Awhile ago I did a post on postpartum depression, but today I would like to go further and talk about maternal mental health, which can involve more than depression. As I write this entry, some important events are happening, and even though this will likely be posted after they are done, I think it will be helpful to know what is out there.
First of all, the week of April 29 to May 3 is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week. The name of the week tells you what you need to know – it is a week to raise awareness about maternal mental health. Maternal Mental Health Week comes from the Blue Dot Project, and their website can be found here: https://www.thebluedotproject.org/ Another website associated with this week is 2020 Mom, which can be found here: https://www.2020mom.org/
In addition to Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, there is World Maternal Mental Health Day, which is on May 1 this year. You can find out more information here: https://wmmhday.postpartum.net/
While these events are new to me and they seem to be fairly new in general, I am very excited to hear about them. All populations face mental health challenges, but I think mothers can be forgotten quite a bit. I really applaud the work that is being done to help educate, support, and bring awareness to the public about maternal mental health, and I look forward to seeing more of this in the future.
How about you? Have you personally experienced any struggles with maternal mental health? Do you know someone who has? I hope you can spread the word about these various campaigns and websites that promote awareness of moms and mental health. After all, we all know someone who is a mom, and moms deserve to have their mental health concerns considered.