Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to another episode of Universal Soul Talk.
Speaker: This month we'll be diving into mental health, motherhood, and the intersection of the two through a four-part half-hour series.
Speaker: Join us as we have candid conversations, share our profound insights along with personal stories, and we can navigate together the highs and lows of mothering and prioritizing our mental well-being as people.
Speaker: Whether you are a seasoned mom, soon to be parent, overcoming and or struggling with mental health, or simply curious about the vital connection, we're here to offer support, understanding, and a sense of community.
Speaker: So grab your favorite beverage, find a cozy spot, and let's embark on this empowering exploration together.
Speaker: Hey, family, what's going on?
Speaker: Thank you for joining us.
Speaker: I'm Taye Wavey and I'm here with Ms.
Speaker: Mel Mel.
Speaker: And we are bringing to you mental health and motherhood, okay?
Speaker: Mental health and motherhood.
Speaker: It is Mental Health Awareness Month and we are excited to have this discussion.
Speaker: Hey family!
Speaker: We're glad to have you guys back for round two of our second month with our podcast and we are definitely excited to touch on mental health and motherhood because we can definitely relate with that.
Speaker: Both of us being mothers and having a spouse and
Speaker: It's very challenging to kind of balance everything.
Speaker: So we'll definitely be touching on that in this episode.
Speaker: Yes, ma'am.
Speaker: Yes, ma'am.
Speaker: And really quick, I just wanted to let y'all know that we are having a giveaway, y'all.
Speaker: We are giving out a self-care relaxing unwinding basket with a couple of self-care items.
Speaker: We have one that's more feminine, another one that's more masculine.
Speaker: And we are also highlighting and giving away a copy of Kiana Skye Speaks' new book, There is Hope, Women Are Worth the Fight.
Speaker: It's an amazing read.
Speaker: about just her struggles about not feeling worthy, feeling like she had no hope, struggling with everything that's going on in life.
Speaker: She's a wonderful mental health advocate, and we are so excited to partner with her on this giveaway.
Speaker: And to enter that giveaway, check out our Facebook.
Speaker: It is linked in the description, at Tay Wavy, at Mel Mel Douglas, and at Tay and Mel Mel for our podcast page.
Speaker: And I don't want to waste no time because we only got 30 minutes, so let's get into it, sis.
Speaker: Let's go.
Speaker: Our question, our main question for this episode is, how has your journey through motherhood impacted your mental health?
Speaker: And what strategies have you found most helpful in maintaining balance and well-being?
Speaker: Big question.
Speaker: Okay, so I'm going to say that one of the most significant challenges for me was like first sleep, okay?
Speaker: Because we all know at the beginning when you have a newborn, they don't always sleep and they're crying and you're still trying to figure out
Speaker: When they want to eat, what's wrong with them?
Speaker: Especially being a first time mother.
Speaker: I feel like that's it's just like it's a whole new world.
Speaker: It's a whole new ballgame.
Speaker: You don't know what you're doing.
Speaker: You weren't prepared.
Speaker: People always used to tell me that they're like, you will never be prepared enough.
Speaker: to be a mother until you are actually in it.
Speaker: It's just like they can't explain it to me.
Speaker: So you just have to be in it and then you kind of learn as you go type of situation.
Speaker: So like sleep was one of my biggest things because I was the type of person that liked to sleep in.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Before I had a child, I was like a sleep napper, like just
Speaker: didn't really have a time that I needed to wake up.
Speaker: So that was one of the biggest things for me was changing my schedule, waking up four or five different times during the night, figuring out what she needed.
Speaker: Also, time management was a big, big, big, big thing for me because I like to do...
Speaker: things when I want to do them.
Speaker: So like if I get in my head, I want to organize my house, then that's what I want to do.
Speaker: And it's really hard when you have a kid because you can't just jump up and spontaneously be like, I'm going to go to the store or I'm going to go to the mall or I'm going to go clean the house.
Speaker: Like you have to
Speaker: manage your time properly to be able to fit it in.
Speaker: Even washing the dishes, I like have to do that same thing.
