The Why Behind Empowering NICU Parents

Introduction

Welcome to the Empowering NICU Parents’ Podcast!

Our podcast is dedicated to supporting, educating, and empowering parents navigating the challenges of having a baby in the NICU.

The Grief We Don't Always Recognize: A Father's Perspective on Pregnancy Loss – Empowering NICU Parents' Podcast

After nearly six years of hosting the Empowering NICU Parents podcast, I'm welcoming a very special first-time guest—my husband, Josh.For the first time, listeners will get a glimpse into our relationship, our marriage, and the experiences that have shaped our family. And while there's some laughter and lighthearted banter along the way, this conversation takes us into deeply personal territory as we reflect on the heartbreaking losses of our babies, Weston and Quin.Pregnancy and infant loss are often discussed through the mother's experience, but what about the fathers? How do they navigate their own grief while trying to remain strong for their partners? And what happens when two people experience the same devastating loss but process their emotions in very different ways?In this candid conversation, Josh shares his perspective on pregnancy loss, the pressures fathers may feel to be the strong one, and the importance of finding support rather than carrying grief alone. Together, we reflect on how our losses affected our marriage, the role faith has played in our journey, and what we've learned about communication, grief, and each other more than a decade later.We also share how we continue to honor Weston and Quin, the place they will always hold in our family, and the complicated emotions of feeling incredibly grateful for the life we share with William while still grieving the children who aren't here on earth with us.This episode offers an honest look at marriage, parenthood, love, and loss—from two people who have shared the same experiences but haven't always experienced them in the same way.Whether you're a parent who has experienced pregnancy or infant loss, a father or partner who has struggled to find the words for your grief, or how to best support your partner, or someone hoping to better understand and support a grieving family after a loss, this is a conversation worth hearing—and one that may change the way you recognize and respond to grief in others.Dr. Brown’s Medical: https://www.drbrownsmedical.com  The Infant-Driven Feeding™ (IDF) Program: https://www.infantdrivenfeeding.com/ Our NICU Roadmap: A Comprehensive NICU Journal: https://empoweringnicuparents.com/nicujournal/  NICU Mama Hats: https://empoweringnicuparents.com/hats/  NICU Milestone Cards: https://empoweringnicuparents.com/nicuproducts/  Newborn Holiday Cards: https://empoweringnicuparents.com/shop/  Empowering NICU Parents Show Notes: https://empoweringnicuparents.com/shownotes/  Episode 84 Show Notes: https://empoweringnicuparents.com/episode84  Empowering NICU Parents Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empoweringnicuparents/   Empowering NICU Parents FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/empoweringnicuparents   Pinterest Page: https://pin.it/36MJjmHThank you for listening to the Empowering NICU Parents Podcast. Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review—it helps other families find us. We’re grateful to be part of this incredible community. Visit www.empoweringnicuparents.com for resources and support.

1. The Grief We Don't Always Recognize: A Father's Perspective on Pregnancy Loss 47:43
2. Two Things Can Be True: The Beautiful, Bittersweet Reality of Life In and Beyond the NICU 51:04
3. More Than Feeding: How the Infant-Driven Feeding® Program Empowers NICU Parents 51:22
4. The Presence Study Toolkit: Helping NICUs Translate Evidence into Practice 53:10
5. Beyond the NICU: How Small Moments Shape a Developing Brain 49:08

Episode Sponsors

Dr. Brown’s Medical

Dr. Brown’s Medical strives to deliver valuable infant feeding products and programs to support parents and professionals in providing positive feeding experiences for the infants in their care. Traditional feeding products and practices in the NICU are inconsistent and can result in poor feeding outcomes.

Dr. Brown’s® unique Dr. Brown’s® Zero-Resistance™; nipples with reliable flow rates; and The Infant-Driven Feeding™ are evidence-based, standard-of-care practices that improve infant feeding outcomes.

The team at Dr. Brown’s Medical is available to provide support for you and your team to help achieve best-practice results. They provide 4 free webinars every year on various infant feeding topics and offer continuing education hours for Nurses, Occupational Therapists, and Speech-language Pathologists.

To learn more or speak with Dr. Brown’s Medical team, click HERE.

Solly Baby

Solly Baby creates some of the most comfortable and breathable baby wraps available. Made from a lightweight, silky-soft fabric, their wraps provide a custom, secure fit that keeps your baby close while staying comfortable for you.

Solly Baby wraps are hip-healthy certified and designed to evenly distribute your baby’s weight across your upper body, helping reduce strain on your shoulders and back so you can comfortably hold your baby for longer periods of time.

In addition to their wraps, Solly Baby also offers beautifully designed swaddles, sleep gowns, sleepers, knotted hats, and crib sheets — all made from the same signature fabric with just the right amount of stretch in simple, timeless patterns and prints.

