Labor Lessons - E33 Allison: The Need For Better Education On Mood Disorders- prenatal anxiety, postpartum depression, mental health during pregnancy and postpartum

E33 Allison: The Need For Better Education On Mood Disorders- prenatal anxiety, postpartum depression, mental health during pregnancy and postpartum

11/08/23 • 41 min

Allison is an intuitive medium and owner of Souls of a Feather where she offers readings online. In this episode, she shares her experience with both prenatal and postpartum mood disorders.
Allison suffered from PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), and tried for two years to get pregnant. She finally decided to take a break from trying to focus on her health. She asked her doctor for birth control and in the time it took to fill the prescription, she got pregnant.
Allison suffered from severe hyperemesis gravidarum which landed her in the hospital for a week. She had gestational diabetes which turned into hypoglycemia. Instead of being excited about her pregnancy, she felt anxious and paranoid.
Postpartum only seemed to be worse for Allison. After a traumatic birth, she felt anxious and couldn't sleep. She was in the hospital multiple times for severely high blood pressure, and it was brushed off as anxiety. She still couldn't sleep. She was shuffled back and forth between her OB and her primary care physician, even though she was asking for help. Allison finally ended up in the hospital and spent several weeks recovering at her mother's house, away from her baby.
Allison's story is a reminder of just how important it is to support mothers while pregnant and after giving birth. She says there aren't enough resources or education on mental health issues. How can we take care of the babies if we can't take care of the mothers?
Postpartum Support International- 1-800-944-4773

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Previous Episode

E32 Natalia: Using Grief To Grow- Infant Asphyxiation and Loss, Grief, Strength and Resilience

One year ago today, Natalia's son Xavian was born. Just 12 hours later, he passed away.
Natalia is originally from Russia, and currently lives in Brazil. She and her husband love to travel. While in Egypt, she found out she was pregnant. They looked for a place to settle down and have their baby, and at six months pregnant decided on Brazil. She found a Russian midwife there and was excited to start a new chapter of her life in a new place.
Natalia said she had a beautiful labor and birth at home; however, her son was not breathing when he was born. After transferring to the hospital, she and her husband learned that their son had passed.
After a few weeks, Natalia realized that she wasn't dealing with the death of her son, and that she needed to focus on herself and her grief and healing. She decided to put herself and her comfort first, and began learning what that meant.
In this episode, Natalia shares the story of how she began to cope with the loss of her son, what healing looks like for her, and how personal growth can come out of the grief that we experience.

Next Episode

E34 Natalie: Postpartum Rage, Prenatal Anxiety and Depression, Mood Disorders

Natalie is a second-time mom and co-host of The Golden Hour podcast. Last year, I spoke with Liz, the other co-host of The Golden Hour podcast, about her postpartum anxiety. In this episode, Natalie shares her battles with prenatal and postpartum mood disorders.
After Natalie's son was born, she had postpartum anxiety. That anxiety was never fully resolved before she got pregnant with her daughter, and it carried over into her pregnancy. Natalie struggled with prenatal anxiety and depression, calling her doctor's office often, asking them to check her daughter's heartbeat. She found herself crying often and overthinking everything. For someone who is usually very optimistic, this was out of character for her.
After her daughter was born, Natalie began to have bouts of rage. It started with her daughter waking up in the middle of the night and not going back to sleep. The struggle continued when her daughter got frequent ear infections, and couldn't tolerate breastfeeding due to a dairy allergy. Natalie would find herself yelling and punching pillows, and needing to walk away from the situation to calm down. She describes it as an "out of body" experience.
Listen as Natalie shares about her struggles with prenatal and postpartum mood disorders, what has worked for her, and the advice she would give to anyone dealing with the same thing.