A Story of Love, Loss, and Healing with Emily Souder and Mahaley Patel

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of infant loss, grief, and NICU trauma.

Some stories change us forever.

In this deeply moving episode of The Child Psych Podcast, we sit down with Emily Souder, LCSW-C, PMH-C, and Mahaley Patel, LMFT, PMH-C, therapists, mothers, and co-authors of Your NICU Story: Reflecting on Your Family's Experience.

What begins as a conversation about the NICU quickly becomes something much deeper.Mahaley courageously shares the story of her daughter, Saachi, and the unimaginable journey of becoming a mother while simultaneously facing the possibility of losing her child. She opens up about the hope, fear, heartbreak, and profound grief of leaving the hospital without her baby in her arms, and how that experience forever changed her life, her family, and her work.

Together, Emily and Mahaley explore the emotional realities many NICU parents carry long after the monitors are turned off and the hospital stay is over. We discuss trauma, attachment, grief, resilience, and the often-unspoken experience of trying to make sense of a story you never expected to live.

This conversation is for every parent who has sat beside a hospital bed praying for good news. For every family carrying the weight of medical trauma. For every mother or father learning how to hold both grief and love at the same time.

While this episode touches on profound loss, it is ultimately a story about connection, meaning, and the enduring bond between parent and child. It is a reminder that every child's life matters, every story deserves to be told, and no family should have to carry their pain alone.

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of infant loss, grief, and NICU trauma.

Listen now for a powerful conversation about love, loss, healing, and the stories that stay with us forever.

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