From Overwhelmed to Empowered Building Trust As A New Parent with Dr. Mona.

Becoming a parent is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. From endless online advice to well-meaning opinions from family and friends, it's easy to question every decision. In this episode of Ask the Doulas, Kristin Revere sits down with Dr. Mona Amin, a board-certified pediatrician, IBCLC, and mom, to discuss how parents can move from feeling overwhelmed to empowered during the newborn stage.

Dr. Mona shares why the first weeks with a baby can feel so challenging and offers practical ways to build confidence in your own parenting instincts. She also explains how to find a pediatrician who is the right fit for your family, what questions to ask during a meet-and-greet appointment, and why it's perfectly okay to change providers if the relationship isn't meeting your needs.

Kristin and Dr. Mona also explore the impact of comparison culture, how social media can undermine parental confidence, and what it truly means to trust yourself as a parent. You'll leave this conversation with actionable strategies to reduce anxiety, strengthen your confidence, and create a supportive healthcare team for your growing family.

In this episode, you'll learn:
• Why the newborn stage feels overwhelming for so many parents
• How to begin trusting your instincts as a new parent
• What to look for when choosing a pediatrician
• Questions to ask before selecting your baby's doctor
• When it's appropriate to switch pediatricians
• How comparison affects confidence during early parenthood
• Practical ways to feel more empowered every day

Whether you're expecting your first baby or navigating life with a newborn, this conversation will remind you that confidence isn't something you're born with. It's something you build, one decision at a time.

Subscribe to our newsletter, check out our birth and baby book, and see more about our doula services & online courses below:

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Ask the Doulas is a pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting podcast for expecting families, new parents, and birth and baby professionals. Hosted by Kristin Revere and Alyssa Veneklase of Gold Coast Doulas, the podcast features conversations with doulas, childbirth educators, lactation consultants, sleep consultants, newborn care specialists, fertility experts, and perinatal mental health professionals. Ask the Doulas is designed for both parents and professionals looking for trusted guidance, continuing education, and real-world strategies.

Transcript

Becoming a parent is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming.  From endless online advice to well-meaning opinions from family and friends, it's easy to question every decision.  In this episode of Ask the Doulas, Kristin Revere sits down with Dr. Mona Amin, a board-certified pediatrician, IBCLC, and mom, to discuss how parents can move from feeling overwhelmed to empowered during the newborn stage.

Dr. Mona shares why the first weeks with a baby can feel so challenging and offers practical ways to build confidence in your own parenting instincts.  She also explains how to find a pediatrician who is the right fit for your family, what questions to ask during a meet-and-greet appointment, and why it's perfectly okay to change providers if the relationship isn't meeting your needs.

Kristin and Dr. Mona also explore the impact of comparison culture, how social media can undermine parental confidence, and what it truly means to trust yourself as a parent.  You'll leave this conversation with actionable strategies to reduce anxiety, strengthen your confidence, and create a supportive healthcare team for your growing family.

In this episode, you'll learn:

·         Why the newborn stage feels overwhelming for so many parents

·         How to begin trusting your instincts as a new parent

·         What to look for when choosing a pediatrician

·         Questions to ask before selecting your baby’s doctor

·         When it’s appropriate to switch pediatricians

·         How comparisons affect confidence during early parenthood

·         Practical ways to feel more empowered every day

Whether you're expecting your first baby or navigating life with a newborn, this conversation will remind you that confidence isn't something you're born with.  It's something you build, one decision at a time.

Hello, hello!  This is Kristin Revere with Ask the Doulas, and I am thrilled to chat with Dr. Mona Amin.  Dr. Mona is the founder of PedsDocTalk and a trusted voice in parenting education, combining her expertise as a board-certified pediatrician, IBCLC, and mom of two to support parents worldwide.  She is the founder of PedsDocTalk, as I mentioned, a globally recognized platform reaching over 1.5 million people with evidence-based guidance, actionable tips, and relatable insights on child health, development, and parenting. 

Dr. Mona’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Time Magazine, NPR, Good Morning America, Parents.com, and ABC News, where she is recognized as a leading voice in modern parenting. 

