Meet Jacqueline Sears!

My name is Jacqueline Sears, and I am a former professional birth doula and childbirth educator with degrees in biomedical engineering and public health. I have three children—my first baby was born at home at 38 weeks, and my second and third babies were planned home births that veered off path due to their prematurity at 33 and 25 weeks. 

My experience with high-risk pregnancy, giving birth to my preemies in a medical crisis, and then parenting each of them in the NICU was very different. Caught by surprise with my first preterm birth and the NICU stay that followed, I learned a lot and knew better what I would need from a NICU when it became clear in my third pregnancy that my daughter would also be born early and much sicker. At 24 weeks pregnant and just seven days before I gave birth, I transferred hospital systems and left my providers to ensure my daughter would be born at a hospital supported by the kind of NICU I knew I needed in my desire to parent her in the face of uncertainty and imperfect beginnings. Both of my NICU parenting experiences were privileged by many factors, and yet I still experienced postpartum depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

When my babies were in the NICU, I scoured the internet for best practices and evidence to support my needs and wishes for us as a mother-baby pair and a family unit. In the process, I learned:

1. Evidence-based information on human milk feeding and attachment in the NICU wasn’t readily available; as a parent I needed to dig into the scientific databases to read published studies to learn what my options were and then use that information to help educate and communicate with my babies’ Providers;
2. NICU policy and practice are not always based on available evidence; and
3. My ability to freely parent in the NICU was largely determined by the culture that our NICU fostered, and heavily dependent on my knowing what to ask for.

I've since learned that as many as 60-70% of NICU parents experience perinatal mood disorders (PMADs) and that a parent's physical presence and developmentally appropriate involvement in their baby’s care can improve mental health outcomes for parents and positively impact their baby’s overall health outcomes. 

Unlike normal birth, which now has a vast and easily accessible body of literature to support better policy, evidence-based practice at the bedside, and information to empower parents with choice,  similar information for high-risk pregnancy, preterm birth, and parenting in the NICU for parents and their hired support people is hard to find or doesn’t exist.

As the saying goes, “If you don’t know your options, you don’t have any.”

Empowered NICU Parenting is your resource for everything related to minimizing trauma and maximizing connection with your baby, improving communication with your family’s team of providers, and finding confidence to advocate for your family in a crisis. There's a rich body of evidence that supports your intuition, and I believe that knowing what your options are and engaging with shared decision-making and open communication gives you the power to drive your baby's team of healthcare providers to deliver better and more personalized care to your family during this time. Let Empowered NICU Parenting show you what's possible.

More about Jacqueline

Jacqueline Sears, MPH, CPH, CBS is a two-time NICU + Preemie Mama—her son Merritt was born at 33 weeks, and her daughter Winslet was born at 25 weeks. She is formally educated in the research and health sciences of biomedical engineering and public health epidemiology. She is currently enrolled in the MA in Science Writing program at Johns Hopkins University. 

Jacqueline’s most recent work lives at the intersection of mothering redefined, public health, and empowered parenting in preterm birth, the NICU, and beyond. She is the founder and original content creator at Empowered NICU Parenting, a resource platform for NICU parents and doulas. 

Jacqueline is a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist with expertise and personal experience with attachment and human milk feeding in the NICU. She is a former birth doula, childbirth educator, and peer support group facilitator trained in perinatal mood disorders and social support. Jacqueline brings passion, bold-hearted ideas, and evidence-based information to give back the power to parents with informed choice and support in their unique NICU parenting journeys.