Episode 198: Dr. Sona Patel, on Bringing Expanded Insight to Parents Through Naya Care

What happens when the healthcare system fails a physician? Dr. Sonal Patel, a pediatrician, neonatologist, and lactation specialist, has lived both sides of postpartum care. After personally navigating postpartum depression, perinatal anxiety, pre-eclampsia, VBACs, severe tears, and breastfeeding struggles across four pregnancies, she turned her experience into action.

Dr. Patel founded NayaCare, a home health clinic reimagining postpartum support, and co-founded the Center for 4th Trimester Care, a physician-led national nonprofit challenging the status quo of maternal healthcare. She's a TEDx speaker, author of The Doctor and Her Black Bag, and a passionate advocate for paid family leave, helping pass Colorado's FAMLI legislation.

In this episode, we're talking about what the "4th trimester" really looks like, why even the most privileged mothers fall through the cracks, and what better postpartum care could mean for families and their babies' sleep.

Episode Highlights:

● Dr. Patel opens up about her own postpartum journey across four pregnancies, from postpartum depression and perinatal anxiety to pre-eclampsia and breastfeeding struggles. If a physician with every advantage still fell through the cracks, what does that mean for every other mother?

● We dig into why the postpartum window is one of the most overlooked periods in maternal healthcare, what "4th trimester care" actually looks like in practice, and how Dr. Patel built NayaCare to fill the gap that families desperately need filled.

● From her TEDx stage to the halls of Colorado's legislature, Dr. Patel has turned personal experience into policy change. We talk about her nonprofit work, paid family leave advocacy, and why fixing postpartum care isn't just a women's health issue. It's a children's health issue too.

Resources:

● Website: nayacare.org

● https://www.instagram.com/nayacare/

● https://www.facebook.com/nayacarecolorado

● https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonal-patel-md-12982a141/

● https://www.youtube.com/@nayacare6918

• Tiktok: @sonalpatel4tridoc