Dr. Mona is passionate about fostering healthy sleep habits, building positive relationships with food and emotions, and nurturing resilience and self-worth in children from an early age.  Through her podcast, YouTube channel, social media, and online workshops, Dr. Mona provides parents with practical advice and a deeper sense of confidence.  Her unique approach blends clinical expertise with the real life joys and challenges of raising kids, making her guidance both impactful and relatable.  She is committed to creating a space where parents feel supported and encouraged to embrace their own path while finding joy in the small moments and keeping perspective on the big picture. 

Welcome, Dr. Mona! 

Oh, thank you!  What a welcome!  And you forgot the most important thing, which I am a fierce doula-obsessed advocate, which of course applies for this show!  But thank you so much for having me.  I love chatting with you and can’t wait to talk more. 

Well, I love pediatricians, and we’ll get into that, as well.  But our topic today is overwhelm that we experience, whether it’s baby one or baby five, because every birth and every parenting experience is different.  So building that trust as a new parent and confidence – and you have the perspective not only as a pediatrician but also as a mom.  So you understand that even with your expertise, things aren’t always textbook. 

Absolutely, and that is something that’s really important.  You know, when you mentioned in the intro – I talk a lot about evidence based information, and so much of that information is also experience.  It’s the time I’ve had with my families in my office.  It’s my own personal experience.  It’s the whole picture, right?  I think a lot of times, parents find themselves in offices where maybe the pediatrician or whatever doctor they’re seeing is so focused on the issue at hand without really talking about the whole ecosystem of a family, and I’m very big on the ecosystem.  Like, it’s not just colic.  The naming can really help as its own entity in getting through to move through these feelings. 

Exactly.  And for my clients who deliver in hospitals – I should add, it’s much different with a home birth – but they are not seeing their nurse midwife or their OB until six weeks, and so many things come up.  In that postnatal visit with my birth doula clients, I mention to bring up concerns to their pediatrician because those initial visits are more frequent, and some offices have lactation consultants on staff and other resources.  And pediatricians can spot some of that overwhelm in moms.  I know that you’re all very rushed and short in time, but my own pediatrician has been helpful to my journey as a parent. 

There are so many different ways that pediatricians are practicing right now.  It’s so sad to see that time is being lost.  Usually, insurance companies, reimbursements, costs of just running a practice is requiring a lot of pediatricians to see higher volume, which unfortunately means less time.  And I think all of us can say that we went into this field to actually want to help children because pediatrics isn’t a lucrative field.  It’s a very difficult field, working with families and kids and seeing them at the most vulnerable moments.  And it’s just a sad reality, and I think a lot of the conversation is also around advocating, bringing up those questions, like you said, knowing that if you’re feeling a certain way, whether it’s with your own child’s clinician or your own body postpartum, that you voice it and say, hey, where is the next best step that I can go to get help?  Like if your mental health is struggling?  All of those things matter to the ecosystem of the family and the health of the child and you. 

Exactly.  It’s so important.  You mentioned bringing up questions and having limited time.  Do you suggest that our listeners come up with a list of questions so they are able to optimize the time they have at a pediatrician visit?  Sometimes – I know I have two kids that I still bring as young teenagers to appointments at the same time, so it is very important to be able to recall questions that come up and get those addressed, and if a referral is needed, to get that taken care of in that visit. 

