Episode #79: “We’re on the same team!” (Dr. Amy Loden Tiffany and Dr. Kayce Morton)

Dr. Kayce Morton is a pediatrician and hospitalist in Missouri. Her passion is advocacy, especially in spreading trauma awareness and implementing trauma-informed care. Dr. Amy Loden Tiffany is an obesity medicine physician, also in Missouri. She is most passionate about preventing heart disease and diabetes in mothers whose pregnancies were complicated by preeclampsia, preterm birth and/or gestational diabetes. Amy begins by offering what she learned in med school regarding pregnancy complications, how it’s not true that your body “goes back to normal” following delivery, and the critical importance of understanding underlying problems that are unmasked during pregnancy. Kayce speaks to post-pregnancy breastfeeding issues and the resultant trauma, leaving new moms feeling like a failure. She shares how listening to a TEDx talk on trauma-informed care and ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) changed her whole perspective. We explore the question, “How do you define a ‘good’ parent?”Kayce and Amy raise awareness during our conversation about: crucial perspectives not taught in med school, and what doctors and patients should know for improved long-term outcomes, saving money and saving lives. They share poignant personal stories, and bring to light the role trauma plays in the dynamics of interactions between parents, children, and doctors as well, who frequently have their own history of trauma. At the end of the day, we’re all on the same team!