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Juiet Xifaras, RN, IBCLC, and wellness enthusiast has over ten years of experience in the field of maternity nursing, specializing in breastfeeding and childbirth education. In 2018 she followed her passion and launched “Wholehearted Wellness” to support mind and body wellness using holistic solutions. She continues to support mothers with lactation and the challenges that may arise for women navigating the transition to motherhood. Juliet is a wife and twin mama. She sat down with us to discuss strategies and struggles during postpartum/perinatal as well as her own mental health struggles.
Juliet started out her career in social work primarily working with pregnant teenagers and this inspired her to go into nursing. Her nursing career started as a labor and delivery nurse in San Diego supporting laboring and birthing moms. Eventually, Juliet became a lactation consultant and worked with moms during the perinatal period. “The postpartum period is such a major transition for these women,” says Juliet, “It is certainly one of the biggest transitions for women.” Juliet mentions that the perinatal stage is defined as during pregnancy and through the postpartum period – into the first year. Using her experience as a lactation consultant, Juliet partnered with a local friend and business owner, Courtney Steele, to offer a 4-week series where new moms could come together to support each other, learn a little more about the lactation process from Juliet but also receive a little pampering. “Self-Care is such a vital part of the postpartum stage and we wanted to provide that as well as a space to gather and collaborate and just be surrounded by other women going through the same process.”
Juliet herself has a pretty significant history with mental health issues. “I struggled with anxiety and depression starting in my late teens,“ said Juliet, “ I had these indirect pressures from my upbringing and family and mixed with my desire for perfection, it caused me to have some significant triggers.” These mental health issues were a concern for some family members when Juliet and her husband, Tom, were considering pregnancy. “I had been building my toolbox, as I call it, of healthy coping mechanisms for when I was feeling triggered. I built this up over time and through experience.” Juliet knew that because of her battles with anxiety and depression it would put her at risk for postpartum depression. After much consideration and deliberation, Juliet and her husband were blessed with twin boys. “I was elated! It was like falling in love all over again.” “After about the first 4 months with my boys, that’s when things started to go badly. I started comparing myself to other moms in these groups I was following and it was my inner need for perfection that I felt like I was failing – mix these feelings with a lack of sleep and I hit a wall and the anxiety and depression hit.” Juliet credits her time spent at the Day Hospital, which is a section of Women and Infants in Providence, where new moms suffering with depression and anxiety, can bring their babies and spend the day. “It was great to spend time with my boys and other moms and their children and support each other,” said Juliet.
Throughout her years of dealing with anxiety and depression, Juliet has been able to not only help herself, but help others in the process. “I know that I need to ask for help when I am feeling triggered. It is part of that toolbox that I have developed over time on what I can draw on and fall back on when I need it.” Juliet shared the acronym M (medications) E (exercise) D (diet – what we eat) S (sleep) as a great starting point to fall back on when feeling overwhelmed/guide to follow to healthy coping skills. “Knowing yourself and knowing your triggers while also being able to ask for help from your support system is the best advice I can give new moms when starting out.”
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Stigma free Southcoast is a collaborative initiative highlighting the everyday people of the Southcoast who are working to remove the stigmas associated with mental health, mental illnesses, depression, suicide, postpartum and addiction, to name a few. Our goal and mission is to share our stories and personal battles with the end result of moving closer to removing the stigma. We are your everyday people- the teachers, the businessmen and women, the parent at the sporting event, your neighbor. These are everyday struggles that know no color, race, sex, socioeconomic status- the stigmas are real and they are daunting. Let’s work together to help make a #stigmaFreeSouthcoast.
