"I'll Be Back, I Promise" - Beyond The Birth Trauma: Kathryn’s Story

What happens when a "Type A" social worker, who is used to connecting others to mental health resources, becomes the one fighting for her life and her sanity? In this episode, Chelsea connects with Kathryn, the advocate behind the highly popular Instagram account Beyond the Birth Trauma. 

Kathryn’s story is a harrowing journey through a 48-hour induction that ended in a massive postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) and a terrifying diagnosis of DIC (Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation).

Kathryn opens up about the "matter" of blood loss, the surreal experience of the ICU, and the heartbreaking moment she had to say goodbye to her newborn son before being rushed back into surgery. We also dive deep into the "body was made for this" myth and how Kathryn used her professional background to navigate the dark waters of postpartum OCD and depression. 

This is a raw, honest look at survival, the power of a mother’s presence, and finding your voice after the unthinkable.

Key Takeaways

• The "Body Knowledge" Myth: Questioning the harmful narrative that "our bodies were made for this," which often leaves traumatized mothers feeling broken.
• Massive PPH & DIC: A look at the medical reality of uterine atony and the Jada device—a relatively new tool that helped save Kathryn’s life.
• The Power of Advocacy: How Kathryn’s mother played a vital role in her stabilization and recovery by being present in the room.
• Naming the Struggle: The importance of clinical knowledge in identifying postpartum OCD and depression early to seek life-saving intervention.
• The "One and Done" Choice: Validating the decision to complete a family after trauma without guilt or shame. 

This episode discusses topics that may be triggering for some individuals. Please check the show notes for more information and be mindful of your own mental health and comfort levels.

Visit our Patreon to help support our mission to normalize the conversation and end the stigma surrounding PMADs!

Transcript

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Chelsea Myers (00:00)
Hello! Today I'm here with Kathryn Kathryn, how are you?

Kathryn (00:06)
I'm good, how are you?

Chelsea Myers (00:09)
I'm good. I'm so excited. I'm so excited to have you here. I feel like I say that a lot, but then there are just certain people that it's like, I've been waiting and waiting and Kathryn is one of those people. So excited.

Kathryn (00:10)
guys.

Thank you,

I feel the same I've been really excited about this and I was sad that we had to You know push it off a little bit from when I was sick, but I appreciate it. So

Chelsea Myers (00:34)
my god,

I tell everyone and everyone who's listening right now who's even considering maybe sharing their story. If there's anyone on this planet who understands life, Life-ing and plans having to change, it is me. I will never be upset with any. I will be like, you got to your plans. Cool. Awesome. We'll make it work. Whatever. Because

Kathryn (00:49)
yes.

Yeah, you were so nice about it. Yeah, I felt so bad.

Chelsea Myers (00:59)
Well,

I'm usually the one that's like, hey, guess what? I'm flaring again. I can't record today. Or hey, guess what? One of my kids is sick again and I can't record today. So I say podcasting is a revolving door of scheduling and rescheduling. So you're already a pro. Yeah, you've already got it down.

Kathryn (01:04)
yeah.

I

Yeah, yeah, but it worked out so. Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (01:20)
⁓ For those who don't know, Kathryn is the face behind Beyond the Birth Trauma on Instagram. And we will get into that. But this is one of those connections that I'm so excited about because it happened so organically and so like out of the blue and just became like...

I don't know, there's something about this mom community. There's something about this community of moms who have experienced birth trauma and PMADS that we just all become each other's cheerleaders. And you definitely are a pocket bestie now. So I love it so much. I'm, I know I'm going to stop doing all the talking. But I would love it if you could introduce yourself and let us know.

Kathryn (01:46)
Yeah.

I'm so happy.

Chelsea Myers (02:12)
Who was Kathryn before Kathryn became a mom?

Kathryn (02:15)
Yeah, so before I became a mom, I was just kind of just a regular girl. I mean, I really never, I didn't have too much going on in my life. I was working the regular nine to five. I'm a social worker for anyone who doesn't know. I'm not currently working right now, but prior to having my son, I was working actually in mental health. was working in a psych unit of a hospital. And so I was doing that for about a year.

Prior to that, I was working in geriatrics at a nursing home for a few years as the social worker. So really just working. I got married in 2022 and we had plans to have kids pretty quickly. ⁓ I didn't expect it to be as quick as it was, but pretty much just enjoyed like the first year of marriage and was just working. My husband works also. So it was kind of just like that nine to five grind as we say.

Chelsea Myers (03:00)
Hahaha

Kathryn (03:12)
And that's really it. And then I got pregnant and then I had my baby and life really changed a lot. So yeah. Yes. Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (03:21)
Yeah, yeah, and we're gonna get into it for sure.

This is the question that I ask everybody that I always say it's like my least favorite question to ask, but it informs so much of what we're gonna talk about. Did you always picture yourself being a mom?

Kathryn (03:32)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Always, yeah. I always pictured myself being a mom. In fact, I thought I would have three or four kids. Realistically, now that I have one, I think I would have had two. Two or three. Definitely not four. But I had always pictured it. And I remember even at my wedding, during my dad's speech at the end, he ended it with, because he knows me. just knew I always wanted to be a mom. And so he ended it with.

have lots of babies, as many as you can have. And I really wanted to, I really wanted to, you know, just such a weird thing that that's not how my life is going to go. And I'm sure, you know, we'll talk a lot about that too, but yeah, I always wanted to be a mom, always. Yeah, yeah.

Chelsea Myers (04:13)
Mmm.

Yeah, that was something that was a core value for you. Yeah.

Kathryn (04:34)
And

like, even when I was a little girl, I mean, obviously, like I played with the dolls and I had my little carriages and I'd pretend and, but in my early twenties, I was like, yeah, I want to be a mom.

Chelsea Myers (04:49)
Yeah,

yeah. So that makes and it really does it informs it, it lets us know where you were at when we get deeper into your story, for sure. And this is one of those rare occasions where I know more about the story. Usually when I meet my guests, I try to learn as little as possible so that I can experience the story organically. But this is one where I'm like, I know this story, but I'm gonna learn more. We're gonna learn more together.

Kathryn (04:58)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (05:17)
So let's talk about it. Let's talk about the journey to your first child. Your child, ⁓ you said it happened a little quicker than you anticipated.

Kathryn (05:28)
Yeah,

yeah, I would say the easiest part for me of bringing my son into the world was actually getting pregnant. And it's funny because I mean, I remember being like, my God, this was like, I mean, like, I don't want to be like, you know, because so many people struggle. And so I know that's really difficult. And I've had friends who struggle. And so you want to be kind and

Chelsea Myers (05:38)
Yeah.

Kathryn (05:55)
compassionate towards that, but I was so excited that it happened so quickly because I had always been so worried just from like what you hear. And also I'm not, know, I'm in good health, but like I'm overweight and so I was very concerned about that. And so I just kind of expected it to take longer and it was like so which is great. But then I had no idea what was about to hit me. I had no clue.

