#MyNeonatalStory: Recent Episodes
The Early Birth Foundation
A podcast to encourage and educate Black and ethnic minority families who have experienced the trauma of an admission on a neonatal intensive care unit.
Kobe Campbell is wife, mom, award-winning licensed trauma therapist, Christian counselor, writer and speaker. With a kind, compassionate, and energetic spirit, she helps people find the truest versions of themselves under the pain that they’ve endured through therapy, speaking, retreats, organizational training, and spiritual formation.
She also hosts her own podcast alongside her husband, which is available here: The Healing Circle Podcast
In This Episode We Speak About:
- Lessons learnt from dealing with people with trauma
- Discovering she was allergic to morphine after 40 hours of labour still getting scheduled for an emergency C-Section
- Keeping up with her graduate studies while her son spent 21 days in the NICU.
- Dealing with scary and stressful moments
- Her reaction to being pregnant again after such a traumatic experience
- Dealing with an insensitive midwife/Unexpected happenings
- Her husband’s point of view
- Support she wished she had gotten
- Self Care
- Experience with NICU staff
Key Quotes From This Episode:
- “Everyone is a reflection of what they got or didn’t get during their childhood”
- “Let yourself feel whatever you’re feeling and cry if you need to
- There is a very long grieving period following a traumatic delivery and neonatal admission...you need time to heal.
MyNeonatal Story is a 6-part series podcast curated by the Early Birth Foundation to celebrate World Prematurity Day 2021.
World Prematurity Day is celebrated annually on the 17th of November to raise awareness of the challenges and burden of preterm birth globally. The day was initiated by @EFCNI and partnering European parent organisations in 2008. Countless individuals and organisations from more than 100 countries join forces with activities, special events and commit to action to help address preterm births and improve the situation of babies and their families.
The date 17 November was chosen at the first EFCNI Parent Organisations Meeting in Rome, Italy. That day, one of the founding members of EFCNI became the proud father of a daughter, after having lost his triplets due to preterm birth. A new awareness day was born. In 2010, the US organisation March of Dimes, the African organisation LittleBigSouls, the Australian National Premmie Foundation, and EFCNI joined together across continents to celebrate this special day.
Follow us on Instagram @ebfnig for more free resources:
WorldPrematurityDay2021
ParentLedAdvocacy
StrongerTogether
ZeroSeparation
LittleBigSuperheros
NICUheroes
MyNeonatalStory
Ola is a wife and mother to 2 daughters, born at 23 and 29 weeks respectively. Her first daughter spent nine months in five different hospitals and came home on oxygen and a feeding tube requiring several follow up appointments. Seeing how tedious, mentally, physically, and emotionally draining the experience of having a preemie baby was for herself, her family and other families she encountered, it became imperative to have a support group for families of preemie and sick babies where ideas, experiences, challenges and solutions can be shared.
She began Colorful Beginnings a month after her second daughter was born, which empowers and supports families in the NICU, raises awareness of their challenges and provides care packages to families in hospital.
The entire purpose of Colourful Beginnings is to bring Love, Hope and Support to families of premature and sick babies in NICU and beyond. As she knows too well that the journey does not end after discharge from NICU.
For more information on Ola’s work visit her website https://colourfulbeginnings.com/about-us/ and follow her on Instagram @colourfulbeginnings.
In This Episode We Speak About:
- Finding out she was four centimeters dilated at twenty-one weeks.
- Having to lay upside down for two weeks.
- Delivery at twenty-four weeks and the complications that followed.
- Spending nine months in five different hospitals while her daughter went through several treatments.
- Her daughter’s birth weight miracle
- Listening to your mother’s instinct and seeking a second opinion or challenging doctors treatment plan
- Infant pulmonary hypertension
- Finding the NICU journey very hard and disheartening
- Discovering she was pregnant again after tasting her breast milk.
- Starting the Colourful Beginnings Community
- Standing strong against stress with your spouse.
Key Quotes From This Episode
- “Always have faith and find a strong community to plug into. Find a person to be vulnerable around and please cry as much as you need to.
- “You must take care of yourself FOR your baby.”
- “Don’t be afraid to seek help, it doesn’t make you look weak, because you can observe and identify when you can’t handle everything on your own.
- Mum’s remember it is not your fault and your body did not fail you.
MyNeonatal Story is a 6-part series podcast curated by the Early Birth Foundation to celebrate World Prematurity Day 2021. Follow us on Instagram @ebfnig for more free resources
World Prematurity Day is celebrated annually on the 17th of November to raise awareness of the challenges and burden of preterm birth globally. The day was initiated by @EFCNI and partnering European parent organisations in 2008. Countless individuals and organisations from more than 100 countries join forces with activities, special events and commit to action to help address preterm births and improve the situation of babies and their families.
