Shortly after moving to a new state Kelly found out she was pregnant, and when Covid hit at the beginning of her third trimester she found herself feeling increasingly anxious and isolated. At 38 weeks she was diagnosed with gestational hypertension and an induction was recommended. Kelly was induced at 39 weeks and was still able to have an unmedicated birth and her son was born on June 5th. Kelly developed PPA and health anxiety right away and postpartum became clouded with mental and physical health struggles as well as breastfeeding issues. Eventually feeding became easier and the anxiety started to get a little better around 6 months postpartum and at 1 year postpartum they moved again but this time a little closer to family. Last spring Kelly completed a birth doula training and describes it as a very healing experience, now in therapy and with her anxiety controlled she has come to realize that there is no one size fits all definition of trauma and acknowledges that while some might see her birth as a “textbook” induction, to her it was a traumatic experience that needed to be processed.

Kelly Williamson Bio

Kelly is married to her husband Ben and together they have 1 son Julian who was born in June of 2020. After several moves around the country Kelly and Ben have settled down in Ann Arbor MI and are enjoying their time as Michiganders. Kelly works for a nonprofit that focuses on food equity and is also a trained doula.

You can reach out to Kelly on Instagram: @kellymaregan or her doula Instagram: @lovegrowbirth.

Resources

Ergobaby

This episode is sponsored by Ergobaby. Founded in 2003, Ergobaby has pioneered the gold standard for comfortable, ergonomic soft structured carriers. Their commitment to providing parents with the foundation to thrive has launched the company into creating a broad range of award-winning products that fit into families’ daily lives seamlessly, comfortably, and safely – where function and quality are not compromised. In 2020, they launched Everlove by Ergobaby, a first of its kind baby carrier buy back and resale program, a sustainability effort to support families and the planet. Check out Ergobaby’s Embrace in Soft Air Mesh and new Evolve 3-in-1 Bouncer that we discussed on the podcast!

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