I am a big fan of notes on your phones because so much of it comes on the fly, right?  Like maybe you see your child do something and you’re not too worried about it, but you want to bring it up.  Utilize that Notes app to write down all of your questions.  I have had so many visits where I go through my questions, and for me, it’s always the big stuff.  It’s sleep, feeding, development, behavior.  Those are my big things that I’m looking at when I’m asking questions, and obviously, the questions will be depending on how old the child is.  But think about all the things that may come under those umbrellas, right?  Sleep concerns you may have.  Feeding concerns you may have.  Development, behavior concerns if they’re an older child – and write those down.  And like you said beautifully, a new parent may not always know what to ask, and that’s okay, right?  Your clinician will go through what they need to go through.  You may have a question after the visit.  Write it down.  If you feel like it’s an emergency, if you’re like oh, no, I need to know right away, you can always call the nursing line, call the office, leave a message for your clinician.  But if it’s something that you just want education and information, you can wait until the next visit.  You can utilize people like myself.  There are so many pediatricians online giving that in-between education.  So for example, you go to see your doctor, and you forgot to talk to him about colic.  I have resources on colic because I know those questions can come up at 2:00 a.m., in the middle of the night.  And so you can get that information and think to yourself, okay, here’s what I need to know.  Okay, let me talk to my doctor about this.  So you can utilize the right resources in between your doctor visits in case you forget to ask those questions.  But yes, write those notes down.  I have had families literally at the end of my spiel of all the things I’m going through – they’re like, okay, doctor, I have the questions.  I’m like, whip out your phone, and we literally just go item by item.  And it’s like rapid fire Q&A.  And then they feel good, right, because I was able to get through everything they wanted.  They know my vibe.  They know I will give them straightforward, straight shooting answers.  I will not let them worry if they don’t need to worry, and I will bring concern when it’s needed.  

And then finding that right clinician is so much a part of that picture, too.  You don’t have to stick to one doctor because you saw them and now you feel loyal.  You can look at other clinicians in that same practice.  You can go to another practice.  It is a relationship.  And I think so many parents forget that it is a very important relationship.  For many, it could be the doctor or clinician that sees your baby until they’re 21 years of age.  And so I don’t take that lightly.  I look at my families as like, we are in a team here.  If you don’t feel like I’m on your team because I feel a certain way about this thing and you don’t, then you need to find somebody else because I don’t want you to feel like I’m not giving you what you need as a parent.  Everybody has different communication styles, and you have to find what sits with your heart and your communication needs as a parent. 

Exactly.  And for brand new parents who are trying to search for a pediatrician – I mean, that’s one of the first questions that you get asked when you arrive at the hospital is who is your pediatrician.  How to find one out of the blue that obviously matches with your insurance and your focus as far as parenting needs and so on – and you mentioned a fit in personality and style of the pediatrician.  What are your tips on selecting a pediatrician, as a mom and a pediatrician yourself? 

Yeah.  I think one of the best ways you’re going to find a pediatrician is word of mouth from friends that you may have who have children.  Whether their child is older than yours or not, if you like that friend, and I have to be clear, some people are friends with people that probably they shouldn't be friends with.  But if you like that friend, like if you relate to that friend, that friend uplifts you, you feel good around that friend – I would trust their judgment on the pediatrician they’re going to.  So ask those people in your life, whether it’s a relative, whether it’s a friend.  That would be your first place.  Now, for anyone listening who may not have friends that are mothers or fathers, you can also go to your OB.  That would be my second best place to go.  Like, hey, do you have any pediatricians?  Because OBs, because they work so closely with the pregnant person and postpartum, they may also have their reccs based on word of mouth, as well.  So first is going to be word of mouth from friends and family.  Second is going to be OB.  Third is going to be a search online.  The reason I put that last is that online reviews are not always the most accurate.  I have to be very clear, I find that people are more likely to go online to complain, but not many people will go online to share the good stuff.  So you want to be careful that you’re not just looking online.  And maybe you heard such good things about a doctor.  You can do something called scheduling a prenatal visit.  Call the office and ask while you’re pregnant, in the second or third trimester – ideally, second.  Say, hey, I would love to join the practice.  Do you offer a prenatal session where I can meet any of the clinicians?  Do you offer any information?  Most offices will have either a tour option, a way for you to speak with a clinician in the office, if not the clinician that’s going to care for your baby – and that can give you a vibe check.  I’m really big on vibes.  And I say this also from the mom lens, because when I had my son when I was pregnant, I was like, I don’t care who sees him.  I’m a pediatrician.  I don’t care.  I don’t need a doctor because I’m basically a doctor.  However, my son had a very significant medical condition, and when he was born, I had a lot of anxiety.  And so I couldn't be my son’s doctor at that point, right, because I needed to separate the mom brain from the doctor brain.  So I looked for my colleagues that had an uplifting vibe that would be honest with me but also not fill me with dread.  Someone who would just speak to the facts.  And I found that person.  She was my colleague.  I saw her for about a year.  I felt better.  My son got better.  We ended up weaning off the medications he needed, blah, blah, blah.  And then I ended up then going to any doctor, right, because I’m not allowed to see my own children.  But I give that example because it is, to me, a vibe check.  It is, to me, a communication style.  You want someone who explains their reasoning – or maybe you don’t, right?  I can’t tell what you need as a parent.  Only you know that.  And I don’t think there’s bad doctors out there.  I think there’s just different communication styles.  And that’s not a fault of the person, right?  Everyone’s just different.  Some people are more direct.  Some people are more touchy feely.  You need to think, okay, I went to this doctor.  It was all right.  Why don’t I interview or go check out the other colleague at that same practice.  And I have found so many families that way.  And on the flip side, so many families have left me because they wanted someone different, and I don’t take that personally as a clinician.  I want the best for the families that come through my office.  So remember, there’s no hard feelings.  You shouldn't feel bad about looking for the best fit for your family.  And if any clinician ever makes you feel like, well, why did you go see that person – that’s not the clinician for you because our role is to provide the best for the family, even if it’s not us. 

