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S02E06 Josefina: How an unplanned NICU Journey Reshaped a Mother’s Identity, Priorities and Voice. Preeclampsia, Premature Birth and the Slow Bloom of Bonds.
Manage episode 512296620 series 3657896
Josefina is a certified pre- and postnatal yoga teacher and a pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist (PCES) living in Appenzell, Switzerland. Her resources are at the end of this episode's description.
The plan sounded elegant: move to Zurich, open a textile shop in August, welcome a baby in October. Then preeclampsia arrived without warning, and Josefina’s son was born at 29 weeks—840 grams of fierce life, tucked inside the NICU for 10 long weeks. What followed wasn’t a highlight reel. It was the honest, human middle: shame that the bond didn’t appear on cue, the grief of a birth rewritten, money stress that pushed her back to work while pumping at midnight, and a body that cried out with relentless migraines. Through it all, Josefina learned to separate fear from intuition, to ask for specific help, and to treat “self‑care” as essential infrastructure rather than a luxury.
We walk with her from the operating room to the NICU bedside, through language barriers and well‑meaning but invalidating comments, to the moment she trusted her gut and noticed her son wasn’t quite right—then was proven right. That small win became a thread that stitched their connection. She shares how to set boundaries with professionals who forget adjusted age or escalate anxiety, why expat parents need a village on purpose, and how to plan postpartum support that actually matters: food, laundry, quiet company, and a doula who speaks your language. Along the way, she names the myths that hurt parents—“all that matters is healthy mom, healthy baby”; “bonding is instant”; “good mothers don’t ask for help”—and replaces them with kinder truths.
Today, her once‑tiny preemie is tall, funny, and loud with song. Josefina is changing generational patterns by apologizing to her child, holding feelings instead of dismissing them, and modelling repair over perfection. If your path to parenthood bent in ways you never chose, this conversation offers steady ground: advocacy, realistic postpartum planning, and the reminder that a delayed bond is still a true bond. If it resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and share this story with someone who needs the courage to ask for help.
Prenatal yoga series: https://resources.josefinayoga.com/balanced-before-birth
Her Postpartum Plan: https://resources.josefinayoga.com/postpartum-plan
Easy self-care ideas for new moms: https://resources.josefinayoga.com/easy-self-care-ideas
Her free resources: https://josefinayoga.com/free-resources/
Please connect with us! See below for how to contact and interact with us:
To share your story: https://www.happydayhypnobirthing.ch/swiss-birth-stories
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Chapters
1. Welcome & Guest Introduction (00:00:00)
2. Big Plans Before Pregnancy Shift (00:00:34)
3. Early Warning Signs and Hospitalization (00:04:01)
4. Emergency C‑Section at 29 Weeks (00:07:57)
5. Meeting a Micro‑Preemie in NICU (00:13:21)
6. Money Stress, Work, and Pumping Cycles (00:16:58)
7. Guilt, Invalidating Comments, and Therapy (00:22:01)
8. Coming Home: Confidence and Language Barriers (00:27:31)
9. Migraines, Burnout, and Self‑Care Turning Point (00:33:28)
10. Asking for Help and Building a Village (00:39:22)
11. Boundaries with Professionals and Trusting Instincts (00:46:06)
12. Bonding Arrives Slowly but Deeply (00:54:15)
24 episodes
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