Talk to a Parent

Our trained parent volunteers have been through this too — prenatal uncertainty, NICU time, surgery decisions, waiting for scans, and the emotional whiplash of “your baby looks fine” one week then “this is serious” the next. We’re here for practical support and human connection.

TEXT: +1 (760) 650-2726 EMAIL: talk@cpamparents.org

This is peer support — not medical advice.

A parent volunteer will respond to your message normally within 24 hours. This is a space to talk things through, ask the “basic” questions, and feel less alone.

We can help you:

• make sense of the early overwhelm (and all the acronyms)

• prepare for appointments and questions to ask your care team

• talk through common decision points (monitoring, timing, surgery, delivery planning)

• navigate NICU / hospital logistics and emotional survival

• hear what recovery can look like in real life

• cope with the anxiety of “waiting and watching”

• find language for updating family/friends and advocating for yourself

You won’t be “too much.”

We’ve been there before. We remember the fear, confusion, guilt, numbness, isolation, spiraling Google tabs and trying to decipher medical journals at 2am.

You can reach out:

• with a single question

• with a long story

• mid-panic

• or just needing to meet someone who has been through this before

A few important notes

• We’re parents, not clinicians. We can’t interpret imaging, diagnose, or tell you what to do medically. We can help you prepare for your medical team and understand common experiences.

• We take privacy really seriously. What you share always stays within CPAM Parents, except if there’s a safety concern.

• If you or someone you love is in immediate danger or considering self-harm, please contact emergency services right now (in the U.S./Canada: 911). If you’re outside the U.S., we can point you to international crisis resources.