Right.  I feel the same way as a doula.  It’s so intimate.  I want my clients to have the perfect fit.  If it’s not me, then hopefully it’s someone on my team.  So as far as developing those instincts as a new parent or a seasoned parent with a totally different experience with baby number three – what do you recommend as far as developing those instincts? 

There’s a lot of different thoughts and theories about intuition and instincts.  And I’m in the camp that I believe that every parent has intuition and has instinct because from an evolutionary perspective, we have been forced to do that.  Now, what happens is I think so many parents don’t lose their instinct; they lose access to their instinct.  They lose access to their intuition.  So intuition and instinct to me kind of go a little bit hand in hand, but intuition is really just being able to tune in with yourself, your baby’s needs, your mental health needs, your physical needs, and that tuning gets staticky, like gets interrupted fast, when too much outside noise is competing for the same channel.  So your channel is I know what I need.  I know what my babies need.  Now, imagine Grandma telling you one thing, doctor telling you another thing, social media telling you another thing.  You’re struggling with anxiety, depression.  All of those things add static to our brain and intuition.  And I say this because I am very rational as a pediatrician.  I rarely let my emotion get into my decision-making as a doctor, right, as a physician.  However, when I became a mother, with my second I had really bad anxiety.  With my daughter, I had overwhelming anxiety.  I had a therapist, got on medication.  I lost that ability to tap into my intuition and instinct because my anxiety was taking the driver’s seat.  A worried brain overrides that calm gut feeling that I believe every single parent can have, especially mothers, because there’s this genetic, biological component that I know lives in there, but the noise outside, the anxiety we feel, all of those things – sleep deprivation – all of that can now allow us to lose that connection, and that static noise gets louder.  

So this trust with yourself – and I talk about rebuilding that trust with yourself – is through small repetitions and not one big revelation.  So every time you make a decision – and let’s say you’re worried about your kid and you call the pediatrician, and your pediatrician should say, thank you so much for calling.  Or you went in and they’re like, I hope this made you feel better.  You’re going to tell yourself, I did the right thing.  I’m a great mother.  I got help when I needed it.  I don’t have to do this alone.  We think we have to do it alone.  We think we have to know everything.  But part of having intuition and instinct is also noticing when you need help, whether it’s that you’re sleep deprived and you need your partner’s help or mom or a nanny or whoever, or whether it’s that you’re worried about your child and now you need to get help.  That is intuition to me.  So you have to build those reps by the small moments.  You have to also recognize the things that might be making the static higher.  Are you feeling anxious?  Are you feeling depressed?  Are you not getting sleep, which we all know is really hard postpartum, but what can we do to build all those things back in small baby steps to get you to know that you understand yourself and your child? 

