your life!

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

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This week’s podcast episode is a replay episode from season 2 of the Dear NICU Mama podcast! As we further our conversation of growing our families after the NICU, we wanted to make sure to re-share this episode as it contains not only invaluable information about high-risk pregnancy after NICU, but also because Dr. Stefanie is a NICU mama herself. For those who find themselves pregnant after the NICU or are considering this journey for their family, we hope you feel seen and heard by this episode.

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For NICU mothers considering having more of their own children, it's not uncommon to wonder, "Will this all happen again?" "Is there anything I can do differently?" And while we do not have a crystal ball to predict the future, we can step away from our google searches and sit down with trusted medical professionals to ask the good and sometimes hard questions.

For this week's episode, we had the opportunity to have a conversation with high-risk pregnancy expert, Dr. Stefanie Gefroh Ellison, regarding high-risk pregnancy and pregnancy after NICU. Being a NICU mama herself, she responded to each question with equal parts empathy and equal parts sound medical wisdom. Her responses are meant to be used as a starting point of conversation to have with your OB or trusted physician!

In this episode we cover:

• What qualifies a pregnancy to be “high risk”?
• If I had a NICU stay in a previous pregnancy, will it happen again?
• What questions can I ask my medical provider to better prepare as we grow our family?
• What role do statistics play in determining the journey of a future pregnancy?

We hope that this episode offers some sound wisdom and encouragement on all things regrading pregnancy after NICU. Your questions are valid!

Dr. Stefanie Gefroh Ellison earned her medical degree at University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Grand Forks, ND. Dr. Gefroh Ellison completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Oakwood Dearborn Medical Park in Dearborn, MI and is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Gefroh Ellison has been a provider at Essentia Health since 2004. In addition to her OB/GYN practice, Dr. Gefroh Ellison is Division Chair for Inpatient, Specialty Services, and Women’s and Children’s Services at Essentia Health-West. A NICU mama of 3-year old twins, Dr. Gefroh Ellison has both professional and personal involvement in high risk pregnancy and NICU care. In her free time, Dr. Gefroh Ellison loves being with her husband and kids. Together, they love cooking, traveling and being at the lake in the summer.

This podcast episode is not an attempt to practice medicine or provide medical advice. All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis or treatment.

To get connected with Essentia Health Gynecology:

Website

To get connected with DNM:

Website | Private Facebook Group | Instagram

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