Publications

"Raising Less Brown Kids and Making Space for Grief and Loss" on Embrace Race, 6/7/2022
"Perhaps my work as a mother is to support my Brown-White multiracial kids as they navigate their identity journeys so that they can hold the pieces of their cultures, histories, families, and stories—and integrate them into their own story in a way that feels authentic and true to them. Perhaps this is how I give them what I didn’t get: I acknowledge the struggle of navigating racial identity development and the process of figuring out how to be Brown, or somewhat Brown, in different social spaces."
"Dear Brown Girl: Proximity to Whiteness Does Not Make You White" on Embrace Race, 2/8/2019
"That discomfort and feeling of always being on alert that had been firmly carved into my neural pathways returned with a vengeance, and I found myself on guard when I walked down the street in my liberal bubble of a neighborhood. I felt no longer able to push down and swallow the hurt and, moreover, I finally saw my proximity-to-whiteness strategy for what it was: a response to racial trauma."
"The Wedge of Race-Based Privilege: An Inter-racial Marriage After the 2016 Election" on Embrace Race, 11/2/2017
"Compounding this burden is yet another burden of explaining an essential piece of my existence to my husband: that ever since I could remember, I knew that racism was everywhere and could appear at any time, whereas he had the choice of whether or not to believe me and whether or not he could see my reactions as valid and acceptable."
"Being The Only One In The Room: Speaking Up As A Mom Of Color In A New Mom Group" on Huffington Post, 8/31/2016
"​ Our vulnerabilities are synergistic: on top of the stresses of being sleep-deprived, recovering from childbirth, and caring for a colicky, screaming baby, moms of color can’t always feel safe in the supposed safe space of the parenting group..."
"5 Steps Toward Becoming a Better Advocate" on Postpartum Progress, 8/21/2015
​"What words do we use in our messages? What are the images on our fliers and logos? Where are our organizing meetings held and when? If we don’t think carefully about these details, it will be all too easy for us to fail at inclusivity—not because we don’t mean well or we don’t care deeply, but because maintaining the status quo is so very easy, and, before we know it, we are in an echo chamber at our local coffee shop with our friends."
"Expanding Outreach to Underserved Communities" on Postpartum Progress, 8/18/2015
"Reflecting on our privilege helps us think about how we can work with folks who share our privilege– as well as those who don’t– to create changes that benefit everyone.  Looking at perinatal mood and anxiety disorders through a “lens of diversity” can help us see how different aspects of our identities—and our privilege—affect our experiences with PPD, including whom we felt we could tell, the treatment we sought, our barriers to care, and the professionals who helped us. This process can illuminate why what was helpful for us may not necessarily be helpful to other moms."
“7 Interventions That Promote Breastfeeding” on The Mamafesto, 3/26/2015
"The reality is, however, a woman’s health-related choices and behaviors are shaped by the socioeconomic and cultural context of her life and the choices available to her.  If we want to improve a mother’s success with breastfeeding, we must look at her challenges within that context."
“It’s Not Just You: Creating Safe Spaces for Moms to Share” on Huffington Post, 12/18/2014
"Moreover, much of the focus during early parenthood is on the baby, and new mothers are given very few opportunities to talk about themselves. A few weeks ago, a mom remarked, "This group is one of the few places where I can actually talk about myself--what I want to do with my career, what I am going through with my husband, and just what I THINK in general. Everyone always asks about the baby and her sleep and her weight gain, but when I come here, I can actually talk about myself and know that people will listen." In response, another mom said, "Yes. The first time I came to this group, I cried because it was the first time someone asked me how I was feeling about breastfeeding. Every other conversation was about the baby's weight and my milk supply, but no one ever asked me how I felt about any of it.""
“It Takes a Village to Raise a Mom” on Huffington Post, 12/11/2013
"Before I became a mom, I had friends--great friends, even. But once my son was born, those friends either lived too far away to drive with a screaming baby, or had minimal interest in hearing about diaper disasters, breastfeeding woes, and endless fatigue. At a new-moms' group, though, we talked about all of this."
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Press

An interview with Boston Moms on 4/5/2021 about working with perinatal clients and new parents about trauma the transition to parenthood.
"So many folks have experienced so many hard things — in their families, in their homes, in relationships, with parenting, in surviving interpersonal and systemic racism and oppression, financial struggles, you name it. And many folks have never had the space to unload all of it and have someone bear witness to what they have experienced and provide a space for them to reflect on it, make sense of it, feel all the feelings they have had to block out in order to keep going and move toward healing."
A Boston Globe article on 1/26/2015 about the Community Health Center Pilot Program
"In the days that followed, she would e-mail and talk repeatedly with Divya Kumar, a postpartum doula, who went to her house and listened to the new mother talk about her fears and frustrations. She helped Esain figure out which balms would soothe her sore breasts. She told Esain it was normal to hate those first few weeks of breast-feeding. Esain soon felt more capable and less lonely."
An interview with Laurie Ganberg, LICSW on 3/31/2015
"Providing comprehensive services means that we approach the mom and baby as a dyad. So, if a mom is struggling with perinatal emotional complications, I can connect her with a mental health provider in-house or in the community, and I can also help with issues within the dyad (breastfeeding and lack of sleep are the usual culprits here!) that can be exacerbating these complications."