She's a Postpartum Psychiatrist — And It Happened to Her | ft. Dr. Sarah Oreck HTS #471

Heal Thy Self with Dr. G

Wellness Loud

Alternative Health, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 30 March 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Episode Description One in three women will experience postpartum depression — and most of them never see it coming. Dr. Sarah Oreck is a reproductive psychiatrist and perinatal mental health specialist, but she didn't arrive at this work from the outside looking in. She navigated IVF, fertility struggles, late-term pregnancy loss, and her own postpartum depression — and realized that if getting care was this hard for someone inside the medical system, most women didn't stand a chance. What she built from that reckoning is one of the clearest, most honest conversations Dr. G has had about what motherhood actually does to the mind, body, and identity of a woman. In this episode, you'll discover: • Why postpartum depression affects far more women than we're told — and why rage, numbness, and panic are just as common as sadness • How IVF, birth trauma, miscarriage history, and partner support all quietly shape your postpartum mental health before the baby even arrives • Why the newborn phase feels so disconnected for so many mothers — and why that doesn't mean something is wrong with you If you're trying to get pregnant, already pregnant, or supporting someone who is — this is the conversation no one is having loudly enough. Find Dr. Sarah: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahoreckmd/ MVita Health: https://www.sarahoreckmd.com/ Timestamps: 0:00 - Is Postpartum Depression Actually 1 in 3 Women? The Truth No One Tells You 1:01 - Meet Dr. Sarah Oreck: Reproductive Psychiatrist & Perinatal Mental Health Specialist 2:25 - Hot Seat: The Biggest Lies Women Are Told About Postpartum Mental Health 5:08 - Dr. Sarah's Story: From Watching Her Mom Get Gaslit to Building MVita Health 8:11 - What Is PMDD and Why Do So Many Women Go Undiagnosed? 11:32 - Alcohol, Caffeine & Sugar: How They Make Your Hormonal Cycles Worse 16:28 - Pregnancy and the Identity Shift Nobody Warns You About 21:05 - Who Is Most at Risk for Postpartum Depression? 25:05 - When Postpartum Goes to the Extreme: Rage, Psychosis & Suicidal Thoughts 30:06 - How Birth Trauma and Miscarriage Increase Your Postpartum Risk 35:33 - Why You Might Not Feel Bonded to Your Baby (And Why That's Okay) 40:15 - Men Get Postpartum Depression Too — Here's What to Watch For 43:21 - Why We Were Never Meant to Do This Alone: The Case for Community 49:05 - First Steps to Protect Your Mental Health Before, During & After Baby Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Some women are particularly sensitive to the drop and the increase in hormones.
0:06.0	And people are like, oh, can you test my hormones to check the levels?
0:09.0	And it's actually not about that because someone may have those same shifts and be totally fine.
0:14.0	But for another person, they're acutely sensitive to it.
0:17.0	That tends to be a through line. For me, it certainly was, of like, I'm a little sensitive to hormones. Pregnancy, I was a little bit sensitive to the hormones. And it affected my mental health. And similarly, in the postpartum. If you're trying to get pregnant or even thinking about it, you need to hear this. We've been told that postpartum depression affects about one in 10 women, maybe one to six. But what if I told you it's actually closer to 1 and 3?
0:39.3	What if your risk is higher for depression if you've done IVF?
0:42.3	If you have a history of anxiety, if your birth doesn't go according to plan,
0:46.3	if you don't have real support at home, what if all these red flags started before the baby even arrives but no one saw it?
0:53.3	Postpartum depression doesn't always
0:54.8	look like sadness. Sometimes it looks like rage or panic or intrusive thoughts that really terrify you.
1:00.6	Sometimes a woman can feel completely numb. And here's the thing, too many women are blindsided
1:05.0	by this. So I got on an expert, Dr. Sarah Oreck. She's a Los Angeles-based reproductive
1:10.3	psychiatrist and also
1:11.7	perinatal mental health specialist who supports women through fertility, pregnancy, and early
1:16.5	motherhood. She's also mother three who has personally navigated IVF, fertility struggles,
1:22.0	late-term pregnancy loss, postpartum depression, and postpartum anxiety. She doesn't just
1:27.1	understand this clinically she has lived it.
1:29.3	And as a Latina physician who's a founder,
1:31.3	she's deeply committed to breaking the stigma around women's health
1:34.3	and helping women feel less alone, especially those in communities that have been silenced.
1:38.3	So in this episode, we talk about how postpartum depression and anxiety actually look.
1:42.3	What is the biggest risk factor for postpartum depression that women aren't warned about?
	...

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