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โI Felt Nothingโ: Navigating The Silent Shame Of Maternal Numbness After Unthinkable Loss
Read More: โI Felt Nothingโ: Navigating The Silent Shame Of Maternal Numbness After Unthinkable LossAt 29, Dominique Olivierโs life was torn apart in an instant. A car accident claimed her husband and toddlerโs lives, leaving her widowed and navigating the world with a five-week-old newborn. In her raw, deeply honest book, Dominique speaks to the things weโre often too afraid to say out loud. She opens up about the…
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12 Hospital Bag Comforts New Moms Will Be So Glad They Packed
Read More: 12 Hospital Bag Comforts New Moms Will Be So Glad They PackedBeing a new mom is filled with all kinds of good stuff: curious stares, endless cuddles and cute giggles. But TBH there are tough times too: not enough hours in the day, sleep deprivation and having to put yourself secondโฆ or third. It can be overwhelming. And thatโs okay. What no one really tells you…
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I Didnโt Know Having a Baby Increases Your Risk for Stroke
Read More: I Didnโt Know Having a Baby Increases Your Risk for StrokeAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber May is Stroke Awareness Month. โWhy is my face numb?โ As I stared at myself in the mirror, everything looked fine to me. But the left side of my face definitely felt numb. Then I remembered that the tip of my tongue felt numb the day before. Alarm bells started…
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15 Minutes With: Jennie Joseph, LM, CPM, Talks Midwifery, Maternal Health and Maternal Mortality in the U.S.
Read More: 15 Minutes With: Jennie Joseph, LM, CPM, Talks Midwifery, Maternal Health and Maternal Mortality in the U.S.Most teenagers wrestle with what they want to do when they grow up โ but not Jennie Joseph. โAll my teachers and advisors were saying I should be a secretary or a teacher โ and I said Iโm going to be a midwife,โ she recalled. โI barely knew what it was, but I knew it…
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WomenTalk: The Role of Nurse Practitioners in Womenโs Health: Maternal Health
Read More: WomenTalk: The Role of Nurse Practitioners in Womenโs Health: Maternal HealthDuring this three-part series of WomenTalk, we’re partnering with the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health to explore the role nurse practitioners play in contraceptive, maternal and menopause care. In the second episode in WomenTalk series, “The Role of Nurse Practitioners in Womenโs Health: Maternal Health,” Komkwuan Paruchabutr, DNP, FNP-BC, WHNP-BC, CNM, joins…
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Postpartum Hemorrhage Is a Deadly Problem
Read More: Postpartum Hemorrhage Is a Deadly ProblemKim Ledgerwood felt her eyelids getting heavy. โIโll just shut my eyes for a moment,โ she thought. Sheโd just given birth. Whatโs one, tiny second? She wouldnโt miss a thing. Then a sharp sting across her face brought her back to the delivery room. โYou have to stay awake, Kim!โ Her OB-GYN was loud and…
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Hey New Mom โ These Products Will Change Your Life
Read More: Hey New Mom โ These Products Will Change Your LifeBeing a new mom is filled with all kinds of good stuff: curious stares, endless cuddles and cute giggles. But letโs be honest โ there are tough times too: not enough hours in the day, sleep deprivation and you put yourself secondโฆ or third. Real talk: self-care is important, so we sourced the multi-tasking, do-it-all…
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Access, Health care, Health disparities, Labor, Labor & delivery, Newborn, Postpartum, Pregnancy, Pregnancy & parenting
Can Living in the U.S. Increase Your Risk of Preterm Birth?
Read More: Can Living in the U.S. Increase Your Risk of Preterm Birth?If youโre a woman giving birth in the United States, youโre more likely to have a preterm delivery than women in most developed nations. If youโre Black or Native American, the chances of experiencing preterm birth are even higher, along with the risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes. In 2021, a little over one in…
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Anna Victoria on Her Postpartum Fitness Journey
Read More: Anna Victoria on Her Postpartum Fitness JourneyAnna Victoria has 1.1 million followers on Instagram, a thriving fitness career and a brand new baby. Women from across the country look to her for advice, inspiration and as a โsuperheroโ fit mom. But you donโt always see the trials and tribulations that come before the end result. Victoria began her fitness journey in…
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New Moms Are Busy Checking on Their Babies. But Is Anyone Checking on Them?
