Mom & Mind Podcast | Postpartum | Birth | Pregnancy | Maternal Mental Health |

Dr. Ivy Love Margulies - Perinatal loss expert & Death Midwife Going through a loss of a child during pregnancy, birth or postpartum can be devastating to a family. It's also hard to know what to do...how to even make decision moving forward. Psychlogist, Dr. Ivy Love Margulies shares her expertise in perinatal mental health, reproductive mental health, perinatal loss and her unique work as a death midwife, Reiki healer and ritual facilitator. We discuss: - Many parents are also dealing with trauma and PTSD after infant loss and we talk about how distressing it can be to deal with that in addition to the loss. - Parents may be experiencing symptoms that are outside of "standard" Grief that are hard to understand. We talk about some of those too, which is so important to be aware of. - How men and women grieve differently and things that you may notice about your partner. - Trying to understand how you will get through this.     - Ivy also supports parents through the process of grief with her work as a death

Diana Collins- Personal Struggle and Loss of a friend *Sensitive Content* Please be aware that our discussion may be overwhelming for some people. Resources for support listed below. We discuss Diana's friend who died from postpartum depression suicide. Diana also shares some of her personal struggle with depression and her suicide attempts. We are going to learn about how her personal story, losing her friend to postpartum suicide has shaped what she is doing now to spread awareness.  - She tells us her experience of losing her friend to PPD suicide  - what the impact has been on her, her friends, family  - Diana's own struggle and effects on marriage  - Messages she has to mothers who are suffering  - The podcast she started in her friends honor : Always With Me Podcast Diana is Mom of two beautiful girls and has been married to her best friend of 4 years. Two under two is tough but never boring! She loves spending time with her little family, crafting, and reading. She recently quit her day job to accompli

Jamie Zahlaway Belsito Do you ever wonder who is doing any thing about maternal mental health? LOTS OF PEOPLE! Listen in to Jamie to find out what is being done and about the rockstars who are at the forefront. Jamie is the Director of Advocacy for the National Coalition for Maternal Mental Health. She tells us about the national legislation that is up regarding PPD and why it's important. “Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act of 2015” (HR3235/S2311]) -How to get people involved  -Potential impacts of the bills (what happens if they pass, don't pass) -Lobby day- May 17th and 18th 2017 in DC Jamie Zahlaway Belsito is a member of the the North Shore Postpartum Taskforce [NSPPDT and is a Commissioner with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Special Commission on Postpartum Depression. Jamie helps educate the Statehouse and stakeholders on maternal mental health illnesses, gaps in the system and what mom’s may need to get better. Jamie partnered with grassroots groups and local legislators to help

LaShonta Edwards - A Mothers Sanctuary LaShonta is a doula, advocate, author of A Dark Secret, founder and CEO of A Mothers Sanctuary. She shares with us the amazing work and model program that she is doing in Huston, Texas to help mothers and families in the community. What is so great about her organization is that it both offers workshops for moms to learn about postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, they offer support groups AND educate the community health care providers, including Mental Health First Aid classes. This is vital work. The first Gala to benefit the organization is coming up in May, see details below! She shares her book A Dark Secret, where 15 different women came together to tell their personal stories of pregnancy and postpartum mood challenges, including their messages of hope...how they healed from their Dark Secret. The book is for all of us mothers who have been through this pain and who need to see ourselves reflected in the world. Things like postpartum depression, postpartu

Elly Taylor - Becoming Us Now there IS a training manual for becoming a family! We talk in depth about the stages and life changes that couples go through when they bring a baby into the relationship. It’s hard for a lot of expecting parents to know what they DON’T know. She says that we can prepare parents for the unknown and she has figured out how. Did you know that the transition to parenthood can take years? And Parents don't change at the same times? Elly Taylor tells us about her research and work supporting the transition to parenthood. We will talk about some of the misconceptions about becoming parents, what couples can do to prepare and grow together smoothly… while Becoming Us Elly Taylor is an Australian Relationship Counsellor, Parenthood Researcher and Writer. She began researching the transition into parenthood when she and her husband started experiencing stretch marks in their relationship at a time they thought they would be happier than ever. She discovered this was normal and was on a mis

