Birth Trauma Stories(formerly The Twinky Chronicles)

Today we are joined by Adriana for part 1 of her story. Through the last several years, her family has endured so so much.  Infertility. Unexpected pregnancy. Unexpected diagnosis for her and her daughter.  A long NICU journey. Subsequent surgeries.  Tune into this equally hard and hope-filled episode to hear more!  Follow Abigail's Journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailgrace_...

She’s back! If you listened to her previous episode you probably fell in love with her tenacity and willingness to advocate not only for herself but for the entire maternal health world. Tune in and hear what Ebony has been up to this year and how she is “Finding Joy in Imperfect Moments”! Ebony's Episode Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6oNXRkfCPfkvFArV3MPDPL?si=b9cadfabe55d41b3 Ebony...

We are joined today by Ruth Caplin; a mom, a wife, and Jesus lover! You wouldn’t know it by the upbeat tone of her voice or her steadfast faith, but Ruth is a pregnancy loss survivor. In the episode, she describes the joy of having a viable healthy heartbeat at 8 weeks, but then she would lose the baby at just 13 weeks. Tune in to hear what these moments were like for her and her family! Follow Ru...

Today we are joined by Meredith McCann, a perinatal trauma sufferer turned maternal health advocate. Like many of us, following the birth of her daughter, Meredith felt a little lost. Then, she found the Preeclampsia Foundation, decided to become a volunteer, and headed the "Cuff at Home" program through the foundation. She also went on to become a Patient Family Partner through MommasVo...

Today we are joined by Paige Pedroli, a placental abruption survivor and double NICU mom. I’m sure when Paige became pregnant, she didn’t imagine that her motherly intuition would save her and her first daughter’s life. Fast forward a couple more years and Paige’s second daughter would wind up in the NICU as well. Next, she would go on to author her first children’s book titled Welcome to the NIC...

Today we are joined by Teresa Blank. Teresa has experienced many things in her life. Getting married. A significant weight loss journey. Getting pregnant. But never in a million years did she see herself as a perinatal trauma survivor. Yet here she is; Using her voice to normalize perinatal trauma and encourage others! Tune in to hear more! Follow Teresa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ter...

Today we are back with Haley Schaefer for part 2 of her story. We continue diving into how her daughter, Della was "Born to Fight and discuss the non-profit Haley started. Tune in to hear more! Follow Haley on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Abundance. Ministries. USA Follow Haley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abundance.ministries/ Follow Birth Trauma Stories on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

When I heard about Nikki’s nonprofit I knew this was a special lady! She took a tragedy that ravaged her community and turned it into hope for other moms. Tune in to hear more about the pilot program she’s about to launch and the nonprofit she created! Follow YANA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yanam2m Follow YANA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yanam2m/?hl=en Follow YANA on LinkedI...

In today’s episode, we are joined by Haley Schaefer, an Antepartum Depression survivor & NICU Momma. We discuss an often “not-talked-about” condition, antepartum depression. We also discuss how Haley had COVID while pregnant, and her traumatic delivery. Tune in to hear part one of her story! Follow Haley on Facebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/Abundance. Ministries. USA⁠⁠ Follow Haley on Insta...

Join Brittany and I as we continue the conversation about the ripple effect trauma has on all parties involved. As my doula, Brittany was in the room when my Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) happened. As you can imagine, this day impacted her in various ways as well. Tune in to hear more about the ripple effect of trauma, how Brittany has worked through the trauma, and how we got to celebrate a speci...

Today’s episode is extra special. Almost 5 years ago I became pregnant and knew I wanted to have a doula with my second daughter. Enter Brittany Baker. At the time Brittany was a student doula trying to become certified. This meant she needed to have 3 births under her belt in order to be certified. She agreed to take me on as a client as long as she could perform her checklist while I was in labo...

At this point, you're probably asking yourself "Perfusionist? A whata what?" I remember when I first met Gina she told me what she did for a living, I was so confused. Next, I asked her what that was and she explained. She also noticed my sternotomy scar as that is something she sees in her everyday work. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation is a machine cardiothoracic surgeons use wh...

Join Liana and me for a special episode of #CoffeewithCathy as we discuss seeing each other after being virtual friends for several years! You will hear in today's episode how Liana was the first person to answer my life after AFE/Stroke questions. She has been transformative in encouraging me especially after my doctors told me the most healing would happen in that first year. Tune in to hear...

