In this episode of Mothering With Grace, host Kaitlyn Grace sits down with Chandler Gilow of The Global Birth Coach for a powerful and nuanced conversation about birth story processing and why birth doesn’t simply “end” once the baby arrives.

Drawing from her personal experience of having one baby in the United States and another in Lebanon, Chandler brings a deeply layered, cross-cultural perspective to how birth is experienced, supported, and remembered.

Together, they explore how birth lives on in the body and mind long into the postpartum period, shaping a mother’s identity, emotional landscape, and sense of self. Chandler shares her unique work with families giving birth outside their passport countries, and how culture, distance, and unfamiliar systems can profoundly influence both the birth experience and how it is later processed.

Kaitlyn and Chandler unpack what it truly means to process a birth story, and what it is not, while addressing the common fear that revisiting birth means being ungrateful or “dwelling.” They discuss why making space for all emotions, even after a “healthy” outcome, is essential for healing, integration, and connection.

This episode also dives into the broader context surrounding birth: how stress, migration, relationships, prior experiences, and expectations all shape the way birth unfolds and is carried forward. Chandler highlights signs that a birth story may still need attention, even months or years later, and explains how gentle, intentional processing can support postpartum healing, bonding, and a parent’s evolving sense of self.

For listeners who feel a quiet pull around their own birth experience, this conversation offers a compassionate starting point with practical, grounded ways to begin exploring their story without overwhelm or retraumatization.

This episode is for pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and globally-minded families who want to better understand the lasting impact of birth and feel supported in integrating their experience with clarity and compassion. Topics include birth story processing, postpartum healing, maternal mental health, identity after birth, cross-cultural motherhood, expat and international birth experiences, and emotional integration after childbirth.

New episodes coming soon.

Birth Story Processing Workbook: https://www.theglobalbirthcoach.com/category/all-products

Free Prenatal Yoga and Postpartum Guide: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/prenatal-yoga-and-birth-prep-program

Connect & Collaborate

Email: motheringwithgracellc@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothering.with.grace/
Website: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/

Get in touch! I love hearing from listeners and exploring collaborations.

Birth is the beginning. Postpartum lasts a lifetime. And grace is how we meet it.

In this episode of Mothering With Grace, host Kaitlyn Grace closes the four-week deep dive into matrescence — the ongoing, often overlooked transformation that begins before birth and continues long after. She explains why postpartum isn’t just six weeks, and why motherhood is a lifelong process of identity shifts, emotional growth, and physical and social transformation.

Kaitlyn discusses how societal expectations pressure mothers to “bounce back” quickly, and how these unrealistic standards contribute to isolation, overwhelm, and guilt. She reframes matrescence as a universal developmental process, not a pathology, and explores how emotional, relational, and identity changes are a natural and essential part of becoming a mother.

This episode offers strategies for embracing the messy, joyful, and transformative journey of motherhood with grace, support, and intentionality. Listeners will learn how to honor identity evolution, integrate postpartum into daily life, and reclaim this sacred season as a time of growth rather than survival.

This episode is for pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and anyone navigating motherhood who wants to feel supported through emotional shifts, identity changes, and the ongoing transformation of matrescence. Topics include postpartum as a lifelong process, emotional and identity changes after birth, maternal mental health, matrescence, self-compassion in motherhood, and expanding postpartum support beyond clinical diagnoses.

New episodes coming soon.

Free Resources

Free Postpartum Guide: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/start-here

Connect & Collaborate

Email: motheringwithgracellc@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothering.with.grace/
Website: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/

Get in touch! I love hearing from listeners and exploring collaborations.

Birth is the beginning. Postpartum lasts a lifetime. And grace is how we meet it.

In this episode of Mothering With Grace, host Kaitlyn Grace explores matrescence as the hidden postpartum transition that begins long before birth — and why it’s often overlooked in conversations about postpartum mental health.

While awareness around postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders has grown, many mothers still feel lost, disconnected, or “off” without meeting the criteria for a clinical diagnosis. In this episode, Kaitlyn explains the gap in postpartum care — where emotional, identity, and relational changes are real, yet unsupported — and how matrescence helps make sense of these experiences.

Kaitlyn breaks down why matrescence is a universal developmental process, not a pathology, and how identity shifts, emotional exhaustion, and changes in selfhood can begin during pregnancy and continue long after birth. She also explores why current maternal mental health systems often miss this transition — and what kind of education, guidance, and support mothers truly need.

