Hi everyone. I hope that 2024 is going well for you so far. I have not posted an update in a while, but I am today because I am so excited to have had the opportunity to be a guest on the Preemie Chats podcast a few weeks ago. 

The Preemie Chats podcast is produced by the Canadian Premature Baby Foundation. They are a parent led, charitable organization providing education, support and advocacy for premature babies and their families in Canada.

You can watch our episode on their Youtube channel, HERE. My presentation is titled “A Walk in My Shoes:  Persevering Through Perinatal Trauma and a Premature Birth”, and I had such a wonderful time speaking with Fabiana Bacchini, the Executive Director of CPBF. 

My goal was to share what it’s like as a NICU parent, to suffer through pregnancy and birth related trauma before a baby’s birth, and how that impacts relationships, emotions, decision making in the NICU and beyond. I also wanted to recognize and validate many of the emotions felt by NICU parents, as they watch from the sidelines while others care for their baby, and list strategies to help parents process what has happened and begin to move past their NICU experience and maybe even give back to their hospital or peer groups. I hope I met my objectives.

It warmed my heart to have many viewers commenting and asking questions both throughout the presentation and afterwards. I hope I replied to everyone who took the time to connect with me and I apologize if I missed anyone. 

Podcasts, webinars, etc. are all wonderful ways for NICU parents to share their lived experiences with all of the other NICU stakeholders, including physicians, nurses, therapists, industry, researchers and the lawmakers who create policies for our babies and families. 

Thank you, Canadian Premature Babies Foundation, for the opportunity to speak to your followers. I hope we can collaborate on other projects in the future.

You can watch past and future episodes of Preemie Chats by visiting https://www.cpbf-fbpc.org/videos.

You can learn more about the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation by visiting  https://www.cpbf-fbpc.org/