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The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
Birth trauma is the dark and sometimes scary side of pregnancy & postpartum that no one wants to talk about. But, we're here to change that! I'm Kayleigh, a licensed therapist and birth trauma survivor, determined to bring birth trauma out of the shadows and into the light. When we talk about birth trauma, we take away its power and leave space for healing. Your birth trauma does not need to “happen for a reason." Birth trauma sucks and it’s okay to admit that. Join us as we navigate what it means to heal from birth trauma. You’ll hear from experts in the field as well as others who have experienced birth trauma. Storytelling and education are keys to raising awareness and better understanding how we heal trauma. We don’t do toxic positivity in this space, but you’ll definitely hear some dark humor. You’ll laugh and you’ll cry, but, most importantly, you’ll learn that you’re not alone and that healing is possible. Birth trauma is bullish*it, but your healing is not.
Episodes
277 episodes
Ep. 271: Healing Doesn't Mean Being Okay With It
What if part of you is actually afraid to heal?We talk about healing from birth trauma as though the goal is to eventually feel completely okay with what happened. But what if healing doesn’t mean that at all?In this solo episode ...
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Ep. 270: Third-Degree Tear, Emergency C-Section & Delayed Bonding feat. Brittany
In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Brittany to hear about two birth experiences that left a lasting impact on her. Brittany shares her experience with an initial molar pregnancy diagnosis that was later de...
Ep. 269: Pregnancy After Birth Trauma
A special re-release:In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh opens a gentle and honest conversation about the journey of considering pregnancy after birth trauma and introduces her new workshop, created specifically fo...
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Ep. 268: From NICU Trauma to NICU Support: Prematurity, NICU Trauma, and Healing feat. Melissa
In this listener series episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Melissa to hear her story of pregnancy, unexpected complications, premature birth, and an almost six-month NICU stay. Melissa shares how her expe...
Ep. 267: Hope After Birth Trauma: Rethinking Birth, Interventions, and Autonomy
In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Lo Mansfield, MSN, RNC-OB, CLC, an OB nurse, educator, mom of four, and creator of The Labor Mama. Lo shares her journey into nursing, what she calls the ...
Ep. 266: Undiagnosed Placenta Accreta, Hemorrhage, and Emergency Hysterectomy feat. Shelby
On today’s listener series episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh welcomes Shelby to share the story of her traumatic birth experience and the unexpected complications that changed her life forever. What began as a plan...
Ep. 265: When the Emergency Is Over, But the Trauma Isn’t: Creating The Post Care
In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Alexsis Gilles, founder of The Postcare, to talk about her experience of birth trauma and the journey that followed. Alexsis shares the story of her daughter Ella’s birth...
Ep. 264: When Care Isn’t Trauma-Informed: Infertility, Sexual Trauma, and Obstetric Violence feat. Liz
In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Liz Gray, a fellow perinatal therapist, to hear her deeply personal story of infertility, birth, sexual trauma, and obstetric violence. Liz shares how her history of sexu...
Ep. 263: What is a "Positive" Pregnancy & Birth?
What does it actually mean to have a positive pregnancy experience, especially when we know that birth and postpartum don't always go according to plan? In this episode, Kayleigh sits down with Nina Spears, birth and postpartum doula, ...
Ep. 262: Two Traumatic Births As an L&D Nurse feat. Stacy
In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh welcomes Stacy to share her powerful story of experiencing birth trauma through two very different pregnancies. As a labor and delivery nurse, Stacy entered motherhood with an understan...
Ep. 261: What Makes Birth Safer? The Human Side of Patient Safety
What happens when we look at perinatal patient safety as more than protocols, checklists, and clinical outcomes? In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Cheniqua Morales, a perinatal patient safety nur...
Ep. 260: Uterine Rupture, Postpartum Hemorrhage & a Rare Tumor feat. Rebecca
Rebecca's story is one of extraordinary resilience. What began as a routine induction quickly turned into a life-threatening postpartum emergency, followed by the discovery of a rare orbital tumor, multiple surgeries, and a long road through PT...
