This episode discusses on anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in many NICU parents.  It also has many support groups and resources available when needing emotional/mental health as a NICU parent

This episode discusses on anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in many NICU parents. It also has many support groups and resources available when needing emotional/mental health as a NICU parent

Part 2  NICU Parent Mental Health

My name is Tracey Kondrasuk-Brander and I am the co-host of "Infant and Beyond with Tracey and Stacey".  I am a Certified Neonatal Occupational Therapist, entrepreneur and Certified Sleep Consultant.  I worked in a level 3 NICU here in PA for over 19 years. For reasons beyond my control, I left the hospital and worked in Early Intervention to help small children with developmental delays.

I felt an odd emptiness in not being in the NICU and a loss of connection with the parents and babies that come into the NICU.  Unless you have been a NICU parent, no one understands bonding with your baby in the NICU is very stressful and many parents are not knowledgeable about the NICU. The idea of this podcast came when I wanted to find a new way to help parents in a new platform even if I wasn't working in the NICU anymore.  I am a private person, but will share a bit of information about me.  I have 3 wonderful children and a daughter-in-law.  I am hoping to be a MiMi someday!  I enjoy working out at the gym, dancing, reading and spending time with my kids and two fur babies.

I knew I couldn't do this podcast alone and the first person I contacted was my long-time friend and "sister from another mother" Stacey Munchel.  She has been a NICU nurse for 35 years and we have shared many professional and personal memories in that time.  I called her up and told her that we needed to share our expertise as NICU professionals to help parents across the nation and the world.  She was surprised, but she also agreed that we have so much information to share with parents of NICU babies.  Thus, our first podcast was launched in October 2021. 

This is Stacey's perspective on the podcast.  Tracey had called me about starting a NICU podcast as I was preparing to sleep in my truck at a Walmart during a big storm that made me evacuate from my seasonal camping site. I said it sounded like a great idea and on that day, "NICU and Beyond with Tracey and Stacey" was born.  Tracey and I met in the NICU-Tracey, an Occupational Therapist and myself a NICU nurse. We jokingly say we are sisters from another mother-we have been through much throughout our friendship! I have always enjoyed teaching.  I love teaching parents and new nurses to empower them.  As a partner of this podcast, I want to empower parents, grandparents of NICU babies.  Personally,  I have one adopted daughter and she has blessed me with four grandchildren.  I am the crazy Memmem.  have participated in Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge for the past 15 years!  Our NICU has a parent support group page on Facebook.  I love being outdoors and I love cruising every October.  I love adventures and the NICU is an adventure as we never know who will come through our doors.  I plan on being a NICU nurse until I retire and hope that Tracey and I can continue to provide interesting and informational podcasts for years to come.

 The premise of this podcast is to provide information about the  NICU for parents who have a baby in the NICU or are anticipating a baby in the NICU.  Topics include Stressors of NICU, History of NICU, Equipment in NICU, and many, many other topics.  Tracey is an OT specializing in NICU Babies with 26 years of experience. Stacey is a Certified NICU nurse with 35 Years of experience.  New podcasts will be dropped 2 per month at 7 am EST on Tuesdays. Please like or follow us on Spotify.  Thanks for your support on our podcast journey!

Education

Kids & Family

My name is Tracey Kondrasuk-Brander and I am the co-host of "Infant and Beyond with Tracey and Stacey". I am a Certified Neonatal Occupational Therapist, entrepreneur and Certified Sleep Consultant. I worked in a level 3 NICU here in PA for over 19 years. For reasons beyond my control, I left the hospital and worked in Early Intervention to help small children with developmental delays. I felt an odd emptiness in not being in the NICU and a loss of connection with the parents and babies that come into the NICU. Unless you have been a NICU parent, no one understands bonding with your baby in the NICU is very stressful and many parents are not knowledgeable about the NICU. The idea of this podcast came when I wanted to find a new way to help parents in a new platform even if I wasn't working in the NICU anymore. I am a private person, but will share a bit of information about me. I have 3 wonderful children and a daughter-in-law. I am hoping to be a MiMi someday! I enjoy working out at the gym, dancing, reading and spending time with my kids and two fur babies. I knew I couldn't do this podcast alone and the first person I contacted was my long-time friend and "sister from another mother" Stacey Munchel. She has been a NICU nurse for 35 years and we have shared many professional and personal memories in that time. I called her up and told her that we needed to share our expertise as NICU professionals to help parents across the nation and the world. She was surprised, but she also agreed that we have so much information to share with parents of NICU babies. Thus, our first podcast was launched in October 2021. This is Stacey's perspective on the podcast. Tracey had called me about starting a NICU podcast as I was preparing to sleep in my truck at a Walmart during a big storm that made me evacuate from my seasonal camping site. I said it sounded like a great idea and on that day, "NICU and Beyond with Tracey and Stacey" was born. Tracey and I met in the NICU-Tracey, an Occupational Therapist and myself a NICU nurse. We jokingly say we are sisters from another mother-we have been through much throughout our friendship! I have always enjoyed teaching. I love teaching parents and new nurses to empower them. As a partner of this podcast, I want to empower parents, grandparents of NICU babies. Personally, I have one adopted daughter and she has blessed me with four grandchildren. I am the crazy Memmem. have participated in Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge for the past 15 years! Our NICU has a parent support group page on Facebook. I love being outdoors and I love cruising every October. I love adventures and the NICU is an adventure as we never know who will come through our doors. I plan on being a NICU nurse until I retire and hope that Tracey and I can continue to provide interesting and informational podcasts for years to come. The premise of this podcast is to provide information about the NICU for parents who have a baby in the NICU or are anticipating a baby in the NICU. Topics include Stressors of NICU, History of NICU, Equipment in NICU, and many, many other topics. Tracey is an OT specializing in NICU Babies with 26 years of experience. Stacey is a Certified NICU nurse with 35 Years of experience. New podcasts will be dropped 2 per month at 7 am EST on Tuesdays. Please like or follow us on Spotify. Thanks for your support on our podcast journey!

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Part 2 NICU Parent Mental Health

Part 2 NICU Parent Mental Health