The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast

On this week's episode, Kayleigh talks about birth trauma and navigating the holidays. Things you will hear on this episode:  - navigating first holidays after trauma - dealing with an anniversary of trauma that is   - family conversations, establishing boundaries For more birth trauma content and a community full of love and support, head to my Instagram at @thebirthtrauma_mama . Learn more...

On this week's listener story, we welcome Hannah to share her story. Hannah and her wife had a fairly healthy pregnancy but she experienced what she refers to as serial complications during and after the birth of their daughter. Things you will hear on this episode: - Induction and long labor - 3B tear due to a laceration - Struggling to bond - Breastfeeding challenges - Deep vein thrombosis...

On this week's episode, Dr. Nicole Rankins joins us on the podcast! She is a board-certified OBGYN and incredible educator with her own podcast, All About Pregnancy and Birth. This episode discusses the current trends in birth education and preparation, specifically the ways this community has become polarized and approaches to bridge that gap for patient-centered collaborative care. Here&apo...

On this week's episode, Nicolette joins us on the podcast to share her story. Nicolette is an L&D nurse who survived a splenic artery aneurysm rupture during the birth of her second child. She shares what it was like for her and her son to survive an often fatal complication and also how she returned to work at the exact place where her trauma occurred. Here's what you will hear on t...

This week, we are joined by Shanice and Brenda, cofounders of the motherhood community, Orbit. Shanice and Brenda bring the perfect blend of levity and support to the motherhood space, which helps create community and connection during such a vulnerable time.  Here's what you will hear on this episode: - Founding Orbit - Navigating Covid lockdown and how it impacted parenthood - Connecting as...

As we continue part 2 of Tracy's story, we dive into the high-risk pregnancy and delivery of her daughter. What you will hear on this episode: - Placenta Accreta Spectrum - Navigating a subsequent birth & pregnancy after trauma and loss - The importance of a trauma-informed care team - Postpartum hospital readmission  - Bonding after birth trauma For more birth trauma content and a commun...

On this week's episode, Betsy Pilon joins us from the Hope for HIE Foundation. Betsy and Hope For HIE have provided such impactful support and resources for thousands of families facing the diagnosis of HIE.  Here's what you will hear on this episode: - What is HIE?  - Founding Hope for HIE - Betsy's birth experience and NICU journey with her son who was diagnosed with HIE - Resourc...

Tracy joins us on the podcast to share her story in a two-part episode. In Part 1, Tracy shares the story of her stillbirth with her daughter Addison. Tracy vulnerably shares the many layers of the trauma that surrounded Addison's birth, her own near-death experience and postpartum without a living baby during the height of COVID.  Here is what you will hear on this episode: - Induction exper...

On this week's episode of the podcast, Aundi Kolber, an author and a licensed therapist joins us. Aundi has a unique way of articulating comfort one can find through processing trauma. Here's what you will hear on this episode: - Aundi's journey as a therapist - Aundi's books Try Softer and Strong Like Water - The Window of Tolerance and honoring it - What it means to survive a...

Hannah joins us on this week's Listener Series episode to share her story. Hannah shares her journey to motherhood which began with a miscarriage that deeply impacted her experience of pregnancy and birth moving forward. Hannah then experienced a complicated subsequent pregnancy with her son that included hyperemesis gravidarum and preeclampsia.  Hannah vulnerably shares her experience of obs...

Nicole Purnell from Momma's Voices joins us on the podcast this week. Nicole shares her birth story from 18 years ago, which served as her motivation for getting involved in maternal health advocacy. Nicole experienced Preeclampsia & HELLP syndrome which led to a placenta abruption and the stillbirth of her son at 34 weeks. Five years ago, after many years of volunteering with the Preecla...

In this week’s episode, we are joined by Bailee, who experienced Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, fetal surgery, and the loss of her son, Everett. ⁣ ⁣⁣Bailee shares the story of her twin boys Everett and Wells, who were monochorionic twins, and required fetal surgery at 21 weeks due to Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. She delivered her twin boys just past 32 weeks and they spent several weeks...

Abigail Barth, MSW, RSW, PMH-C is a therapist with expertise and lived experience in perinatal trauma and grief. She joins Kayleigh for a very candid but deep conversation about all things perinatal trauma, including a broad overview of treatment options and what it means to be a perinatal trauma therapist with your own lived experience. Things you will hear on this episode: -Defining and understa...

