In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Rachel, a mom of two, to share her powerful and deeply layered story of navigating two very different pregnancies and births, both marked by moments of dismissal, fear, and intense advocacy.

Rachel’s first pregnancy shifted dramatically at 30 weeks when she developed severe high blood pressure and preeclampsia, leading to weeks of confusion, mixed messages, and ultimately an induction at 34 weeks. 

Her experience left deep emotional imprints, including guilt, hypervigilance, and the grief of feeling disconnected from her own birth and early postpartum moments.

Years later, Rachel and her wife decided to grow their family again,  a choice shaped by both longing and the fear of repeating past trauma. Her second pregnancy was medically smoother, but her birth once again challenged her sense of safety and autonomy through unheard concerns, rapid labor, and providers who dismissed her awareness of her own body.

Together, Kayleigh and Rachel explore:

💔 The trauma of being dismissed by providers during medical emergencies
🩺 The danger of consent violations and rough, unexplained cervical exams
👶 The emotional complexity of having a baby in the NICU,  and not “feeling it” right away
🧠 Why even the fiercest self-advocates can’t always advocate in crisis
🤍 Making decisions about growing your family after a traumatic birth
🌱 What Rachel learned about agency, preparation, and choosing supportive partners in care

Rachel’s story is a window into how medical trauma can unfold quickly, quietly, and in ways that shape a person’s relationship with birth, their body, and their future. Her reflections offer validation, wisdom, and a reminder that no one should have to fight this hard to be heard.

Resources & Links

💜 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

🌐 Learn more at: HoldingHopePerinatal.com

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this powerful conversation, Kayleigh sits down with Dr. Cheryl Tatano Beck, one of the most influential researchers in postpartum mood disorders and psychological birth trauma. Dr. Beck shares how her clinical work as a nurse and nurse-midwife led her into research, how she “fell into” traumatic birth as a focus, and why listening to mothers’ own words and metaphors changed everything.

Together, they explore breastfeeding after birth trauma, the role of dignity and respect in preventing trauma, and the possibility of post-traumatic growth—not as a silver lining, but as a real, complex outcome of surviving something life-shattering.

This episode is for survivors, clinicians, nurses, midwives, OBs, lactation consultants, and therapists who want to better understand the lived experience of birth trauma and the research that gave it language.

Together, Kayleigh and Dr. Beck explore:

 ✨ How she found her way into researching postpartum depression and traumatic birth
 ✨ Why qualitative research (and metaphors!) can crack open truth in a way numbers never could
 ✨ The powerful two-path framework for breastfeeding after trauma
 ✨ What surprised her most after decades of listening to survivors
 ✨ Post-traumatic growth and the ways some parents rebuild after everything collapses
 ✨ How clinicians can prevent trauma by protecting dignity, autonomy, and humanity

Resources & Links

💜 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

🌐 Learn more at HoldingHopePerinatal.com

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this special listener series episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Lillian, a licensed clinical social worker to unpack both the personal and professional realities of NICU trauma, for parents, families, and the clinicians who support them.

As a psychotherapist specializing in perinatal mental health, Lillian has spent years supporting women through infertility, postpartum mood disorders, and the transition to motherhood. But her work took on new meaning after her own experience as a NICU parent, giving birth to triplets at 34 weeks during the height of COVID-19 and being separated from her babies for ten long days after delivery.

Through vulnerability and clinical wisdom, Lillian shares what it’s really like to be a “visitor” in your own child’s life, the deep shame that can come from not feeling instantly bonded, and the importance of validation and compassion in healing from perinatal trauma.

Together, Kayleigh and Lillian explore:

👶 The unique layers of trauma in NICU experiences, even when you “expect” them
💔 The shame and guilt parents feel when bonding doesn’t happen right away
🧠 Why NICU parents often delay treatment and what healing can look like months later
💬 The power of validation, psychoeducation, and space before trauma reprocessing
🪞 How lived experience can strengthen, but not define, a therapist’s work
🌱 The reminder that you can hold both gratitude and grief in your NICU story

Lillian’s story is a powerful reminder that even when your baby is “okay,” you still deserve care, space, and healing. Her clinical perspective brings hope and understanding to every parent who’s ever walked out of a NICU feeling both grateful and broken and to every provider working to support them better.

Resources & Links

💜 Connect with Lillian: nyctherapygroup.com
| @nyctherapygroup

💬 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

🌐 Learn more at HoldingHopePerinatal.com

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Maggie Runyon, nurse educator, author, and co-creator of the Trauma-Informed Birth Nurse Program, for an insightful and heartfelt conversation about what it means to care — and to keep caring — in a system that so often asks too much of its helpers.

Maggie’s new book, I Thought I Was Here to Help, explores the emotional and professional identity of nurses and other healthcare providers, unpacking how the “helper” mindset — while rooted in empathy and purpose — can also lead to burnout, moral distress, and trauma when left unchecked.

