Quiet Connection - Postpartum Mental Health

Send us Fan Mail In this "Quiet Confession," I’m taking us back to my second day of perinatal psychiatric hospitalization at UNC Chapel Hill.  After recently finding the journal I’d kept during my treatment, I reflect on the stark difference between my clinical, "robot-like" recorded entries and the emotional turmoil I was actually experiencing at the time.  I describe the rigi...

Send us Fan Mail When former doctor and EFT coach Cyra Baria became pregnant for the first time, she never imagined the heartbreak that would follow. After a traumatic pregnancy loss at 24 weeks, she faced deep grief, guilt, and isolation in a system that didn’t know how to support her.  Years later, through postpartum depression, infertility, and the move to a new country, she slowly found her wa...

Send us Fan Mail After returning from my first hospitalization, realizing I was not any better, I took a leap of faith. In this episode, I recount the whirlwind that led me from my home in Vermont to one of the few specialized perinatal psychiatric units in the country: UNC Chapel Hill.  I discuss the crushing guilt of leaving my family, overcoming a lifelong phobia of flying, and the magical thin...

Send us Fan Mail When Stella Faulkner became a mom, she had no idea how much old trauma and new stress would collide. She joined a partial hospitalization program at The Motherhood Center after reaching her breaking point, which ultimately saved her life. But Stella didn’t stop there. She turned her recovery into action, becoming a certified peer specialist, postpartum doula, and founder of DOWA H...

Send us Fan Mail In response to an overwhelming listener poll, Chelsea begins a highly requested series detailing their three psychiatric inpatient experiences following the birth of their youngest child. In this first installment, Chelsea recounts the descent into an acute mental health crisis in 2022, a period marked by profound detachment and a desperate need for someone else to "take the...

Send us Fan Mail In this refreshing and energized conversation, Chelsea sits down with George Ajjan—a "regular dad" by day and a singer-songwriter known as The Ajjancy by night. George represents a vital but often silent minority in the parenting space: the dads. He opens up about the "scary as hell" moment an infant is first placed in a father’s arms and the unique challenge o...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a perinatal therapist and loss mom "slides into the inbox" of a fellow therapist and author? You get a powerful collaboration designed to help families navigate the unique trauma of the NICU. In this episode, Chelsea sits down with Emily Souder and Mahaley Patel to discuss their new guided journal, Birth Story Brave: NICU Edition .  Mahaley shares her h...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s brain dump, Chelsea celebrates a major milestone: 10,000 podcast downloads. Recorded while navigating a household of sick children and their own chronic illness flare, Chelsea explores the contrast between a 2022 mental health crisis and a redemptive 37th birthday trip to see Brandi Carlile.  From a "Friday the 13th" identity theft scare to the healing pow...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I'm connecting with French Canadian wellness coach and author Sandrine Lavoie-Filion to discuss the profound identity shift that often accompanies motherhood. Despite years of experience as a kinesiologist coaching pregnant and postpartum women, Sandrine reveals the stark difference between theoretical knowledge and the internal reality of becoming a mother. Sandri...

Send us Fan Mail In this special Q&A edition of Quiet Confessions , Chelsea is joined by their husband, Ben, to tackle a question sent in from Megann of Pondering Paretnhood Podcast. It's a situation many long-term partners face but few discuss openly: How do you prioritize your marriage during the "roommate phase"?  Having been together for 19 years and navigated everything fro...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerhouse episode, Chelsea sits down with Rachell Dumas—a registered nurse, maternal health advocate, and the founder of the nonprofit A Light After Nine .  Rachell shares her "tumultuous" four-year journey to motherhood, which was marked by five pregnancy losses and a constant battle against a healthcare system that dismissed her pain. Rachell recounts the deva...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s Quiet Confession, Chelsea opens up the floor for some Q&A and explores the complex intersection of self-care and trauma recovery for parents. While traditional self-care often fails for those with postpartum PTSD or medical trauma, Chelsea shares their personal evolution from identifying "maladaptive" coping habits to discovering "glimmers" t...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean to raise children while carrying the weight of despair, and to find healing in unexpected places? In this episode of Quiet Connection , Chelsea sits down with Betti Rooted Lionheart, a mother, shamanic healer, and facilitator of “The Work That Reconnects.” Betti opens up about her early conviction never to have children, her experiences with traumatic birth and a...

