In July we held our latest Facebook chat, featuring special guest Cheryl Milford, Ed.S. Cheryl is an educational psychologist, providing psychological, neurodevelopmental and infant mental health services in neonatal intensive care units and developmental follow-up clinics.
Our chat focused on the guilt that many moms (and dads!) face when they have a child in the NICU, what parents can do to help relieve some of those feelings, and how to find support during this difficult time. Some of the topics this chat covers include:
- Why is it that parents, especially moms, struggle with NICU guilt so much?
- What advice could you give NICU moms to help them work through feelings of guilt that they did something to cause their early delivery of NICU stay?
- What would you say to a preemie parent that feels like they have a different relationship between their preemie and their term children?
- What are some strategies we can use when these feelings surface? How do you change how you talk to yourself about what has happened?
- How does one cope with the guilt of having a child in NICU and children at home?
- How do you prepare to possibly try for another child after having a micro preemie?
See the entire chat here. For more information, check out these two articles Cheryl recently contributed to the blog:
- 5 Myths About the NICU and Your Mental and Emotional Health
- Techniques for Building Resilience in the NICU
Post by Hand to Hold.