Kiran Saluja, executive director of PHFE WIC, was recently a guest on Fourth Trimester, a podcast focused on the months and years following a new birth. Saluja spoke with host Sarah Trott about breastfeeding, nutrition and the importance of social support for the families and caregivers of newborns. Throughout the podcast episode, Saluja weaves in her own experiences as a mother, grandmother and immigrant, to help highlight important points.
To kick off the podcast, Saluja reflected on her own “fourth trimester” experiences with her three children—how she struggled with breastfeeding her first child, and how the support she received after joining WIC made her second and third postpartum experiences significantly easier.
“I found home. My second and third daughters’ fourth trimester experiences were exquisite. I had support, I had help with breastfeeding,” Saluja said.
Saluja noted that, while many parents of newborns crave privacy, it’s important for them to know when to reach out to friends and family for support.
“People love you. People want to support you – they’re dying to support you,” Saluja said. “Somebody very wise told me one time, ‘Nobody cares if your house is clean.’”
Saluja said that it’s especially important for expectant parents who don’t have family nearby to reach out and establish support networks in their communities, whether that be within their chosen house of worship, their neighborhood or a local WIC center.
“Set up your support system,” she said. “Because I really want you to know that you’re never alone.”
Saluja encouraged families, even those who may not qualify for WIC benefits, to visit phfewic.org for access to free postpartum resources, like information on nutrition and listening to infant cues.
“Honestly, you can spend days on that website,” she said. “There is so much information. I still love to go there.”
Click here to listen to the full podcast episode.
