When I became pregnant with my daughter, I carried both joy and deep fear. Complications began again, but this time I relied on every tool I had as a therapist: boundaries, stress reduction, present-moment focus, prayer, and practical coping strategies. We made it to 36 weeks, and though it was tumultuous, I came out the other side resilient. I remember telling my doctor, “I’m only okay because I’m a mental health therapist. I can’t imagine how women go through this without support.”
That moment was when my purpose became clear.
It’s not normal to already have coping tools in place when the unexpected happens—and that gap is why so many women are struggling. We are facing a perinatal mental health crisis. My mission with Empowered Perinatal is to change that.
I want to help you build resilience before you need it. I want you to feel supported, equipped, and empowered—so that if difficulties come, you can say: “That was hard, I wish it hadn’t happened like that… but I’m going to be okay.”
When you know my story, you’ll understand where the mission of Empowered Perinatal was born.
My journey with health challenges started when I was six years old, after being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune kidney disease. My childhood was filled with hospital stays, steroid side effects, and learning early what it feels like to live with uncertainty and loss of control. Yet even then, I was drawn to helping others—I created Pokey Pets, a project where I taught seamstresses to make IV covers for kids in the hospital. From a young age, I knew two things: illness is scary, and no one should go through it feeling alone.
Years later, after a summer of serious health setbacks and a move to Mayo Clinic for specialized care, I began asking myself a life-shaping question: Would I ever be able to carry children of my own? Pregnancy is hard on kidneys, and with little research available, I faced the unknown with both hope and fear.
In 2022, I became pregnant with my son. My pregnancy was filled with joy—until at 33 weeks I was unexpectedly induced. He was born prematurely and spent nearly 3 weeks in the NICU. What doctors thought was preeclampsia turned out to be symptoms of my disease mimicking it. The experience left me grieving what I had imagined for birth, feeding, and those first newborn days. More than anything, it impacted my mental health—and that lit a fire in me. I began my certification as a Perinatal Mental Health Therapist, knowing that too many women face similar challenges without support.