Read More: New Moms Are Busy Checking on Their Babies. But Is Anyone Checking on Them?A lot of time and effort goes into preparing for the birth of a baby โ but the plan for what happens when the baby comes home doesn’t get nearly as much attention. Life changes instantly with the arrival of a new baby and a new mom’s mental health is not always prioritized during that…
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Iron Deficiency Anemia Can Cause Serious Problems for Pregnant Moms and Their Babies
Read More: Iron Deficiency Anemia Can Cause Serious Problems for Pregnant Moms and Their BabiesCarrie Jones was in her second trimester when her hemoglobin test came back with a low red blood cell count. “I wasn’t too surprised because my iron was low before I got pregnant โ I couldn’t give blood,” she said. Jones is one of millions worldwide diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), a common condition…
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COVID-19, Labor, Postpartum, Pregnancy, Pregnancy & parenting, Premature birth, Racial disparities, Racism
Born Too Soon
Read More: Born Too SoonAs if finding out she was expecting in the midst of a global pandemic weren’t news enough, Merrick Smith said her surprise turned to shock last year when she later learned that she was carrying twins, due on Christmas Day. Her pregnancy started off pretty normal, and working from home, as many resorted to during…
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Anxiety, Breastfeeding, Depression, Medication safety, mental health, Newborn, Parenting, Postpartum, Pregnancy, Prescription drugs, Real women real stories, Self-Care, sleep, Stress
When Postpartum Depression Hit, I Heard Only the Lies My Depression Told Me
Read More: When Postpartum Depression Hit, I Heard Only the Lies My Depression Told MeAs told to Erica Rimlinger After trying to conceive for over a year, my husband and I were thrilled when we learned I was pregnant with my daughter. I was so excited I read about natural ways to support my changing body, hired a doula and prepared for the birth. My pregnancy was a smooth…
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Access, Access to health care, Affordability, Depression, Health care, Health insurance, Keep the care, mental health, Postpartum, Pregnancy, Reproductive rights, Women’s rights
Women Say California Insurer Makes It Too Hard to Get Drug for Postpartum Depression
Read More: Women Say California Insurer Makes It Too Hard to Get Drug for Postpartum DepressionBy April Dembosky, KQED, Kaiser Health News When Miriam McDonald decided she wanted to have another baby at age 44, her doctor told her she had a better chance of winning the lottery. So when she got pregnant right away, she and her husband were thrilled. But within three days of giving birth to their…
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Being Pregnant Was Wonderful. And Overwhelming.
Read More: Being Pregnant Was Wonderful. And Overwhelming.As told to Shannon Shelton Miller Every time I visited the doctor during my pregnancy, I’d take a test or undergo a screening to make sure my baby was all right. My healthcare providers (HCPs) checked my vitals too, giving me a clean bill of physical health each time. But no one asked how I…
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Anxiety, Depression, mental health, Parenting, Postpartum, Real women real stories, Self-Care, Stress
My Parents Dismissed My Anxiety. Now Iโm Helping My Daughter Work Through Hers
Read More: My Parents Dismissed My Anxiety. Now Iโm Helping My Daughter Work Through HersAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I can’t remember a time during my childhood when I didn’t feel worried. Even in first grade, there was always this sense of unease in my stomach, a tangled knot of dread. My mind was constantly churning out terrifying “what ifs.” What if…
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Anxiety, Breastfeeding, Childcare, Delivery, Infant, Labor, mental health, Midlife pregnancy, Newborn, Parenting, Postpartum, Pregnancy, Pregnancy & parenting, Stress, Toddler
Pregnant Womenโs Brains Show Troubling Signs of Stress โ but Feeling Strong Social Support Can Break Those Patterns
Read More: Pregnant Womenโs Brains Show Troubling Signs of Stress โ but Feeling Strong Social Support Can Break Those PatternsBy Rebecca Brooker, Texas A&M University and Tristin Nyman, Texas A&M University Even before the pandemic, there was plenty for expectant mothers to worry about. Pregnant women must withstand a barrage of arguably well-intentioned, but often hyperbolic, warnings about their health and what’s to come, including concerns about everything from what to eat, to what…
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Vaccines During and After Pregnancy
Read More: Vaccines During and After PregnancyProtect mom and baby with vaccines Did you know a baby gets disease immunity (protection) from mom during pregnancy? This immunity can protect baby from some diseases during the first few months of life, but immunity decreases over time. Get a whooping cough vaccine and a flu shot during each pregnancy Moms, get a whooping…
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Breastfeeding, Fourth trimester, Health disparities, Infant, Newborn, Postpartum, Pregnancy & parenting
Closing the Racial Gap in Breastfeeding
Read More: Closing the Racial Gap in BreastfeedingLike nearly every new mother, Sanpri Purdy-Porter was exhausted after giving birth. Breastfeeding while recovering from a Cesarean section was difficult, and the North Carolina physical therapist didn’t get the help she needed to nurse successfully. “With my first child I definitely lacked support and knowledge for breastfeeding,” said Purdy-Porter, who is Black. “I was…
