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Parijat Deshpande wanted to be an OB/GYN when she grew up. After discovering she didn’t have an aptitude for chemistry, she set her sights on clinical psychology. She focused her work on child and family therapy and founded a South Asian mental health non-profit to better serve her community.

 

Before she even knew she was pregnant, Parijat developed her first pregnancy complication. At six weeks, she went on bedrest. She went on to develop seven more complications before delivering her son at 24 weeks and 2 days. As a therapist, she knew how to handle anxiety—but as a patient, it wasn’t what she needed. She became frustrated with the constant litany of “there’s nothing you can do,” when she knew that just wasn’t true.

 

In this episode, Parijat shares how the most difficult time of her life served as the impetus for starting a completely new professional endeavor. She’s now the leading high-risk pregnancy expert and author of author of the book, “Pregnancy Brain.”

 

More in this episode:

  • Comparisons of high-risk pregnancy to business
  • How the doctors’ chorus of “just wait and see” led Parijat to develop her own action steps, and what those steps were
  • The promise Parijat made her son before he was born
  • How her current business took shape through the lockdown she and her son were on for the first few years of his life
  • The one overriding question she asked while building her business
  • Why it doesn’t matter what’s going on in women’s heads during high-risk pregnancy
  • Parijat’s favorite business resource

 

Parijat Deshpande guides women with high-risk pregnancies to manage their stress and anxiety to help themselves stay pregnant as long as possible, even if they have complications, so they can give their baby a strong start to life. Parijat is the host of Delivering Miracles®, a podcast that discusses the real, raw side of family building including infertility, high-risk pregnancy, bed rest, prematurity and healing once baby comes home. She is a clinically-trained therapist, a women’s wellness specialist and an experienced speaker on the impact of stress on health and wellness. Parijat also has 4 years of experience as a Psychology Lecturer UC Berkeley and is the founder of MySahana, a South Asian mental health nonprofit. She is also a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

 

Resources:

Parijat Despande

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

Pregnancy Brain

MySahana

Listen to the Lightbulb Moment Podcast to hear how Parijat Deshpande‘s own high-risk pregnancy helped her learn to trust her gut.

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