World Maternal Mental Health Day 2020
Today, May the 6th, is World Maternal Mental Health Day. It is a special day that I, as a perinatal mental health advocate and postpartum doula am very passionate about. Let me tell you why first by sharing a bit of my story.
In October 2009, one month after the birth of my first child, I was admitted to the hospital not knowing that I was in the middle of a manic episode with psychotic symptoms. I had no clue what was happening to me. A great psychiatrist diagnosed me with bipolar disorder of postpartum onset with psychotic features. This diagnosis was totally unexpected. I had no symptoms prior to birth and no history of this mental illness in my family. What a shock!
I’ll never forget the days after I received my medication for the first time. When that little pill I was swallowing started to calm my ill brain: a grieving process was starting. At first, there was that one big scary question that was haunting me: Will I ever be myself again or will I be comfortable with who I will become? I was wishing so hard that things would come back to normal quickly. I soon realized that it would take some time. I had to take one day, one moment at a time.
But beyond that fear, something else emerged unexpectedly: a new passion was born in me. At that moment, I knew deep down in my heart, that one day I would use my hard experience to help future and new parents. I would tell my story and share the knowledge I would gain about postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. I will also find a way to inform and support them if they would go through such a challenge. I would do my best to try to erase the stigma that is still attached to postpartum mental illnesses.
My recovery process was challenging, and I did experience depression a couple of months after my manic episode. But thankfully, with the amazing support from my husband, my psychiatrist, family members and friends, I was able to recover and feel like myself again :-)
During my recovery and the years that follow, I started to educate myself about postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and I realized how so little I knew about the subject prior to the birth of my baby. I wanted to share what I was learning, thinking that there were probably a lot of future and new parents not knowing enough about the subject of postpartum mental illnesses. I started writing about my postpartum mental health journey in a personal blog and I decided to write my memoir about my postpartum experience that I self-published over a year ago on Amazon.
In 2014, after the birth of my second child, I found out about what a postpartum doula is. I realized I could offer support to future and new parents who are facilitating their transition into parenthood. So, I decided to enroll in the certification process to become a postpartum doula in 2016. Two years after, I took a leap of faith and left my career of almost 20 years in education to work as a postpartum doula and perinatal mental health advocate.
All these years since 2009, I have nurtured my passion for perinatal (entire frame from pregnancy through the first year after giving birth) mental health, and I have kept on telling my story and share information to raise awareness and reduce the stigma attached to perinatal mental illnesses.
Maternal Mental Health
Do you know that “In many countries, as many as 1 in 5 new [birthing people] experiences some type of perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMADs). These illnesses frequently go unnoticed and untreated, often with tragic and long-term consequences to both [birthing people] and child.” And not only birthing people are experiencing these illnesses, partners too (1 in 10).
It is important to know and mention that it can happen to any birthing person. Indeed, [birthing people] of every culture, age, income level and race can develop perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. It does not discriminate. It can even happen to birthing people who have already a good support system in place after the birth of their baby.
Unfortunately, over 75% of [birthing people] do not get diagnosed and do not receive adequate treatment and support. This is huge! There is still stigma about maternal mental illness that prevents birthing people (and partners) to talk about how they are really feeling and to feel comfortable asking for help.
World Maternal Mental Health Day’s goal is to raise awareness of maternal mental health issues. The people who started this campaign did it in the hope that more birthing people will get treatment and that less birthing people will suffer.
Raising Awareness
So, what can we do to help raise awareness of maternal mental health on this special day today and all year round?
First, get informed. Learn what is normal to experience regarding maternal mental health and what are the signs of maternal mental illness. Not only birthing people, but their family members and friends also need to know about these signs. The more we educate ourselves on this topic and the more we talk openly about it after with our loved ones, the more chance pregnant people and birthing people (and partners) in their postpartum period the signs for suffering will reach out for help and support. There is help available for perinatal mental health problems and all parents should know about it. Furthermore, when we talk openly about maternal mental health, we are helping to reduce the stigma attached to perinatal mental illness and we also have more of a chance to reach the goal of improving the quality of care for parents who are suffering from a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder.
Second, I encourage every parent who has a lived experience of perinatal mental illness, if you feel ready to talk about it, to do it. By sharing our story, we can help parents who are suffering to realize that they are not alone and knowing this can help them a lot. We can also use the hashtag #maternalMHmatters in our social media to raise awareness.
In the difficult circumstances we are going through now with Covid 19, it is even more essential to raise awareness about maternal mental health since parents are more at risk to struggle in isolation and not get all the support they need. Now more than ever, maternal mental health matters. Let’s spread the word! Together, we can make a difference!
Note: If you are pregnant or a new parent and you are struggling with your mental health now, don’t hesitate to talk to someone you trust right now and get the help you need and deserve. You are not alone. If you get professional help, you will feel better.
Here are some websites you can look at to get more information about perinatal mental health:
https://www.postpartum.net/learn-more/pregnancy-postpartum-mental-health/
http://postpartum.org/
https://postpartumprogress.com/
Author: Geneviève Desrochers
https://transitionpostpartum.com
Reference:
https://wmmhday.postpartum.net/
Image by: kentackettart.com