Claim OwnershipThe Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
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© 2025 The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast
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Birth trauma is the dark and sometimes scary side of pregnancy & postpartum that no one wants to talk about. But, we're here to change that! I'm Kayleigh, a licensed therapist and birth trauma survivor, determined to bring birth trauma out of the shadows and into the light. When we talk about birth trauma, we take away its power and leave space for healing. Your birth trauma does not need to “happen for a reason." Birth trauma sucks and it’s okay to admit that. Join us as we navigate what it means to heal from birth trauma. You’ll hear from experts in the field as well as others who have experienced birth trauma. Storytelling and education are keys to raising awareness and better understanding how we heal trauma. We don’t do toxic positivity in this space, but you’ll definitely hear some dark humor. You’ll laugh and you’ll cry, but, most importantly, you’ll learn that you’re not alone and that healing is possible. Birth trauma is bullish*it, but your healing is not.
193 Episodes
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In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by Diane for a powerful and emotional retelling of her son Tommy’s birth and the long, complicated postpartum recovery that followed. What began as a smooth induction and quick delivery turned into a life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage, a diagnosis of placenta accreta, and an eventual hysterectomy, weeks after birth. Diane walks us through the cascade of events, from being dismissed when she sensed something was wrong to advocati...
In this debrief episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast and The Misconceptions Podcast, Kayleigh and Dvora reflect on their powerful conversation with Dr. Heather Nixon, an OB anesthesiologist working to transform how pain is managed and communicated during C-sections. While the first conversation laid the groundwork, this follow-up goes deeper into the emotional, psychological, and systemic layers of what it means when patients feel pain and aren’t believed. Kayleigh and Dvora unpack: 💔 How...
In this special crossover episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast and The Misconceptions Podcast, Kayleigh and Dvora sit down with Dr. Heather Nixon, an obstetric anesthesiologist, to unpack one of the most overlooked aspects of birth trauma: pain during C-sections and failed anesthesia. Inspired by Season 2 of The Retrievals podcast, this conversation dives into what happens when patients are told, “you’re not feeling pain,” even when they clearly are. Dr. Nixon shares her professional jour...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh is joined by Lindsey, who shares her harrowing story of developing acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) and HELLP syndrome at 37 weeks. What began as a healthy, joyful pregnancy quickly spiraled into a medical emergency involving liver failure, internal bleeding, intubation, dialysis, and a two-week ICU stay. Lindsey walks us through her fragmented memories, the video of meeting her daughter that went viral, and the hidden layers of ...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh is joined by Andrea Wetterau, a licensed clinical social worker, EMDRIA-certified EMDR therapist, and perinatal mental health certified provider, for an eye-opening conversation on the intersection of birth trauma, body image, and eating concerns in the perinatal period. Andrea shares her personal journey of developing an eating disorder as a teen, choosing recovery every day, and later facing the resurfacing of old struggles after ex...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, we are joined by Angel, who shares her powerful story of birth, near-death, and healing after a rare and life-threatening complication: uterine inversion. Angel describes how her labor started smoothly and seemed “perfect" until the unexpected happened. What followed was a cascade of emergencies, including massive blood loss, emergency surgery, a hysterectomy, and days in critical care. Angel walks us through the terrifying moments of saying g...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh is joined by Dr. Ono Nseyo, an OB-GYN practicing in the Bay Area, for a deeply honest and inspiring conversation about patient-centered, trauma-informed care and what it means to show up as both a clinician and a human. Dr. Nseyo shares her journey from growing up as the daughter of Nigerian immigrants to becoming a physician passionate about addressing health disparities and providing care that honors dignity and autonomy. Together, ...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, Kayleigh sits down with Katelynn, a labor and delivery nurse who was at the bedside during a devastating traumatic birth, Julia’s story (Episode 137). Together, they revisit that day, but this time through the eyes of the provider. Katelynn opens up about the chaos of rushing Julia to the OR, the horror of watching her patient code, and the emotional toll that followed. What unfolds is a powerful conversation about the very real trauma healthc...
Planning for birth often centers around the joyful, expected moments, skin-to-skin, golden hour, and bringing your baby home. But what about the unexpected? What happens if birth takes a catastrophic turn? In this joint episode with The BirthLounge Podcast, HeHe Stewart and I are collaborating again. Together, we unpack what it means to create a catastrophic birth plan, a tool to help families feel informed and empowered even in rare, life-threatening situations. I share my personal experienc...