Speaker: Like I have to wait till my husband gets home from work to actually be able to finish washing the dishes because your children or child is like constantly tugging at you or crying or like needing something or trying to get in something.
Speaker: So then you have to like watch them constantly in that like 30 seconds.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: can be that like determining factor if they put something in their mouth or if they get into something that can harm them.
Speaker: So definitely those main things, but also knowing like,
Speaker: what is right or wrong in raising them because there's so many different like opinions and approaches and parenting type styles.
Speaker: So I kind of like didn't really know, should I raise her like old school, how I was raised?
Speaker: Or should I raise her with like gentle parenting where I really feel like that's great in some certain, you know, certain instances or situations?
Speaker: But discipline, I feel like is very necessary in the development of your child.
Speaker: So I kind of always like I feel bad, like I almost have a guilt that like I'm not doing it right.
Speaker: Am I do?
Speaker: I'm constantly questioning myself about that.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: So it's kind of hard for me to determine like still.
Speaker: am I doing what's right for her and raising her properly?
Speaker: I didn't want to make the same mistakes as like, I feel like a lot of parents do.
Speaker: I kind of, I think I kind of like, um, expect too much out of myself as a mother.
Speaker: I'm going too hard.
Speaker: Um, but
Speaker: Yeah, I definitely think time management is a big thing for me.
Speaker: Tay, in reference to like when you first became a mom, do you feel like you had those same issues like with time management and like independence and things in that nature?
Speaker: Or did you have like other struggles?
Speaker: I definitely feel like I dealt with a lot of those same things that you were talking about.
Speaker: I know for me, I had depression from like, as a child, I always struggled with like self-worth, with depression, with anger, with anxiety.
Speaker: And I don't know why I thought being a mom would make that go away.
Speaker: That's not why I had kids, but I was like, oh, like my pregnancy, my first pregnancy was like beautiful, glorious.
Speaker: I was happy.
Speaker: And I was like, I am on this high and like, you can't take me down.
Speaker: And then I had my baby and he was beautiful and he still is beautiful.
Speaker: Um, and I was so happy, but postpartum depression hit me so, so, so hard.
Speaker: Um, and yeah, I struggled with taking care of myself.
Speaker: I struggled with finding time for myself.
Speaker: Um, when, you know, when they're a newborn, you can keep up with the house a little bit more and stuff like that.
Speaker: Cause they're not running around getting into everything, but I just felt like
Speaker: so low and I didn't understand postpartum depression the way I do now.
Speaker: Um, I now know that it can last weeks.
Speaker: It can last months.
Speaker: It can last years.
Speaker: It takes your body a long time to come back from having a child.
Speaker: And then when my first born was six months old, I got pregnant with my second child.
Speaker: Um, so it was like postpartum after postpartum.
Speaker: I don't think I ever healed from like the first situation.
Speaker: And then I, you know, had another baby to take care of and having two under two.
Speaker: And I was 20 years old.
Speaker: It was just so overwhelming, so overwhelming.
Speaker: And at the time I was the, um, the financial provider for my household.
Speaker: So it was like trying to work, trying to be there for my kids, trying to take care of myself.
Speaker: And to keep it real, like I did not prioritize taking care of myself.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: I just didn't care.
Speaker: I didn't care how I looked.
Speaker: I didn't care to go to the doctor.
Speaker: I didn't care to do my hair.
Speaker: I didn't care to treat myself kindly, buy anything for myself.
Speaker: Anytime I go to the store, I spend all my money on my kids.
Speaker: And it was just a lot.
Speaker: Then I finally started getting into a little bit of a schedule with the kids.
Speaker: And then I had another baby.
Speaker: My oldest was three.
Speaker: Then his sister was two and then I had a newborn.
Speaker: So then I went through the whole entire thing again.
Speaker: But by the third, my third, I did start to understand postpartum a little bit more and started to take care of myself.
Speaker: But it is so, so, so hard to find a balance between raising kids and taking care of you.
Speaker: And I feel like that's where so many mothers, especially lose themselves.
Speaker: Because you start to identify only as a mom and you're not a person anymore.
