Mom and Mind | Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression & Anxiety

Latest Episodes:

256: Managing Overstimulation for Highly Sensitive Parents Feb 13, 2023

Show notes

Today’s important topic is near and dear to my heart. We are discussing what it’s like to be a highly sensitive parent, and if you’ve listened for very long, you know that I am a highly sensitive parent. We can’t shy away from this topic, because it affects many parents, and it puts a different spin on the challenges that are part of the journey to parenthood. Join me to learn more!

Amy Lajiness, LCSW, PMH-C, is a psychotherapist and parenting coach with nearly a decade of experience in working in the field of mental health and wellness. She is passionate about teaching highly sensitive, empathic, and overwhelmed moms how to harness their strengths and manage challenges to thrive in parenthood. Amy provides therapy for women and parents in California and offers resources, courses, and video coaching for highly sensitive parents around the world. Amy helps us understand what it’s like to be a highly sensitive parent, along with the ways sensory overload and multiple competing expectations cause parents more stress. Amy shares practical ways to reduce sensory overload and overstimulation and ways to create realistic expectations for yourself as a parent. Being a highly sensitive parent comes with many gifts, and these gifts can be leveraged in positive ways to support yourself and your children.

Show Highlights:

How Amy realized in her 20s that she experiences the world in different ways–and that was magnified as she became a parent
How Amy’s mission became to support parents who don’t fit into a set “box” of postpartum depression or anxiety but find parenting difficult because of their sensitivity
The basics of what it means to be an HSP (highly sensitive person) parent: feeling guilt, having a hard time keeping up with parenthood demands, feeling rage/irritability/desire to escape, and losing touch with who they are outside of parenthood
How the acronym DOES can be used for the scientific explanation of being an HSP: Depth of processing, Overstimulated easily, Empathy, and Sensitivity to subtle stimuli
Why it is important to realize that the signs of an HSP in parenthood can be gifts in certain ways
Why highly sensitive parents have to give themselves permission to take a break and take care of themselves–before they hit the WALL
How highly sensitive parents deal with stress, overload, and multiple expectations
Why highly sensitive parents need to look with introspection and understanding at what they CAN and CAN’T do
Practical tips for HSP parents for reducing sensory overload (beyond therapy), like taking micro-breaks, finding balance, setting timers, establishing boundaries, etc.
Why we need to dismantle the myth that “good parents” want to be with their kids 24/7 and never need breaks
Why the main gifts of HSPs are attunement, empathy, and mindfulness, along with experiencing beautiful things with our children and connecting with them physically and emotionally

Resources:

Connect with Amy: Website, Instagram, Facebook

Visit Amy’s website, find what you’re looking for, and apply coupon code “MOMANDMIND” for 20% off any purchase through all of 2023!

Books mentioned in this episode: The Highly Sensitive Child, The Highly Sensitive Person, and The Highly Sensitive Parent (all by Dr. Elaine Aron)

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources! I’d love to hear from you!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

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255: Sexual Abuse Survivors and Perinatal Mental Health with Deborah Flam Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

Today’s show is about the effects of sexual abuse on pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people. This topic may be difficult for some, even though we are not discussing specific details of sexual abuse events; please determine for yourself whether you are ready to listen to this episode or not. You can find all of our episodes available for you whenever you are ready at www.momandmind.com. If you are ready, join us to learn more in today’s episode!

Deborah Flam is a reproductive therapist in New Jersey. She is also a volunteer support group facilitator and a NJ Support Coordinator for Postpartum Support International. She is on the board of PSI-NJ as the Community Outreach and Engagement Board Member. Her training is in perinatal mental health, infertility, birth trauma, perinatal/infant loss, and compassionate/bereavement care. Deborah also has specialized training on the impact of sexual abuse on childbearing individuals. She has volunteered for the Ocean County Sexual Response Team as a Confidential Sexual Assault Advocate and provided training for nursing and social work students on issues related to sexual abuse. In sharing her personal story, Deborah explains how her trauma history impacted her pregnancy and postpartum experience. She also shares how clinicians can help prepare sexual abuse survivors for their baby’s birth and how medical professionals can provide trauma-informed care.