The date 17 November was chosen at the first EFCNI Parent Organisations Meeting in Rome, Italy. That day, one of the founding members of EFCNI became the proud father of a daughter, after having lost his triplets due to preterm birth. A new awareness day was born.
WorldPrematurityDay2021
ParentLedAdvocacy #StrongerTogether #ZeroSeparation
Wendelyn Okemini is a wife and mother to a delightful 4 year old son who made his entrance to the world 11 weeks early.
In This Episode We Speak About:
- Watching out for signs of preeclampsia
- Importance of knowing your regular blood pressure readings so you can monitor any changes in pregnancy.
- Being deliberate about investigating any and every symptom you have during pregnancy
- The Importance of getting a second opinion on medical care.
- Recovering from a C-Section in ICU
- Taking Care of yourself post-delivery due to pre-eclampsia
- Navigating extended leave from work while your child is on admission in NICU
- Experience with NICU staff in Nigeria
- Nurturing your relationships with your spouse and family while dealing with a NICU admission.
- The Kaito Fund which pays for scholarships.
Key Quotes From This Episode:
- “Everyone will deal with this experience differently, just know all of your feelings are valid, Don’t feel bad for feeling whatever you feel”
- “You are your child/children’s best advocate, don’t feel useless in the NICU, read up and be sure to educate yourself on whatever is going on, so you can speak up for your child who can’t complain about whatever they are feeling when they are being operated on”
- “Ask Questions, Be informed”
- “Every Journey has an end, Tomorrow will come, Horrible situations will pass”
- “Prioritise yourself, you matter too”
MyNeonatal Story is a 6-part series podcast curated by the Early Birth Foundation to celebrate World Prematurity Day 2021.
World Prematurity Day on 17 November is the most important day in the year to raise awareness of the challenges and burden of preterm birth globally. The day was initiated by @EFCNI and partnering European parent organisations in 2008. Countless individuals and organisations from more than 100 countries join forces with activities, special events and commit to action to help address preterm births and improve the situation of babies and their families.
The date 17 November was chosen at the first EFCNI Parent Organisations Meeting in Rome, Italy. That day, one of the founding members of EFCNI became the proud father of a daughter, after having lost his triplets due to preterm birth. A new awareness day was born. In 2010, the US organisation March of Dimes, the African organisation LittleBigSouls, the Australian National Premmie Foundation, and EFCNI joined together across continents to celebrate this special day.
Follow us on Instagram @ebfnig for more free resources:
WorldPrematurityDay2021
ParentLedAdvocacy
StrongerTogether
ZeroSeparation
LittleBigSuperheros
NICUheroes
MyNeonatalStory
WorldPrematurityDay2021
ZeroSeparation
NICUHeroes
Ajibola Ajayi is a wife, play enthusiast and intentional mom of three wonderful boys, which includes a set of twins that arrived at 31 weeks.
On this episode of #MyNeonatalStory Jibbs as she is fondly called by friends shares with us her story and how she overcame a challenging time by faith.
We Discuss:
- How she was diagnosed with Twin to Twin transfusion syndrome and medically advised to terminate one child.
- Taking risks and holding on to her faith
- Being scheduled for an Emergency C-section on her birthday!
- Being clueless about what to expect on a NICU ward and meeting the twins for the first time.
- Self care while recovering from a C-section
- Dealing with pre-term trauma and finding out she was pregnant again!
- Dealing with one twin discharged 2 weeks before his brother and how that made her become intentional about raising them as individuals.
- Her experiences with her Obgyn team and NICU Staff
- Words of affirmation for parents at the start of their own NICU journey.
- The twins and their health now
Key Quotes From This Episode:
- “Luke 1:37- For with God nothing shall be impossible”
- “Take out time to rest, and take care of yourself too. You are important and in recovery as well.
- Information on the possibility of preterm labour and delivery should be included in routine antenatal care.
- “Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable but do not give up, hold onto your faith”.
MyNeonatal Story is a 6-part series podcast curated by the Early Birth Foundation to celebrate World Prematurity Day 2021.
World Prematurity Day on 17 November is the most important day in the year to raise awareness of the challenges and burden of preterm birth globally. The day was initiated by @EFCNI and partnering European parent organisations in 2008. Countless individuals and organisations from more than 100 countries join forces with activities, special events and commit to action to help address preterm births and improve the situation of babies and their families.
The date 17 November was chosen at the first EFCNI Parent Organisations Meeting in Rome, Italy. That day, one of the founding members of EFCNI became the proud father of a daughter, after having lost his triplets due to preterm birth. A new awareness day was born. In 2010, the US organisation March of Dimes, the African organisation LittleBigSouls, the Australian National Premmie Foundation, and EFCNI joined together across continents to celebrate this special day.