Watch on YouTube:
Today’s episode is about a topic that may be unfamiliar to many. My guest shares her journey through her first pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, along with why she chose a very different scenario called free birth to welcome her second child into the world. Join us to learn more!
Postpartum Psychosis: A Couple's Experience Show Highlights:
Alexa’s story: how she, as someone with doula training, made her birth plan for her first child (born in 2019) with midwives, a doula, and a home birth
The reality of birth in the middle of a big storm, power outage, and a situation that felt out of control
Alexa’s overall account of her midwife experience
A downhill slide after her baby was born—and she was left with very few options and very little information
Alexa’s very difficult intro to motherhood with anxiety and overwhelm
Writing: the best lifeline for Alexa
Motherhood messaging in our society and on social media–and why real-life experiences don’t usually measure up
Alexa’s second pregnancy, when her first son was only 5 months old
Free birth–a birth with no medical professionals present
Alexa’s second birth story: a healing and peaceful experience with no rules, regulations, regimented prenatal care, or manipulation by medical providers
Hear Alexa share two poems from her book!
Alexa’s advice to other women: “If you aren’t feeling strong, try writing about it and get those thoughts out. It can help to put them on paper.”
About Alexa Ericson
Alexa Ericson shares why she chose a free birth for her second child, what that is, and how that choice worked out for her. She explains how she found comfort through writing and decided to put her experiences into a book–with the hopes of helping other women. Her book of poetry, Motherhood, Disenchanted, covers “adventures into the nitty-gritty, sleep-deprived, chaotic, and sometimes dark thoughts that come fluttering through the early years of mothering.” After back-to-back pregnancies and years of isolated mothering due to her location and lockdowns, she felt a major gap in the discussion around the raw and tough, intimate moments of motherhood. Alexa used her writing as a form of catharsis and a way to work through difficulties. In this conversation, she discusses her marriage, body changes, breastfeeding, anxiety, exhaustion, loss of self, and more. Alexa lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her farmer husband and two kids.
Resources:
Connect with Emma Hopkins: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Maternal Mental Health Alliance (for UK listeners)
Postpartum Support International: https://www.postpartum.net/
Tools, Skills and Hacks for New Moms
Manage thoughts & feelings of overwhelm
Learn how breathing & grounding help reach calmness
Exercises to find peace