Show Highlights:

Deborah’s story of anxiety that began with her positive pregnancy test and escalated to depression–even though she was already seeing a therapist
How she was in complete denial about her pregnancy, feeling like the baby was a parasite in her body
How her labor began at 35 weeks in an unexpected way–and she didn’t feel anything and was eventually sent home
How her 37-week appointment found her in labor again—and her son was born a few hours later
How Deborah’s postpartum anxiety, depression, OCD, avoidance, and intrusive thoughts plagued her after giving birth
How she learned that the pregnancy and postpartum experience can feel terrible
What the statistics say about the likelihood of women experiencing physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime
Why many sexual abuse survivors feel shame, fear, and fragility related to pregnancy and their medical care
How the gender of the baby can trigger fears and strong emotions among survivors, along with the common medical practices related to pregnancy and birth
How some survivors are triggered by fear and shame around bodily functions and bodily fluids during labor and delivery
How even the sights, sounds, and smells of the hospital can be triggering for survivors
Why nursing personnel should be attentive to the passive patient who seems calm and perfect, the patient who is completely dissociated from the experience, and the “difficult” patient
Deborah’s tips for how medical providers and therapists can show up better for sexual abuse survivors in very simple “workarounds”
How Deborah’s PMADs experience has led to beautiful healing

Resources

Connect with Deborah

Website

Resources mentioned in this episode and recommended by Deborah:

RAINN

Black Mamas Matter Alliance

Time’s Up

FORGE

Anti-Violence Project

The Network La Red

Survivor Moms' Companion

When Survivors Give Birth book by Penny Simkin

It's OK That You're Not OK book by Megan Devine

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources! I’d love to hear from you!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

254: Mental Health Challenges through Miscarriages, Pregnancy, and Postpartum with Megan Monds, LCSW Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

Many people experience some kind of mental health condition through pregnancy and postpartum. The reproductive journey brings many challenges, and today’s guest gives us a glimpse into her story of recurrent loss, pregnancy, postpartum, and how she came to self-advocacy and empowerment through her challenges. Join us to hear Megan’s story!

Megan Monds fills many roles in life, none more important to her than mother to her two small children, ages 5 and 3. She is a highly-sensitive person who works as a mental health therapist for children, adults, and families. Her passion is working with children and adults with complex trauma histories, and she has her own lived experience with anxiety, depression, and trauma. By sharing her story, she hopes to empower and validate others who are facing a challenging journey to parenthood.

Show Highlights:

How Megan’s story includes three miscarriages before giving birth to her first child
How Megan coped with her first miscarriage by using avoidance–and carried on with her very busy life
How two more miscarriages occurred during the next two years, and they didn’t seem as emotionally jarring as the first one even though childhood trauma reappeared
How her first full-term pregnancy was hard, making it difficult to connect to her baby
How her induction and all the medical interventions did not follow her birth plan at all–again, feeling like it was all happening TO her and beyond her control
How Megan saw a therapist and did the work on herself after her daughter was born
How she felt more whole, healthy, and understanding during her next pregnancy with her son–much different than her pregnancy with her daughter
How her son’s birth played out in a much more peaceful way than the raw and intense birth of her daughter
How Megan’s sensitivity and anxiety contributed to her trauma response and impacted every aspect of her emotional experience
How Megan realized with her second birth that she could have more control over her environment and her mental state
What Megan wants others to know about mental health and getting support
Why it is empowering to realize that your experience is more important than what any expert or provider might say, especially when “there isn’t research to support your experience”
Why it’s OK if your needs and preferences don’t make sense to others
Why it’s important to come at your challenges from a place of curiosity instead of rigid expectations

Resources:

Connect with Megan: Instagram

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources! I’d love to hear from you!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

253: Healing Through Trauma from Birth and the Pandemic Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

Those trained in perinatal mental health can still struggle with perinatal mental health conditions. Having professional knowledge of the issues doesn’t make someone immune from any mental health problems. I’m grateful that today’s guest is sharing her story to show that those in the helping professions can experience the same struggles that any other person does. Join us to hear Kelsie’s story!

Kelsie Hammons is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Perinatal Mental Health Therapist in Arkansas. She became a mother in early 2020, which meant that her entire postpartum experience took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although she was trained and knew about the supportive tools to mitigate postpartum stressors, she struggled with the additional unpredictable layers of stress in healing from her traumatic birth experience while the pandemic was raging. She attempted to find her own rhythm during the isolation as she felt that she was mothering against the current. Kelsie’s experience lit a fire within her to work to support women during these transition times and help them feel more connected and regulated.

