The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast

In this Listener Series episode, Kayleigh is joined by Bella , who courageously shares her journey through infertility, a high-risk twin pregnancy, perinatal depression, placenta previa, repeated hospitalizations, and an emergency C-section at just under 33 weeks. Bella walks us through the shock of conceiving triplets after one round of Clomid, the grief of losing one baby early in pregnancy, and...

What happens when something doesn’t feel right during labor or birth, but you don’t know what to do, who to call, or even what to name it? In this eye-opening episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh is joined by Dr. Jennifer Dunatov , a healthcare ethicist with nearly 20 years of experience working inside hospital systems. Together, they unpack what ethics really looks like in labor an...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Danielle , a therapist and mother of three, to share a story that challenges the narrow ways we often define birth and postpartum trauma. Danielle’s trauma did not occur during labor or delivery, it unfolded months postpartum , following what was supposed to be a routine surgical procedure to remove a fibroid. Instead, a ca...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh is joined by Tiffany Lowther, LMHC , a certified perinatal mental health professional and EMDR therapist , for an in-depth conversation about using EMDR to treat birth trauma, postpartum anxiety, OCD-like symptoms, and other perinatal mental health challenges. Tiffany shares both her professional expertise and lived experience, offering c...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Kelsea , a mom of three, to share the emotional, terrifying, and deeply transformative story of her son Oliver’s birth and NICU journey a birth she hoped would finally be a peaceful experience after two difficult deliveries, but instead became her most traumatic one yet. Scheduled for a repeat C-section at 37 weeks due to r...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Dvora Entin, LCSW, PMH-C , therapist, educator, and host of The Misconceptions Podcast , for a deeply honest and compassionate conversation about surrogacy — the hopes, complexities, grief, joy, and emotional labor that shape this path to parenthood.  Dvora shares what intended parents often navigate beneath the surface: th...

As the holiday season approaches, we’re revisiting one of the most requested and resonant solo episodes of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast . In this special re-release, Kayleigh dives into the complex, emotional landscape of navigating the holidays after birth or perinatal trauma,   a topic that so many in our community quietly struggle with, but one that’s rarely talked about openly. Drawing from h...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Rachel , a mom of two, to share her powerful and deeply layered story of navigating two very different pregnancies and births, both marked by moments of dismissal, fear, and intense advocacy. Rachel’s first pregnancy shifted dramatically at 30 weeks when she developed severe high blood pressure and preeclampsia , leading to...

In this powerful conversation, Kayleigh sits down with Dr. Cheryl Tatano Beck, one of the most influential researchers in postpartum mood disorders and psychological birth trauma. Dr. Beck shares how her clinical work as a nurse and nurse-midwife led her into research, how she “fell into” traumatic birth as a focus, and why listening to mothers’ own words and metaphors changed everything. Together...

In this special listener series episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Lillian , a licensed clinical social worker to unpack both the personal and professional realities of NICU trauma,  for parents, families, and the clinicians who support them. As a psychotherapist specializing in perinatal mental health, Lillian has spent years supporting women through infertility, p...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Maggie Runyon , nurse educator, author, and co-creator of the Trauma-Informed Birth Nurse Program , for an insightful and heartfelt conversation about what it means to care — and to keep caring — in a system that so often asks too much of its helpers. Maggie’s new book, I Thought I Was Here to Help , explores the emotional...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Betsey , a therapist, mother, and birth trauma survivor, to share her powerful and ongoing story of survival, advocacy, and rebuilding trust in the medical system. Betsey’s pregnancy started off routine, until her daughter Mara’s heart rate began showing signs of distress at 39 weeks. What followed was a series of events th...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh opens a gentle and honest conversation about the journey of considering pregnancy after birth trauma and introduces her new workshop, created specifically for this season. The Pregnancy After Birth Trauma workshop was designed as a supportive, trauma-informed space for anyone exploring a subsequent pregnancy after a difficult or traumatic...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Christine , a mom of four, to share her harrowing and powerful story of surviving a rare and life-threatening birth and postpartum experience. After being induced at 37 weeks for hypertension, Christine’s delivery with her fourth son, Caden, started calmly, until everything changed. What followed was a series of medical eme...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Dr. Jackie Dallaire , an OBGYN and former social work major, to explore what truly human-centered care looks like inside the world of obstetrics. Jackie’s path to medicine began with a foundation in social work , where she learned the importance of empathy, systems thinking, and seeing every person in the context of their s...

In this deeply moving listener story episode, Kayleigh is joined by Meghan, who shares the heartbreaking and powerful story of her son, Max. 💛 At 33 weeks pregnant, Meghan experienced a sudden placental abruption that led to a traumatic emergency delivery and the devastating loss of her baby. Through her story, Meghan opens up about the terrifying moments of realizing something was wrong, the lif...

In this episode, of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Caitlin, a certified nurse midwife practicing within an OB/GYN group, to talk about how midwives are redefining patient-centered care inside traditional medical settings. Together, they explore what makes the midwifery model unique, why collaboration with obstetricians matters, and how integrating both perspectives can crea...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh is joined by Sowania Germain, LMHC-D, PMHC , a licensed therapist and fellow birth trauma survivor, to share her powerful story of pregnancy complications, hospitalization, and healing. Sowania’s journey began with an unexpected pregnancy that led to months of antepartum bed rest , countless medical interventions, and a premature birth, f...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Alicia Rainwater, LCSW , the newest member of the Holding Hope Perinatal therapy team. Alicia brings nearly a decade of experience as a medical social worker and shares how both her professional and personal journeys have shaped her approach to perinatal trauma and grief work. From walking alongside families in hospitals du...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh sits down with Rachael to share her powerful story of surviving placenta accreta, not once, but twice, and the far-reaching impact it had on her body, her family, and her healing. Rachael, an IVF mom and nurse, opens up about her traumatic birth experiences: the emergency surgeries, hemorrhage, ICU stay, and the devastating loss of her ab...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Dr. Arianna Cassidy, maternal-fetal medicine physician at UCSF, to unpack one of the most complex and high-risk conditions in pregnancy: placenta accreta. Placenta accreta spectrum disorders have been rising alongside C-section rates, yet remain widely misunderstood. Dr. Cassidy shares her personal journey into medicine, her...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by Diane for a powerful and emotional retelling of her son Tommy’s birth and the long, complicated postpartum recovery that followed. What began as a smooth induction and quick delivery turned into a life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage, a diagnosis of placenta accreta, and an eventual hysterectomy, weeks after birth. Diane walks us th...

In this special crossover episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast and The Misconceptions Podcast , Kayleigh and Dvora sit down with Dr. Heather Nixon , an obstetric anesthesiologist, to unpack one of the most overlooked aspects of birth trauma: pain during C-sections and failed anesthesia. Inspired by Season 2 of The Retrievals podcast, this conversation dives into what happens when patients are...

In this debrief episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast and The Misconceptions Podcast , Kayleigh and Dvora reflect on their powerful conversation with Dr. Heather Nixon, an OB anesthesiologist working to transform how pain is managed and communicated during C-sections. While the first conversation laid the groundwork, this follow-up goes deeper into the emotional, psychological, and systemic lay...

In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast , Kayleigh is joined by Lindsey , who shares her harrowing story of developing acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) and HELLP syndrome at 37 weeks. What began as a healthy, joyful pregnancy quickly spiraled into a medical emergency involving liver failure, internal bleeding, intubation, dialysis, and a two-week ICU stay. Lindsey walks us through he...