The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast

Episod

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  Ep. 268: From NICU Trauma to NICU Support: Prematurity, NICU Trauma, and Healing feat. Melissa 24.09.2026 37min

  In this listener series episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Melissa to hear her story of pregnancy, unexpected complications, premature birth, and an almost six-month NICU stay. Melissa shares how her experience at 25–27 weeks pregnant turned her birth plans upside down and how her son’s congenital heart defect and battle with NEC added layers of fear and uncertainty to an already traumatic experience. But Melissa’s story doesn’t end in the NICU. Six years later,...
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  Ep. 267: Hope After Birth Trauma: Rethinking Birth, Interventions, and Autonomy 22.09.2026 46min

  In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Lo Mansfield, MSN, RNC-OB, CLC, an OB nurse, educator, mom of four, and creator of The Labor Mama. Lo shares her journey into nursing, what she calls the “art of nursing,” and how her experiences both as a nurse and as a mother have shaped the way she thinks about birth. Kayleigh and Lo dive into the importance of nuance, autonomy, and hope in birth education, especially for people planning a hospital birth after a...
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  Ep. 266: Undiagnosed Placenta Accreta, Hemorrhage, and Emergency Hysterectomy feat. Shelby 17.09.2026 44min

  On today’s listener series episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh welcomes Shelby to share the story of her traumatic birth experience and the unexpected complications that changed her life forever. What began as a planned C-section due to placenta previa and cholestasis quickly became a life-threatening emergency involving severe hemorrhaging, multiple interventions, blood transfusions, and ultimately an emergency hysterectomy. Shelby later learned that placenta accreta was...
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  Ep. 265: When the Emergency Is Over, But the Trauma Isn’t: Creating The Post Care 14.09.2026 33min

  In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Alexsis Gilles, founder of The Postcare, to talk about her experience of birth trauma and the journey that followed. Alexsis shares the story of her daughter Ella’s birth, including a difficult induction, 11 attempts at an epidural, an emergency C-section, a severe hemorrhage, and being separated from her daughter while she received care in the NICU. What became especially difficult was what happened after the emergency...
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  Ep. 264: When Care Isn’t Trauma-Informed: Infertility, Sexual Trauma, and Obstetric Violence feat. Liz 10.09.2026 47min

  In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Liz Gray, a fellow perinatal therapist, to hear her deeply personal story of infertility, birth, sexual trauma, and obstetric violence. Liz shares how her history of sexual trauma shaped her experience with fertility treatment and birth, and how moments of dismissal, lack of empathy, and feeling unseen ultimately contributed to her trauma. Liz’s story is also one of advocacy and turning pain into purpose. After struggli...
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  Ep. 263: What is a "Positive" Pregnancy & Birth? 08.09.2026 35min

  What does it actually mean to have a positive pregnancy experience, especially when we know that birth and postpartum don't always go according to plan? In this episode, Kayleigh sits down with Nina Spears, birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, and author of Positive Pregnancy, to talk about preparing for pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and everything in between. Nina shares her unexpected journey into birth work, explains the difference between a baby planner and a doula, and discus...
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  Ep. 262: Two Traumatic Births As an L&D Nurse feat. Stacy 03.09.2026 32min

  In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh welcomes Stacy to share her powerful story of experiencing birth trauma through two very different pregnancies. As a labor and delivery nurse, Stacy entered motherhood with an understanding of the medical side of birth, but that knowledge made it even more difficult to process what happened when both of her births took unexpected and traumatic turns. Her first daughter was born via C-section after developing gestational hypertension, ...
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  Ep. 261: What Makes Birth Safer? The Human Side of Patient Safety 01.09.2026 1j

  What happens when we look at perinatal patient safety as more than protocols, checklists, and clinical outcomes? In this episode of the Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Cheniqua Morales, a perinatal patient safety nurse, to talk about the human side of making birth safer. Cheniqua shares how her experiences as a doula, labor and delivery nurse, educator, and patient safety leader shaped the way she approaches this work and why relationships, trust, communication, and activel...
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  Ep. 260: Uterine Rupture, Postpartum Hemorrhage & a Rare Tumor feat. Rebecca 16.07.2026 47min

  Rebecca's story is one of extraordinary resilience. What began as a routine induction quickly turned into a life-threatening postpartum emergency, followed by the discovery of a rare orbital tumor, multiple surgeries, and a long road through PTSD and healing. In this heartfelt Listener Series episode, Rebecca shares how community, therapy, faith, and giving back helped her reclaim her life after birth trauma. If you've ever felt like your trauma became your identity, this conversation o...
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  Ep. 259: Celebrating The Worst Day of Your Life: Birth Trauma Anniversaries 14.07.2026 33min

  This week's episode is a solo conversation about one of the most complicated parts of healing after birth trauma: anniversaries. Whether it's your baby's birthday, the day you were admitted to the hospital, your NICU discharge, or another date tied to your experience, trauma anniversaries can bring up overwhelming emotions, even years later. Kayleigh shares why these reactions are so common, what is actually happening in the nervous system, and practical ways to care for yourself as these sig...
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  Ep. 258: Three Births, Two NICU Stays, and the Trauma She Didn't Recognize feat. Liana 09.07.2026 1j 9min

