Organizations helping mothers with postpartum depression benefit from Mental Health Week to highlight the prevalence and consequences of these disorders.
It’s through a social media campaign that an American initiative, The Blue Dot Project, and Canadian organizations want to show mothers that they are not alone in experiencing difficult realities and facing challenges.
These women are invited to post photos of what they live until Friday, May 4 with the hashtags #RealMotherhood and #NoShame.
Photographs illustrating serious subjects, such as depression drugs for example, or lighter subjects such as the disorder that reigns at home, milk stains or baby vomit on clothes or stretch marks.
For example, Pacific Post Partum Support Society employees in British Columbia posted social media photos of the mess in their home.
The goal? Show mothers something other than perfect mothers’ photos with perfect babies and sparkling homes.
Postpartum depression
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, up to 20% of mothers suffer from postpartum depression.
According to health professionals, women who have recently given birth and are not feeling well should seek help from specialized support services.
Macy Parker is a freelance journalist based in Ottawa. Macy has written for the Vancouver Sun, Reader’s Digest, CBC Online,, Rogers Media and others. When Macy isn’t busy writing, she’s working as a PSW in an aging care facility in Lavel. Macy mostly covers stories concerning vulnerable patients
