Postpartum University® Podcast

My Personal Battle with Postpartum Bipolar Disorder EP 214

Maranda Bower, Postpartum Nutrition Specialist
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What happens when a postpartum provider becomes the patient?

In this deeply personal and powerful episode, Maranda shares—for the first time ever—her lived experience with postpartum bipolar disorder. This isn’t a conversation wrapped in statistics and clinical jargon. It’s raw, it’s unfiltered, and it’s the story behind why she created the postpartum healing framework that has now supported thousands of women.

If you’ve ever worked with a mother whose emotional shifts feel like more than “just the baby blues,” or if you’re a provider seeking to understand the depths of postpartum mental health from the inside out, this is the episode you need to hear. We’re talking about misdiagnosis, trauma, gut health, sleep deprivation, and how one woman’s fight for her life became a movement for maternal care reform.

Check out this episode on the blog: https://postpartumu.com/podcast/my-personal-battle-with-postpartum-bipolar-disorder-ep-214/


00:00 – The silence and stigma around postpartum bipolar disorder
 03:07 – Birth reflections and emotional shifts begin
 05:56 – Support systems break down: Meal train, family, and overwhelm
 08:10 – Chaos of postpartum: Alone w/ 3 kids, house construction, a puppy
 09:23 – When darkness creeps in: Resentment, despair,  intrusive thoughts
 10:24 – Rapid mood cycling: Chipper days followed by terrifying lows
 11:26 – The physical toll: Colitis, exhaustion, hair loss
 13:19 – The diagnosis: “You have postpartum bipolar”
 15:09 – Mania and clarity: Using the highs to plan for the lows
 16:58 – The internal struggle: Knowing better but not doing better
 18:43 – Nutrition as medicine: Grocery lists, meal planning, supplementing
 20:12 – Prioritizing sleep: Hard conversations with her partner
 22:29 – Finding what works: Each child’s unique sleep needs
 23:29 – Delegating and support: What helped lighten the load
 24:48 – Breathwork, journaling, and nervous system regulation
 26:04 – Recovery: Symptoms gone in three weeks—no meds, no relapses
 27:00 – How her experience became the foundation of her method
 27:50 – Why this story has remained untold—until now
 29:24 – The call for nuanced, honest postpartu

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