On this week's Listener Series episode, Julia shares about the loss of her second baby, Rosalind, as a result of placental abruption.  Julia experienced a PPH and her daughter required resuscitation. After transferring to another NICU for cooling treatment, it was determined that Rosalind did not have any brain activity.  She was alive for just over 21 hours. Julia shares about the impact of...

The Adalyn Rose Foundation was created in 2019 on what would have been Chloe and Adam Ciferri's daughter's second birthday. Chloe was having a seemingly normal pregnancy with her daughter Adayln, until about 20 weeks. Chloe and her husband were moving into a new home when Chloe's health began to decline.  Chloe was admitted to the hospital and when she asked to hear Adalyn's he...

On this week's episode, we are joined by Nurse Tori BSN RNC-NIC. Tori is a NICU nurse who shares openly on social media. Tori went directly from graduation into a level 4 NICU and has worked in NICUs for 10 years.  Things you will hear about on this episode: - Differences between NICU levels. - The importance of getting to know your team in the NICU. - Communication in the NICU. - Personalizi...

On this episode, Ingrid joins us to share her birth trauma and NICU journey.  Ingird experienced PPROM and placental abruption which led to an emergency c-section under GA, while also forcing her to switch providers in the midst of all this chaos.  Her son spent 147 days in the NICU, 40 of those on a ventilator. Ingrid shares about her change in identity after becoming a mom to a medically complex...

On this episode, Ebony Ford joins us and shares her journey through infertility, loss, and birth trauma. While pregnant, Ebony was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome which put her in acute liver and kidney failure. Her traumatic, near death birth story and her daughter's NICU journey birthed a passion for advocacy and mentoring. Kayleigh and Ebony discuss the importance of...

On this week's listener episode, Mollie joins us to share her birth trauma and NICU journey. Mollie is the mother to identical twin girls who shared one placenta. From the first appointment, Mollie was considered a high risk pregnancy with the expectation to have a cesarian section and prepared to have an early arrival. The twins had a discrepancy in their size in utero. At 25 weeks, the twin...

Dr. Jess Daigle, MD FAAP, joins us for a conversation on the NICU as both a pediatrician and NICU mom herself.  Dr. Jess shares her journey to becoming a pediatrician in the NICU and the impact her own loss and NICU experiences had on that decision. Things you will hear on this episode: - Care and communication to parents of NICU babies. - Building a NICU Trauma-Informed Care Program within her co...

On this week's listener episode, Kayleigh is joined by Heather - who you heard from on Episode 1 of this season. Heather is The Birth Trauma Mama's project manager and shares her birth trauma experience and NICU journey. Heather and her husband live in Arkansas and got pregnant with their daughter in January 2022. She had a healthy pregnancy up until week 32 when her blood pressure skyro...

On this episode, Kayleigh is joined by Ashley and Martha of the non-profit Dear NICU Mama as we kick off NICU Awareness Month. Dear NICU Mama is a nonprofit and global community that provides immediate peer support through diverse programs and services. Founded and led by NICU mothers, they strive to be a safe, trauma-informed community where past and present NICU families know that they don’t wal...

Welcome to SEASON TWO! We have a lot of exciting things to share with you for this season. You will hear a new voice on this episode - Heather has joined Kayleigh and The Birth Trauma Mama as a Project Manager.  We start off the episode with a review of the highlights from season one and our gratitude for the support and impact of this podcast. We couldn't have done that without YOU listening...

Welcome to the official launch of our Listener Stories series! You can find a new episode every Monday. For the month of September, we will be highlighting several NICU journeys as it's NICU Awareness Month In this episode, we welcome Lindsey, from Arkansas. Lindsey’s story begins with her miscarriage and the anxiety that followed with her pregnancy after loss. Her second pregnancy was health...

Morgan Bradwell, Licensed Therapist (LICSW), joins me to talk about trauma as a whole-body event, including the role of the body and nervous system as a communicator, especially after trauma. Morgan specializes in perinatal mental health and sexual trauma. She believes we all make sense in the context of what we've been through. And I could not agree with her more. This is an information-pack...