Together, Kayleigh and Maggie explore how the same drive that brings so many clinicians to this work can, without boundaries and reflection, begin to harm them — and how shifting from a hero or handmaiden mindset to one of advocacy can create space for more sustainable, compassionate care.

They also dive into:

💜 The “helper identity” in nursing — and how it can blur the line between care and self-sacrifice
🩺 Why trauma-informed care must include both patients and providers
🌱 How self-regulation and connection protect against burnout
👩‍⚕️ The power of sitting down, slowing down, and listening as acts of advocacy
🧠 The Trauma-Informed Birth Nurse Program and how it’s changing unit culture
📚 Maggie’s book I Thought I Was Here to Help — and why she believes reflection, not perfection, is the key to healing

This episode is a must-listen for nurses, birth workers, and anyone in a helping profession who’s ever felt the pull between compassion and exhaustion. Maggie’s words offer both practical wisdom and deep validation — a reminder that caring for others starts with caring for ourselves.

Resources & Links

📘 Grab Maggie’s book: I Thought I Was Here to Help at MaggieRunyon.com

🩺 Learn more: The Trauma-Informed Birth Nurse Program

💜 Connect with Maggie: @maggierunyon

💬 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

🌐 Learn more at HoldingHopePerinatal.com

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Betsey, a therapist, mother, and birth trauma survivor, to share her powerful and ongoing story of survival, advocacy, and rebuilding trust in the medical system.

Betsey’s pregnancy started off routine, until her daughter Mara’s heart rate began showing signs of distress at 39 weeks. What followed was a series of events that would forever change Betsey’s experience of birth and motherhood.

But Betsey’s trauma didn’t end in the delivery room. Her postpartum experience was marked by repeated medical dismissal, for both herself and her daughter, as she navigated months of unanswered questions, failure-to-thrive diagnoses, and a long fight to uncover the truth: a severe cow’s milk protein intolerance that had gone unnoticed by multiple providers.

As both a mental health therapist and a mother, Betsey brings unique insight into the emotional and psychological toll of birth trauma, medical gaslighting, and raising a medically complex child.

Together, Kayleigh and Betsey explore:

💔 The fear and chaos of an emergency C-section and NICU stay
🩺 How medical gaslighting and dismissal compound trauma
🧠 What it’s like to advocate for a child’s health while surviving your own
🤱 The toll of repeated mastitis, chronic pain, and emotional exhaustion
👩‍❤️‍👨 The ripple effects of trauma on marriage and family dynamics
🌱 How Betsey is finding healing through therapy, EMDR, and reconnection

Betsey’s story is a reminder that for many, birth trauma doesn’t end when the baby is born. It continues in every unanswered question, every dismissal, and every act of courage to speak up and be heard.

Resources & Links

💜 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

🌐 Learn more at HoldingHopePerinatal.com

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh opens a gentle and honest conversation about the journey of considering pregnancy after birth trauma and introduces her new workshop, created specifically for this season.

The Pregnancy After Birth Trauma workshop was designed as a supportive, trauma-informed space for anyone exploring a subsequent pregnancy after a difficult or traumatic birth. It offers guidance, reflection prompts, and tools to help you move through this process with clarity and a sense of agency. Whether you're actively trying, quietly wondering if you're ready, or still holding the question gently from a distance, this workshop honors the complexity of your experience and walks alongside you with care and grounding.

In today’s episode, Kayleigh speaks to the emotional landscape that so many survivors navigate when thinking about growing their family again. Rather than rushing answers, she reflects on the fears, hopes, and complicated "maybes" that live in this space, and why this decision deserves slowness, compassion, and support.

She explores:

💜 Why mixed emotions about another pregnancy are a completely normal trauma response
 🫶 The grief, pressure, and self-doubt that can surface during this decision-making process
 🤍 What it means to rebuild trust in your body and the systems that care for you
 🧭 How to approach this season at your pace, without urgency or expectation
🌱 A grounding mindset shift to help you feel more supported and less alone

This episode is an invitation to breathe, soften around uncertainty, and remember that you don’t have to figure everything out all at once. Considering another pregnancy after trauma isn’t a test of readiness, strength, or certainty. It’s a deeply human process that unfolds in layers. And you deserve a safe place to land inside it.

Workshop & Resources

✨ Pregnancy After Birth Trauma Workshop: Join Here
🌐 Learn more at HoldingHopePerinatal.com
💜 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Christine, a mom of four, to share her harrowing and powerful story of surviving a rare and life-threatening birth and postpartum experience.

After being induced at 37 weeks for hypertension, Christine’s delivery with her fourth son, Caden, started calmly, until everything changed. What followed was a series of medical emergencies including a cervical tear, uterine rupture, hemorrhage, and emergency exploratory surgery, followed by multiple re-hospitalizations and near-death experiences in the weeks after giving birth.

Christine opens up about the long physical and emotional recovery that followed, from memory loss and PTSD to regaining her strength through pelvic floor physical therapy, and how her desire to understand what happened to her body led to deep reflection on communication gaps in healthcare.