Jessica Diggs - Birth Disparities  Thank you Jessica for being on with us to talk about this, vital to understand and very distressing reality for pregnant and postpartum mothers. We have to be doing better by mothers. Learning from Jessica in this episode is an important part in doing better, being more aware and taking intentional steps to be more supportive to mothers. We talk about what birth disparities means, effects on pre-term labor and infant mortality, stats on birthrates and effects of disparities on African-American women and babies, how the stress of systemic racism effects health and mental health, what should we be doing differently and how can we be better support and advocate for pregnant and postpartum mothers of color.  Jessica Diggs is a DONA certified birth doula, ICEA trained childbirth educator, and NCM midwifery student. She aspires to become a midwife who works alongside the obstetric and doula communities for collaborative maternity care. Jessica provides evidence-based information t

Parijat Deshpande, High Risk Pregnancy - How to talk with your providers. In this episode, we discuss how we don't know what we don't know...That it's okay and necessary to ask questions, talk with providers, ask for needs to be met...why it's okay and important to ask questions...who can be an ally in the process...what kinds of questions can a mom be thinking about? We are talking about how communication with the doctors or medical team can help manage stress and be supportive to the mental health of the mom.Check back on episodes 21: High risk pregnancy and 27: Bed rest. Parijat Deshpande is the leading perinatal wellness expert who specializes in working with women during a high-risk pregnancy. She educates and guides women on how to manage their stress and anxiety so they can have healthier pregnancies, decrease their risk of preterm birth and give their baby a healthy start to life. Parijat is a clinically trained therapist, a women’s wellness expert and an experienced speaker on the impact of stress on

Kiley Hanish - Return to Zero It's hard to imaging being able to get through the loss of a baby during pregnancy. Kiley shares with us some of her story and how her experience shaped what she does now to help other mothers who have lost a child. Kiley's talks about how the stillbirth of her son affected her, the retreat for grieving mothers and the film "Return To Zero" that she and her husband created. We talk about ways that stillbirth affects mom and dad, the feelings that can come up, Ideas and ways that you can honor yourself and your baby. It's also important for healthcare providers to understand how to support the family through the loss. Dr. Kiley Hanish is a bereaved mother, founder of the Return to Zero Center for Healing, and doctor of occupational therapy at the University of Southern California. Kiley and her husband Sean are creators of the Emmy-nominated film Return to Zero, which is based on their personal experience of their son Norbert, who was stillborn. This experience of the film inspire

Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW Oh, this is such a great chat! We talk about helping pregnant and postpartum mothers, Karen's scope of work, training providers so they can really help these moms and of course, her latest book "The Art of Holding in Therapy: An Essential Intervention for Postpartum Depression and Anxiety". Great stuff! Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW, is Founder and Executive Director of The Postpartum Stress Center. Founded in 1988, The Postpartum Stress Center is a treatment and professional training center for pregnancy and postpartum depression and anxiety.  She is author of 9 books on perinatal distress including the groundbreaking title: This Isn't What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression, now in its second edition, and Therapy and the Postpartum Woman. Her latest book is The Art of Holding in Therapy: An Essential Intervention for Postpartum Depression and Anxiety.  All I can say is...Get all of the books! Please find more of Karen's work and information here: Website: http://postpartumstres

Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody Dispelling the myths of medication use in pregnancy and postpartum We are talking with Expert Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody about psychiatric medication during pregnancy and postpartum. We will go over some of the fundamental things it’s important to know about med use, risks to mother or baby for treated AND untreated illness, clear up some of the misconceptions of medication use and hopefully give you a good understanding of the risks and benefits. Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor and Director of the UNC Perinatal Psychiatry Program of the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders. Which is the first program of its kind in the US. She is currently funded by multiple NIH grants to investigate epidemiologic, genetic, and other biomarker models of postpartum depression and has recently worked to establish an international postpartum depression genetics consortium (PACT). In addition, she is investigating novel treatment options for depression in perinatal women

