In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, I’m joined by Charlotte, also known as The Smart Doula (Instagram: @the. smart.doula Website: www.thesmartdoula.com

Charlotte shares her personal experience of perinatal mental health challenges, lifting the curtain on what can feel invisible, confusing and incredibly isolating in pregnancy and early parenthood. As a doula supporting others through birth and the postnatal period, she brings a unique perspective, both as a professional holding space for families and as a mother navigating her own mental health journey.

We talk openly about the emotional realities that often go unspoken: intrusive thoughts, identity shifts, expectations versus reality, and the quiet pressure to “cope.” Charlotte speaks candidly about what helped, what didn’t, and how support, understanding and self-compassion became essential parts of her recovery.

She also shares her deep passion for helping parents and birthing people set firm boundaries and clear expectations around their birth experiences. We explore how advocacy, informed choice and feeling truly heard can shape not only birth itself, but the mental health outcomes that follow.

Charlotte speaks movingly about her husband’s experience of trauma alongside her during their first birth. We reflect on how birth impacts partners too, and how, together, they processed what happened, strengthened their communication, and felt more prepared and equipped for the arrival of their second child.

This episode is for parents, birthing and non birthing individuals and parents-to-be, birth workers and anyone wanting a more honest conversation about perinatal mental health. It’s for those who have struggled silently, and for those who may not yet have the words for what they are experiencing.

Sharing these stories matters. It reduces shame. It builds connection. And it reminds us that you can be knowledgeable, capable and still need support.

UK Perinatal Mental Health Support

If you are struggling, you are not alone. Support is available.

You can contact your local NHS perinatal mental health team via your GP, midwife or health visitor.

For urgent mental health support in England, call NHS 111 and select Option 2.

In an emergency, phone 999.

You can also access specialist support through:PANDAS Foundation – helpline and support for perinatal mental illnessMind – information and local servicesSamaritans – call 116 123 for 24/7 emotional support

To connect with me about this episode or enquire about support through OT_Intuition, you can:

Email: OT_intuition@outlook.com Follow and message via Instagram: @ot_intuition

Subscribe here: https://linktr.ee/ot_intuition

Website: otintuition.co.uk/home

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You cannot regulate without first entering a place of safety and connection.

If you're stuck in fight, flight, or freeze mode, your body isn’t in a state where true regulation and rewiring can occur. The brain is misreading the moment as danger. An intrusive thought can trigger panic or shutdown. You spiral, trying to solve or escape the thought, but your nervous system is locked in survival mode.

Let me share a quick story about my rescue dog, Dolly.

When Dolly first came home, she was hypervigilant. A sudden movement, a loud sound, even a gentle touch could send her into freeze or flight. Her body didn’t yet know safety. But over time, through consistent connection, gentle cues, and co-regulation, she began to soften. Her tail wagged more. Her eyes relaxed. Her body learned: “I am safe now.”

Humans aren’t so different.

To begin healing, we must speak to our nervous system in a language it understands—safety, connection, presence. Here are a few ways to do that:

🌿 Orient to your environment Look around. Name five things you see. Let your body know: “I am here, and I am safe.”

🫱 Touch with intention Place a hand on your heart or cheek. Gentle touch can signal safety faster than words.

🎶 Use sound to soothe Hum, sing, or listen to calming music. Vibrations help regulate the vagus nerve.

👥 Connect with someone safe Even a brief moment of eye contact or a shared laugh can shift your state.

This is how we begin to rewire. Not through force, but through safety. Through connection. Through repetition.

Your body is listening. Let’s speak to it with kindness.

With warmth, Jen @OT_Intuition The Intuitive Living Collective

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Visit OCD ACTION for advice, support and online groups and webinars

Visit NoOCD for advice, treatment and signposting

Phone your local crisis line if you need support now! Emergency? Phone 999. Otherwise call NHS 111 Option 2

Send us a text

🎙️ OT_Intuition | The Intuitive Living Podcast

Series 1: Perinatal OCD

Episode 5 – Katie: From Prison to Parenthood

⚠️ Content Warning:

This episode includes discussion of traumatic events, including the loss of loved ones and systemic failure in mental health services. While no graphic details are shared, some listeners may find aspects emotionally triggering.

Please take care while listening. Feel free to pause, skip, or return at a later time. Support resources are listed in the show notes.

In this deeply moving and honest episode, I sit down with Katie, a fellow queer occupational therapist whose path into the profession was shaped not only by her psychology background, but also by profound personal loss. She witnessed first-hand the positive impact OTs had on those struggling with their mental health.

Whilst starting her initial training in clinical psychology, Katie experienced a traumatic event involving the devastating loss of people she considered family. A tragedy connected to systemic failures in mental health services.

This heartbreaking chapter became the seed for a purpose-led journey, and the unexpected decision to return to university and undertake another degree, this time, in occupational therapy.

We explore:

🌱 Navigating trauma and finding meaning through a career shift into OT

🔒 Her work in forensic medium secure and prison settings

👶 The raw identity shift into parenthood — including intrusive thoughts and hallucinations

❤️‍🩹 Choosing self-employment and eventually accepting the need to reach out for therapy to support her own growth and recovery

This episode is about what happens when systems fail, and how we slowly begin again. It’s a story of emotional labour, identity, quiet strength, and the rebuilding that follows trauma.

Whether you’re an OT, a parent, or someone navigating your own season of change….this conversation is for you.

💚 Follow @OT_Intuition – The Intuitive Living Podcast for grounded, real-world conversations about identity, regulation, and intuitive living.

#OTIntuition #IntuitiveLivingPodcast #OccupationalTherapy #PerinatalOCD #TraumaInformedCare #ForensicOT #ParenthoodAndPurpose #MentalHealthMatters #NeuroaffirmingCare #AuthenticLiving

Support the show

Visit OCD ACTION for advice, support and online groups and webinars

Visit NoOCD for advice, treatment and signposting

Phone your local crisis line if you need support now! Emergency? Phone 999. Otherwise call NHS 111 Option 2