Host: Cindy Hovington
GUEST: Chelsea Conaboy & Dr. Jodi Pawluski
Chelsea Conaboy
Chelsea Conaboy is a journalist specializing in personal and public health. She was part of the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer prize–winning team for coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing and more recently has worked as a magazine writer with bylines at Mother Jones, Politico, The Week, the Boston Globe Magazine, and others. She lives in Maine with her husband, their two young sons, and her own changing maternal brain.
Dr. Jodi Pawluski
Dr Jodi Pawluski is a Behavioural Neuroscientist, Psychotherapist and Author. Her research is affiliated with the Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail (Irset, UMR_S 1085) a research unit of the INSERM institute, the University of Rennes, France. For over fifteen years Jodi has studied the neuroscience of motherhood and the effects of perinatal mental illness and antidepressant medications on the mother and developing offspring. She regularly speaks nationally and internationally about her research findings as well as the fascinating effects of parenting on the brain. In 2020 Dr. Pawluski started a podcast called Mommy Brain Revisited which focuses on bringing current research on the parental brain to the general public. She also blogs about the neuroscience of parenting and perinatal mental health at Inspire the Mind and is the author of Mommy Brain (Larousse) (en francais but an English version is coming soon). Dr Pawluski’s work has appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, CNN, The Boston Globe, to name a few. She has been a guest to talk about the maternal brain on BBC Radio Women’s Hour and FranceInter . She is a Postpartum Support International Coordinator for France and a member of the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative. She is active in publishing, counseling, mentoring and advocating for improvements to perinatal mental health care and research on the parental brain.
Summary
In today’s episode, we are joined by Chelsea Conaboy & Dr. Jodi Pawluski. We discuss all things parent brain – if you’re not sure what that is, this episode is for you.
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Why is it important to talk about the postpartum period and the brain?
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Is “mommy brain” negative?
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Does parenting keep you young?
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Does a father or non-birthing parent’s brain change when their child is born?
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Is parental leave adequate around the world?
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What is the “perfect mother myth”
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Do we really need the village to raise our children?
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Is it normal to be stressed and depressed as a new parent?
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What kind of support exists in the US and Canada for mothers and fathers?
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What is “mom rage”?
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Is it normal to have intrusive thoughts about how your child will get hurt?
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What is the definition of the postpartum period?
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#1 tips for new parents from Chelsea and Jodi
Resources:
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Chelsea’s book: Mother Brain
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Jodi’s book (en Français): Le Mommy Brain Boot camp for new dads in the USA
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After the Storm: Postnatal Depression and the Utter Weirdness of New Motherhood – Emma Jane Unsworth
