In the middle of the journey of my life,
I found myself lost in a dark wood
where the straight way was lost.
An invitation to
motherhood on your terms.
We are sold archetypes as modern mothers:
#FitMom #SexyMom #CareerMom #BlessedMom.
But what about a motherhood that you define and create?
Where you are in tune with your own voice, even if it is filled with fiery rage or oceanic longing.
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Where you have space for intellectual curiosity, even if your dreams feel way too big for your current confines.
Where your mothering self and intellectual self are not enemies, but collaborators on the project of YOUR empowerment.
Do you miss your intellect, creativity, and spark?
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Are you lost in a wild new territory that you don't know how to navigate?
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Are you suffering from birth trauma, burnout, or angst?
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Do you feel guilty for wanting a motherhood that sacrifices less of who you are?
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After being steamrolled by postpartum life, I left my job at Yale University to develop the first coaching practice devoted to mothers' sense of self.
I'm Meredith Shepard, Ph.D., and I want you to have a motherhood that is in symbiosis with who you are.
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Fellow mother, how can I help you today?
PTSD RECOVERY
FOR MOTHERS
Doctors act like pregnancy is just about the body. It's not.
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Navigate pregnancy with the clarity and self-confidence you want to enter motherhood prepared.
BIRTH
Birth is unlike anything else, except perhaps death. You just did that.
Process your birth story, recover from childbirth-PTSD, and integrate the power your body made.
POSTPARTUM
Caring for a baby without a village can make anyone insane.
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Get the support you crave without the scheduling you dread, designed for new moms with no time.
COMMUNITY
Community is our best antidote to the isolation of modern motherhood.
Register your interest here for prenatal, postpartum, and birth groups.
Ready to Feel Better?
Whether you're facing PTSD, Postpartum Burnout, or everyday stuck points,
our evidence-based services will bring you immediate and lasting relief.
Who: Overwhelmed New Mothers
What: 12 Weeks of 24/7 Audio Support
Result: 4th trimester you can cherish.
Who: Women Feeling Stuck
What: 3 Seventy-Five Minute Sessions
Result: Confidently back on track.
pregnancy and new motherhood, we often encounter a sense of loss: a loss of self, of identity; a loss of familiar rhythms and relationships; a loss, in short, of the ego that has sustained us.
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As much as we may miss this self, the purpose of coaching is not to return you to the motherless self you used to be.
Nor is it to replace your old self with a motherhood persona supplied by blogs, books, or the #blessed mom at the store.
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The purpose of our work together is to help you create a new identity that honors your old one, an identity that integrates your intellectual and mothering selves so that you can be connected with your child(ren) and with your own power.
2X/MONTHLY PRIVATE EMPOWERMENT HOUR SESSIONS
EMPOWER YOUR BODY AND MIND. PREPARE FOR THE MOTHERHOOD YOU WANT.
INDIVIDUALIZED PLAN TO PREPARE FOR YOUR MOTHERHOOD
ONBOARDING BONUS SESSION TO MAP YOUR MOTHERHOOD ARCHETYPES
POWERFUL IN PREGNANCY
TAILORED JOURNALING AND VISUALIZATION EXERCISES
PERSONALIZED RESOURCES TO REDUCE OVERWHELM
$1,300/3 months
$2,400/6 months ($200 savings)
$3,500/9 months ($400 savings)
24/7 SUPPORT,
EVEN AT 3AM WITH BABY IN HAND.
TREASURE YOUR NEW BABY
AND YOUR NEW SELF.
UP TO THE MINUTE CARE IN MANAGEABLE CHUNKS
Bonus 60-minute birth story
session
POWERFUL IN POSTPARTUM
OPTIMIZE FAMILY PATTERNS FOR HARMONY
PERSONALIZED RESOURCES TO STREAMLINE DECISIONS
$650/month
$1,700/3 months ($250 savings)
2X/MONTHLY PRIVATE EMPOWERMENT HOUR SESSIONS
HARNESS YOUR STRENGTH AS A MOTHER TO CHART THE PATH YOU DESIRE.
JUNGIAN ANALYSIS TO DIVE DEEP INTO WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK.
BONUS ONBOARDING SESSION TO MAP YOUR PATH FORWARD
POWERFUL IN MOTHERHOOD
PERSONALIZED JOURNALING AND MEDITATION EXERCISES
FREE ADD-ONS FOR WRITING AND PAINTING YOUR CREATIVE VOICE
$1,200/3 months
$2,400/6 months ($200 savings)
$3,500/9 months ($400 savings)
FAQS
How can I tell if I'm a good fit for your services? You are an intellectual, creative person who has long identified your sense of self and power with your accomplishments, mental rigor, and creative output. You're accustomed to having a strong sense of control over your destiny. You're a deep-thinker who is respected as a friend, colleague, partner...But pregnancy and/or motherhood is throwing everything you know and hold dear out of control. Your body isn't working the way it used to. You can't count on your mind. You're late to everything, and the littlest things suddenly seem embarrassingly hard. Why should motherhood feel so hard? After all, who you are is being good at everything! Welcome to motherhood. Don't worry; I will meet you where you're at.
Why do you use WhatsApp for your postpartum services? Coaching over WhatsApp isn't just convenient. It's also a liberating format to encourage stream-of-consciousness "spilling," a return to a self-empowering confessional without worry of interruption or judgment. Many new mothers find that the act of recording a message provides the first step toward more control over their experience. And all new mothers enjoy bite-sized, up-to-the-minute support in those first months when everything is changing so quickly. Perhaps most of all, knowing that you have support at 2am just one thumb-tap away is of crucial importance for new mothers living outside standard time.
What style of coaching do you use? I am trained in Jungian life coaching, a style that rejects "quick fix" bandaid approaches to look at the deeper psychological, cultural, and behavioral beliefs and patterns that are determining your experience. For instance, a mother who believes that she will only be good if she breastfeeds for X amount of time, or returns to work after Y months, may have internalized mother archetypes from her own family and from her culture. Through targeted conversations, we unweave your patterns to unlock your power.
Pregnancy and motherhood are already expensive. Isn't spending money on my mental and emotional health a luxury I don't need? As I learned the hard way, you only get *this* pregnancy, *this* baby, *this* motherhood, once. Then it's gone. I so wish that I had invested in support to make those finite, precious months joyful and generative, instead of so isolating and traumatic. Unlike therapy, coaching is intended to be effective quickly, without the need to continue sessions long term. All of my support packages are designed to get you through that period of your life as lovingly and cost-effectively as possible.