Pregnancy was pretty hard. mean, in terms of like health-wise, I was okay. had gestational diabetes, ⁓ well-managed and hypertension, also well-managed. The main concern was always preeclampsia. It was always that. So I was high risk from the start, but my pregnancy went pretty smoothly in comparison to a lot of people. So it was really, yeah.

Chelsea Myers (06:25)
No.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Kathryn (06:55)
I mean, I was like, the morning sickness was awful. I don't know how people do this so many times, but I would have done it again. I would have done it again. So yeah, pregnancy wasn't, it wasn't great, but.

Chelsea Myers (07:05)
Yeah.

But it sounds like you were able to be in the moment and you were able to like be thankful for, I even hate saying that. Like, you know what I mean?

Kathryn (07:11)
.

I know. I know what you mean though.

Yeah, like I was so grateful. Like even when I was so sick the first 18 weeks, I was like, you know what? This is a blessing and this will be worth it. And it is obviously. I never really was thinking about what could happen like during birth. I, it was like ingrained in my head preeclampsia, preeclampsia, preeclampsia because, because my blood pressure was like so high.

Chelsea Myers (07:38)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (07:47)
And then we got it well managed and I was like, okay, so this could go one of two ways. It could just, I could be fine or this could be something that I have an issue with. No, nope. My blood pressure was fine. It was fine in the hospital. It was great. Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (07:58)
And it wasn't what you had an issue with. No. Yeah.

So, so yeah, so

talk to me about about the birth experience because it was not what you planned for.

Kathryn (08:18)
No, So because of the hypertension and ⁓ the gestational diabetes and my son had IUGR, so he was really small, which I didn't really understand why I would need to be induced for that reason, but I guess it's like better for them to be out than in when they're so small. So they had scheduled an induction, which I knew I was going to be induced pretty much by like week.

I would say 15, they pretty much told me, you'll probably be induced. I was induced at 37 and a half weeks. And I was feeling good. took off of work. I want to say it was like three weeks beforehand. decided to, that was it. I was going to just go out on leave. And I felt good. I felt like I was relaxed. I was ready. It was of course a little bit nervous. was, that's my first baby. ⁓

Chelsea Myers (09:14)
Yeah.

Kathryn (09:15)
But I had gone in for my induction and everything started off fine. It was pretty slow. It had been, I want to say like the first 24 hours, nothing happened. I wasn't dilated really. mean, I was a little, very, very small amount. I think I was dilated at like two or three and nothing was happening. But also I wasn't at this point, like exhausted yet.

Chelsea Myers (09:39)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (09:45)
He was doing okay, so I was just being a trooper about And then we get to the 48 hour mark and still nothing's happening. Now I'm four centimeters dilated and nothing's happening. My water hasn't broken. Now I'm getting exhausted. I'm not sleeping. I don't feel well. I'm getting frustrated. I'm anxious. And then the baby's heart starts to...

drop a little bit and it's happening enough where they're like okay this is like we got to just keep a better eye on this so they did that I'm not sure what is it called where they they tell you it's a sticker on their head but it's like a screw

Chelsea Myers (10:28)
Oh yeah, can't remember what it's

called either. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Kathryn (10:33)
So

they put that they inserted that which was awful that and that in itself was absolutely traumatic for me But it was the same thing hit they were just finding that his heart rate was just going it would go down and he was getting stressed out so they said no more we're gonna come off of the pitocin and everything and Just it wasn't an emergency. It was just let's take you off everything and then we'll we'll do a c-section tomorrow morning. Perfect

⁓ I was I'm like I understand some people really don't want c-sections and I can completely Empathize with that for me at this point. I was like, whatever I just do it. I want to be done with this. I want to meet my baby My mom had three c-sections so I knew I was like, okay, I have her she's great support. I know she'll help me so We go in for the c-section

And mean, it was just like a regular C-section. He's born, ⁓ beautiful boy, five pounds, one ounce, small, but like healthy lungs and everything. So I breathe a sigh of relief because at this point I'm like, I know he doesn't need to go to the NICU. He's good. And now it's just kind of the eagerness to like, I want to hold him, they're cleaning him up.

They're getting me sewn back together. They start to feel a little bit weird, like really tired. But I'm not thinking much of it because I'm like, really not gotten much sleep. So it's fine. And when I'm feeling weird, I can't really explain how it feels. It just feels like this, a tired that I can't explain. And...

I'm noticing like I'm getting a little sweaty too. The OR is freezing. So I'm like, this is weird, but I'm not saying anything. Cause I'm like, I'm in good hands. Obviously these are great doctors. And then I hear the doctor kind of quietly say to the anesthesiologist, you know, how's her blood pressure? And I was like, okay, like, what do you mean? Like in my head, I'm like panicking internally.

Chelsea Myers (12:45)
Right.

Kathryn (12:46)
I mean, it's a little low, but you know, I mean, obviously they're trying not to scare me. So at this point I had bled a lot, but it wasn't like to the point yet where it was like an emergency. I think it was just like, lost more blood than maybe you'd see in a typical cesarean, but it wasn't like, you know, I was going to recovery. They were going to keep an eye on me and see what was going to happen. Then.

Chelsea Myers (12:52)
Yeah.

Kathryn (13:13)
You know, I start to feel like okay, you know, I'm a little bit like tired, but that's it I'm sure I'm then we go into the recovery room and that's I mean all hell broke loose at this point they placed my son on me to breastfeed and he latches was great and So they're adjusting me to sit up in the the bed so that I could breastfeed easily

Chelsea Myers (13:38)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (13:42)
or easier I should say. And at this point I lose all of my hearing. Like I, 100 % of it I couldn't hear anything and I panic. I'm screaming. I can't hear anything. I can't hear. I'm like deaf right now. And that's obviously when I think they knew I was going into hemorrhagic shock. So they lay me back down in the bed and my hearing does come back.

Chelsea Myers (13:49)
Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (14:11)
But at this point I feel really sick. I mean at this point I know something's terribly wrong

⁓ and so the doctor kind of starts to explain, you know, you're, it's, you've lost more blood than we'd like to see, but you know, these things do happen. And I mean, he was really good at trying to calm me down. and they were gonna explain, we're going to start a blood transfusion and you should be feeling a lot better. Okay. Perfect. ⁓ then they start pushing on my abdomen and I'm

The hemorrhage is bad, really, really bad. I could feel it felt like, or warning for anyone listening to this, but this is just, the only way I can describe it is it just felt like matter, just matter coming out. And I was terrified. It's at this point they're like, it's not an emergency. It's massive blood transfusion protocol.

