Both/And: Navigating Your Postpartum Mental Health Journey with Mary Sanker, LCMHC Artwork

The Postpartum Revolution

Welcome to The Postpartum Revolution! This podcast was born because, as a pelvic health physical therapist, I’ve heard and seen the ways our system has failed postpartum people in America. Newly postpartum people have repeated the same questions to me, with fear in their eyes and fatigue written all over their bodies, and I’ve grown tired of soothing them with the reassurance that it’s “all a part of the process, it’s normal to feel like this”. I began to wonder - what the hell kind of “normal process” is this, that produces tired and scared mothers? While not everyone has a negative experience with childbirth and postpartum, many people do. A lot of factors influence our postpartum experience: understanding how your body recovers, how much community and financial support you have, and how well our society helps to support a new family. My goal is to provide education about the postpartum recovery process, so you can set yourself up for a successful return to the things that bring you joy. I also want to bring awareness to the larger, systemic challenges that pregnant and postpartum people face, so that collectively we can start to turn the tide of our culture, and our children won't be trapped in an unhealthy and unsupported birth and postpartum culture. We have lost our power in the birth and postpartum world, and our loss is directly linked to other people's gain. It's time to take back the power over our bodies, our births, and our postpartum health. We are the change we have been waiting for. Let's go.

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The Postpartum Revolution

Both/And: Navigating Your Postpartum Mental Health Journey with Mary Sanker, LCMHC

October 09, 2020 • Annie Hopkins, Mary Sanker • Season 1 • Episode 21

Postpartum has it all - depression, anxiety, rage, joy, fear, love, frustration, happiness, grief... yep it's the full spectrum of emotions, sometimes all in one day. We hear about it sometimes, whispers of mental health struggles, but like the rest of the mental health world, it's not talked about openly. So how the heck do we deal with that? How do we know if we're okay? How do we ask for help?

That's what I talked about with maternal mental health counselor, and new mom herself, Mary Sanker. How can we navigate this postpartum period and still feel like ourselves? How do we find support when the world we live in offers no village? Mary teaches us how to make subtle shifts by slowing down, taking stock, and moving towards what feels true to you. The first steps are not sweeping life changes, it's just doing the one small thing that's next. Listening to your body, letting go of unrealistic expectations of what you "should" be doing, and do what feels true. That's the beginning of your path.

We also talk about the scary stuff, the times when it's more than "just the baby blues"... and Mary shares the most beautiful insight into what's actually going on in someone's brain when their minds are consumed with harmful thoughts.

Her message to postpartum people: you’re a mother, not a martyr - you do not have to continually abandon yourself for some productivity output, or unspoken expectation that isn’t serving you or your child.

Connect with Mary:
Instagram @the.new.mom.therapist

www.marymartina.com

The New Moms Group starts Oct 22 - more info on her website

Additional Resources:
Postpartum Support International: https://www.postpartum.net/

Innate Traditions, Rachelle Garcia Seliga https://www.innatetraditions.com/

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Body Full of Stars by Molly Caro May

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Want to be a guest on the show? Email me at thepostpartumrevolutionpodcast@gmail.com

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