ADHD & Pregnancy: Creating A Prosthetic Environment

In this episode I’m joined by ADHD coach Dusty Chipura to talk about tools people with ADHD can use to help them through their pregnancy.





Following her seminar at ADHD Women's Palooza, Dusty talks about the how her pregnancy led her to think about what techniques can support ADHDers during pregnancy.





She found external cues were a way of managing her ADHD symptoms, especially when there were so many appointments to remember. Some of the tips included setting up a lot of reminders, external accountability and trying to make the environment work for ADHDers so that they can do the things they intend to do.





Dusty talks about the way many ADHDers don't want to be a burden to anyone but pregnancy can be a great time to practice asking for what you need. She suggested asking friends “hey guys, like I'm struggling with getting enough movement. Could we set up a daily walking date or a weekly swimming date?”





She uses the term creating a prosthetic environment which Dusty explains as getting comfortable with the idea that you're probably not going to remember everything! She encourages pregnant ADHDers to stop counting on their brain to be the thing that cues them. Dusty recommends practicing acceptance with the knowledge you might need a lot of cues during pregnancy.





Dusty has developed a journal for pregnant ADHDers to help guide them through their pregnancy. She partnered with a midwife to come up with a practical journal full of tips and tricks.





Dusty’s links:










About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast





It’s not just you – we aren't talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages. As a former journalist and current ADHD'er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews and personal narrative. With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren't we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more. Need basic info about ADHD and hormones?