Chelsea Myers (14:51)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Kathryn (15:15)
I beg, can you get my mom in here? I'm begging. Like I need my mom. And it's not that I love my husband so much and like he's incredibly supportive. But I just went back to like being a little girl and needing my mom in that moment. And this goes to say like, we just always need our moms. We're always gonna be so important to our babies. So they actually ran and got her. She came in.

Chelsea Myers (15:34)
Yeah.

Kathryn (15:39)
obviously like how's no idea what's going on? I could see the tower in her face. She's doing her best to try to remain calm. And this is when they're like, okay, yeah, we need to get you back in for surgery and see what's going on. Do you consent to a hysterectomy? If need be, obviously, I do it, whatever you need to do, whatever you need to do. And they brought me back in and I remember just thinking to myself like I...

I'm probably going to die right now on this table. And I asked, know, actually before they brought me into the OR, asked to see my son just to give him a kiss. And I remember just looking at him and saying, I...

I will be back, I promise. But in my head, I was like, I'm never gonna see him again, you know? And so that was really hard. But then I just kind of let the doctors take over and they put me to sleep and that was it. And next thing I woke up, like a day later, 20 hours later, I don't even know.

I woke up, was intubated, instinctively I'm yanking the tube out of my throat, obviously. And once they get me, you know, get the tube out and they get me settled and kind of like get me some water and get a little relaxed. And that's when I find out everything that happens. So, ⁓ I did not need a hysterectomy, but I had lost about three times my blood volume.

Chelsea Myers (16:55)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (17:17)
I can't even fathom how that happens. But my guess is that as I'm losing blood, they're giving me more blood and then I'm losing it and then they're giving me more blood. So yeah, it was a wild ride.

Chelsea Myers (17:21)
No.

Yeah. And for someone, I know you've said to me several times, just, I'm so type A. And so like for someone planning on complications of a certain type, and then to experience something so outside of what you ever expected, wild ride. Yeah, is one way to put it.

Kathryn (17:43)
Mm-hmm.

Chelsea Myers (17:55)
and it's really, definitely resonated with me as a, as a fellow postpartum hemorrhage survivor. Like we don't talk about this often on the podcast that I haven't had a lot of PPH survivors, ironically enough, although it is more common than, than we know. ⁓ but when you said like, yeah, it just felt like matter was spilling out of me. And I was like, my God, like, yeah, yeah, that's.

Kathryn (18:19)
Mm-hmm Yep, it's so hard to

explain but that it's literally like It's just weird. It's weird and terrifying Nope It's not like a period Yeah

Chelsea Myers (18:28)
It's not like peeing your pants. Like it's not like people are like, ⁓ so you just feel no, no,

it just feels like everything's coming out of you.

Kathryn (18:38)
Yeah,

you like feel like you're or like, I'm sorry, like this is very, but it feels like your organs are coming. Okay, good. Because I'm like, don't want everyone should know this is like, we're getting into detail here. But yeah, it feels like your organs are coming out. I mean, it's like, it's terrifying. And my mom, like witnessed all of this, like to this day, she's like,

Chelsea Myers (18:42)
⁓ we have trigger warnings. Yeah. No. Yes.

Yeah.

Kathryn (19:06)
It was, I thought I was gonna lose you. mean, I, of course my mom was like, everything's gonna be okay, you're not, cause I was like, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die. And she said, no, you're not, you're not gonna die. You're not gonna die, you're gonna be here for your son. But I mean, obviously like, you know, a year down the line, she's like, I thought you were gonna die, but I'm your mom and I'm never gonna scare, can't, you know, I have to be strong, just like you were strong for your baby. It's just.

Chelsea Myers (19:18)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (19:35)
Yeah. If we don't laugh, we cry. So.

Chelsea Myers (19:37)
Yeah, yeah. And that's not even getting exactly I think

a lot of a lot of the ways that we discuss this. And for a lot of people who have experienced like birth trauma and and subsequent like mental health ⁓ challenges. It is that if you don't talk about it with a side of humor, we I mean, what else are we gonna do if we just cry all the time? We just cry all the time.

Kathryn (19:46)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

I know, I know, exactly.

Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (20:05)
⁓

this doesn't even touch on at the time, the experience of your partner, your partner's witnessing all of this with you. I'm assuming he stayed with your son.

Kathryn (20:10)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, so I, even throughout all of this, and this is again to say how strong mothers are, I of course was worried. I was scared. ⁓ But I was like, how's the baby? Is he okay? How's his sugar? Because I had the gestational diabetes and the nurses were lovely. They were continuing to update me on how he was doing. Sugar ⁓ was a little low, so they were like, is it okay if we give him some formula? I'm like, that's fine.

Chelsea Myers (20:29)
Mmm.

Kathryn (20:44)
And I told my husband, stay with him. ⁓ He did an amazing job at remaining calm. He was like, I was panicking. He's like, I mean, he's traumatized. Still to this day, he's traumatized, obviously. But he was just so calm. I mean, he really kicked into dad mode. And that's also part of the reason I wanted my mom there too. mean, I...

Chelsea Myers (20:53)
Yeah.

Kathryn (21:10)
did want her because she's my mom and she's just somebody who calms me down so much. always has. And it's so interesting too, because my blood pressure was in like the low sixties, but when my mom came in, it went up a little bit. I started to stabilize a little bit. And the doctor, because my mom tells me, I definitely felt like I was in the way and I was trying my best to just move and like, cause there was like a million people in the room.

Chelsea Myers (21:27)
Mmm.

Kathryn (21:40)
and she remembers the doctor saying, whatever, keep her in here. She's a little better with her mom in here right now. So, you know, the power of mama, yeah, yeah.

Chelsea Myers (21:50)
Yeah, the power of, power of mama.

Yeah.

so yeah, so let's sort of like, let's continue down this insane journey a little bit. So you woke up. ⁓ were you in the ICU at that time? Yeah, you will. Yeah.

Kathryn (22:08)
Mm-hmm. I had no idea that I will say

You know, they're like, I'm just thinking I'm like in a recovery room. I have no idea where I am. I'm like, ⁓ like I live I woke up and in my head. I'm like, I'm alive I'm like, this is great. I get to go see my baby now and Okay, yeah, and then they're like, my gosh, did I have a storm coming? They're like, no You are in the ICU

Chelsea Myers (22:22)
Yeah!

Ha ha!

Kathryn (22:37)
And there's like literally like 10 nurses in the room because I was like yanking the tube out of my throat. I guess that triggered a lot of people to come in. So they're like, you're in the ICU. I'm like, the ICU? Like, what do you mean I'm in the ICU? We're like, what are you talking about? just had a baby. Yeah, I should be having like skin to skin with my baby. What is this?

Chelsea Myers (22:45)
You

I was supposed to be the mother-baby unit. What is happening right now?

