Taking care of our mental health through the coronavirus pandemic is important, and for moms already dealing with depression, anxiety, or grief, the loneliness can feel even heavier right now.
That’s why the nonprofit, Maternal Wellness Program is changing the ways they do things. Their mission is to use education and advocacy to support moms through loss and ending the stigma around postpartum depression. One in nine women will experience postpartum depression, and one in four will experience miscarriage in their lives. Both facts are important to remember, since women experience both during normal times and during crises like the pandemic. Now more than ever those women need to feel like they're understood and not alone.
That's why the Maternal Wellness Program has now gone virtual for their support groups and have seen a silver lining in doing so. They say they have now been able to connect with more women, including moms from other states who have joined in.
And they've seen moms come to the virtual groups when they are usually too nervous to show up in person. "Somebody could join the group and not even turn the video on. You can just hear their voice. It's a safe way," said Rachelle Sova, who runs the Pregnancy and Infant Loss support group. “And we have had people that join us who say, ‘I would never have gone to a group that meets but I can do this’, so that’s been a real blessing.”
"it's been amazing to see these women come together,” said founder Tabitha Grassmid , “and the ones that don’t go to support group because they’re nervous about it are now joining. It' actually really made us reflect on how we do support groups and in the future we will continue to do support groups in a virtual capacity."
Here's a look at the groups they are offering on ZOOM right now:
- Tuesday 10 a.m. Postpartum Depression
- Wednesday 6 p.m. Pregnancy and Infant Loss
- Thursday 6 p.m. Pregnancy After Loss
We are also teaming up to host a special group on Thursday, April 9: Mom's Mental Health Meet Up. Moms often put a lot of pressure on themselves, especially right now as they work to juggle their life with family amid a national crisis.
So, the Maternal Wellness Program and Deanna Falzone are teaming up to host this special group, offering a place for moms to come together to feel a little less alone through this. It will be held on ZOOM, and any mom is welcome to join.
The member ID for the meeting is 805 734 8091.
If you have any questions on how to take part, message Deanna Falzone on her Facebook page.