Shows / The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Birth trauma is the dark and sometimes scary side of pregnancy & postpartum that no one wants to talk about. But, we're here to change that! I'm Kayleigh, a licensed therapist and birth trauma survivor, determined to bring birth trauma out of the shadows and into the light. When we talk about birth trauma, we take away its power and leave space for healing. Your birth trauma does not need to “happen for a reason." Birth trauma sucks and it’s okay to admit that. Join us as we navigate what it…
Episodes
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 162: IVF, Preeclampsia & a Failed Spinal Block with a NICU Stay feat. Megan
In this week’s Listener Series episode, I sit down with Megan to explore the layered and emotional journey of holding both immense gratitude and deep grief…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 161: Pregnancy, Trauma, & The Body You're Left With
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Colleen Reichmann, clinical psychologist, eating disorder specialist, and founder of…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 160: Sexual Trauma, Dehumanization, & PTSD Recovery feat. Jocelyn
In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, this week’s Listener Series episode features a deeply moving and courageous conversation with Jocelyn. She shares…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 159: Pregnancy After Sexual Assault & Navigating The Medical System feat. Mandy
In this deeply emotional and courageous Listener Series episode , Mandy shares her story- a story of medical trauma, sexual assault, domestic violence, birth…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 158: Sexual Trauma & Perinatal Trauma: Understanding the Impact
In this powerful and nuanced episode, I’m joined once again by Morgan Bradwell, LCSW, PMH-C, to explore the intersection between sexual trauma and perinatal…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 157: HIE, Postpartum Hemorrhage, & NICU Loss feat. Priya
In this Listener Episode, I sit down with Priya as she shares her deeply personal and emotional journey through birth trauma, emergency medical interventions…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 158: C-Sections & Birth Trauma - Not One Size Fits All
April is Cesarean Awareness Month, and we’re re-releasing this incredibly important conversation to spotlight the complexities, emotions, and real stories…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 156: C-Section Recovery & Birth Trauma
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I sit down with a Victoria, a midwife to explore the complexities of birth trauma from a provider’s…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 155: When an ICU Nurse has an AFE feat. Jenna
In this powerful and deeply personal episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I sit down with Jenna, an ICU nurse and fellow Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE)…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 154: Honoring AFE Awareness Day: Understanding Amniotic Fluid Embolism
March 27th marks Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) Awareness Day, a time to honor the lives affected by this rare but life-threatening complication. In this…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 153: Low Platelets, Two Traumatic Births, & Giving Birth Alone feat. Courtney
In this powerful Listener Series episode, Courtney shares her deeply personal journey through birth trauma, miscarriage, and healing. From navigating…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 152: Finding the Right Therapist
Searching for a therapist after experiencing birth or perinatal trauma can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. In this special mini-series…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 151: Anesthesia & Birth Trauma: Ineffective Pain Relief
A special and highly requested rerelease - Dr. Vibha Mahendra, a board-certified Obstetric Anesthesiologist, joins me on this episode to discuss anesthesia…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 150: Inadequate Pain Management & Invalidating Debriefs feat. Joni
In this deeply moving episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Joni shares her raw and powerful birth story—one filled with unexpected turns, systemic…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 149: Litigation After Birth Trauma: Understanding the Process
On this week's episode, we welcome Marlie Willer, an experienced trial lawyer whose practice focuses on civil litigation with an emphasis on obstetrical…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 148: Deployment, NICU stay, NEC, & 23 Years of Healing feat. Kris
On this week's episode, we welcome Kris to share her story. Kris offers us a unique perspective of experiencing generational birth trauma. Kris' mother passed…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 147: Mini Series: Navigating Medical Appointments After Birth Trauma
This week, we are releasing a new mini series episode. We are breaking down a little how-to for preparing for medical appointments after birth trauma. There is…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 146: Compounding Complications feat. Hannah
On this week's listener story, we are doing a special rerelease with Hannah's story. Hannah and her wife had a fairly healthy pregnancy but she experienced…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 145: Providers Are Human: Understanding & Supporting Provider Trauma
On today's episode, we are talking about provider trauma. This is a topic that we are incredibly passionate about and I think this plays an intricate role in…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 144: NICU Loss, Subsequent Birth & the Deafening Silence of Grief feat. Nandi
On this week’s episode, we welcome Nandi as she bravely shares her story of love, loss, and healing. Nandi opens up about her first pregnancy with her son…
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Ep. 143: Sex & Intimacy After Birth Trauma
A special rerelease - Rachel Wright, LMFT, shares about the impact of birth and birth trauma on sex and intimacy. She answers all of your questions related to…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 142: Emergency Cerclage, Bedrest and a NICU Journey feat. Staci
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…
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Ep. 141: Adoption and Perinatal Trauma
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…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp.140: HIE, a NICU Journey, & a Subsequent Birth feat. Sarah
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…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 139: Let's Talk PPCM
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…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 138: Empathy Doesn’t Require Experience: How Child-free Friends Can Offer Support
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…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 137: AFE? HELLP?: An Uncertain Diagnosis with ICU & NICU Stay feat. Julia
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…
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Ep. 136: The Grief & Joy of an Only Child After Birth Trauma
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…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 135: Revisiting Erica's Story
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…
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Ep. 134: When Therapists Cause Harm
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…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 133: aHUS & Extended ICU Stay feat. Alex
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…
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Ep. 132: Birth Trauma & Chronic Pain
On this week's episode, we welcome Dr. Kimberley Johnson - a psychologist who works with clients with a range of maternal and reproductive health concerns…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 131: A Birth Experience in Isolation feat. Brittney
On this week’s listener series episode, we welcome Brittney. Brittney shares her 2 birth trauma experiences with us. Due to Covid procedures, she was forced to…
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Ep. 130: Hormones After Hysterectomy: What's the Deal?
