Mom and Mind Katayune Kaeni, Psy.D., PMH-C

So many changes happen in the transition to motherhood, and these shifts run the gamut from physical, mental, emotional, and social changes to even chemical changes in the brain. I’m joined today by the author of Rattled: How to Calm New Mom Anxiety with the Power of the Postpartum Brain. Join us for an informative discussion on this important topic.
Dr. Nikki Pensak is a clinical psychologist specializing in perinatal mental health and providing evidence-based therapy to her patients. She also serves on the Expert Review Board for Parents Magazine, the Expert Board of Providers for Mother Untitled, and is a TEDx speaker. She shares with us her personal experience and what inspired her to write her book. 

Show Highlights:

Dr. Nikki’s journey to perinatal mental health work through a focus on caregivers

Dr. Nikki’s hindsight into mothers after her postpartum experience

The mother: “The silent patient”

Dr. Nikki’s book is based on the premise that motherhood, as we know it in the US, is NOT working.

Three pillars in the transition to motherhood: postpartum treatment and mental health, matrescence, and the power of the maternal brain

Postpartum treatment should focus on healthy ways to increase neuroplasticity in a productive way.

Neuroplasticity in a new mother

The prevalence of suffering in new mothers–and the time and understanding they need in this huge life transition

A closer look at Dr. Nikki’s book, which addresses topics like mom shame, mom guilt, mom rage, relationship changes, bonding, back-to-work transitions, brain changes, and more

The value of having a postpartum mental health action plan in place

Dr. Nikki’s TEDx talk experience of speaking on “The Power of the Maternal Brain”

The disparity in healthcare and research funding for men’s issues and women’s issues—we can do better!


Resources:
Connect with Dr. Nikki Pensak: Website, Instagram, YouTube, Rattled book
Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to better support people for whom they provide services. 
You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms
Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.  
Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

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Relationship challenges are at the top of the list of things that come up in therapy sessions. I’m not just referring to partner relationship difficulties, but even relationships with other family members. Becoming a parent brings up a lot of relationship dynamics about childhood, family, and our own parents, especially if there was family disruption, abuse, neglect, or emotional unavailability. To be fair, I’m not parent-shaming or blaming. Parents of a generation or two back might not have had great parenting skills because they didn’t get the parenting that they needed. Join me as we explore this concept in today’s Behind the Sessions episode.

Show Highlights:

As a psychologist, I can only diagnose and understand my clients—not all the other people in their lives.

Our early experiences with our parents shape how we connect with people, how we bond and attach, and how we navigate relationships.

The pressure on a new parent can be intense and lead to anxiety, depression, perfectionism, and OCD patterns.

Healing our childhood trauma is a relatively new concept.

Relationships with our parents can run the gamut from having no contact at all to having an incredibly intrusive parent.

The generational healing journey begins with realizing that the way you were parented doesn’t have to be carried forward. You CAN break the cycle.

Mistakes are part of life and learning.

Seeing a therapist can help you NOT carry old traumas into the rest of your parenting journey.

A deeper understanding of yourself and your healing can help you see your parents through a different lens. 

I look forward to expanding further on this topic in future episodes with several of my colleagues!


Resources:
Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to better support people for whom they provide services. 
You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms
Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.  
Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a deep dive into a perinatal IOP and what that involves. Today’s expert shares helpful information so we can understand the value of this higher level of perinatal support.
Roxanne Rosenberg is the co-founder and clinical director of Anchor Perinatal Wellness, the Southeast’s only perinatal-specific intensive outpatient program (IOP). She is a member of the new federal Maternal Mental Health Task Force and has volunteered with Postpartum Support International at the local and national levels. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with honors from Yale University and her master’s degree in psychology from Duke University. Roxanne has been supporting pregnant and postpartum people for over 15 years through individual psychotherapy, intensive outpatient programming, birth doula work, and advocacy. Her trainings in perinatal mental health and women’s trauma have been available across the country. She is a bilingual Latina mom of two and is a survivor of perinatal loss and trauma. 

Show Highlights:

What is a perinatal IOP?

Reasons why someone might need an IOP

Understanding the history of IOPs in the US (first began in Rhode Island in 2000; even now, there are only 32 across the US)

IOP resources are available both in-person and virtually.

Typical perinatal symptoms that indicate the need for an IOP

Barriers to IOP treatment, like insurance limitations (although most insurance will cover it!)

Roxanne’s role as the facilitator of the support system

Promising results in Roxanne’s IOP in the last two years

Benefits of support in a group setting with a structured program

Specific needs and concerns in the IOP environment

How to find a perinatal IOP (and housing if you need to go to a different state for care)

Anchor Perinatal Wellness supports and accommodates a parent with attachment to their baby by providing childcare.

Perinatal IOPs are an underutilized resource because people are unaware of their existence!

