Founding rate — $22/month for life, through October 7. After that it's $49/month.
A private community for medical mamas
The system holds Your child. Nobody holds You.
You were born for this. And You weren't meant to do it alone.
Founding rate locked for life. Goes to $49/month on October 7. Cancel anytime.
Why HELD exists
I built this because I needed it and couldn't find it
Hi, I'm Johanna. I'm a chiropractor — and a medical mama. When my second son was born, I knew immediately something wasn't right. I could see it. A quick exam confirmed he had a congenital birth defect called hypospadias. His urethra hadn't formed properly in utero.
Coming from a holistic background, being thrown into the medical system felt like entering another world. I went down the Google rabbit hole. I found Facebook groups that forced me to pick a side: pro-surgery or anti-surgery. I found an organization that claimed to support families, but on the first call it was clear it wasn't built for moms. I even found public mockery of this condition — and as a mama holding a newborn, that broke something in me.
We chose surgery. Three of them — at six months, twelve months, and eighteen months. I disassociated. I went into pure survival mode. Most of our family and friends didn't even know what we were walking through.
But the moment that changed everything was when I sat down with another mom whose son had hypospadias. There was no advice. No judgment. Just two moms sharing the grief and the fear and the reality of it. I finally felt seen. That's what I built HELD to be.
It started with a podcast
Born for This Stories
Before HELD, there was Born for This Stories — a podcast that drops every Monday, built so another parent searching Google at 2 a.m. can hear a real story and feel less alone. HELD is where those stories stop being something You listen to and start being something You live: sitting in real space with other mamas who get it, holding the hard stuff together, and finally not having to explain Yourself.
What is HELD
Empowered guidance for medical mamas
HELD is empowered guidance for medical mamas and caregivers who are done blaming themselves and want to feel less alone. It's a private, facilitated community — not a public feed, not a condition-specific club. Whether Your child's diagnosis is simple or complex, brand new or years old, whether the care is short-term or indefinite, You belong here. Because underneath the details, the core struggle is the same: the isolation, the blame, the guilt, the anxiety, the pretending. Inside HELD, You don't have to fake it. You don't have to explain the backstory. You can just be.
Who it's for
This isn't for one diagnosis. It's for every parent living in the aftermath of one.
One surgery or twenty. A condition that resolves by kindergarten, or one You'll manage for the rest of Your life. A name You can pronounce, or a chart that still says "undiagnosed." A congenital difference, a genetic disorder, a NICU stay, a diagnosis with no name yet — none of that changes the part nobody sees: the isolation, the blame You carry quietly, the guilt, the anxiety that lives in Your chest, the exhaustion of forcing "fine."
Whether You're three weeks in or nine years in, You belong here.
What happens inside
This is not another feed to scroll
Real Connection
Honest posts from mamas who've walked it. Real, raw conversation — not curated highlight reels.
Monthly Gatherings
Live virtual gatherings where You're not just seen, You're known.
The Spiral
Community moves through five stages: Survival, The First Exhale, Reaching, Showing Up, Choosing It Again. Find where You are, and what You need there.
Guided Resources
Prompts, tools, and stage-specific support to help You move forward, not just vent.
What mamas say
Words from the community
“I'm just really glad that we have this group. It's a constant thing — constant worry, constant thinking about the future. Being around other people who get it makes it feel a little less heavy.”
A HELD parent
“I'm always so burnt out with mom life. This is the first space where I don't have to explain the whole backstory before I feel understood.”
A HELD mama
“I came in as a dietitian trying to do everything 'right,' and this community reminds me that I'm allowed to laugh when it all falls apart. That's been huge for me.”
A HELD mama
Founding rate
$22 a month. Locked for as long as You stay.
$22
per month · founding members
We open October 7. On that day the rate goes to $49/month — but if You're already in at $22, that's Your price for life.
- The private HELD community, hosted on the Circle app
- Monthly live virtual gatherings (recorded if You can't make it)
- The Spiral — stage-based support for wherever You are
- Guided prompts, tools, and resources
- You're not just buying a course. You're getting a mama who shows up
Monthly. No contract. Cancel anytime by emailing info@bornforthisstories.com two weeks before Your billing date.
FAQ
What mamas ask
You've carried this by Yourself long enough.
HELD opens October 7. Come in now at the founding rate and keep it for as long as You stay. Real connection. No sides. No judgment. Just people who already get it.
Cancel anytime · $49/month after October 7