Show Highlights

Kelsie’s professional career launched about the same time as her pregnancy with her baby, born in February 2020
Her birth didn’t go as planned and required an emergency C-section–and then her postpartum coincided with the pandemic shutdown
A struggle to find her new identity as a mother while feeling isolated and unsupported
What supports Kelsie had in place before her birth
Gaslighting herself and her feelings of anxiety until she reached out for help when her daughter was several months old
Kelsie coped with what she knows now was a trauma response
Healing has to come at its own pace–and how Kelsie learned this through therapy work
Why it was monumental for Kelsie to process her birth experience
How Kelsie is able to offer regulation tools to women with understanding because she knows what worked best for her
Problems occur when external pressures interrupt internal values for new moms
Kelsie’s work has transitioned to Heart Led Mental Health

Resources

Connect with Kelsie Website (coming soon!) and Instagram

Thrive Counseling and Wellness

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources. I’d love to hear from you!

Click HERE for information on the grief course.

Visit my website for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

252: Preparation and Prevention of Perinatal Mental Health Conditions with Kayce Hodos, LCMHC, PMH-C Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

Today’s focus is on thinking ahead in your perinatal mental health journey. Most of us learn about our problems as they are happening, and we have to learn how to cope along the way. When someone who has “been there” is open and honest about their experience, we can plan ahead and be better prepared. Join me to hear the journey story of today’s guest.

Kayce Hodos has spent the better part of her 20+ year career in mental health focused on loss and life transitions. After having her son in 2012, her coping skills were put to the test as she struggled through the darkness of postpartum depression and anxiety. With the help of her therapist and supportive husband, Kayce was able to climb out of her pit of despair. When she was healthy again, she had a newfound passion for supporting women through their adjustment into motherhood. Today, she works to empower new mothers with real life strategies for thriving while caring for a tiny human.

Show Highlights:

An overview of Kayce’s journey into motherhood from 2012 until now
How she struggled with breastfeeding, sleep deprivation, and the overall transition into motherhood–even though she had a great support system
How crawling out of the pit of depression inspired Kayce to help other mothers
Why prevention of mental health problems is missing in preparing new parents for the birth of their child
How we can help people learn about perinatal mental health–and prepare them for the possible difficulties
How preparation and prevention of mental health problems can happen during three phases: pregnancy, problem-solving, and parenting
Why it’s important to build in practices and local resources to support your mental health
Why there is a BIG need for providers to be honest with women about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders so they aren’t so scary to encounter

Resources

Connect with Kayce

Website and Instagram

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources! I’d love to hear from you!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

251: No More Shame: Therapists Need Help, Too Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

Talking about your own mental health can be even more difficult if you work in the mental health field. There is shame and stigma attached to a therapist who admits that they need help because the assumption is that therapists don’t need help with mental health. My guest shares her story of postpartum struggles and the effect on her relationships and life as she experienced stress, anxiety, and isolation when her second child was born during the pandemic. Join us to hear her perspective.

Laura Galindo is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California, New York, and Connecticut, where she currently resides. She has been in the field for over a decade, providing therapy for individuals who have chronic mental illness, and she works with those who are actively serving in the US military. She runs her private practice in Connecticut, where she is certified in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), EMDR, and perinatal mental health.

Show Highlights:

How Laura’s second daughter arrived just days before the world entered the COVID shutdown
How Laura’s maternity leave ended up not going according to the plan, along with feeding problems with her newborn
How the pandemic shutdown prevented Laura from receiving the help she needed and left her feeling very isolated
How Laura felt “mom guilt” very deeply and still feels resentment about the pandemic
Why it was hard for Laura, the therapist, to admit that something was wrong with her
How seeing a therapist for EMDR and using “movement as medicine” began to help Laura in many ways
Why Laura was torn and conflicted about returning to work and felt guilty about cutting her maternity leave short
How Laura finally realized that she had to “fill her own cup” before trying to be a good wife, mom, and therapist
How Laura faced the questions from coworkers about shortening her maternity leave– and handled the additional anxiety of learning the new telehealth system
Why Laura questioned her therapy skills and knowledge because of her unrealistic expectations for herself
Why Laura became certified in perinatal mental health as a result of her experiences
How Laura first realized that it was time for her to seek help
What Laura would say to struggling parents