Together, Kayleigh and Christine explore:

💔 The trauma of experiencing multiple postpartum hemorrhages and emergency surgeries
🩺 What it feels like to face life-threatening complications after a “routine” delivery
🧠 The importance of follow-up conversations and debriefing with providers after trauma
💬 Why being denied that information can add to the pain and confusion of recovery
🌱 How physical therapy and mental health support played key roles in Christine’s healing
💜 The power of holding both grief and gratitude in motherhood

Christine’s story is one of survival, resilience, and advocacy — a reminder that postpartum complications are real, often misunderstood, and deserve to be met with compassion, information, and care.

Resources & Links

💜 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

🌐 Learn more at HoldingHopePerinatal.com

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Dr. Jackie Dallaire, an OBGYN and former social work major, to explore what truly human-centered care looks like inside the world of obstetrics.

Jackie’s path to medicine began with a foundation in social work, where she learned the importance of empathy, systems thinking, and seeing every person in the context of their story. Those lessons have shaped how she shows up in her practice today, as a doctor who listens deeply, centers her patients’ autonomy, and advocates for a more compassionate model of care.

Together, Kayleigh and Dr. Dallaire unpack what it means to practice trauma-informed medicine in a system that often prioritizes efficiency over empathy, and why collaboration between OBs and midwives is one of the most powerful ways to create safer, more empowering birth experiences.

They explore:

💜 How a social work background can transform the way a doctor approaches patient care
🩺 The role of empathy and social context in maternal health outcomes
🤰 Why integrated OB + midwifery care models support both safety and autonomy
💬 How to rebuild trust between patients and providers in a post-trauma system
🌱 What trauma-informed obstetric care really looks like, in both practice and philosophy

Dr. Dallaire’s insights are a reminder that birth work can be both evidence-based and heart-centered,  and that true healing begins when patients and providers meet each other with trust, humility, and compassion.

Resources & Links

💜 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

🌐 Learn more at HoldingHopePerinatal.com

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this deeply moving listener story episode, Kayleigh is joined by Meghan, who shares the heartbreaking and powerful story of her son, Max. 💛

At 33 weeks pregnant, Meghan experienced a sudden placental abruption that led to a traumatic emergency delivery and the devastating loss of her baby. Through her story, Meghan opens up about the terrifying moments of realizing something was wrong, the life-saving efforts of her care team, and the sacred time she spent with Max after his passing.

She also reflects on the reality of postpartum recovery after trauma, grieving while parenting her living son, and how she’s found healing through connection, community, and legacy. 🌈

Today, Meghan honors Max through her advocacy work and Max’s Angel Closet, a collaboration with the Adeline Rose Foundation providing remembrance items like baby gowns, hats, and nameplates, for families experiencing loss. Her story is one of unimaginable grief met with profound love, resilience, and purpose.

✨ Topics Discussed:
🩸 Experiencing a sudden placental abruption at 33 weeks
👶 Navigating the heartbreak and sacred moments of stillbirth
🏥 Recovering in the ICU and the power of compassionate nursing care
💛 Creating Max’s Angel Closet to honor Max’s memory
🌸 Partnering with the Adeline Rose Foundation to support grieving families
🕊 Finding purpose, connection, and hope after loss

💛 Connect with Meghan:
Follow her journey and Max’s legacy at @maxsmission24

🌷 Learn More:
Visit the Adalyn Rose Foundation to support families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss. You can follow along @adalynrosefoundation or visit https://adalynrose.org/

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
If this episode touched your heart, please share it or leave a review to help other parents feel seen, supported, and less alone. 💜

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.

In this episode, of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Caitlin, a certified nurse midwife practicing within an OB/GYN group, to talk about how midwives are redefining patient-centered care inside traditional medical settings. Together, they explore what makes the midwifery model unique, why collaboration with obstetricians matters, and how integrating both perspectives can create safer, more supported birth experiences.

Listeners will walk away with a clearer understanding of how the midwifery model emphasizes relationship, trust, and holistic support, even within hospital-based systems, and why this approach can be a powerful antidote to the fragmentation so many birthing people experience in modern maternity care.

Together, Kayleigh and Caitlin explore:

• The core philosophy of midwifery care and how it differs from the traditional medical model.
• How midwives and OBs can work together rather than compete, creating a continuum of care that honors safety and connection.
• The value of presence and time, why listening and relational continuity matter in birth outcomes.
• How midwifery care supports trauma-informed, patient-led decision making.
• The challenges and opportunities of practicing midwifery within a hosptial system.

Resources & Links

Follow Caitlin on TikTok: @Caitlin.Emmaline

💜 Connect with Kayleigh: @thebirthtrauma_mama

🌐 Learn more at HoldingHopePerinatal.com

For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama.

Learn more about the support and services I offer through The Birth Trauma Mama Therapy & Support Services.

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official stance, views, or positions of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast. The content shared is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional or medical advice and/or endorsement.