What happens when the emotional, hormonal, and cultural shifts of perimenopause intersect with the daily realities of motherhood? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Cristina Cavezza - clinical psychologist, certified Motherhood Studies practitioner, and mother of twins - for a powerful conversation on the complexities of midlife mothering.
Cristina shares her clinical and lived experience of working with mothers during the menopausal transition, exploring how body image, eating habits, and emotional wellbeing are shaped by both personal history and broader systems of power. We talk about the role of objectification theory, the impact of internalised shame and societal shoulds, and the importance of approaching our inner worlds with compassion and curiosity.
Cristina brings a trauma-informed, feminist lens to her work - blending schema therapy, EMDR, and therapeutic re-parenting to support women in understanding their emotional needs and reclaiming a more connected relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.
She also offers a beautiful reminder about the importance of play - not just for our children, but for us too.
CONNECT WITH DR. CRISTINA CAVEZZA
📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_cristina_cavezza/?hl=en
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573518659491
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cristina-cavezza-222441209/
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What happens when the emotional, hormonal, and cultural shifts of perimenopause intersect with the daily realities of motherhood? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Cristina Cavezza - clinical psychologist, certified Motherhood Studies practitioner, and mother of twins - for a powerful conversation on the complexities of midlife mothering.
Cristina shares her clinical and lived experience of working with mothers during the menopausal transition, exploring how body image, eating habits, and emotional wellbeing are shaped by both personal history and broader systems of power. We talk about the role of objectification theory, the impact of internalised shame and societal shoulds, and the importance of approaching our inner worlds with compassion and curiosity.
Cristina brings a trauma-informed, feminist lens to her work - blending schema therapy, EMDR, and therapeutic re-parenting to support women in understanding their emotional needs and reclaiming a more connected relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.
She also offers a beautiful reminder about the importance of play - not just for our children, but for us too.
CONNECT WITH DR. CRISTINA CAVEZZA
📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_cristina_cavezza/?hl=en
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573518659491
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cristina-cavezza-222441209/
119. Perinatal Suicidality: A Conversation with PANDA CEO Julie Borninkhof and Dr Laura Biggs
The Good Enough Mother
56 minutes 35 seconds
7 months ago
119. Perinatal Suicidality: A Conversation with PANDA CEO Julie Borninkhof and Dr Laura Biggs
Content note: perinatal suicidality
In this episode Sophie speaks with midwife and Research Fellow Dr Laura Biggs, and CEO of PANDA Australia, Julie Borninkhof about the Making Sense of the Unseen partnership between the Stronger Futures CRE and the Murdoch Children’s REsearch Institute, PANDA Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia, and James Cook University.
In the episode you’ll hear discussed key findings from ground-breaking research conducted by the team on experiences of perinatal suicidality, the first study of its kind ever to be carried out. Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in Australia and other high-income countries and yet so far, we’ve known little about women’s experiences of suicidality at this time in their lives. As discussed in this episode, the research identified that perinatal suicidality is driven by experiences of shame, and feelings of being disconnected and ‘defective’ as a mother.
We talk about how societal pressures and the perfect mother myth narrative profoundly impact women’s mental health, and share stories from the research that demonstrate the profound importance of compassionate care and rehumanising relationships and care experiences for mothers. This episode is an especially important listen for all of those who work in healthcare and/or with mothers.
We want to acknowledge the 139 women who shared their experiences of perinatal suicidality with the research team, as without their generosity, this research and this conversation on the podcast sharing these important findings would not be possible.
…
Episode webpage: https://drsophiebrock.com/podcast119
Connect with Laura on Twitter @l_biggs
Follow PANDA on Facebook at facebook.com/pandanational and Instagram @pandanational
Laura Biggs’ email: laura.biggs@mcri.edu.au
Learn more about Making Sense of the Unseen: https://www.strongerfutures.org.au/making-sense-of-the-unseen
Read the journal article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10497323231164278
Support lines
Australia - www.panda.org.au/ - 1300 726 306
@pandanational @lifelineaustralia @13yarn
UK - pandasfoundation.org.uk/ - 0808 1961 776
USA - www.postpartum.net/ - Text “Help” to 800-944-4773 (EN)
The EU/EEA - Mental health helpline - 116 123
The Good Enough Mother
What happens when the emotional, hormonal, and cultural shifts of perimenopause intersect with the daily realities of motherhood? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Cristina Cavezza - clinical psychologist, certified Motherhood Studies practitioner, and mother of twins - for a powerful conversation on the complexities of midlife mothering.
Cristina shares her clinical and lived experience of working with mothers during the menopausal transition, exploring how body image, eating habits, and emotional wellbeing are shaped by both personal history and broader systems of power. We talk about the role of objectification theory, the impact of internalised shame and societal shoulds, and the importance of approaching our inner worlds with compassion and curiosity.
Cristina brings a trauma-informed, feminist lens to her work - blending schema therapy, EMDR, and therapeutic re-parenting to support women in understanding their emotional needs and reclaiming a more connected relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.
She also offers a beautiful reminder about the importance of play - not just for our children, but for us too.
CONNECT WITH DR. CRISTINA CAVEZZA
📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_cristina_cavezza/?hl=en
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573518659491
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cristina-cavezza-222441209/