Speaker: So I had to get back to being Tay, period.
Speaker: Just Tay.
Speaker: There's mommy Tay and then there's Tay.
Speaker: Like there's me.
Speaker: I had to find my identity outside of motherhood.
Speaker: And I feel like so many of us struggle with that.
Speaker: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker: I don't know if a lot of people realize, but with postpartum depression, it's
Speaker: you don't know it until you experience it.
Speaker: I know like for me, I wasn't even aware of postpartum depression until I was pregnant and I was learning about it from other mothers just in like standard conversation from like my doctors.
Speaker: And a lot of people don't realize how significant postpartum depression can be.
Speaker: Like there is 10 to 15% of women who experience postpartum depression
Speaker: postpartum depression after giving birth, which can have significant, you know, effects on both the child and the mother, because there has been instances where like your hormones are so imbalanced from your pregnancy, from having the child, that it affects you
Speaker: so badly mentally and emotionally that you aren't even yourself.
Speaker: You lash out.
Speaker: You can't even like, you have no want to take care of your child.
Speaker: You have no want to take care of yourself.
Speaker: And it's not like
Speaker: And instinctually, you're like, oh, I'm just not going to take care of my child.
Speaker: It's hormonal.
Speaker: It affects everything in your body and shuts you down.
Speaker: And it makes you angry.
Speaker: I'm anxious, like you were saying, depressed, anxious, angry, like all of those emotions and it affects your judgment.
Speaker: And I know I've like heard crazy stories about women with postpartum depression and like them even harming their child because they're in like this chaotic situation.
Speaker: overwhelming state of mind.
Speaker: And I feel like that's one of the stigmas with like women is and their and mental health and emotions is that like, we're just we're just crazy.
Speaker: You know what I mean?
Speaker: We're just crazy.
Speaker: Like, oh, don't mind her.
Speaker: She's just, you know, having one of those days or, oh, don't mind her.
Speaker: She's just crazy.
Speaker: And it's like people don't realize how significant hormonal imbalance is and how common hormonal imbalances are in women because hormones can be affected by what we eat.
Speaker: what we drink, anything we put in our body, our environment, even our laundry detergent, our body washes, anything and everything can affect these things.
Speaker: And that's one thing that the difference between men and women is...
Speaker: the hormonal aspect of it.
Speaker: And so if our hormones are imbalanced, we're just all out of whack.
Speaker: And most women don't even know that's what the problem is.
Speaker: And I think that that's a significant stigma that needs to be like corrected and refocused on because
Speaker: and adjusted because not every woman is like, quote unquote, crazy because she was like born that way.
Speaker: You know what I mean?
Speaker: And a lot of doctors, like even my doctor that I went to, I'm like, hey, after having a baby, I'm like, hey, I don't feel right.
Speaker: Like I didn't feel this way before pregnancy or even like during pregnancy.
Speaker: But after I had my baby, I felt like
Speaker: So different.
Speaker: My blood pressure was having issues as well.
Speaker: So it was elevating.
Speaker: I was so high strung, anxious, like exhausted, fatigued, like physically exhausted.
Speaker: And I'm like, yeah, it's hard having a baby and like a newborn.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: But it also, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Speaker: So why do I feel this way?
Speaker: Why am I so drained?
Speaker: Why am I so like, in this rut?
Speaker: And so I went to the OBGYN and I'm like, hey, this is how I feel.
Speaker: And he's like, oh, it's fine.
Speaker: It's normal.
Speaker: That's just how it goes after birth.
Speaker: And I'm like,
Speaker: I'm thinking to myself, but it's not normal because I don't feel myself.
Speaker: I don't feel right.
Speaker: So why are you just chucking it up as like, it's normal and writing it off and sending me home instead of trying to like figure out the actual problem and correcting it?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: No, that is something that's so, so big.
Speaker: And I think we as women, well, of course, society,
Speaker: and our spouses and people we have children with do need to be more understanding and have more grace when women go through the whole childbirth process.
Speaker: But I also feel like as a woman, we have to take accountability and learn to understand our bodies.