Onyedikachi Ekwerike I’m honored and excited to have Onyedikachi Ekwerike, speaking with us from Nigeria about maternal mental health for African mothers. He discusses some of the culture specific challenges for African mothers, how maternal mental health has been historically understood, stigma around maternal mental health issues, the work being done in Nigeria and throughout Africa to spread awareness and advocate for mothers. Onyedikachi Ekwerike is a clinical psychologist and the founder of Postpartum Support Network Africa (PSN Africa) an organization he set up in 2015 to raise awareness about PPD in Africa and provide support for mothers suffering PPD in Africa. He's a member of the international task-force that planned and executed the first ever 'World Maternal Mental Health Day' held May 4th 2016.  Find out more about this essential work here: Website: www.psnafrica.com Instagram, Twitter @psnafrica Facebook: psnafrica Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melissa Bangs tells us parts of her personal story of postpartum mania and psychosis, a hospitalization, how her husband and supports helped her through and how her experience transformed into a powerful stage performance. She is a writer, director, storyteller and comedian who is currently on a year-long West Coast tour with her husband, Eric, four year-old daughter, Adelaide and 130 pound Bernese Mountain Dog, Etta James. They are touring Melissa's nonfiction storytelling performance PLAYING MONOPOLY WITH GOD & OTHER TRUE STORIES, a tragicomedy unlike anything you have ever experienced. In September 2012, at 40 years old, Melissa Bangs gave birth to her beautiful daughter Adelaide. A month later, dramatically hormone depleted and sleep deprived, Melissa is admitted to the an in-patient psych unit in a complete manic state. After nearly a month, she is sent home with a bipolar diagnosis and on lithium. What comes next is an extraordinary journey. Find Melissa Here: You can watch the trailer, read reviews, pu

Postpartum Psychosis I’m honored to have expert Dr. Diana Barnes back with us today to discuss Postpartum Psychosis. This is a highly-misunderstood part of postpartum mental health and it absolutely needs to be understood and clarified so that mothers get the help they need. See below for supportive resources. We will go over: -What IS postpartum psychosis? - Who is at risk? -"How" does this happen? - The most important things for people to know about PPP -Speak to the stigma and how that damages mothers -How can we support and better interact with a mom who is suffering? Please go check out Episode 7: The Good Mother, where Dr. Barnes discusses the psychological gestation of motherhood. It’s an essential and fascinating look in to how we become mothers. Diana Lynn Barnes Psy.D, LMFT is a past president of Postpartum Support International is a member of the training faculty of Maternal Mental Health Now in Los Angeles as well as the California statewide Maternal Mental Health Collaborative and the 20/20 Mom

Sarah Randall, Psy.D. Coping with Perinatal PTSD We are talking with Dr. Sarah Randall today about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) related to maternal mental health and how it can show up during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Trauma can result from a real threat to life, to a moment where a person feels that they don't have control. It is really in the eye of the beholder, sometimes others may not even realize that you have experienced something traumatizing. -We talk about what PTSD can look like or feel like -Vulnerable times and how to cope -What to do and what kind of help to get Many mothers (and fathers) deal with the symptoms of PTSD and may not know what is happening. We will discuss what PTSD is, how it affects moms, and considerations for healing or treatment. Dr. Sarah Randall is a licensed psychologist at Calabasas Behavioral Health specializing in peripartum mood and anxiety disorders. She also has extensive experience with trauma resolution. Dr. Randall received her doctorate from Pepper

Gabrielle Kaufman LPCC, BC-DMT, NCC Postpartum Suicide is a very real risk to new mothers. In this episode we are discuss Suicide as it relates to maternal mental health and postpartum, resources to support prevention of suicide (see below), as well as: -Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of postpartum maternal deaths! -Asking about suicide does not “give” someone the idea to do it. -what to look for and how to be there for a new mom. -Suicide is preventable when we get mom the right help Clearly, this is a very difficult topic, but it is essential that we talk about this so we can all be aware of the very real impacts of mental health for new moms, and more importantly making sure that moms are safe and well cared for so that we can prevent suicide in postpartum. Gabrielle Kaufman is a dance/movement therapist and licensed professional clinical counselor with over 20 years experience in the helping profession. Currently, she is director of Training and Technical Assistance for Maternal Mental Health NOW. Ms. K

