Letters to Women - Exploring the Feminine Genius
Chloe Langr
Recent Episodes
In this fifth episode of the Letters to Mothers season, we’re talking about mothering our babies who we’ve lost in miscarriage, still birth, and infant loss. Losing a child is heartbreaking and devastating. For mothers who lose a child before or shortly after birth, this grief comes with distinct, sudden, and difficult questions about God, the Church, and who they are now as parents to the child they have lost.
If you’re looking for a companion and guide through those har medical, theological, and practical questions, whether you’re a mother who has lost her baby or you’re a friend, family member, or medical professional who supports parents through that loss, this episode of the Letters to Women podcast with Dr. Abigail Jorgensen is for you.
Topics we cover:
Abby’s story as as Catholic woman
The origin story of Abby’s new book, A Catholic Guide to Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss: Compassionate Answers to Difficult Questions
A brief overview of miscarriage, still birth, and infant loss, and what the postpartum experiences can look like for mothers in each experience
Abby’s favorite question to ask her clients as a bereavement doula
What the Catholic Church teaches us about our hope for Heaven for children we’ve lost through miscarriage, still birth, or infant loss
How to grieve together and separately as loss parents
How to wrestle with the reality that God is all powerful, all good, and yet our babies still die
Whether or not you can flush during a miscarriage
How Abby lives out the feminine genius in her ordinary life as a mother
Resources for you:
Pick up a copy of Abby’s new book, A Catholic Guide to Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss
If you want to learn more about Abby’s work as a sociologist, explore her website here
If you want to learn more about Abby’s work as a Catholic bereavement doula, explore this website
To discuss grief ministry training with Abby, reach out to her through Haven Bereavement Doulas
Today’s episode is sponsored by Monks Bread - use the code LETTERS10 to save 10% at checkout
Discussion questions:
Have you lost a child through miscarriage, still birth, or infant loss? What has your experience of mothering your child or children who have died look like for you'?
How has losing a child through miscarriage, still birth, or infant loss impacted your relationship with the Lord? What are some moments of desolation and consolation you’ve experienced during the grieving process?
Have you felt angry at God during your grieving process? Have you felt guilt for feeling anger? How did hearing Abby share about allowing ourselves to grieve and be angry impact you?
Today, how are you parenting the child or children you’ve lost? What are some ways you can honor the memory of their short life here on earth while looking forward with hope to
What are some ways that you can support friends and family who are grieving the loss of their child? What does it look like as a Church and parish community to support grieving parents?
In this third episode of the Letters to Mothers series, Kimberly Henkel of Springs of Love joins me to discuss foster care and adoption.
We’re talking about how Kimberly and her husband Greg discerned the call to foster care. We’re also busting myths around adoption that might be holding you back from discerning that call as a family, and both of us are sharing our experiences as adoptive mothers.
Whether you’re exploring the possibility of adoption or foster care, you’re already an adoptive or foster mother, or you’re wondering how to better support adoptive and foster families in your community, this letter is for you.
Topics we cover:
Kimberly’s story as a Catholic woman
How Kimberly and Greg discerned the Lord’s call to foster care and adoption
The origin story of Springs of Love, Kimberly and Greg’s ministry that encourages, educates, and equips Catholics to discern and live out the call to foster and adopt
The differences between foster care and adoption
Spiritual maternity and the adoption triad
Kimberly’s advice to couples hesitant to discern foster care or adoption because of the cost
Why open adoptions can be healthy for everyone involved in the adoption triad
Resources for you:
Check out my monthly newsletter, Naptime Notes
Discussion questions:
Have you felt called by the Lord to discern growing your family through adoption or fostering children? What has that discernment looked like for you both as an individual and in your marriage?
What myth surrounding adoption that Kimberly mentioned in the show is something you’ve believed to be true before?
Romans 8:15 says that “You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we call ‘Abba, Father!’” How does reflecting on this theological reality of adoption in all of our lives as children of God through baptism impact the way you think about adoption and foster care?
What are ways that you can accompany birth mothers and families in the adoption triad?
Does your parish community support adoptive and foster families well? What are things you can do to encourage a culture of life for families who are called to foster or adopt?
In this first episode of the Letters to Mothers season we’re talking about a topic that so many of us are familiar with—body image. It’s a topic we’ve talked about on the show, but I wanted to revisit it with a specific focus on that experience as mothers.
Joining me on the show today is Shelby Hirschman. She’s a nutrition therapist who specializes in intuitive eating, body acceptance, and recovery from chronic dieting and disordered eating.
We’re talking about postpartum discomfort, the societal pressure to “bounce back” and why that isn’t helpful for us as women, and some actual practical behaviors and tools to put into place that I think can be a huge help.
If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and felt frustrated, uncomfortable, disappointed, or unattractive, this letter is for you.
Topics we cover:
Why so many of us feel at war with our bodies as mothers
Defining the postpartum season
The pressure women feel to “get their body back” or “bounce back” after giving birth
What body checking is and why (and how!) to reduce that habit in your life
Compassionate closets
What is happening on a biological level to our bodies during the postpartum season
How to prioritize consistent and adequate nutrition
Habits to form in our lives as women during seasons of change to remind ourselves that our body is good
How Shelby lives out the feminine genius as a mother
Resources for you:
Visit Shelby’s website to learn about her work as a nutrition therapist
Learn more about Catholics Online, the sponsor for today’s episode
Discussion questions:
Have you ever felt at war with your body? What are some moments you’ve noticed postpartum discomfort in your own story as a woman?
In what ways has motherhood impacted the way that you view your body? Do you feel a tension between being in awe of what your body is capable of and discomfort or frustration with your postpartum body?
As a mother, have you felt pressured to “bounce back” after giving birth? Where have you received those messages from and how have they impacted the way you view your body today?
Do the clothes in your closet honor the reality of your season of life? What would getting dressed in the morning look like if your closet had pieces in it that honored your postpartum experience as a mother?
What are some practical ways you can begin to be more gentle and compassionate when it comes to the way you view and talk about your body as a mother? Make one resolution today to help you remember that your body is good.