SPOTLIGHT: Becky Schroeder & the Reality of Postpartum Depression
MKE Moms Blog + Moms Mental Health Initiative partner for Mental Health Awareness Month to shine light on the reality many mothers face.
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) is worsened because of societal pressure and the overarching stigma surrounding mental illnesses. The assumption that new parents are overjoyed and have it all together is far from the truth. The reality is that many mothers do not live the blissful life that our society perceives them to. Rather, they struggle with internal and external pressures to live up to these standards. Everyday, this stigmatization delays treatment, acceptance, and support for thousands of women.
Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, the MKE Moms Blog decided to partner with a local nonprofit to raise awareness with stylish tanks. Proceeds raised from the fundraising campaign support the Moms Mental Health Initiative and their mission. Moreover, the apparel serves as a tool to raise awareness about Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders in women. An alarmingly high percentage of the population stigmatizes mental health. This social stigma discriminates individuals and causes a self-stigma, which occurs by internalizing the perceptions.
Moms Mental Health Initiative co-founder, Becky Schroeder, recalls feeling hopeless after she gave birth to her first daughter in 2013. She quickly realized that she is not alone. This heartbreaking reality occurs to nearly 1 in 7 new moms. This number rises to an astonishing 1 in 4 moms in low socioeconomic communities.
For Becky, it became more than a condition. After recovering from postpartum depression and anxiety, Becky turned her heartache into a promising initiative: to connect moms with professional services, and break the stigma around postpartum mood disorders. Since then, she has exposed the reality of motherhood by providing resources, speaking out, and transforming maternal health care in her community.
Becky’s advocacy for PMADs stems from her lifetime involvement with mental health. After graduating from California State University — East Bay with a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, she became a mental health counselor. Her impressive professional career includes training in suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and working as a college level instructor, teaching courses on personal growth and professional development.
Things changed for her in 2013. After having her first daughter, she felt different than she was before. It started with restless nights and panic attacks, but what followed was truly frightening. That’s when the negative thoughts and feelings of guilt, shame, and hopelessness quickly came to the surface.
Becky has a personal history of dealing with anxiety and depression, which meant she was at a higher risk of developing both-post birth. That being said, she had never heard of postpartum anxiety, which she says is a majority of the reason she suffered as long as she had. “I didn’t know new moms could get anxiety so severely,” she shared, “just like they can depression.”
She recalls the day she realized what her symptoms actually meant; “I sobbed in my mother’s arms.” Feelings of disappointment and doubt took over as she battled to come to terms with her diagnosis…
“Some early thoughts were, ‘What if I never get better…if that happens, my family deserves better. I will never be able to give them all that they need.’ ‘Will I ever be able to have more children?’ ‘I’ve ruined everything by having a baby.’”
Shortly after, Becky met Sarah Ornst Bloomquist at an event to raise awareness about postpartum depression. Almost instantaneously, there was a connection between the two moms…but it was more than a bond over their sufferings. The duo found they share a mutual passion to give back to moms in the community who had endured the same hardships they had. So, the powerful pair decided to fill this need and put their expertise to work by introducing a website that could make it easy for women to find a list of providers in the area.
Two years later, and a huge step forward, Becky and Sarah launched a nonprofit called the Moms Mental Health Initiative. The organization provides crucial services to new moms that face symptoms they suffered. The Moms Mental Health Initiative focuses on mom to mom support, building relationships with local health care professionals, and educating the community on PMADs. That’s not all, the Moms Mental Health Initiative partnered with the Columbia Center Birth Hospital, which furthers the professional resources accessible to women.
The MKE Moms Blog is a coalition of local moms that passionately support positive initiatives in the community. They strive to offer their network of moms easy ways to unite and give back. What better way to do that than with fashionable apparel! The MKE Moms Blog raises money for local charities while generating awareness for causes like the Moms Mental Health Initiative. Last May, the dynamic group of moms raised over $900 for the MMHI with their “Love MKE” shirt.
This year, the MKE Moms Blog is back at it again, partnering with MMHI to raise money and awareness about a cause that hits close to home. This campaign offers three adorable tanks that benefit the incredible Milwaukee-based organization to support women with Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. This “You are my sunshine” top is a simple yet powerful design available in grey, mauve, and soft pink. There is also a dark heather basic unisex tee for purchase, if you’re not interested in tanks.
The campaign features four products total. The design showcases the MMHI logo front and center with “you are my sunshine” displayed across the chest. The whimsical lyric aligns with the MMHI mission and heartwarming feeling that is being represented in this campaign — we are in this together.
Loving mom, dedicated advocate, and survivor, Becky shares advice she would give to new and expecting moms. Other than finding a good healthcare provider, which can not so coincidentally be found online via the Moms Mental Health Initiative website, Becky believes in the power of community to make the journey of becoming a parent easier. “Find a tribe early on of other moms or parents who may be experiencing the same challenges you are,” she shared. When asked what quote she lives by, her response seemed fitting, “this too shall pass.”
“‘It’s simple, but when you are someone who lives with anxiety, you have to constantly remind yourself, that how you feel right now, in this moment, is temporary. You aren’t stuck, like you may feel you are. There will be new moments, new tries, new beginnings — there is always hope.”
You can purchase “You are my sunshine” apparel here!
*All featured photographs were taken by The Nesting Tree Photography & Family Firms, which specializes in birth, newborn, and motherhood photography.
