In this episode of Beyond Postpartum I chat with Jennifer Norris-Hale who is a mom of 3, TEDx speaker, and the founder of Mission: Motherhood. It was such a joy to talk with Jennifer, and we touched on so many important things including birth trauma, being true to your own needs, and the importance of social support. She also tells us all about about Mission: Motherhood and why she took on this important project.
In this episode we talk about:
- What drew her away from Indiana to New York, and then what ultimately drew her home again
- Never planning on being a mom
- Being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome late in pregnancy
- Wanting a natural birth but ending up with an emergency c-section
- The insensitive comment made by a postpartum nurse that set Jennifer up for feeling like she wasn’t fit to be a mother
- Struggling to bond
- Rationalizing the disconnect she had with her son to avoid dealing with the underlying issues
- Feeling like she failed by having a c-section
- Needing to grieve the birth she planned but didn’t get
- How she knew that she wasn’t doing well and that something may have been wrong
- When she made the decision to take medication for anxiety and depression
- How she knew she was starting to feel better
- How she started to bond with her son and find that connection
- The importance of social support
- Having two more children after experiencing PPD/A the first time
- Being honest with yourself about what you need
- Mission: Motherhood
- How it came about that she did a TEDx talk on postpartum depression
- The importance of talking about mental health
- What she would say to herself if she could go back in time to when she was struggling the most
Resources:
- Mission: Motherhood
- Mission: Motherhood on Facebook and their private Facebook group
- @missionmotherhoodfw on Instagram
- Jennifer’s TEDx talk
- Postpartum International
