Tuesday, July 15, 2025
4:00pm EDT - 5:00pm EDT
Description
This support group meets weekly on Tuesdays at 4 PM ET. Are you a mom/birthing parent (up to one year postpartum) struggling with the transition from the NICU to home? You’re not alone. Having a NICU baby can be a traumatic experience and is a risk factor associated with the development of a maternal mental health condition. 1 in 5 new or expecting mothers/birthing people suffer from a PMAD (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder), otherwise known as postpartum depression. Many parents long for and look forward to the day they get to bring their children home from the NICU; however, many new moms can experience overwhelming and contradictory emotions instead. The sudden lack of support that was provided by staff in the NICU and the sense of connection with other NICU families can leave new mothers/birthing people feeling anxious and isolated. This group is meant to provide a specific type of support and strategies to better navigate life at home after the NICU. Participants will come together and process complicated feelings while in the NICU and since returning home. The group aims to build a community of parents who understand the unique challenges of this journey.
About This Group
- This virtual group has space for 7 new people to join.
- This group is drop-in, so there is no obligation to attend every week. (But you are welcome to!)
- This group is open to all LGBTQIA+ people. We ask that you share your personal pronouns upon group introduction.
Discussion Topics
- Birth and NICU experiences
- Daily stressors of suddenly caring for a baby whom you may have been separated from for a certain amount of time due to medical necessity
- The very real and very hard parts of having a baby in the NICU and having a baby come home with you from the hospital after a stay in the NICU
- Feelings of sadness, anxiety, loneliness, overwhelm, rage, regret, guilt, shame, and failure as a new parent
- Relationship struggles with partner, friends, mother/mother-in-law
- Relationship with body and identity
- Learning ways to ask for help, cope with distressing emotions, and identify moments of connection with baby, partner, and others
- Feelings around medical trauma, birthing trauma
Is this Group Right for Me?
This group is for postpartum women/birthing parents who are dealing with the unique transition from NICU to home with their baby/babies. Babies and tears are welcome!
Instructor
- https://themotherhoodcenter.com/staff-member/leah-gooen-lcsw-2/
Leah Gooen, LCSW
Associate Director of Admissions, Perinatal Therapist