Speaker: Like I said, for my first two kids, I did not know how long postpartum could last for.
Speaker: And then I found out it could last for years.
Speaker: And it's like, oh, well, if I knew that, maybe I could have helped myself better.
Speaker: I could have reached out for help.
Speaker: I could have
Speaker: And trust me, I understand that sometimes with those feelings of depression, of anxiety, it's hard to reach out.
Speaker: But you never know what you may be able to do if you understand yourself.
Speaker: And like Mel was saying, we should understand hormonal imbalances a little bit more.
Speaker: Nurture our bodies the right way with what we eat during pregnancy.
Speaker: Because I feel like a lot of people do that.
Speaker: They hyper focus on their diet, what they put in their bodies, what they surround themselves with.
Speaker: And then after you have the baby, you go back to normal and now your body's all out of whack.
Speaker: So I feel like understanding our bodies is just something we need to do and talk to our partners, our spouses about as well.
Speaker: Another thing is.
Speaker: I know a lot of us go through this body dysmorphia after we have a baby.
Speaker: We love our bellies.
Speaker: We're like, wow, we're so big.
Speaker: I used to be like proud of the weight that I gained during my pregnancy.
Speaker: I'm like, I am like 165 pounds.
Speaker: I am like big, I am beautiful.
Speaker: And then I had the baby and I'm looking at myself in the mirror and I'm like, what the heck is this?
Speaker: Like, what is this stomach, this sagging skin?
Speaker: stuff I'm not used to, weight that did not go away as fast as I thought it would.
Speaker: We all talk about like, oh, snapback game on point.
Speaker: But like, it's not like that all the time.
Speaker: It's not like that all the time.
Speaker: No, some women like snap back immediately and some women like don't at all.
Speaker: So it's like, it's also like how, you know, how old you are, your body type, you know, so many different things that affect whether that happens or not.
Speaker: So then we go into comparison mode.
Speaker: And that's it.
Speaker: That's it, too.
Speaker: Even when you do snap back, I was young.
Speaker: I was in shape.
Speaker: I snapped back, according to everybody, like really quickly.
Speaker: But when I would look at myself, I felt different.
Speaker: I still saw lines on my stomach that weren't there before, even though my stomach did get pretty flat again.
Speaker: My body just felt different.
Speaker: I just felt different.
Speaker: And then I would start comparing myself to other moms I saw at the park or at the mall or walking their babies and like, oh my gosh, how come my boobs look like that?
Speaker: Or how come my stomach looks like that?
Speaker: And we're just hard on ourselves and as women, and we need to stop doing that.
Speaker: But I know it doesn't help because society is hard on us too.
Speaker: Men can be hard on us sometimes.
Speaker: Social media can be hard on us sometimes.
Speaker: I know right now, like the look is like flat stomach, big boobs, big butt, curvy waist.
Speaker: And if you don't fit in that category, I just know from talking to a lot of women, like you feel less than.
Speaker: You feel like you have to have a BBL or a look similar to that like gym body to be beautiful.
Speaker: And I know that I've got to be hard for mothers out there.
Speaker: That see moms who may be and this is I'm not against surgery at all.
Speaker: Girl, if you want to go get surgery, you go do what you got to do, baby, like do you.
Speaker: But a lot of moms feel like they have to they have to do that and they have to get those mommy makeovers and they have to put on waist trainers and they have to force themselves into the gym.
Speaker: right after they give birth to a baby, like our bodies take at least a year to recover physically from the trauma of having babies.
Speaker: And I know having babies is beautiful, but it is a trauma that our body goes through.
Speaker: And we, as a society, especially in America, we don't nurture that.
Speaker: I mean, within six weeks, we're expected to go back to work or, you know, get back to business or start working out again or start having sex again and start
Speaker: You know, going back to our pre-pregnancy selves, and that's just so unrealistic, A, because our bodies have just gone through craziness.
Speaker: But now we have a little baby.
Speaker: And the anxieties that come with having a little baby.
Speaker: I know I used to run myself into the ground just thinking about SIDS.
Speaker: I used to be afraid to leave my baby laying down.
