High Risk Pregnancy, Anxiety, and Maternal Health, with Parijat Deshpande, Author of 'Pregnancy Brain'

Parijat's advice: "Trust your body. Your doctor is the medical expert in the room, but they will never be the expert on your body, that's you. So don't ever forget that. Bring your expertise into the room. Make them listen. Explain what's going on as clearly as you can, and if they won't listen, walk away."

Today, Parijat Deshpande and I talked about:

• Parijat's own story of high-risk pregnancy.  She had endometriosis, and needed to use IFV to get pregnant.
• Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is rare but can happen if you doing an egg retrieval and transfer right after.
• Preterm labor contractions can worsen when when you are in pain, when you are uncomfortable, and when your anxiety is high.
• Because she was monitored constantly, she could tell that those things caused contractions immediately. So she made sure to get rid of the pain, make herself comfortable, and reduce her anxiety, which gave the baby an extra 15 days, allowing him to have a chance at life.
• Anxiety that's held in your body, not the mind, is the most dangerous for your reproductive health.
• This anxiety causes actual physiological stress response in your body. When you control that, you cause chemical changes that help you manage and heal the complications you have.
• If you lose a pregnancy, the shock will hit 3-5 days after. Get the support you need to go through that. (You can find help in episode 8 - Sunshine Through the Storm) of The Hardy Mom Podcast at HardyMom.com

  You can find help for postpartum depression here

Parijat's superpower:

Being able to put somebody else's experience into words when they can't.

You can learn more about Parijat Deshpande and her work at

www.parijatdeshpande.com

Book Link: www.parijatdeshpande.com

https://www.facebook.com/ParijatDesh

https://twitter.com/parijatdesh/

https://www.instagram.com/parijatdesh

https://www.pinterest.com/parijatdesh

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCS-y3p6DfELaZd3Fp7nYtA

Thank you for joining me today! 

Want more? Go to HardyMom.com and you'll find ways to live well, grow, and enjoy your life again -with any health challenges.

I'd love to hear what you think about this episode! Send me a message at HardyMom.com/contact

Have a blessed week,

Jen

Our music is "A New Day," by Scott Holmes