On this week's episode, we welcome Dr. Lawren Honken - a board certified OBGYN, certified menopause practitioner and a current integrative medicine fellow at…
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Ep. 129: Navigating the Holidays After Birth Trauma
On this week's episode, we are rereleasing our Navigating the Holidays episode where Kayleigh talks about birth trauma and navigating the holidays. The…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 128: Cord Prolapse & Subsequent VBAC feat. Libby
On this week's Listener Series episode, we welcome Libby to share her story with us. Libby experienced a missed miscarriage and then got pregnant again shortly…
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Ep. 127: Nuance in Birth Education
On this week's episode, we welcome HeHe from Tranquility by Hehe, a doula and content creator in the birth education space. In this episode, we tackle the…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 126: Three Births, Three Traumas feat. Sarah
On this week's episode, we welcome Sarah to our Listener Series. Sarah has shared part of her story on our blog before. Today she tells us about her three…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 125: Health Anxiety After NICU
On this week's episode, we welcome back Dr. Frankie Harrison, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Miracle Moon UK. We talk all things NICU and health…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 124: TFMR and Reproductive Rights feat. Kayla
On this week's episode, we are changing things up and rereleasing one of our Listener Series episodes that we feel is critical to consider on the eve of the…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 123: Evidence Based Birth
On this week's episode, we welcome Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN. Dr. Dekker is the founder and CEO of Evidenced Based Birth. We discuss evidence-based birth and why…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 122: Hemorrhage, Uterine Inversion, & an ICU Stay feat. Kate
On this week's listener episode, we welcome Kate. After a relatively uncomplicated IVF pregnancy, Kate went into spontaneous labor at full term and experienced…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 121: Mini Series - Medical Records and Debriefs
On this week's episode, we have another mini series episode! We are talking all things medical records and debriefs. On this episode you will hear: -…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 120: IVF, Postpartum Readmissions, & PPCM feat. Lynn
On this week's episode of our Listener Series, we are joined by Lynn. Lynn shares with us about her infertility journey and fertility treatments during COVID…
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Ep. 119: OCD & Perinatal Trauma
On this episode, we are joined by Kara Kushnir, LCSW, PMH-C. Kara is a psychotherapist and founder and clinical director of her private practice - A Work of…
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Ep. 118: C-Section Under GA and Two Redemptive Subsequent Births feat. Megan
On this week's Listener Series episode, we welcome Megan. She shares with us about her first birth experience where she had a very unexpected crash c-section…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 117: The Anxiety of Motherhood
On this week's episode, we welcome Dr. Nikki Pensak - a licensed clinical psychologist certified in perinatal mental health. Dr. Pensak is the author of…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 116: A Blissful Pregnancy Ending in a Chaotic Forceps Delivery
This week's Listener Series episode, we welcome Claire. Claire is an LCSW and a Medical Social Worker in the oncology field. She shares with us her infertility…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 115: Mini Series: Finding A New OBGYN After Birth Trauma
On our first episode of the mini-series, we will be tackling a commonly asked about topic- How to find a new OBGYN after birth trauma. What you'll hear: -…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 114: Impella, ECMO, & The Tumor That Started It All feat. Jess
On this week's listener series episode, Jess shares with us her birth story with her second of four children. In her c-section, Jess started to have a lot of…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 113: One and Won: The Joy of An Only Child
This week we welcome Dr. Jasmine, PharmD, PMH-C. Jasmine is a clinical pharmacist and a maternal mental health advocate. We talk all things only children and…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 112: High-Risk Pregnancy, Induction, & Poor Quality of Care feat. Rachel
On this week's Listener Series, we welcome Rachel to share her experience with us. Rachel had a high-risk pregnancy due to gestational diabetes and her son…
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Ep. 111: Child Life: A Hospital Lifeline
On this week's episode, we welcome Katie Taylor, CEO & Founder of Child Life On Call - a support and resource provider to families & care teams through…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 110: ICU Delirium: Sedation ≠ Sleep
On this week's episode, we welcome Kali Dayton, DNP, AGACNP. Kali is a critical care nurse practitioner and a podcast host as well as a consultant for critical…
- The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Ep. 109: Making Birth Better
On this episode, Kayleigh is joined by Nikki Wilson of Make Birth Better, a UK organization that was created to end the suffering from birth trauma. Make Birth…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 108: Vasa Previa, NICU, & Isolated Antepartum Stay feat. Sami
On this week's Listener Series, we are joined by Sami - an elementary school classmate of Kayleigh's. Kayleigh and Sami reconnected in 2020 because of birth…
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Ep. 107: Parenting After Birth Trauma
On this episode, we briefly dive into all things parenting after birth trauma. This is a topic that continues to come up in our space, especially as we see our…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 106: Two Traumas: NICU & TFMR feat. Erika
On this week's episode, we welcome Erika to share her story. Erika had a mostly uncomplicated first pregnancy and had her son at 39 weeks 6 days and was taken…
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Ep. 105: Birth Trauma & TFMR Support
On this week's episode, we welcome Sabrina Fletcher - known as the TFMR Doula. Sabrina helps bereaved parents in the aftermath of a heartbreaking decision to…
The Birth Trauma Mama PodcastEp. 104: Induction, NICU Stay, & HELLP feat. Stephanie
On this week's Listener Series, we welcome Stephanie to the podcast. Stephanie had an emergency induction for sudden hypertension at 40 weeks and 1 day. Her…