Parenting From Within

Parenting From Within's next NICU Support Group is now open for registration!

Thanks to the generous support of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation Canadian Premature Babies Foundation , this 6-week virtual group is completely FREE for NICU families in Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. 💛

Led by Kelley Hassanpour, a Registered Nurse Psychotherapist — this group is a supportive, trauma-informed space to heal and connect.

What we’ll focus on:
✔️ Normalize NICU experiences
✔️ Process what happened in the NICU
✔️ Learn to trust yourself as a parent
✔️ Recognize signs of PMADs (Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders)
✔️ Build tools to manage fear, anxiety & depression
✔️ Process grief and trauma with coping strategies
✔️ Connect with parents who truly understand

🍼 Eligibility:

Baby must be discharged from NICU

Not suited for bereaved parents (except in surviving multiples — case by case)

Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia residents only (as per licensing guidelines).

📆 Tuesdays at 10AM (1.5 hrs)

📍 Starts September 22, 2026 | Runs for 6 weeks | Held virtually

📩 To register: Email us at [email protected] or send a DM

When my husband asked what I wanted for my 40th birthday, I didn't hesitate. An autism assessment.

Seven years ago I was diagnosed with postpartum anxiety. I accepted it, but it never felt fully true. Then came generalized anxiety with obsessive compulsive personality traits. I accepted that too. It still didn't feel fully true.

In December, I sat across from a psychologist who told me I was Autistic. And it felt like every piece of my life that had always been slightly off finally settled into place.

Growing up as a girl in the 90s, there was no way I was ever going to be identified. But what I learned very early was that many parts of me were not okay — parts I needed to hide. And so I built my mask. The thing about putting on a mask that young is that eventually, you forget you're wearing it. Until it starts to crack. And then things got hard. Really hard.

The past few months have been a constant re-evaluation of my entire life. At times it's overwhelming — realizing I spent the first half of my life building beliefs, behaviours, and coping skills on a false narrative, and will likely spend the second half undoing them. Ableism runs deep — internally and externally — and that's what makes this so vulnerable to share.

What I know now is that I never had postpartum anxiety or generalized anxiety. This was actually a core finding in my assessment. What I was experiencing was the profound discomfort of living in a world not designed for my nervous system. A nervous system that felt constantly under attack, because in many ways, it was.

My postpartum anxiety was autistic burnout — a state of profound physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion, driven by chronic stress, sensory overload, and the relentless effort of masking in a neurotypical world.

Continued in comments: Why this is an important postpartum conversation.

Parenting From Within's next NICU Support Group is now open for registration!

Thanks to the generous support of the Canadian Premature Babies Foundation , this 6-week virtual group is completely FREE for NICU families in Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. 💛

Led by Emma Fernando, a Registered Nurse Psychotherapist — this group is a supportive, trauma-informed space to heal and connect.

What we’ll focus on:
✔️ Normalize NICU experiences
✔️ Process what happened in the NICU
✔️ Learn to trust yourself as a parent
✔️ Recognize signs of PMADs (Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders)
✔️ Build tools to manage fear, anxiety & depression
✔️ Process grief and trauma with coping strategies
✔️ Connect with parents who truly understand

🍼 Eligibility:

Baby must be discharged from NICU

Not suited for bereaved parents (except in surviving multiples — case by case)

Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia residents only (as per licensing guidelines).

📆 Tuesdays at 7PM (1.5 hrs)

📍 Starts May 26, 2026 | Runs for 6 weeks | Held virtually

📩 To register: Email us at [email protected] or send a DM