The fastest way back to intuition and instinct to me is often less input, not more.  Fewer tabs open, fewer opinions, more quiet time.  Simply learning about your baby.  I am so big on realizing and remembering and reminding families that you are now entering this role as a parent where you have to learn about another human being.  This isn’t like any other job we do.  That other human being is not like any other baby.  Not like the older sibling, not like your friend down the street.  You have to learn their feeding cues, sleepy cues, what makes them calm, what they need to relax and comfort, and that’s not going to be straightforward.  That is a learning process that is the fourth trimester – learning about your baby. 

I always like to remind parents of that, and I feel like a lot of my families feel more confident and relaxed when they hear that because I think so many parents try to fit themselves into this box of I need to do this and my baby needs to sleep and this needs to happen.  My goal is not to let your baby sleep through the night by the time they’re 12 weeks.  That’s not what I’m trying to get you to.  I’m trying to let you tune into your baby’s needs, pause a little bit when they make a little stir, educate you on baby sleep a little bit so you understand that you’re not inadvertently waking them up.  But at the end of the day, you are learning about another human being, so give yourself grace.  Tap into what I know you know, and find the right people in your world to listen to advise from.  Maybe it’s one social media account that gives you that reassuring vibe.  Maybe it’s your loved one who is very uplifting but also realistic.  And your clinician.  Don’t listen to the people that are just the peanut gallery who are giving you all this info because that causes the static that I believe makes people lose that intuition. 

Exactly.  And those mom groups, especially on Facebook, can be overwhelming.  They give misinformation.  And you mentioned earlier, parents and well-meaning friends – but every experience and every baby is different, and parenting is different over the years, so what worked for my parents and grandparents does not work for modern parenting, for example. 

I joined a Facebook group when I had my son.  My son had a stroke when he was born from a very traumatic delivery.  I left that group very quickly because you lose the human conversation and connection online, right?  And a lot of it – I don’t love online groups.  I really don’t.  I think some of them, if your child has a very rare condition – like I know a lot of my families who have children with rare genetic disorders, they do go on groups because they can learn about the latest in research and advancements.  I think that’s wonderful.  But the problem that can happen, like you said, is that not every child with a stroke is the same.  Not every child in any group is going to be the same.  You should not be going on that group for any advice, meaning just general guidance on sleep, medical, whatever.  You can go on there and be like, hey, I had a really tough day today.  Has any mom ever felt this, too?  Use it for your uplifting support but don’t use it for medical, sleep, advice, because that’s not your kid.  You need to talk to your clinician, maybe your partner.  You need to come up with a plan with someone who knows and has evaluated and has been with you through your child’s health and well being.  I left that group because I just saw so many people giving advice, and I was like, this is now borderline medical advice that I don’t feel comfortable with, and also, it’s making me more anxious as a mom.  So going back to that other point I made, if you’re ever feeling anxious or feeling like a more shitty parent – let’s use that word – in any space, whether it’s with a person in life, a clinician, or online – that is not the space for you.  So that is part of also tapping back into your intuition and instinct.  Remove yourself from the people that do not serve you in the way that you need at that time in your life. 

Exactly.  And nothing beats in-person connection.  And then they get even more bold with what their advice ends up being.  It’s very frustrating.  I tell my clients to talk to their providers, talk to the pediatricians, talk to experts, and then get a circle of community with other moms going through the same thing at the same time, whether it’s a baby music class or story time at the library.  Getting that in person connection versus the overwhelm and misinformation in groups. 