This episode is for pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and anyone navigating motherhood who feels disconnected from themselves despite being told they’re “fine.” Topics include matrescence, postpartum mental health, identity shifts after birth, emotional wellbeing in motherhood, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and the need for expanded postpartum support beyond diagnosis.

New episodes coming soon.

Free Resources

Free Postpartum Guide: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/free-postpartum-guide

Connect & Collaborate

Email: motheringwithgracellc@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothering.with.grace/
Website: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/

Get in touch! I love hearing from listeners and exploring collaborations.

Birth is the beginning. Postpartum lasts a lifetime. And grace is how we meet it.

In this episode of Mothering With Grace, host Kaitlyn Grace challenges one of the most common — and limiting — beliefs about motherhood: that postpartum only lasts six weeks.

While the medical system often defines postpartum as the short window of physical recovery after birth, this episode explores the deeper reality — that postpartum is a long-term transformation affecting a mother’s body, identity, emotions, relationships, and nervous system. Kaitlyn unpacks the difference between medical postpartum and lived postpartum, and explains why so many women feel confused, overwhelmed, or “behind” months or even years after giving birth.

Drawing on the concept of matrescence, this episode reframes postpartum as a developmental process rather than a phase to “get through.” Kaitlyn reflects on the emotional landscape of motherhood, the ongoing integration of identity after birth, and why redefining postpartum as a spectrum — not a deadline — is essential for maternal mental health and long-term wellbeing.

This episode is for postpartum mothers, pregnant women preparing for life after birth, and anyone navigating the evolving identity of motherhood. Topics include postpartum recovery, matrescence, maternal mental health, identity shifts after birth, nervous system regulation, and why support for mothers must extend far beyond the six-week checkup.

New episodes coming soon.

Free Resources

Free Postpartum Guide: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/free-postpartum-guide

Connect & Collaborate

Email: motheringwithgracellc@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothering.with.grace/
Website: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/

Get in touch! I love hearing from listeners and exploring collaborations.

Birth is the beginning. Postpartum lasts a lifetime. And grace is how we meet it.

In this episode of Mothering With Grace, host Kaitlyn Grace introduces matrescence — the profound physical, emotional, hormonal, and identity transformation that occurs when a woman becomes a mother.

Often compared to adolescence, matrescence describes the developmental process of motherhood — one that reshapes a woman’s body, relationships, priorities, and sense of self. Yet despite how universal this transition is, most women are never taught what to expect, leaving many feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or like something is “wrong” with them after birth.

In this episode, Kaitlyn explores why matrescence is rarely discussed, how the lack of preparation impacts maternal mental health, and why postpartum care must extend far beyond physical recovery. She connects the dots between identity shifts, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, postpartum planning, and the urgent need for better education and support for mothers.

This episode is for pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and anyone navigating motherhood who has felt lost, changed, or undone by the transition into motherhood. Topics include matrescence education, postpartum mental health, identity shifts in motherhood, emotional wellbeing after birth, maternal support systems, and creating a culture that truly cares for mothers.

New episodes coming soon.

Free Resources

Free Postpartum Guide: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/free-postpartum-guide

Connect & Collaborate

Email: motheringwithgracellc@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothering.with.grace/
Website: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/

Get in touch! I love hearing from listeners and exploring collaborations.

Birth is the beginning. Postpartum lasts a lifetime. And grace is how we meet it.

In this episode of Mothering With Grace, host Kaitlyn Grace explores the one thing most women forget to include in their birth plan — a postpartum plan — and why preparing for life after birth may matter even more than planning the birth itself.

Many expectant mothers spend months researching labor positions, birth preferences, and hospital bags, yet enter postpartum without a roadmap for recovery, support, or rest. In this episode, Kaitlyn reframes postpartum as a season of transformation rather than survival, and explains how intentional postpartum planning can support physical healing, emotional wellbeing, identity shifts, and the early bonding experience with your baby.

Kaitlyn breaks down what a postpartum plan really is — not a rigid checklist, but a mindset and support system designed to help mothers feel grounded, nourished, and empowered during the early weeks and months after birth. She also addresses the cultural pressures to “bounce back,” the cost of entering postpartum unprepared, and how planning ahead can change not only a mother’s experience, but the way families and communities care for women after birth.