  In this heartfelt listener story, Liana shares how three very different pregnancies and births each shaped her experience of motherhood in unexpected ways. After developing gestational hypertension that progressed to postpartum preeclampsia with her first baby, she found herself navigating the uncertainty of a premature birth and NICU stay, all while trying to understand what had happened to her own body. Years later, another unexpected NICU stay with her third baby brought many of those emot...
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  Ep. 257: Self Blame After Birth Trauma 07.07.2026 25min

  This week's episode is a solo conversation tackling one of the most common, and most painful, themes that emerges after a traumatic birth: self-blame. If you've ever found yourself replaying your birth and thinking, "I should have spoken up," "I should have known something was wrong," or "My body failed my baby," this episode is for you. Kayleigh explores why these thoughts are such a common response to trauma, how our nervous systems use self-blame as a way to create a sense of safety and co...
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  Ep. 256: Mothering Through Loss: Pregnancy Loss, TFMR, Birth Trauma, and Healing feat. Carmen 02.07.2026 37min

  In this moving listener story, Carmen shares her complicated journey through pregnancy loss, recurrent miscarriage, TFMR (termination for medical reasons), traumatic births, emergency deliveries, and ultimately building the family she always dreamed of. As a mother of 12 babies, five Earthside and seven who are no longer physically here, Carmen offers a powerful perspective on grief, resilience, and what it means to continue mothering children who have died. Throughout this conversation, Carm...
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  Ep. 255: PTSD in the Perinatal Period 30.06.2026 22min

  We often use the terms birth trauma, perinatal trauma, and PTSD interchangeably, but they're not actually the same thing. In this episode closing out PTSD Awareness Month, Kayleigh breaks down the important differences between: Birth and perinatal trauma as an experiencePost-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) that may not meet diagnostic criteriaPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a clinical diagnosisUnderstanding these distinctions matters, not because one experience is "worse" than anoth...
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  Ep. 254: Healing After Birth Trauma: A Conversation with My Former Therapist 23.06.2026 1j 10min

  Kayleigh sits down with her former therapist, Hilary Waller, to reflect on the years they spent working together after Kayleigh's amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), birth trauma, and the life-altering experiences that followed. Together, they explore the therapeutic relationship, what healing actually looks like over time, and how trauma recovery often evolves from surviving to grieving to fully living again. This conversation offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at therapy from both the client a...
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  Ep. 253: Preeclampsia at 30 Weeks: The Hospital Stay, Premature Birth, and Healing That Followed feat. Jess 18.06.2026 46min

  In this listener story, Jess shares her experience with preeclampsia that went from seemingly mild and manageable to severe in a matter of days. As a first-time mom with an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy, she found herself blindsided by a diagnosis she knew very little about and quickly facing decisions she never imagined having to make. Jess opens up about the fear, confusion, and lack of education she encountered throughout her pregnancy, the emotional toll of a prolonged hospital stay, ...
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  Ep. 252: A Different Kind of Episode: Our Disney & Universal Adventure 16.06.2026 31min

  This week’s episode is a little different than our usual conversations about birth trauma, healing, and maternal mental health. Kayleigh is taking listeners behind the scenes of her family's recent trip to Disney World and Universal Orlando, a trip she never expected would become one of their favorite family experiences. As a self-proclaimed non-theme-park expert, Kayleigh shares the planning strategies, lessons learned, and practical tips that helped make the trip successful for their family...
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  Ep. 251: Waking Up to a New Reality at 27 Weeks: Placental Abruption, Emergency Twin Birth, & NICU feat. Kirsten 11.06.2026 29min

  In this heartfelt episode, Kirsten shares the story of her unexpected twin pregnancy, a sudden placental abruption at just 27 weeks, and the terrifying emergency C-section that changed everything in a matter of minutes. Far from home and under general anesthesia, Kirsten woke up to a reality she never imagined: two extremely premature babies fighting for their lives in the NICU. Kirsten opens up about the grief, fear, and disconnection she experienced during those early days, as well as the c...
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  Ep. 250: Birth Trauma, Preeclampsia, and a Life-Changing Prenatal Diagnosis feat. Kate 04.06.2026 50min

  In this powerful listener story, Kate returns to share her second birth experience after previously sharing her first story years ago. After surviving postpartum preeclampsia and medical trauma with her first child, Kate spent years healing through therapy, EMDR, community support, and advocacy work. When she became pregnant again, she hoped for a different experience, but life had other plans. At 24 weeks pregnant, Kate learned that her son had a rare congenital heart condition. What followe...
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  Ep. 249: One and Done After Birth Trauma - A Special ReRelease 02.06.2026 43min

  This week, we are rereleasing a powerful episode with our guest Jess Myhre to talk about the choice (or sometimes not) to be one and done, particularly after birth trauma. Jess has been a pioneer in the discussion and support of families with only children, regardless of the reason. She fiercely advocates and validates for these families in her beautiful space @onlyyoucommunity. On this episode, Jess shares her story of birth trauma along with hope and encouragement for those who are one an...