Emmalee's Birth Story

ShrinkChicks

Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT and Emmalee Bierly, LMFT

Mental Health, Education, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Self-improvement, Relationships

5 • 717 Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on ShrinkChicks, you all get to meet Birdie, Em's newborn daughter! Emmalee shares her birth story and how her expectations for labor went completely out the window. She discusses dealing with unmet or different expectations, why comparison to others or even yourself can be challenging when it comes to birth and postpartum, information overload & control, medication during pregnancy, and what she learned from her first daughter and postpartum experience. Emmalee shares her advice for expectant moms as well as the advice she would give to her younger, postpartum self. Tune in to be part of Birdie's first podcast appearance! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Matched With One of Our Therapists⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at The Therapy Group! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ShrinkChicks on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Know Yourself Grow Yourself Journal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!! Check out ShrinkChicks on YouTube by subscribing here! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/channel/UCrxuhDqoL4ML3UE8b2J2BBg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A special thank you to this week's sponsors for supporting ShrinkChicks! We have these exclusive offers for our listeners: Leesa: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leesa.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 25% off a mattress, PLUS get an extra $50 off with promo code shrinkchicks, exclusive for our listeners Headspace: For a limited time, get Headspace FREE for 60 days. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Headspace.com/SHRINKCHICKS60⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to unlock all of Headspace FREE for 60 days Green Chef: Head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Greenchef.com/50SHRINKCHICKS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code 50SHRINKCHICKS to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping Wildgrain: Get $30 off your first box - PLUS free croissants in every box - when you go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wildgrain.com/SHRINKCHICKS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to start your subscription or use code SHRINKCHICKS at checkout Pretty Litter: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠prettylitter.com/SHRINKCHICKS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to save 20% on your first order and get a free cat toy Quince: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/shrinkchicks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping and 365-day returns on your next order Spot & Tango: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠spotandtango.com/shrinkchicks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code SHRINKCHICKS to get 50% off your first order Greenlight: Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at ⁠⁠⁠greenlight.com/shrinkchicks

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is brought to you by Podcast Nation.
0:04.8	Listen, if you take away anything from this episode, it's a million people are going to tell you a million different things about what motherhood and postpartum and birth and fertility and all those things are.
0:18.0	And don't fucking listen.
0:20.6	Wow. Love that. If it's helpful, it makes you feel better,
0:24.2	that's great. I think it probably did make me feel better going into the birth thinking like,
0:29.9	oh, this is going to be so easy. Everyone told me it's so easy. It wasn't true. Right.
0:48.8	And so I just think that what you can do is be in tune with yourself, take care of yourself, go to therapy, get meds, talk about it sooner.
1:02.0	Music Welcome back to another episode of shrink chicks.
1:07.2	Take a seat on our virtual therapy couch and get ready to learn all about, well, you.
1:08.3	I'm Emily Beirley.
1:09.5	And I'm Jennifer Chakin.
1:13.6	And we're both licensed, marriage and family therapist and relationship experts. We're the owners and founders of the therapy group, a nationwide psychotherapy practice with down-to-earth therapists just like us.
1:21.1	Your session is starting.
1:22.5	So get ready to know yourself and grow yourself.
1:29.4	Hi, Jen. Hi, Jen.
1:30.8	Hi, M.
1:34.0	So exciting to do this episode with you while you're on maternity leave, quote, unquote.
1:41.6	Quote on quote, how's it going for me?
1:44.5	I've been doing a great job staying off of slack. I've been doing a great job staying off of Slack.
1:46.8	I've been doing a great job not answering text messages.
1:50.5	Sending emails.
1:51.8	She literally cannot help herself.
	...

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