I'm sure everyone on my Facebook will tell you I've been blowing up my feed about this climb. Climb Out of the Darkness is to raise awareness for Postpartum Depression, and I had the honor of being a co-leader for the Ogden climb here in Utah.
I just wanted to share my thoughts about The Climb and this cause in hopes that more people will climb with us next year.
Postpartum Depression is THE MOST COMMON COMPLICATION IN NEW MOMS.
I once heard a radio commercial that said everyone knows at least one woman who has had breast cancer. Did you know more women get Postpartum Depression than they get breast cancer? Everyone knows a mom. How many of those moms have suffered depression during or after pregnancy?
More moms get Postpartum Depression than Gestational Diabetes or preeclampsia. Almost every woman is screened for those things, and almost every mom worries about it. But no one screens you for PPD. Most moms don't even worry about it because, like me, they dont think it will happen to them. But it did happen to me. It happens to too many moms.
PPD is nothing new. It has been happening to women since Eve. It was once called "Milk Fever" assuming it was the mother's milk that caused their PPD.
And it's not just about suffering in silence. Mothers are dying. And in too many cases, their children die too.
(Special thanks to Bry Collard for snapping this picture of me climbing with my husband and boys!)
Every time I hear on the news about mothers harming their children or themselves, everyone calls her a monster. She is a horrible person and should never be able to have children.
But no one asks about PPD. No one asks if she reached out for help. And if they do, they say, "She should have gotten help. It's her own fault." No one realizes just how difficult it can be to find help.
How many more women have to die before people stop calling them monsters and start figuring out how to prevent this?
When someone has a physical illness like cancer or major surgery, everyone gathers to help in any way they can. But when you have a mental illness, you get a pat on the back and a "chin up, buttercup" pep talk, at best.
We are not monsters. And we are losing too many mothers and children to PPD. And the only way to fix it is to DEMAND better care for moms from our healthcare providers. All of those tragic situations could have been avoided if we had better resources. Which is why we do this climb.
This year during our climb we walked around a beautiful pond. We carried "burden rocks" until we reached the other side of the pond.
My burden was guilt. The guilt of not bonding with Drew like I should have. The guilt of all the nights he heard me cry instead of hearing me sing. The guilt of all those smiles I missed. I had him help me throw my burden rock into the pond. So we both let it go together.
Then we got new rocks. On these, we wrote whatever we needed. Whatever inspired us, a goal, peace, hope, etc.
These rocks we kept. To put in our gardens, windows, purse, nightstand, anywhere we could see it and remember. (Excuse the smear, Drew wanted to hold it before it was fully dry.)
The point is, we are not alone. And we are trying to make a difference. We climbed for ourselves, for our loved ones, and for all those moms who lost their battles to PPD. I have no doubt those moms were with us in spirit.
