Episode 37: Termination of Pregnancy for Medical Reasons

The Whole Pineapple

Content Warning: This episode focuses on pregnancy loss and termination of pregnancy for medical reasons. If you’re not in the right head space to hear this episode, we suggest you skip ahead and come back if and when you’re ready. Please take care of you.

Worst-case scenarios suck. There’s no way around that. But one way to make it suck slightly less is to be sure everyone involved is invited into the tough conversation about termination of pregnancy (TOP) for medical reasons. When the bad news is fresh is a really tough time to make a decision; having a planned path can at least remove some of the pressure.

And not to get too political (but it’s hugely relevant), legislation around “personhood” and abortion are making these decisions much harder and limiting the choices patients have regarding their health, their bodies, and their fertility. Everyone needs to know the options available in their state and the risks they may be taking by virtue of where they live.

Enter Dr. Julie Bindeman. Dr. Bindeman is a licensed psychologist specializing in reproduction and fertility psychology. She is Founder and Co-owner of Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington, an organization focused on helping people navigate fertility challenges, including pregnancy loss and TOP.

Given the sensitivity of the topic, we’ve included some timestamps for anyone who prefers to skip around and listen only to what’s most relevant to them. What you’ll hear in this conversation:

• How Dr. Bindeman got into the field of perinatal mental health. (3:23)
• The limits of our knowledge on infertility. (9:08)
• The importance of talking about miscarriages and abortion. (11:45)
• Abortion and the downstream effects. (15:26)
• The problem with using euphemisms to describe prenatal testing. (20:50)
• Framing the decision to terminate a pregnancy. (26:43)
• Weight loss medications and fertility. (35:10)
• Mirror Syndrome and delivery. (37:52)
• Risk of multiples and miscarriage. (42:54)
• Pregnancies that cause fertility difficulties. (48:44)

Resources:

Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington: greaterwashingtontherapy.com

greaterwashingtontherapy.com/some-resources

More about Dr. Bindeman:

Dr. Julie Bindeman received her Doctorate from George Washington University. She has served on many professional committees including in the Mental Health Professional Group of American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). She was elected to the Executive Committee in 2021. She is the former board member of the Maryland Psychological Association for 10 years and was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to serve on its Maternal Mental Health Task Force. She was recently awarded the Karl Heiser Award for her legislative efforts on behalf of the field of psychology. She has also authored and published several book chapters and articles pertaining to Reproductive Psychology.

You can find Dr. Bindeman at the Integrative Therapy website: greaterwashingtontherapy.com/julie-bindeman-psyd. You can find Anne and Ruby at thewholepineapple.com.