Healing the Tigress
A podcast that focuses on conversations & stories around Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) maternal mental health, hosted by Taiwanese American mothers Peggy (LCSW, PMH-C) & Jasmine (PharmD, PMH-C) who are also postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety survivors.
Mental health is not talked about enough in our AAPI communities, and we want to break these stigmas especially for mothers and partners. As AAPI healthcare providers who personally struggled during postpartum and are now perinatal mental health certified, we want to see more representation of other AAPI parents who know how important it is to take care of our mental health.
We talk with AAPI guests about a variety of themes in mental health and parenting, particularly what that looks like through the lens of our culture within the Western world. There are also discussions with professionals in the field, to help our providers and allies. We're not afraid to talk about the hard things that might seem taboo. We hope this podcast reminds you that you are not alone in your struggles as an AAPI parent!
Healing the Tigress
Ep. 23 - Love Makes A Family: A Gay Father's Surrogacy Journey with Henry Tieu
One of the things we really wanted to make sure to do on Healing the Tigress was to be as inclusive as possible of all our AAPI folks’ stories. And that also means we want to make sure to highlight stories of AAPI LGBTQ+ parents and their mental health as well.
For our first guest of this season, we were very excited to have the popular wedding and elopement photographer and former cardiac ICU RN, Henry Tieu (@henrysdiary), to talk about his journey with IVF/international surrogacy with his partner to bring home their twin babies this year! We discuss the challenges and benefits of international surrogacy, the financial investment especially as self-employed fathers, the emotional toll of going through not one but two rounds of IVF and surrogates, and more.
We talk about the importance of representation--both from the AAPI community and LGBTQ+ community. We discuss the need for more resources and inclusivity in society's set up and language for our LGBTQ+ couples to becoming parents. Henry also talks about how being authentic and true to self was really important for his mental health, especially when sharing on social media about his sexuality and announcing about his children.
We loved this heartfelt episode and discussion to bring more awareness to the journey of parenthood for same sex couples. We're also huge fans of Henry's photography so make sure you check him out online too!
Find more of Henry at:
www.instagram.com/henrysdiary
Resources:
PSI Queer & Trans Parent Support Group: https://www.postpartum.net/group/queer-trans-parent-support-group/
Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. If you need more support or advice, please reach out to your own medical professional who can answer your questions with your individual medical history and background in context.
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