I became a mom right before Covid with my son, and I want to be very honest that anyone who became a covid parent, it was a very different experience because we didn't have that reality.  I know you know.  That in person option was gone.  And now with my daughter, I feel like I’m having two different parenting experiences.  On one hand, there was isolation.  Where is my community?  Where’s the people?  We’re talking about this village and all this, and I don’t have that.  And so online made sense.  I’m not ever going to make fun or denounce the fact that people may need to go online sometimes because they lack the in person.  However, in this day and age, libraries, local mom groups, Facebook groups that have in person meetups – is going to be your best bet, like you said.  So always gravitate towards that, because like you said, it’s where you will find your people the most because you lose vibes, you lose energy from text messages, from Facebook.  People are so opinionated.  In person, people can’t hide behind a keyboard or a phone.  You’re going to get the real person when it’s in person contact.  And that’s where you’re going to find your people.  And as someone who took two or three years to find my people, I was very lonely for a long part of my motherhood with my son because of the pandemic.  And just know that you will find those people.  Now I have the best freaking people ever, and it makes me emotional because I think, like, I don’t regret or I don’t look back and feel that I failed my son in any way.  I’m now a different mom, and he gets this new version of a mom, and we get to continue to love and grow together.  So don’t ever think that one moment in your parenting journey, the fact that you relied so heavily on your Facebook groups or you didn't have the capacity or you were anxious – it doesn’t define your entire parenthood.  It’s just a blip in the whole lifetime of being a parent.  And so I always remind my community of that because I think we tend to get so focused on, oh, shoot, I was an anxious mom.  I yelled all the time.  I wasn’t connected.  Now I’m better.  And I’m like, you can always get better.  My motto is healing happens.  And as someone who has been through it physically and emotionally, I can say that’s always true. 

That is so beautiful, Dr. Mona.  And you talk so much within your platform about trusting instincts.  I’ll give you an example with my own pediatrician.  My firstborn was in the NICU, and I struggled with feeding from having the enhanced formula to pumping to breastfeeding, so I relied on a lot of help from my pediatrician and also IBCLCs, both in hospital and in my home.  But with my son, feeding was so different.  It was a spontaneous labor after my due date.  Something felt off, so I trusted my instincts, talked to my pediatrician, and it wasn’t caught in the hospital, but my son had a tongue tie, so breastfeeding was painful and different.  And I always struggled with oversupply, so I was able to address that and trust that my instincts were right on.  Things improved within a matter of a week, so just again having those questions, knowing if something’s off, even if everybody else is telling you, oh, it’s fine, it’s just different.  And you’re feeding right away versus the delayed breastfeeding.  Yeah, I was glad that I went to my pediatrician and they caught it in the office. 

I love that story of empowerment, of communication, of advocating for self and trying to figure out what is best.  And so many times, I hear from families that my pediatrician didn't find this or dismissed it.  So many things in health, and I’m part of that, right?  I think about babies who may have a cow milk protein allergy.  So many things may take visits or multiple discussions to finally come to an answer, or maybe there is something that’s missed.  And it doesn’t mean that that’s a horrible doctor.  It takes a two way street sometimes, and that’s hard to realize, but like you said, it’s like, hey, I read about this.  Let me go bring this up to my doctor, or how can we work on this?  And a doctor should be willing and humble enough to say, wow, you know what?  Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention.  Yes, you’re right, they have a lip tie or a tongue tie.  Let’s talk about how that can impact.  And that to me is going back to what you’re looking for in a doctor and that vibe.  It’s that doctor who can communicate in the way you need but also be humble and ready to chat with you if you bring information from the internet, if you bring information from another specialist.  And being open to listening.  Like, to me, that is the type of doctor I would want for every family. 

Same.  Exactly.  And as doulas, we’re always giving referrals for pediatricians we trust, OBs, lactation consultants.  Yes, I 100% believe in being open to information.  But I do feel like you have to see with AI and technology and Google, that everyone feels like they are a doctor now, so it’s probably a bit more frustrating with all of the information at their fingertips. 