Resources:

Connect with Laura: Website and Instagram

https://www.thrivecounselingandwellnessgroup.com

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources! I’d love to hear from you!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

250: Coping with Holiday Burnout Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

Welcome to another episode and a New Year! A new year brings times of reflection, especially with all that we’ve been through over these last few years with the pandemic, and some people are still struggling with getting back to “normal.” Wherever you are, it’s OK to be integrating into this new normal in whatever ways you can, and every decision is part of a more complex dynamic. Today’s focus is on the burnout that comes with holiday celebrations and the reintegrating we are doing around social gatherings and traditions. Let’s talk about these issues that might affect you wherever you are in your reproductive journey. Join me!

Show Highlights:

Why decisions are especially tough when they might affect the health and safety of your family
Why holiday burnout is a very specific type of burnout with multiple layers
Why the overwhelm that was suppressed during the holidays may be showing up now
How feeling like a failure is a common emotion after the holidays–both from the way OUR holidays played out AND from what we see on social media from others
Why perfection needs to come out of the conversation and expectations
Why I hope normalizing these post-holiday feelings can bring a new perspective
Why taking time for rest and recovery can take the pressure off–Give yourself permission to rest!
Why awareness and naming things are big parts of taking care of ourselves
How to check in with yourself by asking, “How am I doing? What do I need TODAY?”
Why making changes to shift things for the better will usually cause stress and discomfort at first—but attending to yourself in this way is essential

Resources:

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources! I’d love to hear from you!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

249: Supporting Moms and Babies Through Occupational Therapy Dec 26, 2022

Show notes

Today’s focus is on pediatric occupational therapy and how it helps many families with a variety of feeding, swallowing, and developmental issues. My guest shares her exciting work and her experience in helping struggling parents with physical difficulties AND mental health. Join us to learn more!

Aviril (Apple) Sepulveda, OTD, MS, OTR/L, BSP, SCFES, IBCLC is a board-certified pediatric occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience. She spent most of her career in pediatrics at a children’s hospital in metropolitan Los Angeles where she specialized in infant feeding and swallowing and infant development. She also holds the AOTA Specialty Certification in Feeding, Eating, and Swallowing (SCFES). In addition to her doctorate in Occupational Therapy, she is earning her Ph.D. in Translational Health Sciences at George Washington University.

Her clinical areas of expertise include occupational therapy interventions on infant development and feeding, pediatric feeding and swallowing in medically-complex children, sensory processing, lactation, and maternal and infant mental health. Dr. Sepulveda received a fellowship from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program from 2016-2019, including grant funding for community-based participatory research to address mental health disparities among Filipino immigrants through parenting programs. She co-founded Nurture Collective to address the gaps in early intervention practice. Her vision for Nurture Collective is to integrate parental mental health in early intervention for children at risk for developmental delays.

Show Highlights:

How Apple’s journey brought her to the work she does today

How she realized the systemic issue (and the broken system) of overlooking the care of moms in treating their babies

An overview of occupational therapy and the work of an infant feeding specialist

Why feeding issues add a lot of additional stress and shame for parents

What Apple notices about the screening process for postpartum depression and why support partners are important for primary caregivers

How Apple’s work tries to connect parents with available services that can alleviate their stress in many areas

How infant mental health is shaped by their environment and experiences

Why special needs kids need their moms to be “on” all the time–which is difficult

How Nurture Collective works to support parents

Dr. Apple’s basic tips for struggling parents

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Apple Sepulveda: www.mynurturecollective.com

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

248: Challenges of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety in a Rural Community Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

Having a perinatal mood disorder is challenging on its own, but it becomes even more difficult in rural communities where the right resources are not readily accessible. In addition, rural areas are made up of small communities where everyone knows everyone else’s business, which further stigmatizes anyone seeking mental health resources. My guest shares her experiences and explains how she found the help she needed. Join us!

