In this podcast, we focus on identifying ways to support maternal mental health for NICU Mamas. As May is Maternal Mental Health Month, I sat down with Anese Barnett, a perinatal mental health therapist and clinical psychology doctoral student who is passionate about improving the mental health of all mothers during a high risk pregnancy and/or for those who have a baby in the NICU.

We discuss NICU trauma with the unnatural maternal-child separation and many of the common feelings of shame and guilt correlated with it. The repetitive rituals many NICU mothers obsessively focus on as they attempt to grasp onto control during their baby's NICU journey and we discuss why it can be dangerous for their mental well-being.

We also share some of the best ways we feel that nurses, NNPs, and Neonatologists can help to empower parents as well as alleviate some of the feelings of powerlessness that many mothers feel. We discuss the all-important role that a NICU Psychologist can play in the NICU to help identify mothers at risk as well as ways to wrap support around them to help during their baby’s NICU journey and beyond.

If you are a member of the NICU care team, you will hear specific ways to help bring empowerment and support NICU parents. If you are a friend or family member and want to support a NICU parent, you will gain a much better understanding of some of their feelings and associated behaviors. And if you are a NICU mama, you will completely relate to many of the feelings, behaviors, and struggles we discuss as well as ways to help you cope. We had so much to chat about, we split up the discussion into 2 episodes, so sit back and enjoy Part I.

Empowering NICU Parents Show Notes:https://empoweringnicuparents.com/episode12/

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Empowering NICU Parents FB Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/empoweringnicuparents