Fourth Trimester: The First Months and Beyond | Parenting | Newborn Baby | Postpartum | Doula

This conversation is about building a well-resourced postpartum support system.

Learn 'what I wish I knew and what I'd do differently if I could have a do-over' about birth and the fourth trimester.

Learn who to line up before birth, which questions to ask, and what warning signs your support people should know. Author and advocate Casey Keen, MS, shares the practical support plan she wishes she had, drawing on her lived experience with birth trauma, postpartum preeclampsia, postpartum depression, and postpartum anxiety.

Free download: Get the Postpartum Support Quick Reference we wished existed

Full show notes fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Connect with Casey Keen Website | Instagram | Postpartum Alchemy on Substack

Book The Alchemy of Motherhood

Resources mentioned ACOG Postpartum Conditions to Watch | CDC Urgent Maternal Warning Signs | Postpartum Support International | Postpartum University | Birth Trauma Association

Learn more Preeclampsia Prevention and Postpartum Risk | Postpartum Care at Home | Resilient Parenting | Micro Destressing for Busy Parents

Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Discount Codes | Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | Affiliate Disclosures

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

If this episode helped you feel more prepared, follow Fourth Trimester, leave a rating or review, and share it with a new or expecting parent who deserves a stronger postpartum support system.

The first step to creating change is often creating awareness - and by giving the shift into motherhood a name, we are raising awareness about how profound the change is.

Becoming a mother can bring enormous love alongside uncertainty, grief for a former life, identity shifts, and a new mental load. Giving this transition a name can make it easier to understand what is changing and ask for the support you need.

Nurse educator and maternal mental-health researcher Kelsey Green, DNP, joins Esther and me to explain what matrescence means, why it continues as children and families change, and how a whole-person view of motherhood can help parents feel less alone.

Full show notes fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Connect with Kelsey Green Website

Book mentioned Matrescence: On Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood by Lucy Jones

Learn more Postpartum Identity | Mental Load of Parenting

Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Discount Codes | Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | Affiliate Disclosures

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

Follow Fourth Trimester and leave a rating or review to help more parents find compassionate, practical support.

Learn how to feel more confident in your feeding experience with support, realistic expectations, and a plan that can change with your family's needs.

We talk with perinatal psychologist Dr. Shoshana Bennett about feeding pressure and guilt, protecting sleep and mental health, working with partners and professionals, and knowing when to ask for more help.

Full show notes fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Connect with Dr. Shoshana Bennett DrShosh.com

More episodes with Dr. Shoshana Bennett The Myths Of Motherhood | Intimacy After Baby in a Way That Feels Right for You | When Perimenopause And Postpartum Overlap | Transition to Grandparenthood with Confidence | The Mental Load of Parenting

Resources Postpartum Support International: Get Help | National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 1-833-TLC-MAMA | CDC: Postpartum Depression and Breastfeeding | LactMed: Drugs and Lactation Database

Fourth Trimester Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Discount Codes | Le Lolo | Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

Please follow Fourth Trimester Podcast wherever you listen, and leave a rating or review if this conversation helps you feel more supported and confident in your feeding choices. This helps more parents discover information and tools like this one!

In this episode, we're joined by women's health industry executives Rachel Braun Scherl and Jodi Neuhauser of 51& who share details of the innovators and resources you can access right now to have a better-supported pregnancy, birth and fourth trimester.

We also talk about the broader systems around women's health innovation - understanding how the business of healthcare works means being in a better position to take control of your own care, and to be able to influence the future.

Women have more power when they organize their economic and civic influence. Let's make an impact together.

Full show notes fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Join 51&

Join In Women's Health or sign up for the Women's Health Mini MBA

Connect with Rachel Braun Scherl and Jodi Neuhauser 51and.com | Business of the V | In Women's Health (IWH) (Code SARAHTROTT for 20% OFF)

Rachel's book Orgasmic Leadership: Profiting from the Coming Surge in Women's Sexual Health and Wellness

Resources and companies mentioned SimpliFed | Seven Starling | Nadia Care | Pomelo Care | Origin | Hinge Health | Milk Stork | Postpartum Support International | March of Dimes Maternity Care Deserts Report

Learn more How to Maximize Maternity Leave & Paternity Benefits with MAMAttorney Daphne Delvaux | The State of Postpartum Maternal Health with Dr Amanda P Williams | Fourth Trimester Economics with Dr Sonal Patel Pediatrician | Reproductive Psychiatry: Optimizing Your Mental Health with Dr Ida Eden

Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | HIRO Diapers | Yoga for Your Yoni with Britt Fohrman | Affiliate Disclosures

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

If this conversation helped you feel more grounded, supported, or less alone in your parenting journey, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating or review wherever you listen. These small actions help more parents discover the Fourth Trimester

Postpartum identity can shift how you experience independence, equality, work, family, and your sense of self. In this episode, Sarah Trott and Esther Gallagher talk with cultural and medical anthropologist Andrea Ford about the pressures new parents absorb from the culture around them and why stepping back from those expectations can create useful perspective.

