Trauma isn’t always about what happened - sometimes it’s about what didn’t.

Lisa already felt anxious and lonely navigating pregnancy, birth, and postpartum in a new country without the safety net of family or maternity care in her mother tongue. But this sense of isolation was only compounded by the absence of safety, connection, and support when Lisa’s newborn was rushed away to the special care nursery without explanation, leaving her alone for hours.

With her concerns about her baby’s reflux dismissed for weeks, access to a mother’s group denied because she was a second-time mum, and her mental health symptoms overlooked because she didn’t ‘look’ depressed - no matter where she turned, Lisa never felt seen, heard, or held.

In fact, depression, PTSD, insomnia, and rage consumed her life for several years until she found the right psychologist who finally made her feel seen, heard, and held.

Lisa’s story emphatically stresses the importance of connection and being held during the perinatal period. Now, through her work, she helps create the very community she needed, and offers a message of hope for others walking the same path.

In this episode, we explore:

• the added layers of isolation as an immigrant

• the vital role of compassion and humanity in maternity care

• the path to recovery with IFS, EMDR, neurofeedback, meditation, and Maternal Journal

• the reminder that the bond with our baby is capable of repair

• the need to advocate - always - for ourselves and for our children

Tune in to Lisa’s breath-taking story of trauma, healing, and reclaiming her power.

When Amber-Lee found herself unexpectedly pregnant, she knew life was about to change - but nothing could have prepared her for the profound impact that a complicated pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period would have on her mental health.

In this powerful episode, I’m joined by Amber-Lee from @thepowerofbirth and host of Can We Talk About This? who candidly shares her personal experience of perinatal mental ill health with unflinching honesty. From two unexpected pregnancies to the debilitating effects of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), birth trauma, PTSD, rage, depression, and anxiety - no part of her experience is off limits.

Through both humour and grace, Amber-Lee touches on:

• The shock and emotional weight of unexpected pregnancies

• The physical and psychological toll of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)

• Navigating birth trauma and injury as a new mother

• How postpartum PTSD and rage can manifest - and why we need to talk about them

• The importance of normalising maternal ambivalence

• The struggle of being ‘the strong one’ while silently suffering

• What healing looks like and why talking about perinatal mental health matters

Wherever you are on your journey, Amber-Lee’s story reminds us that it’s not your fault, your experience matters, recovery is possible, and you’re allowed to laugh to cope.

These conversations matter. So let’s keep talking about it.

Please note, this episode discusses the lived experience of an unexpected and unwanted pregnancy. Go gently.

Dayna’s story really gives meaning to the phrase one thing after another.

When she birthed her son, there was no golden hour or newborn bubble, which is something she’s still grieving. Instead, there was an emergency c-section, a dystonic reaction, mistreatment from hospital staff, over 30 hours of separation from her baby, and a special care nursery admission, not to mention flashbacks, anxiety, panic attacks, rage, and hypervigilance.

More curveballs only compounded this trauma in the form of dysphoric milk ejection reflex (D-MER), ongoing physical pain, cow’s milk protein allergy, a six-month waitlist to see a psychologist, and returning to work at a hospital.

The mental health impacts of birth trauma are real, and Dayna articulates this with such vulnerability and insight - and a bit of humour too. Through this conversation, she tells a story about parallels and contradictions, about mothering with trauma, about how her work as a nurse both helped and complicated her experience, and about the unforgettable experiences that will stay with her for a long time - for both the right and wrong reasons.

This episode will make you feel every emotion - one after another, after another.

Birth trauma permeated much of Claire’s story and it impacted her mental and physical health in ways she could never have imagined. This was only exacerbated by the border closures and a tumultuous feeding journey.

‘Failure to thrive’ was a label that was applied to her son, but ultimately became a label she applied to herself.

In this episode, Claire @mamahood.my.way talks about the anxiety and paralysis she felt when trying to conceive, a PTSD and Lupus diagnosis, a birth debrief with her hospital team to make sense of her experience, the power of reconnecting with herself, and the joy of her family finally meeting her son after more than a year of border closures.

This is Claire’s incredible story of learning what it means to thrive as a mother and empowering others to do the same - however that looks!

Please note, the episode discusses birth trauma. Go gently.

Monique’s birth may have been quick, but its complications and long-term impacts were anything but. From a 3rd degree tear, prolapse, severe postpartum haemorrhage, partial levator avulsion, a near death experience, and a stay in the ICU, she paints a picture of the pain from her birth trauma and postpartum PTSD as a ‘storm’ - one that she is still weathering.

But thanks to talk therapy with her long-time psychologist, self-compassion, group therapy through the Australasian Birth Trauma Association (ABTA), and the support of her husband, it’s no longer a storm that she is weathering alone.

Join me in this episode to hold space for Monique’s incredibly moving story that shines a gut-wrenching light on birth trauma and why it matters. Please note, this episode vividly describes the experience and impact of physical and psychological trauma - go gently.

When Helen, a midwife and academic, describes her mental health in pregnancy and postpartum, she uses the word ‘blindsided’.

Despite her expertise, Helen was confronted by post-traumatic stress disorder following two traumatic pregnancies, a NICU admission, baby loss, grief, and the continued uncertainties of IVF. As a health clinician, she was also staggered by the prevalence and general lack of awareness of psychological trauma in the perinatal period.

In this episode, Helen takes us on her painful journey of trauma through pregnancy and postpartum, to her subsequent research and advocacy as a result of her experiences. We also discuss the importance of language in this space, post-traumatic growth, grief, stereotypes, trigger warnings, trauma-informed care, and art therapy.

I thank Helen from the bottom of my heart for sharing her story so candidly.

You can find Helen on Instagram as @reallifemidwife where she uses her platform to raise awareness, validate, and educate us all about perinatal psychological trauma (and where she occasionally creates reels of herself in Grey’s Anatomy cast photos).

Please note, this episode discusses baby loss. If you are able to listen, I welcome you to join me in ‘sitting in the shit’ with Helen.

At 18 weeks pregnant, Aimee suffered the unimaginable - her waters ruptured. But to the surprise of every doctor, Aimee’s waters resealed and at 38 weeks, Evie, a healthy baby girl, was born.

But her relief and joy vanished when suddenly she felt like she was living the worst case scenario she feared, rather than the happy ending she got. Aimee hid her suffering for weeks, until one day her shocked husband found her in a heap on the floor.

I spent most of my life imagining motherhood. I couldn't imagine anything else - not a career, not travel, not study - just motherhood. What I didn't imagine, however, was a mental breakdown that sent me to a psychiatric ward only days after my son's birth.

Join me as I share part two of my story where I talk about how my postpartum unfolded in all the ways I could never have imagined.