Healing After the NICU: Processing Trauma, Loss, and Your Family's Story

This week’s guests, perinatal mental health therapists Emily Souder and Mahaley Patel, share the story behind their book Your NICU Story: Reflecting on Your Family’s Experience—a guided journal created to help families process the emotional impact of a NICU stay. Mahaley also opens up about her daughter, Sachi, who died after a NICU stay, and how storytelling and narrative healing became a lifeline in her grief.

She and Emily talk with Katie about why so many NICU parents carry trauma long after discharge and how writing your story can help families reconnect with what they experienced. They also discuss the emotional weight of making medical decisions during a NICU stay, the importance of compassionate healthcare providers, and why healing sometimes begins months or even years later.