Andrea draws on her experience as a doula and her work as the author of Near Birth: Contested Values and the Work of Doulas. The conversation explores postpartum identity, autonomy and interdependence, asking for help, cultural differences in postpartum support, birth debriefing, and intuition as knowledge built through experience.

Full show notes fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Connect with Andrea Ford University of Edinburgh research profile

Andrea's books Near Birth: Contested Values and the Work of Doulas | Hormonal Theory: A Rebellious Glossary (Theory in the New Humanities)

Resources Mentioned 51& | Matrescence: On Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood | FemTech Innovation | EUmetriosis | Endo1000 | WISH*

Learn more A Parent’s Guide to Building Self-Trust | The Birth Doula’s Guide to Navigating New Motherhood | Postpartum Bodies Change and That’s a Good Thing

Fourth Trimester Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | HIRO Diapers | Yoga for Your Yoni with Britt Fohrman | Affiliate Disclosures

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

Please follow Fourth Trimester Podcast wherever you listen, and leave a rating or review if this conversation helps you feel a little more supported.

Your baby's brain works differently than yours, and understanding that difference can change the way you communicate from the very beginning. In this episode, Sarah talks with Dinalynn Rosenbush about the baby brain, early family communication, and how parents can do what they can to support optimal future success through connection, routines, tone, and play.

Dinalynn is a speech-language pathologist, parenting coach, speaker, author, and host of The Language of Play. She shares practical communication tips for the earliest months, including repeated words, predictable routines, eye contact, diaper-change conversations, simple signs, and ways to enter a child's world through imagination.

We also talk about behavior as communication, why children may not be ignoring you when they miss an instruction, and how parents can shift expectations when babies and young children do not process the world like adults.

Full show notes fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Connect with Dinalynn Rosenbush thelanguageofplay.com | [email protected] | The Language of Play podcast | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube | 5 Ways to Get Kids to Listen Better

Learn more Wire Your Baby for Success Through Optimal Newborn Brain Development | Baby Nervous System Development for Calmer Babies and Better Sleep | Encourage Infant Speech Development, Security & Confidence Through Communication and Play | Why And How To Bond With Your Newborn

Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Panjiri Recipe | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Recommended Fourth Trimester Books Becoming the Parent You Want to Be | Growing Together

Partner Deals Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | HIRO Diapers | Yoga for Your Yoni with Britt Fohrman | Affiliate Disclosures

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

Please follow Fourth Trimester Podcast wherever you listen, and leave a rating or review if this conversation helps you feel a little more supported.

This is the primer on Resilient Parenting. Learn how resilient parenting helps you feel steadier in the early months after baby, and why that steadiness matters for your baby too. In this episode, Sarah talks with Dr. Kate Lund about simple ways to support your nervous system, respond instead of react, and create more connection and consistency in everyday care.

Dr. Kate Lund is a licensed clinical psychologist, TEDx speaker, bestselling author, host of Resilient Parenting with Dr. Kate, and mom of twins. She explains how babies pick up on parent stress, how children begin learning resilience from the adults around them, and why resilience is not about being perfectly calm or doing it all alone.

You will come away with practical tools for asking for help, shifting expectations, noticing small wins, getting movement and fresh air, and using tiny moments of joy to help reset hard days.

Full show notes fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Connect with Dr. Kate Lund katelundspeaks.com | Resilient Parenting with Dr. Kate

Dr. Kate's books Step Away: The Keys to Resilient Parenting | Bounce: Help Your Child Build Resilience and Thrive In School, Sports and Life | Putter and the Red Car: A Cross-Country Family Adventure

Learn more Perfect Parenting and Other Myths to Replace With Self-Trust | A Parent's Guide To Building Self-Trust (And Why It Matters) | How to Prepare for Postpartum Support So You Feel Less Alone After Baby

Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | HIRO Diapers | Yoga for Your Yoni with Britt Fohrman | Affiliate Disclosures

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

If this conversation helped you feel more grounded, supported, or less alone in your parenting journey, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating or review wherever you listen. These small actions help more parents discover the Fourth Trimester Podcast and support us in continuing to bring you conversations that strengthen families.

How dads can support their partners postpartum is a question many families are trying to answer in real time after baby arrives. A lot of dads want to help, but they may be working from the wrong playbook by focusing on fixing problems, pushing through stress, or assuming practical support is enough.