Speaker: I used to be afraid my baby was going to choke.
Speaker: I used to be afraid to take a shower.
Speaker: I would hear crying in the shower, even if the baby was sleeping.
Speaker: And I'd like jump out so full of soap and like the baby's fine.
Speaker: And I'm like, what is going on?
Speaker: So yeah, I feel like we just deal with so much from stuff within ourselves to society pressures to partners.
Speaker: I know
Speaker: not just me, but other people like other women I've spoken to feel like their spouses or kids, fathers or whatever, don't find them as sexy after they have babies and they're watching porn or talking to another woman or start, you know, starting an affair or buying cam girls or subscribing to OnlyFans because they're like, oh, like my wife, my kid's mother, my girlfriend, she's different.
Speaker: Hell yeah, she's different.
Speaker: She just had a human life.
Speaker: Like cut stomach or come out from between her legs.
Speaker: Like, hello.
Speaker: So I just feel like there is just so much.
Speaker: And I feel like every mom deals with poor mental health at some point and that's okay.
Speaker: And if you don't, for whatever reason, I mean, congratulations to you because that's amazing.
Speaker: But I feel like we all go through a period of like,
Speaker: what the heck is going on or sadness or overwhelmed or like Mel, like you were saying in the beginning, like questioning yourself, am I being a good mom?
Speaker: Am I making the right choices?
Speaker: Am I parenting the right way?
Speaker: And then dealing with like the voices of either your parents or society or blogs that you read of how you should do this, this way.
Speaker: And then you're not, and yeah, you're just constantly hard on yourself.
Speaker: And my kids are nine, eight and five,
Speaker: And I still question myself, like, am I doing the right thing?
Speaker: Am I making the right choices?
Speaker: Am I, I do, um, do mostly gentle parenting, but to me, gentle parenting does include discipline, just not traditional discipline.
Speaker: Um, and I question like, is that the right thing to do?
Speaker: Am I supporting them the right way?
Speaker: Am I talking to them enough?
Speaker: And I just feel like it's, it's not going to end as we're getting closer to like preteen and teenage years.
Speaker: I'm like, wow, it's going to be just a constant,
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I'm constantly questioning myself.
Speaker: Like, am I doing the right thing?
Speaker: But I'm learning to have grace with myself.
Speaker: That is a strategy that I have incorporated on this journey, having grace with myself and understanding, like, I'm not going to get everything right.
Speaker: And that's okay.
Speaker: Now that my kids are older, if I make a huge mistake and I do something wrong, I let them know, like, babies, I'm learning.
Speaker: I'm sorry.
Speaker: Maybe I didn't handle that the right way.
Speaker: Maybe I snapped at you and I should not have.
Speaker: I'm overwhelmed.
Speaker: I'm going through this.
Speaker: And just having having that grace is so important.
Speaker: And another thing that I push moms to do all the time, take care of yourself, mama.
Speaker: Take a shower.
Speaker: Take a shower.
Speaker: Change your clothes.
Speaker: Put some makeup on every now and again if you want.
Speaker: Put on some moisturizer.
Speaker: Get some sunlight on your body.
Speaker: Get yourself a fancy drink, a smoothie, a coffee, whatever it is.
Speaker: Go out for a stroll.
Speaker: Leave your baby with somebody, whether the dad, grandma, babysitter, not all the time, but every once in a while, just to get back to individual, your individuality.
Speaker: And I feel like that's so, so important.
Speaker: Like, yes, you're a mom all the time, but take time for you or else your mental health is definitely going to suffer.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that what women need to remember is like you said, their individuality, like remembering who they are, what makes them happy, what they enjoy doing.
Speaker: Even if it's as simple as taking a bath or as simple as like, hey, I want to go like get a pedicure, would you mind
Speaker: you know, watching my child, whether it's the grandparents or your spouse or whatever.
Speaker: So I can go do that.
Speaker: I think that that's another stigma that is out there that women and mothers are expected to just like sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.
Speaker: And like that consists of like sacrificing their own identity to be a wife, to be a mother.
Speaker: I think we get lost in that stigma.
