The Perinatal Podcast

This week on The Perinatal Podcast, our first-ever podcast guest, and goodness was she brave to do so, returns. Sleep trainer extraordinaire to my oldest and to many of your children, Jensine Casey! Busting myths about sleep training - it absolutely is not all cry-it-out - and sending all the love and validation to our fellow parents, Jensine and I discuss the importance of doing what works for...

Dr. Rosmarin, the founder of the Center for Anxiety and a Harvard associate professor, draws on research and clinical experience to show readers how to “make anxiety your friend.” Often, those who suffer from anxiety either exhaust themselves trying to cure it or resign themselves to a lifetime of fear and worry—but Dr. Rosmarin presents a third way: instead of fighting their anxiety, what if peop...

This week on the show, Jackie Santillan wrote the book on How to Possible Actually Remember Everything Next Time, and she shares her tips with the Perinatal Pod Crew! Apart from having the cleverest book title possibly of all time, Jackie enlightens us with the stop, drop, and roll of parenting in her book and in this chat. We discuss pneumonic devices to aid in better responses during those rough...

"Celeste Yvonne, a founding host of Sober Mom Squad, an online community for nondrinking moms, implores 'women drowning in the mental load of motherhood' to rethink their relationship with alcohol and parenting in this passionate debut...Stressed-out moms will find comfort." Publisher's Weekly shared that about this week's guest and her new book, It's Not About the Wi...

Alisha is back! In this week's episode, Alisha and I discuss the differences between therapy and coaching, the shortcomings in the traditional medical model of diagnosing mental health concerns, and Alisha's foray into Coaching training. We also talk about reclaiming your Yes, learning to feel confident in your voice, and being loud, taking up space, and finding rest - unapologetically. We...

This week, Steven Miller joins me to discuss the space we hold for men in the fertility journey, the changes we hope to enact in the conversations about supporting non-birthing people, and the ways men can connect with each other to share and feel normalized in their experiences. About Our Guest: Steven J. Miller obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Psychology at Northern Michigan Univer...

This week on The Perinatal Podcast, Jessica Lahey joins me to chat about how to set our kids up for success in regard to what they put in their bodies even from a young age, what to have intentional conversations about quitting things like piano and soccer, even how to be a happier parent. What a delight it was having Jessica on to share about the effects of over-parenting, how to help build auton...

She wrote a book! This week, Dr. Aliza Pressman of Raising Good Humans Podcast joins me to discuss getting obsessively curious, using real science in making your choices while raising tiny humans, and her new book, The 5 Principles of Parenting. In the age of high-pressure parenting, when so many of us we feel like we’ve got to get everything exactly right the first time, Dr. Aliza Pressman is the...

This week, I'm joined by my very own intuitive eating insta guru, Dr. Lisa Folden, and she blows my mind by sharing intentional weight loss has a 97% fail rate. Say what?? Dr. Lisa and I discuss intuitive eating, inequity in health care for people in larger bodies, false assumptions like that of the relationship between joint pain and body weight, and how to seek neutrality and respect in your...

Dr. Devorah Heitner is the author of Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World and Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN Opinion. She has a Ph. D. in Media/Technology & Society from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul and Northwestern. She...

Dr. Kelsey Beach is the owner of enCORE Therapy & Performance. She started her journey with physical therapy in 2011 after earning a doctorate of Physical Therapy from Southwest Baptist University and jumping head first into pelvic health rehab. Combining a love for triathlons and her experiences in pregnancy with her expertise in PT, the encore was born. In this week's episode, we discuss...

This week on The Perinatal Podcast, Dr. Tina Payne Bryson discussed avoiding left brain interventions in times of meltdown, the difference between discipline and punishment, and how focusing on the wrong stuff leads to fear-based parenting. We chat about coregulating as the parent alongside the child in stressful moments, how repeated experiences help nurture and develop the Whole-Brain Child, and...

Suffering in silence is a thing of the past! In this week's episode, Lauren and Megan join me to discuss the origin of the The Matrescence, the launch of their new Matrescence paid support community, and we get a chuckle out of the fact our computers don't recognize the spelling of the word. Meeting moms where they are, The Matrescence provides support throughout the highs and lows of moth...

