Let’s Get Real with Jena Burris
Welcome to Let’s Get Real, the podcast for women who feel like they’re holding it all together on the outside… but falling apart on the inside.
If you’re exhausted from pretending, overwhelmed by the pressure to be everything for everyone, or unsure who you even are anymore—you’re not alone. And you’re not crazy.
Let’s Get Real is where we have honest conversations about the struggles most people avoid—healing emotional wounds, losing yourself in motherhood, rebuilding your identity, and learning how to live whole again.
I’m Jena Burris—wife, mom, and your host. With a background in marriage and family therapy, life coaching, and years spent navigating life behind the scenes of the NFL and Hollywood, I’m passionate about creating a space where real conversations lead to real healing.
Each week, you’ll hear real stories, practical tools, and the reminder that freedom is closer than you think. Because I believe that in order to heal, we have to get real.
New episodes every Tuesday. Real talk. Real tools. Real healing.
For speaking inquiries, brand partnerships, or workshop opportunities, visit www.jenaburris.com or email jena@jenaburris.com.
Let’s Get Real with Jena Burris
Why Moms Need an Advocate During Birth with Suzzie Vehrs
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Free Resource for Moms
Feeling overwhelmed and like you’ve lost yourself in the chaos of motherhood?
You’re not alone. And you don’t have to keep feeling this way.
I created this FREE guide for you:
🎁 The Overwhelmed Mom’s Guide: 10 Small Changes to Start Feeling Like You Again
Simple, realistic shifts you can start making today without adding more to your plate.
👉 https://jenaburris.kit.com/ecc29b3801
Episode 53: Why Moms Need an Advocate During Birth With Suzzie Vehrs
Birth is one of the most powerful transitions in a woman’s life.
And yet, so many mothers walk away feeling unheard, overwhelmed, or quietly grieving an experience that didn’t unfold the way they hoped.
Healthy baby. Everyone says you should be grateful.
But something still feels unsettled inside.
In this episode, I sit down with birth and postpartum doula Suzzie Vehrs to talk about why advocacy during birth matters more than we realize.
After witnessing both traumatic and deeply supported birth experiences, Suzzie devoted her work to helping families feel anchored, informed, and emotionally safe, not just medically managed.
Because birth is more than a clinical event.
It’s emotional. Relational. Sacred.
When Support Changes Everything
Many women enter labor prepared with information, but not always with steady, continuous support.
Doctors and nurses play critical roles, but they rotate shifts. They manage multiple patients. They often meet you in the moment.
A doula stays.
Suzzie explains how unseen barriers during labor, fear, rushed decisions, miscommunication, exhaustion, can escalate quickly when a mother feels alone. Often, trauma isn’t just about what happened. It’s about feeling unsupported while it happened.
Having someone in the room who knows your hopes, understands your fears, and can calmly explain options changes the nervous system experience of birth.
Advocacy doesn’t mean controlling outcomes.
It means helping you feel seen, heard, and informed, even when plans change.
Healing Beyond the Delivery Room
We also talk about the grief many women carry after emergency C-sections, miscarriages, or birth plans that didn’t unfold as imagined. Even when babies are healthy, mothers can carry disappointment, confusion, or shame that goes unspoken.
Postpartum is another overlooked chapter. The six-week checkup is not enough. Mothers need ongoing support, guidance, and reassurance as they recover physically and emotionally.
From processing birth stories to practical newborn support, Suzzie shares how thoughtful postpartum care can prevent isolation and strengthen family connection during a vulnerable season.
If you’re preparing for birth, healing from one, or supporting someone who is, this episode will remind you:
You deserve more than survival.
You deserve support.
Connect with Suzzie
https://www.instagram.com/shebirthsbravely/
P.S. If this episode resonates with you, please reach out. I truly want to hear your story. You can DM me on Instagram @jenaburris or email me at jena@jenaburris.com. Your voice matters — and I’m here for you.