Hey hey,

Welcome back to another episode of Cuppa with a pro where I interview professionals that work within the pregnancy, birthing or parenting space to chat about their expertise.

In today’s episode, I am chatting with Shantelle whose little boy Bowie was born at 24 weeks of gestation and spent 8 months in the NICU. Shantelle has already shared her story on the podcast (link below) and agreed to come back to help set a scene for what a NICU stay is like, talk about the language used and what it means, the different machines and more, a must listen if you are facing a NICU stay and want to be as informed as possible. We chatted about
In this episode, Shantelle shares quite a few photos of Bowie, his breathing equipment, what a NICU pod looks like and more so if you want to see those, head over to Youtube or use the link below, search for the channel Cuppa with a doula and you’ll be able to see the wonderful photos that Shantelle shares with us

✔️The NICU being a very warm and humid environment

✔️How the pods in the NICU are organised and why there might be a different number of babies in each room

✔️The ratio of nurse to baby

✔️If able to, trying to say “hi” or engage with other NICU parents as they will understand exactly what you are going through and will be able to relate and really see you

✔️Creating a social circle if able to, planning social events, catch ups and also including the dads or patners who may not be able to access mental health services through the hospital and may feel more isolated than the mum

✔️The mental health impact having a baby in the NICU can have on parents as well as the potential trauma

✔️Milestones for a premie baby

✔️The trauma that never goes away even after baby is home from the NICU and the potential triggers that might bring this trauma back

Cuppa with a doula YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@cuppawithadoula

Shantelle’s pregnancy, birth of Bowie and NICU stay https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/cuppa-with-a-doula/id1663704129?i=1000598084215

Charities mentioned in the episode, most are in Western Australia where Shantelle lives

• Helping little hands https://www.instagram.com/helpinglittlehands_australia/
• Miracle babies foundation https://www.miraclebabies.org.au/
• Life’s little treasures foundation https://lifeslittletreasures.org.au/
• Tiny Sparks WA https://www.tinysparkswa.org.au/

If you are currently pregnant, thinking of trying for a baby or know someone who is, please check out my FREE YouTube series “I’m pregnant! Now what?” Where I take you through how to navigate the system, how to effectively question and say “no”, what is consent, what models of care are available and so much more, it is available on my YouTube channel @Cuppawithadoula

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Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy this episode!

Alicia :)