Roxanne’s vision to make these IOPs more available to everyone who needs them

The process of starting a perinatal IOP

Advice for therapists who want to send their patients for this level of perinatal care


Resources:
Connect with Roxanne and Anchor Perinatal Wellness: Website, Roxanne’s email, Anchor Perinatal’s email, Facebook, YouTube, and phone: 919-275-0806
Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to better support people for whom they provide services. 
You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms
Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.  
Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health anxiety during pregnancy and the postpartum is a very real struggle for many people. My guest today joins us to share her experience and what she’s seeing from clients in her practice. You’ll learn how to notice perinatal health anxiety and what to do about it. Join us to learn more!
Michelle Flynn is a fully accredited perinatal psychotherapist and certified infant massage instructor based in Dublin, Ireland. She specializes in supporting parents at all stages of their parenting journey from conception through birth and postpartum. She works with a national organization providing psychotherapy to survivors of childhood sexual abuse and also teaches in a master’s program. Following her experience of perinatal anxiety and her struggle to access appropriate mental health support, Michelle turned her focus to perinatal mental health and set up her private practice, An Croi Beag Psychotherapy (“Little Heart” in Irish). Through her private psychotherapy practice and her infant massage groups, Michelle hopes to further support parents in perinatal distress, raise awareness about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and improve access to mental health services for birthing people. 
Show Highlights:

Michelle’s journey into perinatal mental health and her overwhelming anxiety during her difficult first pregnancy

Michelle’s experience with healthcare providers who dismissed her concerns and made her feel invalidated and unsafe

Even mental health professionals feel shame and stigma about asking for help!

Subsequent pregnancies brought Michelle two more babies for “three under three,” but those were different from her first pregnancy.

The conversations we need to have with young people about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum so we can normalize it and remove the shame and stigma

Understanding the mental health system in Ireland—and how things are beginning to improve

What Michelle sees in her patients and their experiences

The challenges in treating health anxiety

The narrative around motherhood—and why we don’t open up when things go wrong

Michelle’s advice about identifying health anxiety for yourself, and what to do next


Resources:
Connect with Michelle Flynn: Website, Email, and Instagram
Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to better support people for whom they provide services. 
You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms
Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.  
Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many factors influence the transition to parenthood, and most of those things are unexpected and unpredictable. No one “signs up for” a perinatal mental health condition, but it can seem to come out of nowhere and leave you blindsided–in addition to the normal adjustments that come with the addition of a new baby to the family. These PNMH conditions can impact every area of life significantly, including the return to work. Join me for a closer look at navigating this tricky transition.

Show Highlights:

New parents experience varied emotions about returning to work (“It’s okay to want to return to work, and it’s okay not to want to return to work!)

The truth: If you return to work when you’re not mentally well, the added stress of work will not help you get better.

Your healthcare provider can do assessments of your perinatal mental health symptoms–just ASK!

Planning ahead for the return to work can help you navigate the transition.

My best tips for returning to work: 

Try to navigate your return slowly, and don’t take on big, new projects right away.

Pace yourself and give yourself space to figure out your changing needs.

Understand that your priorities might have shifted by having a new baby. (Things might not feel “normal” for a while.)

Be intentional and think about how you’ll balance work and home.

Set boundaries and protect your energy.

Prioritize your sleep!


Resources:
Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to better support people for whom they provide services. 
You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms
Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.  
Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having information and being empowered to make decisions are ways to protect mental health. Nothing is more disempowering than finding out later that you had choices of which you were unaware at the height of a mental health struggle. All of these concepts apply perfectly to birthing situations. One of the main reasons this podcast exists, along with the work of today’s guest is to spread information so that it’s accessible to EVERYONE. Join us to learn more!
Dr. Rebecca Dekker, a nurse with her Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of Evidence Based Birth®️ and the author of Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered. Previously, Dr. Dekker was an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Kentucky. In 2016, she shifted gears to focus full-time on the mission of Evidence Based Birth®️. She and Team EBB are committed to creating a world in which all families have access to safe, respectful, evidence-based, and empowering care during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. EBB does this by boldly making the research evidence on childbirth freely and publicly accessible. Dr. Dekker is also the host of the 
Evidence Based Birth®️ Podcast, which has over 5.5 million downloads!

Show Highlights:

The beginnings of EBB in 2012

The shift for Rebecca from her first birth to her second—-a clear change from disempowerment to empowerment

The evidence around preventable cesarean births, vaginal births, and the mother’s wishes

Rebecca’s advice for those who want to advocate or feel empowered:

Choose a provider and birth setting with a low cesarean rate. (Leapfrog is a recommended resource for information.)

Consider hiring a doula for added support.

Learn what the evidence shows about induction, Pitocin, and preparing your body with proper sleep, food, and hydration.

Assessing your provider for “continuity of care”

Fact: Switching providers can help prevent birth trauma!

Approaching your labor/delivery experience with a spirit of collaboration and teamwork

How PTSD can impact the decisions of healthcare workers

Rebecca’s tips for empowering yourself in the labor/delivery process, using the acronym BRAND [Ask, what are the benefits, risks, alternatives, (what happens if I do) nothing, and discuss (with your partner).]

Hot tip for laboring moms: Ask for time to pray (Rebecca explains why this gives you time and space.)

Components of a calm birthing environment for an empowered laboring mother

What Rebecca wants our listeners to know


Resources:
Connect with Dr. Rebecca Dekker and Evidence Based Birth®️: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered, and the Evidence Based Birth®️ Podcast
Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to better support people for whom they provide services. 
You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms
Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.  
Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices