For this episode of Beyond Postpartum I had the honour of having the lovely Robin Gale as my guest. Robin is a mom of 2, a full spectrum doula, a breastfeeding counsellor, and a staff member here at PPPSS. She shares her journey with PPD and PPA, her experience having a newborn with a heart condition, what helped in her recovery, and the skills and tools that she has carried with her from that experience.
We talk about:
- Knowing she was at high risk for PPD/PPA but not allowing herself the space to acknowledge it after having her first child
- The circumstances that contributed to having worse PPD/PPA the 2nd time
- Having a newborn had a heart condition
- How experiencing a sudden and unexpected loss pushed her over the edge from coping, to not
- When she reached out to PPPSS and her experience in one of our support groups
- The abrupt shift from the supports available in the NICU to being sent home
- When the worry shifted from normal worry to intrusive thinking
- Experiencing disproportional anger towards her older child for acting out as a sign of PPD and PPA
- The shame around experiencing anger
- The value in learning the skills she learned through her postpartum journey
- Modelling good self care and mental health practices to our children and those around us
- The harmful myths about parenthood that are out there
- Comparison of suffering as poison
- The things she did to facilitate her recovery
- What she would have done differently, in hindsight
- Using medication as a tool in recovery, and why they can help
- The memories that re-emerged when Covid hit
- Whether taking a shower should count as self care or not (the jury is still out)
- Reclaiming the pieces of ourselves that we miss from who we were pre-children
- Shifting the narrative of self care
- How her experience with PPD/PPA has influenced her professional work
- Finding joy in the every day