Kathryn (23:01)
So they were lovely. The nurses were amazing. They explained everything. They explained to me what happened. And they were like, you know, your doctor's gonna come in and talk to you. obviously they were like, we wanna fill you in. I'm like, what's going on? Didn't need a hysterectomy, which is great. And at the time, it's funny, I joke, I'm like, ⁓ well, they might as well just check it out. Like I'm never doing this again. like.

I get it, I do get it, but they're like, honey, I'm telling you, it's better that you didn't have it taken out, like regardless. So they're like, we do understand though, but you didn't have hysterectomy, which is really good, but you lost a lot of blood. And I'm like, what happened? And so they kind of explained a little bit, but mainly my doctor came in and talked to me, it was uterine atony. And then I went into DIC, which is like,

I I don't know what it's like, something, it's like a really long word that I can never remember. DIC is like a blood clotting disorder though, and it can happen, ⁓ it can happen like after trauma. So you'll see it sometimes like if someone gets really badly injured, it can happen of course during childbirth. So then that's what happened. And then that's what really kind of made it much, much worse.

Chelsea Myers (24:04)
good with acronyms either, so...

Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (24:26)
So they were able to, nothing, there was no retained placenta, ⁓ no lacerations, no like they didn't nick me or anything. was just, my uterus did nothing. It didn't even, it didn't contract at all after giving birth. So, and then the DIC just worsened it.

Chelsea Myers (24:40)
It just didn't. It just didn't. Yeah.

Mm.

And I'm curious to how, because there's this narrative, I use that word a lot, but there's this narrative, right? That like, our bodies are made for this, your body knows what it's supposed to do. And that is, in my opinion, which I don't like to give a lot, that does not hold water.

Kathryn (24:57)
Mm-hmm.

huh.

It's true and

it's really not It's it's kind of it can be very harmful Because I remember being like well, so what's wrong with me? Like what? You know?

Chelsea Myers (25:27)
Exactly. Yeah, so

that's what I was gonna add. I was curious, like, what were your thoughts after that? Like hearing about like, yeah, there's nothing that you did. There's nothing that we did. It just, your uterus just didn't contract.

Kathryn (25:43)
Yeah, like my first thought was I'm Italian. So I was just like, who put I'm like, who put something someone cursed me. Okay. And I'm like, I there's no way what do you mean this just happened out of nowhere? This is like, obviously in hindsight, I think I was just in shock. And I was like, trying to be a little bit humorous about it, because that's what I tend to do. But

Chelsea Myers (25:48)
So am I. ⁓

Yeah!

Kathryn (26:11)
The fact of the matter is is that our our bodies yes, like we were you know born with a uterus and well most of us and of course, there's people who are it but We were born with our reproductive parts We can you know have a baby But that doesn't mean that your body is gonna automatically know in every situation what to do, especially when you put into account You know

all the medical interventions that, you know, I I was induced. I was, you know, given a lot of pitocin and, you know, these are things that also can cause hemorrhages.

Chelsea Myers (26:42)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah?

hemorrhages and complications. And it completely disregards the fact that that for hundreds of thousands of years, mothers were dying and childbirth just so our body our bodies know what to do. Okay, cool. Like what?

Kathryn (26:57)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah, I don't, yeah.

I mean, like, I think it's like our bodies were made to make babies, but that doesn't mean that it's going to be, A, easy for everybody because, we know that there's a lot of women that struggle. ⁓ And that doesn't mean that we ought to, like, our bodies are just like, okay, if you just had a baby, yep, baby button.

Chelsea Myers (27:26)
Mm-hmm.

Baby button.

Kathryn (27:37)
And this is it. Uterus contract. ⁓ like that's how it should be. Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (27:39)
Everything do what you're supposed to do.

So yeah, like I said, like I don't like to infuse my opinion on things, but just because of the sheer number of mothers that I've spoken to who, mean, obviously this is what this space is for, but, and especially you as in the mental health field, like how damaging that can be to hear that, to hear like, well, your body was made for this. And you're like, well, apparently mine wasn't, but.

Kathryn (27:52)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. No,

and it's so true. It's so true. And then it's funny because when I was working in the psych unit, there was a woman who had come in for ⁓ postpartum depression. I remember her saying the same thing. was like, isn't this like, shouldn't I just be able to function? Like people have babies all the time. And I'm like, that's what they want you to think, right? But it's just so much.

Chelsea Myers (28:09)
⁓

Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (28:35)
more intricate than that.

Chelsea Myers (28:39)
It's intricate, it's nuanced, it's complicated. And that, and so like, let's, let's get into that aspect of it. So you said you woke up almost a day later. So at this point, at this point, your son has been with dad in, in NICU for a little bit.

Kathryn (28:46)
Yeah.

Yeah.

So he didn't actually have to go to the NICU, which is surprising. ⁓ But it's great. And so he was just in ⁓ like a mother-baby unit. And they had brought my family to a separate room. And it was just my husband and my parents. My parents were there like during all of this. And it was basically my parents and my husband taking care of the baby.

Chelsea Myers (29:01)
Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (29:26)
And then later on my in-laws came, because my mom at this point had been in the hospital with me for days, throughout my induction and labor. And then she didn't want to go home. mean, my dad was like, we gotta just, let's just go and get a shower. We'll just change, come right back. That's when my in-laws came. And so it was kind of like...

Chelsea Myers (29:35)
Yeah.

Kathryn (29:55)
everybody else taking care of my baby and I was just in the ICU and My mom and my husband. my god amazing they And it's crazy because you could like hear in my mom's voice and in my husband's voice how scared they were but they were trying to like take videos and Pictures which they weren't sending to anybody because they wanted to respect. I was like I said in the beginning nobody ⁓

Chelsea Myers (30:00)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (30:23)
Only me I send pictures. That's it. So but they were like they felt it was important to try to document as much as they could Because I was missing so much so That you know, I was watching these things happen through my phone his first bath I mean they asked me, you know, the nurses would come down and ask, you know We don't know how long you're gonna be here. Are we able to do this? Are we able to do this even the birth certificate like

Chelsea Myers (30:35)
Yeah.

Kathryn (30:51)
I remember my mom bringing to me to fill out the stuff for the birth certificate. She was just like, I need her to be a part of this. This should be her. She was such a wonderful advocate. I can't thank her enough.

Chelsea Myers (31:02)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, you've posted some of the videos you've posted too ⁓ are so impactful of those videos that like your mom was taking of your husband and how you can kind of like reflect on that. Like you can see him in dad mode, but you can also see the fear and the, yeah. yeah, I'm, how long were you in the ICU?

Kathryn (31:18)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

So I was in there for about, I would say like three, four days I was in there. It was a few days and then they had moved me like once I was stable enough and honestly like at this point I think they were still like iffy on it but they were like, know, she's stable right now and she's gonna be like watched very closely obviously on the mother baby unit. So they moved me back over to be with my son.

and I was like very much heavily monitored. I had even at one I don't really know if it was like a secondary postpartum hemorrhage. They never used that term, but I had actually gone to the bathroom and lost a lot of blood again. And I wasn't sure if I'd be back in the ICU. I didn't have an issue after that, thank God.

