Today’s episode is part three in our series about how America is failing mothers. Be sure to tune in to part one and part two if you haven’t already.

All three episodes of this series feature real stories from mothers in America. These stories are deeply personal, and show how many things need to change in order to support mothers and their families.

The stories that you’ll hear in part three include first hand accounts of mothers who lost their jobs and healthcare while pregnant, were left in a financial crisis due to lost income and high daycare costs during (and after) COVID, lacked emotional and physical support postpartum, and more.

Unfortunately, you or someone you know may have connections to these stories. Having a baby, and expanding your family, should be a joyful time. Instead it often turns into some of the most difficult days, months, and years of your life, leaving moms feeling abandoned, inadequate, anxious, and depressed. This is why it’s so important to continue having these conversations and working together to make real change for the future.

In this episode we discuss:


Major challenges that a mother of triplets was faced with during pregnancy and after giving birth.

The many things wrong with the postpartum questionnaire that moms fill out during their six week check-up.

The negative effects that these challenges can have on a marriage.

Lack of support for new moms from medical professionals, even after asking for help.

The financial burden that families go through without paid maternity leave (childcare, formula, diapers, etc.).

 
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Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The information on this podcast is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 
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93. How America is Failing Mothers: Part 3

The Motherhood Meets Medicine Podcast is a space that brings all women together. It's for those who hope to be a mom one day, those who are already mothers, and mothers of mothers. This podcast will give you candid, informal interviews on motherhood topics that you can listen to while you're driving to work, folding laundry or whatever else your busy day may bring. Each week, Your host, Lynzy Coughlin, will be focusing on topics ranging from postpartum issues to parenting teens. She's bringing in experts with formal training to cover everything motherhood! So grab your coffee and join us for a weekly chat on your time. All are welcome! Lynzy is a Physician Assistant in the Emergency Department where she has practiced medicine for the last 15 years. You can connect with Lynzy on her Substack account, Badass Matriarch.

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Have you ever thought to yourself, man I’m dreading the teen years… I am not ready for the snark, attitude and hormones. Why can’t my babies stay babies?
Come to find out, it’s this type of thinking that can and will lead to the teen years being way more difficult than they have to be. So what can you do to maintain your connection with your teens as they grow into themselves and your relationship evolves? 
Here to share is Cameron Caswell, PhD, otherwise known as the teen translator is an adolescent psychologist and parent coach TEDx speaker, host of the parenting teens with Dr. Cam podcast and co author of improving school mental health, the thriving school community solution. Dr. Cam is the mom of a teen too, so she not only talks the talk, she walks the walk. Dr. Cam also offers a virtual community for parents raising teens called the thriving Parent Academy.
Toward the very end of the conversation Dr. Cam said something that I plan to write down and hang in my kitchen. Start from a place of curiosity rather than accusation or blame. When something happens, take a breath, don’t immediately react. Instead, let your kids tell you more about what happened. 
Ask questions. Be curious. 
This will empower them to come to you when things feel bigger and heavier than what they can handle.
In this episode, we discuss: 
The top reasons our teens stop talking to us.
How we can build a strong foundation of trust and open communication with our teens.
Dr. Cam’s opinion on social media and teens.
Resources: 
Dr. Cam offers a virtual community for parents raising teens called the Thriving Parent Academyhttp://www.thrivingparent.org/
Connect with Dr. Cam:
Helping Parents & Teens Thrive Together -www.AskDrCam.com
Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/drcamcaswell
YouTube -https://www.youtube.com/@parentingteenswithdrcam
LinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcamcaswell/
Parenting Teens with Dr. Cam Podcast -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parenting-teens-with-dr-cam/id1524209790
Questions:
What are the top 3 reasons our teens stop talking to us?
What is one easy way to earn back your teen's trust so they'll open up?.
What is empathetic listening and why is it better than active listening?
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159: Dr. Cam on Parent-Teen Connections

