Working Mom Creates Parenting Podcast During Pandemic To Give New Moms a Voice

The stress of residing by means of a pandemic has been overwhelming, to say the least. Now think about not solely residing by means of the pandemic, however turning into a brand new mom, working full-time, and launching a podcast. That’s precisely what Lina Forrestal did: managing an excessive balancing act that at occasions was admittedly troublesome.

After her personal expertise, Lina noticed the necessity to create a secure area for brand new mothers who could also be feeling remoted and overwhelmed. This was additionally her actuality, struggling each day with the anxieties of turning into a brand new dad or mum through the pandemic whereas pouring her coronary heart and soul into beginning ‘The New Mamas Podcast’. Lina's real-life experiences are actually what makes the parenting podcast such a roaring success, as she covers uncooked and taboo matters in a refreshingly trustworthy means. 

The Journey

Previous to turning into a mom and beginning her podcast, Lina was a serial planner. She was the lady who at all times had a five-year plan, be that personally or in her company profession. Nonetheless, one worldwide transfer to Thailand later and Lina discovered to relinquish management and begin residing fairly than planning. As she says herself: ‘you plan and God laughs’. She credit her time overseas for serving to her see what she might obtain past her company profession. Nonetheless, above all, she credit it for educating her how you can take these all-important leaps of religion. For instance, having the braveness to start out a parenting podcast for brand new mothers.

The Inspiration

So what impressed Lina to dive into the podcasting world? Inside a 12 months of returning to the US, she and her companion discovered they have been about to grow to be dad and mom. This thrilling time was full of preparations, from attending scheduled physician's appointments to studying tonnes of parenting books. Nonetheless, Lina was shocked when the second she gave start, the physician’s appointments and assets stopped with it. She was left in her fourth trimester (the 12 weeks after start) feeling overwhelmed and alone in what's arguably probably the most intense and risky stage of turning into a dad or mum. She couldn’t perceive why there was such a wealth of assist and assets throughout being pregnant after which completely nothing post-birth.

The Beginning of 'The New Mamas Podcast'

This was the inspiration behind ‘The New Mamas Podcast’: a parenting podcast that comforts new mothers, assuring them that they aren't alone. Lina interviews company about their transition into motherhood, offering a secure area for brand new mothers to speak about their experiences. In doing so, the podcast offers ladies a voice; one that's so typically canceled or silenced by society.

The great thing about this podcast is that it connects mothers from all backgrounds and walks of life, all united by their collective motherhood journey. What’s extra, Lina’s infectious realism means the dialog is opened up about essential, historically taboo, matters. For instance, post-partum melancholy, SIDS anxiousness, infertility, miscarriage, and the ever-prevalent mom-guilt. In doing so, she makes her parenting podcast certainly one of a form by normalizing the ups and downs of motherhood and offering solace to these new mothers struggling in silence.

Pandemic Parenting

Navigating this stage of motherhood is intense at the most effective of occasions. Nonetheless, through the pandemic new mothers have needed to navigate the early phases of new child life with out the assist of household and pals. What's extra, international restrictions have restricted the availability of childcare providers, putting larger strain on new mothers.

Regardless of this hardship, Lina made the most effective of the state of affairs. As an alternative, she used the time when household and pals would usually have visited to create her parenting podcast. Understanding what number of ladies her podcast might assist made her decided to place the hours in alongside the obligations of being a brand new mother. What’s extra, she was already again at her company job simply 6 weeks after giving start (as per US legislation). In consequence, she was left balancing breastfeeding and convention calls by day, and podcasting by night time. This was all of the harder with out childcare and the added strain of being the only real supplier.

Instagram vs Actuality

Moreover, the pandemic caused an absence of bodily contact, inflicting many people to show to social media for some type of consolation. Flicking by means of a wonderfully curated Instagram feed doesn’t precisely present an actual notion of parenting. And that’s one thing Lina desperately wished to handle. As such, 'The New Mamas Podcast' is a far cry from the ‘Instagram highlight reel’ of excellent households and toned postpartum our bodies. As an alternative, it goals to offer mothers with a constructive dose of actuality, reassuring them that they're a part of a group all going by means of the identical factor.

A Message to Reside by

An empowering message, delivered so reassuringly by Lina, is that ‘it’s okay to not be okay generally’. In doing so, she raises spirits, whereas letting new mothers know that it is okay to wrestle, it’s okay to be overwhelmed, and it’s actually okay to succeed in out for assist. In any case, studying how you can take care of a tiny human and how you can be a mom on the similar time shouldn't be an immediate course of!

Motherhood is a singular journey that requires endurance and perseverance, whether or not that’s for working mothers, stay-at-home mothers, or one thing in between. Regardless of the journey, 'The New Mamas Podcast' will really feel like a comforting hug within the delicate phases of new child life.