Chelsea Myers (32:19)
Mm.

Kathryn (32:26)
But even then it was like, it's just not over. When is this gonna be over? When can I just be like a mom and be excited and happy that my baby is here and instead of, I better soak up these moments because I don't know, I could hemorrhage again. So it was just, yeah. I was happy that they moved me after a few days, but it was still really touch and go. I wasn't out of the woods.

Chelsea Myers (32:31)
Right.

Yeah.

Kathryn (32:54)
They once they they used I don't know if I mentioned this they use the Jada device ⁓ Yeah, so yeah, they use the Jada device which ironically had only been in the hospital for like a few months at this time I remember them telling me this But they use the Jada the Jada is what stopped it. Into when they when they took that out They were like, okay, we're gonna give you like another couple days in here and see how you do ⁓

Chelsea Myers (32:58)
Yeah, you didn't mention it, but yeah, that's important.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, that is, ⁓ I'm gonna link some information about that in the show notes too, because that is a relatively new tool for managing postpartum hemorrhage. And it's actually like one of the most effective tools if used quickly enough. And yeah, so I'm really glad that you brought that up. ⁓ Yeah, listeners, yeah.

Kathryn (33:31)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Yeah, it's really interesting. You can actually go on

TikTok for anybody listening who's interested. You can go on TikTok and look it up and they will show you how it's used. It's so cool. Cause like I was like, so interested in what this looks like. They actually, asked to see it when they took it out and they did show me, but I was like, I still don't understand. Like, it's really cool. Like if you look it up on TikTok, there's lots of videos.

Chelsea Myers (34:01)
Yeah, no.

Yeah, look it

up. ⁓ Jen Hamilton is a big advocate for Jada devices. I had the good old fashioned ⁓ balloon up there for today. I didn't get a Jada device. But yeah, it's making huge, it's making a huge difference in terms of postpartum hemorrhage. So ⁓ it's good to know about it. But

Kathryn (34:14)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

you

Mm-hmm. Absolutely.

Chelsea Myers (34:37)
Yeah, just because again, I could go down so many rabbit holes and I'm it's my job to steer the ship. ⁓ Let's let's talk a little bit about sort of your mental health through this because we could spend forever talking about your hospital experience. That was a huge trauma. That was a long time that was a big recovery. But you're also grappling with at the same time. You didn't have

Kathryn (34:53)
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Chelsea Myers (35:06)
those first moments with your son. So thinking about that transition to the baby, the mother baby unit, and then again, that transition going home, which I just want to say, like, when I read when I learned more about your story and stuff, I'm like, holy shit, like, she just went home, like, she just went home, and they gave her a baby. And they're like, okay. ⁓ and I'm sure it's more complex than that. But like,

Kathryn (35:16)
Yeah.

Yeah, mm-hmm. Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (35:33)
Talk to me about what your mental state was like at that point.

Kathryn (35:33)
Yeah, well, I think the first two to three weeks, no, don't see the first two weeks, I was just in a survival mode where I was terrified to go to the bathroom, I was terrified to make any sudden movements. Not only was I in pain from a C-section, but I was also just...

Oh my God, like am I gonna hemorrhage again? I knew it was possible. And so everything I did was like, okay, know, do I have to make sure my phone is near me? Even though my husband was with me 24 seven and also my mom stayed with us for like a week. And then even she like slept here for a week. But even when she went home, she was here, her and my dad were here every day, like for another two to three weeks. So I was never alone.

Chelsea Myers (35:57)
Yeah.

Kathryn (36:22)
But my mind was like, okay, what do I do in a situation if this happens again? So really just like survival mode. then, you know, of course it was like every day passes, you feel a little bit better. Okay, it's another day. I didn't hemmorhage again. Another day, I didn't hemmorhage again. Okay, the bleeding is getting less and less and less. I start feeling better. And then my mental health hits a wall. Now, prior...

Chelsea Myers (36:49)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (36:53)
Prior to all of this, I've always had little bit of anxiety, but I didn't really realize that I've also had OCD. I was never diagnosed prior to this, ⁓ but this obviously postpartum really kind of fueled its fire. And I was having, you know, intrusive thought.

Chelsea Myers (37:01)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (37:18)
which is also like for anyone listening, very normal for mothers to have. We tend to, when you have a baby, like in, you're constantly like scanning the world around you for danger. And so sometimes what happens is we get these intrusive thoughts that pop in and they're really uncomfortable and scary. So it's normal just to begin with, but then add into it, I have had OCD my whole life and just never was diagnosed.

Chelsea Myers (37:47)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (37:48)
So, yeah, it was really uncomfortable. ⁓ But I was, in my head, like, because again, I worked in mental health prior to this, was like, I think I know what this is. I think, you know, I'm dealing with some postpartum. I did almost die. And also I think I have some OCD. So I was lucky that with my, you know, knowledge that I was like, okay, at least I can name it.

Chelsea Myers (38:05)
Yeah!

you

Kathryn (38:16)
But what really scared me was I started to get really depressed, ⁓ which I had never experienced that before. And so I was wanting to sleep all the time. couldn't really, like I couldn't function. I felt like I was an awful mom. I just wanted to sleep all day and just be left alone.

I felt like I loved my son, but I didn't really feel like I was like, okay, I love him because I know I have to, but do I like really, I don't feel like I have a bond with him. Like I don't feel like I know him. I knew that I want, obviously I was like, I care for this child. He's a beautiful baby. And like, I would care for any child, but I didn't feel like he was mine. And that was terrifying to me.

Chelsea Myers (38:58)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (39:10)
And then I started to feel like I'm never going to bond with him and that I was broken because of my trauma. I wasn't going to be able to have this connection with him or maybe that I was just broken. Like maybe I was just never meant to be a mom. And then I started to feel like, which was weird because right. was at the same time I was like terrified of hemorrhaging again, but then I was also like,

Chelsea Myers (39:30)
Mm.

Kathryn (39:40)
I don't really care anymore. Like I just don't want to be here anymore. So then the suicidal thoughts came in and that was when I had finally was like, yeah, I was like, got to talk to my husband about this. And I mean, terrified. He just called my parents and was like, do you think that we could come to your house? Like now? And my parents were like, of course. Like, do you need us to come to you or whatever is easier? And I wanted to get out of the house. So

Chelsea Myers (39:45)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Kathryn (40:09)
We went to my parents and we spent like a whole day and night there and we pretty much made a plan. I mean, I knew that like, was like not wanting to hurt myself and I definitely didn't want to hurt my baby. So they knew we were safe, but we were like, you know, they were like, you need to get an appointment like tomorrow for a psychiatrist. And if no one can see you, then it was like, I was going to have to to the hospital. So.

