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This week we have another dedicated episode on one topic a lot of listeners will be familiar with; postpartum depression and anxiety. I'm joined by Tegan Noel, a Wildlife Care Specialist from the San Diego Zoo and Sarah Ross, a former night keeper at Disney's Animal Kingdom as well as vet tech.

Tegan and Sarah share their birth stories, which for both of them included some scary and uncertain circumstances. They also share how this played into their postpartum experiences and we talk about whether postpartum was as they expected or whether it was surprising in any way.

Both talk about having children in the NICU and the anxiety around bringing home a NICU baby. At the time of this recording, Sarah was 3 months postpartum and shares how she is still coping with the anxiety around bringing home her second child from the NICU.

We also talk about how social media influences our views about the postpartum period and the shame a mother can feel if her experience doesn't seem like other's picture perfect postpartum period. This is an important conversation and both Tegan and Sarah share their own stories on this topic. Both were able to receive help from providers and want others to know that there is no shame in asking for help.

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This week's episode is another dedicated episode on one topic - pregnancy and childbirth complications. I bring together two guests; Carolyn Kelley, the Assistant Manager of Tours at the St. Louis Zoo and Caroline Adams, the former Director of Education at the Zoo in Forest Park, who left the zoo field a couple of years ago and is now working for the state of Connecticut in childcare licensing.

Both share their stories with pregnancy complications while trying to work routines at the zoo. Their stories include journeys with hyperemesis gravidarum, inguinal hernias, Type 1 diabetes, pubic symphysis diastasis, and post partum pre-eclampsia.

We talk about how it felt to care for a newborn while also trying to care for your health and some of the differences between the postpartum periods of their first children vs. their second.

One topic we dive into is the feeling of jealousy watching other mom's "normal" postpartum experiences because that wasn't their reality. We spend some time talking about the grief associated with deciding you are done having children because of complications that arose in your previous pregnancies.

Finally, we talk about the guilt felt from having to modify routines at work and being put on light duty and how that impacted their teams.

Caroline's advice is to not only advocate for yourself at work, but advocate for yourself in a medical setting. Carolyn has made it her mission to try to supprt other moms as much as she can, hoping that by sharing her story that someone else navigating complications will feel less alone.

Mothering Wildlife links:
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Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

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My guest this week is Carley Gonzalez, an Animal Curator, from the Topeka Zoo. While Carley currently spends all of her time working with and managing terrestrial animals, she started in the field as a marine mammal trainer working with orcas!

Carley and I touch on her professional journey, which includes some time spent out of the zoo and aquarium field, and then a journey back into the field. Through the power of networking and an open willingness to put her family first and learn something new, Carley went from working with marine mammals, her passion since she was a little girl, to learning about and working with terrestrial animals in a traditional zoo setting. We talk a lot on this podcast about pivoting into new roles as well as leaving the field and what it takes to get back into the field and Carley's story is a great example of the success that can be had when you are open minded.

Carley's motherhood journey also includes some time spent as a single mom, working with marine mammals, and trying to navigate late nights and crazy schedules. We talk about this time period in her life and how she made it work. Moms are so good at just doing what needs to be done and as Carleys says, this was just her life and she didn't know any different so of course she made it work!

Carley's advice to other moms is to put your family first and try to remember that work things can wait until tomorrow. She really urges moms to enjoy their kids when they are little and to try to be present while not beating yourself up about things out of your control.

Mothering Wildlife links:
Facebook MotheringWildlifePodcast
Instagram @motheringwildlife
Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com