Shame and stigma are used to keep us in line and keep us quiet. Some of it is quite obvious, while other parts of the shame and stigma are more subtle and a little harder to recognise. From girlhood, we are taught that we should look and feel a certain way. The expectations of motherhood, our careers, our bodies, whether or not we should choose marriage are all laced with taboos.

Today’s guest is Dr Jessica Zucker. Jessica is a clinical psychologist with a PhD who specialises in reproductive health and the author of the award-winning book I HAD A MISCARRIAGE: A Memoir, a Movement. Today we are going to unpack some of the concepts of her second book titled Normalize it: Upending the Silence, Stigma and Shame That Shape Women’s Lives.

We speak about:

Jessica’s own miscarriage and how women tend to blame themselves when they experience miscarriage
Being told to keep pregnancy a secret until 2nd trimester & how it can leave women feeling unsupported
The trifecta of silence, shame and stigma and how they all feed each other
“At least” comments and how they try to ‘tidy up’ pain
Objectification theory
Navigating diet culture and health messaging with our kids
The language we use when it comes to health and conditions like cancer of ‘beating it,’ ‘be strong’ and ‘fighting’
Perfectionism and it’s link to anxiety
The narratives of what we ‘should’ want to be like married and mothers

You can get a copy of Dr Jessica Zucker’s new book here: Amazon

Find her on Instagram: @ihadamiscarriage

And more from her website: drjessicazucker.com

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