Hannah Helms is a spouse, trauma therapist, and mother of three. She currently lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. She experienced perinatal and postpartum anxiety following the birth of her third child in 2018. At the time, she lived and worked in her northern California hometown, and she faced the unique challenges of trying to seek treatment in a rural community.

Show Highlights:

How Hannah’s story begins with life in her rural hometown and her first pregnancy in 2014–followed quickly by a second pregnancy and children only 15 months apart
How Hannah looks back with more understanding about the postpartum rage she felt in those days—but she didn’t know what to call it
How Hannah attempted to get counseling, but the therapist had no clue about postpartum issues
How Hannah dealt with her third pregnancy in the middle of her MSW program while working full time and being a mom to two toddlers
Why social work in a rural community is more challenging than in other places
How panic attacks began to occur for Hannah as her anxiety became more severe
How Hannah began weekly visits with her primary care provider after her third child was born
How Hannah found the help she needed through a telehealth therapist
How her family culture and rural culture contributed to the bias she felt about mental health help
How “spiritual bypassing” plays into mental health issues, especially in more rural areas
How Hannah has learned a lot about PMADs AFTER her third pregnancy–because there is more awareness, more screenings available, and she knows better now
How we can do better in offering peer support and eliminating barriers
What Hannah thinks we should do in rural communities to increase awareness of PMADs
What people in rural communities can do when there aren’t qualified mental health professionals in their towns
How Hannah found help, healing, and self-compassion–and how we can offer more help to others

Resources:

Connect with Hannah on Instagram

Visit www.postpartum.net for resources!

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

247: High-Risk Pregnancy, NICU, and their Impact on Living with Bipolar 1 Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

Pregnancy and the postpartum bring multiple challenges. The difficulties can escalate to a much higher level when a mental illness is involved. The good news is that a new mom can survive and thrive with the right support and medication, but the journey to reach that point is not easy. Join us to learn more about one young mother’s journey to parenthood with Bipolar 1.

Emily Collins is a young millennial woman living with Bipolar 1. She shares what it’s like to navigate life as a mother and professional while dealing with mental illness. Emily gives us a glimpse into her experience with a high-risk pregnancy, an emergency C-section, and a premature infant who had to spend eight weeks in the NICU. In sharing her story, she helps us understand how she was able to cope and find healing over time despite the many challenges. She is married to her college sweetheart, and they have three children, ages 9, 6, and 4. A pre-kindergarten teacher by trade, Emily’s Instagram account, Lattes and Lithium, pulls back the curtain on what her life is like with bipolar disorder.

Show Highlights:

What it means to have a bipolar disorder diagnosis (also called manic depression)
How Emily first knew something was wrong and felt depression and went through anorexia at age 15
How bipolar disorder and hypomania began to take over Emily’s life during her college years
How medication started calming Emily and helped her feel grounded and normal again
How Emily’s care team of her husband, therapist, and psychiatrist help her stay grounded today
Why it was a difficult decision to stay on her medication during her first pregnancy
How her first two pregnancies and deliveries (2013 and 2016) went well with no problems or harmful side effects of Emily’s medication
How things were very different with her third pregnancy in 2018 with two frightening bleeding episodes prior to 18 weeks
After an ultrasound showed a subchorionic hematoma as the cause of bleeding, her pregnancy took a turn for the worst around 21 weeks with another heavy bleeding incident, total bed rest, and a minimal chance for her baby’s survival
How unusual pain and more bleeding at 28 weeks sent Emily to the hospital, where the diagnosis was a partial placental abruption
With more severe bleeding, an emergency C-section took place to deliver her son–who went directly to the NICU as a four-pounder in relatively good health
How Emily’s hypomania manifested itself with an obsession about being at the NICU to be with her son
Why Emily became involved with volunteering at the hospital, wrote articles, and secured an internship to advocate for premature babies—all as a result of her hypomania
How Emily’s hypomania lasted for about a year and was followed by severe depression and psychosis for several months
How her bipolar took her through alternating episodes of hypomania and severe depression for the next few years with several different medications and a stay at a treatment facility
Why mothers of babies in the NICU usually experience forms of PTSD
How Emily experienced paranoia as another symptom of bipolar disorder during her postpartum
Why there is a sort of grieving process for the time when Emily struggled after her son’s birth
What Emily wants people to understand about bipolar disorder and pregnancy/postpartum