When a woman becomes a mother, it sometimes feels like she’s entered the wild, wild west without any sort of map, compass or guide. Half the things you read on the internet are purely opinion and not based in fact. The other half may be factual, but how does it apply to your life? 
In the U.S. there is a dire need for better and more comprehensive postpartum care. Which is why Megan and Lauren, co-created The Matrescence App.
The Matrescence is a maternal mental wellness app created after personal and professional recognition of the gaps in care for women navigating their Matrescence or process of becoming a mother. 
Lauren is a psychiatric nurse practitioner, who turned her pain into passion and teamed up with Megan, the marketing and business brains behind the operation to create this space, their app empowers women with valuable mental health resources. As a member only community it serves as a vital place for peer connection, education by accredited experts, and curated mindfulness based stress reduction activities. 
This was such an amazing conversation. We originally were going to talk so much more about mindfulness, but with the growing need for more postpartum care, we dug in deep and discussed the app and the reason they created it. 
Investing in yourself and your mental health as a mother is a direct investment into your family. Remember that when your first instinct is to put yourself and your needs on the backburner. 

In this episode, we discuss: 
The Matrescence app and what it does for new moms.
Our thoughts on wellness capitalism here in America and how it tends to prey on mothers.
How simple breathing techniques can help stress relief throughout the day.
Ways that journaling can help with wellness.

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Factor: Get 50% off when you go towww.factormeals.com/lynzy50 and use the code lynzy50 to get 50% off your first box and 20% off your second as long as your membership is active.

Resources: 
Listeners can use code: M3 for a 30 day free trial of our premium membership! - *This code is only available on our website and not the App Store*
If you want to make changes systemically - join one of these groups:
https://chamberofmothers.com/
https://aitogether.org/
https://momsfirst.us/
Connect with Megan & Lauren:
The Matrescence -http://www.thematrescence.com/
The Matrescence App -https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-matrescence/id1576425396
Instagram @‌thematrescence -https://www.instagram.com/thematrescence/?hl=en

Questions:
Can you describe a moment where mindfulness positively affected a challenging situation in your motherhood journey?
Many mothers struggle to find time for themselves. How do you integrate mindfulness into your busy schedule with children?
In terms of mindfulness, what is one piece of advice you would give to a new mother facing the overwhelming changes that come with parenthood?
How does practicing mindfulness contribute to the emotional and mental well-being of both you and your children?
Could you provide examples of how you use mindfulness to foster deeper connections with your children? What are some of the resources and exercises you offer through the app that can be done with your children?
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158: A Candid Conversation About the Reality of Life For Mothers in America + Tips on Mindfulness with Megan + Lauren

Our children are begging for us to listen to them. In fact, recent polls suggest that many of our children, pre-teens and teens feel like we aren’t listening because we’re engaged with our phones and distracted. Is this true? Are we really not listening? Or have we forgotten the importance of active listening in conversations? 
Dr. Maisha Clairborne is an integrative family physician, Master Practitioner and trainer of neuro linguistic programming, hypnosis and timeline therapy and founder of the mind remapping Academy. Through her live training, Dr. Clairborne teaches individuals how to master their thoughts, beliefs and communication, while eliminating fear, shame, self doubt and old trauma that interfere with their ability to experience full aliveness and live their best, most fulfilled, productive and peaceful life. 
Listen as Dr. Clairborne and I talk about this extremely important topic. She even provides examples of situations where she has used active listening with her own son to help build his confidence and trust. 
If you’ve been struggling with communication in your home, you will not want to miss this one. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
What active listening really is.
Tips for balancing communication boundaries and providing safe spaces to talk.
Non-verbal ways to show our children that we’re listening.
The best ways to communicate with our children.
When to incorporate humor into parenting
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Resources: 
Connect with Dr. Clairborne
The Black Mind Garden Podcast -www.TheBlackMindGarden.com
Mind ReMapping Academy -https://www.mindremappingacademy.com
Facebook-www.facebook.com/drmaiysha
Instagram -http://www.instagram.com/drmaiysha
LinkedIn -www.linkedin.com/in/drmaiysha
Twitter -http://www.twitter.com/drmaiysha
YouTube -http://www.youtube.com/drmaiysha
Questions:
What are some ways we as parents can take care of ourselves when we are emotionally dysregulated?
How can we use humor and play to redirect our children when it seems they are not listening?
How can understanding our children's values help us to motivate and directionalize their behavior?
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157: The Importance of Active Listening with Dr. Maiysha Clairborne

