last updated:
June 10, 2024
10
min read
What This Therapist & New Mom Learned About Postpartum Hormones That Changed Her Life
table of contents
After Perinatal Mental Health Therapist Erica Cadavid gave birth to her son two years ago, she felt different. Working with postpartum clients, the “Mommy Healer” expected some changes, but this was beyond the sleepless nights and adjustments to her schedule to accommodate their new addition.
Erica was experiencing physical and mental symptoms like “brain fog, bloating, and headaches.” Despite her background as an educated mental health professional, even Erica wasn’t prepared for just how much her hormones would fluctuate postpartum and how that would impact her daily life.
Read on to learn more about how the new mother and certified birth doula discovered the connection between her postpartum body and hormonal health and why working with Allara helped her find life-changing solutions.
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Erica Cadavid; I am a perinatal mental health therapist and certified birth doula. I mostly work with women dealing with infertility, pregnancy, birth trauma, postpartum and perinatal mental health concerns. I live in Boca Raton, and when I am not empowering women to find their true selves through my work, I practice Pilates and catch up on my reading.
What motivated you to learn more about your hormonal health?
Ever since giving birth to my son a few years ago, I’ve been experiencing fatigue, brain fog, bloating, and headaches. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact problem, but overall, I didn’t feel like myself.
What were some of the changes you noticed?
I constantly felt lethargic–just too tired to do anything, and no matter how much I worked out, I couldn’t lose the pregnancy weight.
How did you find out about Allara?
I went to a few doctors and had some lab tests done, but they didn’t find any answers. Most of the doctors attributed my symptoms to being a busy working mom, but I knew something else was wrong. I found Allara through social media and decided to give it a try–I knew I had to do something else.
What do you think is missing from our education about hormonal health?
There is a huge lack of awareness around hormonal health. In my work with postpartum clients, I’ve noticed many are just not aware of postpartum hormonal imbalances or how long those hormones linger after you give birth. Learning about that gave me a whole new perspective about how much we don’t know about postpartum hormonal changes. The lack of awareness is a massive problem because, most times, there are simple solutions to fix problematic symptoms, which can ultimately be life-changing.
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“I was given an explanation of how my hormonal imbalance was affecting me as a whole - body & mind - & tools so that we could start to manage my condition. I am happy to announce after a year of trying, I found out that I was pregnant & I couldn’t be happier!”
“This is genuinely the first time in my 7 years of being diagnosed, that I have felt seen and heard.”
“The Allara Community gives me the courage and support to continue my PCOS journey - I am never afraid to ask the hard questions and love hearing from other women with the same challenges.”
"Dr. Henigsman went above and beyond making sure I had all the necessary tests, but also tremendously helped me in understanding my diagnosis, helping me change my lifestyle, and making sure I get the treatment I deserve."
"Before Allara I had no real direction or understanding of what it meant to have PCOS. Now I have a team of people that take time to explain every single thing to me, ask me how I feel and let me be apart of my treatment plan and I’ve lost 55 pounds."
