Maternal Mental Health, Motherhood, and The Load We Carry

It's April 30th in the year 2025 and we are about to kick off Maternal Mental Health Month.  Its a new day and we are reimagining maternal mental health. This is a month for raising awareness about the importance of mental health for mothers.  There are many goals in May 2025: reduce stigma, alleviate feelings of shame and guilt, improve access to help, and ensure that all new parents and families don't feel alone and receive the support they need. 

where we have been

This is my 16th year dedicated to this work and I am reflecting on how far we have come, and also how much more we need to do.  It was 2009 when I accepted my first role in perinatal mental health.  I still remember Dr. Tina Walch, a visionary and leader in the field of perinatal psychiatry, telling me how she had been working with the OB department.  She had been treating a few moms with postpartum depression and seeing amazing results.  She saw how shameful they felt- afraid to say that something was “wrong” with them.  They were relieved when they were seen, understood, and given hope.  With help, they were getting well.   She was inspired to do more, and told me she wanted to start a program.  She asked me if I wanted to be part of it, and without hesitation I said yes.  

I was a very busy working mom juggling two jobs, struggling with my own feelings about family building, and about to welcome a second child into my family.  Maternal Mental Health felt so important- even if I had no idea how I would fit in another thing in my life.   In 2009 there was little awareness, and there certainly wasn't a recognized maternal mental health month.  Since then May has increasingly been recognized as Maternal Mental Health Month by state legislatures, advocacy groups, and professional organizations.   It wasn't until 2016 that the first world maternal mental health day was announced. Today, as the global champion for perinatal mental health,  Postpartum Support International (PSI) is proudly hosting the Blue Dot Project and raising awareness across the globe.

Fast forward to 2023, and the Surgeon General declares loneliness a public health crisis with serious mental and physical consequences.  One year later, in 2024, the Surgeon General issued an advisory about parental stress and the need for quality mental health care to support parents.  It was titled Parents Under Pressure.  Parents reported stress levels significantly higher than non-parents. 48% of parents said that most days their stress was completely overwhelming.  Loneliness, worry, fear peppered the reasons listed.   Today, in 2025, the stress of family building has never been greater.  Parents are feeling lonely, and desperately turning to even AI chat bots for social support when they feel alone and ashamed.  Amidst growing conversations about access to care, parental wellbeing, and the changing landscape of reproductive health- and daily life as we know it, Maternal Mental Health Month is a powerful and timely reminder of how essential it is to support the mental health of mothers and all families.

We have heard so many stories about motherhood, the load moms are carrying alone, and the impacts on their mental health.  The never-ending to do lists, the piles of laundry- clean and dirty!  You tell us about the worries, the fears, the self-doubt, the guilt, the shame.  You share feelings about unmet expectations, worries that it will always be like this, the doubts you have about your choices, and the fear about the future.

where we are going

So today, we want to make some noise!  We want moms to be seen, to feel heard, to be supported and to be less overwhelmed.  Moms are carrying so much alone, and they do not have to.  

We know mothers are overburdened and we hear every day from our clients how the mental load is overwhelming...so we decided to do something about it! In honor of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month, we created the #SharetheMotherload challenge to spread awareness and raise money for maternal mental health. We invite you to join the challenge and get the word out!

We are so passionate about this we are pledging a donation to the Postpartum Resource Center of New York for the first 1000 people who take the challenge! This amazing non-profit led by Sonia Murdock makes a difference every day in the lives of new parents.

lets get loud

Together, we can support moms and improve maternal mental health.  Let’s make some noise for:

• The visible (laundry) and invisible (worries) loads moms carry

• The invisible struggles behind the mom smiling in a family photo

• The quiet grief of loss or unmet expectations.  The “It’s not supposed to be like this”

• The “Who am I” that comes with such a big identity shift

• The guilt and shame that often outweighs the desire to prioritize yourself

• The strength it takes to ask for help

• The importance of accessible, high quality, compassionate care with trained professionals who get it!

Stay connected with our newsletter

We’re also excited to share the launch of our new newsletter — a space to raise awareness, share meaningful resources, and remind both parents and providers that maternal mental health truly matters.

No one needs to carry this alone. Together we will make a difference! We got you!  #sharethemotherload #toomuchtocarryalone