Chelsea Myers (40:38)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (40:39)
Luckily again and I owe this again to what I was doing prior I was working in mental health and actually what I was doing at the hospital was getting people connected to resources so it was you know Set them up with a psychiatrist or set them up with a therapist and so I knew of the places around me and I just called called called and I got one and they were like we'll see you tomorrow like we'll do it

Chelsea Myers (41:07)
good.

Kathryn (41:08)
Yeah, I was very lucky for that. And it was an awful, like I would say seven, eight weeks, but the psychiatrist who I still see, I love her, amazing. She was like, she was able to name it. This is what's going on. You're not broken. This is, know, it's not normal, but it's common. This happens to a lot of women and also, and this helped me a lot.

Chelsea Myers (41:32)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (41:37)
You she's like, also just went through such a traumatizing experience on top of this. So it's like, who knows what a normal postpartum would have looked like for you. She's like, this is not a normal postpartum, you know? So she got me started on medications and I've been taking them ever since. yeah, I was feeling a lot better within like, I would say I started to feel better in like three weeks, but like,

Chelsea Myers (41:49)
Right.

Kathryn (42:05)
was feeling fully myself again after like two months.

Chelsea Myers (42:09)
Yeah, which

is what they say too, which I think is important for a lot of people to know. Medication A is no shame, no stigma. Two, also remember it takes six to eight weeks for most mental health medications to become what they call at a therapeutic level. yeah, you said you started seeing little glimpses and glimmers of yourself and then it took some time,

Kathryn (42:17)
Ahem, nope.

Right.

Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (42:36)
It really speaks to the knowledge and the background that you had to be able to recognize these things for what they were because they're terrifying for anyone. Intrusive thoughts are terrifying. Suicidal ideation is terrifying. I know that feeling of, okay, I'm done. I'm done now. ⁓

Kathryn (42:48)
Yeah. ⁓ my gosh. Horrible.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly. And it was just like, it was like

to the point where it was like, okay, like, like, what do I do? Like, I really don't think I could I could live like this. And that you know, like you said, it's terrifying. And it happens to so many women.

Chelsea Myers (43:11)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah,

it happens to so many women. And then like you said, even so you don't know what your postpartum experience would have looked like if you had not suffered birth trauma, but or I should say, and.

A lot of those feelings that you had, like the not connecting with your son or the feeling like, don't know who this is. Like I love him, obviously I love him, but I don't know him. That's also so very common. And I think there's a lot of shame and stigma tied to that as well. ⁓ So just naming that those things are common, but yeah, it's so impacted and like compounded by the experience that you went through.

Kathryn (43:58)
Yeah,

Chelsea Myers (44:00)
I'm so thankful and Grateful that you had the resources and that you had the support that you did Because you were able to take those steps and you were able to get the help that you need and that's why we're talking about these things right so that the moms who don't have that background knowledge and who don't have that support system can be like

Kathryn (44:06)
Yeah.

Right.

Chelsea Myers (44:19)
Okay, I'm not crazy. This happens to a lot of people and I can take steps and I can get better.

Kathryn (44:28)
Exactly. Yeah. And you know, I think that was like, I love the word that you use glimmer. ⁓ But I think for me, that was like the one glimmer that was, it was honestly, like, you know, when my psychiatrist would say, you know, like, is there anything that you feel like positive about? think it's the fact that like, I know what's going on. And there's women who don't know, right? Because like, if you don't work in the field, or if you've never studied it or heard about it or

Chelsea Myers (44:49)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (44:57)
you know, know somebody who's gone through it, you don't know. And I was still scared with the knowledge that I had. can't even imagine if I didn't know what these things were. I was able to name it. I clocked what was going on, but it was still terrifying. But I just don't know what I would have done. I honestly say to this day, it's almost like a blessing. I had started working in this hospital maybe

just two, three months before I even got pregnant, I had no idea any of these resources. Most of these mental health challenges that I was able to learn about, I don't think I would have known about them. Even as a social worker, there's so many different areas in the field, you don't see everything. So I'm like, it's a blessing really in disguise that I was there and knew what I needed to do.

Chelsea Myers (45:43)
Yeah.

Mm-mm.

Kathryn (45:57)
But that's why I feel so.

Chelsea Myers (45:58)
And you

even saw women who were experiencing post-partum mental health disorders, right? Yeah.

Kathryn (46:02)
Exactly Right, right. Mm-hmm. Not many

not many but I did see yeah a couple and and it's like It's just one of those things that you're like, hmm, it just makes me think I mean, I would say everyone has their own beliefs but I'm like It is interesting. I was you know Never really want to be like, yeah when I work in a psych unit to be honest, but it was like

Chelsea Myers (46:27)
I mean, it definitely

takes a certain kind of person to say like, yeah, that's what I want to do.

Kathryn (46:31)
Yeah, but the opportunity, yeah, the

opportunity presented itself and I loved it actually. I learned so much from the patients and honestly, I give a lot of like what the fact that I was able to help myself to a lot of the patients that I had worked with and obviously the doctors and everything too, but you learn so much. ⁓

Chelsea Myers (46:57)
I mean, I will say on a very personal level, and I think I can speak for anybody who's been through this, I'm thankful for people like you who do, especially social workers ⁓ who are working in psychiatric inpatient units. I I was hospitalized three times in a psych unit, and it was the social workers and it was the nurses most of the time ⁓ who made the most impact.

I am thanking you on behalf of those of us who have had to be in that situation, which is a terrifying situation and very uncomfortable situation. But it is the social workers and it is the people who decide like, yeah, I'm going to do this. I can do this. ⁓ Rather than like, okay, yeah, this is my job. I'm just going to show up and it's a paycheck, right? So

Kathryn (47:35)
It is. It's terrifying. Yeah.

I know what you mean. I know. Yeah ⁓

Chelsea Myers (47:54)
Yeah, so I mean, and I do I am also pretty woo woo. And I so I don't believe in silver linings. You know this if you've listened to the podcast, but I do believe that we're put in certain situations, maybe because something down the road is gonna we're gonna benefit from that. So I totally vibe with the like, you're like, ⁓ yeah, okay.

Kathryn (48:05)
you

Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (48:21)
I know this and thank goodness I know this, right?

Kathryn (48:25)
Yeah, we talk about it all the time.

It's like, what if I didn't know any of this? It could have been months or a year before I got help.

Chelsea Myers (48:31)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah,

and the outcome could have been completely different and I'm so thankful that it wasn't. And this transitions us kind of beautifully into the advocacy work that you're doing now. ⁓ I don't know how you feel about the term content creator. I don't feel great about it myself because I'm like, nobody wants to look at my stuff, but like, I know. I'm like, I'm not, don't.

Kathryn (48:55)
You

I know, I'm like, I'm not an influencer. I don't really know.

