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

With the technology boom, patients and clients now have access to the same information as medical professionals. As beneficial as technology can be, the drawback is that we find conflicting messages that don’t help us when we are scared and overwhelmed with caring for our child. Join me for this final episode of the Delivering Miracles podcast as we discuss stress, the nervous system, and the necessity of rest and repair. In this episode... A quote on social media about stres

Statistics show that approximately 6% of women experience anxiety during pregnancy, but I suspect that the percentage is actually much higher than that. This episode covers pregnancy anxiety, which is something I see a lot in my practice. Many women have questions about this topic, especially since it’s something that is frequently waved off and disregarded by healthcare providers. It’s a topic that’s close to my heart because I see a lot of outdated tools and techniques tout

Parenting after loss is a topic that comes up frequently in the Delivering Miracles community. People ask what they should do and how they should go on loving the child they have while still feeling the previous loss. This unique kind of grief presents a conundrum in how to handle the intricacies of parenting, and societal pressure certainly plays into how we THINK we should feel. There is most definitely not just ONE right way to navigate this grief into your role as a paren

I’m asked frequently why I like to focus on bodywork and nervous system regulation. The simple answer is that I want to know (and I want you to know) not just how to cope, but how to not be affected by the anxiety that comes with life. When you’re affected by trauma, the truth is that it does not get better with time. Many people misunderstand nervous system regulation, so let’s talk about how this works and how this information can help you in the long run. In this episode..

The topic of trauma has hit home for me and our DM community. Stress, anxiety, and maternal mental health issues all have their roots in unresolved trauma. Trauma is simply a nervous system frozen in a state of danger, and it’s not tied to a specific event, but in how that event is encoded in your body. Let’s dive deeper! In this episode... Why it’s easy to minimize trauma, which has nothing to do with what you went through; it’s a nervous system frozen in a state of danger (

This is the episode I didn’t want to do. I tried to avoid it, but I can’t. My feelings are prompted by what I’ve seen on social media posts and articles--and those have left an awful taste in my mouth. We have an epidemic in the US of healthcare providers not listening to women when they complain about their pain and what’s going on in their lives. People don’t listen, and they don’t trust what women say, but then they wonder why all these women’s health issues keep cropping

Whether you are officially diagnosed with PTSD or not, a traumatic experience affects all of us on a physical level. Without adequate recovery, the trauma sits in the body, creating roots like a seed growing in the soil. This keeps your body stuck in the fight-flight-freeze mode. This chronic activation of the stress response acts sets the stage for pregnancy complications such as gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, and preterm contractions among others. In fact

I talk a lot on my podcast, on this blog, in Pregnancy Brain , on social media...and really everywhere I can..about how stress is NOT a mindset issue. So if it's not in our heads, not something we can think ourselves in and out of...then what is it? What are common triggers of stress during pregnancy? Stress triggers are anything that activate our sympathetic nervous system and create changes to our endocrine, immune and nervous systems. The graphic below shows you just some

"Don't lose hope" sounds like really supportive advice for anyone going through a difficult time in their life, right? It's positive, it's encouraging, it reminds us about the importance of hope in our abilities to find strength during the most trying of times. But for many women and couples going through infertility, a high-risk pregnancy, a NICU stay or parenting a child with medical complications...this is actually terrible advice, especially if they have to make an imposs

Dealing with a high-risk pregnancy can make you feel terrified, completely helpless and and out of control. The problem is, nobody is talking about how to get back IN control when you're faced with pregnancy complications, scary test results and the possibility of delivering too soon. As a clinically-trained therapist and women's wellness expert, I knew the importance of being in control on your emotional health. But it wasn't until I went through my very high-risk pregnancy

When you're going through a high-risk pregnancy, receiving bad news about your health or your baby's health, living each moment with uncertainty and worry, hope acts as an anchor for sanity. But it can be hard to maintain that hope when you're stuck with the neverending "what ifs" all day and night. I know when I was going through my high-risk pregnancy, hearing stories of women who were on the other side of complications helped me tremendously. So on this episode I share wit

A high-risk pregnancy is a uniquely difficult time because of the emotional and physical intensity. Within a short 40 weeks - sometimes less - you might hear difficult news, have to make impossible decisions all while feeling the weight of being responsible for another life. You hope for a miracle and yet you aren't sure if you'll be lucky enough to experience one. On this episode, I share with you why I believe everyone one of us has the power to create miracles during a hig

With increased attention on postpartum depression in the media and in research, more and more women (and their loved ones) are becoming sensitive to recognizing the signs and symptoms early. However, sometimes the signs and symptoms of postpartum depression, like crying, are not necessarily pointing to depression. Sometimes, crying is not a sign of a mental health condition at all but a sign of healing. On this episode, I share with you how to tell the difference. Listen on i

The term "mind-body connection" can mean a variety of things to so many people. Some take it to mean mental health, others take it to mean nutrition therapy, others take it to mean something about the stars or hanging crystals by your bed. But most of us can agree that it relates somehow to stress. But does it have any impact on the health of your pregnancy? Absolutely. On this episode I share with you how. Listen on iTunes | Listen on Stitcher | Listen on iHea

When I first started watching This is Us, the very first episode reminded me of a good friend I'd met during my high-risk pregnancy. Not long before I was pregnant, she had been pregnant after fertility treatment. Not with one. Not with twins. But with triplets. On this episode, she shares her experience of finding out she was pregnant with triplets, how she coped with her high-risk pregnancy and what her NICU journey was like trying to juggle three babies in the hospital. Li

My pregnancy had been really difficult from the start, beginning with finding out about my first health complication before I found out I was pregnant. After I was recommended to limit my activity 6 weeks into my pregnancy, I started accumulating pregnancy complications like I hoard Thin Mints. At first, I took it in stride. I needed IVF to get pregnant, I had endometriosis and scar tissue gluing organs to places they shouldn’t be, so I wasn’t surprised that the pregnancy was

Having twins sounds cool doesn't it? I've always wished I had a twin! And to be honest, there have been times on our fertility journey when I thought, "Screw it. Let's just transfer 2 embryos. A twin pregnancy can't be harder than the heartbreak of recurring loss or failed cycles, right?" I know so many women feel the same too. The problem, though, is that we tend to glamorize twin pregnancies as easier than doctors make them out to be, when the reality is that twin pregnanci

Feeling stressed during your pregnancy, especially if you are high-risk, is not your fault. Who wouldn't feel stressed when they have pregnancy complications? But emotional and physical stress management is critical to helping you have a healthy pregnancy...even if you have medical complications during your pregnancy. There's a tremendous amount of research that supports this. So this episode I'm guiding you through how to make fast improvements to your pregnancy health and w

Western medicine has its limitations and when you go through infertility and/or a high-risk pregnancy you know exactly how little science actually knows about reproductive health. The problem is, doctors only advise couples to try evidence-based therapies to help them get pregnant or to help them have a healthy pregnancy. While there is plenty of reason to follow that advice, solely relying on what research has proven to be helpful is limiting your choices on safe alternative