Our NICU Roadmap

Our NICU Roadmap is the only NICU journal parents will need. Our journal is a great resource for NICU parents with educational content, answers to many of their questions, a full glossary plus specific areas to document their baby’s progress each day while in the NICU. Our NICU Roadmap equips parents with questions to ask their baby’s care team each day as well as a designated place to keep track of their baby’s weight, lab values, respiratory settings, feedings, and the plan of care each day. Most importantly, Our NICU Roadmap guides parents and empowers them so they can confidently become and remain an active member of their baby’s care team.

Our NICU Roadmap is available for purchase on Amazon or contact us at empoweringnicuparents@yahoo.com to order in bulk at a discounted price for your hospital or organization.

Click HERE for additional information and images of Our NICU Roadmap.

Newborn Holiday Cards

Celebrate every one of your baby’s first holidays with these beautiful, unique holiday cards. There is a card for every major and minor holiday so you will not miss capturing the perfect photo opportunity during your baby’s first year!

Each uniquely designed card is 5 x 5 and will make the perfect photo prop as you celebrate all of your baby’s first holidays! The cards are downloadable, so you can get them right away!

Episode 79

The Why Behind Empowering NICU Parents

In this episode of Empowering NICU Parents, Nicole shares a deeply personal conversation from her appearance as a guest on the NICU Today Podcast with host Martha Sharkey. Nicole reflects on how she found her way into the specialized world of neonatology, her path to becoming a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, and the professional experiences that shaped her early understanding of the NICU.

The conversation then turns to William’s pregnancy and delivery, and the moment Nicole’s professional and personal worlds collided. After William was born and transferred to the NICU where she worked, everything shifted. Nicole entered the unit scared, fearful, vulnerable, and uncertain, her clinical confidence replaced with raw emotion. The environment she once navigated with clarity and control suddenly looked entirely different — because she was seeing it through the eyes of a mother.

She opens up about what it was like to navigate the NICU where she worked while simultaneously living the experience as a NICU parent, the complex dynamics of holding both roles, and how that reality challenged everything she thought she understood about the NICU.

Nicole shares how this experience profoundly changed her, both personally and professionally. She reflects on how becoming a NICU parent reshaped her perspective on communication, parental involvement, and the emotional weight families carry, and how it directly influenced her writing, advocacy, and the articles and publications she has contributed to since.

Through both lived experience and clinical reflection, her passion and focus have shifted toward highlighting just how critical family involvement truly is — including the role of parental presence and kangaroo care — and how these interventions can meaningfully impact both short- and long-term outcomes for babies and families.

This episode also explores why Nicole created Our NICU Roadmap: A Comprehensive NICU Journal following her family’s experience, and how that resource was born out of a desire to empower parents with knowledge, structure, and confidence during their NICU journey. Nicole discusses her work at AngelEye Health, including her involvement in developing tools and resources that support parental engagement, education, and transparency in the NICU. She also reflects on the Parent Checklist collaboration with Today Is a Good Day and NICU Alumni, and why accessible, parent-centered resources matter.

Nicole closes by sharing how William is doing today and the lessons she continues to carry with her — lessons about resilience, advocacy, presence, and the power of empowering parents as essential members of the care team. This episode offers insight, validation, and perspective for NICU parents and clinicians alike, and serves as a reminder that while the NICU journey may not unfold as expected, there is meaning, growth, and purpose that can emerge along the way.

Closing

Life’s journey does not always unfold the way we imagine it will, and sometimes it takes turns we never could have prepared for. Yet even in those moments, there is always something to learn, something to carry forward, and something that shapes who we become.

For NICU parents listening, this episode serves as a reminder that knowledge is power. You are your baby’s parent, and your voice matters. Ask questions. Ask again. Ask about skin-to-skin care. Ask about containment. Ask about your baby’s treatment plan and what comes next. Ask about the things that feel small and the things that feel overwhelming — all of it matters.

Even while a baby is in the NICU, parental presence and involvement matter more than many realize — for both baby and parent. Advocacy, engagement, and love are not secondary to medical care; they are powerful components of healing and long-term outcomes.

This conversation honors the strength of NICU babies, the courage of their families, and the dedication of the care teams who walk alongside them. It is a reminder that even in the most unexpected chapters of life, there is meaning, growth, and purpose to be found.

I encourage you to check out Today Is a Good Day and the many resources Martha and her team provide for NICU families, both in the hospital and beyond.
Also, be sure to check out the NICU Parent Quick Guide — a tool and checklist Martha and I talked about, created through a collaboration between Today Is a Good Day, NICU Alumni, and AngelEye Health.

Until next time, remember to keep going and take it one day at a time.

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Remember, once empowered with knowledge, you have the ability to change the course.