Next Sunday, May 8th, Mother’s Day – Postpartum Progress will host the 3rd annual Mother’s Day Rally for Moms’ Mental Health will be held online, featuring 24 open letters to pregnant and new mothers on the importance of maternal mental health. All of the letters will be written by survivors of and experts on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, as well as others who care about the emotional well-being of moms and moms-to-be.
The event will be hosted at Postpartum Progress, the most widely-read blog on postpartum depression and other mental illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth.
Each hour, on the hour, for 24 hours straight, Postpartum Progress will post a different “Letter to New Moms.” Some of the participants in this year’s Mother’s Day Rally for Moms’ Mental Health include:
Heather King from The Extraordinary Ordinary
Becky Harks from Mommy Wants Vodka and Band Back Together
Morra Arons-Mele from Women and Work
Janice Croze from 5 Minutes for Mom
Morgan Shanahan from The 818 and BlogHer Entertainment Editor
Nish Weiseth from The Outdoor Wife and A Deeper Story
Sharon DeVellis from The Yummy Mummy Clug
Kristen Howerton from Rage Against the Minivan and She Posts
Rebecca Odes, co-author of the book From the Hips and The New Mom Blog
Arianne Segerman from To Think Is To Create and Lifetime Moms
Grace Parson from Arms Wide Open
Katie Sluiter from Sluiter Nation and The Red Dress Club
Joey Fortman from Real Mom in the Media
Molly Shalz from A Day in Mollywood
Christine Gleason from Cutest Kid Ever
Emily Elling from DesignHER Momma
Molly Balint from Mommycoddle
Casey Mullins from Moosh in Indy
Maria Lianos from A Mother World
Kate Kripke, LCSW from Postpartum Progress
Susan Petcher from Learned Happiness
Jacqueline Green from Great Parenting Practices
Sonia Murdock, founder of the Postpartum Resource Center of New York
Katherine Stone, Postpartum Progress
Nearly 1 million women each year suffer from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders like postpartum depression in the United States alone, yet only 15% of women are ever treated. Postpartum Progress and its eponymous non-profit Postpartum Progress, Inc., were established to improve awareness of these illnesses and create better services and support for the women who need and deserve it.
Postpartum Progress’ current projects include Daily Hope and the Surviving and Thriving Mother’s Photo Album.
Past rallies have produced moving, touching letters of maternal experience worthy of publication! You may find the words of yourself or someone you know echoing through the hourly posting of these personal revelations, courage and wisdom.
I look forward to reading these missives and hope you will join me on Mother's Day!