Recovery

Post-Birth Libido, Birth Injury & How Past Trauma Affects Birth

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

Ever wonder about when you’ll be able to have sex again after having a baby? Or how your body will feel and heal after giving birth? Curious about how having a baby affects intimacy, sensation and your body in general?
Answering these questions for us is Kimberly Johnson. She is a bodyworker, doula, post-partum women’s health specialist, and single mom. Having had a difficult postpartum experience herself, she set out to understand what exactly was going on with her, and to heal herself naturally.

Recovery

Somatic Experiencing Can Build Attachment Between Parent And Child

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

Not all births are “easy births”. When there is a traumatic birth experience, where too much happens too fast, a sense of connection between parent and baby can be weakened.
Chanti Smith is an expert at human connection. She has worked with people of all ages to strengthen their parental attachment relationships. In particular, the work she does through Somatic Experiencing has helped parents develop a strong sense of connection and attachment with their babies. Any person feeling a “lacking” sensation related to their own birth or the birth of a child is a good candidate for developing stronger attachment and connection. Listen to Episode 26 to learn how.

Mental Health , Recovery

Postpartum Recovery Plan

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

Jane Honikman gave her first baby up for adoption because she felt pressure to “do things in order”. She later finished college, married the father and had additional babies with the same man who is now her husband. Jane described her experience of giving up her first baby as a trauma. Compounding that trauma was the feeling that her second baby, another girl, was severely jaundiced as a kind of karmic punishment for what she’d done with her first baby. The experience triggered tremendous grief and guilt. Jane was not able to recover from her traumas until decades later through therapy. She waited until she was in her fifties to get the help she needed, having felt waves of anxiety and depression throughout her life. Jane encourages women to seek out the help they need as soon as they are able, and not to postpone healing. In our latest episode, we share an outline to help address postpartum anxiety and depression issues. This is relevant for EVERYONE, not just people who are “depressed”.

Body , Recovery

How New Moms Can Prepare for and Recover from Birth

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

Having worked with women through all stages of pregnancy, from pre-natal right through postpartum, Susi Hately has observed that a lot of new moms seem resigned to the fact that post-baby body is just ‘the way things are’ – prolapses, dry vaginas, painful sex, leakage, etc. Susi is on our show to help educate expecting mothers on how to take care of their wellbeing during pregnancy, post-partum and beyond.

Recovery

Lessons of Labor

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

Imagine that you’ve just had your baby, and you can’t sleep because you’re so excited. What do you do? Do you grab a pencil and paper and write down every last detail about the labor and birth experience?
That’s what Julia Aziz did. Three times, in fact: once for each baby.
Years later, Julia compiled her writing alongside learnings she gathered from 20+ years working with parents as a social worker and teacher. The result was a book of four-page chapters that each include a birth story, a lesson, and guidance on applying the lesson in daily life.