In this episode, learn how emotional presence, steady communication, and helping a partner feel seen, heard, and safe can strengthen connection and help the whole family feel more supported after baby.

Mitchell Osmond is a coach for fathers and host of the Dad Nation podcast. He works with men who want to show up more effectively at home, especially during seasons when relationships, emotions, and early parenthood may feel harder to navigate than work.

In this conversation, he shares a practical framework for helping a partner feel seen,

Full show notes: fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Connect with Mitchell Osmond dadnationco.com | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn

Spark Starter Kit sparkstarterkit.com

Learn more Bringing Fathers into Pregnancy - Dr Ed Stephens | Dad Real Talk: How First Time Dads Can Become The Father They Want To Be | The Mental Load of Parenting: Share Responsibilities Without Resentment

Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | HIRO Diapers | Yoga for Your Yoni with Britt Fohrman | Affiliate Disclosures

Recommended Fourth Trimester Books The First Forty Days | Becoming the Parent You Want to Be

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

If this conversation helped you feel more grounded, supported, or less alone in your parenting journey, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating or review wherever you listen. These small actions help more parents discover the Fourth Trimester Podcast and support us in continuing to bring you conversations that strengthen families.

If you've ever felt like you're carrying the weight of keeping your family organized, fed, scheduled, and functioning, you're not alone. In this episode, learn how to identify the hidden mental load of parenting, understand why it often falls unevenly between partners, and discover practical strategies for creating a more balanced and supportive family dynamic.

Sarah is joined by Dr. Shoshana Bennett, a clinical psychologist, maternal mental health expert, and author whose work has helped thousands of parents better understand the emotional realities of life after baby.

Full show notes fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

FREE DOWNLOAD 'Make Invisible Work Visible' Get the free Mental Load Audit for New Parents Here

Connect with Dr Shoshana Bennett drshosh.com | Dr Shosh Radio Show | Dark Side Of The Full Moon

Dr Shoshana's books Children of the Depressed: Healing the Childhood Wounds That Come from Growing Up with a Depressed Parent | Postpartum Depression For Dummies | Pregnant on Prozac: The Essential Guide To Making The Best Decision For You And Your Baby | Beyond the Blues: Understanding and Treating Prenatal and Postpartum Depression & Anxiety

Learn more Intimacy After Baby in a Way That Feels Right for You with Dr Shosh | The Myths Of Motherhood | Why Women Are Slipping Through The Cracks | Postpartum OCD Is A Thing | postpartum.net | How a Friend or Family Member Can Help You After You Have a Baby

Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | HIRO Diapers | Yoga for Your Yoni with Britt Fohrman | Affiliate Disclosures

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

Please follow Fourth Trimester Podcast wherever you listen, and leave a rating or review if this conversation helps you feel a little more supported.

Many parents enter pregnancy and postpartum believing they can prepare enough, plan enough, or perfect their way through uncertainty. But becoming a parent often challenges the very patterns we once relied on to feel safe. In this episode, learn how self-trust, emotional flexibility, and even storytelling can help parents navigate the identity shifts of the fourth trimester with more resilience, compassion, and confidence.

Britta Bushnell, PhD is a childbirth educator, author, and expert in mythology and psychology who has spent more than 25 years supporting families through birth and early parenthood. Her work explores the cultural myths around control, perfection, and certainty, and how parents can move through major life transitions with greater self-awareness and emotional grounding.

Full show notes: fourthtrimesterpodcast.com

Connect with Britta Bushnell, PhD brittabushnell.com | Transformed by Birth Podcast | Instagram

Britta’s book Transformed by Birth: Cultivating Openness, Resilience, and Strength for the Life-Changing Journey from Pregnancy to Parenthood

Other books mentioned The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown | The Case against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering

Learn more A Parent’s Guide To Building Self-Trust (And Why It Matters) | Prepare Your Body and Pelvic Floor for Birth and Recovery | Intimacy After Baby and Reconnecting With Yourself and Your Partner

Resources FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Birth Plan | FREE DOWNLOAD Customizable Fourth Trimester Plan | Postpartum Soups and Stews Collection

Partner Deals Prenatal & Postnatal Vitamins | Every Mother | HIRO Diapers | Yoga for Your Yoni with Britt Fohrman | Affiliate Disclosures

Connect with Fourth Trimester Facebook | Instagram

If this conversation helped you feel more grounded, supported, or less alone in your parenting journey, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating or review wherever you listen. These small actions help more parents discover the Fourth Trimester Podcast and support us in continuing to bring you evidence-based conversations that strengthen families.