On this week's Listener Series, we are doing a special re-release. We are sharing Julia's story again and tune in next week to hear from her L&D nurse, Katlynn. This is such a special duo - honoring both the patient and the provider in a traumatic experience. A little bit about Julia's story - Julia was induced at 38 weeks due to gestational hypertension. A routine delivery turned terrifying, when Julia suddenly became unresponsive. What followed was a litany of complications landing Juli...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by NICU clinical nurse educator Jessi Barnes for a powerful conversation about the intersection of professional expertise and lived experience. With 15 years of nursing experience—including time in high-risk perinatal units and the NICU—Jessi now dedicates her career to teaching and mentoring NICU nurses with a trauma-informed lens. But her perspective deepened profoundly when her own daughter was born prematurely at 27 weeks and sp...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by Ashley Rainey, labor and delivery nurse, educator, clinical director, and PhD candidate, whose passion for improving birth outcomes for Black women is rooted in her own experiences at the bedside and in the system. Together, we dive into the heavy reality of navigating pregnancy while carrying the weight of maternal mortality statistics, the lasting emotional impact of both big and small traumas, and how we can build a healthcare...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by Alyssa, who shares her story of surviving a catastrophic postpartum complication. What began as a smooth pregnancy and an unplanned C-section turned into undiagnosed sepsis, a perforated bowel, emergency surgery, and over four weeks in the hospital, two of them spent in the ICU, separated from her newborn daughter. Alyssa walks us through the red flags that were dismissed, the overwhelming pain and isolation she endured, and the ...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m reflecting on six years since the day my life and my son Callahan’s changed forever. Six years since I experienced an amniotic fluid embolism that nearly took both of our lives. Six years into a healing journey that has been anything but linear. This solo episode is my most honest update yet. I talk about what recovery looks like this far out from the trauma: what’s changed, what hasn’t, the unexpected gifts, and the grief that still linge...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by Ashley for a powerful story of high-risk pregnancy, trauma, and resilience. Ashley walks us through her experience carrying monoamniotic-monochorionic (mono-mono) twins, an extremely rare and high-risk type of twin pregnancy where both babies share a placenta and amniotic sac, significantly increasing the risk of cord entanglement and fetal demise. From a shocking twin diagnosis to navigating weeks of inpatient monitoring, Ashley...
In this re-released episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m revisiting one of the most requested and tender topics in our community, birth trauma anniversaries. Whether it’s your child’s first birthday or their fifth, anniversaries of traumatic births can stir up a swirl of emotions: grief, anger, anxiety, guilt, and everything in between. In this solo Q&A-style episode, I answer your questions about what it means to navigate these layered, complicated days. I talk through why the l...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by Sabryna for a powerful and emotional account of her first birth. Her story began with an itch in her third trimester and escalated into a life-threatening emergency for both her and her daughter. What unfolded was a series of missed diagnoses, medical dismissal, and a traumatic delivery that included an emergency C-section, undiagnosed preeclampsia, a NICU stay due to a rare heart condition. With vulnerability and insight, Sabryn...
In this episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by licensed trauma therapist, author, and speaker Kobe Campbell for an honest, and deeply vulnerable conversation about her traumatic birth experience and the lifelong impact it’s had on her, her son, and her healing journey. What began as a dreamy, hypno-birthing-fueled pregnancy quickly turned into a series of medical emergencies: preeclampsia, placental abruption, IUGR, a failed epidural, an emergency C-section, NICU transfers, a...
In this listener story episode of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast, I’m joined by Lauren, a writer and mom of two, who shares her powerful and vulnerable story of an unexpected and traumatic birth. After a smooth pregnancy and a well-prepared plan for an unmedicated delivery, Lauren’s labor took a sudden and intense turn involving prodromal labor, a failed epidural, vacuum-assisted delivery, and ultimately, a shoulder dystocia that left both her and her baby in physical and emotional recovery. F...
In this episode we are joined by Ana Lepe Vick, a fierce advocate, educator, and bereaved mother to share her journey through loss, trauma, and relentless advocacy. Ana opens up about the stillbirth of her son, Owen, after a textbook pregnancy, and the long, heartbreaking road of unanswered questions, birth trauma, and healing that followed. She brings us into the world of advocacy she co-created through Push for Empowered Pregnancy, a movement working to prevent stillbirth through awareness,...
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