Send us Fan Mail In this intimate "flare day" confession, Chelsea records from their couch to discuss a fundamental shift in how they are approaching the new year. Moving away from traditional resolutions, Chelsea shares why their word for 2026 is "Believe"—specifically, the belief that they are worthy of good things, joy, and comfort despite the chaos of the world. Tune in to...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I'm connecting with fellow Vermonters and parenting podcasters Mike and Meghann Oquendo, hosts of Pondering Parenthood , to talk about the journey from educators to parents, the grief and chaos of early parenthood, and the deep work of reconnecting to themselves, to each other, and to their joy. From miscarriage and pandemic birth stories to sleepless nights,...

Send us Fan Mail *This episode discusses topics realted to Postpartum Psychosis, including delusional thinking and psychiatric hospitalization. In this episode of Quiet Connection , Chelsea sits down with Willemijn De Bruin, a world traveler, public health researcher, and mother of two, to discuss her unexpected journey through postpartum psychosis. Willemijn opens up about her traumatic first bir...

Send us Fan Mail In this timely solo session, Chelsea steps away from the recording studio to check in from their living room. Recorded via phone while watching for the school bus, this episode is a "solidarity session" for any parent feeling the weight of the world.  This isn't a political episode, but a human one. Chelsea explores the strange cognitive dissonance of performing &qu...

Send us Fan Mail Motherhood rarely looks the way we imagined. For Melissa, it meant recovering from a C-section, navigating digestive issues and IBS, caring for a chronically ill husband, and raising a daughter during the COVID-19 pandemic, all while grieving the loss of her parents. In this conversation, Melissa shares her journey of balancing caregiving with motherhood, managing her own health,...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Chelsea steps away from their typical format to "try again" at a moment they’ve replayed for twenty years. At sixteen, Chelsea met their hero, Brandi Carlile, and was left stumbling over words, unable to express the profound impact of her music.  Now, in their late 30s, navigating life as a disabled, non-binary, and chronically ill parent, Chelsea uses this sp...

Send us Fan Mail When Amy became a mom, she thought she had to “grin and bear it.” Instead, she found herself battling exhaustion, anxiety, and postpartum rage that left her terrified of her own reactions.  In this raw and compassionate conversation, Amy shares what it felt like to lose control, the turning point that led her to accept medication, and how she found her way back to herself. We also...

Send us Fan Mail From missing Thanksgiving and family parties to navigating the "reentry anxiety" of the holiday season, this episode explores the intentional boundaries Chelsea and their husband have set to protect their health while raising two "neuro-sparkly" children. It is a candid look at the intersection of parenting, disability, and the profound impact of simple acts of...

Send us Fan Mail In this honest and energizing conversation, Chelsea is joined by Sarah Johnston: entrepreneur, infertility warrior, and proud parent of a rainbow-loving toddler. Sarah shares her winding path to motherhood through infertility and IVF, the mental toll of a complicated pregnancy, and the terrifying postpartum OCD symptoms that followed.  Together, they unpack everything from generat...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chelsea connects with Dr. Sandra Fernandes, a family physician turned burnout coach, for a candid conversation about how motherhood shattered her carefully planned life. Sandra opens up about her experience with multiple ectopic pregnancies, breastfeeding struggles, pandemic-era burnout, and the quiet expectations that nearly broke her. As a physician, Sandra knew...

Send us Fan Mail Content Warning: This episode discusses sensitive topics, including suicide and psychiatric hospitalization. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for help.   In this special Quiet Confessions mini-episode, Chelsea's partner, Ben, steps behind the mic to share his perspective on the intense trauma the family has navigated over the last three years, brough...

Send us Fan Mail After a traumatic birth experience left her feeling dismissed and unseen, Brittny found herself battling postpartum depression without realizing what was happening until nearly a year later.  In this candid conversation, she discusses being gaslit by providers, how she learned self-advocacy, and the moment she realized her pain was valid. Learn more about Brittny on her website or...