This episode is for pregnant women and anyone preparing for postpartum who wants to feel supported rather than overwhelmed. Topics include postpartum planning, postpartum recovery, maternal mental health, rest and nourishment after birth, identity shifts in motherhood, and redefining what thriving in postpartum can look like.

New episodes coming soon.

3 Ways I Can Help You Feel More Prepared for Postpartum

1. Subscribe to the podcast for ongoing education, reflection, and real conversations about matrescence and lifelong postpartum.
2. Download my free Postpartum Guide to begin planning beyond the basics:
   https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/free-postpartum-guide
3. Explore pregnancy, birth, and postpartum support — in-person or online — including doula care and education:
   https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/doula-care
   
   
   

Connect & Collaborate

Email: motheringwithgracellc@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothering.with.grace/
Website: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/

Get in touch! I love hearing from listeners and exploring collaborations.

Birth is the beginning. Postpartum lasts a lifetime. And grace is how we meet it.

In this episode of Mothering With Grace, host Kaitlyn Grace shares a deeply personal postpartum story about moving abroad with a newborn — and the journey from isolation to community that followed.

Just six weeks postpartum, Kaitlyn relocated from Europe to the United States with two young children, no village, and no sense of what life would look like on the other side. In this reflective episode, she opens up about the emotional weight of postpartum transition, culture shock, identity shifts, and the loneliness many mothers experience when navigating new motherhood without built-in support.

Through the lens of faith, grace, and lived experience, this episode explores what it means to rebuild a sense of belonging in postpartum — especially after a move, a major life transition, or the loss of familiar systems of care. Kaitlyn reflects on the quiet resilience of early motherhood, the slow formation of community, and the unseen roots that begin to grow even in the most uncertain seasons.

This episode is for postpartum mothers, expat and internationally mobile families, and anyone navigating matrescence during a season of change. Topics include postpartum isolation, rebuilding community after birth, motherhood identity shifts, nervous system overwhelm, faith in motherhood, and finding connection after relocation.

New episodes coming soon.

3 Ways I Can Help You Feel More Prepared for Postpartum

1. Subscribe to the podcast for ongoing education, reflection, and real conversations about matrescence and lifelong postpartum.
2. Download my free Postpartum Guide to begin planning beyond the basics:
   https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/free-postpartum-guide
3. Explore pregnancy, birth, and postpartum support — in-person or online — including doula care and education:
   https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/doula-care

Connect & Collaborate

Email: motheringwithgracellc@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothering.with.grace/
Website: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/

Get in touch! I love hearing from listeners and exploring collaborations.

Birth is the beginning. Postpartum lasts a lifetime. And grace is how we meet it.

In this first full episode of Mothering With Grace, host Kaitlyn Grace shares why she became deeply committed to postpartum care — and why every mother deserves more support after birth.

Drawing from her lived experience of mothering in Germany and the United States, Kaitlyn explores how postpartum care systems shape not only recovery, but identity, mental health, and the way women experience motherhood. From guaranteed midwife home visits and community-based support to the isolation many mothers face in the U.S., this episode reveals the stark contrast between postpartum care models — and why the absence of care is not a personal failure, but a systemic one.

Kaitlyn opens up about her own postpartum journeys, including breastfeeding challenges, postpartum healing, nervous system overwhelm, and the emotional weight of rebuilding support from scratch. Through these stories, she introduces a core truth of this podcast: postpartum is not a moment or a six-week checkup — it is a lifelong season that deserves planning, reverence, and care.

This episode is for pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and anyone navigating matrescence who has ever felt alone, unprepared, or unsupported after birth. Topics include postpartum planning, maternal mental health, breastfeeding support, physical recovery, identity shifts, cross-cultural motherhood, and redefining what care for mothers can — and should — look like.

New episodes coming soon.

3 Ways I Can Help You Feel More Prepared for Postpartum

1. Subscribe to the podcast for ongoing education, reflection, and real conversations about matrescence and lifelong postpartum.
2. Download my free Postpartum Guide to begin planning beyond the basics:
   https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/free-postpartum-guide
3. Explore pregnancy, birth, and postpartum support — in-person or online — including doula care and education:
   https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/pages/doula-care
   
   
   

Connect & Collaborate

Email: motheringwithgracellc@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothering.with.grace/
Website: https://www.motheringwithgrace.org/

Get in touch! I love hearing from listeners and exploring collaborations.

Birth is the beginning. Postpartum lasts a lifetime. And grace is how we meet it.