On this week's Listener Series, we welcome Staci. She shares with us about her pregnancy with her daughter that turned into a marathon of bedrest. Early in her pregnancy, Staci went to a prenatal appointment and had to be rushed to the hospital for an emergency cerclage placement. She was placed on bedrest to keep the pregnancy going as long as possible. Due to being on the Cherokee Nation insurance plan, her and her family had to move to Oklahoma to be closer to the prenatal care she needed for her high-risk situation. Staci was able to stay pregnant until 32 weeks and her daughter had a month long NICU stay and is now happy, healthy and thriving.

On this episode, you will hear:
- transitioning care and Cherokee Nation insurance
- emergency cervical cerclage placement 
- milestones and challenges 
- NICU journey
- emotional recovery and life after the NICU

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.

On this week's episode, we are talking about the intersection of adoption and birth and perinatal trauma. We are joined by Gabbie Ryan, who has personal and professional experience in this. Gabbie was adopted from China at 18 months old to a white family in Minnesota. She is now a diversity equity and justice leader in the Twin Cities and specializes in adoptee self-discovery. Gabbie and I really dive into the adoption practices and the idea of "coming out of a fog" as an adoptee. We hope you enjoy and learn something new in this episode - we are not demonizing all adoption, but we find it important to talk about the realities of adoption.

On this episode, you will hear:
- understanding different types of adoption and the profit motives in adoption
- Gabbie's personal adoption story
- cultural identity
- "coming out of the fog"
- reunion and discovery of birth family
- biological children and adoption
- the connections of generations
- adoption stories and fears
- understanding birth mothers
- support systems for adoptees
- advice for expecting adoptees
- guidance for adoptive parents

Guest Bio:
Gabbie Ryan was adopted from China at 18 months old to a white family in Minnesota. Gabbie is a diversity, equity and justice leader in the Twin Cities. She specializes in adoptee self-discovery, creating structures of support, and navigating white majority spaces. She graduated from the University of St. Thomas with B.A.'s in Psychology and Family Studies and minors in Sociology and Business. She currently resides in Minnesota with her partner, child, and zoo of eight pets.

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.

On this week's listener episode, we welcome Sarah. Sarah shares her two birth experiences with us. Her first pregnancy resulted in an undetected infection and meconium aspiration, which led to her daughter's hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) diagnosis.  Sarah also shares about her subsequent pregnancy and birth which she describes as part of her healing.

On this episode, you will hear:
- Maternal infection
- Meconium aspiration
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
- NICU journey
- Healing and support: finding community
- Second birth experience as redemptive
- Advocacy and intuition

You can find Sarah on Instagram: @Sarahber88

If you have a birth trauma story you would like to share with us, click this link and fill out the form. 

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.

On this episode, we welcome Brianna Henderson, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Let's Talk PPCM and a certified patient family partner, patient advocate, doula, and a bestselling author.

On this episode, you will hear:
- Brianna's journey: from misdiagnosis to advocacy
- understanding postpartum cardiomyopathy
- the impact of family history on health
- navigating healthcare challenges
- the birth of Let's Talk PPCM
- survivor's guilt and advocacy
- empowering moms with knowledge

If you suspect you may be experiencing PPCM, you can request a BNP blood test from your obstetrician or your midwife.

If you are experiencing these symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum, please talk with your doctor to make sure these are not early signs of PPCM:
- rapid heartbeat palpitations
- nagging cough
- heavy chest pains
- excessive swelling specifically of the legs and feet
- excessive fatigue or tiredness during physical activities
- shortness of breath
- increased urination

Resources:
LetsTalkPPCM.org

You can find Brianna and her Let's Talk PPCM community on Instagram:
@letstalkppcm
@letstalkppcm_ceo

Guest Bio:
Brianna Henderson is the Founder and CEO of the Lets TalkPPCM nonprofit organization, a Certified Patient-Family Partner, Patient Advocate, Doula, and Best Selling Author. She is also a loving wife and mother of two children. She was deeply inspired to provide comprehensive prenatal and preventative education after surviving a missed diagnosis during her pregnancy and postpartum season. After recovering from her pregnancy-induced health condition and learning what took her sister's life, Brianna dedicates her time to ensuring that mothers and families are informed during the perinatal year. She fulfills her hearts' mission through professional doula support and
her non-profit organization.

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.

