REMEMBERING // I don't teach stress management for women to "feel calmer". Yes that's a wonderful side effect, but it goes so much deeper than that. When our physiological stress response is deactivated, we're able to do so much more, including be more present during doctors' visits and actually remember what they say. One study found that on average people remember only 49% of decisions and recommendations provided during their appointment! Can you imagine all the wrong info

Do you feel that you deserve to heal and feel better on your fertility journey? Do you feel like you deserve to be a mother and experience a healthier pregnancy? Do you feel like you deserve to grieve your losses and bring a baby home from the hospital? Of course, we say that we deserve these things, but the problem is that we battle an underlying feeling of unworthiness. In this episode... The qualifications we use to call ourselves “infertile” [3:20] How we, as women, allow

November is Prematurity Awareness Month, so it’s a good time for us to discuss the basics. In today’s show, we’re talking about risk factors for preterm delivery and other information you need to know about this frightening experience. In this episode... Prematurity is the leading cause of death for children under five across the world---and the rate in the US keeps rising. [1:47] A history of preterm delivery is the #1 risk factor for another preterm delivery. [6:51] Many me

It's hard to know who to trust when you're going through a life-altering experience like infertility, high-risk pregnancy or a baby in the NICU. Your doctors are sharing all kinds of scary statistics, Google one-ups them with even scarier stories. You might have met women in online forums or on Facebook who have been through what you're going through...but can you really trust them? Maybe yes, maybe not. But how do you know? On this episode, I share with you how to know who t

No matter the circumstances, when you feel like all options are gone and your back is to the wall, we feel extremely frustrated. That frustration can lead to making poor choices, lashing out at loved ones and/or feeling hopeless or worse, falling into a depression. On this episode, I share with you how to take back control during some of the most helpless times of your life. Listen on iTunes | Listen on Stitcher | Listen on iHeartRadio Episode highlights... What is fr

It's hard to know who to trust when you're going through a life-altering experience like infertility, high-risk pregnancy or a baby in the NICU. Your doctors are sharing all kinds of scary statistics, Google one-ups them with even scarier stories. You might have met women in online forums or on Facebook who have been through what you're going through...but can you really trust them? Maybe yes, maybe not. But how do you know? On this episode, I share with you how to know who t

A while back, I was having a conversation with a friend who was trying to get pregnant. She, like so many women, assumed because she was healthy and in her early 30s, getting pregnant would be a breeze. Until it wasn’t. Months and months went by without a positive pregnancy test, which left her confused. Her periods were pretty regular. She had no known health issues that she was aware could impact her ability to get pregnant. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. She wasn’t

For most women a preterm delivery is traumatic. Whether you expected to deliver early (like I did) or you had no signs of it and it happened spontaneousy, knowing that it was best for your baby to come out before full term can lead to long term trauma and delayed healing. As terrifying as it was and as much trauma as it created mentally and physically for you, the biological urge to have more children can be strong. Many women desire more children and yet are terribly afraid

Are you having contractions...maybe they're Braxton Hicks, maybe they're preterm contractions...but you're SO scared that you will meet your baby too soon? Does every pull, twinge or ache in your belly start alarms in your head, making you worry about what it means and what's going to happen? You want to be positive...hope for the best...but the tightness and cramping your belly is making you feel more and more confident you'll deliver preterm. It's the worst, right? My

Pregnancy. Plan. Put those two words together and two things come to mind: 1. Planning to become pregnant. 2. Creating a birth plan once you’re pregnant. But there’s one more type of plan that’s critical for pregnant women to have, especially if you have pregnancy complications. That is a Pregnancy Wellness Plan. What is the High-Risk Pregnancy Wellness Plan? It’s a guideline for how you want to experience your pregnancy, covering your medical, emotional and physical preferen