Oh, I feel that.  And I had a long chat with some friends who are all graduate school educated, so lawyers, MBAs, doctors.  We were chatting about the future of AI in our specialties and in how we work.  And all of us agree that the beauty of having gone through education without AI – like, you know, we went through all of this, and becoming a doctor, I didn't have access to AI – that we have created understanding, clinical acumen.  My lawyer friends know law.  And now AI can be a tool that helps us.  For example, I can use AI – for me, because I have the education and know when it’s wrong.  I know when it’s giving me not the full picture because it’s a robot, right?  But like you said, a family putting something into AI, because it sounds good, can say, oh, well, yeah.  But what you’re going to do with that in the era of AI and the era of social media – I don’t have a problem with my family plugging things into AI and then bringing it to me.  Bring it to me.  Don’t just plug it and make a decision without speaking to a clinician about it.  But I have had so many situations where a family is like, hey, I had this rash, and I looked online and I plugged it into AI and it told me it was this, but I’m coming to you to confirm.  I feel so good about that as a doctor because I don’t want AI giving the wrong information.  Also, AI can’t prescribe meds if needed.  Also, AI can’t give the true anticipatory guidance.  So then I say, hey, thank you so much for doing your learning and your education but also trusting me as your child’s doctor to double check.  I think that’s the balance we need.  I think also clinicians need to understand that you can’t just say, well, don’t use AI, because families will.  They’re either going to Google – but now with AI, everything is advanced, right?  Like if you go into Google right now, it gives you the Gemini AI versions, right?  So we can’t dismiss it.  We have to understand and create the channels of communication where families feel comfortable bringing that info to me.  And at the end of those visits, I’ve said, thank you.  Remember, any time you find something, read something – I’m here.  Come in.  We’ll have a visit.  We’ll talk about it.  I always want to make sure we’re giving the right management for your child, and it makes sense for the child that you and I both know, because AI doesn’t know the personality of a kid.  Thinking about parenting advice – me and that mom or that dad can talk about, hey, does this strategy make sense?  Do you feel comfortable with this?  Here’s why it doesn’t work for your child.  And I’m able to do that because I have the expertise that I got before AI came into existence, you know?  I love that, and I think you feel the same.  You’ve been a doula, as well, and so it’s realizing, how do we make AI and social media work with us not against us as clinicians, and same thing as a parent.  How are you going to use it in an appropriate way where you’re not just relying on it for all advice, because you cannot.  You have to have trained in that to be able to decipher what makes sense, what doesn’t, and give you a plan to go forward. 

Agreed.  I could talk to you forever, but we’re almost out of time!  I feel like we have three podcast topics in one conversation here.  But you are just a wealth of information and an uplifting source, both with your podcast, with your YouTube channel, with all of the groups that you curate online.  I would love for our listeners and our doula clients to fully understand how to connect with you between your workshops and the podcast and YouTube and so on. 

Yeah, thank you so much.  I have a whole ecosystem of PedsDocTalk, which is the website.  All the social media handles you can go on – so Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads – we’re everywhere as PedsDocTalk.  And then yes, I do have courses that are on demand, so you can purchase them.  Various topics: I have sleep, newborn sleep, older ages sleep, toddler resources, tantrums, picky eating.  All of it is with evidence, but also the experience that I bring, like I mentioned here, right, the family who said, Dr. Mona, this did work or it didn't work – I bring all the strategies into all of my resources, so you’re going to feel like anything you get is going to be like a warm friend talking to you, giving you guidance, giving you actionable tips.  And I always say that I respect the families who can purchase things, but also the ones who can’t, so I have a wide range of resources, paid and unpaid, for families to consume. 

I so appreciate that, because as you mentioned, access and budgetary concerns are real, so having that information in all of the ways that people consume content, from video to podcast form – thank you for all you do in this space!  I would love to have you on again in the future.  Again, I could talk to you forever, Dr. Mona! 

Oh, Kristin, thank you so much!  Like I said, I love chatting with doulas.  Thank you so much for the work you do.  I didn't mention this in the convo, but I had a doula for my second birth with my daughter just because I had a very traumatic experience with my first, and although I had a C-section, she really helped me emotionally and also with breastfeeding after.  And even though I’m a lactation consultant and pediatrician, I just want to really, really celebrate the work that you do.  Thank you for what you do!  Thanks for this platform!  And for all the doulas that may be listening and are a part of your community, as well. 

Thank you!  I love to hear that you used a doula!  And yes, there is that misconception that doulas are only for homebirths or unmedicated births, but we attend all births, including Cesarean births.  So thank you for sharing that! 

Thank you, and thanks again for having me! 

IMPORTANT LINKS

PedsDocTalk

Birth and postpartum support from Gold Coast Doulas

Becoming A Mother course

Buy our book, Supported