In this episode, Jes shares her experience of severe postpartum anxiety, the challenges of accessing perinatal mental health care, and how her journey eventually inspired her to create The Jellybean Gym — a space supporting both young children and their parents.

We discuss:

• Jes's experience of a difficult pregnancy with persistent nausea and vomiting
• Discovering her daughter was breech at 37 weeks and changing her birth plans
• Choosing a planned caesarean and navigating feelings of failure before becoming a mother
• The importance of partner leave
• Meeting her daughter for the first time and not experiencing the immediate connection she had expected
• Recovering from a caesarean and the anxiety Jes experienced
• Struggling to trust her own instincts as a new mother
• The challenges of learning to parent together and communicating with your partner
• Experiencing increasingly severe anxiety and panic attacks during early postpartum
• The impact of anxiety on Jes's ability to eat, sleep and function
• Reaching a mental health crisis and recognising that she urgently needed professional support
• The significant barriers Jes encountered when trying to access perinatal mental health care
• Seeking help through urgent care, her GP, emergency departments and other services
• The support Jes received from PANDA during this difficult period
• Being admitted to a perinatal mental health unit at eight weeks postpartum
• Spending three and a half weeks in hospital alongside her daughter
• What a perinatal mental health admission can look like
• Accessing psychiatric care, medication and psychological support
• Preparing to leave hospital and the anxiety surrounding returning home
• Understanding that mental health recovery is an ongoing process
• The enormous role James played in supporting Jes through her postpartum experience
• Finding a supportive community through mothers' groups
• The importance of feeling heard and validated by other mothers
• How connection with other mothers can reduce feelings of isolation
• Why her postpartum experience inspired her to establish The Jellybean Gym
• Creating purposeful play classes for young children
• Designing a space that supports parents and caregivers as well as their children
• The importance of allowing families time to connect before and after classes
• Creating community through small groups, shared experiences and everyday conversations
• How building The Jellybean Gym has been part of Jes's own healing journey
• Jes's advice to other mothers - if something feels hard, it is hard, and you deserve support

You can find out more about Jes and The JellyBean Gym at www.thejellybeangym.com.au or on instagram @thejellybeangym.

A big thank you to Odi Nutrition for sponsoring this week’s episode.

You can find out more about Odi at @odi_nutrition_, and you can browse their range at odinutrition.com.

As mentioned in the episode, here are some postpartum support resources. Please reach out if you need help.

Australia

• PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia)
  Helpline: 1300 726 306
  Website: https://www.panda.org.au
• Lifeline Australia
  13 11 14 (24/7)
  Website: https://www.lifeline.org.au
• Beyond Blue
  1300 22 4636
  Website: https://www.beyondblue.org.au

New Zealand

• PlunketLine
  0800 933 922 (24/7)
• Healthline New Zealand
  0800 611 116 (24/7)
• 1737 Need to talk?
  Call or text 1737 (24/7)

Thank you for listening. Take care x