Birth at Work is a supportive space for working parents and heart-led businesses, that champions real, unfiltered stories of what it's actually like to navigate pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood while growing a career. Krislyn Powell, mom and employee + customer experience leader, helps you find clarity and confidence securing support that can and should be available to all working parents. Through personal stories, community building, and policy improvement, Krislyn shares how the future for working parents can be brighter, richer, more fulfilling and - most of all - valued, in a culture where productivity and profits are often praised over values and worth.
S2 EP25 | Dr. Emily Guarnotta: Postpartum Depression Hides in Plain Sight
Psychologist and Phoenix Health founder Dr. Emily Guarnotta knows postpartum depression from both sides of the couch. After developing PPD right away following her first baby, she found that her clinical training made it harder, not easier, to recognize what was happening.
In this episode, Emily shares how that experience reshaped her career and led her to specialize in perinatal mental health. She talks about the symptoms that don’t look like textbook depression, including irritability, rage, intrusive thoughts, and high functioning that masks struggle, and why parents often wait too long to get help.
Emily also discusses her return to work at five weeks postpartum and full-time by twelve weeks, the people-pleasing and overcommitment that came with it, and the nearly year-long search for a therapist that inspired her to build Phoenix Health’s telehealth practice. She offers practical guidance for new parents and their support people: ask for specific help, plan a gradual return where possible, and give yourself permission to change the plan.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed after having a baby, or you’re supporting someone who is, Emily’s message is clear: the heaviness you feel is about the load, not a failure on your part.
Connect with Dr. Emily here:
IG - @dremilyguarnotta (https://www.instagram.com/dremilyguarnotta/) and @joinphoenixhealth (https://www.instagram.com/joinphoenixhealth/)
LinkedIn - Emily Guarnotta (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-guarnotta/) and Phoenix Health (https://www.linkedin.com/company/joinphoenixhealth/)
Website - Phoenix Health (https://joinphoenixhealth.com/)
Connect with Krislyn here:
IG - @birthatwork (https://www.instagram.com/birthatwork)@findflowbirthco (https://www.instagram.com/findflowbirthco/)
LinkedIn - Krislyn Powell (https://www.linkedin.com/in/krislynpowell/) and Birth at Work (https://www.linkedin.com/company/birth-at-work/)
28 Oct 2026
S2 EP24 | Esther Grubbs: From Classroom to Birth Room, Charting the Next Chapter
Esther Grubbs spent eight years teaching elementary school, first grade and then fifth, before a math problem changed her career. After her third child, childcare cost more than she was earning, and she left the classroom.
A few months later she became a doula, then a childbirth educator, and eventually co-founded Birth Connection, a business she never planned to own. In this episode, Esther talks candidly about the financial conversations with her husband that made leaving teaching possible, the cultural assumption that only women’s salaries should be scrutinized when childcare costs are weighed, and the ethical concerns that pushed her to co-found her own company.
She shares what she’s learned about building connections and patience as a new entrepreneur, how her classroom experience shapes the way she teaches birth, and why she believes parenthood often forces us to rethink the lives we planned. If you’ve ever run the childcare numbers and felt stuck, or wondered whether a career pivot after kids is possible, Esther’s story offers both practical perspective and encouragement.
Connect with Esther here:
IG - @birthconnectionaz (https://www.instagram.com/birthconnectionaz/)
Website -Birth Connection AZ (https://www.birthconnectionaz.com/)
Connect with Krislyn here:
IG - @birthatwork (https://www.instagram.com/birthatwork)@findflowbirthco (https://www.instagram.com/findflowbirthco/)
LinkedIn - Krislyn Powell (https://www.linkedin.com/in/krislynpowell/) and Birth at Work (https://www.linkedin.com/company/birth-at-work/)
23 Oct 2026
S2 EP23 | Lindsey Suriani: Silence is Compliance & How Working Parents Changed Culture
Lindsey Suriani spent nearly 14 years at a global chemical company in operations and customer-facing roles before she became a mom. Ten years ago, she helped build an employee resource group alongside other working mothers, and it grew into a community that welcomed all types of working parents.
Through “parenting out loud,” they set out to normalize the experiences parents often feel pressured to hide, and they won real change together. In this episode, Lindsey shares what it took to build that grassroots movement, from advocating for pumping and parental leave policies to the emotional complexity of returning to work after childbirth. She talks candidly about nursing twins, which she calls a huge accomplishment, and about pregnancy loss and how it shaped her advocacy for others. Lindsey also reflects on the importance of reconnecting with hobbies as a parent and the value of authenticity at work.
Her message is clear: silence perpetuates the problems we’re trying to solve. If you’re a working parent who has felt like you had to hide part of your life to succeed, or you want to start a movement in your own workplace, this conversation offers both encouragement and a practical blueprint.
Connect with Lindsey here:
LinkedIn -LIndsey Suriani (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseysuriani/)
IG - @sewmamalovesyou (https://www.instagram.com/sewmamalovesyou/)
Connect with Krislyn here:
IG - @birthatwork (https://www.instagram.com/birthatwork)@findflowbirthco (https://www.instagram.com/findflowbirthco/)
LinkedIn - Krislyn Powell (https://www.linkedin.com/in/krislynpowell/) and Birth at Work (https://www.linkedin.com/company/birth-at-work/)
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
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