Perinatal Wellbeing - The Podcast about Prenatal, Pregnancy & Postpartum Health

Send a text Content Warning: Cancer, death, losing a parent, mention of miscarriage, perinatal loss Description: On today’s episode of the PWO Podcast, Kate Love joins me to share her story of navigating the loss of a parent and becoming a parent herself.  Highlights:  1:28 - Kate introduces herself 5:24 - Kate shares her story of her mom’s cancer diagnosis as she became pregnant 10:42 - Grieving...

Send a text On today's episode, I am joined once again by Anneke to discuss the stress that the holidays can bring.   We chat about the pressures of "the perfect celebrations," the weight of capitalism on gift-giving, and the unique mental load parents carry during the season.   Highlights:  2:03 - Anneke's experience with celebrating holidays  6:47 - Capitalism and the impact...

Send a text Content Warning:  suicidal ideation, CAS involvement Episode description: On today’s episode I am talking with Elaine about the often unspoken challenges of parenting with a disability. From discovering her pregnancy at seven months to confronting societal stereotypes and medical assumptions, Elaine's story is a testament to resilience and the power of unwavering determination. Hi...

Send a text Content Warning: c-section, medical procedures, swearing, rage, mental illness On today’s episode I am talking with Amanda Gurman who hosts the podcast Honest as a Mother, about her introduction to motherhood and the impact on her mental health. Amanda shares honestly and openly about her experiences with postpartum anxiety, depression and rage as well as how her recent diagnosis with...

Send a text On today’s special bonus episode of the Perinatal Wellbeing Podcast, I am thrilled to be joined by a panel of amazing guests, including Anneke Van Den Berg, Gabrielle Griffith, Laine Halpern Zisman, Lisette Weber, and Olivia Scobie. Together for this roundtable discussion, we delve into our pivotal roles in supporting our local communities across Ontario.  We explore the everyday hurdl...

Send a text  Please donate to the Climb here https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/healthy-start-healthy-future-inc/p2p/COTDCanada/team/team-ontario-virtual/ Episode Description: Today’s episode is a special one for PWO’s Climb Out of the Darkness fundraising event. On these 2 bonus episodes we are going to talk about accessing different types of supports in the Perinatal period when we are exp...

Send a text  Please donate to the Climb here https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/healthy-start-healthy-future-inc/p2p/COTDCanada/team/team-ontario-virtual/ Description: Today’s episode is a special one for PWO’s Climb Out of the Darkness fundraising event. On these 2 bonus episodes we are going to talk about accessing different types of supports in the Perinatal period when we are experiencin...

Send a text Gabriella Carafa, MSW, PMH-C is a social worker, psychotherapist and consultant working with people in the perinatal period experiencing mental health issues as well as parents with disabilities. Gabriella welcomed her daughter 2 years ago and then at 3.5 months postpartum lost her sister to an opiate overdose. Gabriella shares her story of love and loss while trying to juggle adjustin...

Send a text Content Warning: Medical procedures, c-section procedures, physical functions, swearing, gendered language, poop talk, swearing To say that I’m excited for today’s episode would be an understatement. This is my dream episode because I just want to be real about the physical changes that come with pregnancy, birth and post birth. I love real talk and I love humour and Anneke brings both...

Send a text Content Warning: fat phobia, labour interventions, COVID delivery, birth trauma, post-birth hemorrhage  On today’s episode, Chelsey Creed shares her experience of having her first baby as a plus size person and the fat phobia she faced from her midwife. Chelsey’s experience is so relatable in that a lot of gestational parents face fat phobia in their care and this has a big impact on h...

Send a text Content Warning: Birth Trauma, Trauma responses, mention of c-section, medical procedures Jen Gillean and Emma Fernando are the co-facilitators of Birth Trauma Ottawa. After connecting for the first time in 2017 at a birth trauma retreat, it was clear that they shared a similar passion to spread the word, provide resources and support those that had been affected by birth trauma. Hopin...

Send a text On today’s episode Lorraine Lowry talks about how her symptoms of ADHD and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) show up and impact her parenting. Lorraine is 3 years postpartum and was recently diagnosed with ADHD. Lorraine was also diagnosed with BPD after her son was born. Lorraine shares that “it’s been a whirlwind learning who I am while trying to help him figure out who he is, es...