On this week's episode, we welcome friends and colleagues, the Shrink Chicks - Jennifer Chaiken LMFT and Emmalee Bierly LMFT. Jennifer and Emmalee founded The Therapy Group and cohost the Shrink Chicks Podcast. In today's episode, we dicuss how to support a friend through a traumatic perinatal experience when you don't plan to have kids yourself. Emmalee and Jen share their own experience navigating this dynamic through Emmalee's infertility journey while best friends and business partners. This is such a heartfelt conversation full of some really important take-aways.

On this episode, you will hear:
- the shift from blank slate to authenticity in therapy
- navigating infertility: personal stories
- the role of relationships in therapy and personal life
- the complexity of grief and support in infertility
- finding the right support: therapists and friends
- the search for solutions: grief, healing, and acceptance
- the illusion of control in motherhood
- navigating support in infertility
- the importance of open communication

You can find and follow Jennifer and Emmalee on Instagram: @shrinkchicks



Guest Bios:
Jennifer and Emmalee founded The Therapy Group (Formerly The West Chester Therapy Group) in 2014. They recognized that all human beings could benefit from therapy, but many kept themselves from the experience. They dedicated ourselves to creating a unique therapeutic environment that would open therapy up to even the most skeptical. 

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.

On this week's Listener Series, we welcome Julia. Julia was induced at 38 weeks due to gestational hypertension. A routine delivery turned terrifying, when Julia suddenly became unresponsive. What followed was a litany of complications landing Julia and her baby in the ICU and NICU, and still to this day with an uncertain diagnosis. She shares with us the process of bringing home a NICU baby after a significant trauma and what her healing journey has been like.

On this episode, you will hear:
- labor complications and emergency response
- NICU experience and family dynamics
- second opinions and diagnosis
- navigating an ICU experience
- bonding journey after ICU and NICU experience
- the stress of bringing home a NICU baby
- finding healing and community support

You can find and follow Julia on Instagram: @julia.omick

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.

On Today's episode, Kayleigh shares her own journey with coming to accept their family of three over the past 5 years. 

In this episode:

- Positives of having an only child
- Fears about having an only child
- Making the decision to have an only child
- Acceptance and Grief of your family looking different than you imagined. 

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.

On this special listener series episode, we follow up with Erica. We shared her story over 2 years ago and have bene asked to follow up to see where she is at now. The first part of her story can be heard on these previous episodes: Part 1 & Part 2. Erica shared her experience with loss and she happened to be pregnant again in the recording of part 2. This time around, Erica catches us up to speed on how her second birth experience went and how things are now.

On this episode, you will hear:
- shifting perspective in birth after trauma
- navigating postpartum challenges
- understanding postpartum anxiety and OCD
- the complexity of maternal emotions
- support systems and societal expectations
- the role of medication and therapy
- honoring grief while parenting
- finding balance in parenting and healing

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.

On this week's episode, we welcome Erica Zaldivar - a licensed marriage and family therapist. Today, we are talking about bad therapists. I had posted a few weeks back in my Instagram stories about sharing bad comments from therapists and it received a lot of traction. Erica and I wanted to do an episode on this specifically to help you identify what is appropriate and what is not appropriate in a therapy setting. You are in control in your therapy session, and have the power to not allow invalidating or inappropriate comments from your therapist. We hope you feel empowered with this episode.

On this episode, you will hear:
- commenter's shared therapy experiences
- identifying red flags in therapy
- the importance of validation in therapy
- understanding self-disclosure in therapy
- navigating personal experiences as therapists
- the role of social media in therapy
- navigating boundaries in therapy
- recognizing harmful therapist behaviors
- the importance of communication in therapy
- finding the right therapist
- empowerment in therapy choices

Resources:
Open Path Collective

You can find and follow Erica Zaldivar on instagram: @ericazlmft

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.

On this week's Listener Series episode, we welcome Alex. Alex had a scheduled c-section for her second birth experience. She had increased hemorrhages, and had an immediate D&C followed by an ICU stay within 24 hours of her delivery. Alex found herself being flown to a city hospital for specialized treatment and dialysis. She spent 38 days away from her family. Alex was discharged on dialysis and opens up about what it is like experiencing a life-changing diagnosis after a traumatic birth experience.

On this episode, you will hear:
- aHUS
- extended ICU stay
- dialysis
- hemorrhages
- D&C
- hospital transfer
- role of support systems during hospitalization
- finding strength in vulnerability

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.