Chelsea Myers (49:02)
see myself that way at all. like, I do. So I love, I love, love, love your content specifically, because first of all, you really have your finger on the dial in terms of how like what I'm not all into like trends and stuff, but you're able to work what is trending right now.

Kathryn (49:17)
you

Mm-hmm.

Chelsea Myers (49:27)
in

a way that resonates with the advocacy and with the message that needs to get out there. Does that make any sense? Yeah.

Kathryn (49:34)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I do. do tend to,

if I see one that will work, I will use it, yeah. Because I'm like, the more people who see it, the better, you know? Mm-hmm. ⁓ thank you.

Chelsea Myers (49:40)
Yeah, you're, yes, you're so good at that. ⁓ Which is, I

really, truly, and I admire the work that you're doing so much because A, you're incredibly vulnerable and just completely transparent, which is things that I value, I think above almost anything else. But you're able to reach so many parents.

because you can work the algorithm girl, like you've got it. And I know truly, and I've loved watching your account grow because I've always said like in this space, it's not a competition. We're all on the same team.

Kathryn (50:12)
Well, thank you.

Yeah, nah.

Chelsea Myers (50:25)
And I,

but that's what I mean. Like I love watching your account grow and I love watching accounts like yours grow because it means that more people are learning and more people are getting the message. ⁓ Talk to me a little bit about where Beyond the Birth Trauma started. Cause you said originally you were kind of posting things on your own account.

Kathryn (50:43)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah,

so, yeah, I have a personal account and I was posting a lot Well, you know at first it was just kind of explaining what happened and I was like, I know that These are just like people I went to high school with no offense guys who go listening, but I mean I don't really know that they care about I mean, I'm sure they're good people they cared that I almost died but you know, I'm just like Posting a lot of these things. I mean a lot of what you see on

Chelsea Myers (51:02)
Ha ha!

Kathryn (51:16)
beyond the birth trauma was like things, not really the reels but I would post a lot of things, you know, about birth trauma and about what I went through postpartum hemorrhage, postpartum depression on my personal account. I'm like, you know, everyone who follows me here is like family or friends, people I went to school with and you know, maybe they don't want to see this stuff, you know? So that's when I decided I said,

Chelsea Myers (51:42)
Hmm.

Kathryn (51:46)
let me well I didn't really decide I was like back and forth I don't know because again it's like I don't know how to like make videos I don't know what am I gonna do like I feel weird and uncomfortable doing this but I just kept saying to my husband should I do it should I make an account and he was always like yes I think you should do it who cares if you have 20 followers because if you have three followers the whole point is that if for you it's supposed to be like

Chelsea Myers (52:06)
Yeah

Kathryn (52:16)
little diary and so it started out as just that it was in July of last year so like really not that long ago I was coming home from my parents house and I was like you know what I'm gonna make it and he was like okay and that was it and I just made it and at first it was just strictly birth trauma I didn't even really well I shared a little bit of my story but not too much in detail ⁓

Chelsea Myers (52:17)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it was not that long ago.

Kathryn (52:44)
But, it kind of just like snowballs from there. And now I talk a lot about birth trauma, but also I'll share women's stories if there's anyone who wants to share their story. And then I also talk about being one and done. So it's kind of like a mixture of things. And it definitely has resonated with a lot of people, I think. So, especially recently. Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (52:55)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

It's resonated, yeah. Well, it's

resonated with a lot of people. A lot of people have had some opinions and I love that you're like, I love that you're calling it out too because it's like, excuse me, my experience is just as valid as your experience. Yeah.

Kathryn (53:15)
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah like one of my

videos must went viral and I just don't think a lot of people knew It was one of my one and done videos So a lot of people just don't know my story and they're like just fighting in the comments. I'm like, this is the birth trauma page so

Chelsea Myers (53:33)
Yeah.

Like, how about you look for some context before you get all salty up in my comment section. Like,

my god. So yeah, so it-

The things that you're talking about are important and they do resonate with so many people, especially like I was going to mention like the one and done thing. I think that, I mean, I was that way for years and years and then I changed my mind, but I am still so supportive of like, you know, what's right for you and you're not selfish and you also don't know everybody's circumstances and whatever. So

Kathryn (53:56)
Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah, right.

Chelsea Myers (54:13)
Yeah, that's my that's my clap back, which is a very gentle, mild clap back. That's my like meek and mild like like.

Kathryn (54:16)
It's a great, it's a great, great clap back.

love it.

Chelsea Myers (54:24)
sure. That's about it. We'll go with that. But

the other thing that you're doing is you are creating connections, which is which is like my whole deal. So of course, I love it. And I'm and I'm so just in awe of it. But you have you've built this community of moms who would never have met otherwise, who share some experiences and are now

all just cheering for each other. And I think what I admire most about you is like, yeah, you're you're you're talking about the hard stuff. You're giving the information. You're being authentically you. You also are just the biggest freaking cheerleader for all of us. No, truly. Like, I know. And that's not a normal like I wish it were a normal thing.

Kathryn (55:09)
No.

Because I love you guys, I really do. I've found such a...

Chelsea Myers (55:23)
But I respect it so much because I mean, I value that. I value authenticity. I value connection. I value all of it. so, like, Kathryn's in my DMs every day, you guys. Like, we're all like, you're sick too? Yeah, I'm sick too. I hope you get better. Like, my god. And you are the reason, you are the reason that I found the one other person who experienced the brain tumor and hemorrhage. I mean,

Kathryn (55:25)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (55:52)
separate hemorrhage. had a postpartum hemorrhage and then I had a brain hemorrhage. But like it's because

Kathryn (55:55)
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Chelsea Myers (55:57)
of you, Kathryn. So you're, you're bridging these gaps. my God. ⁓ my God. So, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I can guarantee you I'm not the only one because that's just who you are. And it's very rare to, that's why I said.

Kathryn (56:00)
Yeah, I was so happy when you told me that. Yeah, yeah, I was so happy when you told me that.

You're so sweet.

Chelsea Myers (56:17)
No, seriously, especially in the social media space, like with you saying like, I don't know how to do this. I'm uncomfortable. It doesn't seem that way. You seem like you know what you're doing. And I can tell you I'm very uncomfortable, but to find someone who is real and who really cares about their followers and who really cares about the people who are showing up, that's not a typical thing. So I think what you're doing, ⁓ my God, what you're doing is phenomenal. I'm so, so grateful to be able to

Kathryn (56:23)
Yeah.

I appreciate it. Thank you.