This week, my mentor, The Godmother/Meryl Streep/Julia Roberts of Greater Kansas City perinatal mental health, Meeka Centimano joins me for a chat about perinatal mental health disorders (PMHDs), recurrence rates in subsequent pregnancy journeys, and how to set ourselves up for success along the way. Meeka practically created the ever-changing and growing landscape of perinatal mental health in th...

Coming to you LIVE from Postpartum Support International’s Climb Out of the Darkness event in Kansas City, MO, Kim Hawley of Whole Parent Foundation joins me to discuss all things perinatal mental health disorders and the need for a supportive community for ALL parents. What a profound pleasure it was to be asked by the team at PSI to host The Perinatal Podcast from this meaningful event. We had a...

Dr. Moore of Disrupt Physiotherapy joins The Perinatal Podcast this week to discuss the importance of restoring functional movement and how her practice provides help for the entire family. We chat about how insurance restrictions can (but don’t always!) impact client motivation if treatment is dictated by payment more than client goals, how our education system needs to do a better job of teachin...

Heidi Mills brings us the education on all things Doula in this week's Perinatal Podcast! Owner and Founder of Bloc Birth, Heidi provides collaborative and empowering birth experiences to her clients as well as a scholarship fund to make doula services more available in the KC area. Heidi shares with us many "if only I'd have known" stories in hopes of educating the masses ahead...

Do you know what IVF is? IUI? I had to pause for a minute in this conversation with the absolutely magnificent Victoria Wigley and ask her to explain. Because I realized, we have found a colloquial definition of IVF and fertility, but do we all really know what goes into it? Do we understand? Victoria takes the time to unpack the ins and outs of what goes into Embryology. Why "Why don't y...

*Disclaimer - The ideas discussed in this episode of Let’s Discuss… with Meg Duke are those of Melissa Howard and not those of the Department of Defense or The United States Air Force.* Melissa and I have known each other so long, we can't even remember how we met! This week, Melissa Howard and I discuss what it’s like to be a person in the military, the spouse of person in the military, a par...

In this week's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Phil Boucher of Frontier Pediatric Care to discuss navigating relationships with our children and social media, what screen time can look like for different children in different situations, ways to prevent and work through meltdowns and tantrums, and I couldn't help myself - Bluey gets more than one mention. A couple of mentions, for sure. Dr....

This week, Misha and Jake join me to discuss the Queer Wellness Network, which is committed to dismantling systems of oppression, recognizing that Black and queer liberation are the same struggle. Misha and Jake met in their doctoral program, studying Human Sexuality and saw a need for increased access to sex therapy and sex education resources for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Using a pay-it-forw...

This week, Natashia Fuksman, MFT, CST, joins me to discuss paying homage to our bodies and our sense of self in relation to others, holding space and normalizing the differences in our bodies after pregnancy and giving birth, and steps to begin healing relationally. Natashia is genuinely the boss of metaphors and providing different vantage points to look at and consider significant issues in a ne...

Last year, Kate Acton, LPC, NCC, and I got together to discuss what mental illness is not, and how it's being used as a scapegoat for larger, systemic issues that lead to gun violence in the United States. This episode was recorded following the Uvalde, TX tragedy, so we could put in words what we were thinking and feeling about the loss and lack of movement in making changes in our country to...

"When do we panic?" was one of my first questions I asked our guest this week. Because I'm sure most if not all of my fellow caregivers out there have felt the ramping up toward panic when it comes to our tiny humans not eating! Ileana Martinez is a registered dietitian (RD) and a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES). She has a Master in Public Health with a conce...

Sometimes, therapy is awkward! This week, our special guest, Nicole Arzt, discusses her entry into being a therapist, starting the hilarious Instagram account, Psychotherapy Memes, where therapists can have a chuckle over shared experiences, and how she got about the business of selling her writing for money with her Media/SEO/Content writing business.    Author of Sometimes, Therapy is...