Send a text Content Warning: C-section delivery, NICU stay, delivery during COVID, guilt, anxiety 🎙️Today’s episode is part 2 of Ashley and Adam’s story and their experience of staying in the NICU with one twin. Be sure to listen to last week’s episode where they discussed their journey to parenthood through a fertility journey. Ashley and Adam talk about the difficulty of having one twin in the N...

Send a text Content Warning: Fertility challenges, fertility treatments, c-section delivery On today’s episode, Ashley and Adam share their journey to becoming parents. It started with fertility challenges that they faced head on despite the many ups and downs they experienced. Ashley and Adam very candidly share about their fertility testing and treatments including IUI attempts and IVF resulting...

Send a text Content Warning: trauma, NICU stay, c-section, anxiety, challenges with nursing, grief Sydney shares her story of having her first baby and experiencing a NICU stay with him. Sydney talks honestly and openly about the challenges she faced when welcoming her baby into the world. Sydney discusses the delivery, the experience of baby going to the NICU, how traumatic that was for her and h...

Send a text Content warning: Labour and delivery story, cervical checks, induction, post-delivery, placenta delivery and being stitched, medical issues, baby in special care unit On today’s podcast episode Morgan Fancy, MA, RP she/her, shares her story of welcoming her little one into her family. I love hearing birth stories and people’s experiences of bringing their baby into the world! Morgan sh...

Send a text Today’s guest is Katie Lamport, RSSW. Katie is a counsellor in private practice in the Barrie, Ontario area. I first met Katie when I started a new job as an addiction’s counsellor. Katie was fully pregnant as a gestational carrier and went on maternity leave a few days later. Katie shared her story of being a gestational carrier in season 1 so check it out. On today’s episode we talk...

Send a text On today’s episode we have Alesha Thomas from Adaptive Parent Project talking about parenting with a disability. Adaptive Parent Project is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering parents with disabilities. Alesha is currently working on a provider list of healthcare providers that have experience working with people with disabilities in California. Alesha is also gathering provider inform...

Send a text I’m so happy to share this week’s episode with you, featuring Drew Soleyn from Dad Central and Connected Dads. We had a great in-depth conversation about the challenges of becoming a parent from a dad’s perspective, including becoming a parent to twins and a 3rd baby after twins. Drew also provided some excellent ideas for seeking support, trying to take care of yourself as a parent an...

Send a text Content Warning: We like to swear, if you’re listening with kids or don’t like swearing, please be aware! Episode #25 is the 2nd part of my chat with Naomi about body hair and its impacts on our body image and parenting. My guest today is Naomi from Queer Nest. Naomi uses she and they pronouns, and is Founder and head Doula of Queer Nest, where she coaches and supports Queer and gender...

Send a text Content Warning: We like to swear, if you’re listening with kids or don’t like swearing, please be aware! Hello and welcome to Perinatal Wellbeing episode #24. My guest today is Naomi from Queer Nest Club. Naomi uses she and they pronouns, and is Founder and head Doula of Queer Nest, where she coaches and supports Queer and gender-non-conforming folks and entrepreneurs through one of t...

Send a text Content Warning:  Postpartum psychosis and suicide Hello and welcome to Perinatal Wellbeing episode #23. Today Gillian Cullen she/they Full-spectrum doula, CST practitioner, founder and CEO of Birth Mark joins me to talk about starting Birth Mark, a charity dedicated to providing full spectrum doula support for marginalized and at-risk communities throughout the GTA and Hamilton. Gilli...

Send a text Content Warning: This is an in-depth discussion about racism and the impacts on reproductive health and can feel very heavy, especially for those who are impacted by these topics. We discuss things such as forced sterilization, interactions with CAS. Take care of yourself while listening.  Hello and welcome to Perinatal Wellbeing episode #22, the 2nd part of our discussion about the im...

Send a text Welcome to Perinatal Wellbeing episode #21, our first episode of season 2! Today we’re going to talk about the Impact of Racism on Reproductive Health with Rochelle Maurice. Content Warning: This is an in-depth discussion about racism and the impacts on reproductive health and can feel very heavy, especially for those who are impacted by these topics. We discuss things such as forced s...

Send a text I am so excited for season 2 to start on Monday, October 10th. I wanted to Thank you all for listening to season 1 and the support so far! The podcast has been downloaded in 46 countries and almost 3,000 times.  This season we are going to hear more personal stories and have more deep, authentic conversations about issues that affect people and families in the Perinatal period!  We are...