Deb Rich, Ph.D. Understanding perinatal grief. We are talking with Dr. Deb Rich about pregnancy loss and neonatal loss. This is a very difficult topic for folks to hear about, but even harder for those families who are trying to deal with the loss of a child. Its so important for us to be talking about pregnancy loss…the impacts on the family…and how to support people who have experienced loss. We discuss: -The different kinds of pregnancy loss and neonatal loss. -The importance of understanding loss as how it may impact the transition to parenthood. -This type of grief needs a deeper understanding for the complexities that it brings. -Being informed is important because mothers, fathers AND Providers will either experience loss or be in a position to support others who have. -How to get support and be supportive during this difficult time. Deb Rich, PhD. is a licensed psychologist with over 25 years of specialty experience. She provides patient care, consults with local health care professionals, teaches gra

Dr. Juli Fraga Asian American Moms: Cultural Sensitivity in the perinatal period. In this episode, we discuss maternal mental health in the context of Asian cultures. There are many different cultures under the banner of Asian American, so we are giving an overview of some cultural considerations to keep in mind when supporting an Asian American mother. We will talk about some of the cultural challenges faced by pregnant and postpartum mothers, and how to better support their mental health. Some of the important topics we discuss: *Individualistic (western) vs. Collectivist (non-western) cultural perspectives on family, pregnancy and postpartum *Thinking about cultural components that providers can be sensitive about for the mother *Some of the “non-western” concepts of birthing and motherhood. Dr. Juli Fraga is a psychologist in San Francisco where she specializes in maternal mental health concerns. She also co-facilitates a postpartum support group, "The Afterglow" at UCSF, as well as a three-week pregnancy

Helena Vissing, Psy.D. Our bodies, our minds and how we understand them in the change to motherhood. In this episode we are talking with Dr. Helena Vissing, about maternal ambivalence and some of the feminist psychanalytic and somatic perspectives on how women feel about their body related to pregnancy and postpartum. We are looking at how to broaden our understanding of maternal ambivalence and how ambivalence comes up how our body in motherhood. We discuss the mental changes of becoming a mother and the mixed feelings we sometimes have about our children - Love and Hate - Dr. Vissing has a Psy.D. in Applied Clinical Psychology. She has experience working as a School Psychologist and in private practice from her home country Denmark. She moved to Los Angeles in 2010, where she conducted a doctoral dissertation study on the experience of becoming a mother in the Psy.D. program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the psychology of the

Lauren DePaola, LCSW SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP! We are talking about a very important topic…SLEEP! We’ve all heard that new moms and parents don’t sleep when they have a baby, but its actually a pretty huge deal. Lauren DePaola is going to give us the information we need to know about how it Impacts us and why we need to be taking a closer look on protecting our sleep as much as possible. We cover stages of sleep, how much sleep you really need and what kind, what can happen when you don't get enough sleep and why its so important!!!! Lauren DePaola, LCSW is a wife, mother of two boys and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Florida. She owns a private mental health practice with a focus on reproductive mental health: Postpartum Wellness & Family Counseling, located in Gainesville, FL. Lauren is the founder of the Alachua County Perinatal Mental Health Coalition, the President of the Florida Chapter of Postpartum Support International and Co-Chair of the newly formed Florida Maternal Mental Health Collaborative.   

Lisa Cross, LMFT Finding Empowerment and Meaning through your pregnancy or postpartum experience. On this episode we are talking with Lisa Cross, LMFT about finding empowerment and meaning in your pregnancy, birth or postpartum story. This is an essential piece of making your way through the struggle that can come with pregnancy and postpartum. As you find your way through, your meaning may be very personal, your empowerment may only be known to you, or it could be a huge life changing experience. In any case, finding meaning or empowerment in our experiece can be incredibly healing. Lisa is a licensed marriage and family therapist who is in private practice in Plymouth Minnesota and also serves as the Co-Director of a non-profit organization called Pregnancy & Postpartum Support MN. She has a certificate of training in Perinatal Mental Health through Postpartum Support International. 12 years ago this, Lisa welcomed her first child into the world. Along with her daughter came an illness called Postpartum OCD