Speaker: We get lost in like doing everything for everyone else and forgetting about ourselves because that's just like our nurturing, intuitive, you know, natural part of who we are.
Speaker: So definitely just, you know, self-care, recognizing what it, what makes you, you, you know,
Speaker: And I'm not saying separate that identity from your family, but incorporate it.
Speaker: You know what I'm saying?
Speaker: Make sure that you still are doing things for yourself, loving yourself, taking time to, you know, meditate, go for walks, like you said, even if it's just like sitting outside on the porch in peace for like 10 minutes.
Speaker: You know what I mean?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So definitely, you know, ladies, women, mothers, remember, love yourself, make time for yourself.
Speaker: Remember what makes you happy.
Speaker: Don't sacrifice every single part of you because that's when our mental health really, really starts to go downhill and we lose who we are.
Speaker: I agree.
Speaker: I agree 10,000%.
Speaker: Another thing I want to add to that, because you talked about, you know, doing the self-care stuff, getting outside.
Speaker: This is something that I used to do all the time as a new mom.
Speaker: And I stopped doing this maybe only three years ago when I got sick and I realized I had to start taking care of myself physically.
Speaker: So our babies have to go to the doctor every year.
Speaker: OK, do we ever cancel that appointment?
Speaker: No, we do not.
Speaker: We always bring our babies to the doctor.
Speaker: If your baby's really sick, you bring them to the doctor.
Speaker: Guess what I stopped doing when I had kids?
Speaker: I stopped going to the doctor because I was like, I'm not going to fit in.
Speaker: You know what I mean?
Speaker: Me going to an appointment, bringing my kids with me or having somebody watch them so I can take care of my physical health.
Speaker: And I ended up having an underlying disease that I could have prevented if I went in when I was 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.
Speaker: I'm not saying that that's the case for everybody, but we should still take care of our physical bodies.
Speaker: So, yeah, the point is don't don't stop taking care of you because you're a mom.
Speaker: And if you didn't take care of you before you became a mom, take care of you now.
Speaker: Your mind deserves it.
Speaker: Your body deserves it.
Speaker: Your soul deserves it.
Speaker: And I know firsthand how hard it can be.
Speaker: We live in a crazy society.
Speaker: There's judgments all the time.
Speaker: I feel like even us as mothers, we could be very judgmental towards one another.
Speaker: That's something that I have dealt with a lot or seen firsthand a lot.
Speaker: And we need to, we really need to cut that out.
Speaker: We really need to support each other.
Speaker: We really need to come together.
Speaker: It takes a village.
Speaker: And to me, your village isn't always people in your everyday lives.
Speaker: It's the other, it's the moms that you interact with online.
Speaker: It is the moms that you see at the playground.
Speaker: It is, you know, your sisters all around you.
Speaker: So it's definitely time for us to come together.
Speaker: And, you know, educate ourselves, educate our spouses, educate our kids' fathers, educate our children that mental health is unfortunately a part of life.
Speaker: And it can be hard, but it does get better.
Speaker: It can get better.
Speaker: You're here for a reason.
Speaker: Your baby's here for a reason.
Speaker: Your life is valuable.
Speaker: You are worthy.
Speaker: You are beautiful.
Speaker: You are strong.
Speaker: You are powerful.
Speaker: You created a child, girl.
Speaker: You created, you grew a child in your body, okay?
Speaker: You are, we are super divine creators of the world.
Speaker: There's a reason why we are the ones that carry babies.
Speaker: So even when you feel some type of way, try to remind yourself that you are
Speaker: a powerful, badass mom, and you got this.
Speaker: And you don't have to do this alone.
Speaker: Sometimes your spouse or your parents or your best friends, like that's just not enough resources.
Speaker: And that's okay too.
Speaker: We definitely encourage you to reach out if you feel like you need it.
Speaker: You can talk to somebody.
Speaker: There are support groups out there.
Speaker: I know Mel has
Speaker: a bunch of resources for you.
Speaker: But, and we'll also link them in the description.
Speaker: We'll keep some of the resources in the description for you in case you want to come back to it.
