'My children showed me what to do' — Dr. Suzanne Crowe on raising kids after loss

About this episode

Dr. Suzanne Crowe discusses the intersection of her roles as a doctor and a parent, particularly in the context of personal loss.

Dr Suzanne Crowe doesn’t even try to separate being a doctor from being a parent anymore. The president of the Irish medical council is a paediatric intensive care doctor and a busy mother. And she admits that sometimes taking care of extremely sick children has led to her feeling a strong need to check in with her own children. “I have rung home on occasion to just check everyone’s ok. They’re kind of used to that”. “I do sometimes think did medicine shape my parenting, or did parenting shape the brand of medicine that I do”, she says. “They’re inextricable”. On the latest episode of the Conversations with Parents podcast Crowe explains what it’s like to parent four very different people and shares whether being a doctor proved a help or a hindrance in raising her family. “They did get a lot of ‘it’s grand. It’s a scrape’, she says. “Apparently I’m famous for saying “have a glass of water and go to bed”. In her role as a doctor, Crowe cares for children and families going though extremely difficult times. Sadly she’s no stranger to this on a personal level, having lost her baby daughter Beatrice while on holiday in France. “She’d be 15 now”, Crowe explains. “She was born very…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Suzanne Crowe

Topics covered

• parenting
• loss
• medicine
• family
• childcare

Keywords

• parenting after loss
• paediatric intensive care
• family dynamics
• child health
• grief

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Irish Medical Council

Places: France

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