Today is Strong Start Day, the day we raise funds to pay for the programs of Postpartum Progress. Here are six kickass reasons why you should support the work of Postpartum Progress the nonprofit (a 501c3 organization) with a donation:
1. The Warrior Moms Photo Album — The Warrior Moms Photo Album is the first and only of its kind to feature the faces of survivors of postpartum depression and related illnesses. We were sick of seeing how the media portrayed moms with PPD (hint: it wasn’t as normal, everyday women who happen to be ill). The 140+ Warrior Moms in our photo album have bravely shared their photos to combat the stigmatizing stereotypes of postpartum depression, and to help other mothers see that they too can recover. We quite enjoy kicking stigma in the butt.
2. Plain Mama English — We don’t talk the way doctors do. We believe that speaking to moms in their own language is a crucial step in increasing awareness and understanding of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, so we created tools like The Symptoms of Postpartum Depression & Anxiety (In Plain Mama English) and The Symptoms of Postpartum Psychosis (In Plain Mama English) to get to the heart of the issue in a way that makes sense. And you know what? Plain mama English works. That’s why clinicians from around the country share our posts with their patients all the time.
3. In-Depth As All-Get-Out — We get into the nitty gritty. Moms with postpartum depression or anxiety or PTSD or OCD or antenatal depression have so many questions. Tons of them. Whether they’re about breastfeeding, or setbacks in recovery, or suicidal thinking, or intrusive thoughts, or unexpected symptoms, or religious faiths, or childcare services, or managing anxiety, or how therapy works, or childhood trauma, or how to know when you’re getting better, or bipolar disorder in the postpartum period, we do our best to cover it ALL. We’ve published more than 2,000 stories about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon. You won’t find more comprehensive information anywhere.
4. The Mother’s Day Rally for Moms’ Mental Health — The Annual Mother’s Day Rally for Mom’s Mental Health was started in 2009 to bring about greater awareness of perinatal mood & anxiety disorders and the wide variety of experiences faced by mothers who have them. We continue to be proud to bring together nationally-recognized, award-winning bloggers and authors to share their stories of PPD and anxiety openly and help normalize the most common complication of childbirth.
5. PPD Hope Pinterest Board — We pride ourselves on reaching thousands of moms every day by using a wide variety of social media outlets, including blogs, Facebook, Twitter and now Pinterest with our new Postpartum Depression Hope Pinterest board. We find pregnant and moms where they already are, and tens of millions of them happen to be on the internet.
6. The Warrior Mom — You’ve pasted her onto your blogs. You’ve tattoed her on your arm. You’ve put her on jewelry. You love the Warrior Mom logo and you’ve made her your own, and the reason why is because she is positive. She represents strength and empowerment. She represents the positive outcome for moms who get help. We’re continually working to rebrand postpartum depression so that everyone knows it’s a temporary illness that is fully treatable with professional help.
Postpartum Progress has helped hundreds of thousands of women since we started in 2004, due in large part to the community of mothers who’ve struggled with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders who are dedicated to showing their faces, sharing their stories, and making sure no mom who suffers feels alone.
Help us help the mamas. Please.
(Oh, and if you have a kickass reason you’d like to add, please do so in the comments section!!)
To donate with a credit card –>
To donate via PayPal –>
P.S. Here are some other people who think you should support us too. I thank them each for their beautiful words:
Alex Asher Sears: Information Is Power
Dresden Plaid: Together We Are Strong
Miranda Wicker: Strong Start Day
Morgan Shanahan: Stuff on the Internet You Should Know About
The Great Askini: Strong Start Day
Esther Dale: Happy Strong Start Day
Alena Chandler: Postpartum Depression Won’t Win
Cristi Comes: I Want To Help Families Get A Strong Start
Charity Cole: This All Started
Jill Krause: Because She Helped Me See
Alexandra Rosas: How You Can Be A PPD Warrior
P.P.S. Thanks to the following people for tweeting and facebook sharing like crazy:
Cecily Kellogg, Jyl Johnson Pattee, Janice Croze, Kristen Chase, Cool Mom Picks, Tanis Miller, Morgan Shanahan, Cristi Comes, Robin Farr, Miranda Wicker, Amber Koter-Puline, Liv Lane, Chrysula Winegar, Susan Petcher, Fadra Nally, Alex Asher Sears, Alena Chandler, Kit Kelly, Kimberly Morand, Kathleen Schmidt, Kate Nicholson, BlogHer Publishing, Amy Kiel, Savvy Mommy, Esther Dale, Jessica Torres, Emily B., Erin Margolin, Robin Farr, Elizabeth Stark, Kelly Wickham, Dana, Heather King, Jennifer Gaskell, Emily Elling, Jennifer Bullock, Christine Koh, Dresden Shumaker, Lynette, Tracy Morrison, Ellie Schoenberger, Alexandra Rosas, Tracey Gaughran-Perez, Rita Arens, Jenny Lawson, Jenna Hatfield, Deb Rox, Elizabeth Esther, Kelly Beal, Julie Marsh, Jessica Cohen, Liz Thompson, Aubrey Ortega, MHA of Georgia, Kristin Appenbrink, Lea, Yuz Rozenblum, Charity Cole, Jenny Ingram, Kelby Carr, Sherry Smith, Dorianne Gemme, Jenny Chiu, Angie Kinghorn, Jamie Harker, Liz Henry, 5 Minutes for Mom, Lauren Jimeson
Photo credit: © grandeduc – Fotolia.com
#7: The community of women who come here and bravely share their stories and support each other.
True that, Robin.
Hi Katherine, I hope its going well today! xo
My post is up and hoping to spread the word, Katherine. I am so grateful, and I say thank you to you, in honor of all the moms that haven’t found their voices yet. I say thank you.