Postpartum Support

What Postpartum Doulas Do

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

If you are even remotely considering hiring a doula to help you out after you’ve had a baby, we highly recommend listening to Monique Cowan (a.k.a. Monique The Doula) share her first-hand experiences in a typical day in her job. She talks through the practical offerings of helping families prepare for a birth and thrive after baby has arrived. 
Monique was inspired to become a postpartum doula after her own birth experience. She saw the potential to help women in her Southern California locale, particularly women of color and inner city areas.  She works with all people who need postpartum doula services and her website is https://moniquethedoula.wordpress.com/

Childcare

One Simple Move Parents Can Make To Save Money, Time & The Planet

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

One of the major contributors to that feeling of overwhelm for expecting parents is the notion of having to hurry up and prepare for their little one’s arrival.
A major tickbox for that preparedness is BUYING TONS OF STUFF. That can be a fun part, and also a hugely EXPENSIVE and EXHAUSTING experience.
So here’s the simple thing you can do: buy a charming, high-quality (new or pre-loved) clothing set that you can sell-back to a community of like-minded parents. 

Mental Health

The True Story About Postpartum Psychosis

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

Shortly after the birth of my daughter, I spent 10 days locked in the psych ward of the hospital after my postpartum depression and psychosis made me suicidal. In my altered psychotic state, I thought my house was bugged and the police were coming to arrest me for a crime for which I was wrongly accused. I thought the only way out of my crisis was to kill myself, so I told my mom and husband that I was going to go jump off the Golden Gate Bridge.

Mental Health , Postpartum Support

Pinpoint Where You Are on the Spectrum of Mental Health

by: Sarah TrottPosted on:

This is our second and brief interview with Jane Honikman, a founding member of the Postpartum Education for Parents resource (www.sbpep.org) as well as Postpartum Support International (postpartum.net) that includes a telephone support line and partner with Dr Shoshana Bennett in Postpartum Action Institute.
Jane gives us an overview and outline for finding ourselves on the spectrum of mental health. Listen to the episode to find out how to identify different parts of the continuum and better understand where you yourself might fall on that spectrum.
She talks about her time studying with Dr. James Hamilton who was interested in maternal mental health at a time when it might have seemed as if no one cared or understood, much like today in many women’s experience!