Dam Parenting

After birth, so many women are told their symptoms are normal — and then left to quietly wonder if they are. Leaking, pain, pressure, discomfort during sex. Normal? Or not?
This week I'm joined by Sophia, a pelvic floor physiotherapist based in The Hague with 13 years of specialist experience — and an immigrant herself who understands the unique position international families are in when navigating Dutch healthcare.
We cover what's actually normal in the first six weeks postpartum, when to seek help, what a pelvic floor physio appointment in the Netherlands actually involves (including the parts nobody warns you about), and the one thing Sophia wants every woman to hear: there is always a solution.
For the international parent in the Netherlands sitting with something they haven't told anyone: this one is for you.

After a late phone call with a friend, I felt the urge to record something very different than usual, as we already are bombarderd with Mothers Day deals, discounts and bundles - but the reality is - we don't want or need more stuff. Our mental overload is barely dealing with managing our home as it is.
So this was mine to you. Just words - and acknowledgement for all you go through, raisinig kids, on the daily.

Happy Mothers day.

There are some experiences in motherhood that don't end when we think they will.
Pregnancy loss is often spoken about as something that happens — and then we move forward. But what's talked about far less is what happens when the grief doesn't stay in the past. When it returns in another pregnancy. Or shows up after your healthy baby is born.
Today I'm joined by Dr. Renée Out — a doctor, bereavement counsellor, and founder of Renée Begeleiding — who works closely with women navigating the emotional impact of miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, and medical pregnancy loss.
We talk about why grief doesn't follow timelines, why a healthy baby doesn't erase a previous loss, how the body holds what the mind tries to move past, and what partners can actually do to help.
If you've ever thought: "I should feel grateful… so why do I still feel this?" — this one is for you.

Part of our Maternal Mental Health Month series.

Nobody told you about this part.
Not the rage that rises out of nowhere. Not the way you can go from calm to completely overwhelmed in seconds. Not the fact that it usually lands on the person closest to you — your partner — while the actual source of the pressure stays invisible.
Postpartum rage is one of the most common — and most misunderstood — experiences of new motherhood. It is not a character flaw. It is a nervous system under siege.
In this episode — the first of our monthly Maternal Mental Health series — I'm joined by Dr. Naomi Gibson, couples therapist and returning Dam Parenting residental guest, to talk about what postpartum rage actually is, when it happens, why it targets our partners, and what help looks like here in the Netherlands.
We cover: the clinical definition and why it's not in the DSM | the hormone and sleep science | the expat isolation layer | accessing support via verloskundige, huisarts, and GGZ | and how couples can start to talk about this.
This one is for the parent who is holding it together on the outside. You are not alone.

This month is about the conversations we don’t say out loud.
I’m bringing in familiar voices and new ones to talk about maternal mental health, the reality of motherhood, and what it actually feels like beneath the surface.
These are not easy conversations.
They may feel uncomfortable at times.
But they matter.
Because motherhood can be both a gift…
and one of the most draining, excruciating, identity-shifting experiences we go through.
And yet, so many of us are expected to carry on
as if our entire world hasn’t been turned upside down.
These episodes are not for everyone.
But they are for someone.
They’re not here to give you answers.
They’re not here to “fix” anything.
They’re here so you can hear something and think:
“Okay… it’s not just me.”
You are not meant to suffer in silence.
You are not meant to do this without support.
You are not meant to navigate this without a village.
So take what you need from this month.
Leave what you don’t.
And if something resonates—
reach out, share it, or start a conversation of your own.
Because it matters.
And you matter in this too.