Speaker: But yeah, mamas, you got to take care of you.
Speaker: And if you are a dad or an uncle, brother, husband, whatever, listening to this, nurture your woman, nurture your mother, nurture your kid's mother, because we go through a lot and it definitely ain't easy.
Speaker: But it is worth it.
Speaker: Yeah, support is significant.
Speaker: Support is significant for a woman, for anyone.
Speaker: This is Mental Health Month people.
Speaker: So this is not just for women in the sense of support.
Speaker: We need to support each other, our wives, our husbands, our partners, our mothers, our fathers, uncles, brothers, sisters.
Speaker: Everybody needs support at some time in their life.
Speaker: some people more than others.
Speaker: And I think that for women, support is so significant.
Speaker: And if you have a partner or a wife or a husband that genuinely is there every step of the way that helps you take a shower, helps you put your clothes on, helps make sure that you're fed and you're hydrated and all of these things, it's significant.
Speaker: And I think a lot of
Speaker: partners or relationships unfortunately suffer because they're not educated in the sense of what is needed during pregnancy and postpartum.
Speaker: And I feel like, yes, pregnancy, you definitely need support more than ever because some pregnancies are absolutely terrifying and stressful and painful and
Speaker: you know, you're nauseous, you're vomiting, you're exhausted.
Speaker: And some women go really go through it.
Speaker: And then some women have very like easy, you know, laid back pregnancies and, you know, blessings for them.
Speaker: But postpartum is significant for that.
Speaker: And in saying that, women remember that there are postpartum support groups, um,
Speaker: You can always go to therapy.
Speaker: You could reach out to a family member, a friend, somebody that understands and vent to them, get the counseling, venting session.
Speaker: Just to be heard means so much sometimes.
Speaker: There's also online resources, websites, Postpartum Support International,
Speaker: Postpartum Progress, offer information, resources, and peer support for postpartum.
Speaker: Also, if you ever come to a point where you feel like you might self-harm, please reach out to the crisis hotlines.
Speaker: There's a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and that is 1-800-273-TALK.
Speaker: There's also the PSI helpline, which is 1-800-944-4773.
Speaker: And they will support you and guide you through every step of the way.
Speaker: Lastly, your OBGYN, your primary care physician, you can talk to them, be open with them, tell them how you feel.
Speaker: Or if you're in holistic health like Tay and I, you can reach out to them and they can help you with whether it be supplements, medications, just self-care guidance.
Speaker: it really can make a difference.
Speaker: So please, please, please do not suffer in silence.
Speaker: Yes, yes.
Speaker: And what she said, I'm gonna say it again, please do not suffer in silence, anybody, anybody.
Speaker: And I know some of those, the crisis hotline, that's for everybody.
Speaker: That's not just for mothers.
Speaker: We know that dads go through it as well during the child bearing, birthing, postpartum process.
Speaker: And actually June is Men's Mental Health Awareness Month and Father's Day.
Speaker: So we will be highlighting our men and our fathers in June.
Speaker: But we're just keeping the spotlight on mommies right now because Mother's Day is next weekend.
Speaker: With that being said, our next episode is going to be talking all about motherhood, the ins, the outs, tips, tricks, dating, marriage, step-parenting,
Speaker: courts, baby dads, all that stuff.
Speaker: All that stuff, motherhood.
Speaker: So make sure that you catch our episode next week where we just get into the nitty gritty of motherhood.
Speaker: Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker: We appreciate everybody's support.
Speaker: Don't forget to enter our giveaway, y'all.
Speaker: Our giveaway information is posted on our Facebooks.
Speaker: Our Facebooks are posted in the description.
Speaker: So follow us there.
Speaker: Keep up with us on there.
Speaker: for content, for giveaway details, we will be announcing.
Speaker: So yes, y'all.
Speaker: And also make sure you are subscribed to our YouTube, you are subscribed to our Spotify, and you are subscribed to our Apple podcast.
Speaker: We are streaming everywhere at this point.
Speaker: And yeah, thank you so much for listening and we will catch y'all next week.
Speaker: Peace, love, and light.