Ep. 259: Celebrating The Worst Day of Your Life: Birth Trauma Anniversaries
This week's episode is a solo conversation about one of the most complicated parts of healing after birth trauma: anniversaries.Whether it's your baby's birthday, the day you were admitted to the hospital, your NICU discharge, or another...
Ep. 258: Three Births, Two NICU Stays, and the Trauma She Didn't Recognize feat. Liana
In this heartfelt listener story, Liana shares how three very different pregnancies and births each shaped her experience of motherhood in unexpected ways. After developing gestational hypertension that progressed to postpartum preeclampsia wit...
Ep. 257: Self Blame After Birth Trauma
This week's episode is a solo conversation tackling one of the most common, and most painful, themes that emerges after a traumatic birth: self-blame.If you've ever found yourself replaying your birth and thinking, "I should have spo...
Ep. 256: Mothering Through Loss: Pregnancy Loss, TFMR, Birth Trauma, and Healing feat. Carmen
In this moving listener story, Carmen shares her complicated journey through pregnancy loss, recurrent miscarriage, TFMR (termination for medical reasons), traumatic births, emergency deliveries, and ultimately building the family she always dr...
Ep. 255: PTSD in the Perinatal Period
We often use the terms birth trauma, perinatal trauma, and PTSD interchangeably, but they're not actually the same thing.In this episode closing out PTSD Awareness Month, Kayleigh breaks down the important differences between:
Ep. 254: Healing After Birth Trauma: A Conversation with My Former Therapist
Kayleigh sits down with her former therapist, Hilary Waller, to reflect on the years they spent working together after Kayleigh's amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), birth trauma, and the life-altering experiences that followed. Together, they explo...
Ep. 253: Preeclampsia at 30 Weeks: The Hospital Stay, Premature Birth, and Healing That Followed feat. Jess
In this listener story, Jess shares her experience with preeclampsia that went from seemingly mild and manageable to severe in a matter of days. As a first-time mom with an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy, she found herself blindsided by a di...
Ep. 252: A Different Kind of Episode: Our Disney & Universal Adventure
This week’s episode is a little different than our usual conversations about birth trauma, healing, and maternal mental health.Kayleigh is taking listeners behind the scenes of her family's recent trip to Disney World and Universal Orlan...
Ep. 251: Waking Up to a New Reality at 27 Weeks: Placental Abruption, Emergency Twin Birth, & NICU feat. Kirsten
In this heartfelt episode, Kirsten shares the story of her unexpected twin pregnancy, a sudden placental abruption at just 27 weeks, and the terrifying emergency C-section that changed everything in a matter of minutes. Far from home and under ...
Ep. 250: Birth Trauma, Preeclampsia, and a Life-Changing Prenatal Diagnosis feat. Kate
In this powerful listener story, Kate returns to share her second birth experience after previously sharing her first story years ago. After surviving postpartum preeclampsia and medical trauma with her first child, Kate spent years healing thr...
Ep. 249: One and Done After Birth Trauma - A Special ReRelease
This week, we are rereleasing a powerful episode with our guest Jess Myhre to talk about the choice (or sometimes not) to be one and done, particularly after birth trauma. Jess has been a pioneer in the discussion and support of families with o...
Ep. 248: Preeclampsia, Birth Trauma, and the Search for A Redemption Birth feat. Kayelynn
This week on the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast listener series, Kayleigh is joined by Kayelynn to share her powerful story of preeclampsia, birth trauma, repeat C-sections, and the complicated journey of pregnancy after trauma. In honor of Preeclam...
Ep. 247: Losing Yourself After Birth Trauma
This episode explores the profound identity shift that can happen after birth trauma, the grief of losing who you were before, the disorientation of feeling disconnected from yourself, and the complicated process of rebuilding after trauma. Kay...