Chelsea Myers (56:46)
like share space with you and to like be on this mission with you. Like, I don't know, you're gonna you're gonna blow up even more than you're blowing up right now. I can tell so and then I'm gonna be the one I'm gonna be the one who'd like, guys, do you know that I actually had Kathryn on my podcast? Like, ⁓ I feel like I what

Kathryn (56:55)
Stop.

my gosh, wait, you know, it's like so

crazy and I have to I just have to shout this out She knows who she is ⁓ There was a woman who DMed me just like randomly DM to me. Thank you so much for your content. It's really helpful This is like what I went through and you know not to get into her story But kind of just told me a little bit about herself and they said to her

You look so familiar. And then we found out that we went to CCD together when we were kids and we were in the same CCD class, which is like religious school. But like if you went to public school, you'd go to CCD after school. And yeah, we knew each other from when we were little and she founds me from Beyond the Birth Trauma

Chelsea Myers (57:42)
Right.

And

you guys you're just like, oh hey hey girl hey

Kathryn (57:55)
I know, shout out, hope, I'm

not gonna say who it is, but she knows who she is and she's so lovely. But it's like you said, it's like these like random connections that you just find in this space is so beautiful and it has been life changing for me. And I really appreciate all your kind words. I don't know, right now I feel like the account is growing a lot faster than I expected it to. ⁓

But it was like never about numbers. mean, I guess in a way, because I want to reach more people and the more people that have, you know, the awareness and the knowledge, the better. But for me, it was just, it started out as just like me expressing kind of my thoughts and feelings, what I went through. And it's been a really great space for me to do that. And now it's just become something else and it has been truly life-changing in the best way possible. And so I really appreciate.

Chelsea Myers (58:28)
Mm-hmm.

Kathryn (58:52)
all of your kind words. I feel the same about you, I really do. You're wonderful, you're doing so many great things for this community and so I'm honored that you are talking to me right now.

Chelsea Myers (58:56)
Thank you. my gosh.

will

always, always, always hold space for everyone and I appreciate it. ⁓ I say it's a club none of us wanted to join, but it's full of some of the most incredible people I've ever met in my entire life. And you're one of them. you are officially QC Fam. You were before, you are now. ⁓

Kathryn (59:09)
He he.

Yeah. Yeah. And you're one of them for me. You are.

Thank you.

Chelsea Myers (59:32)
But yeah, so just, you know, time's sake, because I could literally freaking talk to you all day, especially like, especially like both of fellow Italian to Italian girl, like, oh my god. Oh my god, very much movement, very much. If you're not watching this and you're just listening to this, yes, there's been a lot of stereotypes being fulfilled today. But so.

Kathryn (59:38)
I know.

We're very chit chatty.

Yes, yes and a lot of me touching

my hair I apologize for anyone watching

Chelsea Myers (1:00:01)
A lot of hair- see, the

headphones almost keep me from touching my hair. I have a fidget, so I'm playing with my fidget the whole time. It's under the desk. No. Okay, so, to bring us home, I have been doing a new sort of exercise to end our episodes.

Kathryn (1:00:07)
It's not all that's so smart. I should have prepared better. ⁓

Chelsea Myers (1:00:26)
And it's part of my woo woo. It's part of my millennial and hopefully you hopefully you'll vibe with it. We'll see. So I'm bringing us. No, I know. I know. But some people are like, okay. But anyway, I'm bringing us back to the days pre cell phone pre like you were always able to be reached. Like if you

Kathryn (1:00:32)
you

millennial you know so

you

Chelsea Myers (1:00:52)
wanted to talk to someone you had to call the landline if they didn't answer you had to leave them a message and hope that their parents didn't hear it first. So you don't know who my next guest is going to be. You don't know what their story is. You don't know anything about them, but you called in to Quiet Connection today and they weren't here to pick up. So you are going to leave them a message and that is open to however you interpret that. I've had some guests like

Kathryn (1:01:05)
Okay.

You

Okay.

Chelsea Myers (1:01:21)
I've had some guests say like encouraging words. I've had some guests say, I don't know, something about their own story. You can interpret it however you want. But like I said, the woo woo part of me is you, to get your message, you have to listen to the episode before yours. And you're gonna, but right, but you're gonna see, we're gonna figure it out. I'm gonna check that back in and be like, did it resonate? Was it totally off base? Like, I don't know, I don't know.

Kathryn (1:01:45)
Yeah. ⁓

Chelsea Myers (1:01:50)
Alright, so you're gonna leave a message for my next guest. What would you like them to take away? What would you like them to know?

Kathryn (1:01:56)
So for the next guest, would like for you, I don't know if you're telling your story, I don't know if you're professional in the field, but tell exactly what you think every mom needs to hear. Because even if you think it's not gonna resonate, it's going to to somebody. Even there's things that I feel like I post sometimes on my account and I'm like.

This is just gonna flop. don't think people understand it and so many people will tell me Oh my gosh, like you don't understand. It's like you're reading my thoughts. And so I just do that. You're a professional You're a mom who's telling your postpartum story or a birth trauma story, whatever Tell it like it is and it will resonate with someone Was that good?

Chelsea Myers (1:02:46)
I love it.

⁓ my God, was that good? That's our ⁓ Italian Catholic coming through. Did I do okay? Was that okay? Yes, yes, that was beautiful. And it's so on brand for you. Like tell it like it is, be vulnerable. It's gonna resonate with someone. my God. Well, just like I tell all my guests, open invitation, you are welcome back whenever, because I'm sure the conversation could continue.

Kathryn (1:02:56)
my god. ⁓

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

my god, for hours.

Chelsea Myers (1:03:18)
my God. ⁓ if I was better at voice memos, I would do that. But you know, I'm going to be chatting with you like hours from now anyway on Instagram. But

Kathryn (1:03:27)
Yes, we will.

Chelsea Myers (1:03:32)
We've talked about Instagram a lot, for listeners who want to learn more about you, who want to follow your journey, where is the best place for them to look?

Kathryn (1:03:41)
give me Instagram ⁓ at beyond the birth trauma Plain and simple. I did, I'm not, I'm really struggling with threads though. ⁓ So, but if you do follow me on Instagram or if you want to follow me, you'll see my threads there. I'm doing my best, but it's hard. It's different. Yeah.

Chelsea Myers (1:03:45)
Perfect. You recently joined threads. You recently joined threads. I am too.

It's different. It's different. Yeah.

So those will be linked in the show notes for listeners who just want an easy way to like click and follow, which you should. And yeah, just.

Kathryn (1:04:09)
Mm-hmm, you can email me

also I'm at beyond the birth trauma at gmail.com if you want to share your story Or just write whatever you want I mean there's people who just write in just to tell me that you know instead of message email on Instagram I'm so you could totally do that, but for whatever reason that's you could reach me there

Chelsea Myers (1:04:31)
Perfect. Fabulous. Love it. It'll all be in the show notes. yeah, again, ugh, I'm so thankful that you chose to spend some time with me this morning on this Saturday morning. my God. So yeah, I mean, keep doing what you're doing. And this isn't goodbye, because I'm just going to talk to you later. Yeah. Yes, please. Please do.

Kathryn (1:04:43)
I'm so happy.

No. This is only the beginning. I'm gonna annoy you later. Okay.