Content note: This episode includes discussion of infant death

In this episode, Dr. Baron sits down with Zissel Garber, a lawyer and mother of two living daughters, for an honest conversation about the five pregnancies that shaped her family and the grief and gratitude she carries with her every day.

Zissel opens up about her first pregnancy, a molar pregnancy that grew into cancer, and the six months of chemotherapy she underwent before she could try again. In her second pregnancy, she gave birth to her daughter Bracha (blessing) at 20 weeks, and Bracha died shortly after. Zissel shares what it meant to hold her, to give her a name full of meaning, and to speak about her without apology, even when it makes others uncomfortable.

After learning she had cervical incompetence, or, as Zissel prefers to call it, "cervical insufficiency," she carried two more pregnancies filled with uncertainty, and her daughters each arrived early, bringing their own fears and hopes. With openness, she speaks about the grief that still visits her years later, on first days of school and at birthday parties, and why she sees this not as a journey with an ending, but as a path.

This episode is part of 12 Months of Compassion, IWSTHAB's year-long series of webinars and podcasts. You can find every episode and event in the series on our 12 Months of Compassion page with the month of October focusing on grief and loss.

About Zissel Garber:

Mom to 3 girls, 2 living and living in a space for both joy and grief at the same time. Trying to manage ways to honor my path to parenthood, my first born that isn't living and still very much an influence on how I parent and who I am.

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On this re-released episode, Dr. Baron sits down with Yonina Kaufman, LCSW, PMH-C, Clinical Coordinator for A Time HUG Clinical Coordinator to talk about grief. Together they explore the "typical" or "expected" grieving process, how to support a friend or loved one who is hurting, and how to navigate the triggers that can come up along the way, including pregnancy announcements.

Yonina addresses a question many people quietly carry, how to know if you're "grieving too much," and offers gentle, grounded guidance on all things related to grief.

Whether you are grieving a loss yourself or standing beside someone who is, this episode is for you.

About Yonina Kaufman LCSW, PMH-C | Grief & Perinatal Therapist:

Grief & Perinatal Therapist and HUG Clinical Coordinator

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Please note that this episode discusses topics such as mental health, mental illness, depression, and suicide that individuals may find difficult to listen to.

In this episode, Dr. Baron sits down with sisters Miriam Gross and Esther Leah Rothman. Together, they explore where mental health and fertility meet, and what it's like when one sister builds the family the other once hoped for.

Miriam shares her mental and physical health journey, including a high-risk pregnancy after major fibroid surgery, followed by severe postpartum depression and a psychiatric hospitalization as a new mother. Though making peace with not having another child has been a difficult and ongoing emotional process, rabbinic guidance gave her permission to put her own wellbeing first and focus on the family she already had.

Esther Leah shares what it was like to step in during Miriam's hardest years, babysitting her nephew and helping at home so their parents could be there for her sister. She also opens up about her own history of depression and anxiety, and how overwhelming motherhood can be. Through it all, she's learned to hold two truths at once: deep gratitude for her children and the very real exhaustion of being a mother, all while staying sensitive to what her sister has lost.

If you are watching a sibling live the life you wanted, or struggling with mental illness or postpartum depression, then this episode is for you.

About Miriam Gross:

Miriam and Esther Leah are sisters. Originally from Los Angeles, Miriam now lives in Highland Park NJ and Esther Leah lives in Far Rockaway NY. Through their parallel pregnancy journeys, they have become closer, despite their 11 year age difference. They are here to share those journeys with you today.

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About Esther Leah Rothman:

I am a 30 years old, FT working mother of 3, originally from LA , now living in Far Rockaway, NY.

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