Is it impossible to build new friendships when you become a mother? How about maintaining the relationships you already have? No. It’s not. In fact, it’s vitally important to our health that we continue to actively build and maintain our relationships.
But how do we do that when we’re juggling all the things as moms, wives, employees, business owners, etc? Here to share her tips and strategies for navigating friendships is Danielle Bayard Jackson. 
Danielle is a female friendship coach and educator who speaks nationally on the science of woman's platonic connections. She's also the author of Fighting For Our Friendships, which is coming out in May of this year. She also has a coaching business Friend Forward that is dedicated to teaching women how to create and maintain better female friendships. And her expertise has been featured in The New York Times, NBC News, Psychology Today, Wall Street Journal, Oprah Magazine, Good Morning America, and a host of other media outlets as the resident friendship expert for the global app Bumble for friends. 
Listen as she shares her story, research, and why it’s so important that we continue to hone our friendships as we move into different stages of life. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
Ways to navigate current friendships and make new ones once you are a mom.
How to handle different parenting styles or issues that come up between friends.
What research has to say about quality friendships.

Resources: 
Book-preorder - Fighting For Our Friendshipshttps://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/fighting-for-our-friendships
Article by Kirsten Powers -The Way We Live in United States is not Normal https://kirstenpowers.substack.com/p/the-way-we-live-in-the-united-states
https://substack.com/home/post/p-139238299?r=5ftqh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=substack
Article by Rosie Spinks -The Friendship Problem
https://rojospinks.substack.com/p/the-friendship-problem?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=4486&post_id=139046175&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=180ck&utm_medium=email
Connect with Danielle:
Instagram - @‌daniellebayardjackson -https://www.instagram.com/daniellebayardjackson/
TikTok - @‌thefriendshipexpert -https://www.tiktok.com/@thefriendshipexpert?lang=en

Questions:
What is the surprising research around the benefits of women’s friendship?
What are 4 tangible ways to make time for friends as a busy mom?
Do you know the 3 of the most common conflicts that arise between mom friends (and how to solve them)?
What does the research say about how friendship changes for those in their 30s and 40s?
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156: How to Maintain Current Friendships and Build New Ones as A Mom with Danielle Bayard Jackson

With processed foods being so excessively available to us, how do we nourish our brains and fuel our bodies for longevity? Believe it or not, you can use nutrition for brainpower and to deter the effects of neurological dysfunction and disease. 
Here to do a deep dive on what to eat to support your brain and body for life is Barbie Boules. 
Barbie is a registered dietician, certified health coach and meditation teacher with over 22 years of experience. In her practice, she works as a private coach, community educator, passionate speaker, popular corporate wellness programmer, and respected dietetic intern preceptor. She's had the privilege of counseling 1000s of men and women around the country on her journey to better health. Barbie specializes in the unique needs of women over 40. 
She focuses on helping her clients achieve optimal metabolic and cognitive fitness. Without the unnecessary and unsustainable rules of FAD dieting, and rather, through a genuine understanding of what each client truly needs to transform their health for good.
Listen in as she debunks some of the widely held beliefs about diet, whole grains, coffee and more. Plus she shares tips and tricks for creating a home that supports healthy eating habits early on… without the stress and regrets. 
In this episode, we discuss: 
The biggest risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s.
How you can nourish your body to help protect your cognitive health.
Protein and its role as we age.
Why coffee and tea are still important for your diet.
The importance of whole grains.

Resources: 
Nutrition Essentials - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5mc1lhdr00hoszmy3l0jd/NUTRITION-ESSENTIALS-1-1.pdf?rlkey=19plr4uhrchgpy3fb91ykf3ue&dl=0 
Everyday Mindfulness - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HIW60H_j8fcO0sk7hLSxqqozBBwsv_wz/view?usp=sharing
Connect with Barbie:
Barbie Boules Longevity and Wellness
LinkedIn | Instagram
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Questions:
What are the biggest risk factors for developing Alzheimer's? 
Is the MIND-DIET beneficial and what key foods are in it?
When it comes to 80-20/90-10 rules, does the time frame matter for the “treat” days? 
Why does she like coffee and tea being added to the diet?
What are the best sources of whole grains?
How can what we eat affect our cognitive brain health?
What would her approach be with her kids to grow up eating in a similar way?
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93. How America is Failing Mothers: Part 3

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