Today we are back with Laura Bethman for Part 2 of her story.  After finding out their daughter had a malformation, Lauren and her husband made the decision to drive several hours from their home for her care. Tune in to hear what happens next! I also want to put an extra trigger warning on this episode. Laura and I discussed sexual abuse survivorship. Follow Laura on Instagram: https://www.instag...

Today we are joined by Laura Bethman for Part 1 of her story. She shares her gut-wrenching story of, as she puts it, being thrown to the wolves in navigating an unexpected diagnosis for her daughter Quinn. Tune in to hear how, overnight, she and her husband became experts and medical advocates for their daughter’s condition. Follow Laura on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loudalene/ Follow Bi...

Today we are joined by Ryan Hansen. Ryan is a dad, husband, widow; turned maternal health advocate. After a seemingly healthy pregnancy, his first wife Tara died just days after the birth of their first son. Ryan was determined to keep Tara’s teaching legacy alive and created the Tara Hansen Foundation. Along the way he has remarried, welcoming two more boys to his family. All the while, having th...

Today we are back with Ebony for part 2 of her story. We left off where Ebony had arrived at the Labor and Delivery Emergency Room. The OB had run the necessary tests and confirmed she had PreEclampsia & HELLP Syndrome.  Her daughter needed to come out now! Tune in to hear how her story continues to unfold. Follow Ebony on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrsryanvincentford Follow Ebony on I...

Today we will hear from Ebony Ford for Part 1 of her story. Ebony is many things. A daughter, a gospel artist’s wife, a  a former paramedic & medical biller. I imagine when she was planning her life, she never saw herself being a Preeclampsia/HELLP survivor, a NICU mom, and now the owner of Miracle Mamas, LLC. Tune in to hear more about how, when her regular OB was out of the office and a dism...

In today’s extra special episode we will hear from Cathy S. From Living Nola’s Journey. You may or may not know that today is NICU Remembrance Day. Join us as we remember and honor, not only Nola, but all the precious babies who went to heaven too soon. We hold space for the families who carry on their memory and the resiliency they all show. Tune in to this touching episode and let’s support each...

Welcome to Season 3!!!! Can you believe we are already entering into Season 3? I certainly can’t. Today I will be your host as we explore Season 3, but there is a quite a big surprise. Personally, I thought this episode was going to go in one direction, but the Lord had other plans. Tune in to hear some of my middle of the night thoughts. Correction: In the episode I say 2001, but I meant 2021. Fo...

Today we are joined by Coleen Monroe-Knight for the last part of her story. So far we have discussed how language barriers, different policies overseas, and how her birth continued to be traumatic. Tune into to this week’s episode to hear more! **If you are pregnant and overseas Coleen has offered her support. Feel free to reach out to her for more support!** This episode will also be our Season F...

Today we are back with Coleen Monroe-Knight for Part 2 of her story. In last week’s episode we heard how the language barrier and different policies made her birth traumatic in and of itself. Tune into to this week’s episode to hear how Coleen really just could not catch a break.  Follow Coleen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coleen.monroe Follow Coleen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.co...

Today we are joined by Coleen Monroe-Knight for Part 1 of her story. Coleen met her husband overseas. She knew he was important when she felt ill on a hike and he kept checking on her. Tune in to find out how a huge language barrier and different policies overseas created such a traumatic situation for Coleen. Follow Coleen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coleen.monroe Follow Coleen on Insta...

In this week’s episode we are back with Victoria D’Antimo for Part 2 of her story. After surviving HELLP syndrome and a long NICU stay, Victoria was diagnosed with cancer just 27 days after her daughter graduated from the NICU. Victoria survived, not only HELLP syndrome and a Cushing's diagnosis, but Chemo with an infant at home. All during a Pandemic! Let's tune in to hear more! Follow Vi...

In this week’s episode we are joined by Victoria D’Antimo for Part 1 of her story. Throughout her pregnancy Victoria did not feel great, but chalked her symptoms up to pregnancy whoes. That is until she bought a blood pressure cuff. Tune in to hear how Victoria's life changed in a matter of minutes. Follow Victoria on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoria.latin Follow Victoria on Instagr...