Perinatal Wellbeing - The Podcast about Prenatal, Pregnancy & Postpartum Health

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Content Warning: Intrusive thoughts, experience of baby in the NICU

Today’s guest is Dr. Jodi Pawluski, researcher, neuroscientist, therapist, podcaster, and parent! Jodi is from Canada and currently lives in France with her partner and 2 kids. Jodi studies the Parental brain and you can learn all about it on her website and on her podcast, Mommy Brain Revisited. Jodi is also a perinatal mental health therapist. In this episode, Jodi shares her story of her deliveries with her 2 kids, in 2 separate countries, that were not her home countries. Jodi also talks about her experiences with nursing. And we talk about some neuroscience and biology. Because we had so much to talk about you will have part 1 this week and part 2 next week! 

Highlights:

5:10 Prenatal care and testing 

9:46 Searching for healthcare provider

18:25 What would being in a different country be like during the Pandemic?

24:30 How did Jodi’s Neuroscience background influence her approach to labour and delivery

27:37 Haptonomy

31:30 Baby’s birth

37: 40 Challenges with nursing post-birth

39:20 Baby went to the NICU

43:10 Guilt from nursing challenges

49:48 Coping with baby being in NICU

Resources: 

You can find Dr. Pawluski at https://www.jodipawluski.com and her podcast Mommy Brain Revisited is on most major platforms. 

You can find us at www.perinatalwellbeing.ca on Instagram @perinatalwellbeing_ontario or by email [email protected]

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 Content Warning: In this episode we are discussing challenges with nursing and grief and trauma that can be associated with that. I use the word breastfeeding when discussing my own story and I continue to work towards more inclusive language including using either nursing, chest feeding or body feeding. 

Let’s open up the conversation around nursing! There are so many stories of parents struggling to get started with nursing, not being able to nurse for as long as they want to, or at all and this can bring up extreme shame and guilt and have a very negative impact on a parent’s mental health. And there are also parents that do nurse because they physically can however, they struggle mentally and feel pressure to continue nursing even when they feel they don’t want to or can’t cope. And nursing can be a lovely journey for so many parents and then they experience a lot of grief when they decide to stop nursing or baby is ready to wean. And let’s not forget the shame and confusing messages we hear about nursing! It can be a rollercoaster of an experience. 

This episode is simply an introduction to this topic, to open up the discussion and is by no means an exhaustive exploration of all the challenges that various people face when trying to feed their babies. I open the discussion with my story of breastfeeding and acknowledge that this is only one type of story out there. I am not a lactation consultant, or feeding expert so please seek out help if you feel you are experiencing challenges with feeding your baby. We will have more guests on the podcast to discuss other perspectives and stories around this topic. 

Highlights:

3:55 My Story with breastfeeding 

6:35 Guilt and Shame

13:27 We’re not born knowing how to breastfeed

14:55 Judgement from others

17:55 Potential challenges during breastfeeding

22:13 Experiencing a grief or trauma wound from challenges with breastfeeding

23:47 How do we cope?

Resources: 

Support for Transgender and Non-Binary Parents https://www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/transgender-non-binary-parents/ 

You can find us at www.perinatalwellbeing.ca on Instagram @perinatalwellbeing_ontario or by email [email protected]

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Let’s normalize how hard it is to transition to parenthood! On the podcast today we’re talking about the realities of transitioning to parenthood and that it’s not always filled with joy and elation. Transitioning to parenthood can be very exciting and scary at the same time and can involve grief for our old life. Seeing how others parent online can cause us a lot of distress and not listening to our gut takes us away from our values and goals. We’re going to talk about all of this and discuss ways to help cope with this transition.

Highlights:

2:17 - Some thoughts after welcoming baby 

 4:30 - Transition for the family

6:37 – The stereotype of falling in love with your baby as soon as you meet them

8:45 - Transition for the internal system and parenting from the Self

12:52 - Social Media’s effect on how we think we’re doing

15:57 - Pressure to be everything to our children

 16:47 - What’s helpful?

 Resources: 

You can find us at www.perinatalwellbeing.ca on Instagram @perinatalwellbeing_ontario or by email [email protected]  

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Content Warning: Examples of various type of intrusive thoughts 

Episode description: On today’s episode we’re going to talk about Intrusive Thoughts in the Perinatal Period. I’m going to share the clinical definition, what this looks like in real-life, when it’s a good idea to ask for help and how to cope with these types of thoughts. I experienced intrusive thoughts in the Postpartum period, and I will share this experience with you. Let’s open up this discussion to reduce the barriers to seeking help and the shame that can come with these thoughts. 

Highlights:

2:33 - What are Intrusive thoughts? 

4:13 - Different types of thoughts. 
 7:52 - What does this look like in real-life? 

9:28 - Creating meaning around intrusive thoughts. 

10:45 - Shame and guilt.

12: 28 – Intrusive thoughts knock us out of our window of tolerance.

14:20 - Developing compulsions.
 15:00 - When to ask for help.

15:35 - Barriers to disclosing intrusive thoughts.

18:50 - Coping with intrusive thoughts.

21:52 - The process of managing the thoughts.

24:53 - Normalizing anxiety.

26:26 - Anchoring in the Self, trusting ourselves.

28:17 - Other ways to cope.

Resources: 

An incredible book for new parents is “Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts” by Karen Kleiman. 

And a great book for clinicians and parents is Karen Kleiman’s book “Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts: Breaking the Cycle of Unwanted Thoughts in Parenthood”, from which I have used a lot of information for this post as well as in my work with clients. 

You can find more information at www.perinatalwellbeing.ca on Instagram @perinatalwellbeing_ontario or by email [email protected] 

You can find information and free online support groups at Postpartum Support International www.postpartum.net 

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Content Warning: Intrusive Thoughts, Suicidal Thoughts

On today’s episode I share my story of having Postpartum Anxiety and Depression after the birth of my 3rd child. I share the different signs and symptoms that I experienced, what my journey to recovery looked like and how I made meaning from that challenging time. 

Highlights:

My Backstory highlighting previous breastfeeding and baby blues experiences 3:15

Birth and the beginning of my Postpartum Experience 5:39

The symptoms I experienced 6:21

Shame and guilt around breastfeeding 9:11

Social Media and comparisons 10:59

Lactation Consultant suggested PPD, researching PPD 12:31

Other Symptoms 14:21

Intrusive Thoughts 15:32

When I knew I needed help 16:58

6 Week check-up and asking for help 18:41

Referral to a support program and journey to recovery 21:02

Diagnosis and medication refusal 24:11

The ups and downs of recovery 25:12

Contemplating medication at 6 months postpartum 26:44

Starting medication and medication change 29:08

Grief 30:50

The 1 year mark and more grief and sadness 31:41

My husband’s support 34:35

ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder diagnoses 35:18

Making meaning out of my story 37:00

Awareness of my mental health 38:14 

Resources: 

You can find us at www.perinatalwellbeing.ca on Instagram @perinatalwellbeing_ontario or by email [email protected]      

Check out Postpartum Support International at www.postpartum.net for more information about Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders as well as free online support groups and a provider directory. 

You can look for an individual therapist on www.psychologytoday.com . 

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We want to welcome you to the podcast and tell you a little bit about what it’s all about and what you can expect. 

You can find us at www.perinatalwellbeing.ca on Instagram @perinatalwellbeing_ontario or by email [email protected]

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